D&D 5E Wizard Loot?

[leonardoraele]

Wizard loots typically include:
• books with spells they can copy into their spellbook, or a whole spellbook full of spells to copy
• spell scrolls and potions (not only healing, but with different effects)
• spell components (take a look at this list of spell components; this is in my gdrive for a long time, I don't know the authorship)
• special ink wizards can use to copy their spells (like "you found 10 gp worth of inks")
• books with homebrew spells not contained in the Player's Handbook (or spells from supplements you have initially denied)

I also added books in my campaign containing minor improvements for spells, so they need to study to improve the spells. For example:

Book of Crown of Madness
You can copy the crown of madness spell to your spell book. If you know the crown of madness spell, you can invest one day of downtime studying this book. Doing so costs you 10 gp per level of the spell (20 gp) on components to practice. At the end of the day, make a Intelligence (Arcana) check. The DC of this check equals to 8 + twice the spell's level (12). On a successful check, you gain the following benefit:
• You can make the creature move up to 10 feet toward a creature you choose before taking any action.

 

[venkelos2016]

Compared to other lootables, I just don't see books, certainly IGS spellbooks, sitting around, compared to some decent armor, a good weapon, or whatever; lots of people keep "nice shinies" but most average creatures wouldn't likely preserve a book in a fashion where it would be usable; certainly not one they can't read. I more imagine Gargoyle's Hakon tearing pages out, and burning them, or using them as a Sears-Roebuck catalog, prior to the glossy pages era. Like I said, I suppose they can now as easily pick up a new weapon as anyone else, and until 5th level, even if the wizard isn't proficient, the "penalty" isn't ungodly. It's just, when I've played other games, scrolls were more common, and wizards added them to books. Knoew LOTS of spells, and it was the spells/day slots that limited their use. In my worlds, shops of scrolls and potions were a thing (most other magic items were a "shop" run by the Crown, but scrolls, and potions, both of which were easy to make, and consisting of lower level spells, were acquirable from locals. This was good, as clerics were often sparse in those games), and wizards had a reasonable opportunity to find them, buy them, or maybe join a guild, and get them as a perk; they had more opportunities than "you leveled up! Add two spells of a level you can cast to your spellbook. This was the wizard's power, compared to the sorcerer; that dragon-blooded heathen could cast on the fly, and more often, but if he didn't have a spell for the occasion, he was boned. The wizard could learn it, though. If you aren't fighting a wizard, though, finding a book, or scrolls, just seems unlikely, maybe even forced. I don't want to sound like I'm just whining, mind. I'm more still trying to wrap my head around the changes. With the rarity of trivial magic items now being higher, and with my mind not seeing too many "paper medium" lootables in average dungeons, warrens, crypts, and other "not wizard tower" locales, compared to weapons, armor, and mcguffins, I just wasn't seeing what the wizard hoped to get out of the same encounters, other than XP. Spell components are fine, but it depends, for me, on how picky the GM is. If your game assumes "you know Fireball. In some pouch, you have enough bits of bat guano to cast it consistently", rather than micro-managing every holly sprig, or what have you, "average" spell components don't seem to necessary to dig up. Specific spells, with particularly expensive, or rare components, certainly, but the regular ones were more "if you weren't stripped of everything, and thrown in the dungeon, you have the stuff to cast your spells." Certainly, once the fighter has her desired armor, and a good example of her weapon of choice, she's not much better off than the wizard, when they kill a warren of kobolds, and find a stockpile of their scuzzy gear, scraps of food, and little else, but my take on the 5E variant, magic exists, but there is less of it in the world, or it's from an older age, meshes well with my idea that, comparatively, there are less magic-using enemies in the encounters than weapon-swinging toughs, meaning they leave less "wizard calls dibs" loot. Sword-swinging adventurers are, comparatively, a dime a dozen, and if they fall, someone takes their weapons, but if the wizard falls, and didn't have a nice wand, staff, or whatnot, whatever killed him might not care what he had, and if the enemy isn't a caster, holding the book, and a staff, wearing ermine robes, and stroking his beard, as he smites you with lightning, his sort of gear just seems less likely to appear, and the "random" nature of loot might help, but it will still feel forced, at least in my head.

At this point, I think I'm babbling, possibly just whining, and have probably said half of this two or more times, so I'll take a pause, and see what others have to say.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

A friend of mine has been giving out spells from Frog God Games' The Book of Lost Spells as treasure items in his campaign.

If you want to really make a wizard happy, give him a brand new spell that's not in the books. You might hand out a fireball that does +1 damage, swap elements on a spell or reflavor something (from his spellbook or even some other classes).

 

[leonardoraele]

For homebrew spells, if the player likes necromancy, I recommend The Necromancer Spellbook (5e), a supplement written by a friend of mine.

 

[aco175]

I always like to add another quality to an existing item. Armor that you can sleep in or that teleports onto your body as a bonus action. Weapons that let you cast light or another spell once per day or rest. A thief that had a dagger that returns when thrown is cooler than before when he carried 6 daggers and needed to keep track of them. For a wizard I would think along the lines of Bracers of Protection with something like being able to push similar to ring of the ram or teleport 60 ft.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Compared to other lootables, I just don't see books, certainly IGS spellbooks, sitting around, compared to some decent armor, a good weapon, or whatever; lots of people keep "nice shinies" but most average creatures wouldn't likely preserve a book in a fashion where it would be usable; certainly not one they can't read. I more imagine Gargoyle's Hakon tearing pages out, and burning them, or using them as a Sears-Roebuck catalog, prior to the glossy pages era. It's just when I've played other games, scrolls were more common and wizards added them to books.

