Standard spells

Standard spells (also called the standard spellbook) are a group of Magic spells available to all players. It is unlocked by default upon character creation, and can be used at level 1 Magic.

Overview
The spells in the standard spellbook can be divided into a number of distinct classifications.

Combat spells
Spells such as Water Strike and Fire Blast are simple: They deal damage to one target, with the amount of damage varying according to the spell's maximum hit and other modifiers. The accuracy of these spells is determined by a number of factors, none of which are the spell itself; all other things being equal.

There are four main elements for combat spells in the standard spellbook: wind (air), water, earth, and fire. Additionally, there are four increasingly strong groups of spells: Strike spells, Bolt spells, Blast spells and Wave spells. Among these groups, wind spells are always the weakest, and fire spells are always the strongest. The elements themselves do not seem to affect much except in a few circumstances; for example, metal dragons such as iron dragons are said to be weaker to fire spells than the other elements. Each of these spells makes use of at least one catalyst rune (such as mind runes or death runes), a number of air runes, and a number of water runes, earth runes or fire runes depending on the spell.

In addition to the elemental spells, there are a number of unique combat spells with different properties. Iban Blast requires that Iban's staff be equipped to use it, and casts of Iban Blast drain charges on the staff until it must eventually be recharged; however, it hits extremely hard for the level required to use it. Magic Dart uses no elemental runes, instead using only death runes and mind runes, and has a maximum hit determined by the caster's Magic level. Each of the god spells has a secondary effect upon a successful hit.

Compared to melee and Ranged, some lower-levelled offensive spells have exceptionally high maximum hits for the levels required to cast them. For example, Fire Strike can hit up to 8 damage at a mere level 13 Magic, which is not possible (assuming reasonably consistent skill levels) with either melee or Ranged.

Curses
Curses are offensive spells that temporarily lower the target's stats. As Magic is meant to be strong against melee users, the various curse spells lower Attack, Strength and Defence by either 5% or 10%. Additionally, Teleport Block may be classified as a curse, although it prevents teleportation rather than lowering a stat. Free players have access to the first three curses (Confuse, Weaken and Curse). All curse spells aside from Teleport Block make use of either body runes or soul runes, as well as earth runes and water runes.

Curse spells do not stack with themselves or similar curses; for example, it is not possible to frequently cast Stun on a target to drain its Attack further than 10%, nor is it possible to cast Confuse afterward for an additional 5% drain.

Binding spells
Spells that prevent the target from moving are binding spells. The ability to deal damage from a distance is one of a mage's greatest advantages in combat, and binding spells ensure that melee users are unable to get too close. Free players may use Bind, which holds the target for 5 seconds, but members can use the Snare and Entangle spells, which hold the target for 10 and 15 seconds, respectively. Binding spells use nature runes.

After a binding spell wears off, its target is immune to successive binding spells for five seconds.

Teleports
The standard spellbook contains a number of teleport spells, which instantly transport the caster to a certain destination. These spells are popular as they offer a considerably faster method of transportation than walking everywhere, and several of them, such as Varrock Teleport, lead to popular areas of the map. Free players may access all teleport spells up to and including Falador Teleport. All teleport spells use law runes in addition to other runes.

The standard spellbook is also the only spellbook to feature teleother spells. When cast on another player, these spells will teleport that player to a certain destination. However, the targeted player must have Accept Aid on, and will be asked whether they wish to accept the teleportation. All teleother spells use soul runes in addition to law runes.

Enchantment spells
Enchantment spells imbue certain items with magical properties, giving them new abilities. Any piece of jewellery crafted with a gem may be enchanted by the proper Enchant Jewellery spell, and crossbow bolts with tips made from gems may be enchanted by the proper Enchant Crossbow Bolt spell. Enchanted jewellery items have a wide variety of effects, such as teleportation, increased equipment bonuses, and assistance in skills such as Smithing and Runecrafting. Enchanted crossbow bolts gain secondary effects in combat. Additionally, the Charge Orb spells may be used to imbue unpowered orbs with elemental magic, after which they may be used to make elemental staves. All enchantment spells make use of cosmic runes.

Alchemy spells
Alchemy spells convert items into other items. There are only three alchemy spells in the game. Low Level Alchemy and High Level Alchemy convert items into certain amounts of coins, and Superheat Item may be used to forge ore into bars without a furnace. These three spells all use nature runes and fire runes.