Spellcast - The manual.
NAME
spellcast - a game of duelling wizards
SYNOPSIS
spellcast remotedisplay [ remotedisplay ... ]
One game window will appear on the default display (deter-
mined by the contents of the DISPLAY environment variable.)
The second will appear on remotedisplay, which should be
either an internet host name or a complete X display iden-
tifier (host:0.0, for example.) (If just a host name is
given, display 0 and screen 0 are assumed.) If more
remotedisplay arguments are supplied, additional windows
will appear on those screens, and you will have a game with
three or more players.
All other machines must add your machine to their X access
lists, using xhost +.
There is a maximum of seven remotedisplay arguments -- ie,
an eight-player game.
RESOURCES
The game makes use of two X resources:
spellcast*name: namestring
Sets the name used for your wizard. If you do not set this
resource, the game assigns the names "White", "Black",
"Red", and so forth.
By default, each character is male. You can specify a gender
by giving a namestring of the form
name:f for a female character,
name:m for a male,
name:n for a character whose gender is ambiguous or not
well-defined in human terms, and
name:x for a genderless character.
spellcast*font: fontname
The font used for all text and labels in the game window.
This should not be larger than about 12-point, or things
will start to overflow their boundaries.
INTRODUCTION
This is a game concerning the imaginary conflict between two
or more powerful wizards in a duel of sorcery. The opponents
perform magical gestures with their hands to create their
supernatural weapons -- spells. Some are so potent as to be
able to blind a man, call forth terrifying creatures, or
even kill the unfortunate victim instantly. Consequently
each wizard must rely on his own cunning to be able to time
enough defensive spells to avoid the brunt of his
adversary's attack, yet force in sufficient offensive spells
of his own to crack the magical armour of his opponent, and
kill the wizard outright. The inventor wishes to state that
he has never been involved in a magical duel but would be
interested to discover how realistic the game is for those
who have...
THE TURN
In a turn, each wizard can either gesture with his hands for
part of a spell, stab with his knife, or do nothing. They
use both hands, and the hands can act either independently
or in concert. Monsters cannot make magical gestures but
will obey their masters' commands exactly -- although the
identity of the master could change as a result of enchant-
ment. Since wizards are trained intelligent humans, they are
able to gesture and attack, using both hands independently
or in conjunction. Each monster, being an untrained, unin-
telligent biped, attacks the same way every time and picks
whichever victim its master decides. As a result, only
wizards can gesture and cast spells. Players personally
acquainted with monsters who wish to vouch for their ability
to cast spells are requested to keep quiet.
After choosing his or her gestures, each wizard must make a
certain number of decisions -- choosing targets for his
spells, ordering his monsters to attack particular targets,
deciding the effects of certain spells, and so forth. After
all players have chosen their gestures and made any neces-
sary decisions, the effects of all spells and attacks are
resolved simultaneously. The next turn then begins.
THE GAME WINDOW
The spellcast window is divided into seven sections.
The text window
This is a large rectangle in the upper left side of the win-
dow. It describes what happens in the duel, blow by blow.
There is a scroll bar on the left side of the text window.
The gesture history list
This is several columns of small squares in the upper right
side of the window -- one pair of columns for each player.
The player's names are listed at the tops of the columns.
Each column lists the recent gestures made by each player's
left and right hands. The most recent gestures are at the
bottom; as more turns pass, the columns scroll upwards. Each
square may show a spell-gesture, a knife stab, or no gesture
(an empty square). There may also be a 'disruption' icon,
indicating that an 'anti-spell' has interrupted that
wizard's gestures at that point, or a 'fog' icon, indicating
that you could not see that gesture (because of blindness,
for example.)
Note that everyone's columns in the history list do not
necessarily scroll at the same rate. If one player makes
extra gestures (because of a 'time-stop' or 'haste'), his
column will scroll up extra spaces. Do not assume that ges-
tures that appear to be lined up actually were performed at
the same time.
