Specialist Mage

This page is for specialist mages, the mage class kits.
==Introduction==
Specialist Mages are mages specialized in one of eight schools of magic.
By specializing: they receive 1 additional spell slot in every spell level; a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells of their school (all spells, including priest spells cast on them); and give enemies a -2 to save against spells of their school; but cannot learn or cast spells from an opposing school (including from scrolls). The saving throw bonus applies to items such as when an Invoker uses Wand of Fire.
In order for mages to cast a spell, first they need to successfully scribe a mage spell scroll into their spellbook (scroll lost in process regardless of success or failure). A mage may have any number of spells scribed and available to memorize. They must choose which spells they will have available for immediate use by placing them into a limited number of spell slots. The mage must then rest for eight hours to memorize the spells, which prepares them for casting.
Specialist mages have a 15% bonus in writing spells from scrolls of their specialization to their spellbook, but receive a 15% penalty when writing spells outside their chosen school. Effectively a difference of 3 Intelligence for most characters to learn new spells.
Racial constraint: Only elves, half-elves and humans can become specialist mages, and gnomes who automatically become illusionists. Humans are the only race who has no restrictions on which school to use. Depending on the chosen school, a specialist will have an extra ability score minimum requirement.
If a specialist mage dual-classes into Cleric, they can cast cleric spells of their opposite school; additionally, cleric spells of their chosen school also gain a -2 save penalty for enemies. See Cleric / Mage#As a Dual-Class article for which spells this applies to.
== Ability scores table ==
Character Ability Score	Minimum Score^^
Strength 	3
Dexterity 	3
Constitution 	3
Intelligence^ 	9
Wisdom 	3
Charisma 	3
During character creation, rolls below the minimum value for the class will be increased to that value. This table uses the values for Humans, other Races have modified ability scores.
^ Prime Requisites for Dual-classing.
^^ Baseline values for all class kits. Each kit also has one increased minimum ability score.
* Enhanced Edition note: Intelligence score determines up to which levels of spells the character can learn, counting in both natural scores and item altering values.
==Types of Specialist Mage, race restrictions and min. ability scores==
There are eight Specialist Mage class kits, for each of the eight schools of arcane magic. Each school is restricted against learning spells of their opposing school(s). In addition, each school increases one minimum ability score requirement.
There are many inconsistencies between the games, their editions and the related manuals: As in pen-and-paper rules, the original Baldur's Gate has for some specialists two schools of opposition applied, namely Conjuration for Invokers and Necromancy for Transmuters. The former, however, isn't listed in the manual. The game's successor removes these secondary opposing schools but oddly "fixes" the missing entry in the manual, displaying now false information for Invokers. The Enhanced Editions keep the concept of only one school of opposition, but also keep the mistake in the Adventurer's Guide and adding another one by stating, Conjuration would be the opposed school for Enchanters instead of Invocation.Manual for Baldur's GateManual for Shadows of AmnAdventurer's Guide for the Enhanced EditionsTopic "To clear up any confusion about Dynaheir / Invokers" on Beamdog's forums.
The following table uses the correct information directly from the game files.
Races 	Kit Name 	Chosen School	Restricted School 	Minimum ability score	Minimum Value
Human 	Abjurer 	Abjuration 	AlterationAlteration and Illusion in pen-and-paper. 	Wisdom 	15
Human, Half-Elf 	Conjurer 	Conjuration 	DivinationGreater Divination and Invocation in pen-and-paper. 	Constitution 	15
Human, Half-Elf, Elf	Diviner 	Divination 	ConjurationAccording also to pen-and-paper rules. 	Wisdom 	16
Human, Half-Elf, Elf	Enchanter 	Enchantment 	InvocationInvocation and Necromancy in pen-and-paper.The Adventurer's Guide falsely lists Conjuration as opposed school.	Charisma 	16
Human, Gnome 	Illusionist	Illusion 	NecromancyNecromancy plus Abjuration and Invocation in pen-and-paper. 	Dexterity 	16
Human 	Invoker 	Invocation 	EnchantmentConjuration (only in classic Baldur's Gate 1)
According also to pen-and-paper rules.The manual for the original Shadows of Amn and the Enhanced Editions' Adventurer's Guide still list the secondary school of opposition, while the only game that actually implements it, the original Baldur's Gate, misses the manual entry.	Constitution 	16
Human 	Necromancer	Necromancy 	IllusionIllusion and Enchantment in pen-and-paper. 	Wisdom 	16
Human, Half-Elf 	Transmuter 	Alteration 	AbjurationNecromancy (only in classic Baldur's Gate 1)
According also to pen-and-paper rules. 	Dexterity 	15
===Schools of magic===
*Alteration – this school has its focus on spells that alter physical properties of some creature, thing, or condition in many different ways.
