Magic Skills

Discworld MUD help files: http://discworld.atuin.net/lpc/playing/documentation.c?path=/concepts/magic

The Magic skill tree has a lot in common with Faith, in that it heavily utilises just one stat - this case, Intelligence - to the exclusion of most of the others. And like Faith, one must invest a great deal of commitment and time to acquiring the XP required to attain suitable skill levels for success. If anything, Magic is even more hard work than Faith.

As such, the same warning applies to rearranges favouring Magic as it does to Faith: think carefully before taking the plunge in favour of this skill tree.

That said, a rearrange in favour of Magic is less exclusive than one for Faith, because Intelligence is used more commonly than Wisdom for many things - notably for special attacks in Combat. I myself have done rather well with an extreme rearrange favouring Intelligence - because I balanced it with Dexterity. My fighting skills may yet be modest - but they're very effective.

The tree is shown here (along with the command that yields it) with the stat dependencies breakdown for each leaf skill. As mentioned in The Rearrange, this information is extremely useful when considering bonuses.

skills magic stats
SKILL                              Stats
magic                              IIIDW 
magic.items                        IIDWW 
magic.items.held                   IIDWW 
magic.items.held.broom             IIDWW 
magic.items.held.rod               IIDWW 
magic.items.held.staff             IIDWW 
magic.items.held.wand              IIDWW 
magic.items.scroll                 IIDWW 
magic.items.talisman               IIDWW 
magic.items.worn                   IIDWW 
magic.items.worn.amulet            IIDWW 
magic.items.worn.ring              IIDWW 
magic.methods                      IIIDW 
magic.methods.elemental            IICCC 
magic.methods.elemental.air        IICCC 
magic.methods.elemental.earth      IICCC 
magic.methods.elemental.fire       IICCC 
magic.methods.elemental.water      IICCC 
magic.methods.mental               IIIII 
magic.methods.mental.animating     IIIII 
magic.methods.mental.channeling    IIIII 
magic.methods.mental.charming      IIIII 
magic.methods.mental.convoking     IIIII 
magic.methods.mental.cursing       IIIII 
magic.methods.physical             IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.binding     IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.brewing     IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.chanting    IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.dancing     IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.enchanting  IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.evoking     IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.healing     IIDDD 
magic.methods.physical.scrying     IIDDD 
magic.methods.spiritual            IIWWW 
magic.methods.spiritual.abjuring   IIWWW 
magic.methods.spiritual.banishing  IIWWW 
magic.methods.spiritual.conjuring  IIWWW 
magic.methods.spiritual.divining   IIWWW 
magic.methods.spiritual.summoning  IIWWW 
magic.points                       IISWW 
magic.spells                       IIDWW 
magic.spells.defensive             WCCII 
magic.spells.misc                  WDDII 
magic.spells.offensive             WSSII 
magic.spells.special               WWWII 

NB: The layout of the skill trees as seen here is given by typing options output skills = list. If you do this, but then decide you prefer the default table layout, you may return to it by typing options output skills = branched.

Magic Commands Available to All Players

There are no magical commands available to non-members of the magical Guilds. However, you may develop the skills to perform any spell which has been scribed to a scroll. Magical artefacts, such as rings and wands, may also be used by those with the requisite skills regardless of Guild (or lack thereof).

Possibly the most desirable spell for any Adventurer (and many others) is Jogloran's Portal of Cheaper Travel (JPCT), which allows you - and any number of people you may have with you - to travel through a portal over any distance.

Note well, however, that spell casting is considerably more dangerous than performing rituals. Failing to handle a scroll due to insufficient skills can take 4 points off your Intelligence; exploding scrolls can kill. So can burning, rumbling and exploding portals!

Useful Websites

In former times, the indispensable resource was The Spellcheck Project. Sadly, this beautiful website has gone the way of all else hosted by the ill-fated Darkmud server, and is - currently - no more.

However, in its place has arisen the magnificent Home of Wizardry, which has salvaged most of the same material and presented it in a very digestible form indeed. Bookmark this site, all ye who would dabble in that which men was not meant to wot of!

For a more atmospheric, and equally comprehensive experience, I highly recommend Sekiri's A Study of Wizardry. Formerly hosted by Geocities until they closed their web hosting facility, Sekiri's site has been lovingly preserved in two places:

• Sekiri's site in Sined's Geocities Archive
• Sekiri's site, with a dab of polish and a page explaining what happened to the original, maintained by Lasse

While Sined's site is a static archive, Lasse the Red has undertaken to keep the material up to date in hers. I would therefore recommend bookmarking her version, at least until Sekiri returns.

And finally, there is the Wizard's Guild - Discworld MUD Wiki. Not a bad little site at all, but currently rather overshadowed by the two sites given above.