Casting Spells

How to Cast Enchantment Spells for Beginners

Enchantment spells are a common trope in fantasy literature, games, and mythology, often involving the manipulation of magic to enhance, alter, or control objects, creatures, or individuals. Here are a few examples of enchantment spells, categorized by their effect:

1. Object Enhancement

  • Weapon Enchantment: Temporarily or permanently enhances the properties of a weapon, such as making it sharper, increasing damage, or adding elemental properties (fire, ice, lightning, etc.).
  • Armor Enchantment: Adds magical properties to armor, such as increased durability, resistance to elements, or enhanced protection.
  • Item Empowerment: Enchants an item like a ring, necklace, or cloak to grant it special abilities such as invisibility, flight, or enhanced strength.

2. Charm and Mind Control

  • Charm Person: A spell that makes someone more friendly or trustworthy towards the caster, often used to persuade or manipulate someone subtly.
  • Hold Person: Paralyzes a creature, rendering it immobile and vulnerable.
  • Compulsion: Forces a creature to obey the caster’s command for a limited time, controlling their actions.

3. Transformations

  • Polymorph: Changes a creature into another form, whether it’s a different animal, human, or inanimate object.
  • Beast Shape: Temporarily transforms the caster or another into a beast, granting special abilities or traits from the new form.
  • Alter Self: Changes a person’s appearance, making them resemble someone or something else for a period of time.

4. Protection and Warding

  • Shielding Aura: Creates a magical barrier that protects the target from harm, deflecting incoming damage or magical effects.
  • Ward Against Evil: A protective spell that prevents certain creatures, like undead or fiends, from entering a specific area or affecting the person protected.
  • Defensive Blessing: Increases the target’s defense, making them harder to hit or resistant to harmful effects.

5. Curses and Debuffs

  • Curse of Weakness: Reduces a creature’s physical or magical strength, making them weaker or more vulnerable to attacks.
  • Blindness/Deafness: Temporarily incapacitates a target by either blinding them or preventing them from hearing.
  • Weakened Will: Diminishes the target’s mental faculties, making them more susceptible to influence or control.

6. Summoning and Conjuring

  • Summon Familiar: Calls a magical companion, often an animal or spirit, to aid the caster.
  • Conjure Elemental: Brings a creature of the elements (fire, water, air, or earth) to serve the caster for a time.
  • Summon Undead: Brings forth a minor undead creature to serve the caster temporarily.

7. Enchanting Objects

  • Enchant Weapon: Imbues a weapon with magical properties, such as the ability to strike ethereal creatures or absorb the energy of enemies.
  • Enchanted Lock: Creates an unpickable magical lock or barrier that only allows certain people or objects to pass.
  • Magic Mirror: An enchanted mirror that shows distant places or events, often used for scrying.

8. Time Manipulation

  • Time Stop: Freezes time temporarily for everyone but the caster, allowing them to act without interference.
  • Slow: Reduces the speed of a target, making their movements sluggish or their actions delayed.
  • Haste: Increases the speed and agility of a target, allowing them to act faster and with more precision.

Object Enhancement

Enchantment spells that improve or modify objects fall into this category. These spells are often used to make items more powerful or imbue them with magical abilities.

  • Weapon Enchantment:
    • What it does: This spell is used to enhance the properties of a weapon. For example, a sword could be enchanted to deal extra fire damage, or a bow could shoot arrows that explode on impact.
    • Example: Flame Tongue — a sword that bursts into flames, adding fire damage to each strike.
    • Use in games: This is often used in RPGs where weapons can be upgraded for better performance in combat, often with special elemental effects (like frost, lightning, or poison).
  • Armor Enchantment:
    • What it does: This type of spell enhances armor, making it more resistant to damage, adding magical properties like invisibility, or even providing resistance to specific elements.
    • Example: Shield of Reflection — armor that reflects a portion of incoming damage back at the attacker.
    • Use in games: Armor can be enchanted to provide bonuses like +1 AC (armor class), elemental resistance, or even immunity to certain effects (like fire or poison).
  • Item Empowerment:
    • What it does: This could involve enchanting any non-weapon or non-armor item to grant it magical properties.
    • Example: Ring of Invisibility — a ring that makes the wearer invisible for a limited time.
    • Use in games: Enchantments on rings, amulets, cloaks, or even mundane items (like a staff or book) to give the wearer a magical advantage. For example, the Cloak of Protection gives a bonus to defense.

