SPELLS AND EFFECTS
Magic and Spells are the heart and soul of "Daggerfall". I doubt that there is anyone who hasn't fantasized about being able to obliterate a boss/teacher/local bully/lawyer with a blast of supernatural energy or transform themselves into a superhero. The magic system of "Daggerfall" brings those fantasies to (virtual) reality and the spell is the focus through which those energies take form.
All "canned" classes in "Daggerfall" have at least limited magical ability. The standard ability is 0.5 times the character's Intelligence. Class benefits can (and do) increase this ability up to 3 times the character's Intelligence (or more with the addition of enchanted items). There are no spell components in "Daggerfall". All spell effects are generated from the character's inate magica.
Spells have six parts:
Effect: What the spell does and who it does it to;
Duration: How long the effect lasts;
Chance: The odds of a successful effect (usually a percentage);
Magnitude: How well the effect works;
Casting Cost: How much magica is required to generate the effect;
School: Which of the six magical skills are used to generate the effect.
For most characters, the casting cost will be the limiting factor. It is very difficult to cast a powerful spell with only a limited supply of magica. The way around this problem is to develop the skill/school required by the spell. As your skills in these schools increase, the casting cost decreases. Once your skill reaches 105% (achievable only through the use of enchanted items), the casting cost for all spells requiring that skill/school drops to 5 points.
What follows is a description of the spells that you can buy from the Mages Guild. These are the spells that are pre-made, not spells created in a spell-maker. The effects of these spells should be the same as spells which you can embed in an item by using the item-maker and/or make in a potion-maker. The icon for the spell will be different for items and potions, but the effects and duration should be the same. I have taken the liberty of highlighting those spells which I have found most useful in blue and those spells which I consider to be a must-have in red.