Tunnels and Trolls 7th Edition Spell Caster's Calculator

All values entered in the form below are numeric. More info about the various fields and some examples and technical notes can be found below the calculator.

Character Level:
Character Type:	Wizard/Paragon Specialist
Spell Base Level:
Spell Base WIZ Cost:
Power Up 1 Level:
Power Up 1A Base Effect:
Power Up 1B Base Effect:
Power Up 2 Level:
Power Up 2 Base Effect:
Magic Staff Used?
Spell Casting Level:
WIZ Cost of Spell:
Minimum INT/DEX:
INT SR Target #:
Power Up 1A Total Effect:
Power Up 1B Total Effect:
Power Up 2 Total Effect:

Key for the Spell Caster's Calculator

Character Level:	The level of the character casting the spell.
Character Type:	Only the spell-casting character types are shown. Choose the type for the character casting the spell.
Spell Base Level:	The level of the spell as listed in the T&T rulebook.
Spell Base WIZ Cost:	The WIZ Cost of the spell as listed in the spell description in the T&T rulebook.
Power Up 1 Level:	The extra levels you're putting into the spell for a first Power Up. See examples below this table.
Power Up 1A Base Effect:	A number representing a base value for one effect that is doubled by the extra levels entered for Power Up 1 Level. See examples below this table.
Power Up 1B Base Effect:	A number representing a base value for a second effect that is doubled by the extra levels entered for Power Up 1 Level. See examples below this table.
Power Up 2 Level:	The extra levels you're putting into the spell for a second, distinct Power Up. See examples below this table.
Power Up 2 Base Effect:	A number representing a base value for an effect that is doubled by the extra levels entered for Power Up 2 Level. See examples below this table.
Magic Staff Used:	Check the box if your character is using a Magic Staff to help reduce the WIZ cost of the spell. The deduction for a Magic Staff is performed after any other reductions (such as the reduction for being a Specialist). Note that a Rogue character can not use a Magic Staff to help reduce the WIZ cost of a spell, so checking this box for a Rogue character has no effect.
Spell Casting Level:	The resultant level of your spell, including the base level and the levels of any Power Ups.
WIZ Cost of Spell:	The total WIZ your character must expend to cast the spell at the specified Spell Casting Level, taking all factors into consideration.
Minimum INT/DEX:	The minimum value of the INT and DEX attributes required to cast the spell at the specified Spell Casting Level. Note that the minimum INT/DEX for 13th level spells is 100, not 87, as listed in the T&T rulebook; this was a misprint. Also note that this calculator will calculate the minimum INT/DEX attribute values for spells cast at levels higher than 13. (As if you'll ever get a character that can cast spells that high... ;)
INT SR Target #:	The Target Number for the INT SR that your character must make to successfully cast the spell at the specified Spell Casting Level.
Power Up 1A Total Effect:	If you enter a positive value in the Power Up 1A Base Effect field, then the value for Power Up 1A Total Effect is the base effect doubled a number of times equal to the Power Up 1 Level.
Power Up 1B Total Effect:	If you enter a positive value in the Power Up 1B Base Effect field, then the value for Power Up 1B Total Effect is the base effect doubled a number of times equal to the Power Up 1 Level.
Power Up 2 Total Effect:	If you enter a positive value in the Power Up 2 Base Effect field, then the value for Power Up 2 Total Effect is the base effect doubled a number of times equal to the Power Up 2 Level.

Power Up Examples

A number of T&T spells allow what are referred to in the rules as Power Ups. To do a Power Up, you increase the level of your spell by the level of the Power Up. Important! If you are not doing a Power Up for your spell, enter 0 in the fields labeled Power Up 1 Level and Power Up 2 Level. Otherwise, you will get incorrect results.

In the 7th edition rules, some spells have Power Ups and some don't. Those that do have Power Ups allow you to increase one or two effects. Those Power Ups that allow you to increase two effects fall into two categories. Some such spells allow you to effect two values simultaneously with a single Power Up, while other such spells require you to split the Power Up levels between two different types of effects. We'll look at examples of each type of Power Up spell.

For the following examples, we'll be using the following character:

• Klebarg the Goblin Wizard
• Wizard Level: 3
• INT: 33
• DEX: 24
• WIZ: 28
• Carries a Magic Staff

Example 1: Increasing a Single Effect with a Single Power Up

An example of a spell that allows you to increase a single effect with a single Power Up is Take That, You Fiend! (TTYF). With this first level spell, you deal damage to a target equal to your INT score. For each level of Power Up, you get to double the amount of damage from the previous level.

