Spells (Origins)

Spells give mages the ability to devastate their foes, and to protect and heal themselves as well as their allies. Spells are used by mages instead of talents. Mage spells include the class-based Arcane, Arcane Warrior, Blood Mage, Shapeshifter, Spirit Healer schools in addition to the four main schools of magic: Primal, Creation, Spirit, and Entropy. The Warden's Keep DLC also adds the Power of Blood school.

A Warden mage starts the game at level 1 with the spell Arcane Bolt in addition to two other spells of choice. Each level thereafter a mage gains one spell per level, and additional extra bonus spells are awarded at various points during the story. One free spell is gained after the Joining Ritual at Ostagar, another after reviving Arl Eamon during The Urn of Sacred Ashes, and a third after the Landsmeet. Up to 5 more spells can be attained through tomes.

Threat information

Many spells generate threat on hit or activation. In addition to the threat number found in the spell mechanics' descriptions, any damage dealt by the spell will generate additional threat. This additional threat is based on the damage amount in relation to an enemy's maximum health: e.g. dealing 50 damage to an enemy whose starting health is 100 will generate 50 points of threat, as will dealing 100 damage to an enemy whose starting health is 200.

Arcane

Class spells made accessible to all mages and their specializations.

Mastery	Arcane Bolt	Arcane Shield	Staff Focus	Arcane Mastery
Attunement*	Fade Shield	Elemental Mastery	Attunement	Time Spiral
Field*	Repulsion Field	Invigorate	Arcane Field	Mystical Negation

*Only available in Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

Primal

Primal spells allow mages to harness the elements to deal damage to enemies and protect themselves.

Fire	Flame Blast	Flaming Weapons	Fireball	Inferno
Earth	Rock Armor	Stonefist	Earthquake	Petrify
Cold	Winter's Grasp	Frost Weapons	Cone of Cold	Blizzard
Lightning	Lightning	Shock	Tempest	Chain Lightning

Electricity damage also drains stamina equal to the amount of damage dealt.

Creation

Creation spells allow mages to heal and boost their allies, as well as render certain foes harmless.

Healing	Heal	Rejuvenate	Regeneration	Mass Rejuvenation
Enhancements	Heroic Offense	Heroic Aura	Heroic Defense	Haste
Glyphs	Glyph of Paralysis	Glyph of Warding	Glyph of Repulsion	Glyph of Neutralization
Summoning	Spell Wisp	Grease	Spellbloom	Stinging Swarm

See also: Healing spells efficiency

Spirit

Spells from the Spirit school allow one to enhance weapons, protect allies, and damage the very spirit of an enemy.

Anti-Magic	Spell Shield	Dispel Magic	Anti-Magic Ward	Anti-Magic Burst
Mana Alteration	Mana Drain	Mana Cleanse	Spell Might	Mana Clash
Death	Walking Bomb	Death Syphon	Virulent Walking Bomb	Animate Dead
Telekinesis	Mind Blast	Force Field	Telekinetic Weapons	Crushing Prison

Entropy

Entropy spells are all about debilitating and damaging foes.

Debilitation	Weakness	Paralyze	Miasma	Mass Paralysis
Hexes	Vulnerability Hex	Affliction Hex	Misdirection Hex	Death Hex
Sleep	Disorient	Horror	Sleep	Waking Nightmare
Draining	Drain Life	Death Magic	Curse of Mortality	Death Cloud

Specializations

Class spells accessible to specializations.

Arcane Warrior	Combat Magic	Aura of Might	Shimmering Shield	Fade Shroud
Blood Mage	Blood Magic	Blood Sacrifice	Blood Wound	Blood Control
Shapeshifter	Spider Shape	Bear Shape	Flying Swarm	Master Shapeshifter
Spirit Healer	Group Heal	Revival	Lifeward	Cleansing Aura
Battlemage*	Draining Aura	Hand of Winter	Stoic	Elemental Chaos
Keeper*	One With Nature	Thornblades	Replenishment	Nature's Vengeance

*Only available in Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

Other spells

Power of Blood*

Dark Sustenance

Bloody Grasp

Wynne

Vessel of the Spirit

*Power of Blood spells are only available through the Warden's Keep DLC, by drinking the Alchemical Concoction. They focus on using the power of the mage's own blood to generate effects.

Exploits

Some of the very large AoE spells (Earthquake, Blizzard, Inferno, etc.) will clip through doors and most walls.

• The player character can aggro entire groups (or parts of them) without having to visually expose themselves and enter combat mode, thus turning most encounters into ambushes rather than straight battles. In conjunction with the Survival skill, they can identify an enemy group location, pick the best spot for an ambush (positioning party members, etc.), then cast an AoE spell on the door (the spell will usually "lock" onto the door as a valid target for the spell) or suitable ground location. When comfortable with this tactic, it is possible to cast two or three large AoE spells, kill a majority of the group, and never get hit.
• It should also be noted that using Blizzard is a great first spell, as it will usually "freeze" the entire group in its tracks, allowing for a few seconds of party-wide target practice.

See also

• Ability mechanics
• Arcane Warrior spellcasting
• Combat mechanics
• Spell combinations