Tes2Mod:Daggerfall Unity/Kab's Unleveled Spells/Spell effects

This page documents the changes to spell effects, compared to classic, in Unleveled Spells.

Introduction
In order to make non-scaling (aka unleveled) spells viable, certain spell effect costs had to be changed compared to classic. Some effects required lots of level scaling to be even worth casting, for example most Chance-based effects. Also, for almost every effect in the spellmaker, it was always optimal to have values like "1 + 5 per level", because the scaling value was much more cost efficient than the flat one. That is, "20 + 1 per level" was probably more expensive, and was worse for a level 5 character or above.

Because this scaling in spells always introduced a tipping point where after a certain level, it was strictly better than flat values, it was impossible to balance, and would have most likely always ended up being boring. This is the problem that led me to create this mod, so that spells just wouldn't have this level scaling.

Formulas
Here's the two formulas used for calculating the spell effect's costs (gold and spell points), as well as the variables involved.

Each spell effect has three attributes: duration, chance, and magnitude. For each attribute, classic has three costs associated with it: flat value cost, scaled value cost, and fixed cost. For example, a Jump effect of duration "5 + 1 per level" has a flat value of 5, and a scaled value of 1, per level. The flat value cost is multiplied with the flat value, the scaled value cost is  multiplied with the scaled value, and both are added to the fixed cost.

In Unleveled Spells, all scaled value costs and fixed costs have been reduced to 0, and are not represented in the table.

"Factor" is a new value for certain spell effects. If present, the effect uses a different formula from the classic one.

The formula is:

If Factor is 0, then 
gold cost = duration cost * duration value + chance cost * chance value + magnitude cost * magnitude average
spell point cost = gold cost * (60 - skill / 2) / 400
If Factor is not 0, then 
base cost = factor * duration value * (chance/100)^1.28 * (magnitude value)^1.1
gold cost = base cost * 40 / 6
spell point cost = base cost * (60 - skill / 2) / 60

The "Factor" formula rewards chance values lower than 100%: casting a 50% chance spell twice is cheaper than casting a 100% chance spell once. It also rewards high duration, low magnitude effects more than low duration, high magnitude effects (relevant for Continuous Damage or Regenerate, for example).

Effect Tables

The following tables highlight the differences between classic and Unleveled Spells. Differences are shown by two values, with an arrow from the previous to the new (ex: 100 -> 0, from 100 in classic to 0). Single values means that this value is unchanged from classic.

Simply multiply that "cost" value with the associated value in the effect (ex: Jump of 5 duration * 20 cost = 100 gold).

As described above, effects with a "Factor" value use a new cost formula. Effects without that "factor" use the classic formula.

Alteration Effects



Destruction Effects

 
 


Illusion Effects



Mysticism Effects

 
 

Teleport has a fixed cost of 240 gold (or 21 spell points at 50 skill).


Restoration Effects

 


Thaumaturgy Effects

 
 
 

Identify has a fixed cost of 240 gold (or 21 spell points at 50 skill).