2. Charm and Mind Control

Mind-affecting enchantment spells often manipulate the target’s emotions or control their actions. These are usually used to influence others or incapacitate them.

  • Charm Person:
    • What it does: This spell makes a person more friendly and inclined to help or cooperate with the caster. It doesn’t outright control them but makes them more susceptible to persuasion.
    • Example: Charm Person — a spell that makes the target view the caster as a friendly acquaintance, possibly even a trusted ally.
    • Use in games: Often used for non-combat situations, like avoiding a fight, convincing someone to help, or gaining information.
  • Hold Person:
    • What it does: Paralyzes a humanoid target, rendering them immobile for a period of time. This can incapacitate an enemy or prevent an NPC from acting.
    • Example: Hold Person — the target becomes frozen in place, unable to move, speak, or take any actions.
    • Use in games: This spell is useful in combat to disable a powerful foe or keep someone from escaping during a confrontation.
  • Compulsion:
    • What it does: This spell forces a creature to follow a command given by the caster. It doesn’t outright control them, but it makes them act in a way that the caster desires for a short time.
    • Example: Compulsion — the caster could force someone to “move towards the nearest exit” or to “give up their weapon.”
    • Use in games: This spell can be used to manipulate enemies in battle or non-combat situations, compelling them to do something temporarily against their will.

3. Transformations

These spells allow the caster to change the form of objects or creatures, often with a wide range of uses from combat to utility.

  • Polymorph:
    • What it does: The target is transformed into a different creature, usually one the caster has seen or has knowledge of. It can turn an enemy into a harmless animal or a party member into a powerful creature.
    • Example: Polymorph — a wizard could transform a guard into a harmless sheep or turn a party member into a powerful dragon.
    • Use in games: This spell is often used for tactical advantage, such as changing a foe into a harmless form, or turning the caster or allies into creatures that can solve a problem.
  • Beast Shape:
    • What it does: The caster or another target is transformed into an animal, gaining traits and abilities related to that creature. It might provide advantages like enhanced senses or physical traits.
    • Example: Beast Shape — turning into a wolf, allowing enhanced speed, tracking, or even the ability to escape a tricky situation.
    • Use in games: Often used by druids or shape-shifters in RPGs, this spell provides both combat and exploration advantages (for example, turning into a bird to fly or into a bear to gain strength).
  • Alter Self:
    • What it does: This spell changes a person’s appearance, allowing them to look like someone else or even take on the traits of a different species, such as growing gills or wings.
    • Example: Alter Self — the caster might take on the appearance of a noble to gain access to restricted areas or acquire the traits of a fish to breathe underwater.
    • Use in games: This spell is commonly used for infiltration, disguises, or gaining specific traits for a task.

4. Protection and Warding

These enchantment spells provide defense, either physical or magical, to the target.

  • Shielding Aura:
    • What it does: A protective aura surrounds the target, creating a shield that blocks incoming attacks or absorbs damage.
    • Example: Shield of Faith — a glowing shield appears around the target, granting them resistance to damage or improving their defense.
    • Use in games: These spells are great for defensive players or to protect vulnerable party members during a fight.
  • Ward Against Evil:
    • What it does: Creates a barrier that prevents certain creatures (such as undead, demons, or fiends) from entering or attacking a person or area.
    • Example: Protection from Evil and Good — the target becomes protected from certain types of creatures, preventing them from harming the target or even entering the area.
    • Use in games: This is especially useful when facing specific threats, like undead, and can be a lifesaver in situations where the enemy is a certain creature type.
  • Defensive Blessing:
    • What it does: Temporarily enhances the defense or resistance of a target. This can make them harder to hit or resistant to damage.
    • Example: Bless — a spell that enhances the target’s ability to defend themselves and resist harmful effects, like lowering the chance of being hit.
    • Use in games: Often used before or during battle to improve the chances of survival or to increase defense against specific threats.

5. Curses and Debuffs

These spells hinder, weaken, or debilitate the target, often making them more vulnerable to attacks or certain effects.

