G'day all you wonderful people! Despi here, ready to start another fruitful discussion!
In case any of members of Spell Gang were put off by my previous post on the Knight's nail, I've detailed a list here solely for you!
The following charms are meant to modify an individual spell's function or nature, much like Flukenest does to the Vengeful Spirit or Shade Soul. If two modifiers for the same spell are simultaneously equipped, only the first one will take effect.
Unless otherwise noted, all these ideas are mine. Credit is given to any original creators.
Feel free to comment any additional synergies, balance changes, your own designs, or even just cooler titles.
Each entry is organized as
Name - "Description."
Explanation of effects
Any synergies
Location of charm
Significance or purpose
Notch cost
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Before we get into the modifiers themselves, I have included the following a few general spellcasting charms to later explain some synergies.
Deadeye – “Contains the keen aim of a wanted fugitive, master of his own Fate. The Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul will home in on their targets.”
Does just that, giving the base spell a slight autotarget. I’m thinking letting the spell target the nearest enemy within 15º above/below horizontal.
Nailscythe will target the enemy closest to you when launched, within 45º above horizontal.
Dropped by a bandit boss in a lawless town in Kingdom’s Edge.
Would give the spell a slight margin of error when fired. Powerful as is but even more so with Shaman Stone, which boosts both its damage and size.
3 Notches
Radiant Light – “A small crystal eye. It whispers softly and casts a faint light. The bearer will slowly damage all enemies.”
Original idea by u/herobrine1q2w. While wearing this, you’ll harm all enemies in the room at the rate of 1 damage/second.
Picked up from the Radiance statue atop Hallownest’s Crown.
Not too powerful as is, but it’s meant to be used in combos.
1 Notch
Dark Soul – “Hollow acceptance to let the world be engulfed in darkness. Spells will leave volatile Void in their wake.”
The spells themselves are unchanged, but they produce small puddles of Void that attack enemies with sharp tendrils. Each puddle lasts 5 seconds and does 2 damage per tick (4 ticks/second) for a max total of 40 damage. Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul leaves up to 4 puddles. Desolate Dive/Descending Dark will splash 4/6 blobs (10 damage each) that turn into puddles on the ground, and Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek launches those same blobs. The puddles from a single spell cast must despawn before another spell can produce them.
Shaman Stone does not affect the damage or duration of the Void puddles, but it raises the damage of the in-air blobs to 15. With Shape of Unn, every focus will leave a Void puddle behind you. Dark Soul silences Fiendfyre but works with all the modifiers listed below.
Gained upon defeating Lost Kin.
I had thought about making a charm that made spells produce hazards. I was initially gonna go with slime, but decided to use Void so the player could tell the difference between enemy attacks and their own.
2 Notches
Nightmare Flame - "Twisted embrace of the Nightmare King. Replaces all of the bearer's spells with scarlet flame."
Suggested to me by u/DrPumpkinz. I've seen a whole lot of ideas like it, but this is by far the best one I've ever seen. It modifies each of your spells in unique ways. All modified spells pass through enemies and surfaces.
Burning Spirit: You'll fire 4 firebats in quick succession that do 50% of the spell's base damage each. By default they're launched high, low, high, and low.
Flaming Fall: Reduces the impact AoE but you'll produce 2/4 tall flame pillars on either side that quickly spread out in a fiery wave, like this. An enemy can only be hit with a single pillar but each one does the spell's full burst damage (20/45).
Scorching Scream: You'll instantly launch 4/6 fireballs that spread out, like this but upward. An enemy can only be hit with a single fireball but each one does the spell's full damage (30/80). Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek produce Grimm's and the Nightmare King's screech, respectively.
