Improved spiders

[kthxbye]

Hi @ all.

I'm playing a no-reload with the always there SCS and I noticed a small issue with improved spiders. I was traveling from a cloakwood area (the second one if I remember correctly) to the FAI with my main, Imoen, Viconia and Rose (my NPC) all invisible, and Yeslick dead. As soon as the FAI area loaded, I got the "Phase Spider - dimensional door: Yeslick" line. The spider didn't show and had no problems at all, but I think phasing targeting dead characters could lead to unwanted tactical glitches (or disappearances?).

 

I'd also like to ask for some tactics against improved spiders, since my group (blade, bard, thief/mage multiclass, cleric/mage multiclass) has some serious problems against spiders and their web spells.

The clerical spell Freedom of Movement is of too high level for my multiclassed Viconia to use (and even if I didn't multiclass her, she would've been able to use it only now that I had access to Baldur's Gate), potions of freedom are extremely rare (only 3 in High Edge) and using summons as fodders doesn't work even if I have BG1 type summons (so 12 skeletons) since they get caught and killed too fast to use them in more than one encounter and resting isn't an option because of the ambushes. Also, sleep spell doesn't seem to work.

For now I've just postponed all the cloakwood areas to when Viconia will be able to use freedom of movement, so that's not an issue, but I'd like to know how you all manage to fight the spiders without any protection from their webs spells, so that I'll be able to expand my tactics.

[Guest Aranthys]

You can use the Horn to protect one character from level 1-2 spells.

You can also use ranged characters (using arrows) to kill spiders before they reach your groupe (might be tricky)

You can use the lvl 1 clerical spell "command" spell to buy you one round if you're fast enough.

 

I played BG1 with an Archer recently, and it made killing spiders much much easier.

[kthxbye]

Mmh gotta try the Horn, thanks for the tip.

 

The problem in using command and/or killing the spiders from a distance is that spiders usually come in spawns of at least 2, so commanding one of them isn't enough, and usually they cast web extremely fast (even more than my cleric's command spell). Moreover, they cast it from a distance so even using ranged weapons doesn't help, as the spiders will just shoot their web at my ranged characters then move in.

 

Will buy the Horn as soon as I have the money anyway.

[Guest Aranthys]

Spiders don't have a lot of hp anyway, and their poison is not really dangerous (it's about 6 hp over 6 round) if they're not surrounded with other spiders.

That's where it start to be difficult, when one of your characters is attacked by a phasing spider (6 damage per round over 5 round, something like that, double if your character is hasted).

[kthxbye]

The problem's not the poison nor the damage output, as they rarely hit and the group manages to kill the ones who doesn't use Web pretty fast (even phase spiders are no match).

 

My problem is that there are certain spiders that gain the Web spell and use it to hold my group. I've found the whole group more than once held by 3x Webs (used by 3 spiders) shot by a distance, and survived by pure luck since the main did the 3 required saving throws in the same round and escaped, got invisible and gathered the other characters' possessions.

All the solutions I thought of (as well as the Horn suggested before) are too limited to use them to fight spiders on a regular basis, since there are only 3 potions of freedom in High Edge, the Horn uses charges (and damages the user too), and the only weapon that grants freedom of movement requires itself freedom of movement to be taken from Centeol's lair. Moreover, the Spider's Bane protects only one character.

I am not including items one can get in Baldur's Gate because to access Baldur's Gate one must've already explored (at least a bit) the Cloackwood areas.

 

So, rephrasing my question: using the Improved Spiders component, which tactics do you use to fight the spiders who can use Web (giant and huge ones if I'm not mistaken) and hold the entire group?

[10thLich]

Tactics against spiders usually involve spells like fireball and skull trap and/or ranged weapons. The most important thing is, that you should never bunch up against enemies which use area of effect attacks/spells.

 

Moreover, due to SCS you'll get a lot of potions. Amongst those you can use those which block magic attacks, make you resistant to it or improve your saving throws.

 

Lich