TaskMaker - Other Spells to Invoke


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Created by Nemesis42888
Version 1.0
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The TaskMaker Other Spells to Invoke is a compendium of commands that can be
issued by the player using the Other Spell to Invoke feature of the game. This
guide contains all the known Other Spells to Invoke and their effects.


CONTENTS
  A. Overview
  B. Other Spells
     1. Basic Other Spells
     2. Magic Shops
     3. Informational Spells
     4. Master Spells
     5. System Spells
     6. Mostly Useless
     7. Swearing
  C. Rumors and Mysteries
     1. Force Field Flicker Formula
     2. Go Bulls!
     3. Starlight, Starbright...
  D. Technical Stuff


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A. OVERVIEW
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	In Taskmaker, there's a feature in the Spells menu called "Other Spell
to Invoke..." This asks the player to submit a word or phrase. If the game
recognizes the response, a spell of some kind will be cast. If not, it will
indicate that it doesn't understand.
	These spells are usually found throughout the game, learned by talking
to the residents of the various towns and dungeons of the Outer Terra. Some of
these spells are very useful throughout the game, while others are mere
novelties and serve no real purpose.
	It should be noted that in most cases, metagaming *is* permitted with
Other Spell use. In other words, if the player knows the spell, it can be cast
without the PC meeting any prerequisites. Exceptions to this rule will be
indicated per spell.


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B. OTHER SPELLS
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	Below are the known spells and their descriptions. I've included the
known (or at least assumed) sources where the spells can be officially
discovered, as well as my own thoughts and appraisals of their usefulness.
Also, in some cases there are special rules that apply to a given spell's use.
	You may notice that some sources are marked as unknown. This is
because I don't know where (or if) they can be officially discovered in the
game. If you know something I don't, by all means, let me know.


1. BASIC OTHER SPELLS
Mostly just miscellaneous spells.

-Gamble: Chance at either winning or losing a random number of copper pieces.
   (No more than 500cp at a time, either way.)
 Source(s): "Slightly Cheating" section of the Taskmaker handbook: "Gamble,
   win, save. Gamble, lose, revert."
   Tad (mood: happy): "Don't try the 'gamble' spell with Tim."
 Synopsis: A novelty, but there are easier (and more fun) ways to make money.
 Usefulness Rating: **��

-Heal: Sacrifice half of current Food for the same amount of Health.
 Source(s): Knight (mood: happy): "Try invoking 'Heal'."
   Chris (mood: happy): "This is pretty good. Try HEAL."
 Synopsis: A very good spell to know in a pinch, especially if you've got a
   Food Ring.
 Usefulness Rating: ***�

-Home: Returns the PC to the docks.
 Source(s): Tom (mood: happy): "Yeah, baby! Try HOME."
 Synopsis: Extremely useful. It's like Escape to Outer Terra, only without
   costing a level with each use.
 Usefulness Rating: ***

-Monster: Summon an enemy monster to fight.
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: Interesting, but there are usually plenty of monsters already.
 Usefulness Rating: **��

-Psycheup: Sacrifice most of Spirit to split between Health, Strength,
   Agility, and Stamina.
 Source(s): Greg (mood: happy): "I'm so psyched! Try PSYCHEUP."
 Synopsis: Not as useful as it sounds. Spirit tends to be as necessary as the
   other stats in any situation in which you'd need them revived.
 Usefulness Rating: **��

-Rock and Roll: Sacrifice most of Stamina to split between Strength and
   Agility.
 Source(s): C.C. (mood: happy): "Rock'n, rock'n, ROCK AND ROLL!"
 Synopsis: Like Psycheup, this uses most of one necessary stat to refill a
   little bit of some others. Not as useful as it is novel.
 Usefulness Rating: **��

-Wavy Davy: Add a ship where there is water.
 Stipulation: Cannot be used in the Castle Hall.
 Source(s): "Slightly Cheating" section of Taskmaker handbook: "If you run out
   of boats, unscramble the letters "aadv vwyy" to find a two-word Other Spell
   To Invoke. When facing water (and not in Castle Hall), the spell will
   magically create a boat."
 Synopsis: A very handy spell to have around, given the amount of water in
   this game. Only, don't overuse it. They're easy to make, but removing them
   is a different story.
 Usefulness Rating: ****


