D&D (2024) What other general common spell lists should there be?

[delericho]

It's been years since I had the Book of Nine Swords in my 3e D&D collection, so I have pretty much forgotten what that book was like. Do you think A5e's Combat Traditions are better than those in Bo9S? curious

I do, but I'd find it hard to articulate exactly why or how.

It's possibly because I got the sense that Bo9S was very much Wuxia inspired, while the A5e ones felt much more grounded. And while I have no objection to Wuxia influences in D&D, I felt Bo9S hit that niche just a little too hard.

Or maybe it was just that the Bo9S introduction annoyed me.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Are we sure that these "combined spell lists" are also for the actual classes? Because I got the sense that they were merely for the Magic Initiate feat. Maybe I'll be proven wrong... but I fully expect each class will still have their own spell list. And if that's the case... then making new combined spell lists isn't really necessary, because a Magic Initiate shouldn't be that far into the weeds about where they get their magical dabbling from.

I think they've said that classes get the generic spell lists, in addition to spells that the classes themselves add.

It's partially a future-proofing method too, in that they don't have to always think "but what about the Artificer" with new classes.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I'd like to see specialized spell lists for different caster types, with little to no overlap. So a fire elementalist can be distinguished from a transmuter or diviner based entirely on observing the spells they cast.

yeah I was just going to say a class list is cool but subclass list would be better

 

[Ath-kethin]

yeah I was just going to say a class list is cool but subclass list would be better

Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperboria hit this nail right on the head IMO.

The tricky part is variety, of course. Being able to identify a specialist by their spells is cool, but if all members of a given speciality only know the same 9 spells it gets old pretty fast. There has to be a good middle ground somewhere.

 

[HammerMan]

Are we sure that these "combined spell lists" are also for the actual classes? Because I got the sense that they were merely for the Magic Initiate feat. Maybe I'll be proven wrong... but I fully expect each class will still have their own spell list. And if that's the case... then making new combined spell lists isn't really necessary, because a Magic Initiate shouldn't be that far into the weeds about where they get their magical dabbling from.

I will be surprised if all arcane casters can’t take from the arcane list.

 

[Aldarc]

Psionic