Spellcaster, or Waving Hands

[clawrenc at cup.hp.com]

There has been much discussion of late of magic systems, mana systems,
trash collectors, magic/mana economies, and similar.  What hasn't bee
discussed is how to represent the magic system to the user ("cast
fireball at Bubba" or what?), and how magical operations are performed
and constructed.  This area also closely parallels the recent
alchemy/chemistry discussion.  Once you have the achemic system, how
does the player use it?

The following is a possible approach:

http://shaw.iol.ie/~ecarroll/mud/spellcaster.html
  
                      WAVING HANDS 
               (also known as: SPELLCASTER) 
                    Richard Bartle 

     Taken from Duel Purpose fanzine, written by Mike Lean 

          Scanned, OCRed & edited by Andrew Buchanan 
               (buchanan at heron.enet.dec.com)  

Follow ups can be directed via snailmail to: 

    Mike Lean 
    74 Friary Park, 
    Ballabeg, 
    ISLE OF MAN. 
    (Near UK) 

This is an interesting, fun game, with some unique mechanisms,
developed about 10 years ago. Looking at it today, it struck me that
reality contains something similar. Obviously, combat between strands
of DNA is more complicated and less teleological than this game, but
there are definite parallels...  

Andrew Buchanan  


Contents 

     Preface  
     Introduction  
     The Turn  
     Gestures  
     Winning  
     Spells  
     Protection spells  
     Summons Spells  
     Damaging Spells  
     Enchantments  
     Non-spells  
     Spells in Forward Order  
     Spells in Reverse Order  
     Sample Game  
     Computer Spellcaster  



Preface 

A number of years ago, Richard Bartle published a zine called Sauce of
the Nile. One feature I particularly liked was the rules for new games
which he produced. One game appealed to me more than the others but it
never seemed to achieve the fame it deserved. 

Since then Richard has rewritten some of its rules and has tried to
have it produced commercially but, as his proposed publishers have
been using delaying tactics for some time now, he has given me
permission to reprint the game. The original name of the game was
Spellbinder but, as that name has been used in a commercial game since
Richard thought of it, he told me to think up some other name. The
game is a rarity as it can be classed as a "fairy game" which is
totally dependent upon skill! 

Mike Lean  


                                    SPELLCASTER 

Introduction 

This is a game concerning the imaginary conflict between 2 powerful
wizards in a duel of sorcery. The 2 opponents perform magical gestures
with their hands to create their supernatural weapons -- spells. Some
are so potent as to be able to blind a man, call forth terrifying
creatures, or even kill the unfortunate victim instantly. Consequently
each wizard must rely on his own cunning to be able to time enough
defensive spells to avoid the brunt of his adversary's attack, yet
force in sufficient offensive spells of his own to crack the magical
armour of his opponent, and kill the wizard outright. 

The game is an attempt to capture the spirit of such a battle in as
simple yet exciting way as possible. The only equipment needed is
pencil, paper and opponent. Time taken varies between 15-30 minutes.
The inventor wishes to state that he has never been involved in a
magical duel but would be interested to discover how realistic the
game is for those who have...  


The Turn 

The activities of wizards and those of the monsters they create, are
written down simultaneously in secret, both players for their
respective selves and monsters but occasionally for their opponent or
one of his creatures as dictated by certain spells. After both have
completed this, their moves are exposed at the same time and dealt
with as if they occurred coincidentally. Certain spells may alter
these circumstances -- for example, you don't get to see all your
opponent's moves if he is invisible. 

Each of these periods of activity is a "turn". In a turn, the player's
wizard can either gesture with his hands for part of a spell, stab
with his knife, or do nothing. They use both hands and both hands can
act either independently -- or in concord with the other. Monsters
cannot make magical gestures but will obey their master's commands
exactly -- although the identity of the master could change as a
result of enchantment. 

Since wizards are trained intelligent humans they are able to gesture
and attack using both hands independently or in conjunction. Each
monster, being an untrained, unintelligent biped, attacks the same way
every time and picks whichever victim its master decides. As a result,
only wizards can gesture and cast spells. Players personally
acquainted with monsters who wish to vouch for their ability to cast
spells are requested to keep quiet.  


Gestures 

Spells are created by strings of gestures made with the hands. There
are 5 single-handed gestures, these being with the fingers (F), with
the palm (P), the snap (S), the wave (W) and the digit pointing (D).
There is one 2-handed gesture, the clap (C) which must be done
simultaneously with both hands to be valid. The meaning of each
gesture can be safely forgotten as only the abbreviations are used,
for simplicity. The other things which can be done with the hand are
the non-gestures: stab (stab) and nothing ( ). 

To cast a spell, gestures are put in an order characteristic of a
spell. A list of spells including the gestures needed for them is
given in the last section. For example, 3 finger gestures on
consecutive turns (F-F-F) initiates a 'paralysis' spell. The
uniqueness of the game, however, is that gestures can be made to
operate in more than one spell, provided that a) the gestures have
been made in the correct sequence without interruption, b) not more
than one spell is created per gesture, c) All gestures for one spell
are made with the same hand. 

For instance, the left hand could cast the F-F-F above and could be
followed by S-S-D-D in the next 4 turns to finish off a 'fireball'
spell (F-S-S-D-D) as the last 5 gestures are those associated with
that spell. Another alternative is to simply perform another F for a
second paralysis spell, as the last 3 gestures are still F-F-F. Thus,
it is apparent that if spells are used in a wise manner and overlap a
lot, the overall number of gestures needed to cast them can be cut
quite dramatically. 