*Abjuration – this school focuses on many spells that may protect or offer resistance from all kinds of magical or physical abilities, create physical or magical barriers, enable the banishment of creatures to another plane of existence and spells that alter some status effects.
*Conjuration / Summoning – this school focuses on the conjuration of items, creatures not related to the undead, or calling forth energies to serve the caster. It also enables a caster to send creatures to other places, either over long distances or even to a whole different plane.
*Divination – this school focuses on identifying items of magical nature, finding hidden things, predicting the future, foiling deceptive spells or learning long forgotten secrets.
*Enchantment / Charm – this school is focused on the manipulation of the mind of any creature.
*Invocation / Evocation – this school has its focus around spells that manipulate energy or tap into unseen sources of power in order to produce a desired end.
*Illusion – this school focuses on spells that alter appearance or deceive the senses or minds of others.
*Necromancy – this school focuses on manipulating the power of life and death. Spells of this school can heal their target, drain life from the victim to the caster and allow for the summoning of undead minions.
*None / Generalist: Not a real school, but wizard spells of level 10 all have no school in Enhanced Edition, meaning no Specialist Mage can benefit from the saving throw advantages described below. Some innate abilities of players and enemies also count as school-less. Not selectable as spell school.
==Specialist Mage Spellbook==
Specialist mages use spells from the wizard spellbook, excluding those of the respective opposing school.
Following are listed for each specialist the arcane spells (ordered first by level) that benefit from incoming saving throws as well as from the penalty to those of their enemies; keep in mind that divine spells also carry these advantages. 
*Abjurer: No spell of the school of Abjuration has a saving throw.
*Conjurer: Grease, Glitterdust, Flame Arrow, Prismatic Spray and the Symbols Death, Fear and Stun.
*Diviner: Know Alignment
*Enchanter: Charm Person, Sleep, Ray of Enfeeblement, Dire Charm, Hold Person, Confusion, Emotion: Hopelessness, Chaos, Domination, Feeblemind and Hold Monster.
*Illusionist: Blindness, Spook and Deafness.
*Invoker: Chromatic Orb, Stinking Cloud, Web, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Sunfire, Chain Lightning, Delayed Blast Fireball, Bigby's Clenched Fist, Incendiary Cloud, Black Blade of Disaster and Bigby's Crushing Hand.
*Necromancer: Chill Touch, Ghoul Touch, Horror, Hold Undead, Skull Trap, Contagion, Control Undead, Finger of Death, Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting and the Wail of the Banshee.
*Transmuter: Burning Hands, Color Spray, Slow, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Polymorph Other, Disintegrate, Flesh to Stone and Sphere of Chaos.
Saving throw bonuses also apply to items.
*Invoker: Wand of Fire, Wand of Frost, Wand of Lightning, Wand of Cloudkill
*Enchanter: Wand of Sleep, Wand of Paralyzation
Note that the Necromancy spell Spirit Armor requires the recipient to make a saving throw when the duration ends, or they will take damage; this makes Necromancers worse suited for casting this spell.
A quick rundown of some notable spells each specialist gives up. Specialists with a long list of excluded spells clearly have substantial limitations that should be considered when choosing this kit. Spells within < > are similar improved versions, or direct counters of each other:
* Abjurer gives up arcane Alteration spells such as Knock, Vocalize, <Slow, Haste, Improved Haste>, Stoneskin, Tenser's Transformation, <Polymorph Self, Shapechange>, <Ruby Ray of Reversal, Spellstrike>, Time Stop
* Conjurer gives up arcane Divination spells such as Identify, True Sight
* Diviner gives up arcane Conjuration spells such as Find Familiar, Glitterdust, Power Word, Blind, Power Word, Silence, Symbol, Stun, Summon Nishruu, plus Limited Wish, although this last spell doesn't belong to a certain school.
