D&D General Why are spells grouped into "levels"?

[Raith5]

I have seen many new players confused by this in 5e especially when the variable number of spell slots is included.

I wish that every spell could have effects depending on the level of the caster, so that you could learn Fire as spell and at first level you can cast burning hands and at 5th level you can cast fireball.

 

[Tonguez]

Personally, I don't think characters should be discussing spell levels (by whatever name) any more than they should be discussing hit dice or armor class. That's probably why I don't like terms like "circle" - it does sound like something one is trying to make into an in-game term. I'm mildly surprised by the apparent number of folks who think this is a reasonable thing for characters to discuss.

If forced to choose a different term, I think I like "tier" best of all the suggestions so far.

Wizards in D&D are scholars who study in Academies and record their known spells in a book or on scrolls which apparently other spellcasters know how to read.

While talking about their own class (“I’m 7th level with 5 Wizard levels, and two levels of Rogue”) may seem meta, I dont see why it would be unsual for a group of Wizards to gather and talk about the power/knowledge required for a particular spell.

Surely Arcane Academies have done an analysis to identify which spells attend to the Third Circle of Arcane Knowledge..

I was jokingly thinking to myself that maybe because Wizards rely on books they should refer to spell levels as Librum, so a Wizard could say something like “I have studied the Third Librum of Ilimitar”

 

[Horwath]

I just want reprint of 5E version of "spell compendium" with all spells having:

1. Short description in class spell lists like 3.5E

2. Long spell descriptions sorted:

level-0: sorted by school:
abjuration: sorted by alphabet
conjuration: sorted by alphabet
etc....

level-1:
sorted by school:
abjuration: sorted by alphabet
conjuration: sorted by alphabet
etc....

level-2:....

etc...

3. In long description: add what class can cast this spell!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Personally, I don't think characters should be discussing spell levels (by whatever name) any more than they should be discussing hit dice or armor class. That's probably why I don't like terms like "circle" - it does sound like something one is trying to make into an in-game term. I'm mildly surprised by the apparent number of folks who think this is a reasonable thing for characters to discuss.
If forced to choose a different term, I think I like "tier" best of all the suggestions so far.

Why wouldn’t characters discuss how magic works?

 

[Fenris-77]

Why wouldn’t characters discuss how magic works?

He means talking about spells, in character so to speak, using the term "3rd level spell". I agree with him, it sounds gamey and meta.

 

[Horwath]

We should probably do something similar for levels. Maybe if you're really good, you get a special title or something, like Lord, or High Priest, or something crazy.

Lvl1: Private
lvl2: Private 1st class
lvl3: Lance corporal
lvl4: Corporal
lvl5: Sergeant
lvl6: Staff Sergeant
lvl7: Gunnery Sergeant
lvl8: Master Sergeant
lvl9: Sergeant Major
lvl10: 2nd Lieutenant
lvl11: Lieutenant
lvl12: Captain
lvl13: Major
lvl14: Lt. Colonel
lvl15: Colonel
lvl16: Brigadier(1Star)
lvl17: Major General(2Star)
lvl18: Lt. General(3Star)
lvl19: General(4 Star)
lvl20: General of the Army(5 Star)

 

[Dioltach]

In The Rivers of London, a spell's complexity is referred to as its "order" (defined by the number of formae that it combines - as I recall, DCI Nightingale is described casting a 14th order spell somewhere).

For adventuring purposes, different spell levels would probably be described as "Bang!", "Big bang!", "Very big bang!", "Have some of this bang!", "Who wants some more bang?", "Enough bang for everyone!", etc.

 

[Harzel]

Why wouldn’t characters discuss how magic works?

They would. However, I take the division of spells into discrete, well-identified "levels" as a convenience for game purposes, not an exact description of how magic works in the characters' world.

Do characters in your world(s) discuss the toughness of monsters using the term "Armor Class"?

 

[cbwjm]

To each their own, but I figure any culture that has wizards has volumes of books on the codification of a spells by their level. Clerics and Druids might call them mysteries as in, "You have reach the 7th mystery of Mishakel, may she ever guide you."

Considering that every class would be aware of spells they are currently unable to cast and, as they go up in class levels, they can learn some of them but not others because they are harder, it seems to me that they would rank them.

 

[Charlaquin]

In The Rivers of London, a spell's complexity is referred to as its "order" (defined by the number of formae that it combines - as I recall, DCI Nightingale is described casting a 14th order spell somewhere).

I think Order is my favorite suggestion for numbered categories so far. I still prefer descriptive titles overall, but if you just want to swap out the word “level,” I think “order” is a good choice of what to swap it to.