You also use the gesture history list to enter your ges-
tures. At the beginning of each turn, the bottom (most
recent) gestures in your column will be empty. (The bottom
gestures in your opponent's column will be fogged, since you
cannot see his gestures until you both finish choosing.) If
you move the mouse into one of your bottom gesture squares,
and hold down the left mouse button, a pop-up menu will
appear, listing the possible gestures with that hand. When
you have chosen gestures for both hands, press the "End
Move" button.
The status window
This is the small window just below the gesture columns. It
lists the name and status of every living being in the
arena. Your name is at the top; your opponent's names are on
successive lines. Names of monsters are indented, and listed
below the wizards who control them. (Monsters who are uncon-
trolled are indented and listed at the top of the status
window -- this occurs mostly in three-player game where a
wizard has summoned a monster and then died.) There is a
scroll bar on the window, in case you manage to have more
beings than will fit.
After each name is the number of hit points that being has
left. After that, there may be some letters indicating that
certain spells are in effect:
I: invisible
H: resistant to heat
C: resistant to cold
P: protection from evil
b: blind
d: diseased
p: poisoned
Speech window
This is a narrow window, one line tall, below the status
window. Anything you type will appear here (the cursor need
not be in the speech window.) When you hit Return, the mes-
sage you have typed will appear in each player's text win-
dow.
The common Emacs editing keys will work: ctrl-F, ctrl-B,
Delete, ctrl-A, ctrl-E, ctrl-K.
Spell List button
This is a button labelled "Spell List", underneath the text
window. If you press and hold the mouse button on this but-
ton, a pop-up window will appear, listing all the spells and
the gestures that produce them.
If you use the left mouse button, the spell list will be
sorted by gesture. If you use the middle mouse button, the
list will be sorted alphabetically by spell name. If you use
the right mouse button, the list will be sorted by the
reversed gesture sequence -- all the spells that end with a
clap, then all the spells that end with a digit, and so
forth. This is useful for looking up your opponent's ges-
tures to see what he might be producing.
End Move / End Answers button
This is a button labelled "End Move", underneath the text
window. You should click it when you are finished entering
your gestures at the start of the turn. If the button
changes to read "Move ENDED", then you should wait for your
opponent to finish entering his gestures.
When the last player presses the "End Move" button, the game
will determine which players need to make decisions (about
spell targets or other matters.) The decisions you need to
make will be listed in the questions window below, and the
"End Move" button will change to read "End Answers". When
you are finished answering, press the button, and it will
change to "Answers ENDED".
If at any time the button reads "please wait...", then you
have nothing to do but wait. (This may be because there are
no decisions you have to make this turn, or because your
opponent is taking an extra turn because of a 'time stop' or
something similar.) When your opponent is finished, he will
click his "End" button and the game will proceed.
When the duel is over, this button will change to say
"Quit". When all players have pressed it, the windows will
be removed and the program will exit.
Question window
This is the wide rectangle at the bottom of the screen.
Whenever the game has decisions for you to make, it will put
them in this window, one per line. (There is a scroll bar,
in case there are more questions than lines.) Move the cur-
sor onto a question and hold down the mouse button to get a
pop-up menu listing the possible answers.
You must have answers to all the questions before you click
the "End Answers" button. In some cases, there will be
default answers already listed. You may change the answer or
leave it alone.
GAME TRANSCRIPTS
At the end of the game, in addition to his "Quit" button,
the player who started the game will see the question "Do
you want to save a transcript of this game?" If he answers
"yes" before hitting "Quit", the program will store a text
transcript of the game in a temporary directory (usually
/tmp, unless your environment is configured otherwise.) This
transcript will show all gestures made by each player, as
well as all the text of the game, as seen by an outside
observer. Everything said by any of the players will also be
in the transcript, including comments made after the end of
the game. The filename of the transcript will be printed on
the standard output when all players have quit.
GESTURES
Spells are created by sequences of gestures made with the
hands. There are five single-handed gestures: the fingers
spread 
, the palm facing forward,
, the snap 
, the
wave 
and the pointing digit 
. Some spells use two-
handed gestures, which must be done simultaneously with both
hands to be valid. The most common two-handed gesture is the
clap 
, but the double digit 
, double wave 
, and
double snap 
are also used. The other things which can
be done with the hand are the non-gestures: the knife stab
"k" and nothing " ".
