This is a Multi Class Wizard Dip question...two wizard levels max, and full caster say cleric for this.... school doesn't matter but say Divination for discussion. Keeping that in mind, as this PC wizard would only get 3 or 4 prepared 1st level spells depending on Intelligence, again doesn't matter. Tasha's tomes and the wording of the Swapping Prepared Spell ability, for this I'll use atlas-of-endless-horizons as the example.
If you spend 1 minute studying the book, you can expend 1 charge to replace one of your prepared wizard spells with a different spell in the book. The new spell must be of the conjuration school. (again depending on the book school / spells could change)
So the question... what is stopping the X Full Caster (Cleric Druid Bard Sorcerer) / 2 wizard from swapping a prepared 1st level wizard spell for Teleportation Circle / Misty Step / Dim Door / Arcane Gate? As I read it this is totally legit, right? This is also TRUE if this spell book happens to have other spells in it of the school it is aligned with, in this example other conjuration spells. ... does this not turn this item or one of these tome's into a top tier magic item for a 2 level dip wizard?
This is a Multi Class Wizard Dip question...two wizard levels max, and full caster say cleric for this.... school doesn't matter but say Divination for discussion. Keeping that in mind, as this PC wizard would only get 3 or 4 prepared 1st level spells depending on Intelligence, again doesn't matter. Tasha's tomes and the wording of the Swapping Prepared Spell ability, for this I'll use atlas-of-endless-horizons as the example.
If you spend 1 minute studying the book, you can expend 1 charge to replace one of your prepared wizard spells with a different spell in the book. The new spell must be of the conjuration school. (again depending on the book school / spells could change)
So the question... what is stopping the X Full Caster (Cleric Druid Bard Sorcerer) / 2 wizard from swapping a prepared 1st level wizard spell for Teleportation Circle / Misty Step / Dim Door / Arcane Gate? As I read it this is totally legit, right? This is also TRUE if this spell book happens to have other spells in it of the school it is aligned with, in this example other conjuration spells. ... does this not turn this item or one of these tome's into a top tier magic item for a 2 level dip wizard?
You can't cast spells if you don't have the right spell slots to cast them. You can not prepare a ninth level spell and cast it with a low level spell slot.
Your not getting the it. You can cast any spell you have prepared / on your spell list from any level spell slot you have available to cast. (As long as your not a warlock) So if you are a full caster as your main class and dipped wizard. You will have spell slots of higher levels.
the restriction is from the wizard that says you can only prepare and scribe spells into a spell book that you have wizard leveled spell slots for. this book comes with spells already scribed. Than you use the books power that let’s you replace a legally prepared spell for something in the book.
basically you can replace a 1st level spell for a 6th level spell. And if you are a caster of a class that lets you cast 6th level spells .... cast it.
Your not getting the it. You can cast any spell you have prepared form any spell slot you have available to cast it from. (As long as your not a warlock) So if you are a full caster as your main class and dipped wizard. You will have spell slots of higher levels.
the restriction is from the wizard that says you can only prepare and scribe spells into a spell book that you have wizard leveled spell slots for. this book come with spells already scribed. Than you use the books power that let’s you swap a prepared spell for something in the book.
basically you can swap a 1st level spell for a 6th level spell. And if you are a caster of a class that lets you cast 6th level spells .... cast it.
As you mentioned, you can only prepare spells for which you are a high enough level in the class. When you use the spellbook in that way you're preparing the spell that's in the spellbook, so you must be a high enough level wizard to prepare it in the first place.
that's not how it reads or what it states. you have legally prepared a 1st level spell. than you replace that prepared spell with one in the book. you do not prepare a higher level spell you replace it. REPLACE is the key word here...
If you spend 1 minute studying the book, you can expend 1 charge to replace one of your prepared wizard spells with a different spell in the book. The new spell must be of the conjuration school. (again depending on the book school / spells could change)
Yes, you replace one prepared spell with another, which means you would have it prepared. Which you explicitly cannot do unless you are high enough level in the class.
hmm... i see that, but do not agree. per the wizard rules on preparing and casting spells... see below. there is nothing saying that you can't have a higher level spell prepared if you can find a way 'around the wizard's preparing limitation' which this item specifically does. in fact with the second sentence being totally separate, and assuming you can cast 'higher' level spell in your other full castor multiclass. this supports my assumption. The spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots. It does not say WIZARD spell slots. I agree you can not 'prepare' the spell, but you can replace a prepared spell with a spell you have have spell slots for, 1st for 6th or whatever. one can also only have so many 'prepared' wizard spells, give the 2 level dip this limits it to 3-4 depending on Int.
