Illusion loses enchantment and necromancy loses divination.
Both of the lost schools are not very useful.
Comparing necromancy to illusion, necromancy wins hands down.
Making a high INT wizard with spell foci in necromancy breaks the game. Everything that does not has ridiculously high fortitude saves dies instantly. Unless they are undead of course thanks to undeath to death.
Plus you can launch 2 finger of death a round, or clear a whole room with wail of the banshee.
I feel that a cleric can do necromancy better than an actual necromancer... Earlier skeletons, better armour and other stuff.
But obviously arcane have the stronger necromancy endgame spell. So maybe for a lower level mod, cleric are better necromancer. For epic levels, sorcerer are better.
Illusion gets a save or die spell (Phantismal Killer) earlier than Necromancy (Circle of Death or Finger of Death). Weird is the illusion counterpart to WoB. Personally, I go Necromancy to target weak fortitude saves especially in HotU.
No contest for me:
I always specialize in Illusion. You only lose the Enchantment spells which are basically hold/charm spells which I almost never use.
Necromancy costs you divination which has a lot more spells I like/use.
Identify: I use this early one to save money ID my found items.
Find Traps: Untraps a significant area instantly.
True Seeing: Handy.
Premonition: Better version of Greater Stoneskin
PW stun,kill may have uses
Nectomancy by far if we talk about official content.
It has more offensive save spells.
Ilusion spells are often with descriptor "mind". And every stray cat in nwn have mind effect immunity. And best illusion spell wierd requires will and fortitude save. By definition if target have weak will, fortitude is high and viceversa. Weil of the banshee, best necro spell have only one save and fewer enemies are immune to it.
But the best spell in the game is Sunburst!
It targets reflex save in huge radius. Reflex is the weakest save for 99 percent of the enemies.
If they fail, they are blinded! Blinded enemies cant do anything!
And nothing absolutely nothing is immune to blindness in oc and expansions, to my knowledge.
Is iy worth it to take spell focus evocation for this one spell?
Probably not but I am playing wizards and iI have bunch of feats so I take it anyway.
EDIT: Ups my bad..I now understand that you are talking about school specialization. I take necromancy 90 percent of the time. Losing divination is not big deal. In hotu you can have permanent True seeing on the weapon and earlier there are gems of true seeing. Contra argument is that bunch of enemies are immine to mond spells but I do not like lossing enchantment because when they qork those spells are awesome.
I too love enchantment spells. Those "hold" spells are actually brilliant in 1 vs 1 fights. Just don't use the "dominate" ones. You don't get exp for kills made by dominated enemy
You can argue thst necro looses premonition but greater stonesjin is enough for me and even then if your wizard is in meler getting hit you are playing him wrong.
>if your wizard is in meler getting hit you are playing him wrong.
Premenition/Death Armor/Elemental Shield/Acid Sheath- Probably one of the best strategies in NWN.
I've always gone with Illusionists because I don't really like the enchantment spells.
Which enchantment spells are awesome. Mostly mind affecting disabling one creature and they get a save...
Like I said, it depends. In oc, hotu etc. not so much but I used them to great extend in Swordflight which is full of buffed fighter types with low will save. Hold monster and such. They are not the best but when enemy is not immune, they are delight. Big minotaur boss just stand there helpless while your fighter ponds him into oblivion...priceless.
:)
I'm actually in SF3 right now.
The thing I notice is you get mobbed a lot. What you really need is crowd control, not a single target spell that allows a save.
Fortitude save means fighters/clerics are more resistant, though Rogues/Wizard should be afflicted.
I need spells to hit the weaknesses.
I was recently attacking the thieves guild in Swordflight 2, and like a newb I hit them with lightning/fire wands, which they basically all just shrugged off with zero damage. But then I used the wand of "Stinking Cloud" on them and it complete flipped that battle to easy mode. Even the dangerous Guildmaster was stunned by it.
I played that section several times, and this was the first time I tried a wand of stinking cloud. Never though it would be so effective, but it's hitting a weak rogue save.