Deadeye makes the firebats slightly home in on nearby enemies. Shaman Stone raises each spell's size and damage by the appropriate amount (first 2 spells by 33%, Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek by 50%). The minions summoned by Glowing Womb and Weaversong do additional burn damage to affected enemies (4 damage/second over 3 seconds) and they change to look like Grimmkin. The Knight himself might have his appearance changed too, with glowing red eyes when spellcasting. With Thorns of Agony the Knight will swell like a red pufferfish, doing 1x nail damage to all affected enemies but also producing 4 piercing fireballs that travel sideways and do 1x nail damage each. With Nightmare Flame equipped, Grimmchild does 21 damage/shot and gains a dash attack that does 1x nail damage - with Sharp Shadow, both you and the Grimmchild have a fiery dash that lingers for 1 second and does 5 damage/tick (for a max total of 15 damage). This charm counts as a modifier and hence interacts with all the charms listed below as previously mentioned - if they affect the same spell, only the first to be equipped will take effect.
After defeating Nightmare King Grimm the charm will appear in your inventory.
A very enticing incentive to beat the Nightmare King, along with some rather appetizing synergies.
4 Notches
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Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul Modifiers
Mantis Blades - "The claws of a fallen Mantis Lord. Imbues the Soul with the prowess of the proud warrior. Transforms the Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul into a spinning dream claw that returns to the caster."
Original idea by u/Drake357173. Modifies the spell into a boomeranging projectile that’ll travel half the screen length before turning back. It has the same speed and size as a mantis windscythe. You can guide it up or down by looking in that direction after casting it; if you don’t direct it, it will continue a straight path. The projectile will pass through all enemies and surfaces in its path, doing 15/30 damage to each.
Besides raising the damage to 20/40, Shaman Stone increases the disk size by 50% and the travel distance to 75% the screen length.
Obtained from a Mantis Village memorial after defeating the Lords. This locked door, located above Elder Hu, will open and the charm can be found inside.
Eh, sounds fun. In contrast to my previous design Nailscythe, this boomeranging projectile launches instantly at the cost of some speed and Soul. Plus it doesn’t root you and leave you vulnerable.
2 Notches
Frostbite – “Frigid charm from the King of Hallownest, bestowed upon his greatest Knight. Transforms the Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul into a series of ethereal daggers.”
Turns the Spirit/Soul into a front-facing spray of linear projectiles. Instantly shoots 7 evenly spaced daggers that do 10/20 damage each. A single enemy cannot be hit with more than 1 dagger. Angle of effect extends from 45º above/below horizontal. These daggers pass through all enemies and surfaces.
Shaman Stone raises the damage of each dagger to 15/30 and slightly boosts their size.
Use the Dream Nail on the statue in City of Tears to meet a mysterious vendor, who sells this charm for 100 Essence.
This would be useful in quickly dealing damage to dispersed groups of enemies. Since all 7 daggers combined do 70/140 damage (105/210 with Shaman Stone), the fact that a single enemy can only be hit with a single dagger is designed to prevent Frostbite from replacing Flukenest AND keeping you from blasting a boss’s face off.
2 Notches
Piercing Black – “The head of an ancient spear, coated in Void. Transforms the Shade Soul into an impaling tendril.”
This charm only works with Shade Soul and not Vengeful Spirit. It transforms the spell into a linear spear that reaches across the screen before returning to you. “Well Despi what’s the point? That’s just the normal spell.” Well, once the spear hits an enemy it’ll impale them and do its usual damage, but when returning it’ll drag them towards you and leave them right in front. Basically, it turns the spell into a harpoon. It’ll pass through all enemies it kills, stopping at and harpooning the first enemy not killed by its damage. Non-boss enemies will be stunned for the duration. If you do this on a boss, you will be dragged towards them. This attack is based on Pure Vessel's Void tendrils but it looks like Paintmaster Sheo's yellow attack.
Shaman Stone raises the spell’s damage and size. With Deadeye, the spear will target the enemy closest to you within 45º above/below horizontal.
Found down in the Capital of Darkness in an ancient armory.
Besides the obvious fun in harpooning enemies and yourself all over the place, I think this would be useful in reining in a weaker enemy so you can Dream Nail it, or quickly closing the distance between yourself and a boss.
2 Notches
Howling Gale – “Embodies the ever-blowing winds at the edge of Hallownest. Transforms the Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul into a powerful gust that blows away foes.”
