spellcraft_wiki

Gnosis Spellcraft Wiki

This page has been reviewed against the current terminal/server build and the latest portal documentation surfaces. For exact live catalogs and tuning values, use the source-driven...

Updated

2026-04-19T11:06:55+00:00

Gnosis Spellcraft Wiki

Documentation Freshness (2026-04-19)

This page has been reviewed against the current terminal/server build and the latest portal documentation surfaces.
For exact live catalogs and tuning values, use the source-driven portal compendiums:
- /bestiary
- /spell-omnibus
- /technique-omnibus
- /item-omnibus
- /recipe-omnibus
In-game references are available through the W wiki menu (including generated spell/component compendiums).
World/floor map reference is in-game via P; the website map page is intentionally hidden.
Multiplayer host/deployment details live in docs/multiplayer_server_wiki.md and docs/server_portal_setup.md.

Current Build Delta (2026-04-19)

Deep floors now have a depth-scaled chance to spawn Lizard Kingdom Gates (FeatureLizardKingdomGate).
Using a Lizard Kingdom Gate enters Lizard Kingdom side sites (SiteLizardKingdom) with lizard society-biased populations.
Lizard Kingdom floors use dedicated cave themes (Outer Warrens -> Royal Sinkhalls) and integrate with map/examine/senses/clairvoyance text.
This update is live in terminal mode and server mode; hosted clients inherit the behavior from the game build.

This is the implementation-level reference for spellcasting and spellcraft in the current Go terminal build.

It covers:

the fixed rite system
crafted formula construction
target profiles and turn economy
component chaining and pseudo-code behavior
where spells/effects/knowledge are discovered
the favorite/forget/write spells shortcut menus

1. System Model

There are three related magic layers:

Rites: fixed named spells in spellLibrary.
Formulas: player-crafted spells assembled from table + form + element + school + components.
Inscriptions: enchantments applied to equipped gear or your vessel mark slots.

All spellcraft knowledge is soul-state progression and persists through reincarnation.

2. Core Controls

z: open spell menu and cast a known rite or crafted formula.
v: open sanctum spellcraft menu.
w: write a known spell to a scroll for later relearning (material vessel only).
x: open the forget-spells menu from spell/character menus.

Spellcraft menu actions:

a: retune active element
c: craft a new formula
i: inscribe an enchantment
p: portal anchor work (when unlocked)
n: portal network/House of Doors (when unlocked)
F: open the favorite spells menu
x: open the forget spells menu
w: open the spell-scroll writing menu

Targeting controls:

WASD/arrows: move cursor
Enter or Space: confirm
Tab or f: cycle visible hostile targets
.: snap cursor to self
Esc: cancel

3. Turn/Focus/Cooldown Rules

Casting uses a turn when a cast resolves.
Known rites use fixed focus costs (standardSpellFocusCost).
Crafted formulas use computed focus cost (craftedSpellFocusCost).
Spells set cooldown on cast.
Cooldowns tick down each resolved turn.
In afterlife, cooldowns are tracked separately on the soul chain state.

Focus costs are reduced by:

Memory
active element attunement rank
feat Arcane Conduit

4. Target System

Crafted formulas separate two decisions:

CraftedTargetProfile is chosen during forge creation:
- self: the spell centers on your vessel
- single: one chosen subject or point
- chain: the chosen subject plus touching tiles/entities
CraftedTargetClass is chosen at cast time when the formula needs a cursor target:
- enemy, tile, item, furniture, wall, structure, or area

Validation still uses:

range limit
visibility checks where required
line-of-sight checks
map bounds and walkability where relevant
subject legality for the chosen class

This is why the same school and form can produce self spells, target spells, and chain spells without changing the underlying geometry.

5. Built-In Rites (Known Spells)

Rites include composition metadata and target profile in the menu.

Ash Dart

Target: character, range 7
Cooldown: 4
Focus: 4
Effect: direct single-target spell damage

Ward Psalm

Target: self
Cooldown: 6
Focus: 5
Effect: adds ward to vessel

Seam Lantern

Target: area, range 7, splash 1
Cooldown: 5
Focus: 3
Effect: reveal sweep + nearby seam/door/stair signal reporting

Oracle Ember

Target: self
Cooldown: 5
Focus: 3
Effect: warm/cold guidance toward nearest hidden secret chain entrance

Velocity Canticle

Target: self
Cooldown: 6
Focus: 5
Effect: banks QuickTurns

Veil Benediction

Target: character, range 7, self-allowed
Cooldown: 6
Focus: 5
Effect on self: invisibility turns + forced sneaking posture
Effect on enemy: perception disruption (de-alert/lose last known/increased delay)

Mason's Conversion

Target: tile, range 7
Cooldown: 5
Focus: 4
Effect: transfigures tile architecture/features (walls/doors/barricades/terrain features)

Stair Invocation

Target: tile, range 8
Cooldown: 8
Focus: 7
Effect: creates/relocates descent stair at target tile (with placement constraints)

