The Interface of Elder Kings II, Part 2: It just Works
Magic in EK1 made use of decisions and target decisions to cast spells, with CK3 adding GUI modding a custom interface is possible.
Aptitude & Magicka
Magical proficiency is governed by a new pseudo skill called aptitude, which can be thought of as a counterpart to prowess. A character may have a high learning but be inept at magic, or have no learning but exception magic. The limitations of modding prevent aptitude being added as a true stat, making it somewhat laborious to maintain. Due to this it may be cut or modified at some point, in which case learning will be used to govern magic under similar rules.
char view, magicka + aptitude
Magicka is generated by playable characters and their court mage (we will get there later) at a rate of one tenth of their aptitude up to a maximum of ten times their aptitude - note that these values are subject to change.
Accessing
menu & accept screen
The spellbook is accessed via a character interaction. The AI currently auto accepts being subject to magic, but will be able to refuse eventually as well as cast their own magic. By default the player is the caster, but it is possible to switch to your court mage and have them cast magic for you.
Court Mage
council view with Court Mage
The court mage is a new council position that allows a ruler unskilled in magic to still access some spells. The average court mage will have only a small selection of spells available to them, with even the most capable having a restricted selection compared to a mage ruler. The exact restrictions are undecided, but having a court mage will not make focusing on magic pointless. For players who are skilled in magic, they will find it hard to maintain a court mage if they constantly bypass them and cast their own spells - job security isn’t great when your employer can do your job. Similarly, arrogant and ambitious mages may become stressed if their court mage is more capable than them.
Spellbook Interface
EVERYTHING SHOWN SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WIP/PLACEHOLDER
The spells and effects shown are there for illustrative purposes and do not represent the final spell list or their effects.
overview picture
The top shows the caster, castee and a summary of the interaction. The button in the top right of the player portrait allows the caster to be switched between the player and court mage.
player caster + CM caster
The tabs below are the schools of magic based on the five from Skyrim + Necromancy. Thaumaturgy and Mysticism have been considered but do not have enough content to be worth separating.
school tabs
Each of the five main schools are loosely associated with a skill, more for visual appeal than any mechanical reason - a high martial skill does not imply skill with destruction magic.
Under the tabs is the list of spells in that school, each showing the name, cost and type of spell.
Example spell list, destruction
Spells at the top outlined in gold are known spells that can be cast if the conditions are met, a grayed out button indicates that the spell is uncastable for some reason such as insufficient magicka - both may be selected to see their effects. A completely grayed out spell with hatching is an unknown spell that the caster has not learned yet - you cannot even view it’s effects.
The name and cost of the spell are self explanatory, the symbols on the right denote the spell type, consisting of:
Normal
A normal spell is cast by the caster on the castee, with no extra effects.
Hostile
A hostile spell usually causes harm of some kind. In addition to the regular effects, it causes an opinion malus with the castee and cannot be cast on self.
Province
A province spell targets a county, currently limited to the target’s domain. It has an effect on both the county and the castee.
Hostile Province
A combination of effects from hostile & province. The target county is limited to the player’s location and must target a county of someone you are at war with. Selecting the spell will also automatically change the castee to be the owner of the target county.
Selecting a province spell will add a button above the cast button allowing the available provinces to be viewed and the target changed.
county select button + menu open
The current system is far from complete, but compared to EK1 magic should be more accessible and less powerful with AI usage and distance restrictions - you will no longer be able to turn the King of Alinor into a chicken from Vvardenfell.