D&D 5E Spell Rarities

[Reynard]

To paraphrase Brennan Lee Mulligan:

D&D's biggest narrative problem isn't that magic is rare. It's that magic comes from murder. It's a world where kids should go to Hogwarts not to study, but to get to class and then the teacher just says "Alright. Today we're going to be killing goblins. Everyone prepare yourselves and get out your wands!" and then they just -unleash- like 10-15 captive goblins into the classroom for the kids to Murder for XP.

This is a complete aside from the subject of the thread, but: I still want to run that campaign where XP is a real thing and everyone knows it and, yes, you absorb it from the ruined corpses of your enemies.

 

[Reynard]

So my question is the same for all those low/restrictive magic setting, what is appealing to play a wizard in such setting?

Nothing is less interesting to me that players deciding what their characters should be like based on game mechanics. I don't actually care if a few thematic tweaks I make to get the world right make a class or race less appealing. In a way I prefer it, because then if someone does play the wizard I know they chose to do it for reasons other than mechanical advantage.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

In my next campaign I am going to curate various PC options at the start of play to reflect a somewhat grounded fantasy world. The actual campaign is a sandbox in the wild full of wonder and magic and horror, so that stuff will be discoverable during play.

By far the biggest list of things to deal with is spells, so i thought I would crowd source a little, if you would be so inclined.

What PHB spells do you think would fall into different "rarity" categories (common, uncommon, rare, very rare, unique). Note that it isn't really about power level so much as what would be found in a functioning civil society. That is, fireball might be rare (in the hands of the military-arcano complex only) not because of its power, but because it would be controlled. Stone to Flesh might by very rare simply because it has been lost to time, while Raise Dead and similar spells might have been actively suppressed.

Note also that most of the reasoning is just background flavor. The characters will be exploring the Land Beyond the Wall and discovering ancient spellbooks and magics written on the walls of tombs, etc.

Thanks!

There are lots of proposals to limit spellcasting, and IMO this is one of the better ones. I don't like the "make a roll every level to see if you get that good spell, and if you fail you suck" that I saw in 2e.

A spell like fireball is very common, and not just because it's good. It's used by lots of wizards across numerous nations and cultures. It's the kind of spell that pretty much every 5th or 6th-level wizard has because even if they didn't buy a scroll they can research during downtime. In game terms (3e terms, specifically) this is one of the two "free" spells you get per level.

By contrast, a spell like Leomund's Secret Chest is kind of rare. This is the kind of spell you're delighted to find in scroll form, or from the corpse of a rival mage. I'm guessing the houserule is that spell cannot be "freely" researched and must be acquired somehow.

This might also tweak the use of a few spells or items. The Ring of Counterspelling would be more useful (it can only counter one spell, and limiting the variety of spells coming at you makes it more powerful) and would make Prismatic Wall/Sphere weaker (enemies would be more likely to have the spells required to take it down).

I'm using 3e as a base, because in 4e a lot of old spells did not reappear, and I have very little experience with 5e spellcasting.

I'm not picturing legal restrictions on purchasing fireball. Pretty much every evil wizard is going to have that spell anyway, so if the intention is to keep PCs away from the spell, it will fail. Beat one mage, take one spellbook, and now you've got that spell that the legal authorities don't like. Just don't cast it where it can catch civilians and the law won't even know you have that spell. (No wizard would ever let the law confiscate or examine their spellbook.)

 

[R_J_K75]

Ive always considered any spell in the PHB as common. How they get them is another story but I think if a player states a desire for a spell in the PHB its should be available but not necessarily "easy" to get, but within reach without going to too many lengths. After all it is the "Players Handbook". Any spell in any other book, source, etc is rare at the least. Any named spell is unique, to the extent that a few people may have it. If Im reading your OP correct if youre asking about spell casting PC maybe the old 4E model for players requesting magical items could be translated here? Perhaps asking any spell casting players for a short list of a few spells per level that their character may want as they advance in levels, then you can decide the rarity.

 

[R_J_K75]

Nothing is less interesting to me that players deciding what their characters should be like based on game mechanics.

But if I think the player is building a certain character based on a concept not related to mechanics then I think the DM owes it to that player to give them the option for them to achieve that goal. But Id never just hand it to them.

 

[Krachek]

The players aren't forced to play a wizard, are they?

And if the DM don’t want wizard in the party he could said it straight!

but otherwise, magic item in such a setting can be the solution to add some spice. Make all items have a price to pay, or a side effect, or some addiction. That way all players will be involved in weird and strange magic.

 

[ph0rk]

And if the DM don’t want wizard in the party he could said it straight!

The DM isn't saying that - they are saying magic is restricted in this world.

A player that then makes a wizard did so fully informed.

 

[Reynard]

And if the DM don’t want wizard in the party he could said it straight!

but otherwise, magic item in such a setting can be the solution to add some spice. Make all items have a price to pay, or a side effect, or some addiction. That way all players will be involved in weird and strange magic.

That's not at all what this is about. Magic in the broader setting has been safe, sanitized and controlled. It's "mundane" while still being magical -- like, say, the programs and websites most people interact with on their computers. But that doesn't mean the real magic isn't out there. it is. It is just hidden, forgotten or actively obscured -- just like certain ways of using your computer. Most wizards in that world are happy to use the legally, culturally and socially acceptable magic. But PCs aren't usually "most" wizards, are they?

 

[Krachek]

That's not at all what this is about. Magic in the broader setting has been safe, sanitized and controlled. It's "mundane" while still being magical -- like, say, the programs and websites most people interact with on their computers. But that doesn't mean the real magic isn't out there. it is. It is just hidden, forgotten or actively obscured -- just like certain ways of using your computer. Most wizards in that world are happy to use the legally, culturally and socially acceptable magic. But PCs aren't usually "most" wizards, are they?

Indeed, and Wizard PC is shield against world building by granting 2 new spells at each level.
it makes the Wizard “playable“ in any setting.

 

[Reynard]

Indeed, and Wizard PC is shield against world building by granting 2 new spells at each level.
it makes the Wizard “playable“ in any setting.

I don't like the idea the wizard can pick any 2 spells they want if they aren't in the "common" category. The most potent power the wizard has is their versatility, and I think they should work for it.