If a gesture can be construed to create 2 or more spells then the
caster chooses which one he wants to use. For example, the last 2
gestures of a 'finger of death' are the same as 'missile', yet only on
odd occasions would the latter be used. Another example of the
one-spell-per-gesture concept is the following: 

  Right hand:   P P W S   Last 4 gestures form 'invisibility' 
  Left hand:    W W W S   Last 3 gestures form 'counter-spell'  

The trouble here is the 'invisibility' spell needs both hands to
perform certain gestures. However, since the final S of the left hand
cannot complete 2 spells it is clear that a choice must be made
between the W-W-S of the 'counter- spell' and the P-P-(w-(s of the
invisibility. Here and in the rest of the document an open bracket,
followed by a lower-case letter, denotes a gesture to be performed
with *each* hand simultaneously. E.g. (w denotes a W by each hand.  

The caster must choose one spell if the gestures are completed in the
correct sequence. Most of these are shot off to nowhere if not
required but some cannot be, for example 'fire storm' which gets you
no matter where it is released. Some of the larger spells have smaller
ones incorporated within. 

All spells and monsters need a target, that is someone or something to
be the victim. This is usually obvious, for example all enchantments
and damaging spells are usually cast at the opponent, whereas
protection and summons spells are used by the caster himself. However,
if your target is not the usual one, (e.g. you wish to cast a
'counter-spell' at your own monster to stop a 'charm monster' spell
from making it attack you), then the target must be written down with
the gestures. The target need not exist, for example, "the elemental
he's about to create", but if it still doesn't exist when you loose
the spell then you lose the spell. Monsters will usually attack their
controller's opponent but if the target is different, e.g. another
monster, then it must be written. 

Spells can be aborted any way along their development simply by
performing a gesture with the hand doing the spell which is not one
needed for that spell. There is no penalty, save having wasted some
time. Note that no spells contain "stab" or "nothing" (C with just one
hand is the same as nothing) and consequently after pursuing one of
these alternatives, any spell must start from scratch. Note also that
wizards only have one dagger each so cannot stab twice at the same
time, although they can change hands for stabbing without wasting
time. Such are the disadvantages of physical violence... 

Certain spells cancel each other if they take effect simultaneously.
An obvious example is 'finger of death' and 'raise dead'. Cancellation
occurs when the subject for the spells concerned is the same person,
although there are some of the heat versus cold variety which don't
care who is the subject. Other spells which cancel harmlessly are
mostly the enchantments which direct that something be done which it
is impossible to obey due to some contradiction (e.g. you cannot both
repeat last turn's gestures and give a random gesture with one hand,
as you would if the subject of the spells 'amnesia' and 'confusion' at
once). If you have a situation where someone is the subject of some
spells which seem to cancel yet which aren't mentioned in the section
on spells, use your common sense (or someone else's) and you can't go
far wrong. 

Since spells detonate simultaneously, there is occasionally confusion
over spells which don't cancel yet which seem to depend on which
happened first. The best example is when a monster is created and, on
the same turn, hit by a 'fireball', or something else sufficient to
kill it. Since both are simultaneous, the monster will attack that
turn whilst being destroyed. There are some examples explicitly
mentioned, for example ice elementals in 'ice storm' or
'counter-spell'/'dispel magic' against all other spells but these are
clearly stated in the final section. 

Another example of a seeming conflict is when someone who is resistant
to fire is the subject of both a 'remove enchantment' and 'fireball';
the enchantment is removed as the fireball explodes (since they are
simultaneous) hence the poor victim is fried. If instead, he were not
resistant to fire and was hit by a 'resist fire' and 'fireball' at
once then he would start to resist fire as the fireball exploded and
thus be saved. 

Before the battle commences, the referee casts a 'dispel magic'
followed by an 'anti-spell' at each of the wizards. This is so that
they cannot commence gesturing prematurely so that they've nearly
finished a spell when they start the battle. Thus being resistant to
fire in your last battle doesn't do you any good in the next.  


Winning 

Each wizard can sustain 14 points of damage but on the 15th or above
he dies and the surviving wizard is declared the winner. Simultaneous
death is a posthumous draw. Damage given to wizards and monsters is
cumulative (so you don't have to do it all in one go!) Dead monsters
take no further part in the game. There is another alternative to
being killed, namely the 'surrender'. This is not a spell, but a pair
of P gestures made by both hands at the same time. See the final
section for details.  


Spells 

There now follows, in 4 sections, a list of spells (plus 'surrender')
what they do, how long they last. In the gestures given for the
spells, upper case letters are used as abbreviations except when 2
simultaneous single-handed gestures are required using both hands,
when an open bracket followed by a lower case letter will be used
instead e.g. (w. Afterwards is a short list of spells in forward and
reverse order, intended for use as a reference sheet for players
during the battle. To see if a spell has been cast, look up in the
reverse section the last gesture and follow back.  


Protection spells 

Shield -- gesture P. This spell protects the subject from all attacks
from monsters (that is, creatures created by a summons class spell),
from missile spells, and from stabs by wizards. The shield lasts for
that turn only, but one shield will cover all such attacks made
against the subject that turn. 