(In the game, the gestures are represented by images of the
hands in the various positions. The single-letter and
parenthesis-letter abbreviations are used only to make this
man page readable.)
To cast a spell, gestures are put in an order characteristic
of a spell. A list of spells (including the gestures needed
for them) is given later. For example, 3 finger gestures on
consecutive turns initiates a 'paralysis' spell.The
uniqueness of the game, however, is that gestures can be
made to operate in more than one spell, provided that:
a) the gestures have been made in the correct sequence
without interruption;
b) not more than one spell is created per gesture;
c) all gestures for one spell are made with the same
hand.
For instance, the left hand could cast the above and
could be followed byin the next 4 turns to finish
off a 'fireball' spell as the last 5 gestures
are those associated with that spell. Another alternative is
to simply perform another F for a second paralysis spell, as
the last 3 gestures are still . Thus, it is apparent
that if spells are used in a wise manner and overlap a lot,
the overall number of gestures needed to cast them can be
cut quite dramatically.
If a gesture can be construed to create two or more spells
then the caster must choose which one he wants to use. For
example, the last two gestures of a 'finger of death' are
the same as 'missile', yet only on odd occasions would the
latter be used. Another example of the one-spell-per-gesture
concept is the following:
Right hand: Last 4 gestures form 'invisibility'
Left hand: Last 3 gestures form 'counter-spell'
The trouble here is the 'invisibility' spell needs both
hands to perform certain gestures. However, since the final
S of the left hand cannot complete two spells it is clear
that a choice must be made between the of the
'counter-spell' and the of the invisibility. The
caster must choose one spell if the gestures are completed
in the correct sequence. Most spells can be shot off to
nowhere if not required, but some cannot be; for example,
'fire storm', which gets you no matter where it is released.
Some of the larger spells have smaller ones incorporated
within.
Spells can be aborted any way along their development simply
by performing a gesture with the hand doing the spell which
is not one needed for that spell. There is no penalty, save
having wasted some time. Note that no spells contain "stab",
"nothing", (half of a clap) and consequently after
pursuing one of these alternatives, any spell must start
from scratch. Note also that wizards only have one dagger
each, so they cannot stab with both hands at the same time
(although they can change hands for stabbing without wasting
time.) Such are the disadvantages of physical violence...
Certain spells cancel each other if they take effect simul-
taneously. An obvious example is 'finger of death' and
'raise dead'. Cancellation occurs when the subject for the
spells concerned is the same person, although there are some
of the heat versus cold variety which don't care who is the
subject. Other spells which cancel harmlessly are mostly the
enchantments, which direct that something be done which may
be impossible to obey due to some contradiction (e.g. you
cannot both repeat last turn's gestures and give a random
gesture with one hand, as you would if the subject of the
spells 'amnesia' and 'confusion' at once).
Since spells detonate simultaneously, there is occasionally
confusion over spells which don't cancel, yet which seem to
depend on which happened first. The best example is when a
monster is created and, on the same turn, hit by a 'fire-
ball', or something else sufficient to kill it. Since both
are simultaneous, the monster will attack that turn whilst
being destroyed. (There are some exceptions explicitly men-
tioned, for example ice elementals in 'ice storm', or
'counter-spell' / 'dispel magic' against all other spells.)
Another example of a seeming conflict is when someone who is
resistant to fire is the subject of both a 'remove enchant-
ment' and 'fireball'; the enchantment is removed as the
fireball explodes (since they are simultaneous) hence the
poor victim is fried. If, instead, he were not resistant to
fire and was hit by a 'resist fire' and 'fireball' at once,
then he would start to resist fire as the fireball exploded
and thus be saved.
Before the battle commences, the referee casts a 'dispel
magic' followed by an 'anti-spell' at each of the wizards.
This is so that they cannot commence gesturing prematurely.