Turns the Spirit/Soul into a powerful pushback wave that extends across the whole room. Pushes non-boss enemies half the screen length. Has the same speed and size as the normal spell. Lets you FUS RO DAH enemies off cliffs or into hazards for instant kills. The wind itself is harmless and cannot pass through walls.
Shaman Stone increases the spell size and push distance to 75% the screen length.
Attempt to super-dash into the blowing winds at the left-most edge of the Howling Cliffs. These will be absorbed into you and the charm will then appear in your inventory.
While the charm would certainly be useful in the current game, I would like to see an expansion in which environmental kills are a more present option and the maps are designed to reflect that.
2 Notches
Warp Flux – “Contains knowledge thought long forgotten, used to bend space and time itself. Transforms the Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul into a powerful pulling wave.”
Does just the opposite of Howling Gale. It’ll extend across the whole room and pull non-boss enemies half the screen length or until they’re right in front of you. Has the same speed and size as the normal spell. The wave is harmless.
Shaman Stone increases the spell size and pull distance to 75% the screen length.
Found in a chest in Soul Sanctum, in a room seemingly dedicated to study the Black Kingdom.
This pulling mechanic is oriented more towards utility than combat, placing enemies within Dream Nail distance without harming them like Piercing Black does.
1 Notch
Soul Orb – “Reflecting the desires of the Soul Sanctum for mastery over Soul, it makes spell casting more efficient. Transforms the Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul into a homing orb.”
When the spell is triggered, it’ll fire a single projectile that auto-targets the nearest enemy in front within 45º above/below horizontal. It has the same speed and size as a Soul Warrior orb. With only Vengeful Spirit the orb is destroyed on impact with an enemy or surface, but with Shade Soul it passes through. If the player has Shade Soul or if the Vengeful Spirit version misses, the orb will boomerang around and target the single enemy closest to the player. An enemy cannot be hit twice with the same orb.
Shaman Stone obviously boosts the orb’s damage and size.
Dropped by the first Soul Warrior you meet in the Sanctum (not the one guarding the Shade Soul upgrade).
A more pronounced version of Deadeye, this charm gives you some leeway with quick enemies, letting you cast the spell and somewhat rest assured that it’ll hit its target. At the cost of some speed.
3 Notches
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Desolate Dive/Descending Dark Modifiers
Skyline – “Shining charm from the King of Hallownest, bestowed upon his greatest Knight. Desolate Dive and Descending Dark will conjure a series of rising lances.”
Removes the impact AoE and replaces it with evenly-spaced lances all along the room floor. They rise half the screen height and quickly vanish. Each lance does 20/45 damage. A single enemy cannot be hit with more than 1 lance.
Shaman Stone increases the lance width, their height to 75% of the screen and their damage to 26/68. It also boosts the size of the impact AoE.
Use the Dream Nail on the statue in City of Tears to meet a mysterious vendor, who sells this charm for 390 Essence.
This could be useful for dealing widespread area damage against dispersed groups of enemies, like Frostbite but with i-frames.
3 Notches
Tyrant’s Fist – “Pendant from the powerful head of the Soul Sanctum. Performing the Desolate Dive or Descending Dark will produce a shockwave that blows away foes.”
Decreases the impact AoE but produces dissipating shockwaves. These have the height of Soul Master’s but move at the speed of Soul Tyrant’s. They travel all along the room floor and do 15/30 damage. The shockwaves pass through enemies but not walls.
Shaman Stone raises the size of the impact AoE, the waves’ damage to 20/40 and their height to those of Soul Tyrant’s.
Gained upon defeating Soul Tyrant.
Would definitely be useful in the Colosseum or against bosses. And fun fact, this charm's name is based on the original title for Desolate Dive.
3 Notches
Iron Rain – “The bracelet of a warrior monk, one accepted by the Mantis Tribe. Conjures a series of falling swords when performing Desolate Dive or Descending Dark.”
Reduces the impact AoE but while falling, the player will be accompanied by 6 ethereal swords, 3 on either side. They disappear when you hit the ground but will otherwise pass through all enemies and surfaces. The swords are evenly spaced and do 15/30 damage each. Besides the player themselves, a single enemy cannot be hit with more than 2 swords.
