Winds of Magic

The Winds of Magic provide spellcasters in Total War with their source of power. The available magic is depleted when a spell is cast. They recharge quickly at first, but get slower each time a new spell is cast until eventually they no longer recharge. The Winds of Magic pool is shared across all spellcasters in a player's army. Not all powerful abilities are spells.

Background

In Warhammer Fantasy lore, all magic derives ultimately from Chaos, flowing as a "wind" from the broken Chaos Gates or Warp Gates at the north and south poles. The gates lead to the Realm of Chaos, another dimension of pure thought and emotion, which endlessly changes and does not conform to the physical laws of the real universe. This is what magic is: the raw matter and energy of another chaotic universe.

The Winds of Magic are most powerful and most dangerous as they first pour out of the Gates, and much of them solidify into mutating warpstone - essentially raw chaos magic, solidified into mineral form. This is why the Chaos Wastes are so strange, otherworldly and changing - they are the part of the world most affected by this outpouring of magic at the poles.

As such, all magic is inherently dangerous and can potentially have a corrupting, mutating effect, even when used with great care and attention by a spellcaster of great skill. Most races try to practice magic as safely as they can, while others (particularly Skaven and the followers of Chaos) embrace its raw, chaotic nature.

Most races have some individuals which are born with the ability to harness magic. Slann and Elves are generally considered the most magically attuned, and have the greatest natural skill at controlling magic. Some humans also have the ability to harness magic, but they are also very easily corrupted and mutated by its power.

Dwarfs are much less magically attuned, and in fact have an innate resistance to magic. The few Dwarfs who are born with the ability to direct the Winds of Magic risk turning themselves to stone if they do so. Dwarf Runelords and Runesmiths long ago learned how to direct magic into Runes struck into metal or stone, insulating themselves from the danger of using magic directly. The Sorcerer-Prophets of the Chaos Dwarfs use magic directly, but pay the price for it, slowly turning to stone as they age.

Daemons are creatures of pure magic and thought, native to the Realm of Chaos, and some are spellcasters themselves, although the Daemons of Khorne have no spellcasters among them.

Winds of Magic Panel

The Winds of Magic Panel is part of the Battle User Interface located in the bottom right of the screen.

If the player's army contains no spellcasters, this Panel will simply be a golden image of Morrslieb, the Chaos moon which strongly influences magic in Warhammer lore.

The Power Meter

However, if the player's army does have spellcasters, the center of this panel will be a blue hourglass-shaped gauge with a number between 0 and 30. This is the Power Meter. It indicates the current amount of Winds of Magic available to the player's army.

If the player has selected a spellcaster unit, such as an Empire Light Wizard, then the caster's available spells (up to 6) will be arranged around the Power Meter. Hovering over one of these spell icons will show the spell's tooltip and hotkey, and change the number in the Power Meter to what would remain after casting it.

If the caster has access to more than one Lore of Magic, then a small bar will appear above the Winds of Magic Panel with buttons to switch between the Lores.

Each spell has a cost in Winds of Magic, such as 4 for a relatively weak spell, or 16 for a very powerful one. It is often possible to reduce the cost (and cooldown duration) of spells by upgrading them in the caster's skill menu.

The Reserve Bar

The small, vertical blue bar to the right of the Power Meter is the Reserve Bar or Recharge Bar. It indicates how much magic is left to refill the main Power Meter, as well as how fast the Power Meter will recharge. A full Reserve Bar means that the Power Meter will recharge very quickly, and that there is plenty Winds of Magic left if the player can wait. It depletes over time to refill the Power Meter.

Every time a player uses one of their spellcasters to cast a spell, the Reserve Bar's value is reduced.

When the Reserve Bar reaches 0, the Power Meter will no longer recharge.

Some character abilities (often called augments of the winds) such as Arcane Conduit and Greater Arcane Conduit can cause the Reserve Bar to recharge slightly, in turn recharging the Power Meter.

Magic availability in the Campaign, and "Gambling"

"The fickle Winds of Magic blow whence they will..."

