No magic party?

[Minion]

Since the remake of Ruined World still isn't out, I've been getting the urge to have a go at the old Avernum 1. However, I am looking for something other than the standard fighter, fighter, priest and mage party that I have pretty much always run over the last seventeen or so years, and I was thinking of trying out a party with no magic users (scrolls, potions and so on are still fair game obviously). Can anyone help me remember if this will prevent me from exploring critical parts of the game due to a lack of Dispel Barrier or other spells?

Edited January 19, 2018 by Minion

[Randomizer]

There are no critical areas that can't be reached by piercing crystals. I'm pretty sure that it also applies for move mountains, but I'd have to check. It mostly means less loot and missing named items.

 

The harder part is some monsters in the end are almost immune to physical damage so you need to get swords and bows that do magical damage and be prepared to rotate weapons.

[Minion]

Thank you. I'm only really considering doing this with A1, so at least I won't have to worry about Move Mountains or Sanctuary. I'll see if I get around to it, and I'll see if I can file a report on my progress (or lack thereof) here.

[TriRodent]

With only 11(ish) days to wait for A3RW, depending on how many hours you can play, you may not even make it to a place where being a pre-Ahonar Anama member would be a serious problem....

 

(twiddling my thumbs over here too...)

[Minion]

I really wouldn't try going without magic in A2 and A3. A1 is more open-ended with fewer mandatory dungeons/battles (like the long trek to the Vahnatai lands), but I still don't expect to get very far. I might have a few hours to spare in a couple of days to try it out though.

[Minion]

As expected, having no magic leaves your characters very vulnerable to being killed, particularly to First Aid by other party members. And once a character dies (which happens very quickly if you can't bring up your hit points in battle, or as soon as you try First Aid with only six skill levels and a basic First Aid Kit), it costs 375 gold to have them resurrected, which is more than you even have to start with. Also, having no Intelligence or Arcane Lore means your party is unable to recognize basic items and materials, like whether a sword is made of stone, bronze or iron, or whether a leather jacket is in good condition or not, not to mention reading the labels on potions. My conclusion is that playing without magic is very much a challenge, but a rather boring one since getting anywhere takes forever. I think I'll stick to having only a single mage/priest as a way of not having magic dominate the game.

 

PS: And maybe a single point of priest magic for the other three.

Edited January 21, 2018 by Minion

[Minion]

I should add that the abovementioned difficulties in HP management became quite clear after I managed to kill the giant rats outside Fort Avernum (with the help of some thrown rocks), but subsequently had my leading fighter die when one of her companions attempted to perform some field surgery on her rather nasty rat bites.

[TriRodent]

Even the Anama use magic (of a priestly sort).  I kind of assumed that that's how you were going to play things (no mage magic but priest ok).  But 'no' magic at all?  Yeah, you're in for a rough game...

[Randomizer]

What you need to do is build up levels with non combat quests like taking the northern relatively safe route to Formello for loot. Most fights need daze to keep from getting serious damage.

[Minion]

I have definitely abandoned this idea. I can see that it is viable in the re-remakes with First Aid bonuses after every battle, faster HP regeneration and free resurrections for KO'd party members (and you don't have to pick up their equipment). But in the original A1, where you're left with potions and once-a-day First Aid that will frequently kill your party members, having absolutely no magic at all becomes a very tiring slog, if it's possible at all. I believe you would at least need the basic healing spells in order to manage your HP between battles, even if you tried to go potions only the rest of the time.