DreadPirateMurphy
Explorer
A few years back, I actually tried submitting an article for Dragon magazine. It was rejected, and in retrospect I can see that it was overly crunchy. Since it was rejected, it occurred to me that I could post here and get feedback from the good people of this forum. Obviously, this is from prior to 3.5, but most of it is still applicable. I'm posting here, since it suggests what could be considered a house rule.
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That Magic Moment: Searching for and Finding Rare Spells
Magic spells provide a player character with amazing new abilities. Having the correct spell on hand can be the difference between victory and defeat. Like anything of value, spells should be coveted, hoarded and bartered by the denizens of your campaign world. Powerful or esoteric spells should be hard to come by. Tracking down an elusive spell can be one of the rewards of being a spellcaster. There is a sense of accomplishment that come with each new discovery.
Spell acquisition as presented in the Player’s Handbook is very simple. Every level, arcane casters are allowed to choose one or more spells from their spell list. The assumption is that they have been performing research in their spare time. Divine casters have it even easier. They simply pray for whatever spells they wish. It is up the DM to determine which spells are available.
Simplicity is good, but there are two potential problems with this system. The first is that it lacks dramatic flare. Gaining a fantastic new power is reduced to a few marks on a character sheet. The second is that there have been well over a thousand spells published in official Dungeons & Dragons books, and many more in works published under the D20 license. How can you determine which spells are common and which are not?
Arcane Magic
The Dungeon Master’s Guide suggests some alternate rules for spell acquisition by arcane casters. Wizards have to spend money and time, while bards and sorcerers must perform services for powerful beings in exchange for spells. Quite frankly, going to the trouble of contacting a powerful outsider does not seem worth the trouble. It would be easier to pay another spellcaster to teach you the spell! Having wizards spend time and money to find new spells is more “realistic,” but it really just amounts to another adjustment to the character sheet. The DM who adopts this variant may be penalizing the character for the sake of realism in an unrealistic setting.
The worst thing about the variant rules is that they provide two different methods for arcane casters to acquire spells. This adds needless complexity. The rules allow for bards and sorcerers to scribe scrolls and to learn spells from scrolls, so presumably this would be the method of choice for transferring spells between casters. All arcane writing comprises similar kinds of formulas, even if each caster or school has a different notation. Wizards use those formulas to prepare spells. Sorcerers focus on understanding and memorizing the patterns described by those formulas. Bards translate those abstract patterns into music. Each class has a different flavor, but the mechanic is consistent.
Divine Magic
Why would a divine caster ever have to search for a spell? They simply pray to a higher power for their spells. Presumably, they can ask for any spell they want. The deity (Dungeon Master) has the final say, but most reasonable requests are satisfied. Under this model, there is no pressing need for spell scrolls, except to serve as a repository of extra spells to cast in an emergency. The Dungeon Master’s Guide briefly mentions the idea that divine casters can create new spells which they can write down and share with others. It is never explained why this would be necessary. If a priest creates a new spell, and the deity provides that spell, then why cannot that deity provide it to any follower?
There is an easy solution to this seeming inconsistency. All spells have a pattern of magic that must be woven to bring the effect into being. Divine casters do not simply ask for a laundry list of spells by name. They have to request the specific patterns they wish to cast. Arcane writings use formulas to describe both the pattern and how those patterns are formed. Divine providence allows spellcasters to skip most of that, and divine magical writings focus solely on the structure of the spell itself. This interpretation has several advantages:
1) it explains why arcane and divine casters cannot read and make use of each others' writings;
2) it explains why divine spellcasting is easier than arcane spellcasting – wizards are always studying massive tomes while clerics are busy serving their faith;
3) it explains how a divine spell can be rare, or limited to a specific domain or religious order.
Spell Rarity
How does a spellcaster find a spell? Spellcasters in the same party will share spells. Characters stumble on magical writings during their adventures. New characters will start with a pre-selection of spells. Sooner or later, however, a player is going to want to find a specific spell at a specific time. The spellcaster will have to go to a community of intelligent creatures and locate somebody willing to part with knowledge of the desired spell.
Assume that if a character is searching for a spell in a particular location, they will have to make a Knowledge check to locate a copy of a particular spell. Knowledge(arcana) is used to find arcane spells, while Knowledge(religion) is used to find divine spells. The Gather Information and Knowledge(local) skills can provide synergy bonuses for the check. Passing a bardic knowledge check allows another +2 circumstance bonus. In effect, the character is using his knowledge of local wizards, libraries, temples, magic dealers and such to locate the desired spell. Each check requires one day of searching the local community. Players can take 10 but not 20 on this roll. Success of 10 or more means the spell is located within a few hours. Failure of 10 or more means that the searcher is convinced that the spell is unavailable locally (this may or may not be true, at the DM’s option). The DC for this check is:
Some spells have both arcane and divine versions. Use the level appropriate to the type of spell sought. For example, sympathy is an 8th-level arcane spell and a 9th-level divine spell. Also, some spells can be cast at different levels by different casters of the same type. Detect poison is an orison (0-level divine spell) for clerics and druids, but for rangers it is a 1st-level spell. Use the lowest level available for the type when determining the DC.
