ADOM Guidebook

Spells - description and usefulness

There is a description of available spells in the ADOM manual. The range and damage information has been removed from the manual in ADOM 1.1.x+. Accordingly they are tabulated below. The diameter of ball spells is dependent upon Willpower / 8. However, this diameter only increases as a multiple of sixteen since ball spells radiate symmetrically; the minimum diameter is two. Therefore getting Willpower to 24, for instance, does not increase the diameter. Willpower must be increased to 32 for the diameter to increase to four, 48 for the diameter to increase to six, 64 for the diameter to increase to eight, etc.

Note that spells become more costly to cast (in terms of PP) as the number of available castings decreases. Thus a spell will increase in cost as the number of available castings decreases below 100 or so, becoming very noticeable as the number drops below about 20. This is class dependent but will affect all classes to differing extents. Note also that the number of available castings is not a simple "decrement by one each time the spell is cast" type of formula. Again depending on class, the difficulty of casting the spell and probably other factors this will vary. For example, casting Light with 1000 castings available to a level 40 wizard may decrease the available castings by one, while casting Death Ray with 20 castings available with a level 30 archer may reduce the available castings to zero. These are purely hypothetical examples but should give an idea of the trends.

Some general remarks about spells: Ball spells are extraordinarily useful since no monsters shrug them off. They are wonderful when the PC is surrounded, of course. It is worth switching to Coward tactics and waiting to be completely surrounded before casting. Since they are relatively costly in terms of PP, it is useful to destroy the maximum number of enemies with each casting. Fire magic is particularly effective against cold-based creatures and undead including mummies. Cold magic is particularly effective against fire-based creatures. Bless damages undead. Healing spells can be cast at monsters including companions (but don't use them on slaves!). Wish is a unique spell. It is very difficult to learn, probably impossible if the PC has teleportitis. Such PC's must travel to a location where teleportation is impossible, such as the the Assassin's Guild, the Tomb of the High Kings or the elemental temples (the desirability is in that order due to background corruption in all of those locations). Furthermore, PC's will usually reach Starving! status while attempting to learn Wish. Tactics to deal with this include eating a blessed stomfillia to become Bloated, waiting just until the PC returns to Satiated, then eating another blessed stomfillia. It may be necessary to drink additional satiating potions, such as potions of toughness or potential toughness, even when the double blessed stomafillia tactic is used. Alternatively, PC's without teleportitis can use a room that has the "rich flavour" special effect, where PC's will never become hungry. Wish is extraordinarly expensive to cast and also drains a random stat by -10 when cast. If the PC must cast it, be prepared for the stat drain. Plan to cast it in a special room that lowers spell costs, and on Silvernight or Darknight, if possible, according to the PC's alignment.

Bounces in the Remarks field means the bolt will bounce off walls. Bolts do not bounce off doors.

Some spell durations stack. Bless, Strength of Atlas, invisibility and Farsight all stack. Notation for spells:

W - Willpower of the PC
M - Mana of the PC
L - Level of the PC
E - Spell Effectiveness for the given spell
R - Maximum range (as determined by the range formula)
r - Remaining range points when target is hit