In Warhammer Fantasy lore, the Winds of Magic are extremely unpredictable at times blowing a gale and at others suddenly still. As a result, the amount of magic available to the player's army in a battle in the Campaign mode can vary greatly depending on the army's location. The Map will tell players how strongly the Winds of Magic are blowing in any given Province. This will affect how much the Winds of Magic reserves are recharged (or drained) for any army in said province. Armies with spellcasters can also adopt the Channeling stance (or faction-specific equivalents) to recharge their reserves faster if needed. A few factions even have the ability to affect the Winds themselves, or at least increase the odds of them shifting to their advantage.

In the Realms of Chaos areas, special rules apply to the Winds of Magic, such that reserves are essentially infinite, and spells charge up a meter to cast a Cataclysm spell.

At the start of a battle in the campaign, the player is presented with the option to gamble, or to accept the current amount of magic available. If the player chooses the "Gamble" option, then the amount of starting Winds of Magic in the Power Meter and Reserve Bar may go up or down at random. As such, it is generally inadvisable to gamble if the Winds of Magic meter is at 15 (out of 30) or higher. In most quest battles, this option is not available. Some factions have ways to affect the odds of this mechanic, such as with Grand Cathay's Wu Xing Compass.

If the result is positive and the amount of magic rises above the previous total, then flavour text appears stating that "Ranald favours you!"

Amounts of Magic

• Blowing - 0
• Tempestuous - very strong (+10)

Overcast spells and miscasts

Some spells can be overcast which increases and/or changes their effects. This costs extra Winds of Magic, and has a risk of resulting in a miscast which damages the spellcaster, although the spell will still be cast with the extra overcast effects. Some character skills and items in the campaign mode can decrease the chance of miscasting.

As of the The Hammers & Herdstones Update, miscast explosion damage now does:

• Explosive base damage 288
• Explosive Armour-Piercing damage 300

Notably, miscast damage is magic damage, so it can be reduced depending on your spellcaster's Magic Resistance and Ward Save.

To overcast a spell, double-click its button or hotkey before casting/setting a target. Spells which can be overcast will have a small double arrow on their button in the battle UI.

Lore Attributes

Lore attributes are passive abilities. Each Lore of Magic has its own associated Lore Attribute. For instance, the Lore of Heavens has Roiling Skies, which is a map-wide debuff affecting flying enemies. These passive effects will trigger whenever the spellcaster casts a spell, and last for some amount of time. Most casters that use just one specific Lore have access to that Lore's Attribute. Teclis is notable for having access to 9 different Lore Attributes in the campaign.

Bound Spells

Bound spells are spells - the same ones in the various Lores of Magic. However, they are conferred by an item or other ability/upgrade, and do not cost Winds of Magic to cast, nor do they have a risk of miscast. A character need not be a wizard/spellcaster to cast a bound spell. Bound Spell ability buttons are displayed around the character portrait window in battle. They cannot be overcast and are generally limited by uses per battle and a much longer cooldown.

Some characters unlock bound spells through ranking up and choosing skills: for instance Teclis in the campaign can unlock Fiery Convocation.

In other cases bound spells may be attached to certain items or banners. For instance, the Ruby Ring of Ruin confers Fireball as a bound spell.

• See Category:Items with bound spells.

Army Abilities

Some spells can also be available in battle as Army abilities. These generally work much like Bound Spells, except not being tied to a specific character or unit, and usually being able to target anywhere on the map. Buttons to use any army ability will appear on the right side of the screen and are typically limited by a number of uses, though some have to be charged up by specific means, with a bar showing the progress.

• See Army Abilities

Types of Spells

This section lists different types of spells, with some examples of each. Note that most damaging spells can hit friendly units, and will explicitly state if they don't. Other spells with an area of effect will only ever affect either enemies or allies.

Augment

A buff spell which increases the power/stats of friendly units (or the caster), or gives them new attributes (e.g. Mantle of Ghorok).