Shaman Stone raises each sword’s size and damage to 20/40, as well as boosting the impact AoE size.
Gained upon defeating Elder Hu.
This would be more useful against airborne enemies, certainly in the Colosseum but also against Dream Warriors and bosses that spawn minions. It gives a bit more reach to the spell’s fall stage while still balanced with its damage and Notch cost. Allowing a single enemy to be hit by two swords lets the spell do mostly normal damage, so it can still be used against bosses.
3 Notches
Shockblast – “Beautiful charm crafted by small claws. Contains the grief, rage, and hope of a deposed Mantis Lord. Desolate Dive and Descending Dark will produce a circular shockwave on impact.”
Instead of producing a floor-based shockwave, like Tyrant’s Fist, this charm would produce a circular one that expands throughout the whole room, moving at the speed of Traitor Lord’s. It passes through all enemies and surfaces and does 15/30 damage.
Shaman Stone raises the damage to 20/40.
Dropped by the Traitor Lord when executed.
A more effective and costly version of Tyrant’s Fist.
4 Notches
Divine Wind - "The volatile belly of a belfly, imprinted with its reckless abandon. Desolate Dive and Descending Dark will produce a powerful explosion on impact. The bearer will be able to guide their fall."
Original idea by u/DrPumpkinz. The way the base spell works is that the dive does 15 damage to all enemies you pass through and the remaining damage is splashed on impact in a single burst, two bursts with Descending Dark. With Divine Wind, all the spell's damage is released in a single burst on contact with any enemy or surface. That means you can't pass through enemies but the damage goes up to 45/75 to compensate. The falling speed and AoE is reduced to those of a belfly but you can "aim" your impact by using the sideways movement keys.
Shaman Stone raises the burst's size and damage to 60/100.
Dropped by a Belfly Queen boss in Kingdom's Edge. This queen may or may not drop from the ceiling when you walk in, and she may or may not instantly blow herself up.
It'd be fun to guide your fall, especially in the Colosseum where the ground is replaced with spikes.
2 Notches
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Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek Modifiers
Ascension – “A stone tablet from the Great Mind. Casting Howling Wraiths or Abyss Shriek will fire spears in a full circle around the bearer.”
This charm lets you A S C E N D with Gorb. Upon activating the spell you’ll fire 10 spears in a full arc around you (except to the sides) with a 30º separation between each spear. They pass through all enemies and surfaces, doing 20/40 damage each. A single enemy cannot be hit with more than 1 spear.
Shaman Stone raises each spear’s size and damage to 30/60. With Radiant Light each spear produces a small burst on impact with an enemy or surface, doing 10/20 damage to nearby foes.
Gained upon defeating Gorb.
Yeah, this is a pretty powerful modifier, and I hope it’s balanced with its Notch cost. Obviously it would be most effective against overwhelming enemy gauntlets, and the side gap is meant to keep it from replacing the Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul spell.
3 Notches
Springweb – “Hunting tool used by Weavers. Casting the Howling Wraiths or Abyss Shriek launches a sticky web that traps foes.”
Upon activation you fire a white net that reaches the normal height of the Wraiths/Shriek spell. After peaking it falls and spreads out to cover the entire room floor. All caught enemies are rooted and prevented from attacking for 2 seconds. Flying enemies are grounded. The web can pass through surfaces. Nail strikes free trapped enemies – all other attacks do not. The web itself is harmless and does not affect bosses.
Silk Trail extends the trap duration to 3 seconds.
Acquired in Distant Village from the pile of bound traveler corpses.
This could be most useful against large groups of enemies above environmental hazards, like the Trial of the Fool. It could also help with fast enemies.
3 Notches
Nightburst – “Shard of a broken shell, tinged with a strange black liquid. Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek will discharge harmful fluid.”
