Chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is the holy magic of the Paladin — a tightly focused school of ten standard spells plus two mastery spells, designed to give warriors limited but potent magical support without requiring full Magery. It heals wounds, cures poison, removes curses, blesses weapons, drives off the wicked, and provides emergency travel. Chivalry is the only spellcasting school in Britannia that runs on a unique resource: Tithing Points, donated to ankhs as gold rather than gathered as reagents. Its power scales with the caster's karma — the higher the karma, the stronger the heal, the longer the buff, the greater the holy retribution.
Introduced with the Age of Shadows expansion in 2003, Chivalry is the philosophical and mechanical opposite of Necromancy. Where the necromancer transforms into a Wraith and consumes the dead, the paladin invokes the light, sacrifices health to cure poison, and resurrects fallen comrades.
Casting Mechanics
The Book of Chivalry
Chivalry spells are cast from the Book of Chivalry, purchased for 140 gold from any Keeper of Chivalry NPC in the city of Luna. Like every other spellbook, it must sit in the first level of the caster's backpack to function. The book is also the spellbook gift to a new paladin completing the Chivalry quest in New Haven.
Tithing Points
Chivalry is the only school whose spells consume a unique non-reagent resource: Tithing Points. These are restored only by donating gold at functional ankhs — the same ankhs at which a player can resurrect. Donate gold by double-clicking the ankh and selecting Tithe; one gold buys one Tithing Point. A character may hold up to 100,000 Tithing Points at any time; further donations bounce back to the backpack.
Most Chivalry spells consume 10–30 Tithing Points per cast. Lower Reagent Cost reduces Tithing Point consumption identically to its effect on standard reagents — at 100% LRC, no Tithing Points are consumed. The Book of Chivalry's displayed cost does not update to reflect LRC, but the actual deduction does.
Karma and Power Scaling
Chivalry's distinguishing mechanic is its karma scaling: every spell's effectiveness is modified by the caster's karma score. Higher karma means:
- Larger Close Wounds heals (up to 39 damage healed at high karma).
- Reduced self-damage on Cleanse by Fire (down to 13 damage at high karma).
- Stronger Consecrate Weapon and Enemy of One bonuses.
- Improved Remove Curse success rates.
- Stronger Holy Light area damage.
- Larger heal/cure radius on Noble Sacrifice.
A paladin therefore actively cultivates karma — killing evil-aligned creatures, doing good deeds, avoiding murder counts. Negative karma fundamentally cripples Chivalry; a low-karma "fallen paladin" build exists but is a niche experiment, not a competitive setup.
Mana, Skill, and Casting Time
Standard mage caps apply — Faster Casting at 4 (or 2 in armour), Faster Cast Recovery at 6, Lower Mana Cost at 40%, Lower Reagent Cost at 100%. Chivalry casting times are fast — most spells finish in well under a second at FC 2.
The Spells
Ten standard spells plus two mastery spells. Sorted by minimum skill.
| Spell | Mana | Tithing | Min Skill | Words of Power | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close Wounds | 10 | 10 | 0 | Obsu Vulni | Heals 7–39 hit points to a valid target within 2 tiles. The paladin's primary heal — scales with karma. |
| Cleanse by Fire | 10 | 10 | 5 | Expor Flamus | Cures poison from a target. Causes Fire damage to the caster (cannot kill, but can drop to 0); damage reduced by karma to a minimum of 13. |
| Remove Curse | 20 | 30 | 5 | Extermo Vomica | Removes time-based curses from a target. Higher curses are less likely to be removed; karma and Chivalry skill improve the chance. |
| Consecrate Weapon | 10 | 10 | 15 | Consecrus Arma | Temporarily imbues the wielded weapon with the power to deal damage against the target's weakest resist — devastatingly effective against varied-resist creatures. |
| Sacred Journey | 20 | 15 | 15 | Sanctum Viatas | The paladin's equivalent of Magery's Recall spell — instant travel to a previously marked rune. |
| Divine Fury | 15 | 15 | 25 | Divinum Furis | Refreshes some stamina and grants a brief boost to swing speed, hit chance, and damage dealt at the cost of defence. The paladin's combat stim. |
| Dispel Evil | 15 | 10 | 35 | Dispiro Malas | Dispels evil summoned creatures, causes monsters to flee from combat, and deals damage to Necromancers in Horrific Beast or Wraith form (with PvP karma exceptions). |
| Enemy of One | 20 | 10 | 45 | Forul Solum | Designates the next struck creature as a "mortal enemy" for a duration; the paladin deals 50% more weapon damage to all creatures of that exact type for the duration. |
| Holy Light | 15 | 10 | 55 | Augus Luminos | Creates an area-of-effect around the caster, dealing Energy damage to all valid targets. Karma scales the damage. |
| Noble Sacrifice | 20 | 20 | 65 | Dium Prostra | Resurrects, cures, and heals all valid targets within 6 tiles of the paladin — at the cost of significant self-damage. The paladin's signature group-save spell. |
Mastery Spells
| Spell | Mana | Tithing | Min Skill | Words of Power | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Fist | 50 | — | 90 | Kal Vas Grav | The paladin unleashes a flying fist that deals damage and may slow the target's movement (Forced Walk). The slow can be removed by Cure or Cleanse by Fire. |
| Rejuvenate | 10 | — | 90 | In Vas Ort Grav Mani | Restores hit points, stamina, and mana of a target. With sufficient karma, the heal is substantial. |
The passive Knight's Enmity mastery effect amplifies damage dealt against creatures designated by Enemy of One.
