Fun for necromancers

[erik]

A comment on gamefaqs mentioned that variety is a bit limited for necromancers in BG2... you can summon skeletons or ... big skeletons. Using a grand total of one spell.

Variety would be good. Expanding the repertoire of the friendly neighbourhood bhaalspawn necromancer. Quest allowing you to recruit the shade lord to your highly moral and good cause optional.

[Rivlusc]

Necromancy has other good nonsummon spells like Deathspell, Finger of Death and Abi Dalzims. It's called life & death magic, not just make skeleton magic.

[erik]

Now you're just being difficult. Variety is good. I'm sure Xzar would agree.

What about all these flesh golems about that are said to have been made by necromancers? Bone golems? Ghasts?

[ronin]

For a HLA you could have him get a spell called:  Summon Lich

[Rivlusc]

Tsujatha would also agree, he doesn't have any bone golems and he's one of the most overpowered NPCs ever, even if he's gutwrenchingly horrible a character.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Would the Liches gender be the "BOTH - 5", as this should prevent summoning a deva or a planetar? As that's their gender and the special summoning cap prevents having multiple at once. Just for realisms sake.

[erik]

Hah. As if a lich would let himself be summoned. I foresee a "Foolish minion, DIE!" "*splat*" moment.

[ronin]

a level 30 necromancer should be able to control a lich of lesser level

[Thanatos.]

Not all Necromancers are evil. A certain Valygar quest, and the fact you can choose to be lawful good, explain this.

[jon-eli]

a level 30 necromancer should be able to control a lich of lesser level

I doubt it. Levels or hitdice are not an accurate gauge of a creature's power. Liches were already high-level wizards before their transformation, and then they are absurdly intelligent, have likely had eons upon eons of undeath during which to study, and their sole objective all the while has been to further their power. A necromancer would have an advantage over other specialist types, but it makes no sense that a lich could be controlled by a mortal spellcaster.

[SixOfSpades]

Well, Evil Clerics can control Liches starting at Level 18--a Mage with the same EXP would be only Level 16, and of course Devas and especially Planetars outclass a Lich. So I for one don't think it would be uncalled-for to make a Summon Lich HLA, I've had the same idea myself. Although I was going to require the player to choose some other HLAs first, like an HLA that briefly grants the caster Lich-like immunities. Of course, you can't give out candy only for Necromancers, you've got to bring enough for everybody. Try to think up HLAs for the other kits as well, maybe we can get Demivrgvs to add some new spells into a future version of Spell Revisions after all.

[jon-eli]

I think a distinction needs to be made between "channeling the Weave" and "receiving a divine favour". Clerics draw their power from an entirely different source to what mages do; evaluating them on the same terms seems a tad mistaken.

As for devas and planetars, I'm almost ready to agree with you... Except that liches have even less interest in being controlled than the current high-level summons do. When Jaheira gates one of the elemental princes in to do my fighting for me, I don't find myself imagining that they couldn't turn on me if they wanted. I think of liches more along the lines of pit fiends, in that they are single-minded and totally unconcerned with their summoner's desires. For the pit fiend, nothing is more important than fighting the Blood War, although if that's not on offer they'll settle for killing whatever looks like a worthy opponent; for the lich, nothing is more important than achieving more and more power, and they only fight if they have to, if someone is getting in their way, and I'd think that anyone stupid enough to summon a lich would be the first on its mail-bomb list.

[plainab]

But what if the necromancer (say a mod added NPC) had been the one to create the lich and had an amulet of protection from that specific lich.

I'm thinking of the Cult of the Dragon and how they created a bunch of Dracolichs. See the trilogy by Troy Denning "Return of the Archwizards". In that series there is a scene where some Shadovar are having a discussion with a Dracolich and his Cult of the Dragon handler, a wizard/mage of some type. The mage is wearing an amulet that prevents the Dracolich from hurting him.

It wouldn't be to far fetched for some evil necromancers to have created a subservient lich or two from some of their apprentices who learned too quickly.

I don't see how it could play into the player's protagonist character, but I could see a mod added NPC that was joinable or not having such an ability to summon a lich.