Grimrock

Did I mess up by creating my Ratling Alchemist and thinking I could use Earth Magic with her? I just got an Earth Magic scroll and realized I don't have the glowy hands in order to cast spells with her.

Did I mess up? Is there a way to get the glowy hands? Do I need an item? Or is it time to restart?

Thanks in advance for this silly question.

Amazing game so far by the way guys.

I believe you'll just need an item to cast spells with your Alchemist. As soon as you get a wand or orb, you'll be able to take advantage of that skill.

That being said, I did a similar thing (giving my Alchemist a skill point in Air Magic) and then restarted my game once I realized how difficult it would be to make use of it.

Thanks man, I do appreciate the reply. I think I can tough it out until I find an item for her. She's also fairly skilled in firearms so she can bide her time.

If you're going with firearms there is one thing you should know. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of ammo in the game, I found it very useful to take up another skill and run with guns plus another choice of damage like magic or a bow. I usually only used the gun on stronger enemies and used my bow on weaker ones so I wouldn't waste my ammo on them.

btw, the very first wand you can get in the game is....

LastFootnote wrote:I believe you'll just need an item to cast spells with your Alchemist. As soon as you get a wand or orb, you'll be able to take advantage of that skill.

Not quite true: even the lowest-level wand requires a level in the Concentration skill to use. If you only have skill levels in one of the elemental magic skills, you still won't be able to cast spells with a wand equipped.

I have a back-row rogue who both uses throwing weapons and magic. Honestly, it's not an optimal setup, but you can make it work. Her mid-game build is:

5 - throwing weapons
3 - fire magic
1 - air magic (needed for the fireball spell)
1 - concentration (needed for her to cast spells at all)

Although it's not the route I chose, earth magic may be a better pick for a character like this: that school gets its bolt spell at level two without the need of any air magic levels, so it's two skill-points cheaper to get the magic side of the build up and running.

Mystina Valeth wrote:If you're going with firearms there is one thing you should know. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of ammo in the game,

I am at the mid point there abouts and have found about 200 rounds.

But ...

thekdawg21 wrote:Did I mess up by creating my Ratling Alchemist and thinking I could use Earth Magic with her? I just got an Earth Magic scroll and realized I don't have the glowy hands in order to cast spells with her.

Did I mess up? Is there a way to get the glowy hands? Do I need an item? Or is it time to restart?

Thanks in advance for this silly question.

Amazing game so far by the way guys.

Hello OP


No you didn't screw up

My Human Farmer casts the spell 'shield' often on himself

But he cannot do it barehanded (like the Battlemage or Wizard), so I'm using that basic wooden staff (on a weapon switch) from the beginning (didn't found any other staff yet)

Thanks very much for the great info guys. I too am using my firearms sparingly. I'm playing old school hard level insane ironman for my first time so the going is slow, I had to use that first crystal quick due to a stupid early death, so everytime my party dies I have to do a bunch of stuff I've already done all over again... until I find a new crystal.

Good luck on the challenge. I am not there yet but am aiming for it.

My opinion is that alchemist is the best spell caster in the game.
1 in concentration will give you the ability to use the first 3 magick catalysts.
get all the herbs in your alchemists pack asap

I'm playing old school hard level insane ironman for my first time

wait, you mean you're playing in this mode for your very first run through the game?

lol yeah, good luck.

you'll need way more patience than I can even imagine. I look forward to hearing how you manage to clear out the desert when you get there. If you get there, more like.