2. MAGIC SHOPS
These spells bring up shop menus whereever you cast them.

-Faux Pas: Conjure a magic food shop.
 Source(s): Late Night Dave (mood: happy): "Magic cats: 'Pronto' and 'Faux
   Pas'"
 Synopsis: It's good in a pinch, but convenience comes with a price. More to
   the point, an overprice.
 Usefulness Rating: ***�

-Pronto: Conjure a magic key shop.
 Source(s): Late Night Dave (mood: happy): "Magic cats: 'Pronto' and 'Faux
   Pas'"
 Synopsis: Same as Faux Pas. If you're hurting for Skeleton Keys, it's a good
   thing to know. But they cost the same as the ones in that gypsy-run shop in
   Arbalest.
 Usefulness Rating: ***�


3. INFORMATIONAL SPELLS
These show messages or cutscenes.

-Info: Display the place description in the message box.
 Source(s): Young (mood: happy): "Try the spell: 'info'."
   Rod (mood: happy): "Try the spell: 'info'."
 Synopsis: It's cool, especially in Hell, where you usually don't see the
   place description. Doesn't really do much for you though.
 Usefulness Rating: *���

-Memory: Display the game's opening sequence.
 Stipulation: Must be cast in Outer Terra.
 Source(s): IV (mood: happy): "Try the 'memory' spell."
 Synopsis: Again, it's neat, but not very helpful. I guess it's good as a
   reminder...
 Usefulness Rating: *���

-Version: Display the game's version and publication date.
 Source(s): Ted (mood: happy): "Stupid spell: 'version'."
 Synopsis: Well, I wouldn't call it stupid, Ted, but it is pretty useless.
 Usefulness Rating: ����

-Who: Display the first names of the game's development crew.
 Source(s): Brian (mood: happy): "Try the spell 'who'."
 Synopsis: Basically useless. In fact, without a bit of insight, you probably
  wouldn't even know that these guys are the game's creators. It really does
  just display five names.
 Usefulness Rating: ����


4. MASTER SPELLS
These spells are only useable after the game is completed.

-Kill: Extremely high-damage magic missile attack.
 Stipulation: PC must have the Master menu to cast.
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: It doesn't necessarily kill, as its name suggests, but the damage
   done usually does the job. It's like the Blast spell, only way more
   powerful. And it doesn't drain any of your stats. The only downside is that
   it can't be used before the game is over... a regrettably large handicap.
 Usefulness Rating: ****

-Teleport: Teleport to a random location in the current dungeon. Slightly
   drains Spirit, Agility, and Intellect.
 Stipulation: PC must have the Master menu to cast.
 Source(s): Wascally Wabbit (mood: happy): "Don't hop away, teleport."
 Synopsis: A neat little spell, but its usefulness is hampered somewhat by the
   inability to use it before the game's end.
 Usefulness Rating: **��


5. SYSTEM SPELLS
These mostly involve game functions.

-Danilaniloudoff: Toggle walking sound on and off.
 Source(s): Dan (mood: happy): "Invoke my name: 'Danilaniloudoff'."
 Synopsis: A good spell to know if you're bothered by the movement sounds. But
   there's also an identical option in the Dark Glasses menu.
 Usefulness Rating: *���

-Dark Glasses: Open TaskMaker's Hidden Options menu.
 Source(s): David (mood: happy): "Wanna see me in 'DARK GLASSES'?"
 Synopsis: A neat little Easter Egg menu of checkbox options, which range from
   marginally to fairly useful. Here they are:
   -Action identifies if nothing else to do.
   -Save character whenever entering or exiting.
   -Don't say "Oooph" when a player runs into a wall; It really bugs me.
   -Wandering monsters (cheater!)
   -Movement sounds. Turn off to walk faster. (Same as Dan Schwimmer's invoke
    spell.)
 Usefulness Rating: **��

-Multisound: Tell whether multisound is on or off.
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: This spell just tells whether the game is using multi-channel sound
   routines or the original, single-channel routines. Borderline-useful, if
   you mess with multisound at all, I guess...
 Usefulness: *���

-Multisound Off / Multisound On: Turn multisound off and on, respectively.
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: Probably something you'll never need to tamper with. I never heard
   of any issues with problems being caused by the multisound routines being
   active. These spells were added as a precaution. You never know, though.
 Usefulness: *���

