“ | One of 'em summoned great hurdling balls from the sky, glowing rocks from the moon they was, and they mashed in his poor skull! | ” |
— Bertram |
Magic weaponry is frequently encountered throughout the Thief series, typically in the form of ranged attacks and traps. With TDS came also the introduction of ranged support spells. The following is an attempt to categorize them with respect to their class.
Elemental Powers[]
Except for Garrett’s arsenal of crystal arrows, element-based ballistics are primarily restricted to the TDP/TG era.
Mages of the Hand Brotherhood are known for their specialization in this field and have developed an attack specific to each element: earth mages toss clumps of enchanted vine that can strangle and ensnare enemies; water mages launch fast icicle-shaped water missiles; fire mages cast standard fireballs and air mages summon elementals that seek out intruders until they detonate in a painful gust of wind. All mages have developed an immunity to attacks based on their specialized element.
Hammerite Spells[]
Priests of the Order of the Hammer have developed a variety of spells for use in battle. The first type, only encountered in TDP/TG takes the form of a fiery white hammer summoned from its caster’s hand. This is a highly-damaging but slow-moving projectile that travels in a straight line and bursts upon impact.
In TDS, the attack becomes a red hammer-shaped explosion. It is much faster than previous models and has a large damage radius. Also introduced is a power-boosting spell that envelops the recipient in a holy glow. Neither spell can be cast without the priest’s wand.
Mechanist Spells[]
With the Mechanist uprising of T2, the holy hammer is replaced with a spinning bronze cog of similar properties. Both male and female priests have this power.
Pagan Spells[]
The shaman first seen in TDS use magic similar to the new Hammer spells. They attack with bright green orbs that explode on impact and bless allies with increased speed and healing. Neither spell can be cast without a wand.
Battle Glyphs[]
Although typically used to enchant objects or living creatures with special powers, at least one glyph, discarta, can be drawn in the air and thrown at an attacker. It does not appear in gameplay and its effects are unknown.
Most elders, however, rely solely upon their glyph-powered wands (these are analogous to those of other factions). Glyph Bethisik produces an electric blue orb that can inflict heavy damage on opponents, while Glyph Aranides grants temporary invisibility to friendly targets.
Other glyph-based weapons include the enforcer’s throwing blade and the hag’s red sparks of doom, neither of which are well understood.
Other[]
Such objects as the “magic missile” teardrop from TDP/TG are of uncertain origin. It appears to have an electric or neurotoxic effect and is typically emitted by magic traps. Only the Chaos Spider is capable of casting it like a spell. Certain traps, from Constantine's Mansion, to the Bonehoard emit this type of projectile.
Certain ghosts are capable of conjuring deadly skulls that they launch at their opponents. These slow-moving projectiles can be difficult to see in the dark and are often sent in pairs or triplets. They explode upon impact, producing a loud clatter. The source of this power is unknown, however as they do not appear to hurt undead creatures upon impact, they may be connected to whatever magic is bond to the undead.