There appears to be a problem using "Footman's Strike" against Cougars. Each time I've tried this spell against this particular beast, when I get to targeting it, I get the message "you are already preparing a spell". Anything other than letting the spell decay naturally after this results in the spell backfiring and subsequent nerve damage.
I've attempted on a several occasions to use this spell in two of the cougar areas (east of Crossing near "clans" and west of Crossing where they are mixed with Wood Trolls, Boars and Hogs) and have met with the same problem. I've tried varying the target command and the Prep levels without success. I should note that A)the spell will work against the other beasts in the room when cougars are present and B) the cougars are not impervious as "Stun Foe" works on them.

Otaron

my original script contains "prep FST" and "tar" %1 which works fine on hogs, goblins, wood trolls etc. and I used "cou" and "Cougar" to no avail

I also tried typing in the commands "prepare fst" and "target cou" and "target cougar" but still got the same results.

Without preparing anything try >targ fst at cougar. You can >targ <spellname> to prepare and begin targeting a spell with whatever you're facing and >targ <spellname> at <target> to prepare the spell and begin targeting whatever you specify.

<<No need to prep and target. Change your scripts to just "tar %1" and you'll be good.>>

Oops that should be "tar fst %1"
--Just a Squire

>If I had to guess, it might think you're trying to prep Courage.

That was my suspicion! Glad someone got it lined out.

I think there's a target/aim bonus from targeting TM spells. You don't ever need to prep a TM spell. Just 'target fst bob', skip the 'prep' phase entirely.

You can prep/cast, but you take a penalty, and you don't need to prep it anyway.

Now I'm confused, I'd assumed that by prepping a targetted spell you could increase the mana used and thus the potential damage whereas by targeting and not prepping you were just using the minimum mana and so the least damage.
My reasoning behind this being that when you increase the mana on spells like "Divine Guidance" you increase the length of time they stay active and apparantly, from other stuff I've read, the effectiveness.

Otaron

<<Now I'm confused, I'd assumed that by prepping a targetted spell you could increase the mana used and thus the potential damage whereas by targeting and not prepping you were just using the minimum mana and so the least damage.

TARGET works exactly the same way PREPARE does including being able to indicate how much mana you want to use, but also starts to aim. You can target after you PREPARE but it is always more efficient to use TARGET instead of PREPARE.

From the in-game help (note that the AT <target> part is optional):

> target help
The TARGET verb allows for targeting magical spells on creature and player targets. You must be preparing a spell in order to target it, and the spell must be targetable. Some spells are prevented from targeting specific body parts.

Syntax:
TARGET -- will default to the creature you are facing
TARGET <PLAYER>
TARGET <CREATURE>
TARGET <PLAYER/CREATURE> <LOCATION> -- target specific body areas on the indicated victim
TARGET <LOCATION> -- target indicated body area on the target you are facing
(Valid locations include head, right/left eye, neck, right/left arm, right/left hand, chest, abdomen, back, right/left leg. Some creatures may have other names for these locations.)
TARGET <spell abbreviation> <mana amount> AT <target> -- Prepare a spell and immediately target it.

TARGET INFO will provide more detailed examples.

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Elanthipedia - https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page

Oh man. Don't use the in-game help. It's hilariously outdated 90% of the time. Try going to elanthipedia.play.net and just reading the wiki for information.

In-game help saw a massive update circa the DR 3.0 release. then again, elanthipedia and it's search function is decidedly easier to navigate.

Nikpack