Common Arcane Spells

[GreyWanderer]

Gang:

Since the advent of 3.0/3.5, the concept of common vs uncommon arcane spells has pretty much fallen by the wayside (now that casters can pick any two spells when they go up a level).

But I'm making a homebrew class that gets limited spells - but casts from spellbooks, like a Wizard. I don't want to use the whole wizard/sorcerer list (for those he can take as he goes up in level), but what are the common or core spells? What spells would most commonly be found in another wizards spellbook (besides those he himself created)?

Grey

 

[the Jester]

This is the limited list I'm using in my low-magic campaign; perhaps it will help...

 

[Lodow MoBo]

I understand the Idea of a Low Magic world.

There are other ways to do this. If you limit what spells you let a pure caster take. You make all pure casters less unique.

If you cut down what feats a fighter can take then all fighter become more similar. Its like removing all the Int and dex prereq feats.

I often play wizards. For each wizard I play, I pick spells that I have not played before, this make each one unique.

If you wish to have a low magic world remove the pure caster classes. Then you only have those classes which start picking up spells at 4th lvl. Or the bard who is a weak caster anyway.

If you have pure casters let them pick from the whole list.

 

[Jack Simth]

Perhaps a more extreme version of a specialist; Learn three new spells a level ... but they all have to be from your specialist school, or the Universal "School"; otherwise, same as a specialist Wizard (including two forbidden schools and the ability to gain spells from found scrolls & spellbooks)

 

[Thanee]

I often look at PHB spells as common and all other as uncommon.

Bye
Thanee

 

[NimrodvanHall]

as a general rule in 2nd spells from the PHB and the core setting of the campeighn played were common, named spells from the PhB and all non named spells from 2ndairy sources of the setting, and books as complete wizzards were uncommen, named spells from secundairy sources were rare, as were all spells from Dragon, adventures and Obscure sources. spells in character descriptions, weer unique. Racial spells were rare except for thet race then they were common

for 3.5 i would use:
Common (60%)
non named from PhB
Non named spells from the core setting.
(non named spells from an envirimental book if used as main environment)

uncommon (30%)
named spells from the PhB
non named spells from the Complete series.

Rare (10%)
Named spells from the complete series
ANYthing else


Unique
Spells created by known PC's and NPC's
anything you dont want to see , but are usefull as plothook

as for THE most common spells:
(in my verry humble opinion
1 2 3
Magic missile see invis fire ball
mount mage armor invisibility fly
shield darkvision haste
sleep scorcing ray dispell magic
identify glitterdust hold person

4 5 6
Greater invisibility sending disintergrate
polymorph teleport Greater dispell
Dimentional door dominate person chain lightning
charm monster wall of force

7 8 9
Greater teleport Mindblank metheor swarm
Greater scry discern location shapechange
Prismatic spray moment of prescience teleportation circle

 

[Kerrick]

I agree with Nimrod, with a few additions. We have (literally) hundreds of named spells from powerful NPCs, which have been around for thousands of years, and range from common to rare. Also, some of the ones PCs have made are being distributed about (our bard, for example, follows in the footsteps of a legendary bard who freely gave out knowledge of her spells and works). Most non-named spells from the Environment books would probably be uncommon, with some rare, but I guess it would depend on the DM.

My friend and I are puttting together a little program to randomly generate spell lists/spellbooks; it might be interesting to add in rarity of the spells, so that some appear more often and some less.

 

[Pinotage]

I often look at PHB spells as common and all other as uncommon.

Bye
Thanee

Sound advice.

Pinotage