Attack Boost Phrases

+25% Damage
Effect: +25% damage to target's next attack.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> charged forward, bringing up his/her blade/rod/etc in a powerful strike.

+50% Damage
Effect: +50% damage to target's next attack.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: Fighting with reckless abandon, <character name> landed a desperate blow on the enemy.

Double Damage
Effect: Double damage to target's next attack.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: Steeling himself/herself, his/her focus on nothing but the enemy, <character name> struck, putting all of his/her power into a single attack.

Critical Hit
Effect: Target's next attack will be a critical hit.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name's> sword/spear/etc struck, effortlessly cutting through the enemy's defenses in a fearsome display of power.

Defense Boost Phrases

-25% Damage
Effect: The next time the target is attacked, damage is reduced by 25%.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> braced himself/herself, preparing for the coming strike.

-50% Damage
Effect: The next time the target is attacked, damage is reduced by 50%.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> dropped into a defensive stance and stood ready, waiting for the attack he/she knew would come.

Partial Evasion
Effect: The next time the target is attacked, he/she will dodge approximately 50% of the hits.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> danced aside, nimbly avoiding the enemy's strikes.

Total Evasion
Effect: The next time the target is attacked, he/she will dodge all of the hits.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> cleared his/her mind, bringing every ounce of his/her speed and concentration to bear to avoid the coming attack.

Accuracy Boost Phrases

Perfect Accuracy (Partial)
Effect: The next time the target attacks, approximately 50% of his strikes can't be blocked or dodged (barring extraordinary circumstances).
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> steadied himself/herself and struck.

Perfect Accuracy (Full)
Effect: The next time the target attacks, none of his strikes can be blocked or dodged (barring extraordinary circumstances).
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> focused and attacked, carefully guiding every strike with perfect precision.

Magic Boost Phrases

Magic Power +25%
Effect: The next time the target uses a magic spell, it's power will be increased by 25%.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: A small jolt of energy sparked between <character name's> fingers, adding its power to his/her spell.

Magic Power +50%
Effect: The next time the target uses a magic spell, it's power will be increased by 50%.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: Magical energy surged through <character name's> body, lending him/her its power.

Magic Power x 2
Effect: The next time the target uses a magic spell, it's power will be doubled.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> felt his/her mind open as the magic flared around him/her. With newfound clarity, he/she took control of the energy guided it, weaving the threads into a powerful spell.

Misc Phrases

Moment of Power Recharge
Effect: The target's moment of power is instantly recharged.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: <Character name> could feel the power building up inside him/her. There was nothing in the world that could compare with that feeling. The feeling of knowing that power was ready and waiting only a thought away.

Increased Drop Rate
Effect: At the end of the current battle, enemies drop 20% more money (if they already drop money), have a 50% higher chance of dropping items, and a 25% higher chance of dropping rare items.
Ink Cost:
Phrase: A strange feeling settled over the group. They couldn't quite say why but they had a feeling that, at least for the moment, luck might actually be on their side

Other Possible Phrases

Note: These are possible additional phrases which may or may not be used in the game.

Speed Boosts
A set of phrases which allow the target to act more often in battle. (Would they be useful enough? Over powered?)

Healing Phrases
A set of phrases that restore characters' HP. (How would they compare to the healing items Josiah can use? Is there a need for both?)

Instant Death
Instantly kill one or more enemies in random battles. (Over powered? Would need an ink cost high enough to prevent over use but low enough that it's still worth it at times.)

Multi-Target Phrases
Versions of other phrases that can target multiple party members at once. (Over powered? Necessary?)

Enemy Weakening Phrases
A set of phrases that weaken or disable enemies. (Necessary? Useful? How many phrases would be needed?)