Remove enchantment -- gestures P-D-W-P. If the subject of this spell
is currently being effected by any of the spells in the spells in the
"enchantments" section, and/or if spells from that section are cast at
him at the same time as the remove enchantment, then any such spells
terminate immediately although their effect for that turn might
already have passed. For example, the victim of a 'blindness' spell
would not be able to see what his opponent's gestures were on the turn
his sight is restored by a 'remove enchantment'. 

Note that the 'remove enchantment' affects all spells from the
"Enchantment" section whether the caster wants them to all go or not.
A second effect of the spell is to destroy any monster upon which it
is cast, although the monster can attack in that turn. It does not
affect wizards unless cast on a wizard as he creates a monster when
the monster is destroyed, and the effects described above apply. 

Magic mirror -- gestures C-(w. Any spell cast at the subject of this
spell is reflected back at the caster of that spell for that turn
only. This includes spells like 'missile' and 'lightning bolt' but
does not include attacks by monsters already in existence, or stabs
from wizards. Note that certain spells are cast by wizards usually
upon themselves, e.g. spells from this section and the "Summons"
section, in which case the mirror would have no effect. It is
countered totally, with no effect whatsoever, if the subject is the
simultaneous subject of either a 'counter-spell' or 'dispel magic'. It
has no effect on spells which affect more than one person, such as
'fire storm' and 2 mirrors cast at someone simultaneously combine to
form a single mirror. 

Counter-spell -- gestures W-P-P *or* W-W-S. Any other spell cast upon
the subject in the same turn has no effect whatever. In the case of
blanket-type spells, which affect more than 1 person, the subject of
the 'counter-spell' alone is protected. For example, a 'fire storm'
spell could kill off a monster but not if it was simultaneously the
subject of a 'counter-spell' although everyone else would be affected
as usual unless they had their own protection. 

The 'counter-spell' will cancel all the spells cast at the subject for
that turn including 'remove enchantment' and 'magic mirror' but not
'dispel magic' or 'finger of death'. It will combine with another
spell of its own type for the same effect as if it were alone. The
'counter-spell' will also act as a 'shield' on the final gesture in
addition to its other properties, but the shield effect is on the same
subject as its other effect. The spell has 2 alternative gesture
sequences, either of which may, be used at any time. 

Dispel magic -- gestures C-D-P-W. This spell acts as a combination of
'counter-spell' and 'remove enchantment', but its effects are
universal rather than limited to the subject of the spell. It will
stop any spell cast in the same turn from working (apart from another
dispel magic spell which combines with it for the same result), and
will remove all enchantments from all beings before they have effect.
In addition, all monsters are destroyed although they can attack that
turn. 'Counter-spells' and 'magic mirrors' have no effect. The spell
will not work on stabs or surrenders. As with a 'counter-spell' it
also acts as a 'shield' for its subject. 

Raise dead -- gestures D-W-W-F-W-C. The subject of this spell is
usually a recently-dead (not yet decomposing) human corpse though it
may be used on a dead monster. When the spell is cast, life is
instilled back into the corpse and any damage which it has sustained
is cured until the owner is back to his usual state of health. A
'remove enchantment' effect is also manifest so any 'diseases' or
'poisons' will be neutralized (plus any other enchantments). If
swords, knives, etc still remain in the corpse when it is raised, they
will of course cause it damage as usual. The subject will be able to
act as normal immediately under the influence of the caster of the
'raise dead' spell, so that next turn he can gesture, fight etc (in
fact he will be able to fight on the turn upon which the spell is
cast.)  

If the spell is cast on a live individual, the effect is that of a
'cure light wounds' recovering 5 points of damage, or as many as have
been sustained if less than 5. This is the only spell which affects
corpses properly. It therefore cannot be stopped in such circumstances
by a 'counter-spell'. A 'dispel magic' spell will prevent it, since it
affects all spells no matter what their subject. Once alive the
subject is treated as normal. 

Cure light wounds -- gestures D-F-W. If the subject has received
damage then he is cured by 1 point as if that point had not been
inflicted. Thus, for example, if a wizard was at 10 points of damage
and was hit simultaneously by a 'cure light wounds' and a 'lightning
bolt' he would finish that turn on 14 points rather than 15 (or 9 if
there had been no 'lightning bolt'). The effect is not removed by a
'dispel magic' or 'remove enchantment'. 

Cure heavy wounds -- gestures D-F-P-W. This spell is the same as 'cure
light wounds' for its effect, but 2 points of damage are cured instead
of 1, or only 1 if only 1 had been sustained. A side effect is that
the spell will also cure a disease (note 'raise dead' on a live
individual won't).  


Summons Spells 

Summon Goblin -- gestures S-F-W. This spell creates a goblin under the
control of the subject upon whom the spell is cast (or if cast on a
monster, *its* controller, even if the monster later dies or changes
loyalty). The goblin can attack immediately and its victim can be any
any wizard or other monster the controller desires, stating which at
the time he writes his gestures. It does 1 point of damage to its
victim per turn and is destroyed after 1 point of damage is inflicted
upon it. The summoning spell cannot be cast at an elemental, and if
cast at something which doesn't exist, the spell has no effect. 

Summon Ogre -- gestures P-S-F-W. This spell is the same as 'summon
goblin' but the ogre created inflicts and is destroyed by 2 points of
damage rather than l. 

