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Ability Caster

Caster is the name of two identical abilities in Master of Magic. One is a Unit Ability while the other is a Hero Ability, and as such they adhere to slightly different rules - but they have the same overall effect and thus can be described together.

The Caster ability gives a unit its own Icon Mana Mana pool, as well as the ability to cast a certain variety of spells during combat. If the unit also has a Icon Ranged Magic Magical Ranged Attack, it will use its own Icon Mana Mana as ammunition to fuel this attack.

The size of the unit's Icon Mana Mana pool is noted in parentheses after the name of the ability, e.g. "Caster (Icon Mana 10)". Fractions are possible, but they are rounded down automatically whenever the unit is in combat, and are only mentioned for completionism. Thus "Caster (Icon Mana 7.5)" becomes "Caster (Icon Mana 7)".

There are a total of 22 units in the game that possess Caster by default. The majority (19) of these units are Heroes, while 3 are Fantastic Units. The repertoire of spells available for each of these units is different.

Most units that possess the Caster ability also have a Ranged Attack and many of those units have a Icon Ranged Magic Magical Ranged Attack, meaning that they use Icon Mana Mana to fuel these attacks. Units that possess the Caster ability, but do not have a Icon Ranged Magic Magical Ranged Attack are: the Arch Angel, Rakir, Valana, Torin, Alorra, and Marcus.

All Heroes' Icon Mana Mana pools increase in size with each Experience Level. They gain an amount of Icon Mana Mana equal to the amount they had at level 1 ("Hero"). When starting a new game, Heroes may occasionally use up some or all of their Random Abilities to increase the size of the original pool, and thus gain more Icon Mana Mana with each level.

Description[]

Wizards are not the only ones who can cast spells. There are many magicians in the game, some of whom are limited to a single spell, and others capable of casting a whole variety of spells. The Caster ability refers specifically to those units that have access to a number of spells.

For such units, the Caster ability also indicates the amount of power they can muster. Similar to a wizard's Spell Casting Skill, it dictates the maximum strength of the spells they can cast, and the number of such spells they can cast in each battle. For the majority of Casters, Icon Mana Mana availability also dictates how many Ranged Attacks they can perform during each battle.

Effect[]

The Caster ability is perhaps the most unique - and most complex - ability in the game. Describing it is simple: Caster gives a unit its own Icon Mana Mana pool, and allows it to cast spells. Understanding what this means for a unit is significantly more difficult.

There are three aspects that must be discussed separately regarding the Caster ability:

  • The size of a unit's Icon Mana Mana pool.
  • Spellcasting itself, and the repertoire of spells available to the unit.
  • The use of Icon Mana Mana as ammunition for a unit's Icon Ranged Magic Ranged Magical Attack.
  • Using Caster Heroes to increase a wizard's own Spell Casting Skill.

The first two points are almost entirely different from one unit to the other.

Mana Pool[]

First and foremost, the Caster ability gives the unit its own Icon Mana Mana pool. As explained below, this Icon Mana Mana behaves like a wizard's own Icon Mana Mana and Spell Casting Skill combined: the unit can use its Icon Mana Mana to cast spells, and is limited in both the strength and number of spells it can cast based on its available Icon Mana Mana. In addition, Icon Mana Mana determines how many Icon Ranged Magic Ranged Magical Attacks the unit can perform each combat turn.

The size of the unit's Icon Mana Mana pool is determined by the strength of the Caster ability, as well as the unit's Icon Experience Level Experience Level. Of course, Fantastic Units have no Experience, and thus will have the same Icon Mana Mana pool for the duration of their existence. Heroes, on the other hand, have a Icon Mana Mana pool that grows in size with each level they gain.

For Heroes, the amount of Icon Mana Mana they have at level 1 ("Hero") is the exact amount by which their Icon Mana Mana pool grows with each additional level. Thus, if the Hero had Icon Mana 5 to start with, he'll get Icon Mana +5 with each additional level, up to Icon Mana 45 at level 9 ("Demi-God").