Preparing and Casting Spells
You prepare the list of wizard spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of wizard spells from your spellbook equal to your Intelligence modifier + your wizard level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
You're looking in the wrong spot. It's under the Multiclassing section in chapter 9 6 of the PHB.
Spells Known and Prepared. You determine what spells you know and can prepare for each class individually, as if you were a single-classed member of that class. If you are a ranger 4/wizard 3, for example, you know three 1st-level ranger spells based on your levels in the ranger class. As 3rd-level wizard, you know three wizard cantrips, and your spellbook contains ten wizard spells, two of which (the two you gained when you reached 3rd level as a wizard) can be 2nd-level spells. If your Intelligence is 16, you can prepare six wizard spells from your spellbook.
Each spell you know and prepare is associated with one of your classes, and you use the spellcasting ability of that class when you cast the spell. Similarly, a spellcasting focus, such as a holy symbol, can be used only for the spells from the class associated with that focus.
If a cantrip of yours increases in power at higher levels, the increase is based on your character level, not your level in a particular class.
Spell Slots. You determine your available spell slots by adding together all your levels in the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, and wizard classes, half your levels (rounded down) in the paladin and ranger classes, and a third of your fighter or rogue levels (rounded down) if you have the Eldritch Knight or the Arcane Trickster feature. Use this total to determine your spell slots by consulting the Multiclass Spellcaster table.
If you have more than one spellcasting class, this table might give you spell slots of a level that is higher than the spells you know or can prepare. You can use those slots, but only to cast your lower-level spells. If a lower-level spell that you cast, like burning hands, has an enhanced effect when cast using a higher-level slot, you can use the enhanced effect, even though you don't have any spells of that higher level.
For example, if you are the aforementioned ranger 4/wizard 3, you count as a 5th-level character when determining your spell slots: you have four 1st-level slots, three 2nd-level slots, and two 3rd-level slots. However, you don't know any 3rd-level spells, nor do you know any 2nd-level ranger spells. You can use the spell slots of those levels to cast the spells you do know — and potentially enhance their effects.
So, in your wizard dip example (let's say wizard 2/cleric 9 for the sake of discussion), you could only prepare 1st level wizard spells because you're only a level 2 wizard, but you're a level 9 cleric so you can prepare up to 5th level cleric spells. You are an 11th level caster overall though, so you will have 6th level spell slots which are really only for upcasting lower level spells, since you can't prepare 6th level spells until you are 11th level in a given class.
That rule from Multi-Class doesn't limit this in this case. This limits what you can 'prepare' and what you can 'scribe' into a spell book if you do not have one of these Magic Tome's. Without one of these tomes, yes I agree to exactly what your are saying. also when in doubt it pushes you back to the base classes requirements, rules for preparing and scribing.
my point is that these magical tomes have a way to circumvent the 'prepare' mechanic that is mentioned in multi-calls and wizard sections of the PHB. as argued above you never prepare these spells, they are REPLACED. there is nothing that says you can't have a higher level spell on your list if you can find a way to get it on your list and you have spells slots of appropriate level to cast it. so 5th level in your 9 cleric / 2 wizard example. these tome's give one the way to put a spell onto your list you could not normally accomplish.
i see this as a RAW and RAI alignment. RAW says you can (in my opinion) RAI may not intend for this, BUT and a big BUT. To have this happen one has to dip wizard, be full caster other class, and one has to find one of these magical tomes. those are very limiting requirements.
You can't have a spell prepared that you don't qualify for. There's no real way of getting around this, no circumventions. The new tomes don't let you do that either. If we follow your logic, in theory, a 9th level wizard could prepare a 6th spell. But that's patiently not possible - it goes against both the wording and spirit of the spellcasting feature.
The fundamental problem here is that you're trying to be a rules lawyer about exact wording, but D&D 5e isn't designed that way. Its deliberately not written in exacting legalize, but common language for casual reading.
When all is said and done, the only one who matters is your DM.
