copyright 1999 Roger White

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Doc Feelgood's Magic Dictionary

Here is what you need to know to translate between watching a spell being cast, and the components being used to cast the spell. What player characters and humanoid monsters (such as undead) to determine spell components. As far as I can tell, it does no good to what phantos wasps. They cast spells, but there's nothing you can decipher from the cast.

Scarabs:

Scarabs make no sound or motion, but they are easy to determine. They determine the level of the spell. If the spell is being cast at the first level, a lead scarab is used. If the spell is being cast at the second level, a more expensive iron scarab is used, and so on.

Herbs:

Herbs are the first word of a spell being cast.
Herb Word
Amaranth  Kedrack 
Bistort  Yanoi 
Comfry  Shurov 
Damiana  Feazh 
Dragonblood  Quavosh 
Eyebright  Volae 
Frankensense  Ozhur 
Ginseng  Cruath 
Hawthorn  Zojak 
Henbane  Uthoi 
Hyssop  Malar 
Mandrake  Equin 
Mugwort  Boquar 
Myrrh  Jevak 
Saffron  Puish 
Vervain  Tugak 
Wormwood  Helkas 
Yarrow  Roiga 

Powders:

Powders are the second word being cast. The syllable is usually merged with the flask syllable to make a single word, but occasionally you will see the powder and flask words stated separately.
Powder Word
Agate  Ea 
Amber  Zha 
Azurite  Dy 
Bloodstone  Gua 
Carnelian  Ha 
Hematite  O 
Lapis Lazuli  Be 
Malachite  Thi 
Moonstone  Ca 
Onyx  Qua 
Quartz  Lu 
Turquoise  Ae 
 
   

Flask:

The flask being used in the spell produces the final syllable.
Flask Word
Brimstone  Feth 
Cadmia  Ja 
Cinnabar  Vik 
Cobalt  Sith 
Colcothar  Paj 
Gypsum  Loi 
Quicksilver  Ril 
Relgar  Zael 
Stibnite  Tak 
Turpeth  Guz 
Verdigris  Ti 
Vitriol  Reth 
 
   

Example:

So if you see in the dialog box that someone says, "Malar Quasith" and that person is surrounded by a glow, indicating a successful spell cast, you know that the caster used Hyssop as the herb (Malar), powdered Onyx as the powder (Qua), and Cobalt as the flask (sith). This particular spell is the Armor spell, a life spell.

Talisman

The talisman is revealed by the caster's motion. After you watch spellcasters for a while, you will notice that they go through different motions depending on what spell they are casting. If you are watching one of the research groups that cluster around shopkeepers selling spell components, this becomes obvious quickly. It's less obvious in the chaos of field conditions.

The caster's motions are determined by the talisman selected. Some of these motions are quite distinct, others are quite close in appearance. Here are the motions I have seen and how I describe them.
Talisman Motion
Alder  Wave wand to right  
Ashwood  Top to bottom, two hands on wand
Birch  Aim like a rifle 
Blackthorn  "Flyswatter", top to bottom, one hand on wand
Cedar  Two hands on wand, horizontally pulled to chest
Ebony  Present wand horizontally, two hands on wand 
Elder  Turn body left, swing wand arm right, wand vertical 
Hazel  Wand to horizontal, "backwards"
Hemlock  Two hands full forward, wand vertical 
Oak  Hands wide, thrown back
Poplar  First to knees, then rise, wand horizontal
Rowan  Hands thrown back, kept close to body 
Willow  Look at watch on left hand, right hand back, wand vertical 
Yew  Pull back to right, hands close, wand pointing at neck

Practice watching the motions and they become more distinctive.

Continuing the example: If the caster saying "Malar Quasith" ended his or her stroke with arms stretched forward and the wand pointing down, he or she is using the Yew talisman.

By simply observing, you have discovered all the components of the first level spell, Armor Self I. The components are: Lead scarab (1st level spell), Hyssop ("Malar"), Onyx ("Qua"), Cobalt ("sith"), and Yew (motion: arms forward, wand down). Go to the "create spell" section of your character and you're ready to learn a spell.

Tapers and higher level spells

Second level and higher spells require tapers to cast. The bad news is: tapers add no sound or motion to a spell, they can only be discovered by research. The good news is: no first level spells require tapers, all the basic spells are available to casters without requiring tapers.

copyright 1999, Roger White