[From the T2A Strategy Guide] "Magic"

[Cutpurse]

*Casting offensive spells in town, including the Summon and Field spells and those listed below, is forbidden and subject to punishment.

Any offensive spell cast in town will do no damage, but casting them will flag you as a criminal.

Clumsy
Curse
EQ
Feeblemind
Mana Drain
Mana Vamp
Mass Curse
Paralyze
Wall of Stone
Poison
Weaken

As of right now, I believe we get the message "You cannot cast this in town." I believe in era you COULD cast it.. it'd just get you whacked.

*Blade spirits are geared to track and attack warrior types -- namely, characters with high tactics and parrying skills. Similarly, Energy Vortex track and kill mages and other characters with high intelligence.

This is the way I've always remembered it, and now it seems like it's a "who's closest" ordeal. EVs should go for the highest Int char in a vicinity and BSes should go for those with tactics and/or parrying.

*Earthquake is a destructive spell, but it can also help you make a grand escape. A wide-radius spell, it causes all characters within the area (except the caster) to flop around on the ground and injure themselves.

Right now, it just seems to damage you.. but it should also make you "fall" (the death animation) and it should temporarily freeze you from moving.

[Faust]

The energy vortex was based on the combination of Int & Magery not just Int.

Damage was also based on using the same combination.

I think the attack status is working correctly at the moment, but the damage won't be working until Derrick implements my NPC revamp that I coded several months ago along with every other fix for all NPC related characteristics.

I can't comment about the EQ, because I don't ever remember this being the case. This would have to be a candidate for testing purposes on the demo in my opinion. We all know that this wasn't the case post t2a.

[Hiram]

The falling animation for EQ was taken out a long while before T2A. When it was in effect, EQ would crash a lot of clients which made it a great PK tool -- run on the screen, cast EQ, kill the disconnected folks (it never crashed the caster!).

[Batlin]

I can't comment about the EQ, because I don't ever remember this being the case. This would have to be a candidate for testing purposes on the demo in my opinion. We all know that this wasn't the case post t2a.

Because the mage vendor does not sell an earthquake scroll this cannot be tested easily. But I took the earthquake script and copied it over the curse script and then casted the modified "curse". Earthquake happened, in town I got guardwacked but no NPC's flipping, they only went into combat mode for a short moment.

But eathquake script itself does contain a call to an empty function. That function could have well been the flipping code.

[EVeee]

1) I've seen an EV select a target with Magery/Int standing farther away from it than creatures without. My buddy had a good little marathon because of it.

2) I'm pretty sure that EQ did knock people over during T2A since I played during and after but not before and I remember this.

[Faust]

The only time that I have seen an earthquake spell make people flip flop like a fish was in Ultima 7 but the spell was called Armageddon.

[Cutpurse]

The only time that I have seen an earthquake spell make people flip flop like a fish was in Ultima 7 but the spell was called Armageddon.

Well the text comes from Prima's strategy guide, which I'm fairly sure Origin considered accurate. I also pretty clearly remember people falling down but the animation could be broken by attempting to move. It's not like it paralyzed you.. it'd be like a tiny lag.

[Cutpurse]

And I just the other day completed playing U7 all the way through, again on Exult. Man, I miss the single player series.

[Arcott Ramathorn]

I only played during the T2A period on OSI(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9bZwBzITyk), and i know there was a time that you could cast fire wall in town! My friends and I(also total nublets) used to cast fire field on the roof of the Vesper mage shop and run through it for resist. It would turn you grey and you could be Gwhacked if an innocent ran into your FF. After a few too many times of random people running through our fire fields and gwhacking us we gave up and made fire fields on our boat.

[Cutpurse]

I only played during the T2A period on OSI(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9bZwBzITyk), and i know there was a time that you could cast fire wall in town! My friends and I(also total nublets) used to cast fire field on the roof of the Vesper mage shop and run through it for resist. It would turn you grey and you could be Gwhacked if an innocent ran into your FF. After a few too many times of random people running through our fire fields and gwhacking us we gave up and made fire fields on our boat.

A firefield was also used to kill Lord British, who forgot to turn on invuln at an event.

[Derrick]

The ability to gain resist in town was removed prior to May 1999, as was the ability to begin the cast of field and summon spells in town. Field spells however can be placed within town in an OSI accurate way.

[poogoblin]

I know at some point during t2a poison would also cause damage...at least on NPCs.

This is how a couple friends and I would kill tailors for their sandals. Completely naked...1 ns..poison NPC, get guard whacked, do it again. Would usually take about 2 poisonings per tailor.

[Eulogy]

The only time I remember EQ making people "fall down" was during Beta or right after launch.