Realms of Darkness/Magic and abilities

Realms of Darkness | Table of Contents | Gameplay | Walkthrough

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Gameplay

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Appendices

Magic[edit]

Spell points[edit]

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Spells points per level, Priest & Sorcerer
Spells points per level, Horseman & Champion

Priest spells[edit]

Priest spells focus on healing and curing. 33 spells total.

SL	Priest spell	Type & target	Effect
1	Restore sight	Heal one ally	Cures "blind" status
1	Heal	Heal one ally	Cures health points
1	Light	Field	Create light
1	Pray	Support one ally	Increases armor
1	Peace	Disable all enemies	Ends combat (no experience, no gold)
1	Crossfire	Attack some enemies	Attack
2	Trap detection	Field : chest	Automatically reveals chest trap
2	Instant lantern	Field	Create light
2	Tower of protection	Support all priests	Increases armor for caster and all priests
2	Gnihton spell	Support all allies	Increases attack or nothing (?)
2	Blind	Disable all enemies	Stuns all enemies
2	Confuse	Disable some enemies	(Omitted from the manual)
3	Restore senses	Heal one ally	Cures many status ailments
3	Weaken poison	Heal one ally	Reduces damage from poisoning
3	Heal wounds	Heal one ally	Cures health points
3	Disarm chest	Field : chest	Automatically disarms trap
3	Chameleon	Support one ally	Increases armor
4	Remove paralyzation	Heal one ally	Cures "paralysis" status
4	Depth detection	Field	Reveals dungeon level number
4	Earth attack	Attack some enemies	Attack
4	Poison	Attack some enemies	Inflicts "poison" status
4	Magic mace	Support caster	Increases strength
5	Depoison	Heal one ally	Cures "poison" status
5	Restore life	Heal one ally	Resurrects dead character, or turn to ashes
5	Dispel undead	Attack some enemies	Instantly defeat undead enemies
5	Shock	Attack some enemies	Attack
6	Cell rejuvenation	Heal one ally	Cures health points
6	Restore lost levels	Heal one ally	Restores one lost level
6	Restore ashes	Heal one ally	Resurrects "ash" character, or turn to dust
6	Acid rain	Attack some enemies	Attack
7	Restore dust	Heal one ally	Resurrects "dust" character, or try again
7	Safety	Field	Teleports to town
7	Annihilation	Attack some enemies	Attack

Healing spells (priest)[edit]

Most of these spells can be cast anytime. They are the most useful spells by far.

Heal (SL.1), Heal Wounds (SL.3), Cell Rejuvenation (SL.6): three spells of increasing power that restore health points. The last one always restores full health.
Restore Sight (SL.1), Remove Paralyzation (SL.4): two spells that cure specific status ailments.
Weaken Poison (SL.3), Depoison (SL.5): two spells against the same status ailment. Poison progressively depletes health points. Before a priest learns Depoison, you should cure this status ailment at a temple for characters of level 1 to 7; then, for characters of experience level 8 or higher, a depoison balm is a cheaper option.
Restore Senses (SL.3): cures any other status ailment except for the three already mentioned;
Restore Lost Levels (SL.6): enemies who can lower the characters' experience levels are extremely rare. This is a double improvement over The Bard's Tale, where this spell was completely missing and level-draining enemies were way too common in the last dungeon.
Restore Life (SL.5), Restore Ashes (SL.6), Restore Dust (SL.): three spells that resurrect dead characters. If one of them fails, the character status gets worse: from dead to ashes to dust. If the last spell fails repeatedly, then you will have to go to a temple.

Field spells (priest)[edit]

These spells can only be cast outside combat. See also #Field spells (sorcerer), because some are in common.

Light (SL.1), Instant Lantern (SL.2): alternatives to torches and lanterns; the player can decide whether to give priority to spell points or silver pieces.
Trap Detection (SL.2), Disarm Chest (SL.3): spells that can only be cast when a chest is found after a combat.
Depth Detection (SL.4): useful if you get lost in a dungeon, or if you want to check your location after casting the sorcerer's "Teleport" spell.
Safety (SL.7): a teleport spell that sends the party back to the nearest city.

Combat spells: support (priest)[edit]

These spells target the caster and the party members.

Pray (SL.1), Chameleon (SL.3): they improve armor class for a single target. The sorcerer has a larger selecion of similar spells.
Tower of Protection (SL.2): similar to the two above, this spell only targets priests, but all of them at once; this is probably the reason the manual suggests to use two priests in your party. Hardly worth it.
Gnithon spell (SL.2): the spell's name is "nothing" spelt backwards; either it does nothing, or it improves the characters attack. Who knows,
Magic mace (SL.4): it improves the caster's attack; useful in lengthy combats, after the priest cast some other spells, and only if he or she is in the front row.