Note that for many Heroes the Icon Mana Mana pool and the bonus acquired at each level may contain fractions, such as Icon Mana 12.5. If this is the case, then the fractions are ignored - they're only important whenever they add up to whole numbers. Thus, a Hero's details panel will show the rounded-down value.

Mana Pool Modifiers[]

A wide variety of Magical Items can be imbued with bonuses that directly increase the size of a Hero's Icon Mana Mana Pool, whenever they are worn. This bonus may be imbued into any weapon and any Jewelry piece. The bonus is actually called a "Spell Casting Skill" bonus, which is somewhat appropriate given that, for a Hero, Icon Mana Mana and Spell Casting Skill are the same exact thing.
The maximum bonus to be found on a Sword, Mace, Axe, Bow or Wand is Icon Mana +10. The maximum on a single Jewelry piece is Icon Mana +15, but many Heroes can wear two of these simultaneously for a total Icon Mana +30. Staves can grant Icon Mana +20.
This bonus is a completely "flat" bonus: The Hero's Icon Mana Mana pool is increased by exactly the amount listed in the bonus, regardless of the Hero's current Experience Level. If the item is ever removed, the Hero's Icon Mana Mana pool is reduced back to its "normal" size.

Spellcasting[]

Any unit possessing the Caster ability is capable of casting spells during combat, in the same way that a wizard casts spells. This works slightly differently for Hero and Fantastic Unit casters:

  • A Hero unit knows (and may cast) any spell known by its controlling Wizard, and may also know up to four other spells.
  • A Fantastic Unit knows (and may cast) any spell in the same Realm as the unit. Note that the realm of an Undead unit is Icon DeathDeath, whatever it was in life.

To cast spells with a Caster unit, the unit must have at least 0.5 Movement Points remaining. Select the unit, and click the "Spell" button. In most cases, a list will pop up allowing you to select whether you'd like to cast a spell yourself (using Spell Casting Skill and your own wizard's Icon Mana Mana pool), or whether you wish the selected unit to cast a spell.

If the unit is chosen from this list, the game opens a spellbook showing all spells available to this specific unit. As normal, spells for which the unit does not have sufficient Icon Mana Mana to cast are greyed-out and cannot be selected. Other spells are available, and the number of realm icons underneath the spell's name indicate how many times the unit could cast this spell before it runs out of Icon Mana Mana.

Once the unit casts the spell, its Movement Points are immediately reduced to 0 and it cannot perform any other action (or cast any more spells) until the next turn begins.

Remember that the unit expends its own Icon Mana Mana to cast the selected spell. Therefore, the wizard's own Icon Mana Mana and Spell Casting Skill are untouched. Furthermore, because the Caster is on the battlefield, he/she does not suffer any Spellcasting Range penalties - they pay only the spell's basic Casting Cost. Also note that the wizard's own Retorts do not alter this Casting Cost in any way.

Finally, note that Caster units cannot cast any overland spells. There is no method by which to do so. They can only cast spells during combat.

Mana as Ammunition[]

Most units possessing the Caster ability also possess a Icon Ranged Magic Ranged Magical Attack.

You'll note that none of these units have an Ammunition count, which often appears in the details panel of Ranged Attack units. This is because Casters expend their own Icon Mana Mana in order to perform such attacks - and thus are limited by the amount of Mana they have remaining.

Each Icon Ranged Magic Ranged Magical Attack costs exactly Icon Mana 3 Mana to perform. When the attack is made, the Caster's Icon Mana Mana pool is automatically decreased appropriately. If the unit has fewer than Icon Mana 2 remaining, it may not make any Ranged Attack for the remainder of the battle.

As a result, Caster units must decide whether to expend their available Icon Mana Mana on Ranged Attacks or on casting spells. In some situations it may be better to opt for direct damage with Ranged Attacks. In others, spell-casting may be more important.

