Spells have an inherent resistance to being dispelled that is related to the amount of magic power used to cast the spell. The chance that a spell can be dispelled by casting dispel magic or other spells of that type is given by the ratio of the casting cost of the “dispelling” spell divided by the sum of the casting costs of the target spell and the “dispelling” spell.
Chance of Dispelling = Casting Cost of Dispel
(Casting Cost of Target + Casting Cost of Dispel)
For example, if you want to remove a weakness enchantment that has been cast on one of your units during combat, you may decide to cast dispel magic. The dispel magic spell has a base casting cost of 10 mana. You can add more mana to the spell (up to five times the base cost) to strengthen it. Let us say that you end up putting an extra 10 mana into the spell, giving it a total strength of 20 mana. The target spell, weakness, has a casting cost of five mana. Therefore, the chance of dispelling this enchantment with a 20 strength dispel magic is 20 divided by 20 +5 or 20/25. There is, then, a four in five chance of dispelling the weakness enchantment from your unit.
In general, because continuous spells cost more magic power, they are significantly more difficult to dispel than other spells. Also, a number of the wizard Special Abilities can make it more difficult to dispel spells they have cast (see Special Abilities).
Events
n real life, things are rarely quiet for long. Life on Arcanus and Myrror is no different from life on Earth in that respect. The following list briefly describes the sorts of interesting events that can keep things from getting too routine. (Although, if you are not really in the mood for much excitement, feel free to toggle off the random events button; see Game Settings.)
Every year brings with it a certain chance that an unusual event will occur. As years without events pass, the probability of a random event occurring increases. If your wizard is doing well (winning), there is an increased chance that a negative event will occur, while the opposite holds true if your wizard is losing.
All events are announced to you as they occur. If the particular event is a lasting one, you are also notified when it ends.
Bad Moon: A blood red, evil moon appears in the night skies of Arcanus and Myrror, increasing the magic power that flows from evil temples, those owned by practitioners of death magic, by 50%. At the same time, the magic power flowing from good temples, those owned by practitioners of life magic, decreases to half its usual amount. There is a 5% probability of the event ending every game turn.
Conjunction: The skies over Arcanus and Myrror occasionally exhibit an unusual phenomenon: triads of stars of similar color (red, blue or green) appear to rise in the skies. When they do, the dominant color of the stars in the triad mysteriously influences the magic nodes on the worlds, doubling the magic power obtained from nodes of the same color as the stars and halving the magic power emanating from all other nodes. There is a 5% probability every game turn that this phenomenon ends.
Depletion: Occasionally deposits of minerals are depleted. When this happens, the mineral disappears from the land, never again to contribute to the local town’s resources.
Diplomatic Marriage: The ruler of a neutral city appears, bearing an offer for unity through a diplomatic marriage. If you agree, the neutral city becomes yours.
Disjunction: On rare occasions, a massive flux of energy from an as- yet- unidentified source tears asunder the fabric of magic itself! Well, it need hardly be said that the consequences of this event are disastrous, as wizards see all their hard-placed global enchantments destroyed along with the woven threads of magic.
Donation: A generous and wealthy merchant decides to donate a large amount of gold to a wizard.
Earthquake: While most of the earthquakes on Arcanus and Myrror are due to wizardly feuds, the odd earthquake occasionally happens naturally, with effects transpiring in the same manner as the spell (see earthquake in the Spellbook supplement).
The Gift: A god offers a powerful ancient relic to a wizard.
Good Moon: A pure silver moon appears in the night skies of Arcanus and Myrror, increasing the magic power that flows from good temples by 50%. At the same time, the magic power flowing from evil temples decreases to half its usual amount. There is a 5% probability every game turn of ending the event.
Great Meteor: An enormous meteor strikes a city, with consequences like those following the casting of call the void (see the Spellbook supplement).
Mana Short: All sources of magic power dry up completely. No player can draw magic power from any source during a mana short. Note that enchantments and fantastic creatures that require mana for maintenance still require it during a mana short! Take care that you spend the magic power from your reserves carefully during this event. Every turn there is a 5% probability that the event ends. New Minerals: A new mineral source is discovered near a city. Potential
new minerals include coal, gold, gems, mithril, adamantium and quork crystals.
Piracy: Pirates stage a raid and make off with between 30% and 50% of a wizard’s gold reserves!
Plague: A virulent plague breaks out in a city, causing a loss of lives and increasing local unrest. The effects are the same as the spell pestilence (see the Spellbook supplement), except that a plague cannot be dispelled. There is a 5% probability of the plague ending every game turn.
Population Boom: The population growth rate of a city doubles. There is a 5% probability every game turn that the growth rate returns to normal.
Rebellion: Your local popularity in one of the cities you own plummets. Rebels seize power and the city, along with any military units there, becomes neutral. All fantastic creatures in the city are banished.