Thus being resistant to fire in your last battle doesn't do
you any good in the next.
WINNING
Each wizard can sustain 14 points of damage, but on the 15th
or above he dies and the surviving wizard is declared the
winner. Simultaneous death is a posthumous draw. Damage
given to wizards and monsters is cumulative (so you don't
have to do it all in one go!) Dead monsters take no further
part in the game.
There is another alternative to being killed, namely the
'surrender'. This is not a spell, but a pair of P gestures
made by both hands at the same time. If any wizard does
this (accidentally or deliberately), he has surrendered, and
will be eliminated from the game at the end of that turn.
See the end of the spell list for details.
SPELLS
There now follows, in four sections, a list of the spells
which may be cast.
Protection spells
'Shield':
This spell protects the subject from all attacks from mon-
sters (that is, creatures created by a summoning spell),
from 'missile' spells, and from stabs by wizards. The shield
lasts for that turn only, but one shield will cover all such
attacks made against the subject that turn.
'Remove enchantment':
If the subject of this spell is currently being affected by
any of the spells in the "enchantments" section, or if
spells from that section are cast at him at the same time as
the remove enchantment, then all such spells terminate
immediately (although their effect for that turn might
already have passed.) For example, the victim of a 'blind-
ness' spell would not be able to see what his opponent's
gestures were on the turn that his sight is restored by a
'remove enchantment'. Note that the 'remove enchantment'
affects all enchantments whether the caster wants them to
all go or not. A second effect of the spell is to destroy
any monster upon which it is cast, although the monster can
attack in that turn.
'Magic mirror':
Any spell cast at the subject of this spell is reflected
back at the caster of that spell for that turn only. This
includes spells like 'missile' and 'lightning bolt' but does
not include attacks by monsters already in existence, or
stabs from wizards. Note that certain spells are cast by
wizards usually upon themselves (e.g. spells from this sec-
tion and the "Summons" section); the mirror has no effect on
these spells. It is countered totally, with no effect what-
soever, if the subject is the simultaneous subject of either
a 'counter-spell' or 'dispel magic'. It has no effect on
spells which affect more than one person, such as 'fire
storm'. Two mirrors cast at someone simultaneously combine
to form a single mirror. If a spell is reflected from a mir-
ror back at a wizard who also has a mirror, the spell
bounces back and forth until it falls apart.
'Counter-spell': or
Any other spell cast upon the subject in the same turn has
no effect whatever. In the case of blanket-type spells,
which affect more than one person, the subject of the
'counter-spell' alone is protected. For example, a 'fire
storm' spell would not affect a wizard if that wizard was
simultaneously the subject of a 'counter-spell', but every-
one else would be affected as usual (unless they had their
own protection.) The 'counter-spell' will cancel all the
spells cast at the subject for that turn, including 'remove
enchantment' and 'magic mirror', but not 'dispel magic' or
'finger of death'. It will combine with another spell of its
own type for the same effect as if it were alone. The
'counter-spell' will also act as a 'shield' on its subject,
in addition to its other properties. The spell has two
alternative gesture sequences, either of which may be used
at any time.
'Dispel magic':
This spell acts as a combination of 'counter-spell' and
'remove enchantment', but its effects are universal rather
than limited to the subject of the spell. It will stop any
spell cast in the same turn from working (apart from another
'dispel magic' spell which combines with it for the same
result), and will remove all enchantments from all beings
before they have effect. In addition, all monsters are des-
troyed, although they can attack that turn. 'Counter-spells'
and 'magic mirrors' have no effect. Like the 'counter-
spell', it also acts as a 'shield' for its subject. 'Dispel
magic' will not dispel stabs or surrenders, since they are
not spells (although the 'shield' effect may block a stab.)
'Raise dead':
The subject of this spell is usually a recently dead human
or monster corpse (it will not work on elementals, which
dissipate when destroyed.) When the spell is cast, life is
instilled back into the corpse and any damage which it has
sustained is cured until the owner is back to his usual
state of health. A 'remove enchantment' effect is also man-
ifest so any 'diseases' or 'poisons' will be neutralized
(plus any other enchantments). The subject will be able to
act as normal immediately, so that next turn he can gesture,
fight, etc. If the subject is a monster, it will be under
the control of the wizard who raised it, and it will be able
to attack that turn.
