hilbert wrote:
Yes... In SBG you can cast only one spell each turn?
SBG handled magic a bit closer to JRRT's presentation of it in his books. It is present, but more subtle. Magic is mostly for support in SBG.
There is sorcerous blast (think of the wizard's duel in Orthanc as PJ persented it). And Nature's Wrath (river/trees/earth rising up at command of a powerful Elf). But most magic in SBG is best used to weaken a foe or support an ally. Spell casters can only cast one spell per turn each, and are limited by how many they can cast over the course of the entire game by how much Will they have. And that same Will has to be used to resist other spells and possibly other use so you have to think it out a bit. For some of the lesser casters they may only be able to cast one or two spells in the game. The true Wizards have a free Will per turn from their staff so they can always cast at least one, and Nazgul usually have enough Will for several spells (though they must also spend a point of Will each turn they are in combat and when they run out they are removed from the game).
Additionally, each spell as a roll you need to make in order to even cast it. It's sort of like Mastery but on the start, rather the end of the cast. So if you roll poorly you won't even get your one spell off (or must spend Might). This is where a player can elect to roll more than one die, increasing the odds of successfully casting the spell.
These "limits" make magic much more important in its selection and execution in SBG than the spell-spam we got with WotR. It is also far closer to Tolkien's Middle-Earth where WotR leans to the modern Warcraft style games. This change is probably the biggest single disappointment to many of us that were fans of the books/films and enjoyed SBG's efforts to reflect those.