Baldur's Gate 3

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, where your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power. (Website)

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What can you ACTUALLY use Mage Hand for? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Is it just me, or is Mage Hand useless? Like, impressively useless.

I'm new to DnD (and DnD-like games) so I could be in the wrong here, but every time I think of something that Mage Hand should be able to do, it just doesn't.

Want to pick up an unreachable item and carry it to me? No.

Want to loot an otherwise unreachable body? No.

Want to pickpocket someone without being caught? No. (Okay, I get that this one would be pretty broken, even in normal DnD this is sometimes disallowed)

Want to fly a few feet up and light an overhead brazier? No.

Want to do literally anything useful? No.

Want to squeeze through a small hole to see a room you've already looted? Sure!

I'm at the point where instead of trying to think creatively about how to use it, I just immediately write it off because it probably can't do whatever I'm thinking of. I am genuinely surprised when I find out Mage Hand can do something, and that's not a good thing.

The only idea I had that actually worked was using it to stealth the early phase spider section by just throwing the gem at the end backwards, then moving the hand in the opposite direction to draw aggro. That's literally the only "useful" thing I've done with it, and I've still not found a use for the gem.

So I ask, what have you done with Mage Hand that's actually useful?

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I used it a whole 2 times in my entire playthrough. Once to get a certain book from it's trapped pressure plate by throwing it, another to help a certain dwarf from his predicament. The biggest thing that stops me from experimenting more with it is it's limitation to once per short rest and only being present for 10 turns. I get that it's for combat balancing purposes but it does make me just never bother summoning it. Wish they removed that limitation, gave it more utility uses and just completely disabled it's combat abilities instead.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Once per short rest makes no sense to me. It's a cantrip. Why not just let it be a cantrip?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Once to get a certain book from it’s trapped pressure plate by throwing it

Okay, how do you do that without destroying the book? I've tried throwing it on the ground, which gave it 1 damage and poofed it out of existence. I tried throwing it at a character in the hopes that they would catch it, but it just damaged them and also destroyed the book.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just threw it on the ground, it never took damage for me (I did it yesterday in fact on my new character and it worked fine). I do throw it only so far as to not be in the trap's range, so it might be that you are chucking it too far?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ah yeah could be. I was in the underdark and there was an area high up on a cliff with a chest and a book, but the entrance was covered in webs. I was able to throw the chest with no problem, but the book didn't make it. It was probably too far of a fall.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh, we're thinking of completely different book then! I was cryptic as to not spoil anything (Kbin still doesn't have spoiler tags) but I meant the wannabe Necronomicon in the apothecary's basement.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Oh, yeah that's an undestroyable quest item, so that's probably why it survived. The book I was trying to get was just a regular book.