Summon Troll -- gestures F-P-S-F-W. This spell is the same as 'summon
goblin' but the troll created inflicts and is destroyed by 3 points of
damage rather than l. 

Summon Giant -- gestures W-F-P-S-F-W. This spell is the same as
'summon goblin' but the giant created inflicts and is destroyed by 4
points of damage rather than l. 

Summon Elemental -- gestures C-S-W-W-S. This spell creates either a
fire elemental or an ice elemental at the discretion of the person
upon whom the spell is cast after he has seen all the gestures made
that turn. 

Elementals must be cast at someone and cannot be "shot off" harmlessly
at some inanimate object. The elemental will, for that turn and until
destroyed, attack everyone who is not resistant to its type (heat or
cold), causing 3 points of damage per turn. The elemental takes 3
points of damage to be killed but may be destroyed by spells of the
opposite type (e.g. 'fire storm', 'resist cold' or 'fireball' will
kill an ice elemental), and will also neutralize the canceling spell. 

Elementals will not attack on the turn they are destroyed by such a
spell. An elemental will also be engulfed and destroyed by a storm of
its own type but, in such an event, the storm is not neutralized
although the elemental still does not attack in that turn. 2
elementals of the opposite type will also destroy each other before
attacking, and 2 of the same type will join together to form a single
elemental of normal strength. Note that only wizards or monsters
resistant to the type of elemental, or who are casting a spell which
has the effect of a 'shield' do not get attacked by the elemental.
Casting a 'fireball' upon yourself when being attacked by an ice
elemental is no defence! (Cast it at the elemental...)  


Damaging Spells 

Missile -- gestures S-D. This spell creates a material object of hard
substance which is hurled towards the subject of the spell and causes
him 1 point of damage. The spell is thwarted by a 'shield' in addition
to the usual 'counter-spell', 'dispel magic' and 'magic mirror' (the
latter causing it to hit whoever cast it instead). 

Finger of Death -- gestures P-W-P-F-S-S-S-D. Kills the subject stone
dead. This spell is so powerful that it is unaffected by a
'counter-spell' although a 'dispel magic' spell cast upon the final --
gesture will stop it. The usual way to prevent being harmed by this
spell is to disrupt it during casting using, for example, an
'anti-spell'. 

Lightning Bolt -- gestures D-F-F-D-D *or* W-D-D-C. The subject of this
spell is hit by a bolt of lightning and sustains 5 points of damage.
Resistance to heat or cold is irrelevant. There are 2 -- gesture
combinations for the spell, but the shorter one may be used only once
per day (i.e. per battle) by any wizard. The longer one may be used
without restriction. A 'shield' spell offers no defence. 

Cause Light Wounds -- gestures W-F-P. The subject of this spell is
inflicted with 2 points of damage. Resistance to heat or cold offers
no defence. A simultaneous 'cure light wounds' will serve only to
reduce the damage to 1 point. A 'shield' has no effect. 

Cause Heavy Wounds -- gestures W-P-F-D. This has the same effect as
'cause light wounds' but inflicts 3 points of damage instead of 2. 

Fireball -- gestures F-S-S-D-D. The subject of this spell is hit by a
ball of fire and sustains 5 points of damage unless he is resistant to
fire. If at the same time an 'ice storm' prevails, the subject of the
'fireball' is instead not harmed by either spell, although the storm
will affect others as normal. If directed at an ice elemental, the
fireball will destroy it before it can attack, but has no other effect
on the creatures. 

Fire storm -- gestures S-W-W-C. Everything not resistant to heat
sustains 5 points of damage that turn. The spell cancels wholly,
causing no damage, with either an 'ice storm' or an ice elemental. It
will destroy but not be destroyed by a fire elemental. Two 'fire
storms' act as one. 

Ice storm -- gestures W-S-S-C. Everything not resistant to cold
sustains 5 points of damage that turn. The spell cancels wholly,
causing no damage, with either a 'fire storm' or a fire elemental, and
will cancel locally with a 'fireball'. It will destroy but not be
destroyed by an ice elemental. Two 'ice storms' act as one.  


Enchantments 

Amnesia -- gestures D-P-P. If the subject of this spell is a wizard,
next turn he must repeat identically the gestures he made in the
current turn, including stabs. If the subject is a monster it will
attack whoever it attacked this turn. If the subject is simultaneously
the subject of any of 'confusion', 'charm person', 'charm monster',
'paralysis' or 'fear' then none of the spells work. 

Confusion -- gestures D-S-F. If the subject of this spell is a wizard,
next turn he writes down his gestures as usual and after exposing
them, rolls 2 dice to determine which gesture is superseded due to his
being confused. The first die indicates left hand on 1-3, right on
4-6. The second roll determines what the gesture for that hand shall
be replaced with: 1=C, 2=D, 3=F, 4=P, 5=S, 6=W. If the subject of the
spell is a monster, it attacks at random that turn. If the subject is
also the subject of any of: 'amnesia', 'charm person', 'charm
monster', 'paralysis' or 'fear', none of the spells work. 

Charm Person -- gestures P-S-D-F. Except for cancellation with other
enchantments, this spell only affects humans. The subject is told
which of his hands will be controlled at the time the spell hits, and
in the following turn, the caster of the spell writes down the gesture
he wants the subject's named hand to perform. This could be a stab or
nothing. If the subject is only so because of a reflection from a
'magic mirror' the subject of the mirror assumes the role of caster
and writes down his opponent's gesture. If the subject is also the
subject of any of 'amnesia', 'confusion', 'charm monster', 'paralysis'
or 'fear', none of the spells work. 