Designer's Comments (9/22/2010):
The majority of Josiah's battle phrases fall into fairly standard categories, boosting party members' attack, defense, magic power, and the like. While there's nothing too exciting there, they fulfill my goal of making his phrases useful but not overpowered. The misc phrases don't fit into any of the other categories but are still fairly standard and useful abilities. The drop rate boost is particularly useful when players need money or are trying to get a specific item to drop. As usual, Ink costs will be added in a bit later when I work out all the stats and formula.
Now for the other possible phrases section... These are types of phrases that I haven't decided if I want to add to the final list of not. I made some brief notes in the descriptions about why I'm still thinking about them but, to be more specific. Speed boost phrases would allow characters to act more frequently, though they might unbalance the battle flow a bit and I'm not sure if players would use them a lot or not (I suppose that's something which could be checked during testing). I always planned on Josiah having some healing phrases, since he is a support character and all and it would certainly be useful. But how useful they'd be would depending heavily on what healing items he has access to, their power, their cost, and the ink cost of the abilities. So healing phrases are currently a maybe until I get the item list finished. The instant death phrase is another one I thought of early on, and I like the idea of having it as it really shows just how much control Josiah has over the world. The problem is finding an appropriate ink cost. It would need to be both expensive enough that players couldn't abuse it, yet affordable enough that it's still worth using once in a while. The next thing on the list is multi-target phrases. As you may have noticed, most of the phrases currently on the list only target a single party member at a time. I could add versions of a lot of them which affect the entire party, but they seem like they could easily become a bit over powered that way (though that could probably be offset by the right ink cost) so I haven't decided yet. And finally, enemy weakening phrases. As you may have noticed, most of the current phrases power up party members in some way. I have ideas for several additional sets of phrases which act more or less as opposites to the current phrases and target enemies instead of allies. There's really nothing wrong with adding some, but I'm not sure how necessary they'd be. For example, weakening the enemy's attack would have more or less the same effect as increasing the party's defense so is there really a reason to have phrases for both? Not to mention that each additional phrase would take extra time and effort (and, by extension, money) to add to the game, so it's important not to waste resources on unnecessary stuff. I'll be keeping all of these optional phrases in mind as I work on the rest of the design and will eventually decide whether or not to include them.

Generic Earth Spells

Pebble Rain
Element: Earth
Power Rank: 1
Element Combo: one or two earth; two earth plus any one other element
Effect: Deals earth damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is pelted by a large number of pebbles.

Rock Surprise
Element: Earth
Power Rank: 2
Element Combo: three or four earth; three or four earth with no more than one other element
Effect: Deals earth damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A medium size rock springs up from behind the target and hits him in the back.

Rock and Roll
Element: Earth
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo: five or six earth; five or six earth plus any one other element
Effect: Deals earth damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is struck by a series of rolling boulders.

Impaling Spire
Element: Earth
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: seven earth; seven earth plus any one other element
Effect: Deals earth damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A sharp spire erupts from the ground beneath the target.

Rock and a Hard Place
Element: Earth
Power Rank: 5
Element Combo: eight earth
Effect: Deals earth damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A group of sharp spires erupt from the ground beneath the target as boulders rain down from above.

Generic Fire Spells

Flame Wisps
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 1
Element Combo: one or two fire; two fire plus any one other element
Effect: Deals fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: Small wisps of fire flit around the target.

Fireball
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 2
Element Combo: three or four fire; three or four fire with no more than one other element
Effect: Deals fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The caster summons a fireball and hurls it at the target.

Flare Up
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo: five or six fire; five or six fire plus any one other element
Effect: Deals fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target suddenly bursts into flame.

Flame Piller
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: seven fire; seven fire plus any one other element
Effect: Deals fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A piller of fire errupts beneath the target.

Wrath of the Sun
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 5
Element Combo: eight fire
Effect: Deals fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A miniature sun springs into existance around the target then collapses into an explosion of flame.

Generic Wind Spells

Sudden Gust
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 1
Element Combo: one or two wind; two wind plus any one other element
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A sudden blast of wind strikes the target.

Dust Devil
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 2
Element Combo: three or four wind; three or four wind with no more than one other element
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is knocked down by a small dust devil.

Wind Bullets
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo: five or six wind; five or six wind plus any one other element
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is caught in a barrage of wind bullets.

Updraft
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: seven wind; seven wind plus any one other element
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A powerful blast of wind knocks the target high into the air than drops him to the ground.

Hurricane Force
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 5
Element Combo: eight wind
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is caught up in a small hurricane.

Generic Water Spells

Acid Rain
Element: Water
Power Rank: 1
Element Combo: one or two water; two water plus any one other element
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target it hit by a small rain storm.