Clairvoyant Survey

Target: area, range 8, splash 2
Cooldown: 6
Focus: 4
Effect: reveal sweep + directional report for stairs/doors/seams/secret gate

6. Spellcraft Knowledge State

Tracked on SoulState:

known tables
known forms
known elements
known schools
known components
attunements per element
active element
element mastery
crafted formula list

Spell memory is a shared pool across rites and formulas:

capacity is 4 + Memory
a rite or formula only fits if there is room left in that shared pool
if a study reward overflows the pool, the text converts into insight instead

Starter normalization defaults:

table: Malkuth
form: Bolt
element: Ash
schools: all current schools are available by default
school list: Alteration, Destruction, Conjuration, Illusion, Transfiguration, Teleportation, Enchantment, Abjuration, Security, Necromancy, Restoration
components: Haste, Shape, Anchor
initial attunement: first known element rank 1

Element mastery is separate from attunement:

mastery grows by killing themed enemies/bosses/djinn
mastery is clamped (current cap 12) and feeds spell range/power/cooldown behavior

7. Formula Construction Workflow

Crafting requires a sanctum.

Flow:

choose table
choose form
choose element
choose school
choose target profile
choose up to 3 unique components in order
forge

Rules:

at least one component is required
components must be known
duplicate components are removed
max 3 components
duplicate formula name is rejected
forged formulas also respect the shared spell-memory pool

Name format:

<Element> <Form> of <Table> [Profile] {CompA->CompB->CompC}

The profile tag is omitted when the form uses its default target profile.

Example:

Void Halo of Gevurah {Pull->Teleport->Detonate}

8. Pseudo-Code Model For Formula Execution

Internal execution order is deterministic and this is the key to chaining design.

cast(formula, target):
  resolve_form_core(formula.form, target)
  maybe_apply_table_element_secondary(formula)
  for component in formula.components (left to right):
    run_component(component)
  apply_school_effect(formula.school)

Component order is your command chain. Left-to-right order is literal behavior order.

Example chain:

Void Halo of Gevurah {Pull->Teleport->Detonate}

1) Pull hostiles into impact zone
2) Teleport the affected hostile cluster
3) Detonate at post-teleport cluster location
4) Apply school effect (Transfiguration behavior)

9. Formula Math (Current Implementation)

Range

Pseudo-code:

base from form:
  Bolt: 6 + Wit/4
  Halo: 5 + Faith/4
  Step: 4 + Grace/4

+ table modifiers
+ element modifiers
+ attunement/active-element bonuses
+ spellcraft skill bonus
+ feat bonuses
+ school situational bonuses
clamp 3..10

Splash

only Halo has splash
base 1
Malkuth and high Ash attunement can increase it
clamped to 1..2

Cooldown

starts from formula-defined cooldown (built at forge time)
adjusted by active-element attunement, element mastery, and school type
floor at 1

Power

Pseudo-code:

power =
  2
  + Wit/2 + Faith/3 + Insight/2
  + attunement(element)/2
  + element_mastery(element)
  + active_element_match_bonus
  + table bonus
  + element bonus
  + spellcraft skill contribution
  + Arcane Conduit bonus
  + school bonus

10. Component Semantics (Command Chain Units)

Components execute in selected order.

Haste

grants quick turns

Pull

drags nearby hostiles toward center
radius/strength scale with attunement/mastery/form

Anchor

restrains hostiles near center

Shape

rewrites architecture/features
can reveal hidden doors, toggle wall/door/barricade states, and alter floor feature ecology

Conjure

manifests feature and material drops (Scrap/Herbs) at location

Teleport

displaces hostile cluster to another floor/site destination

Detonate

applies area burst damage around current chain center
can backlash damage player if in radius on current world

11. School Effects (Post-Chain Behavior)

Alteration

grants ward/reveal pressure and can pin or displace nearby hostiles

Destruction

applies additional area burst damage

Conjuration

summons a temporary familiar/servitor ally

Illusion

applies invisibility/sneak pressure and enemy disorientation

Transfiguration

applies vessel shapeshift behavior for a duration

Teleportation

grants quick-turn tempo and can scatter hostiles through folded space

Enchantment

can charm eligible hostile into temporary friendly enthralled servitor

Abjuration

repels hostiles and grants ward

Security

maps nearby ward-lines and reinforces protective pressure

Necromancy

raises corpse servants and/or applies grave-rot infection pressure

Restoration

restores vitality and cleanses harmful effects

12. Table/Element Secondary Behavior

During formula resolution, table and element also apply secondary effects (ward/reveal/heal/control toggles) depending on form and hit context.

This means final behavior comes from:

form core
table secondary
element secondary
component chain
school layer

13. Discovering Spells And Spell Effects

13.1 Text study (primary source)

Spell knowledge is mainly discovered by studying readable loot:

books
scrolls
manuals
rare tablets

Study is turn-based:

books: pages * 2 sides
scrolls: variable StudyTotal length
manuals: high-turn dense study

Each threshold can unlock rewards:

known rite
new table
new form
new element
new component
attunement increases
insight/memory/echo and related progression

RewardSpell pulls from the full rite library, so any built-in rite can be discovered through study if not already known. If the shared spell-memory pool is full, the lesson turns into insight instead of adding a new rite or formula.

