Venom Bolt

The first offensive spell anybody learns, and the one that teaches what a status is worth: it lands for nothing at all and the thing it hit keeps losing health for the next half hour whether or not the caster is still there.

It is also the first spell that can miss. target: projectile means it is thrown rather than laid on something chosen: the bolt gathers at the caster’s hand for the whole of cast_time_ms, flies along whatever line it was pointed at when it let go, and poisons the first living thing it touches. Nothing, if that is what it touches.

cast_time_ms is three seconds, and it is aiming time rather than a penalty. A spell fired the instant a key went down would be aimed wherever the cursor happened to be; three seconds of an orb visibly gathering is three seconds to put the line where it is wanted, and three seconds of standing still while something walks towards you.

range is nine tiles, which is far enough to open with and far enough to be worth aiming. radius is how fat the bolt is — one tile, so a shot that looks like it grazed something did.

power is the strength of the venom, which is what comes off per tick. One is the weakest dose in the tables — the garden worm bites for two — and it is weak on purpose: a ward that turns aside anything at or below two turns this aside entirely. See Holy Shield, which is the other half of the lesson.

duration_ms is thirty-six minutes of world time, six ticks of six. What that is in real seconds depends on how long the day is.