The protagonist of the series is a wizard of Analand. (I guess you can play as a warrior, and I suppose I should try it some day, but I still don't know why anyone would.) There are 48 spells in the Sorcery Spell Book, and it's interesting to note that these are all the spells known in Analand. A wizard who knows all of these spells is said to be a true Imperial Sorcerer.
This isn't the first magic system introduced in Fighting Fantasy: Steve Jackson himself used a completely different one in The Citadel of Chaos. That one works much like the system in Dungeons & Dragons, with the wizard having a number of spells prepared and using them up as they are cast. If you begin your adventure with three Fire spells, you can only cast that spell three times. Getting those spells back isn't addressed in The Citadel of Chaos, but presumably it happens after a rest of some sort.
In Sorcery! each spell has a three-letter code, and it's up to the caster/reader to memorise that code and use the corresponding spell when appropriate. The only limit to how many times a spell can be used is the wizard's Stamina, as these spells draw power directly from the caster. There are four levels of Stamina drain caused by the spells. The lowest, those spells that only drain 1 Stamina point, also require an object of some kind, such as a green wig or a sun jewel; perhaps the item helps lessen the strain on the caster somehow. The spells that drain 2 Stamina points seem to be a little more specialised, and are perhaps not as powerful as the more strenuous spells. There are six spells that drain 4 Stamina per use, and these are supposedly the most powerful and versatile; the book claims that you can get through the adventure using only these spells, and recommends them as the first ones you commit to memory. Finally, there is the mysterious ZED spell, which drains 7 Stamina points and has never been cast by anyone living. This spell is a whole class in itself, and can only be used at one very specific place in the final book.
I've never read any complaints about the differing magic systems on Titan, but there are always fans around who get irritated by inconsistencies. I don't have a problem with it, though. Just because magic exists doesn't mean that every society has to use it in the same way, and Analand is a long way away from the Vale of Willow. At this point they're not even established as existing on the same world, so it's something of a moot point.
SPELL COMPONENTS
Of the 48 spells in the game, 28 require some kind of object to cast. Below I've listed the spell components that can be found in this book, along with their locations.
- Beeswax for the RAZ spell - found in a tree near Cantopani
- A Bamboo Flute for the JIG spell - bought from the Cantopani trader
- Goblin Teeth for the GOB spell - 4 can be bought from the Cantopani trader, and a further 8 can be found if you kill some goblins outside of the Schanker Mines
- Giant Teeth for the YOB spell - 1 can be bought from the Cantopani trader, and an indeterminate amount can be taken from a giant's corpse in the Lea-Ki
- A Vial of Glue for the GUM - given as a gift by Alianna
- A Medicinal Potion for the DOC spell - bought from the Cantopani trader
- Pebbles for the POP spell - 4 are given as a gift by Alianna
- Sand for the MUD spell - a bag is found if you loot Alianna's hut
- Nose Plugs for the NIF spell - given as a gift by Alianna
- Cloth Skullcap for the TEL spell - bought from the Dhumpus merchant
You can't find all of these in a single play-through, but you can get very close: if you follow the correct path you can get all of them except for the bag of sand. I'll be interested to see if it's possible for an adventurer to be able to cast every spell in the game.
No other spell components can be found in The Shamutanti Hills, which means that the following spells cannot be cast: GAK, GOD, KIN, PEP, ROK, NIP, HUF, FIX, NAP, ZEN, YAZ, SUN, KID, RAP, YAP, ZIP, FAR, and RES.
SPELL USES
With 18 spells unusable due to unavailable components, that still leaves a whopping 30 at the player's disposal. I've detailed below every time a spell is useful during The Shamutanti Hills, and grouped them together starting with those used the most times and ending with those used the least.
