Each spell is presented here in exactly the same format. The spell is first
identified by name and type of magic it involves. Thereafter its level,
range (distance it can be CAST), duration, area of effect, components, casting
time, and saving throw are shown. Finally, an explanation of the spell
and a description of its effects are given in some detail.

ADQ: If a Magic-User wants to use the
reverse of a spell, must the reverse be in
the spell book as a separate entry?
ADA: No. If the original "forward"
form is in the spell book, it may be studied
"reversed." If studied in normal
form, however, it may not be reversed
in the casting.
(Polyhedron #12)
 

Q. What is the 'scale' of spells?  Hold
person has a range of 6", and fireball
has an area of effect that is a 2"
diameter sphere, but what are these
in actual distances?
A. In general, 1" equals 10 feet when
applied to scale distances inside
structures (dungeons, castles, inns,
etc) and 10 yards when applied to
outdoor ranges.  However, although a
spell range increases by a factor of
3 outdoors, its area of effect still
uses 1" equals 10 feet.
(Imagine #13)

Range is shown in inches (See DISTANCE) or as "touch", which indicates
the caster must physically contact the recipient of the spell with his || her
hand.
 

Question: When an offensive spell’s range is “touch,” does the touch have to be with a hand?

Answer: Yes. — JW
 

Question: I am very confused about
the range of spells.
Look in the PH (page 78) at Wall of Fire or Wall of Ice spells. 6”?
Also, look at the area of effect. The book says “radius of
the ring-shaped wall of fire is 1”+¼” per
level of experience of the magic-user
casting it.” What is this in reality?
Answer: Under “Distance” on page 39
of the PH, it is stated that
the scale of distance is 1” = 10 feet, or 1”
= 10 yards, depending on whether the
adventure is taking place underground
or aboveground. Thus, the range of a
Wall of fire is 60 feet underground, 60
yards (180 feet) aboveground. However,
a spell’s area of effect should almost al-
ways be translated using the 1” = 10 feet
scale, whether underground or not; the
wall of fire created by the spell has a
radius of 10 feet plus another 2½ feet for
each level of the caster, no matter where
it is cast.

Q: Many AD&D game spells require
the caster to touch the recipient.
Once the spell is cast, how long does
the caster have to deliver it? Is there
a limit on how many touch attempts
the caster can make?
A: Some campaigns allow a caster to hold a
spell "on hands" indefinitely, provided that
the caster does not attempt to cast another
spell. The spell "on hands" is discharged
when the caster next touches someone or
something. Some DMs rule that the spell
remains only as long as the caster concentrates
on touching a recipient--the spell is
lost if the caster abandons the touch attempt
for any reason.
(154.96)

Duration is given as # of turns, rounds, or simply "instantaneous", as
in the case of a lightning bolt which lasts only a brief moment. (See TIME.)

Q: Do spells end when their casters are killed?

A: This is up to the DM. There are two
schools of thought here. One holds that a
spell is a discrete, independent event involving
a fixed amount of magical energy.
Once the event begins, it runs like clockwork;
only anti-magic in some form (dispel
magick, anti-magick shell, etc.) will keep it
from running its full course. The other
school holds that the caster must be alive
to act as a channel for the energy the spell
requires. No matter which school you
follow, there will be some exceptions. For
example, any spell requiring concentration
from the caster will end if the caster dies.
Spells that are permanent will remain
after the caster dies.
(154.96)

AREA of Effect shows how large an AREA the spell covers, or how many
persons or creatures it will affect.

Components, as previously mentioned, are verbal (V), somatic (S), and/or material (M).
This indicates which are part of the spell.

V:
Question: Can a waterfall (or other loud
sources of noise) negate the casting
of a spell with a verbal component?

S:
Question: Can a Magic-User CAST spells while holding a dagger, staff || wand in one hand?
Answer: Yes, providing that he has two hands and the free one is able to fulfill the somatic requirements.

Q. How can a M-U or an illusionist
write down the details of a spell
that doesn't have verbal components
-- for example, the shadow door
spell?
A. In a case like this the spell would not
be written down in terms of words
spoken and the components used,
but in some form of notation that tells
the M-U how the hands should
be moved -- like the notation for
recording dance movements.
    We suggest that in a M-U's
spellbook -- the 'recipe book' for
spells -- the details are recorded as
the necessary components, correct
order of use, the words to be spoken,
or, in a case like the shadow door,
the notation of the gestures to be
made.  With a scroll, the information
is recorded in a similar way,  and is
'blanked' just the same when the
spell is read, regardless of whether
the reader was making the relevant
gestures or not.
(Imagine #18)
 
 

M:
Question: When an Augury spell is cast, do the gem-inlaid sticks disappear, or can they be used over again?