Training
A reliable progression with a high-LRC suit (LRC reduces Tithing consumption too):
- 0 – 50: train at the Chivalry NPC in New Haven, or cast Close Wounds repeatedly on yourself.
- 50 – 70: cast Holy Light in an open area near low-level enemies (the spell does not require a target — it's an AoE around the caster).
- 70 – 100: cast Noble Sacrifice repeatedly. The self-damage hurts but is the fastest training spell at this range.
- 100 – 120: cast Holy Light or Holy Fist repeatedly with Power Scrolls applied.
Tithing Points run out fast at first — keep a stack of gold and visit an ankh between training sessions. Once at 100% LRC, Tithing consumption stops entirely.
Forms and Combat Patterns
Chivalry has no transformation spells — no Wraith Form, no Lich Form, no animal-shape. It is a "warrior who chants" school: every spell complements melee combat without restructuring the caster's combat profile. The two combat staples are:
- Consecrate Weapon + Enemy of One: a five-second pre-fight ritual that turns a paladin into a damage specialist against the chosen target. Consecrate makes every hit ignore resist mismatches; Enemy of One adds a flat 50% damage modifier on top.
- Divine Fury: pop before a burst window for the swing speed and hit chance boost. The defence penalty is the trade.
For sustained healing, the rhythm is alternating melee strikes and Close Wounds casts. With FC 2 and karma maxed, a paladin can self-heal nearly every other swing while still dealing competitive damage.
Useful Equipment
The same caps that benefit Magery and Necromancy benefit Chivalry, plus:
- Lower Reagent Cost (LRC) — at 100%, no Tithing Points are consumed. The most important property for a sustainable paladin.
- Lower Mana Cost (LMC) — at the 40% cap.
- Faster Casting (FC) — at 2 (the cap for armoured casters; paladins are typically armoured).
- Faster Cast Recovery (FCR) — at 6.
- Mana Regeneration — useful for sustained casting.
- Karma-affecting items — paladins maintain karma actively; the Talisman of the Tribes and certain artifacts help.
Power Scrolls
The skill cap is raised from 100 to 120 by Power Scroll consumption in 5-point increments. Chivalry Power Scrolls drop from Champion Spawn bosses, alongside the other casting-school power scrolls.
Related Skills
- Tactics, Anatomy, Healing — the core warrior skills paired with Chivalry on a melee paladin.
- Magery — many paladins train both for transportation and utility access (Mark, Gate, Recall).
- Spirit Speak — adds healing scaling on certain interactions.
- Necromancy — the philosophical opposite, but mechanically compatible; "necro-paladin" hybrid builds exist for niche purposes.
Lore
Chivalry was added with the Age of Shadows expansion in 2003 alongside the Paladin profession. Its lore situates the paladin within the Order of the Silver Serpent, headquartered in the city of Luna in Malas. The Keepers of Chivalry — the NPCs who sell the Book of Chivalry and accept tithes — are Luna's clerical class, the paladin's gateway to the school's holy magic. The Mastery spells (Holy Fist, Rejuvenate) were added later as part of the universal Skill Mastery system rollout, expanding the school's late-game depth without altering its core character.