jgsugden
Legend
Personally, if I were rebuilding spells, I'd organize them alphabetically - primarily because I'd eliminate the concept of spell level as we know it today. Instead, I'd have a spell have rules for what happens when you cast it at different levels from cantrip to 9th level.
For example, I's have a spell called Fire Blast. It would work as follows when cast at these levels:
Cantrip: Firebolt.
1st: Burning Orb: Attack roll: Deals 4d6 to a target and sets the target on fire (action to snuff, d6 per round til snuffed).
2nd: Scorching Ray
3rd: Fireball
4th: Immolation (yes, I lowered the level)
5th: Explosive Blast (like fireball, but 6d6 fire and 6d6 force in a 25 foot radius. Everything in the blast is pushed to the edge of the blast if they fail the save)
6th: Dual Fireballs, can overlap
7th: Delayed Blast Fireball (increase base to 15d6)
8th: Fiery Implosion (like Explosive Blast above, but 9d6 fire and 9d6 force in a 30 foot radius, then the targets are pulled to the epicenter and knocked prone if they fail the save).
9th: Meteor Swarm
There might also be another series called Illusory Trick:
Cantrip: Minor Illusion
1st: Silent Image
2nd: Phantasmal Force
3rd: Major Image
4th: Augmented Phantasmal Killer (As Phantsmal Force, but 4d10 damage instead of 1d6).
5th: Mislead
6th: Programmed Illusion
7th: Project image
8th: Illusory Dragon (genericized to allow for other creature types)
9th: Weird
This would give characters more thematics as they pick a series of spells rather than a single spell. Sorcerers might get 2 spells to start and an additional at levels 5, 11 and 17. A wizard might get two plus one per point of intelligence bonus, with an additional one at levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17.
For example, I's have a spell called Fire Blast. It would work as follows when cast at these levels:
Cantrip: Firebolt.
1st: Burning Orb: Attack roll: Deals 4d6 to a target and sets the target on fire (action to snuff, d6 per round til snuffed).
2nd: Scorching Ray
3rd: Fireball
4th: Immolation (yes, I lowered the level)
5th: Explosive Blast (like fireball, but 6d6 fire and 6d6 force in a 25 foot radius. Everything in the blast is pushed to the edge of the blast if they fail the save)
6th: Dual Fireballs, can overlap
7th: Delayed Blast Fireball (increase base to 15d6)
8th: Fiery Implosion (like Explosive Blast above, but 9d6 fire and 9d6 force in a 30 foot radius, then the targets are pulled to the epicenter and knocked prone if they fail the save).
9th: Meteor Swarm
There might also be another series called Illusory Trick:
Cantrip: Minor Illusion
1st: Silent Image
2nd: Phantasmal Force
3rd: Major Image
4th: Augmented Phantasmal Killer (As Phantsmal Force, but 4d10 damage instead of 1d6).
5th: Mislead
6th: Programmed Illusion
7th: Project image
8th: Illusory Dragon (genericized to allow for other creature types)
9th: Weird
This would give characters more thematics as they pick a series of spells rather than a single spell. Sorcerers might get 2 spells to start and an additional at levels 5, 11 and 17. A wizard might get two plus one per point of intelligence bonus, with an additional one at levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17.