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<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 9301574" data-attributes="member: 50987">In another thread, folks are discussing the different mechanics of different spellcasters.&nbsp; Specifically how the wizard's spellcasting ability is different from the sorcerer's, even though most of their spells are the same.&nbsp; And while that discussion is leaning more in the direction of &quot;innate magical ability&quot; vs. &quot;learned arcane secrets,&quot; it got me thinking about the mechanical differences between the spellcasting character classes--spontaneous vs. prepared, in this case.The sorcerer, for example, can spontaneously cast their spells from a short, curated list.&nbsp; They learn spells more slowly, and the types of spells a sorcerer learns are just as important to the character's &quot;build&quot; as their other class features.&nbsp; The wizard has a larger spell list, but it's also carefully curated and requires a bit of forethought: the wizard needs to anticipate what spells might be needed and then prepare them for the day.&nbsp; Clerics and druids have no such restriction on their spell libraries--they can pray for any spells available to their class--but like the wizard, they need to plan ahead and guess which spells they might need to prepare.&nbsp; Warlocks only have two spell slots, and they're all of the same level, and a very small list of spells to choose them from, but they recharge after a short rest.It's confusing, right?&nbsp; Far more confusing than it needs to be, anyway, especially for new DMs.Being able to cast spells in different ways is really important to some people, because it helps define the character class...sets it apart from the rest.&nbsp; What's the point in having 8 different classes if the only difference is their spell list?&nbsp; You'd be better off just having one spellcasting class called &quot;Mage&quot; or whatever, right?&nbsp; Well, that's kind of my point, except replace the words &quot;spell list&quot; with &quot;spellcasting mechanic.&quot;&nbsp; Whether your character learned magical ability from a book, begged it from their deity, or inherited it from grandpa--whether you cast it from memory or from your bloodstream, from a long spell list or from a short one--at the end of the day you're still casting Fireball.Anyway, I thought I'd start a different thread about it instead of trying to derail the other thread.&nbsp; What are your thoughts on this topic?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 9301574, member: 50987"] In another thread, folks are discussing the different mechanics of different spellcasters. Specifically how the wizard's spellcasting ability is different from the sorcerer's, even though most of their spells are the same. And while that discussion is leaning more in the direction of "innate magical ability" vs. "learned arcane secrets," it got me thinking about the [I]mechanical [/I]differences between the spellcasting character classes--spontaneous vs. prepared, in this case. The sorcerer, for example, can spontaneously cast their spells from a short, curated list. They learn spells more slowly, and the types of spells a sorcerer learns are just as important to the character's "build" as their other class features. The wizard has a larger spell list, but it's also carefully curated and requires a bit of forethought: the wizard needs to anticipate what spells might be needed and then [I]prepare [/I]them for the day. Clerics and druids have no such restriction on their spell libraries--they can pray for any spells available to their class--but like the wizard, they need to plan ahead and guess which spells they might need to prepare. Warlocks only have two spell slots, and they're all of the same level, and a very small list of spells to choose them from, but they recharge after a short rest. It's confusing, right? Far more confusing than it needs to be, anyway, especially for new DMs. Being able to cast spells in different ways is really important to some people, because it helps define the character class...sets it apart from the rest. What's the point in having 8 different classes if the only difference is their [U]spell list[/U]? You'd be better off just having one spellcasting class called "Mage" or whatever, right? Well, that's kind of my point, except replace the words "spell list" with "spellcasting mechanic." Whether your character learned magical ability from a book, begged it from their deity, or inherited it from grandpa--whether you cast it from memory or from your bloodstream, from a long spell list or from a short one--at the end of the day you're still casting Fireball. Anyway, I thought I'd start a different thread about it instead of trying to derail the other thread. What are your thoughts on this topic? [/QUOTE]

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