Many Knightmare fans have judged Series 4 to be one of the more experimental (if not innovative) seasons. One such experiment was the self-activating spell. It was only used in one S4 quest, that of Team 2 of Series 4.

Hordriss gave spells to dungeoneer Alistair Gill, and his Level 2 travelling companion, Gundrada (the only time that one Dungeon character gave a spell to another), and informed them that the spells were "self-activating at need". In other words, rather than needing to be cast in the conventional way, the spells would cast themselves in times of need.

The activation of the spells was depicted by a crackling haze in the air, rather than letters on the screen. Gundrada's spell, ADORE, activated first, to negate the threat posed by Fatilla by causing him to fall in love with her. Alistair's spell, SLOW, activated in the next room, causing Gundrada and Fatilla to become trapped in slow-motion, as they were proving an impediment to the quest.

Self-activating spells were little more than a storytelling device, and their success is open to debate. They took away the skill and control of the normal spell casting process, but perhaps the scenes that they enabled were entertaining enough to compensate for that.

[Previous version: 2005-05-16 16:13:27]

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