The tome is letting you change your prepared spells. The spell is still prepared. If it’s not prepared you cannot cast it. There is no rules lawyer wiggle room here. It’s explicitly doesn’t work.
Agreed with VictoryWeaver and basically everyone else. Just because it does not specifically state that the spell your replacing becomes a new prepared spell for you means you can ignore the rules for preparing spells for your Class.
The rules for Multiclass absolutely apply to this situation even if you're trying to use the lack of wording from the magic item to say they do not. You can not prepare a spell (and yes replacing a prepared spell with another is still preparing a spell) that is higher level than you would be allowed to prepare with your current level in any class.
don't agree. here is my logic in as simple terms as I can put it.
the 'magic' of these items allow this to happen. replace prepared spells, have prepared spells on your spells you couldn't have. if you are arguing, which it appears you are, that rules trump magic items. than you are also saying that a Belt of Giant Strength cannot push your strength above 20 because no stat can be above 20. this is not true, because the 'magic' of that item allows the strength score to exceed 20.
therefore the 'magic' of this item allows you to swap any prepared wizard spell for one in the book of that books school. If you have a PC that has spell slots to cast higher level spells you can then cast that spell.
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I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
Literally nothing in magic item description changes what spells you are able to prepare. All it does is let you change what spells are prepared in a minute instead of after a long rest at the cost of a charge. There is no rules lawyer loop hole here. You are inventing text and implications that are not present.
By your logic, the items effect would allow you to prepare a spell you do not even have the spell slots to cast. However, the rules of what spells you can prepare are not altered by the item, and as such you cannot.
Edit Re:Belt: A belt of giants strength does not need a separate sentence saying it can set your score to above 20, as that is part of setting it above 20 in the first place.
don't agree. here is my logic in as simple terms as I can put it.
the 'magic' of these items allow this to happen. replace prepared spells, have prepared spells on your spells you couldn't have. if you are arguing, which it appears you are, that rules trump magic items. than you are also saying that a Belt of Giant Strength cannot push your strength above 20 because no stat can be above 20. this is not true, because the 'magic' of that item allows the strength score to exceed 20.
therefore the 'magic' of this item allows you to swap any prepared wizard spell for one in the book of that books school. If you have a PC that has spell slots to cast higher level spells you can then cast that spell.
The actual Rule. Of which there are technically 2 of them. Is that a Score cannot go above 30. But a score cannot be raised by normal means such as stat rolls or ASI's higher than 20. Your falsely equating the second rule with the first rule to make your argument here. The Belt of Giant Strength works because first of all it's not going above 30. And second of all it's not a normal means such as a stat roll or an ASI of increasing your strength. The Closest to items that do what your trying to make the Belt of Giant Strength do are the stat Tomes which allows you to raise a stat by 2. Which by the way it is written is effectively giving you an ASI in a particular stat and that stat alone and then those those tomes also actually make a specific ruling that changes the rule that a stat cannot be raised over 20 by normal means. This is done in part to make them useful even to characters that have already reached that 20 natural limit in a stat if they come across one.
lets go to the base... if your a straight wizard you could replace any school spell in the book for any of your prepared spell, as long as you have spell slots of the new spells level. ie 1st for 6th, if you could cast 6th. this seems very black and white for this item. the limiting requirement here is the level of spells you can cast, not if you can prepare it. if you cannot cast a 9th level spell you cannot replace a 1st for a 9th. so assuming we agree than....
i still believe that the 'magic' of these tomes allows this specific thing to happen for any school specific spell in that tome, magic items allow odd and fantastic things. one could list any number of items that work this way. if you where a 2nd level wizard and got a staff of the magi you could you all of its abilities as well as a 20th wizard. in the case of these tomes a way to replace prepared spells for school specific spells as long as you have spell slots of the appropriate level to cast that new spell.
the rules for wizard prepared spells are simple, the spells must be of a level you have spell slots for, and you can only have a number equal to wizard level + int mod prepared. which brings me full circle back to the beginning. if you have a spell slot to cast a 6th level, and you can replace a prepared spell with the magic of this tome with a 6th level wizard spell, you should be able to cast it regardless of what level of wizard you are.
