Constantly when I used spell immunities, I find my character still afflicted with whatever it is I expressly tried to avoid. I'm new to using spellcasters so have been running it solo to figure out exactly how it all works but upon encountering a myconid colony I thought that the best it can do to me is confusion - so spell immunity: enchantment = still got confused. I checked the internet and apparently the same thing would happen to umber hulks because this isn't classed as a spell, is that right? are there any 'spells' that help out for that?

Similarly I did the quest for Jan in which you eventually take on a couple of Githyanki - now I can't say for sure what they hit me with but I was running spell immunity: necromancy and conjuration but something instantly ended the game, charm maybe?

And for that matter elder orbs, what exactly is the crux of their damage? Would immunity to enchantment + necromancy + spell shield suffice or is there something else in there that will get me?

Myconids use Umberhulk confusion. It doesn't belong to a school, it's an innate ability. The defense is simple: Potion of Clarity.

The Gish use Charm, yes.

Elder Orbs don't use normal spells, they use 'rays' that don't have schools. The defense is, again, simple: Shield of Balduran.

Not many options with beholders. If you don't have the shield of Balduran, you can use elementals. They vary in strength. Weaker ones are shorter and the stronger ones are bigger. Buff them up nicely and have a character use invisibility or hide in shadows to scout. Have your weaker summons go in first, so the beholders use up death spells. You want to leave your stronger summons behind, because death spell clears all summons in its range. I don't even think they get a save. So when that's done, have your big elite elementals charge in and finish the job. Elite-amentals. This is similar to an ancient Roman strategy. They had their noobs up front and veterans at the back. I think I heard medieval France using it too. Not so sure though. Memory's kind of fuzzy on that. You can also try Mordenkainen's sword. I haven't used it myself against beholders, but it's worth a shot, I think.

As for for charm/hold/confusion, you can use chaotic commands, greenstone amulet (you get this late in the main story line in BG2), or a helm of charm protection. I don't think these items mention anything about fear, but I haven't had problems with fear when using them. If you play BG1, you can get the greenstone amulet around mid game. It's sold in Ulgoth's Beard. You can go there pretty early, but I say around mid-game because the amulet is 10k gold. Just a note about mind flayers. Being protected by charm/hold/confusion doesn't mean you are protected against their intelligence draining ability. I used Mordy's sword against them. An alternative is to animate dead and buff them up, but Mordy's sword is better IMO. It counts as a +4 sword; which comes in handy with the more advanced ulitharids and alhoons. Haste and bless are a big help. Not sure if strength works on Mordy's. I can vouch for this strategy. I've had success with it myself. Rick and Mordy.

Please forgive any errors. I'm typing this as my tranquilizers are kicking in and my vision is getting blurry.

Another note: Mirror Image and Stoneskin will *not* protect against this either (even though it's delivered via a physical attack), but Protection from Magic Weapons *will* (and may protect yourself long enough to recover some of it; I can't seem to find any information online about the duration of the intelligence drain effect).

Incidentally, in the original (non-EE) version, being "essential" (that is, having an NPC-only item (or Imoen's Belt) equipped that is supposed to make you unkillabe will not protect you from intelligence drain (and death for that matter); it is possible for such NPCs to be killed this way, which can softlock the game if you are not careful.

That's a divine spell. Clearly the OP is an arcane caster. That will not protect against confusion. It only gives protection against 'Charm Creature'. None of the stated enemies occur in BG1.

Elder Orbs can hit you with Maze, which is a game ender if it affects your main character. Other people will be taken out of the fight for a time, then return. I believe the Shield of Balduran will NOT protect you from this particular effect from a Beholder, but it has been long enough that I don't remember.

A Berserker will be unaffected by Maze while berserking, and there are a few other possibilities (none of which spring to mind atm) to avoid it.

Edit: Just tested it, and Maze is not a game ender. Whoops.

There is a possible defense against Maze and Imprisonment vs. CHARNAME, that is to cast Dispel Magic in the character's immediate area quickly. If you can get it off before the long Maze/Imprisonment animation completes it will cancel it. Robe of Vecna comes in real handy here.

Didn't know that.. That's a nice trick!

Really? was sure that immunity: conjuration worked against maze and imprisonment no matter what had cast it.

Except that:

1. Imprisonment is Abjuration, not Conjuration
2. (non-EE) if you cast the spell on yourself, Spell Immunity is ignored; I note that casting maze on yourself could be a viable strategy in some cases (but make sure that you have at least one other living party member so that the game doesn't end)

a party sharman can cure most effects including confused... for eye fighting its hard to do better than a Hakeashar up front (immune) and a wand of clouldkill

The animation lasts so long before mazing you that it's not actually any good as a protective measure, plus you have to be within touch range of the target. There isn't really any situation where something with an actually fast cast time (dispel magic, mirror image, rod of resurrection, etc) wouldn't work better.


Of note for Elder Orbs, because Maze requires touching the target, if you see them starting to move close to you, you can kite them around and hit them with ranged attacks more or less indefinitely. If you can avoid getting touched, they'll chase you for quite a while before starting to send out eye beams again.

Actually, though it's classed as a touch spell, the range of the orb maze is 3 feet and is cast by script, so they don't actually have to touch. It's not force cast, so they will chase you until they get in range, though.

Easier to Otyluke, I think.