If the spell is cast on a live individual, the effect is
that of a 'cure wounds' recovering 5 points of damage, or as
many as have been sustained if less than 5. In this case,
'diseases', 'poisons', and other enchantments are not
removed.
This is the only spell which affects corpses properly;
therefore, it cannot be stopped by a 'counter-spell', since
'counter-spell' can only be cast on living beings. A 'dispel
magic' spell will stop it, since that affects all spells no
matter what their subject. Once alive the subject is
treated as normal.
'Cure light wounds':
If the subject has received damage then he is cured by 1
point as if that point had not been inflicted. (Recall that
all spells are resolved simultanously; if a wizard is
suffers his 15th point of damage at the same time as he is
affected by 'cure light wounds', he will remain alive with
14 points of damage at the end of the turn.) The effect is
not removed by a 'dispel magic' or 'remove enchantment'.
'Cure heavy wounds':
This spell is the same as 'cure light wounds' for its
effect, but 2 points of damage are cured instead of 1, or
only 1 if only 1 had been sustained. A side effect is that
the spell will also cure a disease. (Note that 'raise dead'
on a live individual won't).
Summons spells
'Summon Goblin':
This spell creates a goblin under the control of the wizard
upon whom the spell is cast. The goblin can attack immedi-
ately and its victim can be any any wizard or other monster
the controller desires. The goblin does 1 point of damage
to its victim per turn and is destroyed after 1 point of
damage is inflicted upon it.
'Summon Ogre':
This spell is the same as 'summon goblin', but the ogre
created inflicts and is destroyed by 2 points of damage
rather than 1.
'Summon Troll':
This spell is the same as 'summon goblin', but the troll
created inflicts and is destroyed by 3 points of damage
rather than 1.
'Summon Giant':
This spell is the same as 'summon goblin', but the giant
created inflicts and is destroyed by 4 points of damage
rather than 1.
'Summon Elemental':
This spell creates either a fire elemental or an ice elemen-
tal, at the discretion of the wizard upon whom the spell is
cast (after he has seen all the gestures made that turn.)
Elementals must be cast at someone and cannot be "shot off"
harmlessly at some inanimate object. The elemental will, for
that turn and until destroyed, attack everyone (including
its owner, and other monsters), causing 3 points of damage
per turn. Only wizards and monsters who are resistant to the
elemental's element (heat or cold), or who have a 'shield'
or a spell with a 'shield' effect, are safe. The elemental
takes 3 points of damage to be killed but may be destroyed
by spells of the opposite type (e.g. 'fire storm', 'resist
cold' or 'fireball' will kill an ice elemental), and will
also neutralize the cancelling spell. Elementals will not
attack on the turn they are destroyed by such a spell. An
elemental will also be engulfed and destroyed by a storm of
its own type but, in such an event, the storm is not neu-
tralized although the elemental still does not attack in
that turn. Two elementals of the opposite type will also
destroy each other before attacking, and two of the same
type will join together to form a single elemental of normal
strength. If there are two opposite storms and an elemental,
or two opposite elementals and one or two storms, all storms
and elementals cancel each other out.
Damaging Spells
'Missile':
This spell creates a material object of hard substance which
is hurled towards the subject of the spell and causes him 1
point of damage. The spell is thwarted by a 'shield' in
addition to the usual 'counter-spell', 'dispel magic' and
'magic mirror' (the latter causing it to hit whoever cast it
instead).
'Finger of Death':
Kills the subject stone dead. This spell is so powerful that
it is unaffected by a 'counter-spell', although a 'dispel
magic' spell cast upon the final gesture will stop it. The
usual way to prevent being harmed by this spell is to dis-
rupt it during casting -- using an 'anti-spell', for exam-
ple.