Answer: Any material component used to cast a spell disappears as soon as the spell is cast,
regardless of whether the spell is a Cleric’s spell || a Magic-User’s spell.
(Correction: There are some exceptions to this, noted in particular spell descriptions).
(Correction: Mistletoe && holy symbols are material components, and they do not disappear when used to cast a spell).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Mouser
Hi Gary, I was wondering recently about how you handled Material Spell Components in your Greyhawk Campaign. I know some DM's simply ignore them. On the other hand, I seem to recall an article in Dragon some time ago about purchasing them in a "magic store" (a concept I don't particularly like, much like the ever-popular "Mage's Guild", but that's another story ). Personally, I assume that most spell components are covered in the monthly living and level training costs except those that are rather expensive, e.g., diamond powder, gems, etc.; basically anything that the PHB or UA lists as having a (usually exhorbinant) cost.

Did you ignore them? Stick pretty much by the book? Require PC's to role-play their acquisition?

Thanks in advance.

Gray Mouser

Ho 'Mouser

Spell compinents are rather a niggling consideration for the most part.
I do assume that the common sort are acquired easily during non-adventuring time at various shops such as the apothecary's or a spell components dealer--
there would be such places in large communities in a magic-active milieu.

As you note, the more costly and difficult to obtain components are meat and drink for special adventures--
or a fine way to strip mages of precious treasure so as to have powdered diamond or corrundum gem powder such as sapphire, ruby, etc.

If a group really enjoys shopping and hunting for strange items, the spell components are there for the DM to use as reasons for such play.
Otherwise, they can be pretty well a side consideration that needs arise only for special quests.

Cheerio,
Gary

Casting Time shows the number of melee rounds, or segments of a melee round, required to cast the spell.
Remember that there are 10 segments to a melee round, 10 melee rounds to a TURN.
Some spells require additional time and preparation.

Casting Time in Combat +

Saving Throw tells whether a saving throw is possible, and if it is possible,
whether success negates (neg.) the spell or reduces its effects by 50% (1/2).

ADQ: Is a character who saves vs. an
area effect spell (like Time stop) immune
to the spell effect, or is he simply able to
get out of the area of effect?
ADA: No save normally applies to
a Time stop. If a wish or other powerful
magick were specifically used at a prior Time,
for the express purpose of allowing a save
for the next effect normally allowing
none (and carefully worded, as well), this is
theoretically possible. However, due to the
power of a Time stop (a spell effect on par
with a wish), even a successful SAVE
would not indicate freedom; rather, the
victim would be able to perceive the Time
stop area and the actions of the caster of the
spell, but would be still be firmly caught within
it.
    This is an exceptional case. Normally, a
save indicates an individual's ability
to resist or avoid an effect, and assumes
defense action (mental repulsion of an
attack, physical dodging or covering up,
etc.) appropriate to the attack form. Any
character unable to MOVE to avoid a
damage-causing area effect should incur
some penalty on the save. Anyone
refusing to take defensive action should
incur a severe penalty at the very least, and
may (DM's judgment) forfeit one altogether.
(Polyhedron #25)

In issue #133's editorial, comment is called for
on the future of RPGs.  In my
opinion, RPGs will probably move
toward placing more emphasis on coherent
campaigns rather than anything else.  This trend
is already visible in TSR's own decision to set up
a campaign world for all AD&D game adventures.
The FORGOTTEN REALMS setting is
commendable, and I'm certainly looking forward
to seeing modules that have a consistent
campaign atmosphere.

I haven't see GURPS by Steve Jackson Games,
but I think this trend will also be a feature of
this RPG.  I hope (rather than
believe) that RPGs will lose their
poor images in the minds of much of the public,
Even a sustained public relations campaign
would be hard-pressed to convince those who
now think of us as demon worshipers, but then
every population has its lunatic fringe.

I would now like to try to convince you that
spell points are not unbalancing if used in a well
developed campaign. It was said in ?The Game
Wizards? column not too long ago that giving
clerics a spell-point system would be unbalancing
because of limitless healing spells being
available at no reduction in the clerics capacity
to cast other spells if necessary. This would be
true of a campaign where clerics had automatic
access to all of the spells listed in the Players
Handbook and Unearthed Arcana. In my belief,
clerics should not be run that way.

First, a campaign?s gods should be well developed
with well-defined, it not distinct, spheres
of influence. Based on these spheres, spells cast
by clerics of each god would be listed, and
casting spells outside of one?s sphere would be
forbidden or incur point-cost penalties. These
spell lists would include spells unique to the god
and appropriate spells from other sources.

As an example, here are suggested 1st-level
spells available to clerics of Tempus (a war god
from the FR setting)

Ceremony: witness
Ceremony: rest esternal
Purify food and drink
Shield
Cause wounds
Command
Sanctuary
Cure Light Wounds

The two ceremonies have previously been
detailed, (Ceremony: witness as a new druidic
spell in DRAGON Magazine #122), and they are
really the only apt ones for a cleric that I envision
as being a wandering warrior priest.

