First, let me state that this file has nothing to do with the operating
system known as MagiC.  There is no sensible reason to run a game program
like Dungeon Master under such an operating system anyway, as the design
of the program is entirely for singletasking.  It even inhibits the task
switching built into normal TOS entirely, and steals all GEM RAM...

Instead this file deals with the arcane magic used by the Dungeon Master
characters for a large variety of purposes, both benevolent and aggressive.


My description of the DM magic system is similar to (but not copied from)
some information available in the manuals that accompanied the commercial
Dungeon Master releases (once upon a verrrry long time ago...).

One vital fact to note here in the beginning of the text is that I will not
reveal any of the spells to you. Discovering them is part of the fun of the
game, and I will not ruin that for you.  I will merely describe some rules
of DM magic, and show what the runes look like that are used to invoke the
various magic properties.  In this limitation too, my text also follows
the example of the original manuals.


DM magic is based on spells, constructed by runes, following strict rules.
Some of those rules are enforced by the user interface, while others must
be found out by each player, by trial and error.  This is intentional !
Some other rules are described further below in this file.

I'll also try to illustrate the runes below, but due to limitations of
Ascii, some will be very rough representations, but you will recognize
them as you see them in the game.

NB: When you invoke magic you can only see the graphical runes, but when
    you find clues in the game, giving spell recipes, those only use the
    names for the runes using normal alphabet.  This means that you need
    a list of all the runes, giving both their graphical representation
    and their names using alphabet.  Else you can't use the clues found.
    One way to get such a list is to print this file. The ascii 'graphs'
    are not very good, but they are a lot better than none at all...


Now, as to the spells.  As you probably know there are four categories of
runes, and each spell consists of at least one each from the first two
categories and more complex spells add a rune of the third category, while
the most difficult spells add one from the fourth category.

Further, there are two separate branches of DM magic.  One is available
to priests and another is available to wizards.  The former is mainly
concerned with benevolent spells, for healing or protection, while the
latter is much (but not entirely) concerned with aggressive attacks on
the enemy.

It is important that even highly developed skills in one of the branches
do not help you at all in succeeding with spells of the other branch. Even
an Archmaster Wizard will fail with simple healing spells, until he also
develops a priestly skill level. But any skilled users of magic can train
better to learn new spells of either branch, because they already have
access to a decent level of Mana, making frequent attempts possible.


Here follows the desriptions of the four categories of runes, in order:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The first category defines the strength of the total spell, and will work
as a multiplier for the Mana cost of casting the spell.

A very few spells do something not dependent on strength, so it would be
very wasteful to use a strong power rune for such spells, but in most cases
the strength of the first rune can decide life-or-death issues.

But early on you must use the lowest power runes, because you'll never
get enough Mana to complete the spells otherwise.  This is because the
category itself is also a factor in the cost, so even if you can afford
all of the runes in the first category, you might not be able to afford
even the cheapest rune in latter categories, if the power factor was
chosen too high.

Completing spells is important, even if they are too weak to accomplish
much, because each time you complete a valid spell you gain experience,
and experience can raise the skill level of your priests and wizards. That
will raise their level of Mana as well, making demanding spells possible.

The power runes, in rising order of power and mana cost are these:

Number:  Name:  Meaning:
-------  -----  --------
   1     Lo     Lowest power and cost factor
   2     Um     2nd power and cost factor
   3     On     3rd power and cost factor
   4     Ee     4th power and cost factor
   5     Pa     5th power and cost factor
   6     Mon    Highest power and cost factor

And they look as shown below:

Lo        Um        On        Ee        Pa        Mon
--------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
  *                             *       **             *
 *   *     ******   ******     * *        *           **
*   *      *    *             *   *        **        * *
 *   *     ******   ******     * *        *         *  *
  *                             *       **         *****


The second category defines the element of the spell, and mostly
this means that the spell somehow invokes that element, or one or
more of its characteristics.

Their runes in rising order of mana cost are these

Number:  Name:  Element and characteristics:
-------  -----  ----------------------------
   1     Ya     Earth  ==  Solid, enduring, strong
   2     Vi     Water  ==  Fluid, nourishing, potable
   3     Oh     Air    ==  Gaseous, transparent, invisible
   4     Ful    Fire   ==  Fiery, burning, temperamental
   5     Des    Void   ==  Empty, absent, desolate
   6     Zo     Chaos  ==  Chaotic, random, unbound

And they look as shown below:

Ya        Vi        Oh        Ful       Des       Zo
--------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
*****      **  *                         ***      ** **
* * *     *  **       *         *  **    * *      * * *
*****               *   *      *  *  *   ***       *** 
* * *      **  *      *         **  *              * *
*****     *  **                         *******    ***


The third category (when used) directs or modifies the action
or activity to be caused or interfered with by the spell.

Their runes in rising order of mana cost are these

Number:  Name:  Meaning:
-------  -----  --------
   1     Ven    Poison
   2     Ew     Monster
   3     Kath   Force
   4     Ir     Passage through air
   5     Bro    Friend
   6     Gor    Evil

And they look as shown below:

Ven       Ew        Kath      Ir        Bro       Gor
--------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
*****      **       *****       ***     ****         *
 * *      *  ***        *      *            *         *
  *       *  *  *   *** *      **       *   *     ******
 * *         *  *     * *     *         *          *
*****         **    * * *      ***       ****       *


The fourth category invokes the essential character of some
kind of creature in connection to the spell.  Their use is
the most esoteric of all the runes, and only advanced wizards
and priests will be able to use them properly.

Their runes in rising order of mana cost are these

Number:  Name:  Meaning:
-------  -----  --------
   1     Ku     Fighter
   2     Ros    Ninja
   3     Dain   Wizard
   4     Neta   Priest
   5     Ra     God
   6     Sar    Devil

And they look as shown below:

Ku        Ros       Dain      Neta      Ra        Sar
--------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
    *                *   **      *      *  *  *    *    *
   *                  *  **   *******    * * *     *    *
* *          *        **         *      *******     ****
 *        *     *    *  *        *       * * *     *    *
* *        *****    *    *      ***     *  *  *     ****


That completes this Dungeon Master spell rune description.