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I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
lets go to the base... if your a straight wizard you could replace any school spell in the book for any of your prepared spell, as long as you have spell slots of the new spells level. ie 1st for 6th, if you could cast 6th. this seems very black and white for this item. the limiting requirement here is the level of spells you can cast, not if you can prepare it. if you cannot cast a 9th level spell you cannot replace a 1st for a 9th. so assuming we agree than....
i still believe that the 'magic' of these tomes allows this specific thing to happen for any school specific spell in that tome, magic items allow odd and fantastic things. one could list any number of items that work this way. if you where a 2nd level wizard and got a staff of the magi you could you all of its abilities as well as a 20th wizard. in the case of these tomes a way to replace prepared spells for school specific spells as long as you have spell slots of the appropriate level to cast that new spell.
the rules for wizard prepared spells are simple, the spells must be of a level you have spell slots for, and you can only have a number equal to wizard level + int mod prepared. which brings me full circle back to the beginning. if you have a spell slot to cast a 6th level, and you can replace a prepared spell with the magic of this tome with a 6th level wizard spell, you should be able to cast it regardless of what level of wizard you are.
This is a good way to look at it. However. If you only have a couple levels of Wizard. You cannot actually cast 6th level wizard spells at all. And these are specifically talking about wizard spells. Even spells that are on multiple lists and somehow were on say wizard and cleric. It wouldn't matter if your cleric side can cast 6th level spells. the way you cast those spells is fundamentally different from the way the wizard spells are cast. The reverse is also true. If an Item gave a 6th level cleric spell but you only had a coupe levels of Cleric you wouldn't have the faith and understanding necessary to cast that Cleric spell even if it showed up on the wizard list as well and you had understanding how to do it as a wizard.
Staff of the Magi again however is different. You are not at all casting with the abilities of your character when you are casting from the Staff. Nor is the staff relying on your ability to understand how to do something magically by trying to impart spells above your capability. They are simply cast by the staff itself with it's own spell DC's and own level of casting. It doesn't care about you. Technically if you can get past it's requirement of being used by certain classes/types of characters (such as the Thief subclasses use Magic Device feature) the Staff of the Magi doesn't even care if you can actually cast spells or not in how it actually functions.
And that's where the Tomes are different. They require your ability to be able to understand and process the knowledge they would impart. Which is by your class level. And the energy to use them which is your spell slots. Having another caster class gives you the energy but does not in any way impart understanding that another spell caster class requires. Not even another arcane Caster as it were.
Here is A different Example to kind of show what I'm talking about. Say that you want to build a fire. You have the kindling starter, you have the wood. You have the rocks all arranged. This is effectively the equivalent of your spell slots by having the fuel to start it. But the issue is in how you light it. If all you got is sticks to rub together (Mage Levels in essence) but you only know how to light the fire with a flint stone (Cleric Levels respectively). You may have the fuel but you don't have the necessary understanding to actually make the fire. This is basically what the Tome is doing. It's telling you to start a fire which in essence on some levels you understand that you need the spark and you need to foster it to spread into flame. But your missing the necessary knowledge in the proper tools it's giving you to actually create that spark and there is no realistic chance for you actually to light the fire.
The Staff of the Magi in the example of lighting the Fire above however is the equivalent of pulling a lighter out of your pocket and lighting the fire that way. It doesn't require your knowledge or even your energy to produce the spark of flame to add to the kindling and grow into the full fire. It's taking nothing from you but the action of igniting the lighter. It's purely using it's own mechanics that you don't essentially have to understand and it's own fuel to work. Also keep in mind. That most magical items that provide spells, particularly ones with charges to function, are essentially the lighter in essence for whatever spell they happen to be producing.
the rules for wizard prepared spells are simple, the spells must be of a level you have spell slots for, and you can only have a number equal to wizard level + int mod prepared.
If you were talking about a single class wizard, this would be true. You are not doing that.
which brings me full circle back to the beginning. if you have a spell slot to cast a 6th level, and you can replace a prepared spell with the magic of this tome with a 6th level wizard spell, you should be able to cast it regardless of what level of wizard you are.
As pointed out multiple times, when you multiclass, you may only prepare spells for a class as if you are a single class caster. The magic items in question does not allow you to violate these rules. By your logic, a level 1 wizard could use one of these books to prepare a true polymorph spell. The book doesn't say you need to be able to cast the spell to swap it, so according to your logic, the "magic of the item" allows this to happen so long as the spell is in the book.
