How Magic Works
Among the four core heroes, only the Elf and the Wizard cast spells. Hero spells come in four elemental schools, Air, Earth, Fire and Water, with three spell cards in each: twelve in all.
- Casting is your action for the turn, so you can move and cast, or cast and move, but not attack as well.
- You need line of sight to the target, which can be yourself, another hero or a monster.
- Each spell can be cast once per quest. After casting, the card is set aside until the quest ends.
- Spells come back between quests, along with Body and Mind Points, after a successful quest.
Spells aren't fuel to be saved for a final battle. They are twelve one-shot answers per quest, renewed every time you get home.
The Spell Draft
Before each quest the two casters split the schools:
For a first game the rulebook suggests the Wizard take Fire and the Elf Earth, which leaves Air and Water to the Wizard as well. Because the Elf always ends up with whichever school they choose, the real question at the table is which school the party most wants in the Elf's hands: the Elf has more Body Points and can fight, so a healing school there keeps healing alive if the Wizard falls.
The Twelve Hero Spells
Classic edition (1989–1990): the names and effects below come from the classic North American spell cards. The 2021 cards use the same four schools of three; check your own cards for exact wording, since this guide hasn't verified every 2021 card line by line.
Air
- Swift Wind: speeds up one hero's next move.
- Tempest: a whirlwind surrounds one monster, which misses its next turn.
- Genie: a genie either opens any door on the board, revealing what lies beyond, or attacks one monster in line of sight with 5 combat dice.
Earth
- Heal Body: one hero (you included) regains up to 4 lost Body Points, never above their starting total.
- Rock Skin: one hero rolls 1 extra Defend die until they next lose a Body Point.
- Pass Through Rock: on their next move, one hero may move through walls. Ending the move inside solid rock traps them forever.
Fire
- Fire of Wrath: deals 1 Body Point to one monster, unless it rolls a 5 or 6 on one red die.
- Courage: one hero rolls 2 extra Attack dice on their next attack. The spell breaks as soon as that hero can no longer see a monster.
- Ball of Flame: deals 2 Body Points to one monster; it then rolls two red dice, and each 5 or 6 cancels 1 point.
Water
- Water of Healing: one hero regains up to 4 lost Body Points, never above their starting total.
- Sleep: one monster falls asleep and can't move, attack or defend. It can break the spell at once or on a later turn by rolling one red die per Mind Point and getting a 6. Doesn't work on Skeletons, Zombies or Mummies.
- Veil of Mist: on their next move, one hero may pass unseen through squares occupied by monsters.
The Numbers Behind the Spells
Using the classic card effects above:
| Spell | Result | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Fire of Wrath | Deals its 1 Body Point | 66.7% |
| Ball of Flame | Deals 2 Body Points | 44.4% |
| Deals 1 Body Point | 44.4% | |
| Deals nothing | 11.1% | |
| Genie (attack) | Wounds a monster with 4 Defend dice | 84.1% |
| Heal Body / Water of Healing | Restore up to 4 Body Points | certain |
Ball of Flame averages 1.33 Body Points and ignores Defend dice entirely, which is why it shines against high-defense monsters. For comparison, the Barbarian's 3 Attack dice wound a 4-Defend monster only 62.9% of the time.
Sleep depends on the target's Mind. Each roll to break it succeeds 16.7% of the time against a 1-Mind monster, 30.6% at 2 Mind, 42.1% at 3 Mind and 51.8% at 4 Mind (Goblin, Orc, Dread Warrior and Gargoyle on the classic chart). Use it on high-attack, low-Mind targets, and plan to kill the sleeper quickly: it can't defend while asleep.
Spell Draft Lab
Run a draft, then cast spells from each hand. Every card can be used once; New quest brings them all back, just as the rules do.
Step 1: the Wizard picks a school.
Pick the Wizard's first school.
Using Spells Well
- Healing is insurance. A hero at 0 Body Points survives only by healing at once. Keep one healing spell (or a potion) unspent while anyone is in the front line.
- Mind the draft before special quests. In the core Quest Book, Balur the Fire Mage can't be harmed by fire magic, so a Wizard holding only Fire for damage is in trouble there.
- Sleep isn't for undead. Skeletons, Zombies and Mummies ignore it.
- Line of sight runs through people. Your own Barbarian blocks the Wizard's view down a corridor, so cast before he steps forward, or from a side angle.
- Courage needs a target right now. Its bonus disappears once the hero can't see a monster, so cast it when the fight is already on.
- Pass Through Rock is a scouting and escape tool, but read the quest map warning: solid rock is deadly.
Zargon's Dread Spells
Zargon has a deck of 12 Dread spells. They aren't cast freely: the quest notes say which monsters or villains carry which spells, and some Dread spell cards are only used in quest packs or custom quests. A monster casting a spell uses its action for the turn, just as a hero does.
Mind Points are a hero's defense against this magic. Barbarians with 2 Mind are the most exposed; Wizards with 6 the least.
Classic edition (1989–1990): the North American game introduced "Chaos" spells for Zargon (the European original had none). They included Summon Undead, Summon Orcs, Escape, Tempest, Command, Fear, Sleep, Firestorm and Ball of Flame, plus Rust, Cloud of Chaos and Lightning Bolt. Heroes could shake off effects such as Sleep, Fear and Command by rolling one red die per Mind Point and getting a 6. The 2021 game renamed the deck "Dread spells"; check the cards for the current list.
Other Sources of Magic
- Potions can be drunk at any time and don't use your action, so any hero can use them, including the Barbarian and Dwarf.
- Artifacts from the quest notes can add magic. The core Quest Book's Talisman of Lore, hidden in Melar's Maze, enhances the wearer's understanding of magic.
- Quest packs add more. The Mage of the Mirror brings elven magic, Rise of the Dread Moon brings alchemy (potion brewing), and the 2026 Wizards of Morcar adds three new hero schools, Protection, Detection and Darkness, which can be swapped in for the elemental ones. Newer heroes such as the Warlock, Bard and Druid have their own special abilities on their cards; see The Heroes.
Try It at the Table
- Run the draft three ways in the lab above: Elf takes Earth, Elf takes Water, Elf takes Fire. Which party can still heal if the Wizard goes down first?
- Count the casts: in your next quest, note which spells were still unspent when you reached the stairway. Those were free power you left behind.
- Before casting at a monster, check its Defend dice. Against 1-Defend Goblins a weapon usually does the job; save Ball of Flame for the Gargoyle.
Where Next
- Treasure & Equipment: potions, the armory and artifacts.
- The Wizard and The Elf: playing the two casters.
- Combat & Tactics: where spells fit in a fight.