New answers about spellbooks in the FAQ

[kerbarian]

Player's Handbook FAQ

How does retraining and multiclassing work with the spellbook?

If you retrain a daily or utility power you only replace one of your two choices for that level. If you replace the power with a power from a different class through multiclassing you replace both spell choices with the new power.​

Can a 5th level wizard memorize two 5th level daily spells instead of a 1st and a 5th level daily spell?

At the end of each long rest, a wizard prepares one 1st-level Daily spell chosen from the list of 1st level daily spells in her spellbook. If she were at least 2nd level, she would also prepare one 2nd-level utility spell chosen from the list of 2nd-level utility spells in her spellbook. At 5th level she would also prepare one 5th-level daily spell from her list of 5th-level daily spells in her spellbook. She would repeat this process for every level that she has access to wizard daily or utility spells. She could not, as a 5th-level wizard, prepare a second 5th-level daily spell in place of a daily spell of a different level.​

They still don't explicitly address what happens when you replace a daily power due to leveling, though...

 

[Xect]

They still don't explicitly address what happens when you replace a daily power due to leveling, though...

That's pretty much comparable to replacing due to multiclassing, so I guess it's the same thing (replace both powers)

 

[mach1.9pants]

Yeah when you get a new spell level add 2 (or 3 with the extended spellbook feat) of the new level. Delete the replaced level spells. If you want you can replace the spells with any spell of a lower level.

For my campaign the spells won't disappear from the book but you will still only have the mental capacity to choose from the ones that should still be in your book.

 

[Xect]

For my campaign the spells won't disappear from the book but you will still only have the mental capacity to choose from the ones that should still be in your book.

Huh? What's the point then?

 

[mach1.9pants]

Huh? What's the point then?

Just don't like the idea of spells just disappearing from the book. If they are still in there but you can't use them, it seems a little bit more realistic.

 

[Prophet2b]

Just don't like the idea of spells just disappearing from the book. If they are still in there but you can't use them, it seems a little bit more realistic.

Actually, I think that's less realistic (not that disappearing spells are great, either). Seriously, a Level 29 wizard who has a full grasp of the arcane arts and can cast Meteor Swarm can't "read" or use Burning Hands anymore, even though he still has it in a spellbook?

That's just stupid.

 

[Kesh]

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this FAQ and not getting it.

 

[Prophet2b]

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this FAQ and not getting it.

I think I've got it by this point.

Say you are a 5th level wizard.

1st Level Daily Spells: Acid Arrow / Flaming Sphere
5th Level Daily Spells: Bigby's Icy Grasp / Fireball

When you prepare your daily spells for the day, you can't choose two spells from the same level - you can't prepare both Bigby's and Fireball, but instead have to prepare from different levels. So Acid and Bigby's would work, or Flaming and Bigby's, or Acid and Fireball, and so on.

It works the same way with Utility spells.

You "purchase" spells as a package, not as individual spells, essentially. And you can only prepare one spell from each package.

 

[baberg]

Ok, here goes my shot at it:

In my spellbook (assuming I have the feat and am currently level 9):
Level 1 spells: 1a/1b/1c
Level 5 spells: 5a/5b/5c
Level 9 spells: 9a/9b/9c

- I can prepare any set of spells provided I choose one from each level
(1a, 5a, 9a), (1b, 5a, 9a), (1c, 5b, 9c), etc.

- I cannot prepare the following sets of spells because they duplicate levels
(1a,5a,5b), (9a,9b,9c), (1a, 1b, 1c)

- I am level 10 and want to retrain because I don't use the spell 9a at all.
The pages devoted to 9a are erased and replaced by 9d, so my spellbook is now
1a/1b/1c 5a/5b/5c 9d/9b/9c

- I am level 14 and want to replace my level 9 Daily spells with a Multiclass Ranger power
9a/9b/9c are erased from my spellbook. I can no longer prepare any level 9 spells, so I must prepare (Ranger, 1a, 5a) or (Ranger, 1b, 5a), etc.

- I am level 15 and want to replace my level 5 spells with new level 15 spells
The pages devoted to 5a/5b/5c are erased and replaced by 15a/15b/15c (though in terms of physical "pages" of the spellbook the three 15-level spells take up 45 pages instead of 15 for 5a/5b/5c). I can now prepare (Ranger, 1a, 15b) or (Ranger, 1b, 15c), etc.

 

[NMcCoy]

This is all correct. However, I'd like to mention an addendum as provided by an official clarification seen elsewhere.

- I am level 15 and want to replace my level 5 spells with new level 15 spells, but really like spell 5a.
I relearn spell 5a as one of my 15th level spells.
The pages devoted to 5a/5b/5c are erased and replaced by 5a/15a/15b.