There are a number of factors that influence the rarity of the spell being sought, and these factors will adjust the DC of the search accordingly.
Spell School
Some spell schools are more popular than others. The popularity of a school influences the number of specialists and spells in that school. Spells from the less popular schools will be harder to find, and so the popularity of a school will make a difference when calculating the check DC.
Universal: Universal spells belong to no school. Only a handful of spells are so broadly useful that they fall into this category. Because of their utility, they are more commonly available than other spells. Universal spells do not modify the check DC.
Conjuration, Evocation, Transmutation: When young children dream of becoming powerful spellcasters, these spells are the ones they think about. Who has not heard stories of wizards casting balls of fire, transforming foes into toads, or summoning demons to serve? Spells in these schools tend to be flashy, and they have an obvious impact. After Universal spells, spells in these schools are the most common. Add +1 to the check DC.
Abjuration, Necromancy, Enchantment: Specialists and spells in these schools are slightly less common. Abjuration spells are very useful, but they are also relatively unexciting. Most Abjurers are relegated to fairly passive roles. Necromancy and Enchantment spells are powerful, and therefore attractive, but the schools have tarnished reputations. Necromancers dabble in death and negative energy, often with evil results. Enchanters specialize in dominating the will of others. Neither are trusted by the population at large. Add +2 to the check DC.
Divination, Illusion: Divination and Illusion spells are the least common. This is primarily due to efficacy. Divination spells are notoriously difficult, and frequently provide incomplete or misleading information. It can also be difficult to tell when such spells are being fooled by other magics. Illusions suffer from their inherent limitations. Many powerful opponents either have strong wills or are immune to their effects (e.g., dragons). Disbelief or interaction is often sufficient to ignore the spell. Finally, the fondness of gnomes for illusions keeps some of the more prejudiced human and elven wizards from specializing in such trickery. Add +3 to the check DC.
Spell Origin
Over the years, many, many campaign worlds have been created for use with Dungeons & Dragons. Not all spells are going to be common in every such setting. The concept of “spell origin” accounts for the rarity of spells in different campaign settings.
The Player’s Handbook is the default source for spells for almost any campaign. This is true even for campaigns based in the Legends of the Five Rings™ setting from Oriental Adventures or one of the fantasy worlds created by other D20 publishers. All spells in the Core Rulebooks are considered common and do not modify the DC.
Campaigns in published settings typically have spells provided in setting-specific sourcebooks. Such spells should have +2 added to the DC. For example, the spell Agannazar’s scorcher appears in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Adventurers in the Forgotten Realms would add +2 to the DC to locate that spell. If you are adventuring in Greyhawk or in a custom-built world, you should consider the spells in the various class guidebooks such as Tome and Blood to be campaign-specific.
Spells from sourcebooks not specific to the campaign setting should be given a +4 DC to the search check. Note that spells appearing in periodicals such as Dragon may or may not have a setting specified. DMs may also wish to add a DC modifier of +6 or higher if a spell is a conversion from a different system, e.g., a shugenja spell being cast by a cleric, or a spell from the D20 Call of Cthulu setting. It is also reasonable to mandate that such spells must be researched rather than found.
Named Spells
A named spell is a spell associated with a specific caster such as Mordenkainen’s sword or Leomund’s tiny hut. Spellcasters tend to be a bit arrogant, so most arcane spells carried their creator’s names at some point. Divine casters are more likely to add the name of their deity to a spell. Over time, such spells become so common that people drop the associated name. For example, invisibility used to be called Pockall’s invisibility in ancient times in the Forgotten Realms. Named spells are of more recent origin, and therefore less common. Add +2 to the DC.
Spell Class Availability
There are many different kinds of spellcasters. Many spells are exclusive to a class. Other spells can be cast by many different types of casters. The greater the number of casters who can cast a spell, the more common that spell will be. Spells that can be cast by a mix of arcane and divine casters receive no modifier to the DC. An arcane spell that can be cast as divine (or vice versa) by a prestige class or priestly domain counts if that class or domain is common to the locale being searched. For example, burning hands can be cast as a divine spell by clerics with the Fire domain. If the city being searched has a significant temple to Obad-hai (whose clerics can take the Fire domain), then burning hands counts as both a divine and an arcane spell.