Staff of the magi has no bearing on this, it uses charges and has no interaction with spell slots. You do not know the spells and you do not prepare the spells.
PHB says "choose a number of wizard spells from your spellbook"... "The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots." The restriction that prevents you from preparing higher level spells is that normally it's impossible to [Edit: by default you don't] have higher level spells in your spellbook, because you determine what's put in your spellbook via leveling as if a single class. But the chronicle "functions as a spellbook for you", plus see my edits at the bottom for other notes. The PHB says nothing about levels when determining what you can prepare, only when determining how many you can prepare..
Even the multiclass rules follow the same line in its example: "your spellbook contains ten wizard spells, two of which ... can be 2nd-level spells. If your Intelligence is 16, you can prepare six wizard spells from your spellbook." Note it doesn't say you cannot prepare higher level spells, just that those spells wouldn't be in your spellbook. The later example at the end of the Spell Slots section also is focused on saying the restriction on preparing is based on not knowing the spells.
(There's a bit of a weird thing going on with the spellbook in the first place. You can copy a scroll into it if it's of a level you can prepare, and since you can prepare any level for which you have slots, maybe you *can* copy higher level wizard spells into your spellbook, so this really isn't an issue unique to finding a second spellbook like the Chronicles?)
I feel like those of y'all who are against this are forgetting literally the first rule to remember in Xanathar's
Exceptions Supersede General Rules
General rules govern each part of the game. For example, the combat rules tell you that melee weapon attacks use Strength and ranged weapon attacks use Dexterity. That’s a general rule, and a general rule is in effect as long as something in the game doesn’t explicitly say otherwise.
The game also includes elements — class features, spells, magic items, monster abilities, and the like — that sometimes contradict a general rule. When an exception and a general rule disagree, the exception wins. For example, if a feature says you can make melee weapon attacks using your Charisma, you can do so, even though that statement disagrees with the general rule.
Mutliclass rules don't matter, the only thing that matters in the text in the item description
Are you a wizard? Are you Attuned? If Yes to both feel free to replace a prepared spell with a spell that is in the book, for transmutation it would give you access to polymorph (wow, such a boon for a character whose party should be around Lvl 8-12).
This doesn't mean you get to cast it at will or anything just that if you have the spell slots like in the original post you can now prepare spells outside the normal ruleset.
This is nothing so game breaking as a level 1 wizard being able to cast a 9th level spell.
IMO this is at best a poorly worded itembut in the worst-case scenarios it gives a wizard dip access to some spells up to around 4th level (depends on the school) that they'd only be able to cast if they were an endgame half caster, or a multiclassing full caster (in either case who gives a shit because it just means they can cast a few spells on par with their character level and wouldn't give them access to anything else someone else in the party couldn't already possibly do)
TLDR: The item gives wizard dips some helpful options without breaking preparation wide open by limiting the spells in the book to the listed few (and since you can't inscribe spells that you can't prepare naturally, a low-level wizard would be unable to increase the variety of spells in the book enough to be anything beyond their natural class level)
This is a Multi Class Wizard Dip question...two wizard levels max, and full caster say cleric for this.... school doesn't matter but say Divination for discussion. Keeping that in mind, as this PC wizard would only get 3 or 4 prepared 1st level spells depending on Intelligence, again doesn't matter. Tasha's tomes and the wording of the Swapping Prepared Spell ability, for this I'll use atlas-of-endless-horizons as the example.
So the question... what is stopping the X Full Caster (Cleric Druid Bard Sorcerer) / 2 wizard from swapping a prepared 1st level wizard spell for Teleportation Circle / Misty Step / Dim Door / Arcane Gate? As I read it this is totally legit, right? This is also TRUE if this spell book happens to have other spells in it of the school it is aligned with, in this example other conjuration spells. ... does this not turn this item or one of these tome's into a top tier magic item for a 2 level dip wizard?
Think Life Cleric X / Wizard 2 ... with the fulminating-treatise - they are now a light, Light Cleric in heavy armor slinging Fireball... why cast flame-strike over wall-of-force
I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
You can't cast spells if you don't have the right spell slots to cast them. You can not prepare a ninth level spell and cast it with a low level spell slot.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Your not getting the it. You can cast any spell you have prepared / on your spell list from any level spell slot you have available to cast. (As long as your not a warlock) So if you are a full caster as your main class and dipped wizard. You will have spell slots of higher levels.
the restriction is from the wizard that says you can only prepare and scribe spells into a spell book that you have wizard leveled spell slots for. this book comes with spells already scribed. Than you use the books power that let’s you replace a legally prepared spell for something in the book.
basically you can replace a 1st level spell for a 6th level spell. And if you are a caster of a class that lets you cast 6th level spells .... cast it.
