I've noticed a recent change. I don't know exactly how long ago it was done, but there are certain spells in D&D 5e that were named after wizards, like Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion and Leomund's Tiny Hut, as examples. But I noticed that in recent years, WotC has slowly been changing a few of these spell names to omit the wizards that created them, such as Tiny Hut and Arcane Sword (which I have seen, but it does not seem to be in the DNDBeyond database yet).
Personally, I kind of like it. It gives the spells more freedom and makes it so that you could cast spells like Tenser's Floating Disk without knowing who the Nine Hells Tenser is, by instead just casting Floating Disk.
The names are IP, so they are removed from the spell descriptions which are presented in the SRD (and the Basic Rules). The spells including the IP names are included in the PHB.
I like that there’s both version available. They’re a neat piece of history, a relic from the first D&D party before the game even received a public release, and it is fun to see how they have preserved, even long after those original players left. At the same time, however, they are fairly rooted in the plane of Greyhawk and might not be applicable to every plane. [REDACTED]
I also find it a bit sad that the spells have been altered to remove the names. They made me want to learn who these wizards were and aspire to one day create a named spell of my own.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
This is not a recent thing, it has been there since the beginning of the site and it's worth saying that the names haven't been removed. Two versions of the spells exist:
The names are IP, so they are removed from the spell descriptions which are presented in the SRD (and the Basic Rules). The spells including the IP names are included in the PHB.
The SRD is a document usable by 3rd party writers to create their own D&D content and so all WotC IP (character names) have been removed from the spells. Both versions exist on DnDB because the site makes use of the SRD and Basic rules content for users who haven't bought any of the official content.
I hope this helps clear up why there are both the named and unnamed versions of the spells on the site.
Yeah, seeing the spells named after their inventors (discoverers?) was always a treat for the history of the game, as well as the possibility that my lowly wizard might one day be able to conjure up a spell never-before-seen and name it. I do find it amusing that with all these mysterious figures like Mordenkainen, Tasha and Larloch, there's someone from Acquisitions Incorporated called Jim with their own Magic Missile. A fairly ordinary name for a decent spell.
I have wondered why there's Hideous Laughter and Tasha's Hideous Laughter, and it seems the legality of who-owns-what names is the reason.
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
Important thing to clarify; the names have not been 'removed', by D&D Beyond or by Wizards of the Coast. Both the named and unnamed versions co-exist. The unnamed versions exists in the System Reference Document because the names used are Wizards of the Coast IP. This means that if someone wants to make an adventure featuring a wizard that casts Tenser's Float Disc, they can instead use the unnamed Floating Disc spell as part of the SRD.
As mentioned, SRD content does not include product identities or intellectual property by WotC, and DDB has both the SRD and WotC-published content.
One thing to remember about D&D is that you can play your way. While DDB will use named spells for content that is not part of the SRD, you can choose to ignore the name in your gameplay outside of DDB features. DDB is here to assist your gameplay by license of WotC but not dictate your gameplay. It is not a digital DM.
I like the names even if I don't know who Leomund is (and I think I read about that person but can't recall anything). It speaks of a deeper lore entwined in magic, but your campaign world might not even have that person in it.
Feel free to do as you please. The DMG says you can if you read beyond chapter 7.
(Of course, tools have limits. It would be unreasonable to expect DDB or any toolset to assist with every possible custom rule for every table. It will be on the people at the table to go beyond D&D Beyond and the source materials.)
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I'm not a big fan of the names in spells. It makes naming them unnecessarily longer and makes them seem less like my character's spell. In my games, I prefer the idea that a caster learns tips and tricks from others and broad principles, but has to investigate and learn the details for themselves, which is why it takes to long to learn spells. At that point, each spell is your spell, not someone else's that you've copied like their homework.
That is a personal preference, though.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
The names are the way they are, as a reference to Jack Vance's Dying Earth series of novels. It's where the original concept for D&D's Wizard class came from, among a lot of other things. Of course, hardly anyone has read these books today, so the reference is hollow -- you should certainly feel free to discard it at your leisure, in favor of things that resonate more strongly with your own tastes. Though, I'm reading the series currently, and it's pretty good stuff. Consider checking them out.
