Will Power

I still remember the first time I walked up to somebody and punched them for no good reason. Well, not me, per se—that kind of thing gets a guy like me a knuckle sandwich at best. I'm talking about Fable®: The Lost Chapters™. And, once I started, I didn't turn back. I became one mean head-kicking, chicken-chasing, villager-slaughtering ne'er do well, armed with a massive hammer and a burning need to fight the law. Then, I finished the game, and it was time to start a new focus. I'm here to tell you, you can be just as much of a bad, bad man—maybe even more so—by using your magic (or Will) abilities to wreak havoc on the weak and mewling.

It's still tricky not to draw your sword or bow now and again (and to use them effectively, you'll become focused on a few key spells), so choose wisely. Don't forget to use your spells often, since the Fable experience system gives you more experience points for the skills on which you focus. To cast a spell, pull the right trigger and hit either X, Y, or A. Switch between trios of spells—you can map them any way you want—with the Y button. Finally, make sure you occasionally spend experience points on Magic Power (aka your mana meter), or you won't have enough mana to make cast your spells.

Lightning is your first attack spell.

Attack! Attaaaaaack!
Attack spells are the magical ways you can most effectively lay the beat down on enemies like the Balvarines and the undead.

• Enflame: Turn yourself into the epicenter of a wildfire with this spell, which sends out a wave of flame in all directions and knocks back enemies. The more points you put in, the bigger and more powerful the wave.

• Fireball: Self-explanatory? Sure. Wizards have been pulling this one out of their bag of tricks since Gandalf was clean-shaven. But, put points into it, and your fiery projectile will turn into a guided missile and explode on contact, possibly taking out multiple targets with one blow.

• Battle Charge: This is the classic Bull Rush from Dungeons & Dragons®. With it, you can plow into foes and inflict damage. It gets you out of trouble fast and does a great deal of damage.

• Multi-Strike: Why hit just once? With Multi-Strike, your melee weapon hits many times with just one blow. Combined with Berserk, this will almost make you feel cruel.

• Lightning: Darth Vader's boss has got nothing on you! Send a blast of lightning from your fingertips to immobilize (or at least slow down) most foes, while the magic bleeds away your enemies' health. Power it up and zap an entire platoon!

Turn enemies into friends … Then, turn on them.

Surrounded
Surround spells let you have an impact on the world around you, and though they're not as aggressive as attack spells, they're still great in major combat scenarios.

• Force Push: This is similar to the Enflame spell used in Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ (KOTOR), except without the flames. Knock over entire crowds and kill them with the awesome force of your Will. Go ahead, you know you want to …

• Turncoat: Trigger this spell, and your enemies will start to think you're an ally … that is, until you turn on them!

• Slow Time: This is basically "bullet time." If you need more of an explanation than that, you're from Neptune, Johnny.

• Drain Life: KOTOR players will also be familiar with this spell. If you want your evil wizard to avoid the "good" alignment bonus from Heal Life, this is the way to go. To paraphrase the greatest torture scholar in history, it's like sipping a soda through a straw, but instead of sucking on a delicious carbonated beverage, you're sucking on life. So, suck it up!

• Summon: This spell is crucial if you want to go all-magic (or close to it). By beaming in a critter to do your fighting for you, you can pump up your experience faster and summon bigger critters. Combined with the Ghostly Sword, you can practically sit back and watch the fight.

Shoot all you want with the Multi-Arrow.

Getting Physical
Physical spells might also have been named "everything that doesn't fit in the first two categories." But, they certainly don't deserve short shrift because of it. Some of these spells can be integral to your success as a magic-spouting chicken-mangler.

• Physical Shield: This spell brings your alignment closer to the light and shrug off painful blows with the physical shield (a personal force field).

• Ghostly Sword: With this spell comes the ability to summon ethereal blades from the netherworld. These wraith-like swords will instantly begin to attack any nearby enemies, dancing from side to side as they weave death and destruction. Although initially you're only able to summon one ghostly sword, if you're proficient with the spell, you can eventually conjure up four blades at a time.

• Berserk: Any 98-pound weakling becomes a mighty melee powerhouse with this spell, which at higher levels also sends out a shockwave when triggered. Give it to a character that's already a warrior, and there will be nothing he can't kill. There's only one drawback: You can't use Flourish while it's triggered.

• Assassin Rush: Untargeted, this spell teleports you forward instantaneously. Target an enemy (like a chicken, for example), and you'll flash forward and appear right at the enemy's back, ready to attack. This spell is great for fighting massive single foes, like Trolls, but it also gets you out of a group quickly, if you're surrounded.

• Heal Life: Turn magic into health, and get a good alignment bonus. The one is even handy if you're evil.

• Multi-Arrow: Honestly, I don't know why this isn't considered an attack spell. Multi-Arrow turns your bow into a homing-missile gun, sending many arrows into your enemy when you fire. It's crucial for snipers and handy for anyone who wants to kill from a distance, but sucks at getting head shots.

   

  Article by Danny Chihdo