M{x, y} - take the maximum of x and y
m{x, y} - take the minimum of x and y

SpellRange or diameterDamageDurationRemarks
Acid Ball / Rain Of SorrowM{2, W / 8}M{3, L / 4 + 2}d9 + L + E  
Acid BoltW / 4 + L / 4 + 2M{4, (L + E) / 3}d8 + r  
Bless  3d{W + E} 
Burning Hands / Baptism of Fire m{15, L}d3 + L + E  
Calm Monster    
Create Item / Divine Favour    
Cure Critical Wounds cures 4d8 + 4 + E  
Cure Disease    
Cure Light Wounds cures 1d8 + 1 + E  
Cure Serious Wounds cures 2d10 + 2 + E  
Darkness1 + M{4, (W + E) / 4} / 2   
Death Ray / Greater Divine TouchM{2, m{16, (W + E) / 8}}   
Destroy Undead / Dispel Undead {L + 1}d6 + W + E  
Disarm Trap    
Earthquake    
Farsight  (M + E) * 10 
Fire Bolt / Hellish FlamesW / 4 + L / 4 + 2M{4, (L + E) / 3}d6 + r  
Fireball / Major PunishmentM{2, W / 8}M{3, L / 4 + 2}d6 + L + E  
Frost Bolt / Nether BoltW / 4 + L / 4 + 2M{4, (L + E) / 3}d6 + r  
Greater Identify / Greater Enlightment    
Heal cures 10d6 + 10 + E  
Ice Ball / Freezing FuryM{2, W / 8}M{3, L / 4 + 2}d7 + L + E  
Identify / Enlightenment    
Improved Fireball / Invoked DevastationR: LOS D:M{2, W / 8}{2 + (L + E) / 5}d8 + L  
Invisibility / Veil Of The Gods  {L + E + 3}d6 
Knock / Divine Key    
Know Alignment    
Light1 + M{4, (W + E) / 4} / 2   
Lightning Ball / Heavenly FuryM{2, W / 8}M{3, L / 4 + 2}d8 + L + E  
Lightning Bolt / Divine WrathW / 4 + L / 4 + 2Damage: M{4, (L + E) / 3}d6 + r Bounces
Magic Lock / Seal of the Spheres   Will close and lock a door in one turn
Magic Map / Knowledge of the Ancients    
Magic Missile / Minor PunishmentW / 4 + L / 4 + 2M{2, (L + E) / 3}d4 + r Bounces; nothing is resistant to Magic Missile
Mystic Shovel / Divine DiggerM{2, m{10, (W + E) / 5}}   
Neutralize Poison    
Petrification    
Remove Curse    
Revelation    
Scare Monster / Holy Awe  (L)d4 turns + E 
Slow Monster    
Slow Poison    
Strength Of Atlas / Lordly Might  (W + E) * 20 
Stun Ray / Lesser Divine TouchM{3, m{12, (W + E) / 4}}   
Summon Monsters    
Teleportation / Ethereal Bridge    
WebM{3, m{12, (W + E) / 4}}   
Wish / Divine Intervention    

Mindcraft

Note that Confusion Blast, available to experience level one Mindcrafters, works analogously to Ventriloquism (see section 0.4). It confuses a monster who then does not alert other monsters on the level.

Malte Helmert contributed the following table regarding Mindcraft:

LevelTPCCOBCOWMBLMSHMWVTBLEOMGMBGTBREGTPSTPOGMW
1 N/A8
2 N/A8
3 N/A724
4 N/A724
5 N/A724
6 N/A62318
7 N/A62318
8 N/A62318
9 N/A522175/T
10N/A522174/T
11N/A522174/T
12N/A421164/T
13N/A421164/T47
14N/A421164/T46
15N/A320153/T4530
16N/A320153/T4428
17N/A320153/T4326
18N/A319143/T42246
19N/A319143/T41226
20N/A319142/T40206
21N/A318132/T39185
22N/A318132/T38185
23N/A318132/T37185
24N/A317122/T36184
25N/A317122/T3518427
26N/A317122/T3418427
27N/A316112/T3318326
28N/A316112/T3218326
29N/A316112/T3118326
30N/A315102/T301832560
31N/A315102/T291832558
32N/A315102/T281832556
33N/A314 92/T271832454
34N/A314 92/T261832452
35N/A314 92/T2518324505/T
36N/A313 82/T2418323485/T
37N/A313 82/T2318323465/T
38N/A313 82/T2218323445/T
39N/A312 72/T2118322425/T
40N/A312 72/T2018322404/T35
41N/A312 72/T1918322384/T35
42N/A311 62/T1818321364/T35
43N/A311 62/T1718321344/T35
44N/A311 62/T1618321324/T35
45N/A310 52/T1518320304/T3535
46N/A310 52/T1518320284/T3535
47N/A310 52/T1518320264/T3535
48N/A3 9 52/T1518319254/T3535
49N/A3 9 52/T1518319254/T3535
50N/A3 9 52/T1518319253/T353550

N/A: this is for free
x/T: x PP per turn

TPC - Teleport Control
COB - Confusion Blast
COW - Confusion Wave
MBL - Mind Blast
MSH - Mental Shield
MWV - Mind Wave
TBL - Telekinetic Blast
EOM - Eyes of the Mind
GMB - Greater Mental Blast
GTB - Greater Telekinetic Blast
REG - Regeneration
TPS - Teleport Self
TPO - Teleport Other
GMW - Greater Mental Wave

Updated June 21st, 2009