Spells Used 5 Times:
- FOF (force field)
- Protects you from the Bandits outside Cantopani
- Allows you to survive the flooded room in the Manticore's labyrinth
- Protects you from getting sick in the plague village
- Blocks the Manticore's stinging tail
- Protects you from being pelted with acorns by Elvins
Spells Used 4 Times:
- ZAP (lightning)
- Kills the blind Goblin in the Schanker Mines
- Kills the Wolfhound in the Elvin village
- Allows you to finish digging holes faster if you take the job in Dhumpus
- Kills one of the Goblins outside of the Schanker Mines, and may cause the other two to flee
- LAW (mind controls stupid creatures)
- Temporarily controls the snakes in the pit in the Manticore's labyrinth
- Allows you to avoid battle with the random creatures that attack by night (this can happen multiple times, but I've only counted it once)
- Allows you to avoid battle with the Skunkbear
- Stops the weird two-tailed Serpent near the Elvin village from attacking you
- BIG (growth)
- Scares off the random creatures that attack by night, or doubles your Skill in the ensuing battle (this can happen multiple times, but I've only counted it once)
- Doubles your Skill when fighting the Hill Giant in Lea-Ki (this fight can happen in two different place, but I've only counted it once)
- Allows you to finish digging holes faster if you take the job in Dhumpus
- Drives off the trio of Elvins you meet before their village, or doubles your Skill in the ensuing battle
- WOK (turns a gold coin into a shield)
- Creates a shield in the fight with the Troll Sentry (giving it a -2 Attack Strength penalty)
- Creates a shield in the fight with one of the Elvins you meet before their village (giving it a -2 Attack Strength penalty)
- Protects you from being pelted with acorns by Elvins
- Creates a shield in the fight with the Ogre in the Schanker Mines (giving it a -2 Attack Strength penalty)
- HOW (tells you best course to take)
- Tells you to use the DOP spell to open the locked door in the Schanker Mines
- Warns you not to enter the dark passage in the Schanker Mines
- Warns you to avoid the Ogre's room in the Schanker Mines
- Tells you not to attack the weird two-tailed Serpent near the Elvin village, and to let it guide you instead
Spells Used 3 Times:
- HOT (fire)
- Kills Alianna's Wood Golem
- Kills one of the three Elvins you meet before their village
- Injures the Manticore
- DOP (open doors)
- Opens Alianna's cage
- Opens the locked door in the Schanker Mines
- Opens the door to the Ogre's room in the Schanker Mines
- RAZ (sharpens sword)
- Opens Alianna's cage
- Increases damage dealt when fighting the blind Goblin
- Increases damage dealt when fighting the Goblins outside of the Schanker Mines
- SUS (warns of traps and danger)
- Prevents death and lessens chance of injury when falling into the pit in the Schanker Mines
- Gives you a chance of surviving the flooded room in the Manticore's labyrinth, at the cost of your provisions and any other inventory items that would be spoiled by water
- Warns you not to enter the dark passage in the Schanker Mines
- GOB (creates goblins)
- Helps you fight the Wolfhound in the Elvin village
- Impresses the Elvins, allowing you to leave their village unmolested
- Helps you fight the Manticore
Spells Used 2 Times:
- WAL (force wall)
- Stops the rolling boulder in the Manticore's labyrinth
- Allows you to escape from the Ogre in the Schanker Mines
- DUM (makes monsters clumsy)
- Makes the Troll Sentry drop its halberd, giving it a -4 Skill penalty
- Makes the Hill Giant in Lea-Ki drop its club, giving it a -3 Skill penalty (this encounter can happen in two locations, but I've only counted it once)
- SIX (creates illusions of caster)
- Impresses the Elvins, allowing you to leave their village unmolested
- Gives you a chance to escape the Skunkbear
- JIG (makes enemies dance)
- Allows you to avoid combat with Alianna's Wood Golem
- Allows you to avoid combat with the Bandits outside Cantopani
- YOB (creates a giant)
- Helps you fight the Hill Giant in Lea-Ki (either inside or outside the cave)
- Helps you fight the Manticore
- DOZ (sleep/drowsiness)
- Slows Alianna's Wood Golem, giving it a Skill penalty of -4
- Dazes the Manticore, stopping it from stinging with its tail and giving it a -4 Skill penalty for 4 rounds if you attack straight afterward.
Spells Used 1 Time
- DOC (cure disease)
- Cures the family in the plague village
- DUD (fool's gold)
- Impresses the Elvins, allowing you to leave their village unmolested
- MAG (protects from magic)
- Allows you to escape from the Spirit of Mananka in the Elvin village
- POP (exploding rocks)
- Temporarily drives off the snakes in the pit in the Manticore's labyrinth
- FAL (float instead of falling)
- Allows you to fall safely into the pit in the Schanker Mines
- DIM (dims monster's mind)
- Allows you to escape from the Ogre in the Schanker Mines, or gives it a -4 Skill penalty if you opt to fight it
- FOG (makes fog, duh)
- Allows you to escape from the Spirit of Mananka in the Elvin village
- GUM (makes glue)
- Stops the rolling boulder in the Manticore's labyrinth
- This spell should be usable later in the adventure when you're attacked at night, but the book still assumes that you don't have any glue, even though you can find some.
Spells Used 0 Times:
- MUD (turns ground to mud)
- Not used, but the sand required can't be found until later in the book.
- NIF (makes noxious gas)
- Not used, but the nose plugs required can't be found until later in the book.
- TEL (telepathy)
- Not used, but the skullcap required can't be found until later in the book.
- SAP (saps will of opponent)
- Not used, despite having no material component required.
- ZED (it's a mystery!)
- Doesn't come into play until the very end of the series in Book 4.
Looking at the results above, the six spells recommended for memorisation by the book aren't necessarily the most useful. FOF, ZAP, and LAW are right up there near the top, but HOT, DUM and WAL are lingering somewhere closer to the middle, surpassed by a number of other spells. SAP is the real oddity here; there are certainly occasions where it would have been handy, and I can't see a reason why it wouldn't be used anywhere in this book. Perhaps Steve just forgot about it? I don't recall ever using it, and I'm wondering now if it gets included anywhere in the series. I'll keep an eye out for it.
Next: I'll finish up The Shamutanti Hills with an Exploring Titan post (where I go through the book's various elements and try to fit them together with the world of Titan as it's developed so far). Then it's on to Khare - Cityport of Traps. I'll be doing Final Thoughts, Sorcery of Sorcery! and Exploring Titan for all of the books, so expect this blog to be mired in the series for a good long while yet.