Spells that can be cast by either divine or arcane casters, but not both, receive either a +1 or a +2 modifier. A spell that can be cast by multiple casters of that type receives the +1 DC modifier. The spell heal, for example, can be cast by both clerics and druids. A spell such as bane, castable only by one class, has a +2 DC modifier. Again, a prestige class or domain common to your area counts. Wall of thorns can be cast either by druids or by clerics with the Plant domain.
If a spell can only be cast by a prestige class or clerics of a specific domain, then it receives a special +4 modifier in addition to the modifiers specified above. The getaway spell introduced in Songs and Silence is available only to members of the Assassin prestige class, and would therefore be subject to the +4 DC modifier.
Circumstance Modifiers
Some modifiers are based upon the location where the search is taking place, rather than the characteristics of the spell being sought.
No spell is available in a community that has a GP Limit below the cost of a scroll of that spell (see Generating Towns in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). You need to be in at least a small town to have any chance of locating a scroll of confusion, which is a 4th-level spell and costs 700 gp. Use the minimum caster level of the spell when determining availability unless the player specifies he is searching for a scroll cast at a higher level. Subtract 1 from the DC for every two sizes of town beyond the minimum required. Looking for a confusion scroll in a metropolis would therefore confer a -2 DC to the search check.
Communities also have affinities or aversions for specific types of magic. Affinities or aversions are at the DM’s discretion. A modifier of -4 to +4 should be used, depending upon whether there is a weak, moderate, strong or overwhelming affinity or aversion to the spell. Affinities or aversions can be based upon alignment, element, class of caster, or anything the DM finds reasonable. For example, locating a spell with the evil qualifier in a homogenous community of lawful good dwarves would result in a +2 DC modifier, because the community has a moderate aversion to evil. Looking for a fire spell in the efreet City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire would result in a -3 DC modifier, because the community has a strong affinity for fire. Most tolerant human communities will have no more than a weak modifier. Most communities on the outer planes will have at least a strong modifier. Trying to find a scroll of chaos hammer in a formian hive would be worth a +4 DC modifier.
Guilds
Clerics and paladins are probably members of an established religious order. Wizards may belong to the local guild. Various prestige classes may also have their own professional organizations. Membership hath its privileges. If a spell is of particular pertinence to an organization, membership conveys a -5 DC modifier when searching for that spell. If the organization maintains extensive magical libraries and research facilities, the benefit increases to -10. Note that the organization has to have a presence in the town or city being searched for the modifier to apply.
The guild modifier applies only to spells the organization would have a logical reason to have on hand for its members. A Wayfarer’s Guild would likely have teleportation spells in their library. A religious order should have all of the domain spells for their deity, at least. In no case should an organization on the Prime Material Plane have regular access to spells with a spell origin modifier greater than +2.
The DM may also opt to apply this modifier to any community containing a powerful ally who is also a spellcaster of the same type (arcane or divine) as the player. The ally should be five or more levels higher than the character and must be predisposed to help the character. Good examples would be the character’s mentor during training, or the good-aligned royal wizard of a city the PCs single-handedly saved from some great evil.
Eureka!
Assuming the check succeeds, the DM can play through the search and acquisition in whatever way seems fitting. Locating the spell may result in an automatic acquisition. This is a convenient way of dealing with truly common, low-level spells such as magic missile or cure light wounds. The DM may instead make the roll at the beginning of the search and allow the players to role-play the effort. Characters may not find out the results of the role until they have completed the search. Once the spell is located, they will have to negotiate for it. This could result in haggling, or the trading of spells for quests and favors (“Certainly, I have a copy of crown of glory. However, I am in need of the eye of a beholder…”). Spells obtained with the help of a guild or mentor may be discounted or even free (this is common in the case of religious orders). If the spell is a “free” spell earned at level-up, the DM may allow a successful check to mean that the character has located enough information to be able to learn or duplicate the spell on his own.
Examples
Let’s say that a player wants to learn the spell weird. The base DC for that spell is 28 because it is a 9th-level spell. The spell is an Illusion spell, which adds 3 to the DC, for a total of 31. The spell may only be cast by sorcerers and wizards, and there are no local prestige classes or domain priests that can cast the spell. That results in a +2 modifier, for a total of 33. The character is in a metropolis of 50,000 people. A scroll of weird could be found in a small city, which is two sizes smaller than a metropolis, so a -1 modifier applies, making the total DC 32. There are no modifiers for spell source (Player’s Handbook), affinity or aversion. A wizard capable of preparing weird (17th-level, 19 intelligence) with a Knowledge(arcana) +20 should be capable of finding the spell with a minimum of effort. She could also take 10 on the check and be guaranteed of finding the spell.