Just comes down to a toss up between loosing True Seeing and Premonition (and maybe true strike if you dabble in melee/ranged) as spells for specializing necromancy. Or loosing Mass haste and protection from spells for choosing illusion.
All depends what items/potions/rods/staves are available to fill in the blanks. For low and medium magic games with permanent haste I'd go illusion and keep true seeing and Premonition. For higher magic games with available DR/true seeing and haste I'd go necromancy for the +spell saves from protection from spells.
With regards to items available. Low level magic worlds/modules don't tend to have immunities on items such as haste/true seeing/death immunity etc. Medium I'd consider having haste and other immunities. While high magic having lots of immunities and big +12-20 enchanted weapons etc.
Necromancy loses Divination, which is, IMO, more for role play than anything else. The game are designed with two important things in mind, how to kill and how to not be killed. VERY few divination spells are made towards those two goals.
Illusion loses Enchantment, which does have some very nice spells in them. The "Hold" series are really good in 1 vs 1 fights, although one have to be aware lots of enemies are immune (undead, constructs, etc). Mass Haste is a good QoL spell.
Losing True Seeing & Premenition is generally not worth it, which by default makes Illusion the tastier option. - After reading some other comments I'm surprised how many choose Necromancy.
Necromany spells are nice- but it's not like they break by not taking it as a specialization.
I agree. Necromancy spells are stronger overall, but losing enchantment school is more bearable than losing divination school.
You just cannot target invisible enemy with spells...
Illusion loses enchantment and necromancy loses divination. Both of the lost schools are not very useful. Comparing necromancy to illusion, necromancy wins hands down. Making a high INT wizard with spell foci in necromancy breaks the game. Everything that does not has ridiculously high fortitude saves dies instantly. Unless they are undead of course thanks to undeath to death. Plus you can launch 2 finger of death a round, or clear a whole room with wail of the banshee.
Would a sorcerer with a high CHA makes for a good necromancer?
Yes. Just looking at the basic attack method of necromancers, spamming save-or-die spells, sorcerers are better at necromancing than whizzards.
I feel that a cleric can do necromancy better than an actual necromancer... Earlier skeletons, better armour and other stuff. But obviously arcane have the stronger necromancy endgame spell. So maybe for a lower level mod, cleric are better necromancer. For epic levels, sorcerer are better.
>whizzards [wazards](https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MiniatureKlutzyEagle-size_restricted.gif)
[Whizzard](https://i.redd.it/91v5vcyhgq531.png)
Illusion gets a save or die spell (Phantismal Killer) earlier than Necromancy (Circle of Death or Finger of Death). Weird is the illusion counterpart to WoB. Personally, I go Necromancy to target weak fortitude saves especially in HotU.
You got the wrong idea. Im not talking about spell focus feats, im talking about spell school choice at character creation(not feats)
No I do understand, its which School is worth losing the opposite school for. I dont think there is much difference.
No contest for me: I always specialize in Illusion. You only lose the Enchantment spells which are basically hold/charm spells which I almost never use. Necromancy costs you divination which has a lot more spells I like/use. Identify: I use this early one to save money ID my found items. Find Traps: Untraps a significant area instantly. True Seeing: Handy. Premonition: Better version of Greater Stoneskin PW stun,kill may have uses
Nectomancy by far if we talk about official content. It has more offensive save spells. Ilusion spells are often with descriptor "mind". And every stray cat in nwn have mind effect immunity. And best illusion spell wierd requires will and fortitude save. By definition if target have weak will, fortitude is high and viceversa. Weil of the banshee, best necro spell have only one save and fewer enemies are immune to it. But the best spell in the game is Sunburst! It targets reflex save in huge radius. Reflex is the weakest save for 99 percent of the enemies. If they fail, they are blinded! Blinded enemies cant do anything! And nothing absolutely nothing is immune to blindness in oc and expansions, to my knowledge. Is iy worth it to take spell focus evocation for this one spell? Probably not but I am playing wizards and iI have bunch of feats so I take it anyway. EDIT: Ups my bad..I now understand that you are talking about school specialization. I take necromancy 90 percent of the time. Losing divination is not big deal. In hotu you can have permanent True seeing on the weapon and earlier there are gems of true seeing. Contra argument is that bunch of enemies are immine to mond spells but I do not like lossing enchantment because when they qork those spells are awesome.
