Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Magic

See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Magic

Classes and MP

Profession	MP
Mage	MP = 200% Int
Druid	MP = 150% Int
Bard Ranger Paladin	MP = 100% Int
Tinker	MP = 50% Int
Shepherd	MP = 0 (NES: sheep flute)
Fighter	MP = 0

The Shepherd has no Magic Points, but in the NES remake she is the only character who can use the Sheep Flute, an item that casts the Sleep spell on all opponents.

Still in the NES remake, when the Stranger becomes an Avatar, his/her maximum MP promptly becomes 99. This holds true for every profession (in the subsequent episodes of Ultima, the Avatar will always be the character with the highest MP).

Reagents

Virgil/Basil reveals the coordinates of the nightshade fungus.

See also the Britannian Yellow Pages #Apothecaries.

Six reagents can be purchased in every apothecary shop, but the remaining two are the subject of side quests.

In the spell lists below, the following abbreviations and prices are used for the reagents:

Reagent	Price
Man: mandrake root	9 G (cost of "Cure"): secret poison swamps
Prl: black pearl	9 G
Mos: blood moss	6 G
Gar: garlic	6 G
Gin: ginseng	5 G
Sil: spider silk web	3 G
Ash: sulfurous ash	2 G
Nig: nightshade fungus	0 G: secret but free

NES spell list

In the NES remake, the prices of reagents are different (as well as some recipes). Furthermore, four spells were removed: Undead (no enemy sets), Open (no trapped chests), Up and Down (game breakers). On the other hand, three new spells were introduced, bringing the total to 25: Reflect, Squish and Defeat.

Prompt specifies whether a spell is available since the beginning of the game ("yes") or if the characters should find something during the game (the recipe and/or some rare reagents). After one or more characters told you about a new spell, it can be learned by going to "Spells Unlimited" in Moonglow, and telling the shop owner the proper ingredients.

In the original versions each of the 26 spells names start with a different letter. In the NES version some spell names were modified: for this reason, some spell names in the table below are preceded by the initial letter of the original and a slash (e.g. the original "Resurrect" spell is listed in the table below as "R/Life").

Spell	MP	GP & Reagents	Type & Target	Effect	Prompt
~ Healing spells ~
Cure	06	11: mos, gin	Heal 1 ally	Cures poison	Yes
Heal	10	09: gar, sil	Heal 1 ally	Cures Health Points	Yes
R/Life	45	21: man, gar, mos, nig	Heal 1 ally	Cures death	Recipe, nig, man
~ Field spells ~
Light	03	02: ash	Field	Lights the dungeon	Yes
View	15	09: man, nig	Field	See map of area or dungeon level	nig, man
X/Exit	12	11: mos, sil, ash	Field	Teleports back to the dungeon entrance	Yes
Wind	10	12: gar, mos	Field	Changes direction of the wind	Yes
Dispel	12	17: prl, gar, ash	Field	Removes any magic/poison field in towns	Yes
Gate	32	20: man, prl, ash	Field	Teleports to any of the 8 towns	Recipe, man
~ Support spells ~
Blink	18	09: mos, sil	Support all allies	Flee from battle	Yes
Awaken	05	11: gar, gin	Support 1 ally	Cures "sleep" status	Yes
Quick	25	13: mos, gin, ash	Support all allies	Attack twice per turn	Yes
-/Reflect	20	13: gar, gin, ash, nig	Support ? ally/s	Take no damage from projectiles	Recipe, nig
Protect	15	14: gar, gin, ash	Support ? ally/s	Increases defense	Yes
~ Disabling spells ~
Sleep	10	08: gin, sil	Disable all enemies	Put enemies to sleep	Recipe
Jinx	28	18: man, prl , nig	Disable all enemies	Enemies attack each other	Recipe, nig, man
Negate	20	26: man, prl, gar, ash	Disable all enem. & all.	Spells cannot be cast	Recipe, man
~ Attack spells ~
K/Destroy	23	09: prl, nig	Attack 1 enemy	Ranged attack	Recipe, nig
Missile	03	11: prl, ash	Attack 1 enemy	Ranged attack	Yes
Fire	12	11: prl, ash	Attack 1 enemy	Ranged attack	Yes
Energy	22	14: prl, sil, ash	Attack some enemies	Creates 3x3 fire field	Yes
Tremor	40	17: man, mos, ash	Attack all enemies	Mass destruction attack	Recipe, man
Ice	17	18: man, prl	Attack 1 enemy	Ranged attack	man
-/Squish	28	20: man, mos, sil, ash	Attack all enemies	Reduces HP without killing	Recipe, man
-/Defeat	28	24: man, prl, mos	Attack some enemies	Attacks enemies adjacent caster	man

Spell analysis

In the NES remake, some recipes and the price of reagents are different. Furthermore, four spells were removed: Undead (no enemy sets), Open (no trapped chests), Up and Down (game breakers). On the other hand, three new spells were introduced, bringing the total to 25: Reflect, Squish and Defeat.

Healing spells

• Cure poison: necessary; at game start, the Stranger starts with enough reagents to mix three of them; in battle, use it after all poisonous enemies have been defeated.
• Heal: an emergency spell; otherwise, camping or resting at an inn restores more health to all companions (and all MP) for a similar price.
• Resurrect/Life: sometimes necessary; highly recommended in Dungeon Hythloth.

Field spells

• Dispel: necessary.
• Wind change: necessary to direct the "lighter-than-air device".
• Blink: in the NES remake, it can only be used to flee from battle, without losing Virtue Points.
• Gate travel: useful for shortcuts to any of the eight towns.

Dungeon spells:

• Light: more convenient than torches.
• View: less convenient than magic gems, because of the scarcity of reagents to cast the spell; both View and the Gems are very useful in dungeons, although they can be cast on the surface, too.
• X (Exit): useful to escape dungeons when the companions are very weakened.

Support spells

• Awaken: use it strategically, e.g. after all enemy "sleep"-casters have been defeated; when facing a large number of "sleep"-casters, split your party in two: some attack the enemies, others keep waking up the asleep allies.
• Protection: especially useful when the party is low on health points.
• Quickness: useful to speed up a combat, thus reducing suffered damage.

NES-only spell:

• Reflect: useful when the party is low on health points.

Disabling spells

• Energy field: in the NES remake, a large 3x3 fire field is the only available option. If an enemy receives fatal damage from a field, the companions earn no experience points (the field itself deserves them...).
• Sleep: easy to cast, but enemies killed in their sleep grant just 3 experience points.
• Negate magic: useful against powerful spellcasting enemies, especially reapers.
• Jinx: when it affects many enemies, it becomes a great defensive-offensive spell: less damage to your party and more damage to enemies.

Attack spells

• (Sorted by power) Magic missile, Fireball, Iceball, Kill/Destroy: damage a single opponent; ranged weapons are more convenient, because they have infinite ammunition and they consume no reagents.
• Tremor: damages all enemies at once; good to speed up battles against large numbers of enemies.

NES-only spells:

• Squish: an alternative to "Tremor": it brings all enemies down to near death (actually identical to the "Necorp/Rot" spell from Ultima 3).
• Defeat: damage all close enemies (up to 4); if you focus on ranged weapons (tactically advantageous), this close-range spell becomes almost useless.