Charm Monster -- gestures P-S-D-D. Except for cancellation with other
enchantments, this spell only affects monsters (excluding elementals).
Control of the monster is transferred to the caster of the spell (or
retained by him) as of this turn, i.e. the monster will attack
whosoever its new controller dictates from that turn onwards including
that turn. Further charms are, of course, possible, transferring as
before. If the subject of the charm is also the subject of any of:
'amnesia', 'confusion', 'charm person', 'fear' or 'paralysis', none of
the spells work. 

Paralysis -- gestures F-F-F. If the subject of the spell is a wizard,
then on the turn the spell is cast, after gestures have been revealed,
the caster selects one of the wizard's hands and on the next turn that
hand is paralyzed into the position it is in this turn. If the wizard
already had a paralyzed hand, it must be the same hand which is
paralyzed again. Certain gestures remain the same but if the hand
being paralyzed is performing a C, S or W it is instead paralyzed into
F, D or P respectively, otherwise it will remain in the position
written down (this allows repeated stabs). 

A favourite ploy is to continually paralyze a hand (F-F-F-F-F-F etc.)
into a non-P gesture and then set a monster on the subject so that he
has to use his other hand to protect himself, but then has no defence
against other magical attacks. If the subject of the spell is a
monster (excluding elementals which are unaffected) it simply does not
attack in the turn following the one in which the spell was cast. If
the subject of the spell is also the subject of any of 'amnesia',
'confusion', 'charm person', 'charm monster' or 'fear', none of the
spells work. 

Fear -- gestures S-W-D. In the turn following the casting of this
spell, the subject cannot perform a C, D, F or S gesture. This
obviously has no effect on monsters. If the subject is also the
subject of 'amnesia', 'confusion', 'charm person', 'charm monster' or
'paralysis', then none of the spells work. 

Anti-spell -- gestures S-P-F. On the turn following the casting of
this spell, the subject cannot include any gestures made on or before
this turn in a spell sequence and must restart a new spell from the
beginning of that spell sequence. The spell does not affect spells
which are cast on the same turn nor does it affect monsters. 

Protection from Evil -- gestures W-W-P. For this turn and the
following 3 turns the subject of this spell is protected as if using a
'shield' spell, thus leaving both hands free. Concurrent 'shield'
spells offer no further protection and compound 'protection from evil'
spells merely overlap offering no extra cover. 

Resist Heat -- gestures W-W-F-P. The subject of this spell becomes
totally resistant to all forms of heat attack ('fireball', 'fire
storm' and fire elementals). Only 'dispel magic' or 'remove
enchantment' will terminate this resistance once started (although a
'counter-spell' will prevent it from working if cast at the subject at
the same time as this spell). A 'resist heat' cast directly on a fire
elemental will destroy it before it can attack that turn, but there is
no effect on ice elementals. 

Resist Cold -- gestures S-S-F-P. The effects of this spell are
identical to 'resist heat' but resistance is to cold ('ice storm' and
ice elementals) and it destroys ice elementals if they are the subject
of the spell but doesn't affect fire elementals. 

Disease -- gestures D-S-F-F-F-C. The subject of this spell immediately
contracts a deadly (non-contagious) disease which will kill him at the
end of 6 turns counting from the one upon which the spell is cast. The
malady is cured by 'remove enchantment' or 'cure heavy wounds' or
'dispel magic' in the meantime. 

Poison -- gestures D-W-W-F-W-D. This is the same as the disease spell
except that 'cure heavy wounds' does not stop its effects. 

Blindness -- gestures D-W-F-F-(d. For the next 3 turns not including
the one in which the spell was cast, the subject is unable to see. If
he is a wizard, he cannot tell what his opponent's -- gestures are,
although he must be informed of any which affect him (e.g. summons
spells, 'missile' etc cast at him) but not 'counter- spells' to his
own 'attacks. Indeed he will not know if his own spells work unless
they also affect him (e.g. a 'fire storm' when he isn't resistant to
fire.) He can control his monsters (e.g. "Attack whatever it was that
just attacked me"). Blinded monsters are instantly destroyed and
cannot attack in that turn. 

Invisibility -- gestures P-P-(w-(s. This spell is similar to
'blindness' only the subject of the spell becomes invisible to his
opponent and his monsters. All spells he creates, though not gestures,
can be seen by his opponent and identified. The subject cannot be
attacked by any monsters although they can be directed at him in case
he becomes visible prematurely. Wizards can still stab and direct
spells at him, with the same hope. Any monster made invisible is
destroyed due to the unstable nature of such magically created
creatures. 

Haste -- gestures P-W-P-W-W-C. For the next 3 turns, the subject (but
not his monsters if a wizard) makes an extra set of gestures due to
being speeded up. This takes effect in the following turn so that
instead of giving one pair of gestures, 2 are given, the effect of
both being taken simultaneously at the end of the turn. Thus a single
'counter-spell' from his adversary could cancel 2 spells cast by the
hastened wizard on 2 half-turns if the phasing is right. Non-hastened
wizards and monsters can see everything the hastened individual is
doing. Hastened monsters can change target in the extra turns if
desired. 

