We are all familiar with the bog-standard “magic missile” spell: a handful of comet-shaped bolts of white energy that stream from a caster’s fingertips to unerringly strike one or more targets. (The damage is a shock of arcane energy, so it doesn’t usually produce a specific wound or even an entry burn, nor does it affect physical objects in any way, but functions more like a non-negative-energy drain.) It’s a classic spell for a reason, and one that is taught as early as possible to young adepts because it’s a reliable offensive spell that only becomes more effective as one grows in skill.
But precisely because it is familiar--you could almost call it a cliche--it has also been the inspiration for much research, as generation after generation of spellcasters have striven to take the traditional magic missile and make it their own. For the most part, this has resulted in purely cosmetic changes, such as shooting missiles that are orange instead of white, or which have slightly more pointed shapes. But a few practitioners have made adjustments that have proven distinct and notable, and this is an admittedly biased list of the top twelve such variants.
1. Benello’s Lacerating Feathers. Certainly one of the oldest, best-known, and most beautiful variants, these bolts, instead of leaping directly from the caster’s hands, hover a moment, displaying a clear and beautiful feather shape, which then launch themselves a bit like paper airplanes. They also glow a little more brightly than standard magic missiles, but are also the first missiles that were soundless (as opposed to the low hissing noise most missiles make as they strike forth). What makes this spell notable to modern casters is that Junia Vrotke, court wizard of Palintar, discovered that, in that slight delay before launching, Benello’s Feathers are actually highly malleable, allowing a skilled caster to make them look like almost anything aerodynamic. It has been used to create arrows, ships, darts, diamonds, spades, and even stylized dragons, all in the moments before striking. Widely used and easy to find, this is the Magic Missile spell that shows you care about craft, and lets every caster make their own statement.
2. Shen’s Whirling Papers. Clearly a variant of the Lacerating Feathers, Shen Hoon was a cautious practitioner, concerned about the fact that most magic missiles carry a trail of light, and proceed directly to the target...meaning that it is very easy for a target who survives to triangulate and discover where the caster is. Shen’s Whirling Papers really do look like curled scraps of twirling paper that hover high above the caster’s head...and then, upon launching, arc sideways toward the target(s), sometimes even striking them from behind. It is therefore harder to tell exactly where the caster is standing, and harder still to predict where the missiles are going. Just the thing to guarantee a chaotic battlefield.
3. The Kneebiter. Created by gnomish casters so many generations ago that no single name can be reliably cited, The Kneebiter is a very simple set of white lozenge-shaped missiles that stream low along the ground and strike most human-sized opponents in the knees or shins. They fly straight out from the hands of most small-sized casters, but in the hands of a human-sized caster, these missiles first drop straight to the ground and then surge toward the targets. They still have the light trails of standard magic missiles, but it is impossible to use the trails to tell the caster’s actual height, which is supposedly helpful in certain situations. More interestingly, others have discovered that, since this is a variant with no verbal component, and an extremely simple somatic element, it is an absolute must-have variation if you think you might need to cast missiles underwater or while restrained.
4. Ndela’s Hammer. One of the most devastating variants of the magic missile, Ndela’s Hammer can only target a single opponent, but it does so with stream after stream of bright-burning missiles whose heat can be felt up to ten feet away. Although it still leaves no entry wound normally, if an opponent dies from its onslaught, the body turns to ash. For those times when you want to make sure your opponent won’t rise from the dead.
5. The Pacifying Lights of Quendine. Quendine, the famously pacifistic wizard of the Western Marches, invented these hovering balls of light that sail towards their target without leaving trails. These missiles cannot harm living creatures at all--not plants, not animals, nothing that a heal spell can heal--but they do double damage to constructs, animated objects, and mindless animated undead such as zombies and skeletons. They do normal damage to greater undead and non-organically-based life such as elementals.
6. Ferrole’s Fists. These missiles are not pure arcane energy, but force energy, meaning that, although no more powerful than standard magic missiles, this is one of the only variants that can actually affect physical objects--breaking glass, knocking over vases, etc.--with roughly the force of a hard punch. (See also Mbuna’s Beads and Izzard's Silver Needle, below.) Because this is force energy, the attack is made as if with a thrown weapon [one roll applied equally to all targets, but with advantage], and its effectiveness is reduced by any armor that absorbs kinetic damage. (One the plus side, it can also damage armor!) For some reason, these white energy missiles are shaped like nautilus shells.
