It occurred to me today, after owning and playing the game since its release, that you could potentially combine different spell types to create a greater variety of spells.

Vampiric touch - Attack and heal
Power word: shield - Barrier and heal
Chill Touch - Attack and curse

It makes for some more interesting spells.

What do you guys think? Has this been brought up already?

I think a great way to do this would be Talents. I’m imagining a talent that changes the structured encounter basic effect of a spell. So for your Vampiric Touch Spell it would add some kind of healing effect to the basic Attack spell.

1 hour ago, Richardbuxton said:

I think a great way to do this would be Talents. I’m imagining a talent that changes the structured encounter basic effect of a spell. So for your Vampiric Touch Spell it would add some kind of healing effect to the basic Attack spell.

Seems like talents of magic items would be the best way to do it to me.

For Vampiric touch, one of the implement materials in Terrinoth allows you to recover wounds.

Speaking of combining spell effects, would anyone else want to see Talents that allow for "fast" casting? Things like Barrier and Augment are neat, but it sort of sucks for a player to have that be their entire turn since they don't get to do any 'damage' that round.

20 minutes ago, Cyvaris said:

Speaking of combining spell effects, would anyone else want to see Talents that allow for "fast" casting? Things like Barrier and Augment are neat, but it sort of sucks for a player to have that be their entire turn since they don't get to do any 'damage' that round.

Do you mean like this from Realms of Terrinoth:

CONDUIT
Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: No
Once per encounter, your character may spend a Story Point to perform a magic action as a maneuver.

I've done this already for my game. Rather then treating it as "combing spell types" I've handled it via spell effects. E.g. An Attack spell with the Drain effect; +2 difficulty and recover wounds equal to half the damage rolled rounded up.

Another cool example could be Dispel + Augment. I would handle this as a Dispel action using the C apture effect; +2 difficulty and gain the effects of whatever magical effect you just dispelled until the end of your next turn. I might allow the user to use concentration to maintain it, undecided.

19 hours ago, Richardbuxton said:

Do you mean like this from Realms of Terrinoth:

CONDUIT
Tier: 4
Activation: Active (Maneuver)
Ranked: No
Once per encounter, your character may spend a Story Point to perform a magic action as a maneuver.

You know that moment you end up feeling super stupid? That's me now.

I wonder if a far more limited version, perhaps a specific spell type, could pass balance muster, either as a Tier 3 spell with the Story Point or as a Tier 4 without it.

I like the idea of combining Spell effects a good deal though. I think just adding the difficulties might be "balanced" enough really. Attack+Augment becomes a Hard check, and that's before any other "effects" are added on. As an attack, that's not all that impressive. The real fun there comes when you start rolling Threat and Despair. Sure you damaged the enemy, buuut those Threat also mean they are the thing you Augmented.

I came up with some actual talents, one for vampiric touch, another couple for teleporting yourself in structured encounters.

Drain Life: T3, unranked, Passive.

After making a successful Attack Spell action you may spend 2 Advantage to heal wounds equal to the wounds one target of the Attack suffered.

Teleport : T3, Unranked, Active: Action.

Your character has become highly skilled at using the Augment spell, discovering a way to teleport the target of the spell. During Narrative play your gm should reduce the difficulty of spells that are teleporting in nature by one. Additionally you now have an alternative basic spell effect that you can choose to use during structured encounters;

“The user makes an Average Magic Skill Check to teleport themselves, or a single Silhouette 0 object within range of the spell, to anywhere within range of the spell. The basic spell has a range of Short.”

When using this new basic effect you do not gain the benefits of the normal basic effect of the spell, you also gain no benefit from using the Concentrate manoeuvre with this basic effect. If your character would not normally have access to the Augment spell then only this new basic effect can be used.

Teleport (Improved): T4, unranked, Active: Action.

Your character has become even more skilled at teleportation, able to move and attack at the same time. The Attack Spell now has the following additional effect available to you;

“+D: Teleport. If the spell is successfully cast you may move yourself one range band. Spend 2 Advantage to Move an additional range band.”