I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
As you mentioned, you can only prepare spells for which you are a high enough level in the class. When you use the spellbook in that way you're preparing the spell that's in the spellbook, so you must be a high enough level wizard to prepare it in the first place.
that's not how it reads or what it states. you have legally prepared a 1st level spell. than you replace that prepared spell with one in the book. you do not prepare a higher level spell you replace it. REPLACE is the key word here...
I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
Yes, you replace one prepared spell with another, which means you would have it prepared. Which you explicitly cannot do unless you are high enough level in the class.
hmm... i see that, but do not agree. per the wizard rules on preparing and casting spells... see below. there is nothing saying that you can't have a higher level spell prepared if you can find a way 'around the wizard's preparing limitation' which this item specifically does. in fact with the second sentence being totally separate, and assuming you can cast 'higher' level spell in your other full castor multiclass. this supports my assumption. The spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots. It does not say WIZARD spell slots. I agree you can not 'prepare' the spell, but you can replace a prepared spell with a spell you have have spell slots for, 1st for 6th or whatever. one can also only have so many 'prepared' wizard spells, give the 2 level dip this limits it to 3-4 depending on Int.
Preparing and Casting Spells
You prepare the list of wizard spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of wizard spells from your spellbook equal to your Intelligence modifier + your wizard level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
You're looking in the wrong spot. It's under the Multiclassing section in chapter
96 of the PHB.So, in your wizard dip example (let's say wizard 2/cleric 9 for the sake of discussion), you could only prepare 1st level wizard spells because you're only a level 2 wizard, but you're a level 9 cleric so you can prepare up to 5th level cleric spells. You are an 11th level caster overall though, so you will have 6th level spell slots which are really only for upcasting lower level spells, since you can't prepare 6th level spells until you are 11th level in a given class.
That rule from Multi-Class doesn't limit this in this case. This limits what you can 'prepare' and what you can 'scribe' into a spell book if you do not have one of these Magic Tome's. Without one of these tomes, yes I agree to exactly what your are saying. also when in doubt it pushes you back to the base classes requirements, rules for preparing and scribing.
my point is that these magical tomes have a way to circumvent the 'prepare' mechanic that is mentioned in multi-calls and wizard sections of the PHB. as argued above you never prepare these spells, they are REPLACED. there is nothing that says you can't have a higher level spell on your list if you can find a way to get it on your list and you have spells slots of appropriate level to cast it. so 5th level in your 9 cleric / 2 wizard example. these tome's give one the way to put a spell onto your list you could not normally accomplish.
i see this as a RAW and RAI alignment. RAW says you can (in my opinion) RAI may not intend for this, BUT and a big BUT. To have this happen one has to dip wizard, be full caster other class, and one has to find one of these magical tomes. those are very limiting requirements.
I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
You can't have a spell prepared that you don't qualify for. There's no real way of getting around this, no circumventions. The new tomes don't let you do that either. If we follow your logic, in theory, a 9th level wizard could prepare a 6th spell. But that's patiently not possible - it goes against both the wording and spirit of the spellcasting feature.
The fundamental problem here is that you're trying to be a rules lawyer about exact wording, but D&D 5e isn't designed that way. Its deliberately not written in exacting legalize, but common language for casual reading.
When all is said and done, the only one who matters is your DM.
The tome is letting you change your prepared spells. The spell is still prepared. If it’s not prepared you cannot cast it. There is no rules lawyer wiggle room here. It’s explicitly doesn’t work.
Agreed with VictoryWeaver and basically everyone else. Just because it does not specifically state that the spell your replacing becomes a new prepared spell for you means you can ignore the rules for preparing spells for your Class.
