Magic, Baldur's Gate 1 Original

Magic in Baldur's Gate 1

VANCIAN MAGIC SYSTEM

While melee combat, ranged combat and theft, stealth and backstabbing are of great utility in Baldur's Gate 1 Original, it is arcane (and to a lesser extent divine) spellcasting that steals the show and dominates the battlefield.

Spellcasting constitutes the most complex aspect of the Baldur's Gate combat system, and thus it has the steepest learning curve, but its payoff is immense.

Baldur's Gate Magic Spellcasting Strategy

Baldur's Gate employs the Vancian Magic system as per AD&D 2nd Edition rules. Put simply in gaming terms, spellcasters have a spellbook and a certain amount of memory allocated to spells, which, depending on the nature of the spellcaster (arcane or divine) is based on their specialization, Wisdom score, level and equipped items.

Preparation for non-Sorcerer arcane spellcasting is as follows:

• First, a spell scroll must be found in the gameworld (looted or bought)
• Second, it must be scribed to the spellbook (there is a chance of failure)
• Third, it must be allocated to one or more memory slots
• Finally, the spellcaster must rest for at least eight hours in order to commit the spell to memory

Divine spellcasters do not scribe scrolls; spells are bestowed upon them by their gods. Thus, steps one and two do not apply.

Once cast, the spell must be rememorized in order to be cast again (unless the same spell was memorized more than once).

Thus, it's fire and forget.

Think of memorized spells as ammo in the gun. Once the spells have been fired, we need to reload (rest).

Baldur's Gate Spell Book

Every spellcaster has their own spellbook (divine spellcasters have priest scrolls). These contain pages for each circle of spells showing the spells that have been memorized (left pic) as well as the spell scrolls that have been scribed or bestowed upon the caster by their god (known spells, right pic).

Thus, the above spellcaster not only has access to a broad first circle arcane range (14 different spells), but sports an excellent memory as well (10 spell slots). To be clear, memory slots of a given circle can be loaded with any spell that has been scribed (and of the given circle). As can be seen, one can memorize a particular spell multiple times [1].

What I've said above constitutes the strategy aspect of spellcasting. Before resting, we are considering which spells we may need and how many of each we may need, based on the upcoming wilderness exploration or dungeon crawl - and the enemies inhabiting them.

Now, I mentioned that resting is required in order to replenish spells. Since resting is instantaneous in Baldur's Gate, what's stopping players spamming their spells, resting, spamming their spells, resting? Other than self-imposed restrictions, the deterrents are:

• on-rest ambushes (which at worst can cause TPK and which at best are annoying)
• AR-wide resting bans

While both of these could have been improved and expanded upon, they are good enough. Not everyone is a hardcore player (cf. Swordflight).

[1] On top of the specialist bonus for being a Conjurer, Edwin receives a bonus slot per circle thanks to his birthright amulet. Moreover, equipped with the late-game Ring of Wizardry (doubles first circle spells slots), the ninth level Edwin receives a maximum of twelve castings of first circle spells per day. (Yes, an early RoW can be found outside the Friendly Arm Inn, but let's not pretend your average player pixel-hunted it without spoilers.)

Baldur's Gate Magic Spellcasting Tactics

In order to cast a spell in-game, the player selects the spellcaster, clicks the spellcasting modal, selects the spell to be cast, and then clicks on either a target, the viewport or a placeable within the viewport. (Hotkeys can also be employed to speed things up.)

Baldur's Gate Spell Targeting Types

Where the player clicks on the viewport depends on the targeting type of the spell, and on its range. There are four basic targeting types:

• target caster (caster-only)
• target ally or enemy (single-target)
• target area (area effect or AoE)
• target placeable (door, chest)
• non-targeting (The spell is cast without specifying a target. Thus, it does not break Sanctuary)

Baldur's Gate Types of Spells

Spell-types are groups of spells that perform specific functions. There are several types of spells:

• direct damage (mundane, magical, elemental and para-elemental) cf. Direct Damage Spells BG2.
• damage-over-time (disease, poison, acid, lightning bounce/ricochet, noxious AoEs)
• buffs (to THAC0, AC, ApR, saving throws, HPs, Ability Scores etc.)
• debuffs (as above + Dispel Magic)
• immobilizers (exemplified by Web) cf. Immobilization Spells BG2.
• utility spells (open locks, find traps, identify items, haggling, scouting, clairvoyance)
• mobility/escape spells (Dimension Door, Haste, Invisibility, Sanctuary)
• divide & conquer spells (enchantment or charming) cf. Divide & Conquer Spells BG2.
• protection spells (spell protections, combat protections and illusions) cf. Illusion Spells BG2.
• summoning spells (undead, animals and monsters) cf. Summoning Spells BG2.
• shapeshifting spells (polymorph self/other)
• healing spells (the cure wounds line, Goodberry and Larloch's Minor Drain)

Such spell types can be used in conjunction to create spell combos. Examples:

• An AoE immobilizer such as Web followed up by a direct damage AoE such as Fireball. In other words, lock a group of enemies down and then light them up.
• A target-caster abjuration such as Minor Globe of Invulnerability followed up by Lightning Bolt. In other words, protect ourselves from something nasty and then unleash it about us.

Those are just a couple of the basics. There are many combos available to the player. These are covered in specific arcane and divine write-ups.

Baldur's Gate Casting Time

As covered in Combat System, Baldur's Gate employs round-based combat. But unlike melee and ranged combat in which ApR factors, only one spell may be cast per round. However, spells have an equivalent to weapon speed factor: casting time.

Casting times range from one to ten-tenths of a round (which is six seconds long or 3 secs long if running at 60 AI updates per sec). The lower the value, the faster the casting of the spell. However, there is always a one-round cooldown between casting spells; always, and without exception. (Technically, the one-round cooldown aka aura cleansing can be bypassed on the Infinity Engine, as proven by Daer'Ragh's Aura Cleansing.

Now, first circle Magic Missile has a casting time of 1. That means it is cast in the first tenth of a round, which is almost instantaneously. Fifth circle Cloudkill on the other hand, has a casting time of 5. That means it takes half a round before it is unleashed (3 seconds). This is actually very noticeable to the player. Armed with the knowledge of casting times, we can make educated decisions on where and when to cast a spell.

As spells are being cast, the caster voices an incantation and gestures at the same time. While the words and gestures are purely aesthetic, they're nice lead-ups to the unleashing of spells.

Baldur's Gate Spellcaster Disruption

Spellcaster disruption aka spell disruption is also interesting. If a spellcaster is hit while in the process of casting a spell (say, in melee or by projectile, direct damage spell or through damage-over-time such as disease, acid and poison), then their spell fizzles, and they lose the spell. In that case, the spellcaster needs to wait an entire round before they can attempt another casting (assuming they have another memorized).

Spell disruption is the spellcaster's bane because it means they are going to be useless as a spellcaster for six entire seconds [1]. In most situations (assuming they survived the disruption and any follow-up attacks) they will need to retreat from the immediate battle, tuck themselves away somewhere safe, and wait it out, since, if they have been disrupted, they also won't be protected. We've all been there: wincing as we try to move our Mage out of harm's way.

[1] They may make physical attacks (swinging a quarterstaff, throwing darts at 3 ApR).

Non-necromantic Mages (and Bards) are less likely to be disrupted as they have access to Mirror Image. Clerics and Druids, on the other hand, do not have such a powerful illusion spell in their repertoire (though they are usually more tanky through equipment).

While improvements could have been made to spellcasting tactics, it is understandable that they were not employed in the Infinity Engine's infancy. The improvements could have been as follows:

Visual aid for AoE placement. As seen in ToEE, the ability to see the area of effect before casting the spell would have been better than a vague description of its range in yards.

It's better than estimating yards in the viewport of a computer game. Also, cone-shaped spells are particularly unwieldy to aim in isometric projection.

Identify spells as they are being cast. Black Isle's Icewind Dale 2 introduced this feature through its Spellcraft skill. It allows us to see which spells the enemies are casting -- as they are being cast and over the combat unit that is casting them.

It's better than looking for what's going on in a busy feedback window or recognizing incantation SFX and spellcasting VFX through foreknowledge.

That said, Baldur's Gate laid down the groundwork for solid spellcasting; nothing before it comes close. And it's much easier to improve on mechanics when we're not developing the engine in parallel, isn't it.

See also: Baldur's Gate Saving Throws.

Next up: Baldur's Gate Mage Duels.

Baldur's Gate 1 Original (Index) | Baldur's Gate 1 Review (Index).