8. SPELL CASTING

How many of my spells will I have immediate access to?

I like the 'hot key bar' that they have in EQ and AO. I'd say you can cast them straight off of that (and memorize them straight off of that). Hitting control 2 would take you to the second row of ten (for example) and hitting 3 will cast the third spell of those ten. [Hence, the quick and easy answer is 'Up to 100'.] Quick and easy. I don't feel that games really add anything by limiting the number of spells one can have in memory at one time. That is a lame idea brought to us from Dungeons and Dragons back in the 1970's.

How do I memorize these spells?

Drag them from your book onto the hotkey bar. Don't panic just because you have a book - nobody is going to force you to stare at it. That also adds nothing to play. This book will merely contain what (if any) spells you know in it. And any notes you want to make. You won't be able to switch spells around in the book but since you can potentially keep 100 of them memorized at once, it shouldn't be a problem. You can learn a spell from another player simply by getting him to create a reference of it and sticking it onto some paper (i.e. printing the spell). You then create a reference of the spell (destroying the paper) and put that reference into your spell book. As soon as the players figure out how to make paper and figure out how to cast spells, they will be on their way. There are NO beginning spells but the first few aren't too difficult to come up with. Note - this goes for clerical spells as well. No breaks for them!

Can I cast spells during combat?

Yes, but someone beating on you may cause it to get interrupted. I'd definitely want to have some sort of skill for the ability to get a spell off while being beat on (much like EQ's channeling) though interruptability could also be one of the sliders on 'building a spell'. Other 'sliders' one might have access to might include things like duration, recast time, all spells recast time (ie everything grayed out), range, area of effect, casting time, etc.

When making a spell, how much control would one have over the sliders?

That would depend on the casters specialization, abilities, etc. The better they are at those sort of spells, the more range in the slider might be allowed. Also, if you were to increase some sliders that would decrease others. For example, if you were to have more damage, you might have to increase the cast time. Or you could choose to have it increase the mana cost. All of the sliders would have to be looked at carefully and balanced out. Two ticks of increased range might be four of increased mana but only one of increased recast time, etc.

Spells would be 'crafted' in the same way as everything else - Lego blocks. (See section on Crafting). Hence, the type of building you were in, the various components you were using, your skill, etc would all determine what kind and how many of the Lego blocks you had access to.