Spells (The Sims 2: Apartment Life)

Spells are new features that came alongside the new witch lifestate and the new Magic neighborhood in The Sims 2: Apartment Life. A Sim must be a witch or warlock to perform spells. Witches (or warlocks) with higher magic skill will have a higher success rate when casting spells and will have access to the more powerful spells. To cast a spell, simply click on a magical Sim selected, then click on any object, Sim, or open space on the ground you wish to interact with as normal. Then select the option Cast Spell . . .. Different spells will be available depending on the target objects, Sims, the selected Witch's Magical Ability and alignment, and finally the magical reagents the Sim has in their possession at the time. Some spells require other expansion packs, such as Apello Cattus Amicus and Creatum Insecto Volucris.

Spells are organized into three categories: "Good", "Neutral" and "Evil". A Sim needs to have a perfect alignment in one of the three magics to cast the strongest spells of that alignment. For example, a perfectly "good" witch can craft a "throne of light" which is the ultimate chair that charges all motives simultaneously. This also means that as a witch strays further and further from one side, they slowly begin losing the ability to cast that alignment's spells. However, any Witch can cast any Neutral Spell, provided they have the magical ability to do so, but conversely, a fully Neutral Witch cannot cast either the powerful Good spells or the powerful Evil spells. A witch with the perfect alignment in the neutral range can cast the most powerful spell in all of the alignments, Tempus Interruptus.

Unlike the Magic in The Sims: Makin' Magic, spells in Apartment Life can't fail in interesting ways. The only thing that happens when a spell fails is that the witch's or warlock's motives drop. Spell failure, however, will often drastically reduce the caster's bladder motive, and if the bladder motive is already fairly low, bladder failure may occur. To prevent bladder failure resulting from spell failure, direct the caster to sit on his or her alignment's throne; he or she may get up almost immediately, but the bladder motive may increase enough to where the witch or warlock will be able to get to a toilet on time.

"Good" spells
"Good" spells help improve the lives of Sims and the world around them.

"Neutral" spells
"Neutral" spells are either beneficial to the caster.

"Evil" spells
"Evil" spells ruin other Sim's lives.

Trivia

 * There are a total of 33 spells (10 good, 13 neutral and 10 evil), making The Sims 2 witches have the largest amount of spells in the series.
 * The spell Tabula Rasa refers to the philosophical concept of that name, which states that humans are born with no innate knowledge, and that therefore all behavior is learned. A similar spell is also performed in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer named "Tabula Rasa"
 * The spell Tempus Interruptus will not affect ghosts that are present on the lot.
 * If the witch uses the money printer aspiration reward, the police can still come fine the sim, completely unfrozen.