'Lightning Bolt': or
The subject of this spell is hit by a bolt of lightning and
sustains 5 points of damage. Resistance to heat or cold is
irrelevant. There are two gesture combinations for the
spell, but the shorter one may be used only once per battle
by any wizard. The longer one may be used without restric-
tion. A 'shield' spell offers no defence.
'Cause Light Wounds':
The subject of this spell is inflicted with 2 points of dam-
age. Resistance to heat or cold offers no defence. A simul-
taneous 'cure light wounds' does not cancel the spell; it
only heals one of the points of damage. A 'shield' has no
effect.
'Cause Heavy Wounds':
This has the same effect as 'cause light wounds' but
inflicts 3 points of damage instead of 2.
'Fireball':
The subject of this spell is hit by a ball of fire, and sus-
tains 5 points of damage unless he is resistant to fire. If
at the same time an 'ice storm' prevails, the subject of the
'fireball' is instead not harmed by either spell, although
the storm will affect others as normal. If directed at an
ice elemental, the fireball will destroy it before it can
attack.
'Fire storm':
Everything not resistant to heat sustains 5 points of damage
that turn. The spell cancels wholly, causing no damage, with
either an 'ice storm' or an ice elemental. It will destroy
but not be destroyed by a fire elemental. Two 'fire storms'
act as one.
'Ice storm':
Everything not resistant to cold sustains 5 points of damage
that turn. The spell cancels wholly, causing no damage, with
either a 'fire storm' or a fire elemental; it will cancel
locally with a 'fireball', sparing the subject of the 'fire-
ball' but nobody else. It will destroy but not be destroyed
by an ice elemental. Two 'ice storms' act as one.
Enchantments
'Amnesia':
If the subject of this spell is a wizard, next turn he must
repeat identically the gestures he made in the current turn,
including "nothing" and "stab" gestures. If the subject is
a monster it will attack whoever it attacked this turn. If
the subject is simultaneously the subject of any of 'confu-
sion', 'charm person', 'charm monster', 'paralysis' or
'fear' then none of the spells work.
'Confusion':
If the subject of this spell is a wizard, next turn one of
his gestures will be changed randomly. Either his left or
his right hand (50% chance of either) will perform a half-
clap, palm, digit, fingers, snap, or wave (chosen at ran-
dom). (Recall that a one-handed clap is useless unless the
other hand also attempts to clap.) If the subject of the
spell is a monster, it attacks at random that turn. If the
subject is also the subject of any of 'amnesia', 'charm
person', 'charm monster', 'paralysis' or 'fear', none of the
spells work.
'Charm Person':
Except for cancellation with other enchantments, this spell
only affects wizards. When the spell is cast, the caster
tells the subject which of his hands will be controlled; in
the following turn, the caster chooses the gesture he wants
the subject's chosen hand to perform. This could be a stab
or nothing. If the 'charm person' spell reflects from a
'magic mirror' back at its caster, the subject of the mirror
assumes the role of caster and controls down his opponent's
gesture. If the subject is also the subject of any of
'amnesia', 'confusion', 'charm monster', 'paralysis' or
'fear', none of the spells work.
'Charm Monster':
Except for cancellation with other enchantments, this spell
only affects monsters (but not elementals). Control of the
monster is transferred to the caster of the spell (or
retained by him) as of this turn; i.e., the monster will
attack whosoever its new controller dictates from that turn
onwards including that turn. Further charms are, of course,
possible, transferring as before. If the subject of the
charm is also the subject of any of: 'amnesia', 'confusion',
'charm person', 'fear' or 'paralysis', none of the spells
work.
'Paralysis':
If the subject of the spell is a wizard, then on the turn
the spell is cast, after gestures have been revealed, the
caster selects one of the wizard's hands; on the next turn
that hand is paralyzed into the position it is in this turn.
