Journal Entry by Bruce (Ezaroth) Regarding Spells

6/2/2003 12:46:17 PM 
Since some people have wondered how spells work, I'm going to break down how 
casting a spell functions in the game. 

When a player casts a spell, there are two checks (random rolls) made to see if 
the spell is successful. First is the skill check -- the difficulty of the spell 
is determined by the number of runes being used, and modified by the casters 
intelligence. The higher the number of runes being used, the more difficult it 
will be to cast. 

The second check is for resistance. If either roll is unsuccessful, the spell 
will fail, and the caster will get a message stating the spell failed. So, if 
the caster makes the skill check but fails the resistance check, the spell will 
fail. The message given to the caster is the same either way, that is, it states 
the spell failed. 

Most spells do not have a resistance check. For example, healing someone does 
not have a resistance roll tied to the spell. However, for offensive spells many 
have a resistance check. Once the spell is successful against the skill check, 
it must also get past the resistance of the target. This is dependent upon the 
spell, which either uses dexterity or constitution of the target to check for 
spell resistance. The higher the targets dex or con, the tougher it will be to 
land a spell on it. If one spell does poorly against a certain target or 
monster, try switching to another damage spell to see if you get better results. 

Resistance is modified by the casters skill level. Thus, the higher the casters 
skill, the easier it is to land a spell on a target. 

The spell list has been brought up to date, with all the current formulas, so 
I'm listing all the spells again. 

I've abbreviated the Runes, here is the key: 
(M) - Mind,	(B) - Body,	(S) - Soul,	(NA) - Nature 
(G)- Good,	(N) - Neutral,	(E) - Evil 
(D) - Distance,	(H) - Harm,	(R) - Restoration 


MIND RUNES EFFECT 
Brain Freeze	M,H	Damage (INT * 1.5) + 2 to Target 
Brilliance	M,D,N	+10 Int Dur: ((SKILL + 5)*6) Seconds 
Clairvoyance	M,D	Show distant area to Caster 
Mind Blast	M,D,H	Damage (INT * 1.6 - 2.0) + 4 to Target 
Mind Field	M,G	AE: +40 MR to G; +20 MR to N 
Mind Sight	M	Show all creatures on screen 
Runesight	M,N	Show mage skills of target 
Recharge	M,R	Recharges select magic items 

BODY RUNES EFFECT 
Healing 	B,G	Heal ((INT * 1.5) + 1-10) Range: 1 
Magestrike	B,D,H	Damage (INT-4 * (1.8 - 2.2)) to Target 
Might   	B,D	+10 Strength Dur: ((SKILL +5)* 6) 
Nourish 	B,D,R	Appetite + (INT/10 + 3) to Target 
Starve  	B,E	Appetite - (INT/6) + 1) to Target 
Weakness	B,E,D	-10 Constitution Dur: ((SKILL + 5)*6) 
Remedy  	B,G,D	Heal ((INT*2) + 1-10) to Target 
Repair  	B,R	Repairs magical iron items 
Transmute	B	Converts various items into gold 

SOUL RUNES EFFECT 
Fortify 	S,D 	+10 AC to Target Dur: ((SKILL + 5)* 6) 
Misery  	S,H 	Reduce Stamina by (INT/3 + 4) 
Refresh 	S 	+30 Stamina to Target 
Vitality 	S,G,D 	+10 Constitution Dur: ((SKILL + 5)* 6) 
Leech   	S,E,D,H	Damage (INT * 1.5) to Target Heal (INT * 1.5) to Caster 
Restore 	S,R	Repairs magical leather and cloth items 


NATURE RUNES EFFECT 
Alacrity	NA,D 	+10 Dexterity Dur: ((SKILL +5)* 6) 
Bless Fields	NA 	Decreases harvest times on crops 
Cure    	NA,G 	Removes poison & disease from Target 
Ignite  	NA,N 	Create magic cooking flame 
Thunder Strike	NA,D,H 	Damage (INT* (2.0 - 2.5) 
Renew   	NA,R 	Repairs magical wooden items