As you know, not all spells are created equal and some are more effective than others. I created this list to give Wardens and players alike a rough idea of how useful a particular spell can be.
for PC. I've only included spells in the Guardian's Guide, omitting spells found in the Grand Grimoire and other sources.
Note that Guardians are of course free to modify the spells as they see fit. Ratings assume the spell is used as described in the rulebook. I use the following color scheme:
Blue sky: Unbelievable
Blau: Bom
For this: respectable
Lila: spacious
Rojo: Terrible
combat spell
breath of the deep: Good combat spell against creatures that need to breathe and have little POW & CON. Best for stealth kills - can be cast from a distance and silently. Unfortunately, 8 Magic and 1d6 Sanity are pretty high.
couplingby Nyogtha: Requires concentration, deals slow damage (1d3 per turn), has a high magic cost, and requires a POW test each turn. The 1d20 sanity cost kills him.
Create Mist of R'lyeh: Smoke bombs that only cost 2 magic points, have no mind and can be cast instantly!For thiswhen real smoke bombs are readily available
death spell: Absolutely terrible spell, worse than Breath of the Deep. Absurd cast and spirit costs, high cast time, constant POW rolls, ridiculously low range. It's junk and potentially unusable given the cost of 24mp.
Maestro: "Shoot/stich yourself" are great commands. An instant cast time, only 1 sanity and 1 MP cost makes it great.
suleiman po: Powerful spell against flat beings - but the main difficulty is finding the Egyptian mummies.
The terrible curse of Azathoth: 4 MP cost and 1d6 sanity cost are high; It's probably better to cast a combat spell than just lower the target's POW.Blue skywhen used to set up a telepathy spell.
charm sacrifice: The main problem is that enchanted creatures are easily broken out of the trance. Low magic (2 MP) but high sanity cost (1d6) makes this fine.
aojo: Excellent debuff, especially against enemies using firearms. It cannot be resisted, but causing the caster to bleed breaks the spell. Wonderful combination with Flesh Ward.
Puño de Yog-Sothoth:It is best used to put enemies in environmental danger or out of cover. Decent switch to a knockout when using 10+ mps and the aim isn't heavy. The high MP and health costs make regular use difficult.
Fear of the implant: The lack of saves makes this very useful. The Guardian can determine which crucial opponents can overcome their fear. Too bad it takes 12 MP and 1d6 Sanity to work
brainstorm: Mad Attacks are unpredictable, and Cultists and Mythical Creatures cannot experience Mad Attacks. Costs 10 MP and 1d3 sanity
melted meat: 5 cast rounds kill the spell.
Shddle M'ell Rotes Schild: Could potentially paralyze multiple creatures and damage many more, but at a high sanity cost (1d8). Best used against enemies in close combat or under heavy cover.
separate binding: Great when facing the appropriate horror that is unlimited - 1 sanity cost is super cheap. However, the chances of finding the matching infinite creature are slim.
Fold: Good damage to MP ratio, but the high sanity cost means it can only be used in very extreme circumstances.
Hastur song: Takes 3 turns to cast. 1d4 sanity per turn is too hard, I would only use it defensively.
withered limb: Deals 1d8 damage per 1d6 sanity and probably damages the affected limb. If not, shrinking is better.
Schiffswrack: Paralyzing spell that incapacitates a target for at least 3 minutes and costs only 3 MP and 1 sanity.
Spell Enhancement
distribute ka: Makes you impossible to kill until someone discovers they can destroy your brain. If you have this activated, you will probably survive all fights, unless your party abandons you when you are knocked unconscious. Lungs are probably the best thing you can remove to protect yourself from suffocation - they can send poisonous gases, smoke and the like at your enemies. Easily worth 5 POW and 2D10 Sanity.