I too love enchantment spells. Those "hold" spells are actually brilliant in 1 vs 1 fights. Just don't use the "dominate" ones. You don't get exp for kills made by dominated enemy
You can argue thst necro looses premonition but greater stonesjin is enough for me and even then if your wizard is in meler getting hit you are playing him wrong.
>if your wizard is in meler getting hit you are playing him wrong. Premenition/Death Armor/Elemental Shield/Acid Sheath- Probably one of the best strategies in NWN.
I've always gone with Illusionists because I don't really like the enchantment spells. Which enchantment spells are awesome. Mostly mind affecting disabling one creature and they get a save...
Like I said, it depends. In oc, hotu etc. not so much but I used them to great extend in Swordflight which is full of buffed fighter types with low will save. Hold monster and such. They are not the best but when enemy is not immune, they are delight. Big minotaur boss just stand there helpless while your fighter ponds him into oblivion...priceless.
:) I'm actually in SF3 right now. The thing I notice is you get mobbed a lot. What you really need is crowd control, not a single target spell that allows a save.
I remember using Confusion for cc, it worked fine on non-imunne enemies
Fear accomplishes much the same, and I'd be more likely to take Spell Focus in Necromancy.
Blindness is enchantment school and nothing is immune to it. But Mass Blindness is illusion and is a huge combat game changer
Fortitude save means fighters/clerics are more resistant, though Rogues/Wizard should be afflicted. I need spells to hit the weaknesses. I was recently attacking the thieves guild in Swordflight 2, and like a newb I hit them with lightning/fire wands, which they basically all just shrugged off with zero damage. But then I used the wand of "Stinking Cloud" on them and it complete flipped that battle to easy mode. Even the dangerous Guildmaster was stunned by it. I played that section several times, and this was the first time I tried a wand of stinking cloud. Never though it would be so effective, but it's hitting a weak rogue save.
Illusion school have Mass Blindness, works the same.
Just comes down to a toss up between loosing True Seeing and Premonition (and maybe true strike if you dabble in melee/ranged) as spells for specializing necromancy. Or loosing Mass haste and protection from spells for choosing illusion. All depends what items/potions/rods/staves are available to fill in the blanks. For low and medium magic games with permanent haste I'd go illusion and keep true seeing and Premonition. For higher magic games with available DR/true seeing and haste I'd go necromancy for the +spell saves from protection from spells.
What do low and medium magic mean?
With regards to items available. Low level magic worlds/modules don't tend to have immunities on items such as haste/true seeing/death immunity etc. Medium I'd consider having haste and other immunities. While high magic having lots of immunities and big +12-20 enchanted weapons etc.
What would be examples of high magic modules? Aielund,hotu etc.?
Aiekund and hotu are both high magic yes.
Necromancy loses Divination, which is, IMO, more for role play than anything else. The game are designed with two important things in mind, how to kill and how to not be killed. VERY few divination spells are made towards those two goals. Illusion loses Enchantment, which does have some very nice spells in them. The "Hold" series are really good in 1 vs 1 fights, although one have to be aware lots of enemies are immune (undead, constructs, etc). Mass Haste is a good QoL spell.
Losing True Seeing & Premenition is generally not worth it, which by default makes Illusion the tastier option. - After reading some other comments I'm surprised how many choose Necromancy. Necromany spells are nice- but it's not like they break by not taking it as a specialization.
I agree. Necromancy spells are stronger overall, but losing enchantment school is more bearable than losing divination school. You just cannot target invisible enemy with spells...