Refresh: Redraw the play screen.
 Source(s): Tim (mood: happy): "Invoke 'REFRESH' for garbaged screens."
 Synopsis: Per its namesake, this spell refreshes the screen, I guess in case
   the game graphics are screwed up somehow. I've never had need for it, but
   as an added precaution, again, it can't hurt.
 Usefulness: *���

Restart Place: Reset the current dungeon to factory configurations.
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: This remarkable spell makes it very difficult to not cheat. At no
   cost at all, you can reset all items, floors, and characters in whatever
   dungeon you're in.
 Usefulness: ****

Restart World: Reset all dungeons to factory configurations.
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: Exactly the same as Restart Place, except it affects every dungeon,
   including the Outer Terra. Doesn't allow you to replay the game with the
   same file, though. Shame.
 Usefulness: ****


6. MOSTLY USELESS
These spells serve no real purpose, and are basically novelties.

-Eggs: Say "eggs."
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: The game just asks you why you said eggs. As I have no recollection
   of where I found this spell, and the spell itself has exactly no use at
   all, I honestly can't answer this question.
 Usefulness: ����

-Kiss: Kiss the person in front of you.
 Source(s): Barb (mood: normal): "I'm Barb. Kiss me. (Other Spell)"
   Julia (mood: normal): "*Kiss*"
 Synopsis: Again, no real use to this spell. Although it is a little more
   interesting than Eggs. With some characters, the game tells you that you're
   sweet. With others, including hostiles, guards, the Prisoner, and the
   Taskmaker, it informs you that you should seek professional help.
 Usefulness: ����

-TaskMaker: Play the "TaskMaker" sound.
 Source(s): Betsy (mood: happy): "Can you invoke 'TaskMaker'?"
 Synopsis: For those who never get tired of hearing the annoying TaskMaker
   sound effect, there's this spell, which plays it, and does nothing useful.
 Usefulness: ����


7. SWEARING
Don't curse. It's impolite.

-Shit/Fuck: Go to Hell, without dying or dropping your possessions.
 Source(s): UNKNOWN
 Synopsis: Apparently, David Cook had a mind to punish those who would seek to
   abuse this special feature of the game by using it to swear. I can only
   guess at how I learned of the existence of these two spells. Yet, these
   "spells" have the same function as Drugs, Adam's Apple, and Hell Scroll. If
   you're keen on going to Hell (for whatever reason), this is an easy way to
   get there.
 Usefulness: *���


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C. RUMORS AND MYSTERIES
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	For my own curiosity's sake, I've searched high and low for more
information about these spells. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything. If
there's anyone with answers, leads, insights, or even guesses, feel free to
contact me.

1. FORCE FIELD FLICKER FORMULA

   Excerpt from "TASKMAKER VERSION HISTORY For Public Release":
     "Fierce Fold: Added an Other Spell To Invoke that flickers off force
     fields for frustrated Fierce Fold fighters."

   I picture a spell that basically turns off a force field, much like the
   Force Field Drop item found in Tomb of the TaskMaker. My desire for
   completeness in this compendium aside, this spell would also be very
   useful, for obvious reasons.


2. GO BULLS!

   Excerpt from "TASKMAKER VERSION HISTORY For Public Release":
     "Changed the name of the "GO BULLS" spell."

   My guess is that this is a useless spell. But for the sake of completeness,
   I'd still like to know more about it. However, it's possible that the name
   was just changed to something I already have listed.


3. STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT...

   Excerpt from "TASKMAKER VERSION HISTORY For Public Release":
     "Somebody disassembled and posted an Other Spell To Invoke which was
     reserved for technical support. We wish the spell had remained a secret,
     and we kindly ask you not to type a spell which begins with "starlight"."

   Sounds like something that allows you to mess with the game mechanics, or
   something of that nature. Beyond guesswork, this spell is an enigma.


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D. TECHNICAL STUFF
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Version History:
1.0 - Initial release
    - Rumors and Mysteries include Fierce Fold spell, Go Bulls, and Starlight
      spell

Further Reading:
-http://www.robotroom.com/StormImpact/TaskMaker-Read-Me.txt
-http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TaskMaker

Credits:
-Storm Impact, developers of TaskMaker. Rest In Peace.
-GameFAQs, best game walkthrough site on teh Interwebz.
-Basically all research done by me.

Contact Me:
nemesis42888 (at) gmail (dot) com


                                      Copyright 2011 Sean Duffy (Nemesis42888)