Have looked at the magic spells code.... I think I can do something more like Grimrock, but to do so I need a single grid of runes where each rune can be selected arbitrarily in any order. I think can see how I can make that work (Rune sets = 1, runes per set = 16)
However, this means I can't use simple numbers to represent the runes that build spells, as I have more than 9 runes in my grid. However, the spell identifiers seem to be simply named keys in the spell array, so presumably I could use letters instead, such as [AGKL] ? I know I'd need to rewrite all the code to manage that, but I think I can see what I'd need to do.
I'm quite excited about getting this to work. I think it'll be the first time anyone has made a new magic system using a DM clone engine
The great thing about this approach is that the runes will be logical and literal so it should be easy for players to work out new basic spells (
Air + Fire = Fireball for example
), so you wouldn't even need a tutorial or any background info in the game. Of course, more esoteric spells will still need to be revealed in the gameplay, on scrolls, etc.
I'm also interested in using magic in a sort of alchemy system, so that creating and managing resources becomes part of gameplay too. For example:
Find and hold some sand and cast "Fire": this creates a lump of glass. Adding an extra rune (eg "Craft") could craft that glass into a flask for potions.