The rules for Multiclass absolutely apply to this situation even if you're trying to use the lack of wording from the magic item to say they do not. You can not prepare a spell (and yes replacing a prepared spell with another is still preparing a spell) that is higher level than you would be allowed to prepare with your current level in any class.
don't agree. here is my logic in as simple terms as I can put it.
the 'magic' of these items allow this to happen. replace prepared spells, have prepared spells on your spells you couldn't have. if you are arguing, which it appears you are, that rules trump magic items. than you are also saying that a Belt of Giant Strength cannot push your strength above 20 because no stat can be above 20. this is not true, because the 'magic' of that item allows the strength score to exceed 20.
therefore the 'magic' of this item allows you to swap any prepared wizard spell for one in the book of that books school. If you have a PC that has spell slots to cast higher level spells you can then cast that spell.
I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
Literally nothing in magic item description changes what spells you are able to prepare. All it does is let you change what spells are prepared in a minute instead of after a long rest at the cost of a charge. There is no rules lawyer loop hole here. You are inventing text and implications that are not present.
By your logic, the items effect would allow you to prepare a spell you do not even have the spell slots to cast. However, the rules of what spells you can prepare are not altered by the item, and as such you cannot.
Edit Re:Belt: A belt of giants strength does not need a separate sentence saying it can set your score to above 20, as that is part of setting it above 20 in the first place.
The actual Rule. Of which there are technically 2 of them. Is that a Score cannot go above 30. But a score cannot be raised by normal means such as stat rolls or ASI's higher than 20. Your falsely equating the second rule with the first rule to make your argument here. The Belt of Giant Strength works because first of all it's not going above 30. And second of all it's not a normal means such as a stat roll or an ASI of increasing your strength. The Closest to items that do what your trying to make the Belt of Giant Strength do are the stat Tomes which allows you to raise a stat by 2. Which by the way it is written is effectively giving you an ASI in a particular stat and that stat alone and then those those tomes also actually make a specific ruling that changes the rule that a stat cannot be raised over 20 by normal means. This is done in part to make them useful even to characters that have already reached that 20 natural limit in a stat if they come across one.
agreed Belt of Giant Strength bad comparison.
lets go to the base... if your a straight wizard you could replace any school spell in the book for any of your prepared spell, as long as you have spell slots of the new spells level. ie 1st for 6th, if you could cast 6th. this seems very black and white for this item. the limiting requirement here is the level of spells you can cast, not if you can prepare it. if you cannot cast a 9th level spell you cannot replace a 1st for a 9th. so assuming we agree than....
i still believe that the 'magic' of these tomes allows this specific thing to happen for any school specific spell in that tome, magic items allow odd and fantastic things. one could list any number of items that work this way. if you where a 2nd level wizard and got a staff of the magi you could you all of its abilities as well as a 20th wizard. in the case of these tomes a way to replace prepared spells for school specific spells as long as you have spell slots of the appropriate level to cast that new spell.
the rules for wizard prepared spells are simple, the spells must be of a level you have spell slots for, and you can only have a number equal to wizard level + int mod prepared. which brings me full circle back to the beginning. if you have a spell slot to cast a 6th level, and you can replace a prepared spell with the magic of this tome with a 6th level wizard spell, you should be able to cast it regardless of what level of wizard you are.
I am the Patron of Light, not its Patron Saint. ***Casts Flame Strike ***
This is a good way to look at it. However. If you only have a couple levels of Wizard. You cannot actually cast 6th level wizard spells at all. And these are specifically talking about wizard spells. Even spells that are on multiple lists and somehow were on say wizard and cleric. It wouldn't matter if your cleric side can cast 6th level spells. the way you cast those spells is fundamentally different from the way the wizard spells are cast. The reverse is also true. If an Item gave a 6th level cleric spell but you only had a coupe levels of Cleric you wouldn't have the faith and understanding necessary to cast that Cleric spell even if it showed up on the wizard list as well and you had understanding how to do it as a wizard.
Staff of the Magi again however is different. You are not at all casting with the abilities of your character when you are casting from the Staff. Nor is the staff relying on your ability to understand how to do something magically by trying to impart spells above your capability. They are simply cast by the staff itself with it's own spell DC's and own level of casting. It doesn't care about you. Technically if you can get past it's requirement of being used by certain classes/types of characters (such as the Thief subclasses use Magic Device feature) the Staff of the Magi doesn't even care if you can actually cast spells or not in how it actually functions.