If the wizard already had a paralyzed hand, it must be the
same hand which is paralyzed again. Most gestures remain the
same (including "stab" and "nothing"), but if the hand being
paralyzed is performing a C, S, or W it is instead paralyzed
into F, D, or P respectively. A favourite ploy is to con-
tinually paralyze a hand (F-F-F-F-F-F etc.) into a non-P
gesture and then set a monster on the subject so that he has
to use his other hand to protect himself, but then has no
defence against other magical attacks. If the subject of the
spell is a monster, it simply does not attack in the turn
following the one in which the spell was cast. Elementals
are unaffected. If the subject of the spell is also the
subject of any of 'amnesia', 'confusion', 'charm person',
'charm monster' or 'fear', none of the spells work.
'Fear':
In the turn following the casting of this spell, the subject
cannot perform a C, D, F or S gesture with either hand. (He
can stab, however.) This obviously has no effect on mon-
sters. If the subject is also the subject of 'amnesia',
'confusion', 'charm person', 'charm monster' or 'paralysis',
then none of the spells work.
'Anti-spell':
On the turn following the casting of this spell, the subject
cannot include any gestures made on or before this turn in a
spell sequence and must restart a new spell from the begin-
ning of that spell sequence. (This is marked by a special
'disruption' icon interrupting the subject's gesture his-
tory.) The spell does not affect spells which are cast on
the same turn; nor does it affect monsters.
'Protection from Evil':
For this turn and the following three turns, the subject of
this spell is protected as if using a 'shield' spell, thus
leaving both hands free. Concurrent 'shield' spells offer
no further protection, and compound 'protection from evil'
spells merely overlap offering no extra cover.
'Resist Heat':
The subject of this spell becomes permanently resistant to
all forms of heat attack ('fireball', 'fire storm' and fire
elementals). Only 'dispel magic' or 'remove enchantment'
will terminate this resistance once started (although a
'counter-spell' will prevent it from working if cast at the
subject at the same time as this spell). A 'resist heat'
cast directly on a fire elemental will destroy it before it
can attack that turn, but there is no effect on ice elemen-
tals.
'Resist Cold':
The effects of this spell are identical to 'resist heat' but
resistance is to cold ('ice storm' and ice elementals). It
destroys ice elementals if they are the subject of the
spell, but doesn't affect fire elementals.
'Disease':
The subject of this spell immediately contracts a deadly
(non-contagious) disease which will kill him at the end of 6
turns counting from the one upon which the spell is cast.
The malady is cured by 'remove enchantment', 'cure heavy
wounds' or 'dispel magic' in the meantime.
'Poison':
This is similar to the 'disease' spell, except that 'cure
heavy wounds' does not stop its effects.
'Blindness':
For the next three turns (not including the one in which the
spell was cast), the subject is unable to see. If he is a
wizard, he cannot tell what his opponent's gestures are,
although he will sense what spells are cast. If he tries to
cast spells (or stab) at other beings, he will miss. Blinded
monsters are instantly destroyed and cannot attack in that
turn.
'Invisibility':
This spell is similar to 'blindness'; the subject of the
spell becomes invisible to his opponent and his monsters.
His gestures cannot be seen, although his spells can. No
other being can attack or cast spells at him, with the
exception of elementals. Any monster made invisible is des-
troyed due to the unstable nature of such magically created
creatures.
'Haste':
For the next three turns, the subject is speeded up; wizards
can make an extra set of gestures, and monsters can make an
extra attack. For wizards, the effects of both sets of ges-
tures are taken simultaneously at the end of the turn. Thus
a single 'counter-spell' from his adversary could cancel two
spells cast by the hastened wizard on two half-turns if the
phasing is right. Non-hastened wizards and monsters can see
everything the hastened individual is doing. Hastened mon-
sters can change target in the extra turns if desired.
'Time stop':
The subject of this spell immediately takes an extra turn,
on which no-one can see or know about unless they are
harmed. All non-affected beings have no resistance to any
form of attack, e.g. a wizard halfway through the duration
of a 'protection from evil' spell can be harmed by a monster
which has had its time stopped. Time-stopped monsters attack
whoever their controller instructs, and time-stopped elemen-
tals affect everyone, resistance to heat or cold being imma-
terial in that turn.