Exceptions[]

Torin the Chosen, Rakir the Beastmaster, and Valana the Bard are the only Heroes that have Caster but absolutely no Ranged Attack of any kind. In addition the Arch Angel unit does not possess a Ranged Attack. Thus, they can spend all of their Icon Mana Mana on casting spells.
Marcus the Ranger and Alorra the Elven Archer only possess a Icon Ranged Bow Ranged Missile Attack. They have an Ammunition x8 ability, meaning that they can only make 8 Ranged Attacks per battle. These attacks do not draw any Icon Mana Mana from their pool, allowing them to spend it all on spell-casting.

Casters at the Fortress[]

A Hero possessing the Caster ability does not have to be sent out to battle in order to make use of that ability. By leaving such a Hero at home, in the empire's Fortress town, the Hero contributes to his/her employer's own Spell Casting Skill.

Whenever a Hero with Caster ends the turn inside his/her employer's Fortress town, the employer's Spell Casting Skill is increased by half the size of the Hero's Icon Mana Mana pool. For example, if a Hero has Icon Mana 60, his/her employer's Spell Casting Skill is raised by 30 points as long as that Hero remains in the Fortress town. However, this bonus is only applied at the end of the turn, so it cannot be spent on "Instant" spells that take less than a full turn to cast. On the other hand, the Hero may wander during the turn without forfeiting the bonus, as long as he/she is recalled or otherwise returns to the Fortress at each turn's end.

This extra Spell Casting Skill allows the wizard himself to cast more spells each turn, and/or to finish casting overland spells faster than normal. Unlike Spell Casting Skill points acquired by the normal means (through investment of Icon Power Power), it typically isn't applied in combat.

Thus, if there is no current war or a need for expansion or conquest, Heroes with the Caster ability can be recalled to the Fortress town, to help cast spells more rapidly. Any Caster Hero whose combat prowess is lacking for any reason can simply be left at the Fortress, giving a non-combat contribution that can be of great strategic assistance.

Improvement Table[]

The table below shows the exact size of a Caster Hero's Icon Mana Mana pool at each Experience Level, based on the amount of Mana he/she has at level 1 (this is the "strength" of the Hero's Caster ability). Remember that for Fantastic Units possessing Caster, the size of the Icon Mana Mana pool will never change.

Note that for the purposes of this table, all values have been rounded down - giving the actual amount of Icon Mana Mana that the unit will have whenever it enters combat.

Level Icon Level name EP Initial Icon Mana Mana Pool
Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 7 Icon Mana 10 Icon Mana 12 Icon Mana 15 Icon Mana 17 Icon Mana 20
Experience 0 Hero Icon Experience 0 - Icon Experience 19 Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 7 Icon Mana 10 Icon Mana 12 Icon Mana 15 Icon Mana 17 Icon Mana 20
Experience 1 Myrmidon Icon Experience 20 - Icon Experience 59 Icon Mana 10 Icon Mana 15 Icon Mana 20 Icon Mana 25 Icon Mana 30 Icon Mana 35 Icon Mana 40
Experience 2 Captain Icon Experience 60 - Icon Experience 119 Icon Mana 15 Icon Mana 22 Icon Mana 30 Icon Mana 37 Icon Mana 45 Icon Mana 52 Icon Mana 60
Experience 3 Commander Icon Experience 120 - Icon Experience 199 Icon Mana 20 Icon Mana 30 Icon Mana 40 Icon Mana 50 Icon Mana 60 Icon Mana 70 Icon Mana 80
Experience 4 Champion Icon Experience 200 - Icon Experience 299 Icon Mana 25 Icon Mana 37 Icon Mana 50 Icon Mana 62 Icon Mana 75 Icon Mana 87 Icon Mana 100
Experience 5 Lord Icon Experience 300 - Icon Experience 449 Icon Mana 30 Icon Mana 45 Icon Mana 60 Icon Mana 75 Icon Mana 90 Icon Mana 105 Icon Mana 120
Experience 6 Grand Lord Icon Experience 450 - Icon Experience 599 Icon Mana 35 Icon Mana 52 Icon Mana 70 Icon Mana 87 Icon Mana 105 Icon Mana 122 Icon Mana 140
Experience 7 Super Hero Icon Experience 600 - Icon Experience 999 Icon Mana 40 Icon Mana 60 Icon Mana 80 Icon Mana 100 Icon Mana 120 Icon Mana 140 Icon Mana 160
Experience 8 Demi-God Icon Experience 1,000 Icon Mana 45 Icon Mana 67 Icon Mana 90 Icon Mana 112 Icon Mana 135 Icon Mana 157 Icon Mana 180

