FE: A New Hope, for spell creativity.

from Elemental Forums

I don't post new ideas very often ever since they took my treasure map idea out of WoM. Now that we have a new game to look forward to I wanted to put up a few spell ideas that I think would work very well with the new direction. Hopefully there is still room to take really good ideas into consideration.

Curses. Now, most people don't understand the function of curses, so I will educate. A curse is not something you simply cast on your enemy to weaken him or her. That would be only one type of curse. There are more uses, such as cursing your own units to win a vital battle, knowing that in the end the curse will drive them mad or cripple them in future battles. I suggest a demonic set of spell books that use such magic to increase strength for a single battle and then permanently weaken the target in strength and constitution. The idea is to sacrifice the long term in return for an immediate result. 

Another use of curses could be in the Sovereign creation section. Choosing a weakness is rarely going to add anything to the game. However, choosing a powerful ability that only your Sovereign can use could potentially rewrite the entire power dynamic during a game. A common ability would be to be able to command any units that reach within one tile of your Sovereign in battle. This would force your enemies to avoid you in combat, though you would be their ultimate goal. The Sovereign would then become much like the chess piece, except he would be able to make any creature his pawn. The drawback of choosing such a power would be higher recruitment costs for any hero, as they would fear becoming one of your drones. There are many such curses and powers I can think of that would really make this game stand apart from its magical predecessors, specifically WoM. 

Additionally why not have a few very rare creatures that have specific abilities to sit beside our mages in battle? That was one thing I liked about the 1.1 version. A serpent that can poison, a tree that can entangle, a wraith that can cause fear, a demon that can posses, an assassin that can have infinite moves once per battle. These are all hopes of making unique abilities and thereby units. All we have is hope at this point.

If the spells are easier to create than the previous game, I will try to make a few good spell books at least. If the Sov creator is moddable, I will try to add curses to the system, though I would think that is one of the parts of FE that will change the most. 

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Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

It is exactly those abilities, and the ability to use those abilities by the AI, which can make tacticla battles be a real battle and not just a HP-grind. Curses are a good idea... who does not remember Black Prayer, Wrack and Terror with love? Ah, the fun I had.

 

/signed!

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I think that one demon summoning spell that costs you a champion falls into that short term vs. long term thing your talking about (and there might have been anouther one as well).

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

It's a nice idea, I do hate the HP grind... although curses don't fall into EVERY magic category, you might see them in Death or this Demonic magic but probably never in Life.  I would take curses one step further and have cursed items, equip them and get a serious penalty.  Another step further would be to have items with a curse that breaks after you have completed a set condition; for example:

Paranoia's Eye -- You can never seem to bring yourself to drop this stone, a part of the curse.  The holder will constantly feel acute paranoia, unable to concentrate as though there were an evil shade hovering right over their shoulder.  This fear cuts your moves by 1 and defense by X, as well as drastically lowering Charisma (ever heard of a paranoid person hiring someone to guard their back?).  Break the curse by facing your fear and having the holder kill X number of enemies.  When the curse is broken it becomes;

Paranoia's Sight -- Having conquered your fear and eliminated the worst of Paranoia, this gem now grants the holder increased dodge and defense during combat, but is bound to the one who picked it up in the first place; meaning it can be dropped but no one else can use it.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Perhaps for the second version be paranoia's virtue or something? I suppose it depends on if you want it related to the concept or a creature/person named Paranoia.  For the concept it would be the realization that moderation of your paranoia makes it healthy instead of unhealthy. Maybe as an optional trigger it could be turned when you sucessfully perfom certain diplomatic actions while under it's influence?

A mild form for something life themed would be antibiotics or anti venom (or body building technicly), inother words using controled exposure to something to improve your immunity to it by 'training' your immune system/body to fight it.  Like a unit being poisoned or under a debuff for x turns and then getting health regen in combat or improved defenses for a number of combats/turns (or have it have a maintenance cost?).  The nice thing about these kind of negative effects is that they can help balance something so that other costs (such as mana and casting level) can be bypassed or reduced.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

As I see it, the curses book would have a countering book of blessings. Demons and angels demons and angels demons and angels. I cannot express how excited I am about the paranoia idea. I am going to steal it if you don't mind (full credit will go to you of course). I think I'll break open the old demonic encyclopedia and see what name the devil gave paranoia. Right now I have alot of general spells: possession, enchantment, domination, sacrifice, quest based conjuration, impregnation, corruption, sickness, delusion, and my personal favorite, The Hell Mouth.

After reading the bible so many times I have some pretty sick idea about the power of demons. Its just another brand of magic after all is said and done. Opening The Hell Mouth is going to release hordes of demons in an area, a great way to block off a mountain pass, but not useful as a city killer as it will take 4 seasons to begin generation. 

If anyone else has any good spells in mind please share.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

I will use this thread to flesh out some Sov spell ideas:

 

Curse of Kings - Any enemy unit within one tile of your Sovereign is forever bent to your will. There are no known magics that can counter this curse. As a result of receiving this curse your Sovereign will eventually be consumed in madness, causing his Intelligence to randomly drop during battle. (Negative effects will likely be altered after I see how stats work in the new game)

 

Eye of the Oracle - The eye replaces one of the Sovereign's eyes and grants him or her the power to see events just before they are happening. In battle this gives the user a great advantage in dodging attacks and landing critical strikes. The eye itself is a demonic entity that can be removed and installed in any unit on the battlefield; of course you have to blind them to do so. Once the battle is over the eye will scurry back to the sovereigns socket, leaving the previous user blinded if he or she survives.