Now let’s say that Pringald the freelance assassin is looking for the spell sniper’s eye in the city of Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms. Sniper’s eye is a 4th-level spell, so the base DC is 21. It is a Transmutation spell, which adds +1 the DC, making it 22. The spell comes from Songs and Silence, which is not specific to the Forgotten Realms setting (+4), so the DC is raised to 26. The spell is only usable by assassins, a prestige class. There is a +2 modifier for being single-class, and a +4 for being limited to a single prestige class, for a total of +6, making the DC 32. A city the size of Waterdeep modifies the DC of most 4th-level spells by -2, making the DC 30. The DM decides that Waterdeep is a city where almost anything can be bought or sold (either above-ground or in Skullport), so there is no aversion penalty for locating an Assassin spell. Pringald is a Rog5/Asn8, and he has the maximum possible Knowledge(arcana) +6. His intelligence of 14 provides a check modifier of +2, and he has Gather Information +7, which is good enough for a +2 synergy bonus. Unfortunately, he rolls a 5, which is bad enough compared to DC 30 that he is convinced the spell is unavailable. His contacts in the city have never even heard of the spell, and he departs for Westgate to continue his search. If Pringald had been willing to join the local assassin’s guild, he would have been much more likely to succeed.
Finally, Jacen, a 10th-level cleric of Boccob, has heard rumors of a divine spell called genesis, powerful enough to create a whole demiplane (genesis has appeared in Defenders of the Faith, Deities and Demigods, and The Epic Level Handbook). His superiors task him with acquiring a copy of the spell for the church libraries. Unfortunately for Jacen, his temple is located in a small town, so he treks to the mighty city of Greyhawk to try and locate the spell. Genesis is a 9th-level spell that can be cast by clerics with the Creation domain. Jacen will either have to track down a member of a prestige class or holy order that will admit to knowing the spell, or he will have to search through accounts of travelers who may have encountered the spell elsewhere, perhaps even on other planes of existence.
The base DC for finding the spell is 28. Add 1 for being a conjuration spell, for a DC of 29. Because the spell appears in Defenders of the Faith, the DM considers it setting-specific and assigns it a +2 modifier, making it DC 31. The same +6 modifier for class that applied to sniper’s eye will apply here, because genesis can only be cast by clerics of a specific domain. The search is now DC 37. Casting genesis costs 5,000 XP, so a scroll of the spell would cost as much as a wish scroll. Such a scroll would be unavailable in anything smaller than a large city, so being in a metropolis like Greyhawk does not reduce the DC. Even with Knowledge(religion) +13 and an unusually high (for a cleric) 18 intelligence, Jacen still has to roll a 20 to find the spell. If he can, then he will have to either pay full price or perform a significant service in order to pry it out of the hands of its owner.
Spell Level Multiplier
The easiest way to adjust for the prevalence of magic in a campaign is to adjust the spell level multiplier. The 1.5 given assumes a “normal” fantasy campaign. In a high magic campaign set in ancient Netheril from the Forgotten Realms, that multiplier could easily become 1.0 or less. A Dark Sun campaign, where arcane magic is forbidden and shunned, might set the modifier for arcane spells to 2.0 or even higher. In such campaigns, it is likely that affinity or aversion modifiers will be common.
Epic Level Campaigns
Campaigns making use of the Epic Level Handbook will get slightly different results using these rules. Magic is generally more common, and the gold piece limits of towns are much higher in Epic Level campaigns. The DCs for searching in large cities will therefore be lower. Also, the DM can consider any spell being sought in a planar metropolis to be campaign-specific. By definition, a planar metropolis such as Sigil or Union City is a crossroads for creatures from many different worlds, and the variety of magic available will be very high.
Tables:
DC 15 + (spell level x 1.5) + modifiers
Spell School DC Modifier
Universal +0
Conjuration, Evocation, Transmutation +1
Abjuration, Enchantment, Necromancy +2
Divination, Illusion +3
Class Availability DC Modifier
Arcane and Divine Spell +0
Multiple Arcane or Multiple Divine +1
One Class +2
Prestige Class or Domain Only +4 (Stacks)
Spell Source DC Modifier
Core Rulebook +0
Campaign-Specific +2
Other +4
Affinity/Aversion DC Modifier
Overwhelming Affinity -4
Strong Affinity -3
Moderate Affinity -2
Weak Affinity -1
No Affinity +0
Weak Aversion +1
Moderate Aversion +2
Strong Aversion +3
Overwhelming Aversion +4
Other Circumstance DC Modifier
Named Spell +2
Per 2 Sizes of Town Greater Than Minimum -1
Guild Modifier -5
Well-Equipped Guild Modifier -10
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That Magic Moment: Searching for and Finding Rare Spells
Magic spells provide a player character with amazing new abilities. Having the correct spell on hand can be the difference between victory and defeat. Like anything of value, spells should be coveted, hoarded and bartered by the denizens of your campaign world. Powerful or esoteric spells should be hard to come by. Tracking down an elusive spell can be one of the rewards of being a spellcaster. There is a sense of accomplishment that come with each new discovery.