Shield is the first-level magic-user spell.

Cause wounds would cause a light wound on
a victim within a short range (10-20?). Damage is
slight however so it?s really only an in extremis
spell used when the cleric has lost his sword.
(Weapon and armor restrictions should be based
on the god, not the class).

Cure light wounds is a feeble spell compared
to the first-level spells used by clerics of healer
gods, but it is better than nothing. It is the only
healing spell that any cleric of Tempus can use.

The others are all as the Players Handbook
would have them. This only gives a 1st-level
cleric of Tempus eight spells from which to
choose, but he would also be a good and capable
warrior ( +1 to hit, maybe) capable of using
any weapon without restriction and wearing the
best armor he could afford.

Magic-users are pitifully weak at 1st level, and
spell points aren?t such a terrible imbalance if
they are game mastered properly. Read the
relevant section of the DMG and you?ll see what
I mean; magic-users virtually have to rob fellow
magicians in order to get more than the four
spells they start with in their spell books.

If a magic-user were to use 75% of his spell
points, he would become fatigued, if he used
every mental resource, (100% expenditure),
exhaustion would set in, (as per the
Dungeoneer?s Survival Guide). This rule would
reflect the problems of Raistlin and other magicusers
portrayed in the excellent
DRAGONLANCE® books.

Michael Norrish
Wellington, New Zealand
(Dragon #148)

Quote:
I am a crusty old (I'm 34!!) OAD&D player who has been DMing for a group of younger guys in their 20's using 3rd Edition D&D rules for the past 2+ years. I am currently transferring my campaign world lock, stock, and barrel to OAD&D because DMing in 3rd Edition is just not any fun for me, for many reasons.

The reason I am writing is because I have a question regarding touch attacks, via spell or otherwise. In OAD&D, do touch attack spells ignore an opponent's armor/shield (thus making the target AC 10 adjusted by magic bonuses and dexterity) or does the touch attack need to take into consideration the normal AC of the potential victim (such as when striking with a weapon)? The only possible exception being the Shocking Grasp spell which obviously ignores metallic armor, as I understand it.

When I played years ago in high school and college, we simply used the victim's full AC, but my recent foray into 3rd Edition has clouded my view. The current group's cleric and I are discussing the matter, but haven't come to a good conclusion.

Thank you for any guidance you can provide, and thank you for a wonderful past-time.

To make it quick and easy, we always used the target's AC, except as you note for shocking grasp against metal armor which is the same as no protection.
That all makes sense to me, because a touch means contacting a bit of exposed flesh or possibly a garment touching the subject's bare flesh.
A shield fends off such a touch, and dexterity enables better avoidance of such contact.

cheers,
Gary
 

TOUCH SPELLS

DMPrata wrote:
Gary, in your AD&D® games, do you permit spell casters multiple attempts to deliver touch spells?
For example, if an MU casts shocking grasp and fails to hit his opponent, can he continue making attack rolls each round thereafter until successful?
(The corellary to this, of course, is a high-level cleric casting a powerful reversed spell like harm. Multiple attack rolls in this case could be hugely unbalancing.)
 

Short answer: No.
Blow the attempt to touch, blow the spell, as the caster must be launching its intended effect as the attempt to touch the subject is made.

Cheers,
Gary
 

DMPrata wrote:
Gary, when adjudicating spells with level-based areas of effect in AD&D®, should one infer that the AREA can generally be up to n times the caster's level?
Particularly with regard to the various wall spells, always creating an area of, say, 280' seems like it could be more of a hindrance than a benefit to a high-level caster.
As one rises in level, the utility of such spells would diminish unless the caster could voluntarily reduce the AoE.
Though it's not expressly stated anywhere, is that what you had in mind?
 

That is a fair question, but it can be properly addressed in regard specific spells only on a case by case basis.

Of course the obvious general response is that increase in character level is an unmitigated benefit, so that level increase in regards to the effects of spells must be likewise.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Bombay wrote:
Id seriously doubt it then, especially if your indifferent about the LotR trillogy. I guess what I was getting at was the magic system they use in which they "Weave" spells with different elements. I've always wondered what somatic and verbal actions go into a spell when I try to visualize it in my head(For dnd), and that after reading the robert jordan books, i think it relates alot to how he describes it.

Sure,
 

And in regards to verbal and somatic elements, I envision the former as the chant, words, or words that activated the energy powering the spell,
the somatic gestures those movements calling forth the source of the energy or effect and directing it.

Anyone's take on this is as valif as mine, I should think 

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by mythusmage
...

...

Don't forbid it outright, find some way to mak it a less than optimal solution within the world in question.
One is being arbitrary, the other is being a rat bastard.
 

Pretty much what I suggested in regards having such spells rebound on the caster and inflict damage of some sort 

Cheers,
Gary

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