When in combat, A Wizard can only cast prepared spells.
But outside of combat, A wizard should be able to cast any spell they have within their spellbook. It still uses a Spell Slot and adds 1 minute to the cast time.
Rituals remain as they are, Not needing spell slots, but take 10 minutes.
-Edit-
I think an even better way of handling this; Limit the types of spells that can be used to certain schools. For example, An Illusion Wizard would be able to cast any Illusion spell in their spellbook.
This would be enormously overpowered; it would let you cast symbol five times in five minutes otherwise for free, creating a trap that can deal 275 damage. Spend more time on the trap and it can be unsurvivable by most enemies in the game. And that's one of the least broken combos, nevermind infinite access to gate or wish etc.
Ritual spells are the spells that you can cast for free out of combat, that's what they are there for, and on top of ritual casting Wizards already get a lot of extra spell resources already thanks to Arcane Recovery, Signature Spell etc.
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Hmm, I mean Wizards already get to have full access to all ritual spells they know already, which can give them a huge amount of out of combat versatility; on my current Order of Scribes Wizard I've been purposefully trying to pick half spells I can prepare, and half that are rituals wherever possible for this reason, as it means my Wizard basically has zero spells he cannot cast (the only exception is chromatic orb which I learned purely so I would have more damage types to swap for on 1st-level spells).
That said, in OneD&D it seems likely that all spellcasters will be able to cast rituals, so Wizards and other ritual capable casters may need something to compensate slightly for this, but I think this may still be too overpowered.
I'd still maybe go for something more along the lines of "once per day you can spend 10 minutes swapping one spell you have prepared for another in your spellbook", basically let you make a small tweak to your prepared spells when there's something you really need.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
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But yes, basically this suggestion is cutting out the need for that short rest. It's enough of a change to help separate Wizard from other casters. Let me also stress; All of this is out of combat. None of these spells could be used in combat.
Though, A more balanced approach might be what I added in my Edit. Limit spells that can be used to ones in your school. Or a tailored list for each subclass.
This allows each wizard to have more flavor and really feel like a different school.
I've always hated the mechanic that forces casters to "prepare" a spell regardless of their experience with the spells, the school or any other factor. We're talking about experts in their fields essentially having to practice with and relearn their tools EVERY DAY, or even multiple times a day, to use them. They should also be able to use ANY cantrip without having to prepare them all of the time. It'd be a much more creative magical world if there was a bit more freedom with use of magic.
Having to prepare spells is equivalent to a musician suddenly forgetting how to play music on the instrument they've spent their whole life playing. Sure, they may need to get some sheet music for a song they don't know, or know well, but they can still play a whole bunch of songs they know pretty well without that. As casters move up levels it would make sense that they could use any spells they have used on lower levels without having to prepare them. I understand that learning higher level new spells may take time, but using something familiar shouldn't need any short or long rest.
It would make sense to have a roll mechanism for spells not prepared (kind of like the wild magic table) that could impact their effectiveness. Unprepared spells could be rolled for attack with disadvantage. For area effect spells the caster would have to
Spells out of combat could have a chance of something else happening if rolled without preparation. Like a 1 minute delay to look it up and cast it, then a d20 roll and DC 10 INT/WIS/CHA (spellcasting ability) check to see if you have to roll on the Wild Magic table. A rolled 1 means automatic Wild Magic table roll.
I've always hated the mechanic that forces casters to "prepare" a spell regardless of their experience with the spells, the school or any other factor. We're talking about experts in their fields essentially having to practice with and relearn their tools EVERY DAY, or even multiple times a day, to use them. They should also be able to use ANY cantrip without having to prepare them all of the time. It'd be a much more creative magical world if there was a bit more freedom with use of magic.
Having to prepare spells is equivalent to a musician suddenly forgetting how to play music on the instrument they've spent their whole life playing. Sure, they may need to get some sheet music for a song they don't know, or know well, but they can still play a whole bunch of songs they know pretty well without that. As casters move up levels it would make sense that they could use any spells they have used on lower levels without having to prepare them. I understand that learning higher level new spells may take time, but using something familiar shouldn't need any short or long rest.
It would make sense to have a roll mechanism for spells not prepared (kind of like the wild magic table) that could impact their effectiveness. Unprepared spells could be rolled for attack with disadvantage. For area effect spells the caster would have to
Spells out of combat could have a chance of something else happening if rolled without preparation. Like a 1 minute delay to look it up and cast it, then a d20 roll and DC 10 INT/WIS/CHA (spellcasting ability) check to see if you have to roll on the Wild Magic table. A rolled 1 means automatic Wild Magic table roll.
