Spell
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About spells
A spell is a magical effect that the player can produce at will, provided they have sufficient MP and are skilled enough in the spell's magic schools. Spells are learned from the spell library.
Every spell has the following:
- A level, which is an indication of how difficult the spell is. Characters with an experience level lower than the spell's level cannot learn the spell. For example, a level 1 Hedge Wizard cannot learn the level 2 spell Blink. Higher level spells also require more magical skill to cast.
"You're too inexperienced to learn that spell!"
- A number of magic schools, which indicate the nature of magic that the spell uses. For example, Conjurations is the school of magic which handles things being created out of thin air, and is therefore the school to which most projectile attacks belong. A spell often belongs to more than one school.
Every character has a number of spell levels, which increase as the player gains experience levels and levels in Spellcasting and is a measure of how much magic they can learn.
Spell levels = 2×Spellcasting + Experience level-1
To be able to memorize a spell you need an amount of free spell levels equal to the level of the spell. Otherwise:
"You can't memorise that many levels of magic yet!"
In any case, you can't memorize more than 21 spells.
"Your head is already too full of spells!"
Some spells can't be memorized by some species:
- Ghouls and mummies can't memorize Beastly Appendage, Blade Hands, Borgnjor's Revivification, Death's Door, Dragon Form, Hydra Form, Ice Form, Necromutation, Spider Form, Statue Form, Sublimation of Blood, or Wereblood.
- Vampires can't memorize Borgnjor's Revivification, Death's Door or Necromutation. They can memorize the Transmutation spells that the other undead species cannot, but they can only cast them when they are "alive".
- Felids can't memorize Excruciating Wounds or Portal Projectile.
- Gargoyles can't memorize Statue Form or Sublimation of Blood.
- Formicids can't memorize Blink or Swiftness.
In the spells menu, a spell will be shown in red if your god prohibits it. Otherwise a spell is shown in white if casting it is possible and would achieve something (eg, there is a possible target for an attack, you have MP to restore with Sublimation of Blood, you have HP to restore with Borgnjor's Revivification). Otherwise (eg because you have insufficient MP) it is greyed out. The game's assessment of whether it would achieve something is not always accurate; for example, you might cast a Fireball at a spot where you suppose there is an invisible monster (do so with 'Z').
Casting spells
Spells are cast by pressing z and selecting one of the learned spells. The interface will prevent players from casting spells if there seems to be no reason to (no monsters around being the most common reason), although all spells can be forced by pressing Z.
Once a player has learned a spell, that spell gains a new set of player-dependent properties:
- Spell power: how powerful the spell will be if cast successfully. For example, more powerful conjuration spells do more damage, more powerful summoning spells summon more dangerous monsters (and more of them).
- Range: how far the spell can be cast, if the spell has a ranged effect. This may be increased with power.
Monsters casting spells
Monsters can also cast many of the spells available to players (as well as many that are not), but the mechanics are very different:
- Monsters don't have MP.
- Monsters can't miscast spells, except when they are under the effects of the antimagic brand.
- Monsters can cast spells only when there is an enemy in their LOS. The only exceptions to this rule are Dig, Minor Healing, and Major Healing.
- Monsters can't cast spells when they are: confused, paralysed, or berserk.
- Most monsters can cast up to 6 different spells, but player ghosts can have even more spells.
- Polymorphed uniques won't retain their spells in their new form. Shapeshifters don't get spells.
- Monsters don't cast spells less often when they are able to attack in melee, with ranged weapons or with wands.
History
- Prior to 0.20, uniques would keep their spells when polymorphed into a different form of human intelligence, unless the poly target had innate spells (e.g. naga spit).
- Prior to 0.10, it was necessary to have one level in Spellcasting to be able to memorize spells.
See also
- Spell memorisation
- Spell success
- Spell power
- List of spells
- List of spells by flag
- List of spells by school
- Spell books
- List of attack spells and beams by maximum damage
- Table of attack spells and beams by maximum range
- Table of spell popularity among winners
- Miscast effect
- Magic contamination
- Magic resistance
- Spell noise
- Spell hunger