Water Gun
Element: Water
Power Rank: 2
Element Combo: three or four water; three or four water with no more than one other element
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is shot by a blast of water.

Deluge
Element: Water
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo: five or six water; six water plus any one other element
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is drenched in a waterfall like deluge.

Waterspout
Element: Water
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: seven water; seven water plus any one other element
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is caught up in a large waterspout.

Flash Flood
Element: Water
Power Rank: 5
Element Combo: eight water
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target struck by a sudden flood.

Generic Non-Elemental Spells

Sparkle Ray
Element: Non-Elemental
Power Rank: 1
Element Combo: any two elements that don't create another spell
Effect: Deals non-elemental damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target it hit by sparkling white ray.

Blasting Force
Element: Non-Elemental
Power Rank: 2
Element Combo: any three or four elements that don't create another spell
Effect: Deals non-elemental damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is hit by a sudden burst of energy.

Split Ray
Element: Non-Elemental
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo: any five or six elements that don't create another spell
Effect: Deals non-elemental damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The user fires a ray of magic which splits into numerous smaller rays, all of which converge on the target.

Mystic Circle
Element: Non-Elemental
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: any seven elements that don't create another spell
Effect: Deals non-elemental damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A magical circle surrounds the target and is engulfed in a large energy beam.

Mana Implosion
Element: Non-Elemental
Power Rank: 5
Element Combo: any eight elements that don't create another spell
Effect: Deals non-elemental damage to one enemy.
Visuals: An enormous emoung of magical energy forms around the target, condenses into a single point, and then explodes.

Healing Spells

Healing Breeze
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 1
Element Combo: Water, Wind, Wind
Effect: Heals one ally.
Visuals: A gentle green breeze blows around the target.

Healing Winds
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 2
Element Combo: Wind, Water, Wind, Water, Wind
Effect: Heals all allies.
Visuals: A gentle green breeze blows around all allies.

Purifying Fire
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo: Fire, Fire, Wind, Wind, Water, Wind
Effect: Heals one ally.
Visuals: Soft orange flames flare around the target.

Purifying Flames
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: Fire, Wind, Fire, Wind, Water, Wind, Fire
Effect: Heals all allies.
Visuals: Soft orange flames flare around all allies.

Elemental Energy
Element: None
Power Rank: 5
Element Combo: Water, Water, Wind, Wind, Fire, Fire, Wind, Wind
Effect: Heals one ally.
Visuals: A gentle tornado of fire and water surrounds the target.

3 Element Offensive Spells

Mire
Element: Earth
Power Rank: 1.5
Element Combo: Earth, Water, Water
Effect: Deals a small amount of damage and slows the target down slightly.
Visuals: The ground beneath the target becomes muddy, causing the target's feet to sink in.

Burning Mist
Element: Water
Power Rank: 2.5
Element Combo: Water, Fire, Wind
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A pool of water at the target's feet evaporates, surrounding the target with scalding steam.

Jolt
Element: Electricity
Power Rank: 2.5
Element Combo: Wind, Water, Fire
Effect: Deals electric damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target it hit by a small jolt of electricity.

4 Element Offensive Spells

Fire Bomb
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo: Fire, Fire, Earth, Earth
Effect: Deals fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: Fire is sealed inside a ball of rock and hurled at the enemy. It explodes on contact.

North Wind
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 3
Element Combo:Wind, Water, Wind, Water
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is buffeted by a freezing wind.

Thunder Bolt
Element: Electricity
Power Rank: 3.5
Element Combo: Wind, Water, Fire, Earth
Effect: Deals electric damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is struck by a bolt of lightning.

5 Element Offensive Spells

Stone Spears
Element: Earth
Power Rank: 3.5
Element Combo: Earth, Fire, Earth, Wind, Wind
Effect: Deals earth damage to one enemy.
Visuals: Creates a number of stone spears which fly at the target.

South Wind
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 3.5
Element Combo:Wind, Fire, Earth Wind, Wind
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is buffeted by a burning wind.

Hail Storm
Element: Water
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: Earth, Water, Water, Wind, Water
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target caught in a barrage of hail.

