Spellbook Tutorial
I've noticed a lot of people having trouble with spellbooks and since spellbooks can potentially take the game to a whole new level, I've decided to write a tutorial on the topic.
Chapter One: Spellbooks? What are those?
In the original game, Spellbook is an item ability (code: 'Aspb') that was used by the item *gasp* Spellbook (code: spok). It allowed the owner of the item to cast 3 spells: Entangling Roots, Dispel Magic, and Roar, all from one item! This is possible because every time you click on the item, the UI (User Inteface - console in the bottom right corner of the screen) resets and the spells within the spellbook are displayed, analogous to how the UI resets and shows buildings when you click the "Build Structure" ability for workers. Since Blizzard created the Spellbook ability, people have figured out you could make it into a unit ability. This is a HUGE boon for rpg makers, as it increases the maximum number of abilities a hero can have from 7 (there are only 7 open UI slots for ability buttons - 8 if the hero has no attack) to around 70-80.
Chapter Two: Basic Spellbook Facts
-Spellbooks can hold a maxiumum of 11 spells
-Spellbooks may only hold unit abilities, not hero abilities (there is a way around this, which will be explained later)
-Auras, and abilities based off of any aura spell, cannot be put into spellbooks
-Maximum of one spellbook per unit (there is a way around this, too, which will be explained later)
Chapter Three: Spellbook Data Fields
Below is a list of the five most important data fields the Spellbook ability contains. All of the other data fields are pretty much identical to those found in every other ability.
Data - Base Order ID: Spellbook
This data field isn't very extraordinary in itself, and the only reason it is important is that it MUST be changed if you are to have more than one Spellbook per unit.
Data - Maximum Spells
The maximum number of spells that the Spellbook will show on the UI when opened. The actual number of spells will be a random number between this value and the value of Data - Minimum Spells.
Data - Minimum Spells
The minimum number of spells that the Spellbook will show on the UI when opened. The actual number of spells will be a random number between this value and the value of Data - Maximum Spells.
Data - Shared Spell Cooldown
When this is set to true, if a spell within the Spellbook is cast, the cooldown for that spell applies to all spells within the Spellbook. When set to false, if a spell within the Spellbook is cast, the cooldown for that spell will not apply to the other spells within the Spellbook.
Data - Spell List
This is the list of spells that the Spellbook will contain. Note that the order of the buttons displayed in the UI in-game depends on the order of the spells presented in this data field, NOT on the button position data fields for each individual spell. Also, just because a spell is in this list does not necessarily mean it will show up in the Spellbook in-game. The actual number of spells that show up will be a random number in between the maximum and minimum spells data fields. Which spells show up will be completely random. To make sure all spells in this list show up, set both the maximum and minimum spells data fields to the number of spells in this list.
Chapter Four: Multiple Spellbooks
To make a unit have more than one Spellbook, you must change the Base Order ID data field so that no two spellbooks that the unit has have the same Base Order ID. Also, none of the Spellbooks can have "Spellbook" or "NONE" as their Base Order ID. If they do, when you open one Spellbook, all of the spells from EVERY Spellbook will show up on the UI, not just the spells from the Spellbook you selected.
Chapter Five: Hero Abilities and Leveling Up Abilities
When you change the data field Data - Spell List, you will see that you cannot enter in hero abilities. However, you can easily change hero abilities into unit abilities, enter it into the spellbook, and then after it is entered in, change the ability back into a hero ability.
You must use triggers to level up abilities within a Spellbook. Use the action "Unit - Increase level of Ability for Unit" to increase ability levels. The easiest way of leveling up abilities within a Spellbook in my opinion is to use dialogs so that every time a hero levels up or otherwise gains the power to level up an ability, a player can just select the abiliy he/she wants to level up by clicking a dialog button. However, this is not the only way. One other example is using upgrades at a building in tandem with triggers so that every time a player researches a particular upgrade, the corresponding ability gains a level.