  • Curse of Weakness:
    • What it does: This spell reduces the target’s strength or effectiveness, making them weaker or less effective in combat.
    • Example: Bestow Curse — reduces the target’s ability to attack or makes them more susceptible to harm.
    • Use in games: This is a classic debuff used in combat to neutralize a powerful foe by lowering their combat capabilities.
  • Blindness/Deafness:
    • What it does: This spell causes a target to either lose their sight or hearing, disorienting them and making them less effective.
    • Example: Blindness — a creature can no longer see, causing them to miss attacks and have a disadvantage in combat.
    • Use in games: Often used as a control spell, making the target vulnerable or causing confusion in the battlefield.
  • Weakened Will:
    • What it does: Reduces a target’s mental defenses, making them more susceptible to mind-altering effects, control, or manipulation.
    • Example: Confusion — leaves a target mentally disoriented and unable to act with clear purpose.
    • Use in games: This is useful when dealing with spellcasters or enemies with strong willpower, rendering them vulnerable to other enchantment or mind control effects.

6. Summoning and Conjuring

Enchantment spells in this category bring forth creatures or objects to aid the caster.

  • Summon Familiar:
    • What it does: This spell calls a magical companion, usually an animal or spirit, to assist the caster. The familiar can perform minor tasks or provide aid in combat.
    • Example: Summon Familiar — the caster might summon a raven, cat, or imp to act as a scout or offer magical support.
    • Use in games: Familiars are commonly used by spellcasters for scouting, reconnaissance, or as companions that provide utility and small magical abilities.
  • Conjure Elemental:
    • What it does: The caster summons an elemental creature tied to one of the four elements—fire, water, air, or earth. These creatures are typically used for combat or to manipulate the environment.
    • Example: Conjure Fire Elemental — the caster calls forth a creature made of fire to fight for them or control flames.
    • Use in games: Summoning elementals is often used to deal with large groups of enemies or overcome environmental challenges.
  • Summon Undead:
    • What it does: Brings forth undead creatures, such as skeletons or zombies, to serve the caster.
    • Example: Animate Dead — raises skeletons or zombies to fight for the caster.
    • Use in games: Typically used by necromancers, this spell summons minions to fight or protect the caster.

7. Enchanting Objects

These spells imbue ordinary objects with magical properties.

  • Enchant Weapon:
    • What it does: Imbues a weapon with magical power, giving it enhanced abilities like dealing extra elemental damage or the ability to bypass certain resistances.
    • Example: Enchanted Blade — a sword that deals extra lightning damage.
    • Use in games: Common in RPGs where weapons and gear are enchanted for better combat performance.
  • Enchanted Lock:
    • What it does: Creates a magical lock that cannot be opened by ordinary means, only by the caster or certain enchanted keys.
    • Example: Arcane Lock — a magically sealed door that can only be opened with a specific key or spell.
    • Use in games: Often used in dungeons or to secure important places from unauthorized entry.
  • Magic Mirror:
    • What it does: A mirror with magical properties, usually for seeing distant locations, scrying, or revealing hidden truths.
    • Example: Mirror of True Sight — reveals invisible objects or creatures.
    • Use in games: Useful for spying or gathering information in a fantasy setting.

8. Time Manipulation

Time-based enchantments can alter the flow of time, either accelerating or slowing it down for the caster or others.

  • Time Stop:
    • What it does: Freezes time for everyone but the caster, allowing them to act freely for a short period.
    • Example: Time Stop — the caster moves and acts, while everyone else is frozen in place.
    • Use in games: Often used as a tactical advantage to take multiple actions without enemy interference.
  • Slow:
    • What it does: Reduces the speed and effectiveness of enemies, slowing their actions, movements, or attacks.
    • Example: Slow — causes enemies to move more sluggishly and take longer to act.
    • Use in games: Great for disabling groups of enemies or slowing down dangerous creatures to gain the upper hand.
  • Haste:
    • What it does: Increases the speed of the target, allowing them to move and act faster.
    • Example: Haste — a spell that allows the target to take an extra action during each turn or move much faster.
    • Use in games: This is often used to give allies a combat advantage, letting them perform more actions than they normally could.

Casting Spells