Klebarg finds himself confronting an angry ogre with MR 150. Klebarg knows he isn't a match for the ogre physically, and decides it's time to try out his TTYF spell. At base level, he'll do 33 damage with the spell, which is definitely not sufficient to withstand an attack from a MR 150 ogre. But he can Power Up TTYF to do more damage. Question is, how many Power Up levels to add?

So Klebarg pulls out his Spell Caster's Calculator and punches in some quick numbers while the ogre is charging at him. He enters his character level (3), his character type (Wizard), the base level of TTYF (1), and the base cost for TTYF (6). Next he must decide how many Power Up levels to add. He punches in 1 Power Up level in the Power Up 1 Level field. He then comes to the Power Up 1A Base Effect field. In this case, the effect of the spell is based on his INT score, which is 33. So he enters 33 in the field.

Since there is only one type of effect for TTYF that gets doubled for a Power Up, Klebarg enters 0 in each of the other Power Up-related fields. He then checks the box that indicates he has a Magic Staff, and presses the Calculate button.

The results at the bottom of the calculator shows the following:

• Spell Casting Level: 2
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 8
• Minimum INT/DEX: 12
• INT SR Target #: 25
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 66
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 0

Klebarg realizes from looking at the value (66) of the Power Up 1A Total Effect result field that adding 1 level of Power Up won't be enough. So he quickly changes the value of the Power Up 1 Level field from 1 to 2 (two levels of Power Up). Everything else stays the same. He clicks the Calculate button. This time he gets the following results:

• Spell Casting Level: 3
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 15
• Minimum INT/DEX: 15
• INT SR Target #: 30
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 132
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 0

That's better, but it's still not enough to kill the ogre. So Klebarg frantically changes the number of Power Up levels from 2 to 3, and jabs the Calculate button. The results are:

• Spell Casting Level: 4
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 21
• Minimum INT/DEX: 19
• INT SR Target #: 35
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 264
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 0

That looks good! Klebarg has the required WIZ to cast that spell, has the minimum INT and DEX for it, and has a good chance to make his INT SR. Most importantly, the spell will deal 264 points of damage, enough to make sure that stinkin' ogre won't bother him anymore. Klebarg slips his calculator in a pocket and with a big grin on his face casts a 4th level TTYF. The ogre's HPT is 129 for the combat turn, so Klebarg ends up only taking the spite damage dealt by the ogre. The ogre, on the other hand, is decimated by the 264-point TTYF spell.

Example 2: Increasing Two Effects with a Single Power Up

An example of a spell that allows you to increase two effects simultaneously with a single Power Up is Oh There It Is (OTh). With this first level spell, you get to see invisible things within 50 feet of you, and it lasts for 1 combat turn. For each level of Power Up, you get to double both the range and the duration.

Having survived the ogre, Klebarg finds a place to rest up for a while, allowing his WIZ score to replenish to its maximum value of 28. He then continues his task, which is to find a statue of a bear. He's searched every obvious place in the dungeon, so it's now time to start looking for unobvious, secret places. To find those secret doors that must be around here somewhere, he will use OTh.

Klebarg is curious about his Power Up options for OTh. So he pulls out his Spell Caster's Calculator. He's already entered his character level (1) and character type (Wizard), and the spell base level is the same as TTYF (1). He enters the base WIZ cost for OTh (4). He enters 1 for the Power Up 1 Level.

For the Power Up 1A Base Effect field, Klebarg enters 50, which is the base range for the spell. He then enters 1 in the Power Up 1B Base Effect field, to represent the base duration (1 combat turn). He entered these values in the Power Up 1A Base Effect and Power Up 1B Base Effect fields because the range and the duration of the spell are both effected by the same Power Up level (which he just entered in the Power Up 1 Level field).

Making sure that the Power Up 2 Level and Power Up 2 Base Effect fields are both 0, Klebarg pushes the Calculate button. He gets the following results:

• Spell Casting Level: 2
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 4
• Minimum INT/DEX: 12
• INT SR Target #: 25
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 100
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 2
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 0

So, for 4 WIZ and a easy INT SR, Klebarg could see invisible objects within 100 feet, and have that ability for 2 combat turns. Since he used the Power Up 1A Effect field to enter the base range of the spell, the full range for the spell can be found int the Power Up 1A Total Effect result field. The number there is 100, and it's in the same units as the base range, which means the full range is 100 feet. Likewise, the base duration was entered in the Power Up 1B Base Effect field, so the full duration can be found in the Power Up 1B Total Effect result field. The number there is 2, and the unit for the base duration is combat turns, so the full duration of the spell is 2 combat turns.

