Hey, so I've wanted to ask this for a while, but there seem to be multiple cases of wizards actually creating spells, rather than adding pre-existing spells to their spellbook. Can anyone explain how this works, and can someone who isn't a wizard, like a sorcerer, also do this?
I'd allow a Wizard to reasearch spells but some DM's don't so as with all things player related, check with yoru DM to see what they would say.
For me, I allow it if the spells are thematically approprate to the character.
For instance, I've had an idea for a Bladsinger in mind for a while who wouldn't use many (if any) elemental damage spells, instead they would use their melee weapon, the level 1 Catapult spell and the level 2 Cloud of Daggers spell, they would carry around a quiver with a few javelins in it to use as ammunition for the catapult spell (they toss the javelin in hte air as part of the casting and then the spells shoots the javelin at a target) and In line with this I would then look to research Wizard versions of the Ranger spells Conjure Barrage and Conjure Volley to represent them creating more powerful versions of the Catapult spell. They would also look to do a similar thing with Cloud of Daggers, starting with the basic spell and then use that to research a more powerful version, in this case it would be the level 6 Cleric spell Blade Barrier.
If you went down a similar line of thought then you'd need to work with your DM to determine appropriate ability checks, costs and time required to do the researching side of things. When I DM I use the following: You need 3 succesful Arcana ability check to research it, the base DC equals 10+ the level of the spell and each additional check adds the level of the spell again (so to research a level 3 spells would require 3 arcana checks, DC13 for the first, DC16 for the second and DC19 for the last), Natural 20's don't add anything but natural 1's corrupt the spell in some way that may not be apparent until you cast the spell for the first time. Each ability check also requires 500gp of mateial components to represent the experiemntation process, these components could be special inks, paper in your spell book, herbs, incense and trial and error with the arcane formula.
EDIT: researching Wizard versions of spells from other spells lists would likely be the easiest way to come up with something a little unique, if you are looking at something very homebrew spell wise then try to keep it simple and no more powerful than other spells of its level, this can be quite hard so be prepared for yoru DM to nerf anything homebrew as yo go.
I personally follow the crafting rules for magical items and just relate it to spell crafting. So I would equate a 1st level spell to a Common item taking 1 work week and a minimum of 50 GP to craft, the cost increasing based on material components needed to cast the spell. 2nd to 3rd would equate to an uncommon item. 4 to 5 would be Rare, 6 to 7 would be very Rare and 8 to 9 would be Legendary.
Again this is my way of doing it as there is nothing listed.
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Hey, so I've wanted to ask this for a while, but there seem to be multiple cases of wizards actually creating spells, rather than adding pre-existing spells to their spellbook. Can anyone explain how this works, and can someone who isn't a wizard, like a sorcerer, also do this?
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There’s a section in the DMG that goes into some details about making new spells.
I'd allow a Wizard to reasearch spells but some DM's don't so as with all things player related, check with yoru DM to see what they would say.
For me, I allow it if the spells are thematically approprate to the character.
For instance, I've had an idea for a Bladsinger in mind for a while who wouldn't use many (if any) elemental damage spells, instead they would use their melee weapon, the level 1 Catapult spell and the level 2 Cloud of Daggers spell, they would carry around a quiver with a few javelins in it to use as ammunition for the catapult spell (they toss the javelin in hte air as part of the casting and then the spells shoots the javelin at a target) and In line with this I would then look to research Wizard versions of the Ranger spells Conjure Barrage and Conjure Volley to represent them creating more powerful versions of the Catapult spell. They would also look to do a similar thing with Cloud of Daggers, starting with the basic spell and then use that to research a more powerful version, in this case it would be the level 6 Cleric spell Blade Barrier.
If you went down a similar line of thought then you'd need to work with your DM to determine appropriate ability checks, costs and time required to do the researching side of things. When I DM I use the following: You need 3 succesful Arcana ability check to research it, the base DC equals 10+ the level of the spell and each additional check adds the level of the spell again (so to research a level 3 spells would require 3 arcana checks, DC13 for the first, DC16 for the second and DC19 for the last), Natural 20's don't add anything but natural 1's corrupt the spell in some way that may not be apparent until you cast the spell for the first time. Each ability check also requires 500gp of mateial components to represent the experiemntation process, these components could be special inks, paper in your spell book, herbs, incense and trial and error with the arcane formula.
EDIT: researching Wizard versions of spells from other spells lists would likely be the easiest way to come up with something a little unique, if you are looking at something very homebrew spell wise then try to keep it simple and no more powerful than other spells of its level, this can be quite hard so be prepared for yoru DM to nerf anything homebrew as yo go.
I personally follow the crafting rules for magical items and just relate it to spell crafting. So I would equate a 1st level spell to a Common item taking 1 work week and a minimum of 50 GP to craft, the cost increasing based on material components needed to cast the spell. 2nd to 3rd would equate to an uncommon item. 4 to 5 would be Rare, 6 to 7 would be very Rare and 8 to 9 would be Legendary.
Again this is my way of doing it as there is nothing listed.