Augment of the Winds are a specific subtype with its own icon, which can only target spellcasters and provides buffs specific to spellcasting, such as faster power recharge, recovering Winds of Magic reserves, or reducing miscast chance.

Regeneration

Not to be confused with the regeneration ability.

A buff spell which causes units to heal over time, or even raises them from the dead (e.g. Regrowth).

Hex

A debuff spell which weakens enemy units, lowering their stats, preventing their movement, or causing them to suffer fear/terror (e.g. Net of Amyntok).

Magic Missile

A missile which shoots across the battlefield towards the enemy. Magic missiles can miss, or be blocked by terrain (e.g. Fireball). Can target flying enemies.

Wind

A spell which travels in a straight line, doing damage and/or knocking enemies down (e.g. Wind of Death). In Total War: Warhammer II, Wind spells can be aimed in a specific direction by holding down the left mouse button and rotating the cursor when targeting.

Breath

Similar to a Wind spell, but has a cone-shaped area of effect rather than a rectangular shape (e.g. Pestilent Breath). Breath spells can aimed in a specific direction by holding down the left mouse button and rotating the cursor when targeting.

Direct Damage

A spell which targets enemy units directly, and does damage to them (e.g. The Fate of Bjuna). Can target/affect flying enemies.

Bombardment

A spell which targets an area or enemy unit, and bombards them from above with damaging missiles (e.g. Comet of Cassandora).

Explosion

A spell that causes a violent explosion outwards from a central point, damaging and knocking back all units (e.g. Foot of Gork).

Hiding

A spell, similar to an Augment, which causes a unit to become invisible (e.g. Skitterleap).

Vortex

A devastating spell which stays on the battlefield for some time, damaging all nearby units, friend or foe. Most vortex spells move randomly, though some stay still or hone-in on the enemy (e.g. Curse of Da Bad Moon).

Summons

Main article: Summons

Some spells summon new units to the battlefield. These spells are usually classed, officially, as Augments or Explosions (e.g. Transformation of Kadon), and use the same icons as spells from these categories.

Unlike most other spells, Summons cannot be overcast and are typically limited to a few uses per battle, much like Bound spells (but still require Winds of Magic).

Most summons degrade over time, losing HP until disappearing completely.

Unique Spells

Main article: Unique spells

Some spells are unique to certain spellcasters or types thereof, and are not part of any Lore of Magic.

Lores of Magic

The following is a list of all the Lores of Magic and their current users as per Total War: Warhammer III:

Introduced in Total War: Warhammer:

Introduced in Total War: Warhammer II:

Runic Magic
Race	Unit
Dwarfs

Introduced in Total War: Warhammer III:

Magic in Total War: Warhammer III

(Work in progress)

In Total War: Warhammer III, magic is given an overhaul.

TBA

Levels of Magic

Magic is indicated in three levels, depending on the region. These affect how much Winds your army has when you start a battle in the region

• Calm Winds of Magic - 40 reserves, reduces by 10 from each turn.
  • Daemonic armies suffer from debuffs due to lacking access to sustainable Magic.
• Blowing Winds of Magic - 50 reserves, no change in level from each turn. The default state.
• Strong Winds of Magic - 50 reserves, +5 per turn.
  • Any army can adopt the Channeling stance, which increases additional reserves to +15 per turn.
  • A Hero with the Magical Reserves skill can increase additional reserves by +20% per turn.

The maximum amount of Winds for any army is 100 reserves.

Reserves buffs for Chaos armies

Daemonic armies start getting buffs when they reach high levels of reserves:

• Tzeentch - barrier recharge speed
• Khorne - spell resistance
• Nurgle - melee defence
• Slaanesh - speed

Storm of Magic

In the Realm of Chaos (region), armies who fight there enter a Storm of Magic. All magical reserves there are infinite.

Any player must consistently use one Lore of Magic in order for it to reach Ascendancy, so they cannot use other spells from other Lores; they can receive passive bonuses as they continue to use that Lore. Once Ascendancy has been reached, they can use a Cataclysm Spell to annihilate their foes and win the battle.