Spell acquisition as presented in the Player’s Handbook is very simple. Every level, arcane casters are allowed to choose one or more spells from their spell list. The assumption is that they have been performing research in their spare time. Divine casters have it even easier. They simply pray for whatever spells they wish. It is up the DM to determine which spells are available.
Simplicity is good, but there are two potential problems with this system. The first is that it lacks dramatic flare. Gaining a fantastic new power is reduced to a few marks on a character sheet. The second is that there have been well over a thousand spells published in official Dungeons & Dragons books, and many more in works published under the D20 license. How can you determine which spells are common and which are not?
Arcane Magic
The Dungeon Master’s Guide suggests some alternate rules for spell acquisition by arcane casters. Wizards have to spend money and time, while bards and sorcerers must perform services for powerful beings in exchange for spells. Quite frankly, going to the trouble of contacting a powerful outsider does not seem worth the trouble. It would be easier to pay another spellcaster to teach you the spell! Having wizards spend time and money to find new spells is more “realistic,” but it really just amounts to another adjustment to the character sheet. The DM who adopts this variant may be penalizing the character for the sake of realism in an unrealistic setting.
The worst thing about the variant rules is that they provide two different methods for arcane casters to acquire spells. This adds needless complexity. The rules allow for bards and sorcerers to scribe scrolls and to learn spells from scrolls, so presumably this would be the method of choice for transferring spells between casters. All arcane writing comprises similar kinds of formulas, even if each caster or school has a different notation. Wizards use those formulas to prepare spells. Sorcerers focus on understanding and memorizing the patterns described by those formulas. Bards translate those abstract patterns into music. Each class has a different flavor, but the mechanic is consistent.
Divine Magic
Why would a divine caster ever have to search for a spell? They simply pray to a higher power for their spells. Presumably, they can ask for any spell they want. The deity (Dungeon Master) has the final say, but most reasonable requests are satisfied. Under this model, there is no pressing need for spell scrolls, except to serve as a repository of extra spells to cast in an emergency. The Dungeon Master’s Guide briefly mentions the idea that divine casters can create new spells which they can write down and share with others. It is never explained why this would be necessary. If a priest creates a new spell, and the deity provides that spell, then why cannot that deity provide it to any follower?
There is an easy solution to this seeming inconsistency. All spells have a pattern of magic that must be woven to bring the effect into being. Divine casters do not simply ask for a laundry list of spells by name. They have to request the specific patterns they wish to cast. Arcane writings use formulas to describe both the pattern and how those patterns are formed. Divine providence allows spellcasters to skip most of that, and divine magical writings focus solely on the structure of the spell itself. This interpretation has several advantages:
1) it explains why arcane and divine casters cannot read and make use of each others' writings;
2) it explains why divine spellcasting is easier than arcane spellcasting – wizards are always studying massive tomes while clerics are busy serving their faith;
3) it explains how a divine spell can be rare, or limited to a specific domain or religious order.
Spell Rarity
How does a spellcaster find a spell? Spellcasters in the same party will share spells. Characters stumble on magical writings during their adventures. New characters will start with a pre-selection of spells. Sooner or later, however, a player is going to want to find a specific spell at a specific time. The spellcaster will have to go to a community of intelligent creatures and locate somebody willing to part with knowledge of the desired spell.
Assume that if a character is searching for a spell in a particular location, they will have to make a Knowledge check to locate a copy of a particular spell. Knowledge(arcana) is used to find arcane spells, while Knowledge(religion) is used to find divine spells. The Gather Information and Knowledge(local) skills can provide synergy bonuses for the check. Passing a bardic knowledge check allows another +2 circumstance bonus. In effect, the character is using his knowledge of local wizards, libraries, temples, magic dealers and such to locate the desired spell. Each check requires one day of searching the local community. Players can take 10 but not 20 on this roll. Success of 10 or more means the spell is located within a few hours. Failure of 10 or more means that the searcher is convinced that the spell is unavailable locally (this may or may not be true, at the DM’s option). The DC for this check is:
DC 15 + (spell level x 1.5) + modifiers
Some spells have both arcane and divine versions. Use the level appropriate to the type of spell sought. For example, sympathy is an 8th-level arcane spell and a 9th-level divine spell. Also, some spells can be cast at different levels by different casters of the same type. Detect poison is an orison (0-level divine spell) for clerics and druids, but for rangers it is a 1st-level spell. Use the lowest level available for the type when determining the DC.
