Cast When Used

Items will have a limited number of uses (using them wears them out) and can be accessed either through the inventory screen or by using the "U" hot-key. Spell duration and effects are per the purchased versions of the spells. Comments are the spell description from the game manual and any personal observations from my own use of the effects.

Levitate (330 EP’s): "Causes caster to become weightless and able to float in any direction for the duration of the spell." A must-have effect, especially for non-spell-casters.

Light (250 EP’s): "Creates a sphere of light around the caster, improving visibility for the duration." Actually creates a floating candle in front of the caster, which illuminates the area. Has a bad tendency to go behind objects when you get close to them.

Invisibility (540 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of causing caster to vanish." Caster vanishes until he attacks something or the spell expires. The “medium level” part apparently comes from the saving throw nearby critters are allowed. Each critter gets a chance to see you, but it works pretty well if you are not within melee range at the time. I find this version much handier than the “Cast When Held” version (even though the cost the same).

Wizard’s Fire (480 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting low-to medium-level damage." A handy, but also common, spell effect. You might want to pass this one up in favor of finding or buying a premade item.

Shock (380 EP’s): "Shocks the next creature struck by the caster with lightning-based medium-level damage." This is fairly effective since you must be in melee range to start with. For high-level characters, it can be very useful for taking down an opponent quickly since damage is based on your level.

Strength Leech (480 EP’s): "Transfers Strength attribute points from target to caster on a successful strike." The effect does not transfer strength, but rather reduces the target's strength. The Duration part does not seem to be functional and the critter usually makes its save.

Free Action (1650 EP’s): "High-level chance of curing, and creating an immunity to, paralysis for the duration of the spell." If you're not a High Elf, you really need this effect. I've never experienced a spell failure with this one while it's active, but I've had it fail a few times while trying to cure paralysis.

Open (900 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of unlocking a mundane or magically-locked door." The spell is not too terribly effective against magic locks, especially at lower levels, but persistence will pay off in the long run and it works a lot better than wearing out your weapons or knuckles trying to bash it in.

Resist Cold, Resist Fire, Resist Shock (1560 EP’s): "Improves the caster's chance of resisting spells based on the _____ element." Handy if you know what's coming your way.

Wizard Lock (1740 EP’s): Holds door securely locked for the duration of the spell." Critters that can’t open doors NEVER come through closed doors, and critters that CAN open doors won’t let you keep it closed long enough to get the spell off. Some players have reported that using this spell locks all doors in the game. Personally, I’d pass this one up as either useless or buggy.

Fireball (470 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, delivering medium- to high-level damage." No good if you’re at melee range. If you have to take a fire-based, ranged effect, consider using Wizard's Fire (480 EP’s) since it gives you continuous damage.

Cure Poison (1020 EP’s): "High-level chance of curing caster of poisons." The spell did not work in earlier versions of the game. This effect was fixed in one of the later patches, but an intermittent bug will sometimes turn the poison into a disease, so be cautious. If you have health points to spare, the poison will usually wear off in a few rounds.

Ice Bolt (990 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which inflicts medium- to high-level damage to a single target." Same effect as Fireball, except frost-based.

Shield (1040 EP’s): Creates a temporary shield around caster, capable of absorbing damage meant for the caster." Very handy at lower levels, but the effect and duration aren’t very large at lower levels. One hit can usually dispel it. 'Course it's better than taking the damage yourself.

Spell Shield (1980 EP’s): "Creates a sphere to dilute and disperse low- to medium-level spells targeted at the caster." A very good effect for lower level characters that won’t get consistent effects from 'Shalidor's Mirror' or 'Spell Reflection'.

Silence (1530 EP’s): "Quiets the next creature struck by the caster, making spellcasting impossible for the duration." A favorite spell of Daedroths and spell casters up to about 5th to 7th level. It's nice to be able to return the favor, but with a range of "touch", you'll never be able to beat the computer in getting the spell off before the other guy. Opt for "Far Silence" if you can.

Troll’s Blood (920 EP’s): "Regenerates caster's health continuously while spell is active." The rate of regeneration is slow and the spell wears off too quickly. It's a stopgap measure if you don't have 'Heal' and/or aren't in an area where you can safely rest. If you must have this effect, take it as a “Cast When Held” effect.

Ice Storm (1420 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which explodes on contact, delivering medium-level damage to all within range." Not terribly effective against cold-based critters and very easy to catch yourself within the area of effect. A very nice effect if you can catch your target at range, though.

Fire Storm (840 EP’s): "Creates a fiery aura around caster, delivering medium-level damage to all within its boundaries." I’ve not had too much success with this effect. Maybe you’ll be luckier than me.

Resist Poison (1650 EP’s): "Improves the caster's chance of resisting spells based on the poison or acid elements." A very nice effect to have when you know you’re going to be encountering assassins. It’s much nicer as a “Cast When Held” effect, though.

Wildfire (1020 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting medium-level damage and then low-level damage as the fire continues to burn." Not effective against fire-based critters, but the continuous damage part can take down a big critter if you see it early enough.

Spell Drain (1300 EP’s): "Drains magica from a target on a successful strike." A beefed-up version of 'Magica Leech" Only effective against spell-casters and they usually make their saving throws. ‘Course all critters have 100% resistance to spells you never cast.

Toxic Cloud (1020 EP’s): "Fires a ball of acid at a single target, inflicting medium-level damage." Description does not jive with the effect, which is an area-effect spell. In either event, not too many critters have natural acid/poison resistances.

Wizard Rend (1610 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of paralyzing and silencing a target successfully struck." This is what Ghosts like to toss at you -- very nasty for spell-casters and at higher levels it can put a severe hurt on one.

Shalidor’s Mirror (1930 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of reflecting spells fired at caster back to the aggressor mage." The chance is based on your level, but it’s higher than for Spell Reflection. A VERY handy effect to have around in areas populated by spell casting critters.

Lightning (760 EP’s): "Fires a ball of lightning at a single target, delivering high-level damage." Although the effect more or less mirrors similar spells (Fireball, Acid Bolt, Ice Bolt, etc.) it never seems to do anything to the target. I'm not sure whether this is a bug on my system or whether almost everything is immune to electricity. Not a very effective spell in my experience.

Medusa’s Gaze (2140 EP’s): "Medium- to high-level chance of paralyzing a target on a successful strike." Very useful when you can see your target before it sees you.

Force Bolt (3030 EP’s): "Fires a ball of energy at a single target, delivering high-level damage and a chance of paralysis." Small chance at paralysis from what I've seen, but fairly effective with higher level characters. Lower level characters might want to save their money.

God’s Fire (1750 EP’s): "Fires a ball of energy at a single target, delivering very high-level damage." It packs a big punch and the continuous damage is great if you can spell the target while it's a goodly distance away from you. Humans will literally keel over while trying to shoot you with arrows.

Stamina (130 EP’s): "Replenishes lost stamina, invigorating the caster." A very useful spell and very cheap to include in an item.

Heal (360 EP’s): "Heals low-to medium-level wounds of the caster." A must-have for all dungeon crawlers. Fortunately it's a relatively common item effect in treasure items. Don't waste your money on making one yourself unless you absolutely have to.

Balyna’s Antidote (930 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of curing caster of paralysis, poison and mundane diseases." This is the only power that includes curing diseases. Very useful at lower levels, especially if there isn't a temple handy.

Recall (480 EP’s): "The first casting of the spell sets an immovable anchor. The second casting instantly teleports the caster to the location of the anchor" Next to "Heal" this will probably be the most used spell in your inventory. Exercise extreme caution in setting anchors inside buildings. It's very easy to fall into the void when trying to teleport into a building.