Duelling Guide

Welcome to the Duelling Guide. I’m sure you’re excited about the opening of the Duelling Club, so please carefully read this Guide in order to understand how duelling works.

Duelling is a great way to earn points for your House and some extra galleons, and most importantly to have a great time.

How to duel?

First of all, you should know that unlike Quidditch, which is based on your role-playing skills, duelling requires an extensive knowledge of the Harry Potter universe.

- A duel opposes two players, who, turn by turn, cast spells onto each other, the goal being to reduce your opponent’s life points to 0.

- Each player begins with 100 life points and 50 spell points. A player starts his turn by choosing an offensive spell. Then, he or she is asked a question concerning anything about the Harry Potter universe. The difficulty and the damage done by a spell determine the difficulty of the question. For example, easy spells do little damage to the opponent’s life points but also require answering to an easy question. The player has thirty seconds to answer. If the answer is correct, meaning that the spell has been successfully casted, the determined amount of points is deduced from the opponent’s life points, who then starts his own turn. If not, no damage is made and the opponent starts his turn.

Special spells

When starting his turn, a player can also choose to cast a special spell instead of an offensive one. Unlike offensive spells, special spells do not make any damage to the opponent’s life points but have a special effect. For instance, Petrificus Totalus binds the opponent for his next two turns, making him unable to cast spells. In addition to requiring a correct answer (the difficulty of the question also depends on the strength of the spell), a special spell also costs a certain amount of spell points. Therefore, a player can only cast a special spell if he has enough spell points.

Defensive spells

Some offensive spells may be blocked by the defending duellist. When it is possible, after his opponent successfully casts an offensive spell, the defender can cast a defensive spell in order to negate the damage done by it. A defensive spell requires a correct answer as well as a certain amount of spell points. If it is successful, no damage is done to the defender’s life points. If not, the damage done by the offensive spell is deduced from the defender’s life points. In either case, the required spell points are deduced, and after that, it is the defender's turn to play (meaning that he or she doesn't waste his or her turn by casting a defensive spell).


- The duel ends when one of the duelists has no life points remaining, in which case the other is the winner. Every duel is moderated by a Duelling Moderator, who is responsible for preparing and asking the questions, and has the duty to make sure that the duelists respect the rules. The duels will be held on the chat (you can find it at the bottom of the forum's index), and the results of the matches will be preserved in the Duelling Room.

- Here are all the spells available for first-year students in their duels:

Type	Spell	Description	Difficulty Level	Damage	Spell Points required	Effect
Offensive Spell	Wingardium Leviosa	Makes an object levitate	1	10	/	/
Offensive Spell	Mobiliarbus	Moves objects	2	20	/	/
Offensive Spell	Relashio	Releases a jet of fiery sparks	3	30	/	/
Offensive Spell	Everte Statum	Throws out the opponent	4	40	/	/
Offensive Spell	Incendio	Conjures fire	5	60	/	/
Defensive Spell	Ardor Glacio	Causes fire to become harmless to those caught in it	4	/	15	Halves the damage done by Incendio
Special Spell	Petrificus Totalus	Binds the opponent's body	6	/	20	Binds the opponent for his next two turns

Potions

You can also use potions you possess in your trunk during a duel. Each potion has a certain effect which is activated on the turn you drink it. However, you can drink up to one potion every turn, and drinking a potion doesn't mean that you can't cast an offensive or special spell in the same turn. In summary, during each of you turns, you first choose if you want to use a potion or not and then you decide on the offensive or special spell you wish to perform. It is important to note that for potions whose effects last a certain number of turns, if they refer to the drinker's turns, the effect starts being active the same turn the potion is drank, and if they refer to the opponent's turns, the effect starts being active from the first opponent's turn following the consumption of the potion. Here is a list of all the potions currently available as well as their effects. You can buy any of them in Slug & Jiggers Apothecary on Diagon Alley.

	Name	Description	Effect in Duelling	Price (in galleons)
	Weak Wiggenweld Potion	Cures minor damage	Restores 10 Life Points	5
	Strong Wiggenweld Potion	Cures major damage	Restores 25 Life Points	10
	Weak Invigoration Draught	Slightly boosts the drinker's energy	Restores 10 Spell Points	5
	Strong Invigoration Draught	Strongly boosts the drinker's energy	Restores 25 Spell Points	10
	Strengthening Solution	Increases the drinker's strength	In his next 2 turns, the opponent's spells do 15 less damage	15
	Elixir of Induced Euphoria	Induces a sense of happiness upon the drinker	In his next 2 turns, the drinker's spells do 15 more damage	15
	Fire Protection Potion	Protects against fire	In his next 2 turns, the drinker is immune to the Incendio Spell	15
	Beautification Potion	Enhances the attractiveness of the drinker's physical appearance	During his next turn, the opponent cannot cast any offensive spells	17

We might still change some things about the Duelling Guide so please check it regularly. Spells for second-year students will be available soon. The Duelling Club is open for students as well as for adults (including professors). However, at least for now, adults will only be able to use first-year spells. If you have any suggestions, please post in the Suggestion Corner. For any questions, contact one of the administrators. Thank you for reading and good luck in your future duels.