There are a number of factors that influence the rarity of the spell being sought, and these factors will adjust the DC of the search accordingly.
Spell School
Some spell schools are more popular than others. The popularity of a school influences the number of specialists and spells in that school. Spells from the less popular schools will be harder to find, and so the popularity of a school will make a difference when calculating the check DC.
Universal: Universal spells belong to no school. Only a handful of spells are so broadly useful that they fall into this category. Because of their utility, they are more commonly available than other spells. Universal spells do not modify the check DC.
Conjuration, Evocation, Transmutation: When young children dream of becoming powerful spellcasters, these spells are the ones they think about. Who has not heard stories of wizards casting balls of fire, transforming foes into toads, or summoning demons to serve? Spells in these schools tend to be flashy, and they have an obvious impact. After Universal spells, spells in these schools are the most common. Add +1 to the check DC.
Abjuration, Necromancy, Enchantment: Specialists and spells in these schools are slightly less common. Abjuration spells are very useful, but they are also relatively unexciting. Most Abjurers are relegated to fairly passive roles. Necromancy and Enchantment spells are powerful, and therefore attractive, but the schools have tarnished reputations. Necromancers dabble in death and negative energy, often with evil results. Enchanters specialize in dominating the will of others. Neither are trusted by the population at large. Add +2 to the check DC.
Divination, Illusion: Divination and Illusion spells are the least common. This is primarily due to efficacy. Divination spells are notoriously difficult, and frequently provide incomplete or misleading information. It can also be difficult to tell when such spells are being fooled by other magics. Illusions suffer from their inherent limitations. Many powerful opponents either have strong wills or are immune to their effects (e.g., dragons). Disbelief or interaction is often sufficient to ignore the spell. Finally, the fondness of gnomes for illusions keeps some of the more prejudiced human and elven wizards from specializing in such trickery. Add +3 to the check DC.
Spell Origin
Over the years, many, many campaign worlds have been created for use with Dungeons & Dragons. Not all spells are going to be common in every such setting. The concept of “spell origin” accounts for the rarity of spells in different campaign settings.
The Player’s Handbook is the default source for spells for almost any campaign. This is true even for campaigns based in the Legends of the Five Rings™ setting from Oriental Adventures or one of the fantasy worlds created by other D20 publishers. All spells in the Core Rulebooks are considered common and do not modify the DC.
Campaigns in published settings typically have spells provided in setting-specific sourcebooks. Such spells should have +2 added to the DC. For example, the spell Agannazar’s scorcher appears in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Adventurers in the Forgotten Realms would add +2 to the DC to locate that spell. If you are adventuring in Greyhawk or in a custom-built world, you should consider the spells in the various class guidebooks such as Tome and Blood to be campaign-specific.
Spells from sourcebooks not specific to the campaign setting should be given a +4 DC to the search check. Note that spells appearing in periodicals such as Dragon may or may not have a setting specified. DMs may also wish to add a DC modifier of +6 or higher if a spell is a conversion from a different system, e.g., a shugenja spell being cast by a cleric, or a spell from the D20 Call of Cthulu setting. It is also reasonable to mandate that such spells must be researched rather than found.
Named Spells
A named spell is a spell associated with a specific caster such as Mordenkainen’s sword or Leomund’s tiny hut. Spellcasters tend to be a bit arrogant, so most arcane spells carried their creator’s names at some point. Divine casters are more likely to add the name of their deity to a spell. Over time, such spells become so common that people drop the associated name. For example, invisibility used to be called Pockall’s invisibility in ancient times in the Forgotten Realms. Named spells are of more recent origin, and therefore less common. Add +2 to the DC.
Spell Class Availability
There are many different kinds of spellcasters. Many spells are exclusive to a class. Other spells can be cast by many different types of casters. The greater the number of casters who can cast a spell, the more common that spell will be. Spells that can be cast by a mix of arcane and divine casters receive no modifier to the DC. An arcane spell that can be cast as divine (or vice versa) by a prestige class or priestly domain counts if that class or domain is common to the locale being searched. For example, burning hands can be cast as a divine spell by clerics with the Fire domain. If the city being searched has a significant temple to Obad-hai (whose clerics can take the Fire domain), then burning hands counts as both a divine and an arcane spell.