How much better can he do? He changes the Power Up 1 Level from 1 to 2, presses the Calculate button, and gets the following results:

• Spell Casting Level: 3
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 9
• Minimum INT/DEX: 15
• INT SR Target #: 30
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 200
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 4
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 0

OK. Hmm. The range has improved significantly, but he's not sure he can see 200 feet in any one direction in this dungeon anyway. And the duration is only 4 combat turns. And it will cost him 9 WIZ. He'd almost be better off just casting it at the base level of 1 every combat turn for 4 combat turns. Just to double check the figures for the base level spell, he changes the 2 in the Power Up 1 Level field to 0 (no Power Up levels). Leaving the information for the base range and base duration in the Power Up 1A / 1B Effect fields doesn't hurt anything, or effect the results (as you'll soon see). Pressing the Calculate button, he gets the following readout:

• Spell Casting Level: 1
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 1
• Minimum INT/DEX: 10
• INT SR Target #: 20
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 50
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 1
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 0

It only costs him 1 WIZ per combat turn to cast OTh at a level that will give him sufficient range in this particular situation. He decides to cast OTh at level 1, and plans to recast it again once he's repositioned himself to have a good view of another area. He can keep doing this until he finds something interesting, or otherwise decides to stop. And it's much more WIZ-efficient.

So Klebarg casts his OTh spell, and to his pleasant surprise, finds a secret door on his first attempt. He slides the door open as the OTh expires. He spent 1 WIZ for that spell, so his WIZ is down to 27.

To his not-so-pleasant surprise, two armed orcs are resting on the other side of the door. They're surprised, too, which is lucky for Klebarg. But they jump up, ready and eager to defend their domain against this intruder. They could also use a new bowl, so they don't have to keep sharing the same one, and Klebarg's skull is about the right size.

Sadly, Klebarg's trusty TTYF won't get him out of this situation alive, since it can only target one of the two orcs. It's time for something different. He's got to think quick, and push those calculator buttons quick, too. (Unbeknownst to him, magic goes before melee, and that rule alone will hold off the two orcs until he can figure out which spell to cast and how much to power it up.)

Example 3: Increasing Two Effects with Two, Distinct Power Ups

An example of a spell that allows you to increase up to two effects with Power Ups, but requires that each effect is powered by its own set of Power Up levels, is Dem Bones Gonna Rise (DBGR). This first level spell has a base WIZ cost of 10, and you get to summon one skeleton to carry out your simple commands for two combat turns. For each level of Power Up, you have to assign the Power Up level to either the duration of the spell or the number of summoned skeletons.

DBGR also needs relatively loose earth from which to summon the skeletons, and fortunately for Klebarg, he notices a little patch of worked earth just inside the door to the orc's room, where the orcs are growing mushrooms. DBGR seems to be his best hope, especially if he can summon a couple of skeletons, one to engage each of the orcs, and perhaps give Klebarg time to escape.

So Klebarg quickly enters the info for DBGR into his Spell Caster's Calculator, while the two orcs charge at him in slow motion. He enters the information first without regards to Power Ups: Wizard level (3), Character Type (Wizard), Spell Base Level (1), Spell Base WIZ Cost (10). He makes sure the check box for having a Magic Staff is checked.

He then needs to decide which Power Up fields to use for the Power Up effects for this spell. He can't use a single Power Up to increase both duration and number of skeletons summoned, so one of these Power Up effects will be assigned to Power Up 1 fields, and the other Power Up effect will be assigned to Power Up 2 fields. He decides to use the Power Up 1 fields for duration and the Power Up 2 fields for number of skeletons summoned. Having made this decision, he enters the base duration (2) in the Power Up 1A Effect field, and the base number of skeletons summoned (1) in the Power Up 2 Effect field. For this spell, he won't use the Power Up 1B Effect field, because the two effects are governed by separate Power Ups, not a single Power Up.

For now, he sets the Power Up 1 Level and the Power Up 2 Level fields as 0. Leaving them at 0 will calculate the specifics for the spell at the base level of 1. He presses the Calculate button, and gets the following result:

• Spell Casting Level: 1
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 5
• Minimum INT/DEX: 10
• INT SR Target #: 20
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 2
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 1

Most of this isn't news to Klebarg, but he does note that it will only cost him 5 WIZ to summon 1 skeleton for 2 combat turns.

