So in your playstlye all the players are given all the mechanical game details of everything as soon as it is encountered? NPCs, foes, monsters, spells, and everything else. So the players know everything the DM knows. And only then, knowing everything, can you play the game?It's not (strictly) because I see it as player-facing. It's because I put such a strong emphasis on making informed choices. Making informed choices is the heart and soul of gameplay of any kind.
Why? This sounds like "throw me a bone and I will be happy". Why waste the time? Can the DM just say the spells are better? Is that enough?Cool. Would you be coy about saying anything at all other than--and this is very important--exclusively saying that other spells exist, without ANY details whatsoever? E.g., "Ah, comprehend languages. You've heard there's a Glantrian version and an Alphatian version, and also a related higher-level spell. But I won't tell you anything else about them at all. You have to learn that for yourself."
Because if you're willing to share even the minimal details you've just shared with me, then that's plenty. Heck, even adding the details about confuse languages and comprehendere linguam is unnecessary in my book--just knowing that there are two regional variants which each modify one part of the spell's mechanics is fully sufficient.
How does knowing one vague random bit about a spell make the game better?I am saying that if you mention to the players that there are alternate versions, and then simply refuse to tell the players anything at all about what makes them different from any other comprehend languages spell, unless and until they specifically travel to those lands and do an extensive multi-week study to learn the differences, I would be extremely annoyed and would consider that being kind of a dick about it. I don't need granular details--already said that upthread and in this post--but I'd expect to at least know, well, what you just posted above, that the Glantrian version is no longer self-only and the Alphatian version lasts longer. Don't even need to know how much longer. Could be two hours, could be 1d4 hours, could be 8 hours, could be all day--I can find that out later when I seek out the nitty-gritty. Just telling me that it has longer duration is enough to make a meaningful, informed decision, even if it isn't a diamond-perfect absolutely-the-best-possible-EVAR decision.
I just don't get how you are making the jump? 3,000 miles away from your PC, is a gnome town that has a Gnome Knocker illusion spell. Your PC is on an adventure in the Dark Woods fighting some werewolves. So,in your homebrew rules...when your character is fighting a werewolf can you say "gnomes have a spell called Gnome Knocker" and get like a +100 to hit?It really is quite frustrating how often people turn "I want to make informed decisions" into "OH SO I'M NEVER ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING, YOUR MAJESTY?" Perfection is not required, and immediately invoking it as a reason why one's opponent must be wrong is strawmanning. I just want the basics; more than the absolute bare bones "Yep, there's an X, it's a thing that exists" without having to necessarily be an exhaustive accounting of every possible factoid. Enough for me to at least make an educated guess.