'Delayed effect':
This spell must be cast upon a wizard. The next spell the
subject completes, provided it is in one of the next three
turns, is "banked" until needed -- i.e. it fails to work
until its caster desires. (If you have a spell banked, you
will be asked each turn if you want to release it.) Note
that spells banked are those cast by the subject, not those
cast at him. If he casts more than one spell at the same
time, he chooses which is to be banked. Remember that P is a
'shield' spell, and surrender is not a spell. A wizard may
only have one spell banked at any one time.
'Permanency':
This spell must be upon a wizard. The next spell he com-
pletes, provided it is in the next three turns, and which
falls into the category of "Enchantments" will have its
effect made permanent. (Exeptions: 'anti-spell', 'disease',
'poison', 'time-stop', 'delayed effect', and 'permanency'
cannot be made permanent. Note that 'resist heat' and
'resist cold' are inherently permanent enchantments.) This
means that the effect of the extended spell on the first
turn of its duration is repeated eternally. For example, a
'confusion' spell will produce the same gesture on the same
hand rather than changing randomly each turn; a 'charm per-
son' will mean repetition of the chosen gesture, etc. If the
subject of the 'permanency' casts more than one spell at the
same time eligible for permanency, he chooses which has its
duration extended. Note that the person who has his spell
made permanent does not necessarily have to make himself the
subject of the spell. If both a 'permanency' and 'delayed
effect' are eligible for the same spell to be banked or
extended, a choice must be made; whichever is not chosen
will affect the next eligible spell instead.
Non-spells
'Surrender': 
This is not a spell; consequently, it cannot be cast at any-
one, nor can it be dispelled, counter-spelled, reflected off
a mirror, or banked. A wizard who makes two simultaneous P
gestures, irrespective of whether they terminate spells or
not, surrenders and the contest is over. The surrendering
wizard is deemed to have lost unless his gestures complete
spells which kill his opponent. Two simultaneous surrenders
count as a draw. It is a necessary skill for wizards to work
their spells so that they never accidentally perform two P
gestures simultaneously. Wizards can be killed as they
surrender (if hit with appropriate spells or attacks) but
the "referees" will cure any diseases, poisons, etc.
immediately after the surrender for them.
'Stab': stab
This is not a spell, but an attack which can be directed at
any individual monster or wizard. Unless protected in that
turn by a 'shield' spell or another spell with the same
effect, the target stabbed suffers 1 point of damage. The
wizard only has one knife, so can only stab with one hand in
any turn, although which hand doesn't matter. The stab can-
not be reflected, counter-spelled, dispelled, or banked.
BUGS
Does not conform exactly to the original Spellcaster rules.
Tough. Some points of divergence:
The choosing of targets for monsters is handled much too
late in the round, and monster attacks are not perfectly
simultaneous with spell attacks. This results in a number of
minor effects which are inconsistent with the original
rules. Since I don't plan to do a major rewrite anytime
soon, you just get to live with it.
If 'remove enchantment' is cast on a wizard who is also the
subject of a summoning spell, the summoned monster should be
destroyed after attacking.
If a mind-control spell (paralysis, confusion, amnesia) is
cast on a monster by a time-stopped wizard, the spell should
take effect on the next turn, rather than (as currently hap-
pens) the turn after next.
The 'delayed effect' and 'permanency' spells should be able
to bank or extend spells cast during the same turn, as well
as those cast during the next three turns.
HISTORY
The original paper-and-pencil version of this game, entitled
Spellbinder, was created by Richard Bartle; it was printed
in his zine Sauce of the Nile. He attempted to have it com-
mercially produced, but apparently didn't get very far.
It was reprinted (with some changes) as Spellcaster in the
fanzine Duel Purpose, written by Mike Lean. From there, it
was scanned and posted to the Net by Andrew Buchanan
(buchanan@heron.enet.dec.com). I grabbed it and wrote this X
version.
Richard Bartle <76703.3042@compuserve.com> would like to
point out that he is not at all dead. He has nicely given his
permissionto distribute this program, as long as it remains free.
AUTHOR
Andrew Plotkin <ap1i+@andrew.cmu.edu>