Units with Default Caster[]

There are exactly 22 units in the game that possess Caster by default. 3 of these are Fantastic Units, but the majority are Heroes. The table below lists the default Icon Mana Mana pool available for each of these. Remember that Heroes' Icon Mana Mana pool will increase with level (see above).

Fantastic Units[]

Tactical ArchAngel Arch Angel Caster Icon Mana 40
Tactical Djinn Djinn Caster Icon Mana 20
Tactical Efreet Efreet Caster Icon Mana 20

Heroes[]

Note: For a comparison of starting Icon Mana Mana pool sizes, see below.

Hero Aerie Aerie the Illusionist

Hero Alorra Alorra the Elven Archer

Hero Aureus Aureus the Golden One

Hero Elana Elana the Priestess

Hero Greyfairer Greyfairer the Druid

Hero Jaer Jaer the Wind Mage

Hero Malleus Malleus the Magician

Hero Marcus Marcus the Ranger

Hero Morgana Morgana the Witch

Hero MysticX Mystic X the Unknown

Hero Rakir Rakir the Beastmaster

Hero Ravashack Ravashack the Necromancer

Hero Reywind Reywind the Warrior Mage

Hero Serena Serena the Healer

Hero Torin Torin the Chosen

Hero Valana Valana the Bard

Hero Warrax Warrax the Chaos Warrior

Hero Yramrag Yramrag the Warlock

Hero Zaldron Zaldron the Sage

Acquiring and Upgrading Caster[]

There are no ways in which a unit that does not possess Caster can acquire that ability. However, 12 out of the 18 Heroes listed above can upgrade their default Caster ability by picking it as one or more of their Random Abilities. This is done completely at random just before a new campaign begins. The maximum number of times a Hero can upgrade his/her Caster ability is only limited by the number of Random Abilities the Hero may pick.

Each time a Hero picks the Caster ability, he/she gains Icon Mana +2.5 to his/her starting Mana pool size. As explained earlier, the pool increases with each Icon Experience Level Experience Level the Hero gains, by an amount equal to the size of the initial pool. Therefore, with each additional Caster pick, the Hero also receives Icon Mana +2.5 for every Experience Level he/she gains. This is described in the Improvement Table section above.

The table below shows the default starting Icon Mana Mana pool of each Hero, and the maximum Icon Mana Mana pool he/she may have if all Random Abilities were invested into upgrading the Caster ability. Remember that due to the random nature of the picks, it is unlikely for a Hero to pick this ability more than twice (if at all). It is, however, statistically possible.