And that's where the Tomes are different. They require your ability to be able to understand and process the knowledge they would impart. Which is by your class level. And the energy to use them which is your spell slots. Having another caster class gives you the energy but does not in any way impart understanding that another spell caster class requires. Not even another arcane Caster as it were.
Here is A different Example to kind of show what I'm talking about. Say that you want to build a fire. You have the kindling starter, you have the wood. You have the rocks all arranged. This is effectively the equivalent of your spell slots by having the fuel to start it. But the issue is in how you light it. If all you got is sticks to rub together (Mage Levels in essence) but you only know how to light the fire with a flint stone (Cleric Levels respectively). You may have the fuel but you don't have the necessary understanding to actually make the fire. This is basically what the Tome is doing. It's telling you to start a fire which in essence on some levels you understand that you need the spark and you need to foster it to spread into flame. But your missing the necessary knowledge in the proper tools it's giving you to actually create that spark and there is no realistic chance for you actually to light the fire.
The Staff of the Magi in the example of lighting the Fire above however is the equivalent of pulling a lighter out of your pocket and lighting the fire that way. It doesn't require your knowledge or even your energy to produce the spark of flame to add to the kindling and grow into the full fire. It's taking nothing from you but the action of igniting the lighter. It's purely using it's own mechanics that you don't essentially have to understand and it's own fuel to work. Also keep in mind. That most magical items that provide spells, particularly ones with charges to function, are essentially the lighter in essence for whatever spell they happen to be producing.
If you were talking about a single class wizard, this would be true. You are not doing that.
As pointed out multiple times, when you multiclass, you may only prepare spells for a class as if you are a single class caster. The magic items in question does not allow you to violate these rules. By your logic, a level 1 wizard could use one of these books to prepare a true polymorph spell. The book doesn't say you need to be able to cast the spell to swap it, so according to your logic, the "magic of the item" allows this to happen so long as the spell is in the book.
Staff of the magi has no bearing on this, it uses charges and has no interaction with spell slots. You do not know the spells and you do not prepare the spells.
Actually...
PHB says "choose a number of wizard spells from your spellbook"... "The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots." The restriction that prevents you from preparing higher level spells is that
normally it's impossible to[Edit: by default you don't] have higher level spells in your spellbook, because you determine what's put in your spellbook via leveling as if a single class. But the chronicle "functions as a spellbook for you", plus see my edits at the bottom for other notes. The PHB says nothing about levels when determining what you can prepare, only when determining how many you can prepare..Even the multiclass rules follow the same line in its example: "your spellbook contains ten wizard spells, two of which ... can be 2nd-level spells. If your Intelligence is 16, you can prepare six wizard spells from your spellbook." Note it doesn't say you cannot prepare higher level spells, just that those spells wouldn't be in your spellbook. The later example at the end of the Spell Slots section also is focused on saying the restriction on preparing is based on not knowing the spells.
(There's a bit of a weird thing going on with the spellbook in the first place. You can copy a scroll into it if it's of a level you can prepare, and since you can prepare any level for which you have slots, maybe you *can* copy higher level wizard spells into your spellbook, so this really isn't an issue unique to finding a second spellbook like the Chronicles?)
I feel like those of y'all who are against this are forgetting literally the first rule to remember in Xanathar's
Mutliclass rules don't matter, the only thing that matters in the text in the item description
Are you a wizard?
Are you Attuned?
If Yes to both feel free to replace a prepared spell with a spell that is in the book, for transmutation it would give you access to polymorph (wow, such a boon for a character whose party should be around Lvl 8-12).
This doesn't mean you get to cast it at will or anything just that if you have the spell slots like in the original post you can now prepare spells outside the normal ruleset.
This is nothing so game breaking as a level 1 wizard being able to cast a 9th level spell.
IMO this is at best a poorly worded itembut in the worst-case scenarios it gives a wizard dip access to some spells up to around 4th level (depends on the school) that they'd only be able to cast if they were an endgame half caster, or a multiclassing full caster (in either case who gives a shit because it just means they can cast a few spells on par with their character level and wouldn't give them access to anything else someone else in the party couldn't already possibly do)
TLDR: The item gives wizard dips some helpful options without breaking preparation wide open by limiting the spells in the book to the listed few (and since you can't inscribe spells that you can't prepare naturally, a low-level wizard would be unable to increase the variety of spells in the book enough to be anything beyond their natural class level)