13.2 Loot generation context

Readable spawn chance depends on feature:

shelf: 72% first roll, 50% second roll (up to 2 drops)
chest: 48% first roll, 26% second roll (up to 2 drops)
table: 35% (single roll)
tablet features are read-only inscriptions, not loot rolls

Libraries with dense shelves are top-tier spell progression sites.

13.3 Study reward probabilities

General study rewards are tiered by threshold depth/quality and intentionally favor hints and progression resources, not direct true names.

Early tiers (tier 0-1) reward odds:

Hint 24%
Insight 21%
Memory 16%
Spell 8%
Spell Table 8%
Spell Form 7%
Spell Element 6%
Spell Component 4%
Attunement 2%
Martial Style 1%
Skill 1%
Teaching 1%
Echo 1%

Mid tier (tier 2) reward odds:

Hint 18%
Insight 18%
Memory 14%
Spell 10%
Spell Table 10%
Spell Form 10%
Spell Element 8%
Spell Component 5%
Attunement 4%
Martial Style 1%
Skill 1%
Teaching 1%

High tier (tier >=3 or high quality) reward odds:

Hint 12%
Insight 12%
Memory 10%
Spell 10%
Spell Table 12%
Spell Form 12%
Spell Element 12%
Spell Component 8%
Attunement 6%
Martial Style 2%
Skill 2%
Teaching 1%
Echo 1%

13.4 Interrogation and robbery intel

y interactions (grapple/interrogate/rob) against certain enemy families can yield spell rewards:

rites
tables
forms
elements
hints
insight/memory increments

Necromancers/sorcerers/false angels/guardians/demons are strong knowledge targets.

13.5 Rare name-tablet path

General study tables intentionally do not roll RewardName.

Name tablets come from hidden-chain final boss reward rolls:

each floor band has a 36% seeded chance to contain a hidden-chain secret dungeon
secret final boss has a 45/1000 chance to drop a rare name tablet
tablets require multi-turn full study to reveal final name reward

Use Oracle Ember for warm/cold secret-chain guidance.

14. Inspecting Composition And Learning By Reverse Engineering

z menu shows composition tags for both rites and crafted formulas:

target profile
script tuple (table/form/element/school)
component chain core

This lets players reverse engineer and iterate:

observe a known rite composition
forge adjacent formulas by changing one axis at a time
benchmark differences in range/cooldown/power/control

15. Enchanting / Inscription (Spellcraft Adjacent)

From spellcraft menu v -> i:

choose equipment slot target (or self mark)
choose rune
choose table
choose element

Costs:

Scrap x2
Herbs x1

Rune availability by target:

weapon/hands: Nail, Brand, Chain
armor slots: Veil, Brand, Chain
charm: Lens, Veil, Chain
self marks: broader set

Enchantment caps by item quality:

crude/common: 1
fine: 2
rare: 3
mythic: 4

16. Afterlife Spellcasting Notes

Afterlife supports:

known spells
crafted formulas
favorite spells via F

Differences:

no map cursor targeting flow
cooldowns tracked on afterlife state
no vessel-focus spending path (afterlife uses soul HP/ward economy)
effects are adapted into soul-combat terms (judge HP/accuracy, soul ward, soul HP)
favorite spells stay available because they persist on the soul
spell-scroll writing remains a material-vessel activity and is not exposed here

This makes soul-side spell knowledge directly relevant to win condition progression.

17. Practical Build Patterns

Control caster

form: Halo
chain: Pull -> Anchor
school: Abjuration or Illusion
goal: group, lock, repel/disorient

Breach/utility caster

form: Bolt or Step
include Shape + Conjure
goal: rewrite terrain, force routes, generate sustain materials

Exile combo caster

form: Halo
chain: Pull -> Teleport -> Detonate
goal: cluster displacement and remote kill pressure

Self-tempo caster

form: Veil
include Haste
school: Illusion or Transfiguration
goal: quick turns, stealth, shapeshift survivability

18. Troubleshooting

If a cast fails, check:

focus requirement
cooldown active
target range/LoS/visibility validity
target profile or target class mismatch
sanctum requirement for crafting/inscription actions

If formula feels weak:

improve relevant stats (Wit, Faith, Insight)
raise spellcraft skill
deepen attunement and element mastery
align active element to formula element
use school/component synergy rather than raw damage-only scripts

19. Quick Reference

z: cast known rites/formulas
v: spellcraft menu (sanctum required)
F: favorite spells menu
x: forget spells menu
w: write spell scrolls from memorized spells
formula chain order is execution order
books/scrolls/manuals are primary unlock path
secret-chain tablets are primary true-name spell-path rarity channel
composition is visible in spell menu for reverse engineering