Time stop -- gestures S-P-P-C. The subject of this spell immediately
takes an extra turn, on which no-one can see or know about unless they
are harmed. All non-affected beings have no resistance to any form of
attack, e.g. a wizard halfway through the duration of a 'protection
from evil' spell can be harmed by a monster which has had its time
stopped. Time-stopped monsters attack whoever their controller
instructs, and time-stopped elementals affect everyone, resistance to
heat or cold being immaterial in that turn. 

Delayed effect -- gestures D-W-S-S-S-P. This spell only works if cast
upon a wizard. The next spell he completes, provided it is on this
turn or one of the next 3 is "banked" until needed, i.e. it fails to
work until its caster desires. This next spell which is to be banked
does not include the actual spell doing the banking. The spell must be
written down to be used by its caster at the same time that he writes
his gestures. Note that spells banked are those cast by the subject
not those cast at him. If he casts more than one spell at the same
time he chooses which is to be banked. Remember that P is a 'shield'
spell, and surrender is not a spell. A wizard may only have one spell
banked at any one time. 

Permanency -- gestures S-P-F-P-S-D-W. This spell only works if cast
upon a wizard. The next spell he completes, provided it is on this
turn or one of the next 3, and which falls into the category of
"Enchantments" (except 'anti-spell', 'disease', 'poison', or
'time-stop') will have its effect made permanent. This means that the
effect of the extended spell on the first turn of its duration is
repeated eternally. For example, a 'confusion' spell will be the same
gesture rather than re-rolling the dice, a 'charm person' will mean
repetition of the chosen gesture, etc. 

If the subject of the 'permanency' casts more than one spell at the
same time eligible for permanency, he chooses which has its duration
extended. Note that the person who has his spell made permanent does
not necessarily have to make himself the subject of the spell. A
'permanency' spell cannot increase its own duration, nor the duration
of spells saved by a 'delayed effect' (so if both a 'permanency' and
'delayed effect' are eligible for the same spell to be banked or
extended, a choice must be made, the losing spell being neutralized
and working on the next spell instead).  


Non-spells 

Surrender -- gestures (p. This is not a spell and consequently cannot
be cast at anyone. The wizard making these gestures, irrespective of
whether they terminate spells or not, surrenders and the contest is
over. The surrendering wizard is deemed to have lost unless his
gestures completed spells which killed his opponent. Two simultaneous
surrenders count as a draw. It is a skill for wizards to work their
spells so that they never accidentally perform 2 P gestures
simultaneously. Wizards can be killed as they surrender if hit with
appropriate spells or attacked physically, but the "referees" will
cure any diseases, poisons etc immediately after the surrender for
them. 

Stab -- gesture stab. This is not a spell but an attack which can be
directed at any individual monster or wizard. Unless protected in that
turn by a 'shield' spell or another spell with the same effect, the
being stabbed suffers 1 point of damage. The wizard only has one knife
so can only stab with one hand in any turn, although which hand
doesn't matter. The stab cannot be reflected by a 'magic mirror' or
stopped by 'dispel magic' (although its 'shield' effect *could* stop
the stab). Wizards are not allowed to stab themselves and must choose
a target for the stab. Knives cannot be thrown.  Players are not
expected to remember all the spells and their gestures so here is a
brief list in forward and reverse order:  

Spells in Forward Order 

C-D-P-W          Dispel magic               P-S-D-F         Charm
person  C-S-W-W-S        Summon elemental           P-S-F-W        
Summon ogre  C-(w             Magic mirror              
P-W-P-F-S-S-S-D Finger of death  D-F-F-D-D        Lightning bolt            
P-W-P-W-W-C     Haste  D-F-P-W          Cure heavy wounds          S-D            
Missile 
D-F-W            Cure light wounds          S-F-W           Summon 
goblin 
D-P-P            Amnesia                    S-P-F           Anti-spell
 D-S-F            Confusion                  S-P-F-P-S-D-W  
Permanency  D-S-F-F-F-C      Disease                    S-P-P-C        
Time stop  D-W-F-F-(d       Blindness                  S-S-F-P        
Resist cold  D-W-S-S-S-P      Delayed effect             S-W-D          
Fear  D-W-W-F-W-C      Raise dead                 S-W-W-C         Fire
storm  D-W-W-F-W-D      Poison                     W-D-D-C   +    
Lightning bolt  F-F-F            Paralysis                  W-F-P          
Cause light wounds  F-P-S-F-W        Summon troll              
W-F-P-S-F-W     Summon giant  F-S-S-D-D        Fireball                  
W-P-F-D         Cause heavy wounds  P                Shield                    
W-P-P           Counter-spell  (p   !           Surrender                 
W-S-S-C         Ice storm  P-D-W-P          Remove enchantment        
W-W-F-P         Resist heat  P-P-(w-(s        Invisibility              
W-W-P           Protection  from evil 
P-S-D-D          Charm monster              W-W-S 
Counter-spell 
  
!   This is not a spell 
+   Each wizard may use this spell once per battle, then the gestures 
    have no effect. 