I'd say the musician analogy actually defends spell preparation as written. Yes, many musicians know a handful of tunes they can play at any time. Those are a wizards cantrips. Most professional musicians have set lists and rehearsals for a reason. If the song is not "fresh" in the musician's mind through rehearsal (which is de facto studying the song) it's not going to go well, this includes songs the musician may have actually written. Improvisational music that comes from a player "inspired" that's analogous to sorcery. Cantrips are the various iterations of "twinkle twinkle little star," Plane Shift is "Freebird" and the analogy sort of breaks but also doesn't when you recognize Counterspell is "Dueling Banjos."
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I've always hated the mechanic that forces casters to "prepare" a spell regardless of their experience with the spells, the school or any other factor. We're talking about experts in their fields essentially having to practice with and relearn their tools EVERY DAY, or even multiple times a day, to use them. They should also be able to use ANY cantrip without having to prepare them all of the time. It'd be a much more creative magical world if there was a bit more freedom with use of magic.
Having to prepare spells is equivalent to a musician suddenly forgetting how to play music on the instrument they've spent their whole life playing. Sure, they may need to get some sheet music for a song they don't know, or know well, but they can still play a whole bunch of songs they know pretty well without that. As casters move up levels it would make sense that they could use any spells they have used on lower levels without having to prepare them. I understand that learning higher level new spells may take time, but using something familiar shouldn't need any short or long rest.
It would make sense to have a roll mechanism for spells not prepared (kind of like the wild magic table) that could impact their effectiveness. Unprepared spells could be rolled for attack with disadvantage. For area effect spells the caster would have to
Spells out of combat could have a chance of something else happening if rolled without preparation. Like a 1 minute delay to look it up and cast it, then a d20 roll and DC 10 INT/WIS/CHA (spellcasting ability) check to see if you have to roll on the Wild Magic table. A rolled 1 means automatic Wild Magic table roll.
I'd say the musician analogy actually defends spell preparation as written. Yes, many musicians know a handful of tunes they can play at any time. Those are a wizards cantrips. Most professional musicians have set lists and rehearsals for a reason. If the song is not "fresh" in the musician's mind through rehearsal (which is de facto studying the song) it's not going to go well, this includes songs the musician may have actually written. Improvisational music that comes from a player "inspired" that's analogous to sorcery. Cantrips are the various iterations of "twinkle twinkle little star," Plane Shift is "Freebird" and the analogy sort of breaks but also doesn't when you recognize Counterspell is "Dueling Banjos."
I completely disagree. And cantrips are not Twinkle, Twinkle! That is a children's song! I'm making an analogy to professional musicians. Do you know any? I do, and they can play all day without music. Maybe not their part in a specific (or never played part) from an orchestral section, but other songs, yes.
There are a lot of musicians that never learn to read music and can play songs all day, again, or simply compose them on the fly. (Jazz, blues, many types of traditional music worldwide) which might be more like other casters. I teach in a school and regularly hear 14 year olds sitting down to improvise ragtime or blues on a piano.
Regardless, this is NOT music, and there is no downside to having casters use more distinct spells as long as they are within their level abilities and from their class/school of magic. They just get to be more creative, and more fun stuff happens. How many times did you not prepare Charm, Disguise Self or Speak With Animals when those might have created a a really unique and fun moment that wouldn't give any "advantage" to anything, being used out of combat?
In combat there is still an action economy, so let that 5th level Sorcerer use the full range of their 1st level spells all day long if they want to! They still use spell slots, and they're still only first level spells. What is the problem?
Wizards are already the best spellcasters in the game. They absolutely don't need a power buff like this.
Lore-wise, wizards prepare spells because they're playing with the fundamental underpinings of reality, and you don't want to screw up when doing that, the results tend to vary between "spell fails" and "total protonic reversal."
If you really, really want to be able to cast spells you don't have prepared, spend some gold and craft a few spell scrolls.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Wizards are already the best spellcasters in the game. They absolutely don't need a power buff like this.
Lore-wise, wizards prepare spells because they're playing with the fundamental underpinings of reality, and you don't want to screw up when doing that, the results tend to vary between "spell fails" and "total protonic reversal."
If you really, really want to be able to cast spells you don't have prepared, spend some gold and craft a few spell scrolls.
Yep, this. I was shocked to see a lot of agreement with this idea, considering it buffs the best class in the whole game, and buffs what they're best at... utility
Wizards are already the best spellcasters in the game. They absolutely don't need a power buff like this.
Lore-wise, wizards prepare spells because they're playing with the fundamental underpinings of reality, and you don't want to screw up when doing that, the results tend to vary between "spell fails" and "total protonic reversal."
If you really, really want to be able to cast spells you don't have prepared, spend some gold and craft a few spell scrolls.
