DF: Still can't challenge the Swashbuckler

[JMason]

Yeah, I think I am going to go back to the just 2 attacks with rapid strike.

As far as spells go, I've given them list and hints, and links to other people's lists, and just about everything that I can think of for them to get some ideas for useful spells, but that hasn't worked out.

Well, I take that back. They have made some improvements. The wizard doesn't particularly like being a wizard (but keeps making them for some reason...).

Here is his full list. Spells with ** are ones that get a lot of use. * have been used a few times, but I not favorites.

Wizard:
Analyze Magic
Continual Light
Create Air
Create Fire
Create Ice
Create Water
Death Vision
Deflect Energy
Destroy Air
Detect Magic
** Explosive Lightning
Extinguish Fire
* Fireproof
* Flame Jet
** Flaming Armor
* Flaming Weapon
Freeze
Glow
Heat
* Ice Slick
Identify Spell
Ignite Fire
Light
** Lightning
Purify Air
Purify Water
Rain of Fire
Resist Fire
Resist Lightning
Seek Earth
Seek Water
Shape Air
Shape Fire
Shape Water
Smoke
Sound
** Spark Storm
Stench
Summon Spirit
** Wall of Lightning
Windstorm

Cleric:
* Armor
Aura
Bless
Command
Cure Disease
* Gift of Letters
Gift of Tongues
** Great Healing
* Lend Energy
** Major Healing
* Might
** Minor Healing
Neutralize Poison
* Purify Air
Purify Water
Recover Energy
* Remove Curse
** See Secrets
** Seeker
Share Vitality
* Shield
Stop Bleeding
Summon Spirit
** Sunbolt
Truthsayer
* Watchdog

[scc]

I think part of your problem might be how little HP the Wizard has judging by quickly he lost almost twice his HP.

That said, I'd say the other mistake you made was having the monsters attack any other then the SB before the SB was down

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by JMason

Well, I take that back. They have made some improvements. The wizard doesn't particularly like being a wizard (but keeps making them for some reason...).

Here is his full list. Spells with ** are ones that get a lot of use. * have been used a few times, but I not favorites.

<snip list>

No wonder your wizard is getting toasted; those are awful spell selections. GURPS wizardry is about buffing, hexing and battlefield control, not artillery.

Daze, Agonise, Blur, Haste, Stun, Create Fire/Shape Fire, Darkness/Darkvision, Illusions, Invisibility, etc. The mage's lousy HP and DR don't matter much when he's levitating and invisible, and the enemy's good HP and DR don't help when they're rolling on the ground screaming for mercy. Magic alters the fabric of reality; use it to make the opponent's reality suck. Getting away from direct damage and using the spell list creatively provides a vast range of ways to avoid fighting fair.

In the list you've got, Create Fire/Shape Fire is a good cost-effective way of shaping the battlefield, providing cover, creating distractions, triggering ambushes, etc. It essentially allows you to create an arbitrarily large intangible and near-unkillable monster that deals a low but steady stream of non-defendable damage.

Destroy Air makes for a decent assassination/subdual spell in certain situations. Seek Earth is the classical treasure-finder ("Seek Gold"). Smoke makes an okay Darkness substitute and gas weapon (combine it with buffs to breathe and see through smoke, then fill every dungeon room with the stuff...). Most of the rest of that list I wouldn't use much apart from the utility spells (Analyze Magic, Continual Light, etc.).