Spells in Reverse Order 

(read your last few gestures backwards to see if you've made a spell) 


C-D-D-W   +      Lightning bolt             (p   !          Surrender 
C-F-F-F-S-D      Disease                    P-F-S-S         Resist
cold  C-P-P-S          Time Stop                  P-F-W          
Cause Light wounds  C-S-S-W          Ice storm                 
P-F-W-W         Resist heat  C-W-F-W-W-D      Raise dead                
P-P-D           Amnesia  C-W-W-P-W-P      Haste                     
P-P-W           Counter spell  C-W-W-S          Fire storm                
P-S-S-S-W-D     Delayed effect  D-D-F-F-D        Lightning bolt            
P-W-D-P         Remove enchantment  D-D-S-P          Charm monster             
P-W-W           Protection from evil  D-D-S-S-F        Fireball                  
(s-(w-P-P       Invisibility  (d-F-F-W-D       Blindness                 
S-W-W           Counter-spell  D-F-P-W          Cause heavy wounds        
S-W-W-S-C       Summon elemental  D-S              Missile                   
(w-C            Magic mirror  D-S-S-S-F-P-W-P  Finger of death           
W-D-S-P-F-P-S   Permanency  D-W-F-W-W-D      Poison                    
W-F-D           Cure light wounds  D-W-S            Fear                      
W-F-S           Summon goblin  F-D-S-P          Charm person              
W-F-S-P         Summon ogre  F-F-F            Paralysis                 
W-F-S-P-F       Summon troll  F-P-S            Anti-spell                
W-F-S-P-F-W     Summon giant  F-S-D            Confusion                 
W-D-D-C         Dispel magic  P                Shield                    
W-P-F-D         Cure heavy wounds 



Sample Game 

I now include a sample game with following comments. Significant
spells are marked +. Null gestures are in brackets. Underlined
gestures and above cannot be used further due to the effects of an
'anti-spell'.  

Turn            BLACK                         WHITE 
        Left    Right    Damage       Left    Right    Damage 
 1        W       W +      0            W +     P        0 
 2        W       P +                   W +     D 
 3        D       F +                   F +   + W 
 4        D     + D +                   P +   + W        3 
 5        F     + P                     S +     S + 
 6        F     + P        1            W       D + 
 7        S       D                     W +   + D 
 8        S       W                     W +   + S + 
 9        F       F                   + S +   + F + 
10        P +    (C)                  + D  +  + W ++ 
11       Stab   + P                     P ++  + D  + 
12        P +     S                     P  +    D  + 
13        P +     S        6            C       C  + 
14        W +     W                     S +   + S 
15      + S +   + S                     W +   + P 
16      + D     + D                     W +   + F        5 
       --------------- 
17        W +     S +     11            C +     C 
18        D +     P +                 + S     + S 
19        D +     F +     13          + D     + D 
                                     --------------- 
20        C +   + C                     S +     S       10  21       
W     + W                     P +     W 
22        P       P                     F +     W 

Annotation 

  1.Black starts with 2 W's hoping to use the left as a possible W-W-S
'counter- spell' in the event of White opening with an attack, or as a
possible W-W-F-P resist heat' spell. His right hand also opens for a
possible 'counter-spell or W-P-F-D 'cause heavy wounds' if White has
no possible attack; the second P will also cover against any S-D
'missile attack'. White has the same ideas for his left hand as Black
and opens with a P for his right hand in case Black tries a stab,
leading to P-D-W-P 'remove enchantment' hopefully. 

  2.Both complete their second gestures as intended and both notice
that neither can use an offensive spell on the third turn so they can
switch their left hands to W-W-F-P 'resist fire'. Black notices that
the only spell White could be preparing with his right hand is remove
enchantment and hence his own 'resist fire' would be canceled. Since
he cannot adjust his right hand sequence to produce a 'counter-spell'
he resolves to use his latest W to start a W-D-D-C 'lightning bolt'. 

  3.White had to continue his 'remove enchantment' in case Black
called his bluff but now knows it is pointless to continue as there
will be nothing to cancel. Black is certain to hit White with an
unstoppable 'cause heavy wounds' next time but notices too late that,
had he instead of gesturing a D with his left hand, gestured a W, he
could have cast a W-W-S 'counter-spell' at White and stopped his
'resist heat' from working. However, he has a 'lightning bolt' coming
as compensation... 

  4.Black hits White with his 'cause heavy wounds' and White becomes
fire- resistant. White notes that had he gone ahead with his 'remove
enchantment' spell he would have been doing two P gestures this turn
-- surrendering! Instead he performs a W with his right hand to time a
'counter-spell' after Black's last continuation. 

  5.Black aborts his 'lightning bolt' spell, but White still follows
through with his 'counter-spell', just in case. Black switches to the
other combination for 'lightning bolt', D-F-F-D-D and sneaks in the
start of an amnesia D-P-P. White commences a 'summon ogre' P-S-F-W
with his left hand, but upon seeing that next time he will be struck
by 'amnesia' realizes that he won't be able to continue it. Knowing
the nature of the spell, he decides to switch next time to a spell
starting off with 2 identical gestures, a W-W-S 'counter-spell' for
safety. 

  6.Black hits White with the predicted D-P-P amnesia spell, meaning
that White must repeat his gestures next time with the same hands.
White knows that he has a "free" S-D 'missile' on Black since Black
cannot do a P shield to defend himself or he would be performing the
'surrender' gestures. 