* Enchanter gives up arcane Evocation spells such as Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Agannazar's Scorcher, Fireball, Incendiary Cloud, Melf's Minute Meteors, Black Blade of Disaster, Bigby's Clenched Fist, <Minor Sequencer, Spell Sequencer, Spell Trigger>, <Contingency, Chain Contingency>, Web, Mordenkainen's Sword, Death Fog, plus Limited Wish, although it doesn't belong to a certain school.
* Illusionist gives up arcane Necromancy spells such as Animate Dead, Death Spell, <Skull Trap, Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting>, Energy Drain
* Invoker gives up arcane Enchantment spells such as Friends, Luck, Charm Person, Sleep, Emotion: Hopelessness, Domination, Feeblemind, Chaos, Greater Malison
* Necromancer gives up arcane Illusion spells such as <Invisibility, Invisibility, 10' Radius, Shadow Door, Improved Invisibility, Mass Invisibility>, Spook, Blur, Mirror Image, Mislead, Project Image, Simulacrum
* Transmuter gives up arcane Abjuration spells such as Remove Curse (wizard), Protection From Petrification, Resist Fear, <Imprisonment, Freedom>, <Protection From Magical Weapons, Breach>, <Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Spell Immunity>, <Protection From Energy, Protection From Magic Energy>, <Spell Deflection, Spell Turning, Spell Trap>, <Lower Resistance, Spell Thrust, Pierce Magic, Pierce Shield, Spellstrike>, Spell Shield, <Dispel Magic, Remove Magic>
==High-level class abilities==
Mages can access to level 10 spells, which are added to the level 9 wizard spellbook after they have been chosen. All those spells can be chosen by every Specialist Mage. The spells are:
*Comet
*Dragon's Breath
*Energy Blades
*Improved Alacrity
*Summon Planetar (Good and Neutral Alignments, mutually exclusive with Summon Dark Planetar)
*Summon Dark Planetar (Evil and Neutral alignments, mutually exclusive with Summon Planetar)
*The option to spend three high-level class ability points to gain a level 6, 7 and level 8 spellslots.
==Spell slots progression ==
Wizard level	Wizard level	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Spell level with required Intelligence	Total slots
Wizard level	Wizard level	1 [≥9] 	2 [≥9] 	3 [≥9] 	4 [≥9] 	5 [≥10] 	6 [≥12] 	7 [≥14] 	8 [≥16] 	9 [≥18] 	Total slots
1 	1 	2 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	2
2 	2 	3 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	3
3 	3 	3 	2 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	5
4 	4 	4 	3 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	7
5 	5 	5 	3 	2 	 	 	 	 	 	 	10
6 	6 	5 	3 	3 	 	 	 	 	 	 	11
7 	 	5 	4 	3 	2 	 	 	 	 	 	14
8 	8 	5 	4 	4 	3 	 	 	 	 	 	16
9 	 	5 	4 	4 	3 	2 	 	 	 	 	18
10 	 	5 	5 	4 	3 	3 	 	 	 	 	20
11 	 	5 	5 	5 	4 	4 	 	 	 	 	23
12 	12 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	2 	 	 	 	27
13 	13 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	3 	 	 	 	31
14 	14 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	3 	2 	 	 	33
15 	15 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	3 	2 	 	 	35
16 	16 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	4 	3 	2 	 	39
17 	 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	4 	4 	3 	 	41
18 	18 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	4 	4 	3 	2 	43
19 	19 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	4 	4 	4 	2 	44
20 	20 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	4 	4 	3 	46
21 	21 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	4 	4 	3 	46
22 	22 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	4 	4 	4 	48
23 	23 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	4 	4 	4 	48
24 	24 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	4 	4 	49
25 	25 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	4 	50
26 	26 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	4 	50
27 	27 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	5 	51
28 	28 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	52
29 	29 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	53
30 	30 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	53
31 	 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	53
==Table for experience, hitpoints and weapon proficiency==
Level	Experience required	Hit Dice	Weapon Proficiency	THAC0	Saving throws D/W/P/B/S	No. of HLA
