Generate a Sample Spell Library

[Sigurd]

I have a wizard on excellent terms with an established minor ruling power. The power is rather high character heavy having been the retirement site of a previous set of adventurers.


What do people think it the best way (hopefully with software recommendations) to generate a list of the possible spells in the library?


I know that I could assign a rarity to each spell choice and roll availability on a case by case basis. I'd rather simply say here are 120 (or some other number) spells that represent the available spells.


Any suggestions of a spellbook generator that will do this. I'd like to be able to modify the tables for Pathfinder in short order, if possible.


Sigurd

 

[Dandu]

Look through Treantmonk's Guide to Playing a God, The Logic Ninja's Guide to Being Batman, and Solo's Sorcerer Guide and pick the best spells that they recommend.

 

[Sigurd]

I don't want the best spells. They generally take care of themselves.

I'd like a collection of the probable and possible. (In that order).

Wizards should be able to learn a spell as personal growth. A library shouldn't necessarily have the best. It has whats been collected.

I'd like a random selection to include the less obvious spells and some of the weird ones. Its probably bigger than a standard spellbook but less specialized. Or perhaps it has a couple of wizard's books that were lost or inherited from the region.


Sigurd

 

[Dandu]

I don't want the best spells. They generally take care of themselves.

I'd like a collection of the probable and possible. (In that order).

Wizards should be able to learn a spell as personal growth. A library shouldn't necessarily have the best. It has whats been collected.

As you wish, but it is logical to give priority to power.

 

[Sigurd]

I agree, especially for player characters. Not all spell collections will be put together by PCs though. Perhaps some will be for businesses, some might be for political gain, and some might be for star crossed lovers. The library will collect in part for research, in part simply to keep the spells out of unfriendly hands. It won't destroy a spell because it is suboptimal.

I want a chance to widen the selection of spells. The wizard is hugely short changed if they only get their 2 spells per level. Why play a character that can scribe and learn if there is nothing to learn.


Sigurd

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Here's a list of "likely wizard spells" to be found in a spellbook (and a generator) that someone put together some time ago.

Might be helpful, though the probablities in it are skewed toward adventuring PCs. (Note: It's actually based on ENWorld polls of old!)

 

[Thanael]

Themes/Paths/Traditions

http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...w-do-you-make-mage-magical-2.html#post4653113
http://www.enworld.org/forum/other-rpg-discussion/228162-d-d-spells-spell-paths-traditions.html

In the two threads above I linked to some Spell Path systems. I first encountered them in a 2E Dragon article by Wolfgang Baur & Steve Kurtz. Spell Paths are lists/sequences of spells for a theme. They help flavour a wizard and can also be a quick way to generate spell lists for NPCs if you know which theme(s) their magic should have. I.e you make a fire mage with minor trickster powers or he's a necromancer specialized in battling undead or a combat wizard with storm and frost spells etc. Green Ronin took this idea and reworked the Wizard in their Advanced Player's Manual into the Eldritch Weaver class. See the threads above for links.


Random spells

The 2E Complete Necromancer's Guide did have a table in the Appendix 1: Common Spells for Necromancers for rolling up random spells with different rarities for different spells. I think some 2E FR book or other probably had a similar list.

For 3E I'd simply use the Scroll tables from the SRD.

 

[FEADIN]

Found this:
d20 Spellbook Generator