7. Mbuna’s Beads. Probably the most outlying variant of the magic missile variants, Mbuna’s Beads actually requires a material component--viz., a handful of beads--and has an extremely limited range of about 25 feet (or however far you can forcefully toss a bead). Llike Ferrole’s Fists, these target opponents like a thrown object, so they can actually miss. And like Ferrole’s Fists, they can hit with great force, leaving marks even in brick and cobblestone. Unlike Ferrole’s Fists, every one of Mbuna’s Beads strikes with a damage bonus based on the caster’s intelligence, making it, for all its other inconveniences, one of the most damaging magic missiles ever created. If you see a caster wearing lots of breakaway bead necklaces and bracelets, keep your distance.
8. Ella’s Constellation. Also called The Starfall, this is probably the ne plus ultra of the Lacerating Feathers school: Every tiny star-shaped missile in this cluster does a single point of damage...but there are a LOT of them. [In game terms, simply roll the magic missile damage; that’s how many missiles there are, and they can be divided freely among any targets one chooses.] Upon casting, the tiny dots of light rise above the battlefield like a constellation, and then rain down to strike at a dozen angles. Reports claim it’s like being attacked by fireworks.
9. Ebony Darts of the Isles. These missiles look like dark lozenge-shaped chips of stone, and emit no light at all--a solution to the eye-catching light that is characteristic of this spell and which has long troubled more covert spellcasters like the Assassins of the Isles. [In spell terms, if it is fired from cover, it counts as a surprise attack for spellcaster rogues, for purposes of bonus damage.] The most fiendish part of this spell is that --reportedly; I have not confirmed it myself--it is the only attack spell that can be cast without breaking invisibility! (But you can only do it once; a second casting still turns the caster visible.) Highly sought after, but also highly protected by those who know it. Expect to pay a premium.
10. The Persistently Colorful Ribbon. Designed by the brother-and-sister Akata Twins for the AY 1074 Wizards Games in Highport, this has one of the features often common to spells created for public competition: its flashiness makes it a little slower than other magic missile variants. In this case, the missiles manifest as a series of extremely colorful ribbons--blue, red, orange, violet, all weaving around in a cylinder shape, all bright and none repeating. After spinning for a moment, the ribbons stream out in all directions, leaving unusually large and easy to see trails behind them: actual ribbons in the air. While all this is more pretty than practical, the Persistently Colorful Ribbon stands out in one astonishing respect: it can target subjects around corners and behind walls and in other areas the caster cannot see. If the caster has at least recently seen the target(s), the ribbon will find them wherever they’re hiding. Too fiddly for a quick wizard duel, but unparalleled for chasing down runaway foes. Small wonder it won the competition that year, even against Ella’s Constellation.
11. Haroun’s Overloaded Burst. Blue missiles that leave an erratic trail of lightning, these are notable for two reasons. First, they leave distinct electrical burn marks at the point of entry. Second, they always do at least one point of damage each, even against defenses (such as a shield spell or a brooch of shielding) that are designed to absorb magic missile energy. That's was Haroun's point.
12. Izzard’s Silver Needle. Another huge success at the Wizards Games (this one from 1081 in The Nethering Downs), this variant is also famous for being introduced by a masked wizard of unknown gender and provenance who demonstrated it, won, and promptly disappeared with the prize money. Izzard’s Silver Needle is simply the fastest and most high-impact magic missile developed in recent memory. Appearing as a silver needle or javelin the length of a person’s arm, you will barely see it before it strikes all its targets with a loud bang. Although they always strike true, the missiles are temporarily physical and leave actual holes, so they can damage armor or break through certain wall- or door-like defenses (though it’s nowhere near precise enough to take out, say, iron bars), and since it flies directly at the target it often leaves a back-traceable trail of damage. Though not quite as harmful as Mbuna’s Beads (with their intelligence bonus to damage), the Silver Needle more than makes up for this with its speed and its range, which is double normal for a magic missile spell. This casts half as many missiles as normal, but they’re twice as damaging. [In game terms, each silver needle counts as two normal missiles cast together, with odd-numbered missiles ignored or treated as single missiles] [Note from David: I have not actually playtested any of these, but they all feel roughly equivalent in power. If you try them, let me know how it goes. I have tried to avoid making this list overly male or overly pseudo-European, mostly by leaving such details open.]