Ranger Spells & The Pike 'Til-i-arc'

[joelsanda]

My 19th level Ranger has not been able to Gain new spells since level 17, because there are no spells in any of the spellbooks I currently own:

• Magic for Beginners
• Conjurings and Tricks
• Incantations and Illusions
• Sorcery and Evocations

I've learned all the spells available in Magic for Beginners and Conjurings and Tricks. Do I have to wait until I reach the lowest level spell in Incantations and Illusions? If the lowest level spell in that book is 20th level? Or is there a combination of Race, Class and Intelligence (18/20) at work here?

And it looks like I gained experience after I identified The Pike 'Til-i-arc' and then wielded it. Is this an ego item?

I've never made it this far before, so I'm not sure what to make of the spells and pike XP award.

Thanks!

[buzzkill]

Doh! I don't know what I'm talking about. (edited)

The pike is an artifact (unique). Check the spoilers tab here at oook to learn more, or just play with it.

[Derakon]

You have the right books. Rangers just learn spells slowly compared to mages. In exchange, they're far better at melee and ranged combat.

The number of spells you can learn is a function of your level and INT. The number of spells available for you to learn is a function of what books you have. You have all of the "town" spellbooks (i.e. those available for purchase from the magic shop). There's also a bunch of "dungeon" spellbooks with more spells in them, but it'll be awhile before you see them. They can occasionally show up in the black market though.

And yeah, that pike is an artifact weapon. Anything that has a name in quotation marks is an artifact; there are also artifacts that are "of Foo", where Foo is a special named character (as opposed to the ego-items, like "of Westernesse"). As a general rule, if you try to destroy it and can't, then it's an artifact.

[joelsanda]

You have the right books. Rangers just learn spells slowly compared to mages. In exchange, they're far better at melee and ranged combat.

The number of spells you can learn is a function of your level and INT. The number of spells available for you to learn is a function of what books you have. You have all of the "town" spellbooks (i.e. those available for purchase from the magic shop). There's also a bunch of "dungeon" spellbooks with more spells in them, but it'll be awhile before you see them. They can occasionally show up in the black market though.

OK - keep going deeper for additional spell books. Was heading that way anyway :-)

[Pete Mack]

For rangers, there are two critical and two important dungeon spell books:
Resistances (dl 40) Gives double elemental resistance, and big boost to AC
Tenser's (dl 70) Gives branded ammunition, along with Berserk and Hero spells. Also greater recharging. (Avoid using the recharge spell in book 3 it tends to backfire a lot--use scrolls instead.)
Important:
Mordy's Escapes (dl 50) Create Doors (for defense against summons) and Create Stairs (for setting up a guaranteed escape, or just running away in general.)
Kelek's (dl 80) *Destruction* spell for getting rid of summons, clearing vaults, and setting up fights.

[fph]

Anything that has a name in quotation marks is an artifact; there are also artifacts that are "of Foo", where Foo is a special named character (as opposed to the ego-items, like "of Westernesse"). As a general rule, if you try to destroy it and can't, then it's an artifact.

I may suggest a less dangerous way of telling which (identified) items are artifacts: if its name is prefixed with "the" instead of "a", then it's an artifact.

[Timo Pietilä]

And yeah, that pike is an artifact weapon. Anything that has a name in quotation marks is an artifact; there are also artifacts that are "of Foo", where Foo is a special named character (as opposed to the ego-items, like "of Westernesse"). As a general rule, if you try to destroy it and can't, then it's an artifact.

Artifact has "The" in the name. Ego items and other objects have "a". a Holy Avenger vs The Phial.