  7.Since Black knows White's gestures, he can tell that White will be
able to time a 'counter-spell' to ward off the proposed 'lightning
bolt' D-F-F-D-D, so he changes to a 'fireball' F-S-S-D-D. However,
White is resistant to fire so a P-D-W-P 'remove enchantment' is called
for from the right hand. 

  8.White surprised Black by repeating his W gesture in the left hand
so he can now time a counter spell for the next round and thus prevent
the 'remove enchantment' from affecting his fire invulnerability
(although his resistance to fire will be unaffected by the
'counter-spell' since he has already cast the spell on himself in
round 4). With his right hand, White half-heartedly starts off a
'confusion' spell to interrupt Black next time. 

  9.Black does 2 F gestures having to change in mid-spells after
White's cunning gestures last round. He decides to go for a
'blindness' spell D-W-F-F-(d with his right hand, and for 'cold
resistance' S-S-F-P with his left, to cut his losses. White casts the
counter spell W-W-S on himself so that his 'confusion' D-S-F will work
on Black. 

 10.Black writes down P for his left hand and F for his right, and
White writes D and W. Since Black was hit by a 'confusion' last time
one of his gestures will be affected. He rolls a C on the right hand
and this supersedes the F he had written down. Since he didn't C with
his other hand and C is a 2-handed gesture, it counts as a null. Note
that if he had rolled for a P he would have surrendered. White
finishes off a 'summon goblin' spell S-F-W, and a 'missile' S-D.
Black's left hand finishes a 'resist cold' S-S-F-P but he decides to
use only the last gesture as a P 'shield' so that neither of White's
attacks harm him. Now he will wish to dispose of the goblin as soon as
possible so he can stop performing P's to protect himself. 

 11.Black stabs the goblin and, since only 1 hit is required to kill
it, eliminates it. He also gestures a P 'shield' so that it cannot
harm him in that turn. White gestures for an 'amnesia' D-P-P and a
'lightning bolt' W-D-D-C (the sort which can only be used once per
wizard). He also performed a P 'shield' but didn't notice and since it
is in the "protection" section it was cast upon himself. If he had
cast it at the goblin it wouldn't have been killed. Black realizes
that he will have no defence against either of White's forthcoming
attacks, so chooses to work 2 spells beginning with the same gesture
next time so that the amnesia won't be too damaging. 

 12.Black must start off both gestures from scratch after the stab and
half-C and opts for P-P-(w-(s 'invisibility' and 'resist cold'
S-S-F-P. White's 'amnesia' spell is completed so Black must repeat
next time as expected. 

 13.Black repeats, and White does a C gesture with both hands to
terminate a W-D-D-C 'lightning bolt' giving 5 points of damage to
Black. White cannot cast another 'lightning bolt' using the same
gestures now, even if he does W-D-D-C since this type is allowed only
once per battle. However, he may use the alternate gestures if he
desires. 

 14.Black aborts his right-hand spell since a W with both hands is
needed for the 'invisibility'. White does 2 S gestures, hoping for a
C-S-W-W-S 'summon elemental' and either an 'anti-spell' S-F-F or
'summon goblin' S-F-W. 

 15.Black goes invisible for the next 3 turns so White won't be able
to see his gestures. White continues with his 'summon elemental' but
has the option to change to a 'fire storm' sequence if he so desires. 

 16.Realizing that he is about to be hit by an 'anti-spell' S-P-F from
White, Black opens up with 2 'missiles' S-D and catches White off
guard. Next time Black must gesture from scratch again. Although White
does not see Black's gestures he knows he has been hit by 2 'missiles'
so can work them out. 

 17.For the second time, Black starts up for a 'lightning' bolt
W-D-D-C, hoping this time to complete it, and a covering 'anti-spell'
S-P-F so that White will be unable to defend himself from it.
Meanwhile White realizes he is resistant to fire and unleashes a 'fire
storm' giving 5 points of damage to all those not fire-resistant which
just happens to be Black. 

 18.White does 2 S gestures again hoping to fool Black into thinking
that he will repeat the sequence he used after the last C gesture,
whereas he intends to hit out with 2 S-D 'missiles' next turn (when
Black becomes visible again). Black continues with his plan. 

 19.Black is surprised by the 2 'missiles' from White and is not
performing a P 'shield' which would protect him. White is hit by
Black's 'anti-spell' S-P-F but is unaware of the impending 'lightning
bolt' anyway... 

 20.Black hits White with his 'lightning bolt' as White prepares 2
more 'missiles' which would kill Black if they hit, but, noting
Black's C he daren't risk the possibility of it being followed by a
pair of W's for a C-(w 'magic mirror' which would reflect them back at
White. Hence White decides to go for another 'anti-spell' and 'fire
storm'. 

 21.Black does perform the 2 W's planning to 'cause heavy wounds' or
defend with 'counter-spell'. White continues as planned and Black
becomes aware that he is about to be burned to death. 

 22.Resigning himself to defeat Black surrenders just as White's
'anti-spell' hits him. The battle ends before White can make the final
C gesture which would have disposed of his enemy. White wins the
contest. 


Computer Spellcaster 

On Usenet, in comp.games.design, Colin Coghill (colin at kcbbs.gen.nz)
mentioned he had a computer version of SpellCaster that runs under
Unix X11. No further information is available at this time. 

--  
J C Lawrence                           Internet: coder at ibm.net 
---------------(*)               Internet: clawrenc at cup.hp.com 
...Honorary Member Clan McFUD -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...