Multiplayer Question: Spellcasting

[cav_again]

As noted in an earlier post, i'm starting a multiplayer game with a friend. Because I'm a more experienced player, I'm controlling the groups sorcerer. However, here's my problem:

When i play sigle player, when my group charges into battle, I pause it to issue commands to my sorcerer (in the heat of battle, it doesn't seem as though i would have enough time to issue commands to my magic users).

So, I have two questions.

1. How does the pause feature work in multiplayer? He is the main character, so will only he be able to pause the game, or will I too?

2. Wouldn't you think it was annoying, a player pausing the game to cast spells? Is there a common way to advoid this?

I plan on using spell triggers, contingincies (sp?), and time stop, but they still seem kinda clumsy.


thanks

[Xen]

1.IIRC the guy who "hosts" MP can Pause the game.

2.Pausing to cast spells is very usfeul. At least IMO. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Olorin]

Depending on the permissions that the host sets for each player, it will either be just the host, or the host and any players given the pause permission who can pause. When I played multiplayer, I always gave everyone the ability to pause. It is a bit annoying if everyone keeps pausing the game in combat, so we tried to use it sparingly. I think the best way to play multiplayer is when each person only controls one character. You get much more attached to the one you play, plus with only one character to worry about, you can generally avoid having to pause the game (even when I played a sorc). Most spells take less than a round to cast, so you have some time to choose the next one before you'd be able to start casting it anyway.

My other piece of advice--if you're fond of area spells, make sure your group knows that. It's not nice to start casting a fireball, while the tanks run forward to engage the enemy. Our group worked out a system that for big fights, everyone started with ranged attacks to I could pop off a starting fireball--then they charged. I switched to MM, Acid or Fire Arrows after that.

[cav_again]

Yeah, there's only two of us playing, so we are each gonna control one or two guys. I'm gonna try to stick to single enemy or enemy only spells, but I'll be sure to warn them.

[Devv]

If you want the best fun and smoothest run from your multiplay game, then I say use 1 character each [img]smile.gif[/img] It is lots of fun that way, you rarely need to pause and you can roleplay nicely with just the one character. You really get to use them to their full, but it is better fun than soloing coz you aren't alone.

[cav_again]

Originally posted by Devv: If you want the best fun and smoothest run from your multiplay game, then I say use 1 character each [img]smile.gif[/img] It is lots of fun that way, you rarely need to pause and you can roleplay nicely with just the one character. You really get to use them to their full, but it is better fun than soloing coz you aren't alone.

If there were more of us, this would definately be the case. but there's only two of us, so we want to use a couple people each.

[SixOfSpades]

If you're planning on giving both of you Pause Power, try to give each person a spellcaster. That way, the guy running the Paladin and the Fighter/Thief doesn't get irritated waiting for the guy controlling the Sorcerer and the Cleric/Mage.

[Olorin]

The other way around pausing is to avoid magic users. I had a lot of fun as a stalker paired up in multiplayer with an assasin. We didn't have magic, but we could both stealth and backstab [img]smile.gif[/img]

It was a lot of fun trying to get through different quests without spells...