1 	0 	1d4 	+1 	20 	14/11/13/15/12 	
2 	2,500 	2d4 	 	20 	14/11/13/15/12 	
3 	5,000 	3d4 	 	20 	14/11/13/15/12 	
4 	10,000 	4d4 	 	19 	14/11/13/15/12 	
5 	20,000 	5d4 	 	19 	14/11/13/15/12 	
6 	40,000 	6d4 	+1 	19 	13/9/11/13/10 	
7 	60,000 	7d4 	 	18 	13/9/11/13/10 	
8 	90,000 	8d4 	 	18 	13/9/11/13/10 	
9 	135,000 	9d4 	 	18 	13/9/11/13/10 	
10 	250,000 	10d4 	 	17 	13/9/11/13/10 	
11 	375,000 	10d4+1 	 	17 	11/7/9/11/8 	
12 	750,000 	10d4+2 	+1 	17 	11/7/9/11/8 	
13 	1,125,000 	10d4+3 	 	16 	11/7/9/11/8 	
14 	1,500,000 	10d4+4 	 	16 	11/7/9/11/8 	
15 	1,875,000 	10d4+5 	 	16 	11/7/9/11/8 	
16 	2,250,000 	10d4+6 	 	15 	10/5/7/9/6 	
17 	2,625,000 	10d4+7 	 	15 	10/5/7/9/6 	
18 	3,000,000 	10d4+8 	+1 	15 	10/5/7/9/6 	1
19 	3,375,000 	10d4+9 	 	14 	10/5/7/9/6 	2
20 	3,750,000 	10d4+10 	 	14 	10/5/7/9/6 	3
21 	4,125,000 	10d4+11 	 	14 	8/3/5/7/4 	4
22 	4,500,000 	10d4+12 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	5
23 	4,875,000 	10d4+13 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	6
24 	5,250,000 	10d4+14 	+1 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	7
25 	5,625,000 	10d4+15 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	8
26 	6,000,000 	10d4+16 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	9
27 	6,375,000 	10d4+17 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	10
28 	6,750,000 	10d4+18 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	11
29 	7,125,000 	10d4+19 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	12
30 	7,500,000 	10d4+20 	+1 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	13
31 	7,875,000 	10d4+21 	 	13 	8/3/5/7/4 	14
Total	 	 	6 	 	 	14
== Notes on Tiers==
Specialist mage classes are not equal in power. In Baldur's Gate, Conjurer is arguably the best overall specialty because its opposing school, Divination, had few useful spells in combat, so there were few drawbacks to being restricted against Divination spells. It required a minimum ability score in Constitution, a useful stat for wizards who gain few HP per level, and it was available to both humans and half-elves. It is no surprise the best wizard in the game, Edwin Odesseiron is a Conjurer.
Illusionist is also an excellent specialty, available to humans and gnomes with many useful Illusion spells and fewer Necromancy spells as an opportunity cost. The most valuable Necromancy spells in BG1, healing spells, were available only to priests.
Diviner is arguably the worst class, granting bonuses to very few spells while restricting access to the Monster Summoning series, which were staple spells for some players. Wisdom has few practical effects as a stat for a wizard in BG1, and more Tomes of Understanding were available in-game than any other attribute manual.
Invoker and Transmuter were rarely used choices due to having two opposing schools, while Enchanters were locked out of the main way to inflict damage using Evocation spells. Necromancers and Abjurers were in a middle ground: while their drawbacks were not crippling, their opposing schools had a multitude of useful spells and their minimum ability stat (Wisdom) was not helpful.
Come Shadows of Amn, the specialties saw some needed balance. Transmuter and Invoker became better by losing their secondary school restriction. Necromancer became a stronger class not only due to more powerful and useful Necromancy spells, but access to Divination spells Wizard Eye and True Sight. No specialty benefited more from the invisibility-granting Staff of the Magi than Necromancers, and these buffs helped mitigate loss of access to Illusion's clone spells.
==Bugs==
==Mod content==
The Spell Revisions mod addresses the Specialist Mage and their spell selections. Excerpt from the mod's preamble:
Arcane spell schools have also been flushed out, with the belief that each spell level should contain at least one spell from each school. To help fulfill these goals, SR adds a small number of spells to the game and modifies the schools and restrictions of some existing spells where appropriate.
SR also improves the descriptions of many spells to be more accurate, more consistent, and, occasionally, less boring.
==External links==
==References==
 
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