He changes the Power Up 2 Level field from 0 to 1, signifying that he's thinking of summoning more skeletons for 1 level of Power Up. Pressing the Calculate button, he gets the following:

• Spell Casting Level: 2
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 16
• Minimum INT/DEX: 12
• INT SR Target #: 25
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 2
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 2

OK, so for one level of Power Up, he can summon 2 skeletons for 2 combat turns, at a cost of 16 WIZ. The cost has gone up considerably, but it may be necessary to save his life. He wonders if 2 combat turns will be long enough for him to get sufficient distance away from the orcs. He changes the Power Up 1 Level from 0 to 1 to increase the duration. Pressing the Calculate button, he sees the following:

• Spell Casting Level: 3
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 27
• Minimum INT/DEX: 15
• INT SR Target #: 30
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 4
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 2

So, for a WIZ cost of 27 (all the WIZ he's got left!), he can summon two skeletons for 4 combat turns. Hmm. He wonders if the two skeletons will even last for 4 combat turns. He might be better off summoning more skeletons, and not extending the duration from the base level. So he changes the Power Up 1 Level field back to 0 from 1, and changes the Power Up 2 Level field from 1 to 2. Then he presses Calculate, and gets the following results:

• Spell Casting Level: 3
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 27
• Minimum INT/DEX: 15
• INT SR Target #: 30
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 2
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 4

So for that same 27 WIZ, he could summon 4 skeletons for 2 combat turns. He'd have one combat turn after he cast the spell to put some distance between himself and the orcs. But with 4 skeletons, there might even be a chance that the skeletons could defeat the orcs. And in that case, Klebarg could move into the orc's room, close the secret door, and rest up. That sounds really good. So he decides to cast DBGR at level 3, putting the 2 Power Up levels towards summoning extra skeletons.

Klebarg casts his spell, and the 4 skeletons climb up out of the ground, startling the orcs, who are still caught in their slow motion charge. The skeletons grab for the orcs, who turn to defend themselves against this latest threat. Klebarg, still recovering from casting his spell, watches as the skeletons and orcs engage in melee for the remainder of that combat turn. As the next combat turn starts, Klebarg has recovered, and may take another action. Will he use the time to flee, or will he wait to see if the skeletons manage to defeat the orcs before they crumble to dust? We may never know the answer to that...

Higher Character Level Example

Using the Spell Caster's Calculator isn't really that big a help for low level characters like Klebarg. Most of those calculations could be done easily enough in a wizard's head. Where the calculator really helps is for intermediate and advanced spell casters. Let's look at a quick example for Dhalin:

• Dhalin, Human Conjuring Specialist
• Specialist Level: 12
• INT: 124
• DEX: 72
• WIZ: 68
• Does not carry a Magic Staff

Dhalin is paying a visit to a specialist colleague in a nearby town, and as a matter of specialist pride, Dhalin wants to bring an entourage of conjured attendants. So he considers casting DBGR at as high a level as he can muster, and arrive with a number of skeleton attendants to tend to him throughout the visit. Sadly, DBGR only lasts for 2 combat turns, and only summons a single skeleton. He'll have to really power it up to have an entourage with him for any length of time. Let's see what he can do.

He pulls out his Spell Caster's Calculator and starts putting in some numbers. He enters his Character Level (12), his Character Type (Specialist), the Spell Base Level (1), and the Spell Base WIZ Cost (10). He makes sure the checkbox for having a Magic Staff is not checked, since he prides himself in not needing to use such an instrument.

He wants to figure out how many Power Up levels he needs to put into his spell to bring the duration up to roughly a two-hour time period, since the visit is for an hour, and he wants to have 15 minutes leeway before the visit, and as much leeway after the visit as possible, in case the visit goes longer than expected. Since the duration for DBGR is measured in combat turns, he needs to figure out how many combat turns are in a two-hour period. Let's see... A combat turn is 2 minutes, so there are 30 of them in one hour, or 60 in two hours. So he needs to do enough Power Up levels for duration to raise the duration to 60 or so.