As usual, you miss the point. This isn't about power, it's about a fun buff. Sure, you could spend some gold, but why would you not as a wizard who'd trained in magic for an entire lifetime (so far) not be able to use more than a handful or very simple spells at any one time, but could suddenly after just 30 minutes of review over lunch?
First, that is just a silly concept.
Second, this isn't about being powerful, it's about reacting to circumstances with creative solutions. I do play within the rules, but I consistently struggle to know whether I should have mend or message prepared, Detect Magic or Distort Value. There are so many interesting ways to use magic outside of combat and I feel players miss a lot of those because of preparation rules.
As a DM I might have to have some table rules about this, so any non-combat spell (for any class BTW) could just be available. This isn't at all about Wizards only, it's about a party finding unique and interesting ways to solve problems, explore, socialise and influence. I'd like to playtest that Unearthed Arcana!
Second, this isn't about being powerful, it's about reacting to circumstances with creative solutions.
I think there's an argument that this could actually reduce creativity. For example; if you are faced with a locked door then instead of trying to figure out a way past it using the spells and abilities that you have available, you could just use knock even though you never actually bothered to prepare it. If you encounter a gorge you can't cross on foot suddenly you're casting dimension door, fly or whatever.
Over time it's pretty safe to assume that a wizard will tend towards knowing most of the spells on the wizard list, as they get a pretty huge 45+ as standard by 20th-level, and you can easily double or triple that due to extra spells being copied from scrolls etc. So this means that for any given situation a wizard will almost always have a spell that they know that is an ideal answer to that problem; but where's the challenge in always having an answer to every problem? The challenge for a Wizard comes in part from choosing the spells you prepare for the day, based on what you know about what you're likely to face, it's about the trade offs you have to make, and the spells you can't prepare because you wanted something else more.
There's also a potential issue with wizard variety; if you no longer need to worry about what out of combat spells you prepare, then 100% of your prepared spells are going to be combat focused, which is likely to mean less variety. My wizards often end up very different thanks to being limited, because it forces more focused choices for my combat spells to go more damage, or more control etc.
While I'm not opposed to wizards being able to cast some spells they haven't prepared, I definitely think it needs more of a limitation, e.g- swap one on short rest, or proficiency times per long rest or whatever, so it's not just "you can literally cast any spell you know whenever you need it".
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Second, this isn't about being powerful, it's about reacting to circumstances with creative solutions.
I think there's an argument that this could actually reduce creativity. For example; if you are faced with a locked door then instead of trying to figure out a way past it using the spells and abilities that you have available, you could just use knock even though you never actually bothered to prepare it. If you encounter a gorge you can't cross on foot suddenly you're casting dimension door, fly or whatever.
I think the Wizard who is looking at losing a spell slot for Knock while alerting anything within about 300ft that there is a Wizard behind the door are sufficient reasons to let the Rogue give it a shot first! ;)
All of these still expend a spell slot, and yeah, sometimes they could take the easy route with a spell, but there are always consequences to doing that. Plus not many of those would allow more than just the Wizard to use the utility in question.
Over time it's pretty safe to assume that a wizard will tend towards knowing most of the spells on the wizard list, as they get a pretty huge 45+ as standard by 20th-level, and you can easily double or triple that due to extra spells being copied from scrolls etc. So this means that for any given situation a wizard will almost always have a spell that they know that is an ideal answer to that problem; but where's the challenge in always having an answer to every problem? The challenge for a Wizard comes in part from choosing the spells you prepare for the day, based on what you know about what you're likely to face, it's about the trade offs you have to make, and the spells you can't prepare because you wanted something else more.
There's also a potential issue with wizard variety; if you no longer need to worry about what out of combat spells you prepare, then 100% of your prepared spells are going to be combat focused, which is likely to mean less variety. My wizards often end up very different thanks to being limited, because it forces more focused choices for my combat spells to go more damage, or more control etc.
So variety of options in combat is a bad thing? What we're talking about here is actually letting them use lower level non-combat spells without having to prepare, so if they do want to prepare a bunch of level 1-2 combat spells and use them over and over at level 5, sure, but that is probably not their best action economy choice.
In combat it's nearly always that you want to have the biggest affect with your action and bonus action. So you're most likely going to us the high level spell you must prepare. There are times though when entangle, or darkness, or some other cool thing could be REALLY useful to everyone else in the party, and isn't available to anyone else.
"Oh, wait guys. I knew how to send a globe of darkness over the Orc Shaman this morning, but since I prepared a different spell at lunch I've completely lost track of how to do that now, sorry."
While I'm not opposed to wizards being able to cast some spells they haven't prepared, I definitely think it needs more of a limitation, e.g- swap one on short rest, or proficiency times per long rest or whatever, so it's not just "you can literally cast any spell you know whenever you need it".