Combat spells: disable (priest)[edit]

Disabling spells have a chance of failing, that depends on the overall power of the enemies.

Peace (SL.1): it interrupts the combat. Only useful if your party is really in danger.
Blind (SL.2): stuns all enemies, or none. It lasts one turn only.
Confuse (SL.2): similar to blind, but it lasts longer and it affects few enemies only.

Combat spells: attack (priest)[edit]

All these spells target a random number of enemies.

Crossfire (SL.1), Earth Attack (SL.4), Shock (SL.5), Acid Rain (SL.6): they simply inflict damage.
Poison (SL.4): it inflicts the poison status, that progressively damages the enemies. Usually, combats are over before this spell becomes relevant.
Dispel Undead (SL.5): more effective than the basic skill of the same name.
Annihilation (SL.7): it instantly defeats the affected enemies.

Sorcerer spells[edit]

Sorcerer spells focus on combat magic. 37 spells total.

SL	Sorcerer spell	Type & target	Effect
1	Unlock	Field	Opens some magically locked doors
1	Light	Field	Lights darkness
1	Identify an item	Field	Identifies any item found
1	Absentmindedness	Disable some enemies	Stuns some enemies
1	Ignite	Attack some enemies	Attack
1	Fireball	Attack some enemies	Attack
2	Charge detection	Field	Identifies number of charges on a magic item
2	Neutralize gravity	Field	Party gets out of a pit
2	Protection	Support one ally	Increases armor
2	Fine focus	Disable some enemies	Enemies become easier to hit
2	Paralyze	Disable some enemies	Stuns some enemies
2	Frost byte	Attack some enemies	Attack
3	Open sesame	Field	Opens any magically locked door
3	Instant lantern	Field	Lights darkness
3	Invisibility	Support one ally	Increases armor
3	Fighter strength	Support caster	Increases strength
3	Make illusion	Disable some enemies	Affected enemies will flee
3	Flames	Attack some enemies	Attack
4	Spell diversion	Support caster	Protects from enemy spells
4	Party protection	Support all allies	Increases armor
4	The snail spell	Disable some enemies	Enemies will attack less and later
4	Insanity	Disable some enemies	Prevents enemies from using magic
4	Mass paralysis	Disable all enemies	Stuns all enemies
4	Lightning bolt	Attack some enemies	Attack
5	Unpetrification	Heal one ally	Cures "petrified" status
5	Valhalla power	Support one ally	One ally will attack twice
5	Mass invisibility	Support all allies	Increases armor
5	Defensive field	Support all allies	Protects from enemy spells
5	Ion explosion	Attack some enemies	Attack
6	Disarm and identify	Field : chest	Automatically disarms trapped chest and instantly identifies all contents*
6	Teleport	Field	Move party to any dungeon floor ; may fail
6	Valhalla spirit	Support one ally	Increases strength and armor
6	Reflection	Support all allies	Protects from enemy spells, and they target casters instead
6	Blizzard	Attack some enemies	Attack
7	Improved teleport	Field	Move party to any dungeon floor ; always succeeds
7	Fighter power	Support caster	Increases strength and armor
7	Destruction	Attack some enemies	Attack

Healing spells (sorcerer)[edit]

Unpetrification (SL.5): the "petrified" status is functionally identical to "dead", but it requires a different cure. Enemies who can inflict this are extremely rare. This is a double improvement over The Bard's Tale, where this spell was completely missing and petrifying enemies were way too common in the last dungeon.

Field spells (sorcerer)[edit]

These spells can only be cast outside combat. See also #Field spells (priest), because some are in common.

Light (SL.1), Instant Lantern (SL.3): alternatives to torches and lanterns; the player can decide whether to give priority to spell points or silver pieces.
Neutralize Gravity (SL.2): an alternative to "rope and hook".
Unlock (SL.1), Open Sesame (SL.3): they open magically locked doors, with a different success probability. The game will notify you if a door canonly be opened with a puzzle solution.
Identify an Item (SL.1), Charge Detection (SL.2): whenever you find a weapon, armor or scroll, you should better identify it. If it is magical, its name will change: a "+1", "+2" or "+3" means an enchantements makes it stronger, but a complete name change means it is a spellcasting item. Then, use the "charge detection" to determine how many times the spell can be cast before the item disappears.
Disarm and Identify (SL.6): more powerful than the priest's "Disarm Trap", but you might better save lv.6 spell points for other sorceries.
Teleport (SL.6), Improved Teleport (SL.7): they send the party to a dungeon floor of your choice (0 is the surface). They may be game breakers, but some scenarios are organized to prevent players from abusing them. The lesser spell can fail and send the party to a random floor, hence the usefulness of the priest's "Depth Detection".

Combat spells: support (sorcerer)[edit]