Spellbooks

A place for Frequently Asked Questions

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Dabhand
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Spellbooks

Post by Dabhand » Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:11 am

Spellbook overview

Fighters, particularly in the Citadel, have long had the assistance of magic potions to sustain them during and between fights. Although potions are quite light, Class Tier 1 fighters have a tough time carrying enough to tackle the highest level monsters. This is of course intentional. Cough.

Although magical potions to regenerate magical stamina also exist (as will other types, including some mixtures that you will get the Alchemist to make up for you), in general Class Tier 1 magic users (Avatars 1,2,3) are too weak to carry enough to help much.

Spell Books are provided to allow the Magic Users to survive in magically harsh environments; in addition to high magical protect items. Avatar III adds a variety of areas to Lomah; much will be, for high Magic Users, equivalent to the difficulty of the Citadel. Gulp.

The following discussion on spellbooks tells you about them and how to use them. The rules have been derived from long & occasionally excitable meetings!

There is a different spellbook for each of the three magical classes. It is magically attached to the owner such that disconnection by dropping it, giving it away, having it stolen or nudged or involuntary loss due to death results in complete loss of contents.
To charge up a carried Spell Book, you enscribe to transfer and store that energy by your will to it. The Spell Book does not need to be readied for the charging to work. You may also enscribe to store its magical power in the Spell Book.

The magical cost of enscribing a spell is exactly the same as casting it, and your spell skill will affect your ability to recall and transfer the spell's power to the Spell Book.

Each page may contain a spell, and the Spell Book alters according to the owner by providing a number of pages that is equal to their level * tier. You may only enscribe a spell up to its highest level (VII), but the same spell can be repeated on more than one page.

The weight of the spellbook precludes carrying the best physical weaponry.
Spells cast by others currently do not affect the contents of the Spell Book. However, if you are a member of a party then your party leader can enscribe spells in your Spell Book & vice versa.

Casting spells is exactly as before, unless the Spell Book is readied. If the Spell Book is readied, then you will be relieved to hear that it cannot be stolen or nudged from you! You will fight as if with bare hands when you have a Spell Book readied. Dropping a readied item which is not a weapon, if you fumble, is inhibited.

Again, you are warned that of course readying a Spell Book precludes you fighting with a weapon. However, we have been kind and not penalised you for clumsily trying to fight whilst clutching a heavy spellbook!
Thus it is advisable to ready the Spell Book when not in a dangerous area where physical weaponry & attacks are needed.

So, if you cast a spell with a Spell Book readied, then it will be cast from the Spell Book, if enscribed in it, up to its limit of enscribed power.

If there is insufficient enscribed power, then the remainder will be made up by a direct cast by the magic user.

The direct cast will incur the standard magical cost - the effort of retrieving and channelling the energy of the spell from the Spell Book will incur roughly 10% of normal cost.
Spells cast from a spell book will always work, but will always use physical stamina if needed - so you may kill yourself in the attempt! Beware!

If you have enscribed the same spell more than once, then the power level can be made up from several pages.

If you cast an enscribed spell that you don't know, either using a magic object or getting the spell from your party leader, then the spell will incur its full magical cost when it is cast.

If you are carrying a magic object that contains a spell and you also have a Spell Book readied then the spell contained in the magic object is cast from the object rather than the Spell Book.

The apparent weight of the Spell Book will increase slightly with additional spells enscribed in it.

Finally, beware cluttering up the pages with spells needlessly. If you come across a new magical object, or go up a level and are able to learn & enscribe new and more powerful or useful spells, then you will have to waste the energy by needlessly casting them to make a page free for the new spell. As the features of Avatar III develop, there are further information writeups on various aspects of new magic which are in addition to this one. The next topic you should read is Magical Combat. Also appearing will be seasonal effects, mobile-mobile fights and lots of other new features!

Spell Book Summary

enscribe (spell name) or (magic object name) to (player name)

Normal magic stamina cost to enscribe.
If you lead a party, then you may enscribe into your party members' books if they are carrying one.

spells book or sb to display the pages of your Spell Book.

If you know the spell, then spells cast from the Spell Book - achieved by readying it - cost 10% of normal magic stamina, otherwise cast at full cost.
Dabhand.

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