Part 4: Bonus Update 3.5: Level 1 Spells, Maps of Sorpigal

There's a "Disposition" option. Set it to Inconspicuous and the monster encounters won't be quite so unfair. Alternatively, set it to Thrill Seeker to see just how unfair they can get.

Bonus Update 3.5: Level 1 Spells, Maps of Sorpigal

I probably won't have time to make a proper update tonight, so instead I'll be going over some of the game-mechanical stuff that doesn't fit in with the main updates.

At the moment, our party is level 1. That means, obviously, that our Sorcerers and Clerics only have access to level-1 spells. A new spell level is gained at every odd-numbered experience level, and there are a total of 7 spell levels. Archers and Paladins gain level-1 spells at level 7. Here are the manual entries for the level-1 Cleric and Sorcerer spells, with my comments on them in italics:

Might and Magic I Clerical Spells

Level 1

1. NAME: Awaken
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: All sleeping Party members
DESCRIPTION: Awakens all sleeping members of the Party, instantly canceling the sleep condition. May be critical if Party is attacked during rest.
Well, we've already seen what can happen if the party is attacked during rest, haven't we? Unfortunately, your cleric is going to be just as asleep as everybody else to start with, so this is only useful if you survive the first round and an enemy hits your cleric to wake them up.

2. NAME: Bless
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: Entire Party
DESCRIPTION: Increases the accuracy with which all characters fight, for the duration of combat.
Characters miss a lot at low levels. With this spell, they miss slightly less often. Multiple castings in the same battle don't stack.

3. NAME: Blind
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: 1 monster
DESCRIPTION: Blinds the affected monster for the duration of combat or until it overcomes the spell. Forced to rely on other senses, the monster's chances of landing a blow are diminished.
This spell suffers from the universal problem of status ailments: anything that's enough of a threat to be worth casting it on is going to either resist it completely or shake it off in a round or two.

4. NAME: First Aid
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: 1 monster
DESCRIPTION: Heals minor battle wounds, restoring 8 Hit Points to a character.
Lies! Filthy communist lies! As you may have noticed last update, a casting of First Aid can heal as little as 1 HP. 8 HP is the maximum it can heal. Mostly useful for bringing an unconscious character back into the fight.

5. NAME: Light
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Non-combat
TARGET: Entire Party
DESCRIPTION: Gives the Party 1 light factor, which is sufficient to light up 1 dark area. Multiple light spells can be cast to accumulate multiple light factors.
Why would we need multiple light factors, you ask? Well, some areas in the game are magically darkened, and will drain one light factor for every step you take in them. It's probably a good idea to wait until you have a better light spell to do any prolonged exploration in those areas.

6. NAME: Power Cure
COST: 1 SP per experience level of caster + 1 Gem
TYPE: Anytime
TARGET: 1 character
DESCRIPTION: Restores a character's health and 1-10 Hit Points per experience level of caster.
This is the first spell that scales in power and cost with the caster's experience level, and also the first that uses up a gem when cast. At low levels it's kind of a waste of a gem, but at medium and high levels it's the best single-target healing spell in the game.

7. NAME: Protection From Fear
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Anytime
TARGET: Entire Party
DESCRIPTION: Increases all characters' resistance to fear and spells of intimidation. Amount of the increase depends on experience level of caster. Spell lasts 1 day.
I can't remember the last time an enemy used a fear-based attack on me. This is a useless, useless spell included only to pad out the spell list because the designer couldn't think of anything better. Jon Van Caneghem, you should be ashamed of yourself.

8. NAME: Turn Undead
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: All undead monsters
DESCRIPTION: Destroys some or all undead monsters, depending on caster's experience level and monster's power level.
We've seen the effect of this spell already: it's pretty effective against low-level undead, but can only be attempted once per battle. This spell does have one interesting catch: I believe that if the caster's alignment has shifted away from what it originally was, Turn Undead will fail to work for them. This is one reason to have an evil cleric, since evil is the easiest alignment to keep.

Might and Magic I Mage Spells
Yes, it says Mage Spells, not Sorcerer Spells. Don't look at me, I didn't write the manual.

Level 1

1. NAME: Awaken
Identical to the Cleric spell of the same name.

2. NAME: Detect Magic
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Non-combat
TARGET: Spell caster
DESCRIPTION: Reveals any magical items in caster's back pack, and notes the number of magical charges remaining in any item which must be charged for use. Also detects any magic surrounding or inside a chest, sack, box, etc.
Mostly useful for its trap-detecting function. If you think that a chest will probably kill you if it's trapped (chests made of more valuable materials, like iron or gold, have more treasure but more powerful traps), it might be a good idea to leave it alone unless this spell tells you there's no trap.

3. NAME: Energy Blast
COST: 1 SP per experience level of caster + 1 gem
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: 1 monster
DESCRIPTION: Zaps the monster with a blast of pure energy, inflicting 1-4 damage points per experience level of caster.
I had a physics teacher once who used to be annoyed by sci-fi stories talking about "pure energy". Energy's not a substance, he said: it's a property that things have. Talking about a being made of pure energy is like talking about a being made of pure height. Anyway, this isn't a great spell. By the time the damage scales up enough to make it worth casting, your Sorcerer will have better offensive spells available.

4. NAME: Flame Arrow
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: 1 monster
DESCRIPTION: Sends a burning shaft into the monster, inflicting 1-6 points of fire damage, unless monster is immune to fire.
Well, it's not like your sorcerers have anything better to do at low levels. Lots of monsters seem to have some resistance to fire, though.

5. NAME: Leather Skin
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Anytime
TARGET: Entire Party
DESCRIPTION: Toughens all characters' skin, so that attacks from monsters bounce off rather than hitting.
This is a pretty good spell: it's like Bless, but it's a defensive buff instead of offensive. Good for people who don't enjoy being beaten to a pulp.

6. NAME: Light
Identical to the Cleric spell of the same name.

7. NAME: Location
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Non-combat
TARGET: Entire Party
DESCRIPTION: Gives precise information on party's location. May be critical when Party is lost or magically transported. In general, this spell is the key to successful mapping.
Even with the map in the hintbook, this spell sometimes comes in handy. Without the map, it'd be vital.

8. NAME: Sleep
COST: 1 SP
TYPE: Combat
TARGET: Up to 5 monsters
DESCRIPTION: Casts monsters into a deep sleep, preventing them from attacking. Effective until monster is damaged or overcomes the spell.
I use this spell occasionally. It's a lot better than Blind, at least. You're probably going to knock out at least one or two of a group of low-level monsters with one casting of this spell, and you can always keep recasting it if they wake up.

Also, you might have noticed that a couple of times in the thread I've made reference to the hintbook. This is a lovely little volume containing the coordinates of important places, solutions to major puzzles, maps of all towns and dungeons, and a few other handy hints. Here are the hintbook entries for the two areas we've reached so far, Sorpigal and the Cavern Beneath Sorpigal (sorry for the low-quality scans):