Spells that can be cast by either divine or arcane casters, but not both, receive either a +1 or a +2 modifier. A spell that can be cast by multiple casters of that type receives the +1 DC modifier. The spell heal, for example, can be cast by both clerics and druids. A spell such as bane, castable only by one class, has a +2 DC modifier. Again, a prestige class or domain common to your area counts. Wall of thorns can be cast either by druids or by clerics with the Plant domain.
If a spell can only be cast by a prestige class or clerics of a specific domain, then it receives a special +4 modifier in addition to the modifiers specified above. The getaway spell introduced in Songs and Silence is available only to members of the Assassin prestige class, and would therefore be subject to the +4 DC modifier.
Circumstance Modifiers
Some modifiers are based upon the location where the search is taking place, rather than the characteristics of the spell being sought.
No spell is available in a community that has a GP Limit below the cost of a scroll of that spell (see Generating Towns in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). You need to be in at least a small town to have any chance of locating a scroll of confusion, which is a 4th-level spell and costs 700 gp. Use the minimum caster level of the spell when determining availability unless the player specifies he is searching for a scroll cast at a higher level. Subtract 1 from the DC for every two sizes of town beyond the minimum required. Looking for a confusion scroll in a metropolis would therefore confer a -2 DC to the search check.
Communities also have affinities or aversions for specific types of magic. Affinities or aversions are at the DM’s discretion. A modifier of -4 to +4 should be used, depending upon whether there is a weak, moderate, strong or overwhelming affinity or aversion to the spell. Affinities or aversions can be based upon alignment, element, class of caster, or anything the DM finds reasonable. For example, locating a spell with the evil qualifier in a homogenous community of lawful good dwarves would result in a +2 DC modifier, because the community has a moderate aversion to evil. Looking for a fire spell in the efreet City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire would result in a -3 DC modifier, because the community has a strong affinity for fire. Most tolerant human communities will have no more than a weak modifier. Most communities on the outer planes will have at least a strong modifier. Trying to find a scroll of chaos hammer in a formian hive would be worth a +4 DC modifier.
Guilds
Clerics and paladins are probably members of an established religious order. Wizards may belong to the local guild. Various prestige classes may also have their own professional organizations. Membership hath its privileges. If a spell is of particular pertinence to an organization, membership conveys a -5 DC modifier when searching for that spell. If the organization maintains extensive magical libraries and research facilities, the benefit increases to -10. Note that the organization has to have a presence in the town or city being searched for the modifier to apply.
The guild modifier applies only to spells the organization would have a logical reason to have on hand for its members. A Wayfarer’s Guild would likely have teleportation spells in their library. A religious order should have all of the domain spells for their deity, at least. In no case should an organization on the Prime Material Plane have regular access to spells with a spell origin modifier greater than +2.
The DM may also opt to apply this modifier to any community containing a powerful ally who is also a spellcaster of the same type (arcane or divine) as the player. The ally should be five or more levels higher than the character and must be predisposed to help the character. Good examples would be the character’s mentor during training, or the good-aligned royal wizard of a city the PCs single-handedly saved from some great evil.
Eureka!
Assuming the check succeeds, the DM can play through the search and acquisition in whatever way seems fitting. Locating the spell may result in an automatic acquisition. This is a convenient way of dealing with truly common, low-level spells such as magic missile or cure light wounds. The DM may instead make the roll at the beginning of the search and allow the players to role-play the effort. Characters may not find out the results of the role until they have completed the search. Once the spell is located, they will have to negotiate for it. This could result in haggling, or the trading of spells for quests and favors (“Certainly, I have a copy of crown of glory. However, I am in need of the eye of a beholder…”). Spells obtained with the help of a guild or mentor may be discounted or even free (this is common in the case of religious orders). If the spell is a “free” spell earned at level-up, the DM may allow a successful check to mean that the character has located enough information to be able to learn or duplicate the spell on his own.
Examples
Let’s say that a player wants to learn the spell weird. The base DC for that spell is 28 because it is a 9th-level spell. The spell is an Illusion spell, which adds 3 to the DC, for a total of 31. The spell may only be cast by sorcerers and wizards, and there are no local prestige classes or domain priests that can cast the spell. That results in a +2 modifier, for a total of 33. The character is in a metropolis of 50,000 people. A scroll of weird could be found in a small city, which is two sizes smaller than a metropolis, so a -1 modifier applies, making the total DC 32. There are no modifiers for spell source (Player’s Handbook), affinity or aversion. A wizard capable of preparing weird (17th-level, 19 intelligence) with a Knowledge(arcana) +20 should be capable of finding the spell with a minimum of effort. She could also take 10 on the check and be guaranteed of finding the spell.
