Time Stop and Spell Durations

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I wonder what happens in a TS, do spell durations are also frozen or do they work normally?

I was at the start of ToB, doing the first test. My Project Image was blasting bad guys along with my imp.hasted party and 4 Planetars, thanks to Immy's CC with PIs.

Anyway, final battle for the challenge came, Irenicus, Bodhi and Sarevok came. My PI used a Time Stop and started unleashing ABDHW, Flame Arrows etc.

Then right in the TS, my PI got 'unsummoned'i the duration was over!

TS ended, my casted spells hit the bad-guys, BUT, since the original caster was 'gone', JonBon and his goons took damage and died, but this did not give me their XP as the game engine thought it was not MY party that killed them, since the PI who originally casted the spells, was long gone. Annoying, I reloaded and killed their pathetic essences myself. Sue me.

So, what I came to conclusion that, spell durations work normally for the caster in the TimeStop, but what about others frozen in time?

For example, can an Smarter Lich's Pfrom Magic Weapons fade right in my own TS? I have never tried this before, so? What do you think?

 

As you have proven, I know your own spell durations continue during your own Time Stop. I am 95% sure that even the durations of spells cast on those frozen will continue as well but I'm not positive. But just think if durations didn't continue during it.... Critical Strike + Greater Whirlwind + Assassination. Rather a good thing they do continue.

 

I am 100% positive that all spell durations keep going during a timestop. If a lich is protected by PfMW or such and then casts Timestop, by the time the timestop is over he is vulnerable again.

Time Stop does not "stop time." It just freezes everybody for three rounds.

 

Pretty sure the effect is the same as paralysing everything on screen. Spell durations continue to elapse on both sides.

 

Yes, it is nearly the same as paralyzing everything except that spells cast during the Time Stop targetting someone frozen in time do not take effect until the end of the Time Stop, obviously.

 

It is. I wonder why there is no fix for this serious bug so far?
Anyway, mod bringing bakc the normal way would make IA party much weaker and possible to beat with standard methods.

 

It freezes all 'projectiles', everything that works at range, be it a spell or a thrown weapon. Only melee attacks take effect instantly.

 

Well the only part of Time Stop that doesn't make logical sense to me is the durations of spell cast on those who are frozen continuing to expire. It makes sense that, if you are not frozen, neither are the spells cast upon you and by the same logic that spells cast upon yourself by yourself during the Time Stop would take effect immediately but those spells cast on those who are frozen would not be able to interact in their intended way and thus must wait. It would be logical in every sense if the other durations would not expire.

 

Though it's not quite logical, all spell durations continue to expire during anyone's TS. It's actually rather handy against liches, since their Contingency puts Mantle (or PfMW or something) on them, and then they start casting TS. If you trigger them and then get out of sight, the TS and the Mantle will both expire at about the same time, and the lich won't have cast anything else in the meantime since he wouldn't see you after he finished casting the TS. And now he's free to be charged and killed.

You could theorectically fix it by applying CRE flags to all spells cast to single out who has what spell cast on them, but the makers probably just didn't have the time for that. Just keep it in mind when dealing with Time Stops.

 

OK, though this startegy is of little use to me, as my smarter liches cast Teleport Fields when they can not target anyone. the cheesy Teleport Field summons all of the party next to him, and dispels basically everything, and then he and his Pit Fiend pet enjoys the slaughter. Fun!

BUT, I am sure this little knowledge will come in handy against Improved Jon Irenicus battle in hell, he casts Pfrom MW continously SO if I can trap him in my TS, his spell will expire yes? So I can hit him with SoM, and voila! Irenicus stripped of his heavy buffs. Handy that. But his spell casting may be scripted, as I witnessed some casters use their sequencers right in my Time Stops, due to their scripts. Hope JonBon won'T do anything like that!

 

Silverstar, those liches only do that once. Just start the fight unbuffed, wait for them to start a cast, run away. When they teleport you back, wait for them to start again, and run away again. From that point on, you can sleep, cast all your spells, make a sandwhich, it doesn't matter. The lich will just calmly wait for you to come back. After all his protections are gone...

 

Problem is, I can'T run away when that spiffy Teleport Field is still active, and Lich's PF friend always manages to kill my party when we are dispelled. (20d6 fireballs, 40d6 on insane, smouldering coal-black corpses of my fellow companions!) Thanks for the advice though! Will SI:Alteration make me immune to that 'special' Teleport Field?

 

I'd imagine it would but honestly, the teleport field never bothered me so much. In fact, I actually liked it because it enable me to get the stupid Pit Field off my back. I generally solo when I play with those mods so I don't have to worry about an entire party -- getting one guy out of the field in between the teleporting isn't too hard. And who cares about the fireballs? Save vs. Poison or die = scary . That and the whole "let's summon another pit field because I hate you" mentality.

 

^Oh my, you understand me! And you are a solo player as well? Where have you been in all my life?

To tell you the truth, real PFs in pure pen&paper are REALLY that evil. Don't you believe me? Here, look at original Second Edition AD&D Monster Manual:
http://www.planetadnd.com/interactive_books/mm00012.php

Scary huh? The original PFs in the game are only a joke!

 

Oh I agree on the scariness of Pit Fiends. The game got it right but that doesn't mean I like taking 999 poison damage . And yes, I'm not even sure if I've done Tactics/Ascension without soloing them. When I play the unmodded game, it's usually for role-playing reasons so I take a party, but when I powergame it, I don't like having to say that my character didn't do it all on his own. Hence, no party. Besides, leveling up sucks .

 

^Once you have an amulet which protects from poison they are not that lethal, but their six attacks still manage to hurt pretty bad AND cause slow&disease I guess without a save.

Maybe one day I may plan to solo the game too. But I guess it will be later. I don'T know when.

 

Solo is great fun. For one thing, there is only one Periapt of Proof Against Poison .

Lousy, rotten Pit Fiends...

 

^Still a simple Protection from Evil spell will render them harmless. Protection From Evil 10'radius is better, as long as nobody does not dispel it, or party does not summon any creature. (Newly summoned critter will be unprotected from evil so PF will target it via 'Remove Magic'. Ding dong, Remove Magic is area effect so it will dispell all of the party's buffs including Pfrpm Evil and then I know what will come next, a 40d6 fireball! Take cover! )

Or better yet that amulet which can be used by clerics grants permanent Pfrom Evil, no fear of dispels! (Argh I am terrible with names of items)

Damn they become Imp. Invisible when they can not target you, my best bet is casting Death Fog and Skulltraps and pray to pierce their MR. Wand of Lİghtning is DEADLY against them too, and it can target imp. invisible things!

 

I find that physical damage works best, especially under Protection From Evil. Of course sometimes I just leave them alone. They don't particularly need to be killed anyway, especially if they can't see you. Though in battles where Liches summon them, Protection from Evil from a spell is hardly reliable as it's likely to be dispelled. So if you don't have an item to grant it, Periapt of Proof Against Poison all the way.

I wouldn't ever uninstall the mod though, if only because I can summon one in the Copper Coronet before I leave for good...

 

That freaking pit fiend is far stronger than a planta, and odd enough not many things in the game are immune to poison, slow (heh, Water's Talon is pretty much like a Killsword).

Btw, those PFs really ruin the game by killing everything except the lich and the PC (who's weilding the Staff of Magi of course)