Most popular spells

Which spells seem to be popular enough that someone would publish, and expect to receive income from, books or tractatus on spell mastery for them?

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Pilum of Fire. (Arc of Fiery Ribbons, Ball of Abysmal Flames and Incantation of Lightning may also be popular enough).
Wizards Sidestep.
Aegis of the Hearth, level 20 and 40 I'd think.
7 League Stride and Leap of Homecoming.

Some others while popular, are they popular to master? Mastery, the big sell is no botches, fast cast and multi cast. If one is casting in a low stress environment, spell casting is a simple roll, so the botch isn't an issue.
The following, I'd think popular, but not popular to have mastered.

Thoughts Within Babble.
Purification of the Festering Wound
Aura of Ennobled Presence
Veil of Invisibility
Opening the intangible tunnel - lvl 25.

Quaesitors probably have
Pose the Silent Question
Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie

Lastly there's advertising mastered spells for effect.
The enigma's gift. The message is; do you fancy getting 16 warping points if you cross me?

I may edit later and add some more.

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The popular spells are those most likely to already have had many books on spell mastery written for them.

But anyway, some spells that are more likely than others to be mastered include:
Pilum of Fire
Demon's Eternal Oblivion
Wizard's Leap

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Maybe a few choices from: What spells should every covenant have? (Arcane Connection) - #38 by cj.23

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Don't forget Mastery for spell resistance. This would make intangible tunnel mastery popular for paranoid magi.

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Some very general (paying magnitudes for flexibility) Rego craft-magic spells, to exploit the mastery that allows one to add one's Mastery score to Finesse.

I'd expect to see more Tractatus on Spell Mastery than Summa. There might be two to four Summae for something like Pilum of Fire, or Aegis of The Hearth, but most other spells would probably have 1-2 Summae, and likely no more than level 2-3, whereas the two above could potentially have level 4-5.

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I did a bunch of research on this for an article on PERIPHERAL CODE 2. If you need a copy, I can send it to you. You’ll find there a list of all Spell Mastery texts mentioned in the line, a list of published magi who could publish better-than-minimal books on Spell Mastery, a sample magus who makes his living doing exactly what you’re talking about, and a Societas built around magi with Spell Mastery who do this.

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I'm a little curious actually. I wouldn't mind having that list.

Sounds interesting

Oooh, that might be an interesting list to have!

It all starts on page 36.

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It seems to me that on an order-wide basis, lower quality tractatus that might otherwise be considered vain on the subject of spell mastery for less popular spells might have their own circulation, provided the quality is above five so it is worth more than practice or adventure.

I would add Vilano's Sling to this list. Mastering a spell that bypasses Parma, can be mutli-casted and benefits from Precise casting, possibly Quick Casting on top of Fast Casting and of low level to be learned by young magi during their apprenticeship.

Vilano's sling and Wizard's Leap are both based on Rego, so for a hunter/fighter young mage, they are easy to learn with minimal Art investment and will prove a good mix to handle many fights, especially with a few mastery levels.

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I'd think quality 8, so that 2 tractacti get someone to level 2 would be the minimum; 10 would be desirable as it is effectively 2 seasons of practice.

If that's the tool kit you're looking for, don't forget to add Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10, ArM5, p. 147) - an excellent defensive spell, for very little investment. Especially for a Rego-user. Not sure what masteries to go for though. Maybe fast casting?

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Vilano's Sling: Multicasting, Fast Casting, Precise casting, Quick casting, I think it is quite self-explanatory considering the use of the spell.

Pilum: same as Vilano's but Precise casting is replaced by Penetration, and Magic resistance can be added (it works not only against the specific spell, but also similar spells). For higher level damage-dealing spell (like IoL), the order could be changed, with Penetration becoming a higher priority since if such spell overcomes the magic resistance, their is a much higher chance of incapacitating the enemy with a single spell, so multi-casting can be less relevant.

Wizard's Leap (ReCo 10-20, Base 10, Inst, Ind, Pers/Touch(+1) or Voice (+2)): it depends on the variant. Personal range (level 10), Fast casting and Quick casting are required, and Precise casting is useful. But the Touch or Voice version is interesting to be multi-cast for helping several allies in a round - just have some drill-practice with the grogs beforehand so they know what to expect...

WIzard's Sidestep: it mostly works if cast before the fight starts (compared to Wizar's Leap), so it is less clear if it will really benefit from Fast cast. If in melee, it is less efficient that Wizard's Leap, but against range attack it is quite good although unlikely to be cast several times during a round or even a fight.

Imperturbable casting has a higher value for defensive spell - the mage really does not want to fail his casting in do-or-die situation.

Special mention to...
Disguised casting can be useful for a combat spell, but since the intention is not to leave a recognizable sigil, there is usually a more dubious intention behind it (assassination attempt for example) since only other mages will likely be able to interpret the traces left by the sigil, so very, very niche and definitely not advertised skill.

The other masteries are more useful for non-combat spells and are quite specific.

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I've always imagined that a published Lab Text for a popular spell would often be bound together with a Tractatus on that spell's mastery. :slight_smile:

Mastery in itself does not take a book. Aegis is worth mastering, but the main attraction is the first level to avoid the botch risk. Extra penetration is nice, but since you do not know the target, you have no multiplier, so it is better to invest in the arts and in penetration. Same goes for Wizard's Sidestep. It is personal, so you only cast it once, and need not penetrate, All you want is to avoid the botch risk.

The most important spell are the offensive spells you want to multicast, and the ones you want to penetrate. DEO, Pilum, and Vilano have been mentioned. I would add call to slumber and other less intrusive attack spells. Inexorable search would probably raise suspicion of scrying, so maybe not.

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While those can certainly be useful to master, the most important spells to master are defensive spells you want to be able to fastcast.