Now let’s say that Pringald the freelance assassin is looking for the spell sniper’s eye in the city of Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms. Sniper’s eye is a 4th-level spell, so the base DC is 21. It is a Transmutation spell, which adds +1 the DC, making it 22. The spell comes from Songs and Silence, which is not specific to the Forgotten Realms setting (+4), so the DC is raised to 26. The spell is only usable by assassins, a prestige class. There is a +2 modifier for being single-class, and a +4 for being limited to a single prestige class, for a total of +6, making the DC 32. A city the size of Waterdeep modifies the DC of most 4th-level spells by -2, making the DC 30. The DM decides that Waterdeep is a city where almost anything can be bought or sold (either above-ground or in Skullport), so there is no aversion penalty for locating an Assassin spell. Pringald is a Rog5/Asn8, and he has the maximum possible Knowledge(arcana) +6. His intelligence of 14 provides a check modifier of +2, and he has Gather Information +7, which is good enough for a +2 synergy bonus. Unfortunately, he rolls a 5, which is bad enough compared to DC 30 that he is convinced the spell is unavailable. His contacts in the city have never even heard of the spell, and he departs for Westgate to continue his search. If Pringald had been willing to join the local assassin’s guild, he would have been much more likely to succeed.
Finally, Jacen, a 10th-level cleric of Boccob, has heard rumors of a divine spell called genesis, powerful enough to create a whole demiplane (genesis has appeared in Defenders of the Faith, Deities and Demigods, and The Epic Level Handbook). His superiors task him with acquiring a copy of the spell for the church libraries. Unfortunately for Jacen, his temple is located in a small town, so he treks to the mighty city of Greyhawk to try and locate the spell. Genesis is a 9th-level spell that can be cast by clerics with the Creation domain. Jacen will either have to track down a member of a prestige class or holy order that will admit to knowing the spell, or he will have to search through accounts of travelers who may have encountered the spell elsewhere, perhaps even on other planes of existence.
The base DC for finding the spell is 28. Add 1 for being a conjuration spell, for a DC of 29. Because the spell appears in Defenders of the Faith, the DM considers it setting-specific and assigns it a +2 modifier, making it DC 31. The same +6 modifier for class that applied to sniper’s eye will apply here, because genesis can only be cast by clerics of a specific domain. The search is now DC 37. Casting genesis costs 5,000 XP, so a scroll of the spell would cost as much as a wish scroll. Such a scroll would be unavailable in anything smaller than a large city, so being in a metropolis like Greyhawk does not reduce the DC. Even with Knowledge(religion) +13 and an unusually high (for a cleric) 18 intelligence, Jacen still has to roll a 20 to find the spell. If he can, then he will have to either pay full price or perform a significant service in order to pry it out of the hands of its owner.
Spell Level Multiplier
The easiest way to adjust for the prevalence of magic in a campaign is to adjust the spell level multiplier. The 1.5 given assumes a “normal” fantasy campaign. In a high magic campaign set in ancient Netheril from the Forgotten Realms, that multiplier could easily become 1.0 or less. A Dark Sun campaign, where arcane magic is forbidden and shunned, might set the modifier for arcane spells to 2.0 or even higher. In such campaigns, it is likely that affinity or aversion modifiers will be common.
Epic Level Campaigns
Campaigns making use of the Epic Level Handbook will get slightly different results using these rules. Magic is generally more common, and the gold piece limits of towns are much higher in Epic Level campaigns. The DCs for searching in large cities will therefore be lower. Also, the DM can consider any spell being sought in a planar metropolis to be campaign-specific. By definition, a planar metropolis such as Sigil or Union City is a crossroads for creatures from many different worlds, and the variety of magic available will be very high.
Tables:
DC 15 + (spell level x 1.5) + modifiers
Spell School DC Modifier
Universal +0
Conjuration, Evocation, Transmutation +1
Abjuration, Enchantment, Necromancy +2
Divination, Illusion +3
Class Availability DC Modifier
Arcane and Divine Spell +0
Multiple Arcane or Multiple Divine +1
One Class +2
Prestige Class or Domain Only +4 (Stacks)
Spell Source DC Modifier
Core Rulebook +0
Campaign-Specific +2
Other +4
Affinity/Aversion DC Modifier
Overwhelming Affinity -4
Strong Affinity -3
Moderate Affinity -2
Weak Affinity -1
No Affinity +0
Weak Aversion +1
Moderate Aversion +2
Strong Aversion +3
Overwhelming Aversion +4
Other Circumstance DC Modifier
Named Spell +2
Per 2 Sizes of Town Greater Than Minimum -1
Guild Modifier -5
Well-Equipped Guild Modifier -10
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) that i would have to be in favour of dropping. Otherwise, awesme idea!!