Portrait Name # of
Random
Abilities
initial Icon Mana Mana
Default Max
Hero Aerie Aerie the Illusionist 2 Icon Mana 10 Icon Mana 15
Hero Alorra Alorra the Elven Archer 3 Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 12.5
Hero Aureus Aureus the Golden One 2 Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 10
Hero Elana Elana the Priestess -- Icon Mana 12.5 Icon Mana 12.5
Hero Greyfairer Greyfairer the Druid -- Icon Mana 7.5 Icon Mana 7.5
Hero Jaer Jaer the Wind Mage 1 Icon Mana 7.5 Icon Mana 10
Hero Malleus Malleus the Magician 1 Icon Mana 10 Icon Mana 12.5
Hero Marcus Marcus the Ranger -- Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 5
Hero Morgana Morgana the Witch 2 Icon Mana 10 Icon Mana 15
Hero MysticX Mystic X the Unknown 5 Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 17.5
Hero Rakir Rakir the Beastmaster -- Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 5
Hero Ravashack Ravashack the Necromancer 2 Icon Mana 12.5 Icon Mana 17.5
Hero Reywind Reywind the Warrior Mage 1 Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 7.5
Hero Serena Serena the Healer 1 Icon Mana 7.5 Icon Mana 10
Hero Torin Torin the Chosen * 2 Icon Mana 15 Icon Mana 20 *
Hero Valana Valana the Bard -- Icon Mana 5 Icon Mana 5
Hero Warrax Warrax the Chaos Warrior 3 Icon Mana 10 Icon Mana 17.5
Hero Yramrag Yramrag the Warlock 1 Icon Mana 15 Icon Mana 17.5
Hero Zaldron Zaldron the Sage -- Icon Mana 7.5 Icon Mana 7.5

* Torin may occasionally reach Icon Mana 20, which is the largest possible starting Icon Mana Mana pool of any Hero.

Repertoire[]

Each Caster has a certain repertoire of spells he or she may cast. This depends entirely on the specific unit or Hero - with almost every unit having a slightly different repertoire. Spells that are not in a unit's repertoire cannot be cast at all.

The rules on which spells are included in a unit's repertoire are simple:

  1. Fantastic Units with Caster may cast any spell belonging to the same Magical Realm as the unit itself. This often includes spells that are currently unknown to the unit's employer, or spells what are too expensive to be cast by the unit.
  2. Heroes can cast any spell that their employer can cast.
  3. Many Heroes have additional spells that they can cast by default, whether or not these spells are known the employer.

Note: Unfortunately, due to a bug (see below), some Heroes do not receive the extra spells that all source material says they should.

The table below lists each Caster and the details of its repertoire. Note that for Heroes, rule #2 above always applies, so the list only shows extra spells that the Hero always has access to, if any.

Fantastic Units[]

Portrait Name Available Spells
Tactical ArchAngel Arch Angel All spells from the Icon LifeLife Realm
Tactical Djinn Djinn All spells from the Icon SorcerySorcery Realm
Tactical Efreet Efreet All spells from the Icon ChaosChaos Realm

* Note: If any of these units is turned into an Undead, it will henceforth only be able to cast spells from the Icon DeathDeath Realm, instead of whatever spells it was previously capable of casting.

Heroes[]

Portrait Name Available Spells
Hero Aerie Aerie the Illusionist Icon SorceryPsionic Blast
Icon SorceryVertigo
Icon SorceryMind Storm
Hero Alorra Alorra the Elven Archer Icon SorceryResist Magic
Icon SorceryFlight
Hero Aureus Aureus the Golden One None
Hero Elana Elana the Priestess * Icon LifeDispel Evil
Icon LifeHealing
Icon LifePrayer
Icon LifeHoly Word
Hero Greyfairer Greyfairer the Druid Icon NatureIce Bolt
Icon NaturePetrify
Icon NatureWeb
Hero Jaer Jaer the Wind Mage Icon SorceryGuardian Wind
Icon SorceryWord of Recall
Hero Malleus Malleus the Magician Icon ChaosFire Bolt
Icon ChaosFireball
Icon ChaosFlame Strike
Icon ChaosFire Elemental
Hero Marcus Marcus the Ranger Icon NatureResist Elements
Icon NatureStone Skin
Hero Morgana Morgana the Witch * Icon DeathDarkness
Icon DeathPossession
Icon DeathBlack Prayer
Icon DeathMana Leak
Hero MysticX Mystic X the Unknown None
Hero Rakir Rakir the Beastmaster Icon NatureResist Elements
Hero Ravashack Ravashack the Necromancer * Icon DeathWeakness
Icon DeathBlack Sleep
Icon DeathAnimate Dead
Icon DeathWrack
Hero Reywind Reywind the Warrior Mage Icon ChaosFlame Blade
Icon ChaosShatter
Icon ChaosEldritch Weapon
Hero Serena Serena the Healer Icon LifeHealing
Hero Torin Torin the Chosen * Icon LifeHealing
Icon LifeHoly Armor
Icon LifeLionheart
Hero Valana Valana the Bard Icon SorceryConfusion
Icon SorceryVertigo
Hero Warrax Warrax the Chaos Warrior None
Hero Yramrag Yramrag the Warlock Icon ChaosLightning Bolt
Icon ChaosDoom Bolt
Icon ChaosWarp Lightning
Hero Zaldron Zaldron the Sage Icon SorceryCounter Magic
Icon SorceryDispel Magic True