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I've noticed a recent change. I don't know exactly how long ago it was done, but there are certain spells in D&D 5e that were named after wizards, like Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion and Leomund's Tiny Hut, as examples. But I noticed that in recent years, WotC has slowly been changing a few of these spell names to omit the wizards that created them, such as Tiny Hut and Arcane Sword (which I have seen, but it does not seem to be in the DNDBeyond database yet).
Personally, I kind of like it. It gives the spells more freedom and makes it so that you could cast spells like Tenser's Floating Disk without knowing who the Nine Hells Tenser is, by instead just casting Floating Disk.
Is this a requirement to cast the spell?
The names are IP, so they are removed from the spell descriptions which are presented in the SRD (and the Basic Rules). The spells including the IP names are included in the PHB.
I like that there’s both version available. They’re a neat piece of history, a relic from the first D&D party before the game even received a public release, and it is fun to see how they have preserved, even long after those original players left. At the same time, however, they are fairly rooted in the plane of Greyhawk and might not be applicable to every plane. [REDACTED]
No, but it fits nice with the world lore.
I also find it a bit sad that the spells have been altered to remove the names. They made me want to learn who these wizards were and aspire to one day create a named spell of my own.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
This is not a recent thing, it has been there since the beginning of the site and it's worth saying that the names haven't been removed. Two versions of the spells exist:
The SRD is a document usable by 3rd party writers to create their own D&D content and so all WotC IP (character names) have been removed from the spells. Both versions exist on DnDB because the site makes use of the SRD and Basic rules content for users who haven't bought any of the official content.
I hope this helps clear up why there are both the named and unnamed versions of the spells on the site.
Yeah, seeing the spells named after their inventors (discoverers?) was always a treat for the history of the game, as well as the possibility that my lowly wizard might one day be able to conjure up a spell never-before-seen and name it. I do find it amusing that with all these mysterious figures like Mordenkainen, Tasha and Larloch, there's someone from Acquisitions Incorporated called Jim with their own Magic Missile. A fairly ordinary name for a decent spell.
I have wondered why there's Hideous Laughter and Tasha's Hideous Laughter, and it seems the legality of who-owns-what names is the reason.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
Important thing to clarify; the names have not been 'removed', by D&D Beyond or by Wizards of the Coast. Both the named and unnamed versions co-exist. The unnamed versions exists in the System Reference Document because the names used are Wizards of the Coast IP. This means that if someone wants to make an adventure featuring a wizard that casts Tenser's Float Disc, they can instead use the unnamed Floating Disc spell as part of the SRD.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
As mentioned, SRD content does not include product identities or intellectual property by WotC, and DDB has both the SRD and WotC-published content.
One thing to remember about D&D is that you can play your way. While DDB will use named spells for content that is not part of the SRD, you can choose to ignore the name in your gameplay outside of DDB features. DDB is here to assist your gameplay by license of WotC but not dictate your gameplay. It is not a digital DM.
I like the names even if I don't know who Leomund is (and I think I read about that person but can't recall anything). It speaks of a deeper lore entwined in magic, but your campaign world might not even have that person in it.
Feel free to do as you please. The DMG says you can if you read beyond chapter 7.
(Of course, tools have limits. It would be unreasonable to expect DDB or any toolset to assist with every possible custom rule for every table. It will be on the people at the table to go beyond D&D Beyond and the source materials.)
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I'm not a big fan of the names in spells. It makes naming them unnecessarily longer and makes them seem less like my character's spell. In my games, I prefer the idea that a caster learns tips and tricks from others and broad principles, but has to investigate and learn the details for themselves, which is why it takes to long to learn spells. At that point, each spell is your spell, not someone else's that you've copied like their homework.
That is a personal preference, though.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
The names are the way they are, as a reference to Jack Vance's Dying Earth series of novels. It's where the original concept for D&D's Wizard class came from, among a lot of other things. Of course, hardly anyone has read these books today, so the reference is hollow -- you should certainly feel free to discard it at your leisure, in favor of things that resonate more strongly with your own tastes. Though, I'm reading the series currently, and it's pretty good stuff. Consider checking them out.