• Lore of Beasts
  • All units become immune to psychology and gain charge bonuses.
  • Cataclysm Spell: Merciw’s Monstrous Regiment.
    • The strength of the wild is imbued on one unit’s weapon damage, armour-piercing, melee attack, and physical resistance.
• Lore of Life
  • All units gain perfect vigour.
  • Cataclysm Spell: Storm of Renewal.
    • A tree sprouts from the ground as raw life-energy flows across the battlefield, providing a huge regeneration aura.
• Lore of Death
  • All units gain armour-piercing melee damage
  • Cataclysm Spell: Ashes & Dust.
    • A suffocating dust cloud chokes the life from enemies in a wide area after a short wind-up.
• Lore of Fire
  • All units get bonus melee attack
  • Cataclysm Spell: Magma Storm.
    • A massive eruption protrudes from the ground, burning everything in the area in magical fire.
• Lore of Heavens
  • All missile units deal extra damage and extra armour-piercing damage
  • Cataclysm Spell: Thorsen’s Thunderstorm
    • A great storm develops above the battlefield, annihilating an area with lightning bolts.
• Lore of Light
  • All units gain magical attacks and immunity to psychology.
  • Cataclysm Spell: Time Amok
    • The flow of time is altered over a portion of the battlefield, improving allies’ reload skill, speed, and melee attack.
• Lore of Metal
  • All units receive bonus armour and missile resistance
  • Cataclysm Spell: Gehenna’s Golden Globe
    • A great molten sphere emerges from the earth and rolls across enemy forces.
• Lore of Shadow
  • All units get faster charge and movement speed
  • Cataclysm Spell: Dance of Despair
    • A haunting tune envelops enemies in an area, reducing their leadership, melee defense, and melee attack.

Because Khorne units do not have spellcasters, they instead receive buffs for their spell resistance. Khorne armies can also summon Daemons more easily to channel their god's hatred of magic.

Tzeentch armies can freely choose which Lore will be the first in Ascendancy.

(Magic in Total War: WARHAMMER III – the storm cometh - Total War)

Trivia

Several races lack some Lores of Magic that they had available in the tabletop game, or in the lore:

• Just like High Elves, in 8th edition tabletop, Dark Elves had access to the Lores of Heavens, Metal, Life, Light and High Magic.
• Ogre Kingdoms had access to the Lores of Death and Heavens.
• Wood Elves had a unique type of magic called Fey Magic up until 8th edition, when it was scrapped in favour of Dark and High Magic. They also had access to the Lores of Death, Heavens, Fire, Light and Metal.

Likewise, some characters have access to a limited number of Lores of Magic compared to the tabletop game. Some examples are The Fay Enchantress, Lord Mazdamundi, and Archaon the Everchosen, who lack seven, six and one Lore of Magic respectively.

Magic General Winds of Magic · Unique spells · Bound spells · Summons Lores of Magic Lore of Beasts Lore of the Big Waaagh! Lore of Dark Magic Lore of Death Lore of the Deep Lore of Fire Lore of the Great Maw Lore of Hashut Lore of Heavens Lore of High Magic Lore of the Hag Lore of Ice Lore of Life Lore of Light Lore of the Little Waaagh! Lore of Metal Lore of Nehekhara Lore of Nurgle Lore of Shadows Lore of Slaanesh Lore of Tempest Lore of Tzeentch Lore of Vampires Lore of the Wild Skaven Spells of Ruin Skaven Spells of Plague Skaven Spells of Stealth Lore of Yang Lore of Yin Unique Lores of Magic Cataclysm Deliverance of Itza Runic Magic

Battle mode Battles Set piece battles · Advanced controls · Armies · Ambush battles · Intercept battles · Battlefield · Flanking · Fortifications · Siege battles · Terrain · Visibility · Winds of Magic Units Lords · Leadership · Spells · Vigour · Weapon types · Unit abilities · Unit movement · Unit selection