And from the torn, burnt and badly worn pages of a discarded spellbook, and his own knowledge, the wizard pieces together a new spell. That makes more sense to me than finding a scroll with a whole spell on it.

 

[jrowland]

I like scrolls/spellbooks for wizards as loot.

As pointed out, scribing a scroll is not cost-efficient, but that's really for the "must have spells". Scrolls of Knock, Banishment, Magic Circle, Teleport, etc. are fantastic as treasure (ie the one off spells). The wizard gets to copy it to their spellbook (yay! more spells!) or they get a one-off item they don't need to "waste" a prepared slot for.

Also as mentioned, it's a great way to introduce oddball spells (PotA has a few) from other sources.

I like to introduce "workbooks": 1-3 spells, maybe a magical formula (for creating a magic item), and a bit of lore all tied to some theme. The spells could be regular, but I like to try and include a very specific RP type spell as well (Ringo's Yellow Submarine: This spell is an enchantment that causes the target to think it can actually sing and begins doing so for the duration. Singing does not hinder the target from moving or taking actions.) - you know, something you'd never wantt o choose as a wizard, but fun an interesting as to the more "mundane" uses of spellcraft in the game world.

And while probably controversial: Using a spell scroll might be considered "use an object" rather than "spellcasting", so if your DM allows, it is a way to get around the 1 bonus action spell, 1 action cantrip restriction. i.e. use the scroll (non-cantrip) and cast a spell (non-cantrip) as long as you don't violate the action economy (ie 1 bonus action, 1 action). I'll let the RAW/RAI/RAF warriors sort that one out. FWIW, I don't think it's a big deal, as scrolls need a bit more oomph...

Speaking of which: Scroll of Shield Spell...a reaction to use...weird.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Are cantrip scrolls even a thing? I am uncertain if the limit on cantrips from a class progression is hard-set, or just "these are how many you are guaranteed to get, regardless on whether you find more." I didn't know if you could "set" an assortment of cantrips to be your usable ones, till you reconfigure your prepared spells, regardless of how many cantrips you know, if you can learn more, if you are lucky, or if they are just the handful you will ever get, because of their new flexibility/utility. I know Sorcerers have a max known spells aspect, so I assume cantrips are the same, and there are even two feats that give you some more, but I figured I'd ask if they are set in stone, or if you can acquire more? Maybe additional ones would become lvl 1 spells, or something?

By the rules, you only learn new cantrips as defined in that chart for your class. A wizard is set only ever knowing 5 cantrips. Cantrip scrolls exist (and are fairly common as random treasure) but you can't learn the spell from them. It's mostly just to let you cast a cantrip you don't know.

I personally have a really hard conceptual problem with the limit on cantrips. They didn't something better with it back in one of the early playtests, but I'm guessing a lot of people didn't seem to understand what they were doing and thought is was too complex, so they got rid of it. Here is my personal house rule for cantrips, since I think a wizard ought to be able to learn all of them.

"PREPARING CANTRIPS
A spellcaster who prepares spells may prepare and cast cantrips that they have access to in the same manner. Casting a prepared cantrip does not expend a spell slot.
To prepare a cantrip, the character must have access to it. If their class normally allows them to prepare any spells of a known level from their class spell list, they have access to all of the cantrips from their class spell list. Wizards gain access to cantrips by adding them to their spellbook in the same manner as they add spells of 1st level and higher. The gold and time they must spend to copy a cantrip into their spellbook is half that of a 1st-level spell.

REPLACING CANTRIPS
A spellcaster who casts spells without preparing them can choose to replace a known cantrip with another cantrip from their class spell list when they gain a level in that class, instead of replacing a spell of 1st level or higher with another spell of 1st level or higher."

And while probably controversial: Using a spell scroll might be considered "use an object" rather than "spellcasting", so if your DM allows, it is a way to get around the 1 bonus action spell, 1 action cantrip restriction. i.e. use the scroll (non-cantrip) and cast a spell (non-cantrip) as long as you don't violate the action economy (ie 1 bonus action, 1 action). I'll let the RAW/RAI/RAF warriors sort that one out. FWIW, I don't think it's a big deal, as scrolls need a bit more oomph...

The description of the spell scroll magic item requires using an action, so nope by RAW.

 

[CapnZapp]

Indeed this is why magical arms and armor were so much more common than wands, staves, and similar items in the original game.

Only in 5e the fighter doesn't need arms and armor upgrades.

(Magic items aren't expected in adventure and monster design.)

Just sayin'...

 

[jrowland]

The description of the spell scroll magic item requires using an action, so nope by RAW.

And while I don't have DMG in front of me, I am pretty sure it says (for spell scrolls) you use the casting time of the spell. But, even if it is an action (sorry shield spell scroll) you *might* get two spells off (DM ruling, yadda yada):

Wizard casts spell with casting time of "Bonus Action" - ie regular spellcasting
Wizard uses "action" to read spell scroll.

It's a small thing and I don't want to derail this thread. The point being, spell scrolls have greater utility than what might be apparent at first blush (DM approaval notwithstanding).