I’ve seen some people design a charm based on Brooding Mawlek’s spit attack – this is my version. Instead of producing a harmful skyward attack, the spell will launch blobs of Void in parabolic arcs throughout the whole room, like an upward version of Flukenest. Howling Wraiths launches 10 blobs – Abyss Shriek does 20 – and each blob does 5 damage. All blobs disappear when they hit an enemy or surface.
With Dark Soul, blobs that hit the ground will spawn up to 4/6 volatile Void puddles. Shaman Stone raises the blob damage to 7 – it doesn’t affect the duration or damage of the Void puddles.
Dropped by the Broken Vessel when slain.
This mechanic is meant to do widespread damage rather than shotgun blasting a single enemy. Because the blobs spread out, you can hope a single enemy will get hit with at most 2 or 3 blobs.
3 Notches
Blinding Radiance – “A dazzling gem that brightly shines. Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek will produce powerful beams of light.”
Upon activation you’ll instantly fire 8 evenly-spaced beams that do 30/60 damage each. The beams are aimed straight up, down, to the sides, and in-between these directions. Requires a full flask of Soul.
When the spell is cast, Radiant Light will instantly do 15 damage to all enemies in between the beams. Shaman Stone raises the beams’ damage to 40/80 – Radiant Light will do 21 damage.
Gained upon completing the Dream No More ending. This is a legendary charm, meaning that after being acquired it is immediately available for all new games.
Why not? A little gameplay reward for completing the true ending.
4 Notches
Vessel’s Cry – “Anguished lament from a tormented soul. Projects its suffering unto the world. Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek will stun enemies.”
This charm gives you a “boss roar.” It removes the spell’s damage but you’ll produce a 2 second long roar that stuns all non-boss enemies for its duration. Flying enemies will be grounded. You are free to move and perform all actions during the roar, which cannot be broken. The roar itself is an extended version of the spell’s sound.
Shaman Stone raises the stun duration to 3 seconds.
Gained upon completing any of the 3 base endings. This is a legendary charm.
I always thought it’d be cool if the player had a boss roar, and this sounds like a cool implementation.
3 Notches
Shade Roar – “Deafening roar of a terrible being, embodiment of the eternal all-consuming darkness. Abyss Shriek will damage all enemies and recover the bearer’s health.”
An even more powerful version of Vessel’s Cry, it produces a 4 second long roar that stuns all enemies in the room, including bosses. You are rooted wherever it’s cast but invulnerable for the duration. Enemies that have a max HP of 40 or less are instantly killed, those with a max HP between 40 and 80 take 40 damage, and enemies with a max HP of more than 80 take 80 damage. You recover 1 mask of health for every kill. Requires a full flask of Soul. This charm works only with Abyss Shriek. The sound is that of the God of God's roar (spoilers).
https://reddit.com/link/a8bbph/video/zm1ooj9hwo521/player
Gained upon completing the Pantheon of Hallownest. This is a legendary charm.
If you manage to beat the PoH, you DAMN WELL deserve this!!!
4 Notches
Believer’s Faith – “Contains strange utterings from another world. Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek will mesmerize enemies.”
Not so much a stun than a stall, it removes the spell’s damage and instead stuns all non-boss enemies for 2 seconds, but the effect is broken if they take any damage. Consumes half of a full Soul flask.
Spell Twister reduces the Soul cost to 33%.
Given by the Unnamed Moth in the Shrine of Believers after reading all 62 tablets, asking us to “proclaim the words of the Believers.”
I’ll go out on a limb and guess most players don’t know the Shrine of Believers exist. For the remaining playtime after the Glade of Hope is opened along with its Soul cost, I think this charm is fair.
2 Notches
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I hope these charm posts don't give the wrong impression - it does take a while to come up with an idea, refine it, and attempt to balance it.
I'm almost done with that foresight thread and I'll definitely upload it next Friday. Be prepared though, cause it'll throw you into the deep end of Hollow Knight lore.
The week after I'll examine a subject that I think you guys will like - the circumstances and detriments of Dreamer boss fights.
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Credit for Grimmkin Knight goes to Jamie Teo on ArtStation.
Submitted December 21, 2018 at 05:58PM by Despi47 http://bit.ly/2SghmbK
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