6 Element Offensive Spells

Elemental Cage
Element: Earth
Power Rank: None
Element Combo: Water, Earth, Earth, Fire, Wind, Fire
Effect: The target is trapped in a cage. While trapped, any offensive actions made by or at the target hit the cage instead of their intended target. When the cage takes enough damage it is destroyed (see enemy list for cage's stats). Some enemies are immune to this attack.
Visuals: A cage of earth and flame forms around the target.

Flame Vortex
Element: Fire
Power Rank: 4
Element Combo: Earth, Fire, Wind, Fire, Fire, Wind
Effect: Deals fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is caught up in a tornado of flame.

Electriball
Element: Electricity
Power Rank: 4.5
Element Combo: Wind, Fire, Fire, Water, Wind, Water
Effect: Deals electric damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The caster hurls a ball of lightning at the target, which explodes on contact.

7 Element Offensive Spells

Toxic Smoke
Element: Wind
Power Rank: 4.5
Element Combo: Wind, Wind, Earth, Water, Fire, Fire, Wind
Effect: Deals wind damage to one enemy and reduces the target's attack accuracy by 30% for three turns.
Visuals: The target is surrounded by a thick poisonous fog.

Ice Blades
Element: Water
Power Rank: 4.5
Element Combo: Earth, Water, Water, Wind, Water, Wind, Wind
Effect: Deals water damage to one enemy.
Visuals: Blades of ice are created and hurled towards the target.

Electricuter
Element: Electricity
Power Rank: 5
Element Combo: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Water, Fire, Wind
Effect: Deals electric damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The caster shoots a stream of lightning from his hands into the target.

8 Element Offensive Spells

Meteor Rain
Element: Earth and Fire
Power Rank: 5.5
Element Combo: Earth, Earth, Fire, Earth, Fire, Fire, Wind, Wind, Fire
Effect: Deals earth and fire damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A series of flaming meteorites rain down on the target.

Maelstrom
Element: Wind and Water
Power Rank: 5.5
Element Combo: Water, Wind, Wind, Earth, Water, Fire, Water, Wind
Effect: Deals water and wind damage to one enemy.
Visuals: A whirling vortex of ice and water engulfs the target.

Electric Heaven
Element: Electricity
Power Rank: 6
Element Combo: Wind, Water, Water, Wind, Fire, Wind, Fire, Earth
Effect: Deals electric damage to one enemy.
Visuals: The target is caught up in a massive electrical storm.

Designer's Comments (12/8/2010):
The spell list is fairly large, though I can easily think of a lot more spells I could add. More spells is good for variety and strategy but each spell takes time to program and animate so it's important not to go too overboard. It's quite possible that the final number could change a bit during the production and testing phases for a variety of reasons. For instance, while it was simple to create three non-generic spells for everyone number of elements, mixing things up may make the distribution a little more interesting.
You probably noticed that each spell has a power level listed. While I haven't gotten around to working out all the statistical formulas for the battle system yet, I wanted to have a simple indication of the strength of each spell for easy reference until I get the official numbers done. Note that the levels don't max at 6, there will be some dual spells that are stronger.
At the moment, most of the spells are straight damage or straight healing. There's only a couple that have special effects. The reason? Well, Josiah is in charge of buffing the party with his writing so there's no need for buff spells. I am considering giving a lot of the spells negative status effects instead of or in addition to their damage. Thing is, I haven't created a negative status list yet and I didn't want to just make them up on the fly. Actually, I haven't decided yet if I want Ink to have a whole lot of negative status effects or not. And, if I do, I might put Josiah in charge of some of them. Once the negative statuses are finalized, I'll be revisiting the spell list and making changes as necessary. If I were actually making the full game right now, it would have probably been better to finalize the status effects first so I could try and get the spells done in a single pass but, since I'm just doing this for fun right now, I'm free to do things in whatever order I want, even if it's not always the most practical one.
Finally, you may have noticed that, at the moment, all the spells only hit a single target. Are they going to stay that way? Probably not. They're all that way at the moment because I haven't decided if I want to make each spells single or multi-target only or if I want to allow all spells to be spread across multiple targets when desired (at reduced damage). Anyway, I'll deal with all that later on when I revise the spell list. While not quite final, this list will provide a good base while I work on some other things.