This spell is too difficult for you to memorize!

[somesortofthing]

What affects what spells you can memorize? Is it Int or Spellcasting or the armor I'm wearing? It is some other factor? I'd much rather not lose a very promising character to being unable to deal good damage when I'm transitioning to being a Conjurations-focused nuker again.

[Thalfon]

The spell schools are the biggest impact. Spellcasting and Int are also involved, and heavy armour has a big effect. For heavy armour characters, just take off your armour, memorize the spell, then put your armour back on. (It'll still be 100% fail, but now you can train the spell school.) If taking off the armour doesn't suffice, quaffing brilliance might. If it's a high level spell, see if you can memorize something in the same school but lower level, so you can train the school.

Are you converting melee to conjurations? I don't know that I've seen that before.

[somesortofthing]

Are you converting melee to conjurations? I don't know that I've seen that before.

Converting stabber to Conjurations. Maybe I'm just a bit bad, but stabbing becomes unreliable and I want some backup high-damage spells to compensate. Maybe I just don't have enough training in those spelll schools yet.

[Lyrick]

Got a dump of your character? That may help a bit.

Depending on how far you are into the game, if you are just doing 3 runer you could feasibly ignore conjurations and train up a proper weapon skill that you have a good weapon for.

Typical "stabber" races don't exactly have shining Conjurations aptitudes so it may take a while to get Iron Shot or whatever ready.

As for unreliable stabbing, pick up a few levels in throwing and use nets on the fellas that won't sleep/can see invisible.

[tasonir]

What version are you playing? I believe both .14 and trunk (.15) allow you to memorize any spell, even ones at 100% fail. Obviously you'll need to get them to reasonable failure rates before you cast them, but that lets you train the spell schools without learning some lower level spell in the same school first.

I learned abjuration on a Beogh heavy armor fighter just in case I eventually get around to training summons, and then I accidentally hit my 1 key which casts "za.", and I summoned an eldritch tentacle on D:10 or so. Fun times. All my orcs tried to rush it as I high tailed it in the other direction, and then recalled them. Still, it was hilarious.

[Thalfon]

I will not proclaim to be any sort of expert on stabbers (I've hardly ever played them), but if you want late game killing ability, you might find it easier to just pick Nem and use evocations instead of training Conj. I have a SpAr win that was basically meleeing stuff with an unbranded quick blade and a bunch of buffing spells, and using decks where warranted. (That character was at no point a stabber, mind, but it demonstrated, to me at least, just how effectively Nemelex (and spriggans) can win a game.)

I'll leave it to others who actually know what they're talking about to explain how to play a stabber without that kind of bonus kill power. I do know this: having high stealth in end game can be an extreme boon. That SpAr walked into simultaneous view of three orbs of fire in one of the Z:5 lungs, and none of them woke up.

[artinuis]

You probably already figured this out, but take your armour off, then memorize the spell.