 

Tears of the Serpent - This Mark grants the user with the ability to stop the minds of any sentient being for a turn. The radius is increased as the user gains intelligence. Each use causes one's heart to stop, gaining in severity as the power increases, causing detrimental damage to the user. This will affect allies as well as enemies. 

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

You see these kinds of things in Dominions quite frequently.
I have been advocating ideas like this since 2009; sadly, no one seemed to care! My fireball does 11% more damage than your lightning blast, so there.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Recent knowledge of spell mechanics has led to a really good idea for magic focused nations. 

1.Spell Lock: Level 5 spell, end of the magic tech tree, rather high cast cost. All enemy spells will be countered for one round. 

2. Barrier: Level 4 Spell. All aerial attacks and enemy projectile magic is blocked for one round. 

3. Aura of Protection: Level 3 Spell. All enemy projectiles are null for five rounds. 

 

These are only a few of they ways a magically focused nation could get the upper hand by countering much more efficiently. You don't need shock troops... all you need is mud. 

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Thanks to Google Translate I will begin putting my spellbook titles in Latin as it should be. 

 

Dominationem Insectorum: a book containing the power to control fiendish bugs. This book will involve conjuring queens to supplement or even supply an army. Buildings could be unlocked to allow ones city to become a breeding ground for various monstrosities. It would be nice to infect the enemy, or perhaps battlefield corpses, in order to spawn rather than conjure things during battle. It would be nice to have queens level as would a hero. The spell possibilities range from pestilence to forming monster spawning hives across the strategic map. Let's hope there is enough bugs in vanilla to draw from. 

 


Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Aeternis Tenebris: the knowledge of darkness.

We in this this lackluster realm have become comfortable with the idea that darkness is merely the absence of light. In Elemental darkness with be tangible. With the book of eternal darkness you can gain power of the things that live in the dark. You can bend them to your will, use them to fit your darkest desires. This kind of magic pervades every corner. It has immense potential: shadowgates, teleportation, summoning, scouting, subterfuge, sabotage, and even death itself. Finding this book will allow the player to blot out the sun for all time, forever changing the landscape of the realm. If you do not get to this book first, your only hope is that the book destroys its owner. 

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

Uota Fides: Prayers of Faith

 

This book instructs the reader on how to embark on spiritual journeys. Although these prayers would be called spells by any other wizard, the Sovereign that has managed to obtain Uota Fides knows better. These prayers are tests given to man by the gods, the good ones we think.

One such prayer blinds the target for 7 years (28 turns). During this time he or she, but probably not she unless she is the object of some man's mercy, must rely on the all other senses to exist. Sight will become a memory. Only by cutting away one's image of reality can the ethereal plane be truly seen. After 7 years the target's test will be complete. He or she will gain a unique way of seeing, making many mind based magics null, increasing the sight and initiative, as well as increasing dexterity. 

As would blindness, so does silence. 7 years of silence prevents the target from casting any spells. After this penance, the target will truly listen to the ethereal plane, and know how to speak wisely. This will have the effect of increased spell potency, dexterity, magical resistance, and immunity to silence (assuming there is a spell to prevent casters from casting). 

 

This will be a pretty decent way to give some interesting opposition to curses. The devil curses, but God tests his children. I can pretty much take any Bible story and make it into a spell. Daniel and the lion's den comes to mind. Also, Rack, Shack, and Benny...

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Hexerei Beschwörung und bezaubernd: A book of what we hope are imagined stories. 

 

Curses, conjuration, and enchanting is a spellbook common to all, as it has been made into bedtime stories that have spread to every child in every realm. The truth of some very dark, very German, magic is rooted in these tales. There are many copies of the stories, but few old enough to contain the secret to harnessing this dark power. Among the graves of adventurers and in the tombs of kings one may find this book. But caveat emptor if you decide to cast any spell from these pages. 

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

I have put some spell ideas in seperate posts to be shot down :)

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

I have long ago decided that I will have to make everything myself.

So...

I don't get shot down until other people see my mod and immediately delete it. 

Reply #15 from Elemental Forums Top

Hexerei Beschwörung und bezaubernd: A book of what we hope are imagined stories. These spells are hidden in riddles, you may not know what you are casting, until your entire capital is overrun with spirited mischief. Fortunately, you need only say the inscription on the back of the book to dispel whatever trouble you create. 

 

-Unersättliche Gier: When work and school are more than you can bear, repeat these words three times, and turn your town upside down, into an eternally gay affair. 


Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

The Tomes of Ryuu-o. An ancient tome describing rituals pertaining to dragon magic. It is said that inscribing oneself with these spells will imbue one that is worthy with the powers of the Dragon Kings. 

Reply #17 from Elemental Forums Top

Seeing that the new system of spells pretty much negates spellbooks, I guess I will turn some of these ideas into techs. You can find them in specific quest loot that I will hopefully add to the community mods project for spells and loot. 

I still want to make a mod that gives more colorful description of each spell, but this is a side note given the new description quality I have seen in the beta.