* Due to a bug (see below), Elana, Morgana, Ravashack and Torin may or may not receive the extra spells listed. If this occurs, they can only cast spells known to their employers.

Note: Always remember that some spells, despite being in a unit's repertoire, may or may not be available for casting until the unit can somehow acquire sufficient Icon Mana Mana to cast the spell (usually only Heroes can do this, see above).

Spell Save Penalties[]

One important thing to explain about Caster Heroes regards a Magical Item bonus called "Spell Save", or "Spell Save Penalty".

A large variety of spells, particularly Combat Instants and Unit Curses, force their target to make a Icon Resist Resistance roll. If the target fails the roll, it will suffer part or all of the spell's effect. Some spells also apply a Icon Resist Resistance Penalty on the target, making it harder to avert the spell's effect.

When a Hero is capable of casting such a spell, he/she can get an advantage that a Wizard cannot. The Hero may be equipped with a Magical Item containing a Icon SpellSave Spell Save penalty, which further reduces the target's Icon Resist Resistance score, making it even harder for the target to escape the spell's effect.

Caster Heroes who have access to a wide variety of such spells can be equipped with several "Spell Save" items (hopefully with large Icon SpellSave Spell Save penalties on them). When such Heroes cast the appropriate spells, the target may have little or no chance at all to avert the ensuing effects - often leading to serious harm.

Remember that only Heroes can acquire Icon SpellSave Spell Save penalties, and that the penalties only apply when the Hero casts a spell that can benefit from them.

Spells using "− Spell Save"
Icon NatureNature Icon SorcerySorcery Icon ChaosChaos Icon LifeLife Icon DeathDeath
Petrify Banish Disintegrate Dispel Evil Black Sleep
Confusion Shatter Possession
Creature Binding Warp Creature Weakness
Vertigo Word of Death

In the unofficial patches 1.40 and 1.50, "Spell Save" will also affect Life Drain, Holy Word and Death Spell. So, every spell that requires a resistance check and that is not a Combat Enchantment will profit from "Spell Save" there.

Known Bugs[]

There is a bug in the game code that prevents certain extra spells from being added to Heroes' repertoire, as the list above indicates they should.

As a result, all extra spells that have internal number bigger than 127, are dysfunctional. This concerns all Icon DeathDeath and Icon LifeLife realm spells, apart from these life spells (Bless, Star Fires, Holy Weapon, Healing, Holy Armor). All other spells are fully functional.

The problem has so far been observed with the following Heroes:

From this list, Torin and Elana have Healing and Torin has Holy Armor. Everything else is lost.

Note that these Heroes can still cast spells, and have access to the entire repertoire of their employer wizard - but with no additional spells. Thus, if the Wizard learns the spells that they should've gotten "for free", those Heroes would be able to cast them. Still, this is a problem given that Morgana in particular is valued mostly for her Possession spell.

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