Iconic spells

[Summer-Knight925]

I find it interesting what spells people call "iconic"


So if you would post a list of the spells you deem Iconic and why, it could be interesting.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Magic Mouth, thanks to the iconic illustration in the 1E PHB.

 

[wingsandsword]

Magic Missile, Fireball, Lightning Bolt: The standard mage attack spells.

Cure Light Wounds: Every adventurer's best friend, especially at low levels.

Those are the by-far most Iconic ones. I could probably justify a small spell list for Clerics and Wizards on being very iconic, but those 4 spells are the most iconic IMO.

 

[steeldragons]

Mage spells: Detect magic, Magic Missile, Shield, Featherfall, Floating Disc (underused but I think very D&D iconic), Invisibility, Web, Phantasmal Force (or Minor Image or whatever you want to call it), Mirror Image, Knock and Wizard Lock (gotta go together), Dispel Magic, Fireball (natch), Fly, Lightning Bolt (natch), I'll include Ice Storm though this might be just cuz my mage characters always liked using it so much. The "(Minor or) Globe of Invulnerability" is pretty iconic thanks to Gandalf's stance on the bridge against the balrog.

Cleric spells: Bless, Cure Light, Cure just about anything, Slow & Neutralize Poison, Locate Object (fairly iconic for clerics in my experience), Detect Evil/Magic/anything, Augury and Commune are fairly iconic clerical spells, and my clerics were always very prone to using the lasting bolstering spells tlike Chant and Prayer so I think they're fairly iconic. Dispel Evil and Flamestrike might be the cleric's top iconic spells as far as I'm concerned...well, and then Raise Dead and Resurrection, those ain't so bad neither.

 

[Huw]

Sleep. Not so much now it's nerfed, but back in the day when a 1st level mage had one spell, that was the one to take.

Power Words Stun, Blind and Kill.

Raise Dead.

And finally another mention of Magic Mouth.

 

[fireinthedust]

Define Iconic.


Really it'll come down to familiarity and legend and, come to think of it, nostalgia/longevity. Familiarity with low-level spells as most games fizzle at level 7 or earlier. Legend because they're the "obvious" ones that newbs like me would go for. Longevity/Nostalgia because they've been around so long.


Familiarity: magic missile, cure light wounds, fireball, dimension door, mage hand, and Detect Evil or Magic (more than other Detects).

Legend: Wish, disjunction, Magnificent Mansion, Shape Change, Polymorph any Object. Teleport and Fly, because they change the game.

Nostalgia: All of the above. If you can remember the name through different editions, it's got Longevity/Nostalgia value. Also, if you know what it is, PLUS you'd never really use it. I'd put the Law/Chaos/Evil/Good spells here. Magic Mouth and Magic Jar, too. Who really uses "detect Law"? I mean, really? Or Magic Mouth? Sure, sometimes, but you wouldn't see a Sorcerer use it outside a scroll or wand.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

From the book I'm reading now:

The Excellent Prismatic Spray
Phandaal's Mantle of Stealth
The Spell of the Slow Hour
Call to the Violent Cloud
Phandaal's Gyrator
Felojun's Second Hypnotic Spell
The Spell of the Omnipotent Sphere
The Charm of Untiring Nourishment


So much more flavour in the original names than their modern counterparts (prismatic spray, invisibility, slow, wind walk, irresistible dance, hypnosis, stoneskin, etc) ...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

From the sources that inspired FRPGs in general (non-exhaustive):

Arcane magic- telekinesis, flight/levitation, far seeing, seeing the future, sleep, charm, protection and polymorph effects, making constructs, summoning extraplanar beings as well as fireballs or lightning bolts of some kind.

Divine magic- curses, blessings, protection, warding from evil beings or undead, communication with the dead, healing, causing or curing of diseases, absolution, divination of truths or future events, speaking with nonhuman beings or the dead, summoning extraplanar beings and causing "natural disasters" like plagues, earthquakes or massive storms.

 

[Tukka]

Like fireinthedust said, it depends on exactly what you mean by iconic. I'd say it primarily comes from familiarity and nostalgia, but a spell with great impact may quickly become an icon even without familiarity or nostalgia working for it.

Fireball is a general fantasy iconic spell.

In D&D, magic missile is a good example.

In Final Fantasy, pretty much any of their signature spells lines that could be iconic -- Ultima, Flare, etc.

 

[Dioltach]

To me, the iconic D&D spell is magic missile. I still have a clear image of the illustration of Bargle casting it Aleena.