Enchantments are one of most common type of magic in EGS. All known examples of enchantments transform the target: it is not known if transformations are just type of enchantments, if it's another name for the same thing, or if it's the other way around and transformation can be either temporary - enchantment - or permanent.[1]
General rules
Resisting spell
Target can resist the enchantment just like any other spell. His chance depends on spell power, his abilities and circumstances - spell resistance can be affected by surprise.[2]
Normal people have only minimal spell resistance and are not likely to successfully resist any spell.[3]
Resisting enchantment and enchantment duration
Enchantments are, as a rule, temporary.[4] How long will they last depends on how long they are supposed to last (which is sort of baseline for average human - it is hard to know exact duration for magic user)[2], on the abilities of target - experienced spell user as Nanase will change back sooner[5] and Elliot can get back to normal in little over half the time[6] - on how long one THINK it's supposed to last and if target wants the enchantment to continue.
Wanting an enchantment can prolong it indefinitely,[7][6] or at least until you run out of energy.
The target magic abilities also affect enchantment duration of clothes they are wearing, but not when they take them off, even when they were transformed with them.[8]
Animals have lower enchantment resistance than humans.[9] Also, being hungry can shorten the enchantment, presumably even for humans.
Enchantment also ends when the spell user who cast it lose consciousness (or die).[10]
Stacking magic shortens the duration of enchantments.[7] While enchantments can normally end independent of each other,[11] sometimes they can be linked together,[7][12] meaning they end all at same time.
Transformation safety
Enchantments that involve size change (shrinking or growing) work by actively keeping target resized ; if shrunk individual eat something while shrunk, it won't grow after enchantment ends.[13]
On the other hand, if someone eats something when grown, it won't tear them apart when returning to normal: they just burp loudly and are fine.[14] Piercing, earrings and similar stuff which goes under the skin are naturally affected by transformation and shrink or grow with person.[15][16] Transformation in EGS universe in general is extremely low-risks. (Unless your name is Vlad.)
Effect on Seyunolus
Before the magic change Grace's clothing could only be transformed by magic directly targeting the clothes.[17] While Pandora didn't explained, based on explanation of Ellen's spell[18] people's clothes are changed through the spell being put on the person and are not separately, or directly, targeted (which makes sense considering they are transformed in-sync with how the target is transformed). Uryuoms and Seyunolus are not actually enchanted by spells like Ellen's (note that we don't know how big category "spells like Ellen's" represent; could be almost all transformations), instead their body absorbs the spell, cancels it and then copies the result as best as it can - meaning, within the limits of Uryuom power (as seen below). They also gain the result as new form, meaning they can use it again afterwards.
It's likely the magic change removed the limitation of not transforming clothes along with the limitation of Uryuom transformation to affect clothes,[19][20] however it wasn't confirmed yet. We also don't know if there still remains some differences between how transformation works on Uryuom and humans, or if that depends on type of transformation.
Transformations by type
Uryuom transformations
Transformation by Uryuom cosmetic morph devices (like the TF Gun) works on both humans and Uryuom, but differently: It transform Uryuom and Uryuom hybrids and gives them ability to reuse that transformation,[21][22] without any time limit[23] - they can transform at will or keep being transformed as long as they want.
Note that as a sideeffect, first transformation of greater chimera by cosmetic morph devices fixes their morphing abilities.[24]
On humans, it works by making enchantment. This means that the transformation is temporary, with the duration based on average human enchantment resistance.[2] It has a "normal" settings returning target to zero state (which don't work on Uryuom)[22], it won't work twice[25] and different enchantments would replace each other.
Ellen's beams mimic Uryuom magic. While second hit with the beam will transform target to normal, they would replace different Uryuom magic morphs and cancel out identical ones.[26] They also won't enchant Uryuoms and were not able to change Grace's clothes[27] ... at least until the Magic Change.
When changing size, total volume cannot change more than a factor 2, or 79.39% to 125.99% in size change.[28][29][30]
Uryuom magic couldn't transform clothes until the Magic change.
Watches transformations
Watches works based on earth magic but they are apparently developed with help of informations from TF Gun. They share the limits on volume change and duration is based on same formula as TF Gun.
They usually also replace each other (they might even replace Uryuom magic morphs, although this was nor confirmed in canon), but that might be deliberate feature: the dynamic size change watches are exception to this, are cumulative and stack with other watches and/or TF Gun.[31]
On the other hand, they ARE able to transform clothes.[32] Changes to clothes are not "automatically synced" with changes to people[33] - user needs to concentrate on the fit of clothes separately,[34] which is harder that it sounds. It IS possible, however, to keep clothes at minimum looseness for safety.[35]
Before the Magic Change, Grace (and other Uryuom and Uryuom hybrids) couldn't use watches at all, because they don't have nearly enough energy on itself, their own power was not compatible and the ambient energy didn't help them.[36]
Other
General answer to other transformations stacking, replacing or canceling each other is "that varies".[21]
Elliot's transformations are independent on TF Gun: his forms - hand-made, cheerleadra or secret identities - can begin and end independently on any TF Gun form and stack with them.[26]
Not-Tengu is also using enchantments, both to transform himself and the party hosts.[10] We don't know if they stack and he can likely keep them working indefinitely with enough energy.
Nanase's guardian form might be enchantment at least partially.
Rhoda's size change doesn't keep the size limit of TF Gun.[37][38][39] This may be related to them defying the square-cube law of biomechanics.[40]
Ellen's FV5 beam, while based on TF gun beam, is able to overcome some of it's limits with additional effort, which apparently includes size limits.[41]
References
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2014-09-03
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-08-01
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-07-17
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-09-17
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2014-10-17
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-04-26
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 EGS:NP Comic for 2016-12-30
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2014-10-20
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-01-02
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-08-15
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-09-24
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-12-14
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-02-11
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-02-16
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-07-28
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-09-16
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2017-07-28
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-07-07
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2018-07-06
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2019-09-30
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-09-20
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2003-10-07
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2005-02-14
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2011-07-27
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2010-02-09
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-09-24
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-07-07
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-11-16
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2015-05-22
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2015-02-28
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2014-10-15
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-10-19
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2014-10-10
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2014-09-24
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2014-10-20
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2013-01-25
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-01-31
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-02-10
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2016-10-28
- ↑ EGS Main Story Comic for 2012-01-23
- ↑ EGS:NP Comic for 2017-05-26