Dhalin enters 2 in the Power Up 1A Effect field, since the base duration for the spell is 2 combat turns. He then takes a guess at how many Power Up levels he needs to raise the duration to 60 combat turns. He guesses 5, so he puts 5 into the Power Up 1 Level field. He then presses the Calculate button. The following results appear:

• Spell Casting Level: 6
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 27
• Minimum INT/DEX: 30
• INT SR Target #: 45
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 64
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 0

Well, his guess was rather good. For 5 Power Up levels, the 2 combat turns increases to 64 combat turns, or just over 2 hours. Jolly good. So far he's looking at a 6th level spell, with a WIZ cost well within his means, and INT/DEX requirements that he more than meets.

He now wants to see how many attendants he can summon for that 2-hour period. From past experience, Dhalin knows that his DEX of 72 limits him to spells of level 10 and below. (He really needs to work on building up his DEX.) Since he's already looking at a level 6 spell just for the duration aspect, that leaves him an upper limit of 4 more Power Up levels for increasing the number of attendants. So he enters 4 as the value for Power Up 2 Level. Since the base effect for DBGR is to summon 1 skeleton, he enters 1 in the Power Up 2 Base Effect field. He leaves everything else as already entered, and presses the Calculate button. He sees the following result:

• Spell Casting Level: 10
• WIZ Cost of Spell: 49
• Minimum INT/DEX: 64
• INT SR Target #: 65
• Power Up 1A Total Effect: 64
• Power Up 1B Total Effect: 0
• Power Up 2 Total Effect: 16

Well, so, if he casts a 10th level DBGR, putting 5 Power Up levels against duration and 4 Power Up levels against the number of skeletons to summon, he will be able to summon 16 skeleton attendants for just over 2 hours, at the cost of 49 WIZ (leaving him 19 WIZ for emergency spell casting).

Dhalin thinks about it for a moment, and decides he doesn't really need that many attendants, half that should be fine. Then he can extend the time they're around by another 2 hours. He doesn't need the calculator to make these adjustments. He'll put 6 Power Up levels into the duration and 3 Power Up levels into how many skeletons he can summon. That's still a 10th level spell, so the WIZ cost doesn't change, the INT/DEX requirements don't change, and the INT SR Target Number don't change. What changes is the duration and the number of skeletons summoned -- the duration doubles, and the number of skeletons is halved. So that will extend his duration to over 4 hours, and cut the number of skeletons summoned from 16 to 8.

Now if the visit goes over an hour, or even over two, he'll still have his attendants around. It should be an impressive display. He's starting to look forward to the visit.

Calculator Technical Notes

The T&T 7th edition rules don't exactly spell out all the details of every rule. Some rules are left open to interpretation. Some of the rules concerning the spell casting costs of specialists and paragons are examples. Take for instance the advantage of a specialist to cast spells at half the cost that a wizard would pay to cast the same spell. Does that mean that you calculate the WIZ cost as though the caster were a wizard, taking into account the character level vs. the spell level, and subtracting the character level if using a Magic Staff, and then halving the cost? Or is the decrease for using a Magic Staff done after the halving? If you do the halving after applying the reduction for the staff, then the staff doesn't really reduce the cost by the character's level, but only by half of the character's level. The rules don't make this unambiguously clear, in the opinion of this author.

However, taking the rule as stated, and in the absence of a clear statement about when the reduction in cost for having a staff is applied, this calculator performs the calculations as though for a wizard, including the reduction for using a staff, and then halves the result to get the cost for the Specialist.

As for the Paragon type, the rules don't exactly state that a paragon gets to reduce the cost of a spell cast at a lower level than the paragon's level by the difference between the the two levels. But the rules do state that the advantage that a wizard gets which a paragon does not get is the ability to invent spells at 5th level (paragons have to wait until level 10). The implication is that paragons have the same abilities as wizards in all other respects except for when the paragon is able to invent spells. So this calculator treats paragons exactly the same as wizards.

Note that this calculator does not include the Rogue character type. This is because rogues can't cast spells at anything other than the base level, at the base cost. There are no reductions for character level being higher than the spell level or for using a staff, and rogues can't do Power Ups. So all the pertinent info for a rogue is listed explicitly in the rule book.

Lastly, this calculator does have its limits. When you start entering info for really high level characters doing really high level stuff, and you start doubling very large numbers, its possible that the calculator will overflow and give incorrect answers. The calculator is not intended for characters of such extreme power. Hopefully you aren't playing in a game of such power levels -- if you are, then you deserve having to perform all the calculations yourself. But hey, maybe that's something you enjoy anyway. To each his/her own.

I hope you find this tool helpful in your T&T games.