Gorgoroth's body distortion:Useful for disguise, but the cost of 5 POW and 2d6 sanity discourages its routine use.
blessing blade: Niche spells, but very useful when facing enemies that cannot be damaged by mundane weapons.
song by thoth: Occasionally useful to solve an intellectual problem, but the 1d4 health cost discourages its use.
consume parable: The cost of 5 POWs, and in particular the 1d20 sanity cost, means you should only cast this when the identity is badly needed. Even so, losing life points breaks the illusion.
watch meat: Unbelievable! 1d4 sanity is nothing for a spell that can quadruple your effective health. Also, you take no damage while protected by this spell, so you don't make CON checks to stay conscious.
vooric signMission: Depends heavily on Guardian, but I'd say the effect is usually worth at least 1 sanity.
utility spell
prepareSpace Met: How much would you like to travel through space? Not quite for most campaigns, but for some this can be the main point.
Cause/cure blindness:healing from blindnessinvaluablewhen faced with the condition. Causes Blindness can stun a strong opponent at any distance. The high cast time and sanity cost discourage routine use.
Cloud storage- inexpensive spell best used for sneaking in or stealing without raising an alarm
Criar Barreira de Naach-Tith: High sanity cost (1d10 for each caster) and high cast time (1 minute) make this situational.
Curse of the RotbarkMission: Let me get this straight: do you lose 10 sanity for the chance the victim loses 1d10 sanity?
main sign: Probably the best way to close a portal, but the cost of 10 POW will hurt.
green decay: Depends heavily on the Guardian allowing the target to readily accept the Green Blade. At 10 POW it's hard to justify it unless you absolutely have to.
thought suggestion: Creative suggestions can add a lot of value, and non-threatening suggestions are cheap. The 3 turn cast time means it is best used out of combat.
swap spirit: The 1d3 sanity cost for the caster and the target kills the spell.
telepathy: Good if you can catch a physically strong creature with little POW and steal its body. The ability to lose the character entirely makes it more usable for very old or crippled characters.Blue skywhen Dread Curse of Azathoth can be used to first decrease the target's Sanity,Rojowhen the pitcher is too moral to use.
Mirror by Tarkhun Atep: Can be used to get clues as to where the target is hiding. Fortunately, the costs are low.
Po of Ibn-Ghazi: Amazing against invisible creatures, but ingredient availability is entirely determined by the keeper.
resurrection: Reviving someone is invaluable, often worth more than 1d10 sanity.
Schutz: A really cool spell that lets you set up all sorts of remote alerts for a few MPs and no brains.
wave of oblivion: Requires proximity to the ocean, 1 hour of casting, and 1d8 sanity per caster. Super niche, and most Mythos creatures don't care too much about being under the sea.
words of power: Used creatively, it can be extremely powerful. You can start mass riots or convince a group of police officers to help you. Unfortunately, using this spell can draw unwanted attention to you, and targets may retaliate if they realize they've been tampered with.
Summoning/Contact/Banishing Spells
Ban of Yde Etad: Inexpensive spell and can be cast far from the target to banish them permanently. It doesn't work on high POW creatures and low POW creatures might not be worth it.
call deity: Leave that to the cultists.
contact spell– Inexpensive spell, but requires extensive research and resources to get a good deal
Contact deity spell: Leave it to the cultists
Create Zombie: The high magic cost makes this unusable for most characters; The zombie is stupid, does little damage, and has poor combat skills. I'm not sure how to use it.
enchantmentMagic: Heavily dependent on the usefulness of the associated Summoning Spell. If a POW check is required, the character upgrading the item must give it to another character with full POW.
discard deity: Very effective as long as you can teach this to a large group. There are no trials, except for a flat percent roll that increases with spell point spent. No health costs either!
Crux Ansata de Prinn: Powerful Ankh that can banish creatures with an opponent's POW check for 1 MPs, or for more MPs with the possibility of gaining an additional die for the POW check. However, the 3 rounds of chants required to use the ankh are unfortunate.
convocationMagic: It largely depends on how many POW rolls the keeper needs -Greatif the keeper doesn't need one. The value also depends on what creature is summoned, how it behaves, and whether the appropriate buff spell is available.
processedvon Merudo