Common, un-common & rare spells

[JustKim]

Dragon did have an article on the rarity and cost of spell components, that was in #81 and reprinted in Best of Dragon IV.

 

[Remathilis]

There was a list of spell components by rarity in Players Options: Spells and Magic.

(PO:S&M was the best of the PO books, but I digress).

 

[the Jester]

(PO:S&M was the best of the PO books, but I digress).

[hijack]I preferred Combat and Tactics. PO:S&M was great, but there were too many alternate systems to really use them all. It did have some great spells, though, many of which ended up in 3e.

[/hijack]

 

[VirgilCaine]

[hijack]It did have some great spells, though, many of which ended up in 3e.
[/hijack]

Really? Which ones?

 

[grodog]

For some additional discussion on the rarities of spells (with a slight focus on Greyhawk), see http://boards.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=497854

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

The Wizard's Spell Compendium broke spells down into Common, Rare, and so on.
I think this was a good idea. Not so much a good idea for the purposes of limiting the power of PCs, but as a story device.

For example, consider the following spells and how they might be ranked:

1st level:

Magic Missile (Common)
Regenerate (Rare)

2nd level:

Blur (Common)
Invisibility (Uncommon)
Gemidon's Paralytic Missile (Very Rare)

7th level:

Power Word Stun (Common)
Lifeproof (Rare)
Magic Manager - for non-Chronomancers (Very Rare)

This assumes that at each level of spell, initial research created weak spells, but as the research progressed the spells grew stronger and stronger at that level. Indeed, advanced research produced some real dousies.
But the intrepid adventurers cannot just trade with the local wizards (even when the local wizard demands an arm and a leg for common spells!) for Rare spells: Rare spells must be found, or some sort of special mentor must be found who knows them.
These produce motivation for wizards and bards, and adventure ideas.

For example, Edena (the character, not this SN) became a wizard. And he knew, from watching wizards for endless decades, that the truly 'Good Stuff' was out of reach for most wizards, and the 'Special' stuff was basically impossible to obtain.
So, he went to the Tomb of Horrors, confronted Acererak ... and asked to be his apprentice.
Edena got away with this because:

1. He was VERY lucky (the DM couldn't figure out how to kill him, with Acererak, after trying for an hour. Clerical spells from the old Tome of Magic come in handy ...)
2. Acererak was intrigued by anyone so audacious as to walk into his Tomb and make such requests.
3. Acererak was a non-demon, and neutral, in our campaign ... and his primary interest was in magic and magical research, and handing down what he knew to an apprentice. This is, indeed, what Edena had gambled on.

So, to obtain the Regenerates, Gemidon's Paralytic Missile, Lifeproof, Magic Manager, and other such Rare spells of the Planes, Edena took the ultimate risk (when a fellow can stare at you and turn your body into rot and fluid and evaporate it, then devour your soul in a twinkle, with no saving throw and NO magic resistance either, that's taking the ultimate risk.)

Sometimes it pays off. Sometimes it does not. But the relative rarity of spells makes for interesting play ... and powerful wizards after they succeed in finding the Rare spells.

Now, if Edena had only been so lucky when he squared off against Kargoth, Lord of Death Knights, he would have been spared endless, endless grief ...

 

[xnosipjpqmhd]

...broke all spells down into a list of common, un-common or rare??

My wizard PC buys every Booster Spellbook he can afford to try to get the 3 missing rares he needs for his collection. Well, eventually he'd like to get 2 copies of every scroll, one to keep mint and the other to carry around in a plastic 3-mil scroll protector.

ironregime

 

[DreadPirateMurphy]

FYI, here is a related article I posted to the house rules board.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=151693