Wizards are already the best spellcasters in the game. They absolutely don't need a power buff like this.
Lore-wise, wizards prepare spells because they're playing with the fundamental underpinings of reality, and you don't want to screw up when doing that, the results tend to vary between "spell fails" and "total protonic reversal."
If you really, really want to be able to cast spells you don't have prepared, spend some gold and craft a few spell scrolls.
As usual, you miss the point. This isn't about power, it's about a fun buff. Sure, you could spend some gold, but why would you not as a wizard who'd trained in magic for an entire lifetime (so far) not be able to use more than a handful or very simple spells at any one time, but could suddenly after just 30 minutes of review over lunch?
First, that is just a silly concept.
The entire concept of altering reality by waving your hands around while saying "abracadabra!" is silly. This alteration to how wizards work doesn't change that.
Second, this isn't about being powerful, it's about reacting to circumstances with creative solutions. I do play within the rules, but I consistently struggle to know whether I should have mend or message prepared, Detect Magic or Distort Value. There are so many interesting ways to use magic outside of combat and I feel players miss a lot of those because of preparation rules.
As a DM I might have to have some table rules about this, so any non-combat spell (for any class BTW) could just be available. This isn't at all about Wizards only, it's about a party finding unique and interesting ways to solve problems, explore, socialise and influence. I'd like to playtest that Unearthed Arcana!
Except that it is being more powerful because it gives a massive increase to the flexibility of a single class that's already known for being extremely flexible. As Haravikk said, this would lead to less unique and interesting ways to solve problems because it changes the answer to "the wizard casts a spell" for everything.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Except that it is being more powerful because it gives a massive increase to the flexibility of a single class that's already known for being extremely flexible. As Haravikk said, this would lead to less unique and interesting ways to solve problems because it changes the answer to "the wizard casts a spell" for everything.
This OP is about wizards. I'm also proposing this would be a better way of using magic for all users of magic not just the true caster classes. So this is not about increasing power for one class, but creating flexibility for the use of magic. I accomplish this now as a DM by giving out a bunch of low level magic items that do fun things. This can be cool, but many of these items (like ever-smoking bottle) have no limitations like spell slots, so they become a default trick for a certain player once given.
No one responding so far as recognized limitations of "wizard casts a spell for" for everything. There are spell slots, and a clever DM knows when to limit rests for a party that expends resources too quickly. This would not turn into magic users being the dominant force within a party due to casters not wanting to use slots on something another character can accomplish easily. It just lets them decide when to use those slots for something fun that they can access easily because it's not limited by the ridiculous construct of spell prepping.
It's easy to say the whole concept of magic is silly, so whatever silly construct we then place over the top of that is fine, but judging by the arguments raging everywhere on these forums about ONE D&D I don't think most players feel like any alterations to the "silly" concept of magic or anything else in game is trivial. :) (Hence also responses to this thread).
Don't you think it's odd that a caster changes their abilities midday, or overnight even, like they're not somehow proficient in using magic, but sudden'y have to have these moments of study/reflection/thought to do something they already know how to do?
Don't you think it's silly for a wizard to know the entire, incredibly complex contents of their 50 page spellbook at all times, without ever practicing to remember them? Don't you think it's silly to expect players to remember hundreds of spells and when they're most useful, off the top of their head? Don't you think it's silly to restrict major creative choices in characters because you can't be bothered to think ahead? Don't you think it's silly for a Grave Cleric, sworn to fight against the forces of undeath, to have animate dead ready to go at any time? Or a Death Cleric, who killed their entire village to pursue the secrets of lichdom, to have mass cure wounds locked 'n' loaded just in case all their friends scrape their knees? Don't you think it might be a little bit ridiculous to make all of the already most versatile classes be swiss army knives in comparison to everybody else? Don't you find it just a slight bit humorous for spellcasting ability to have such a small bearing actual ability to cast spells? Don't you think it would be a bit strange to believe that limited spell slots, and nothing else, is enough to balance having 50-100 spells on hand at all times?
If you really hate the idea of preparing spells so much, boy have I got news for you! Sorcerer, bard, and warlock are all classes that exist. Go ham, my guy.
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Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
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Don't you think it's silly for a wizard to know the entire, incredibly complex contents of their 50 page spellbook at all times, without ever practicing to remember them? Don't you think it's silly to expect players to remember hundreds of spells and when they're most useful, off the top of their head? Don't you think it's silly to restrict major creative choices in characters because you can't be bothered to think ahead? Don't you think it's silly for a Grave Cleric, sworn to fight against the forces of undeath, to have animate dead ready to go at any time? Or a Death Cleric, who killed their entire village to pursue the secrets of lichdom, to have mass cure wounds locked 'n' loaded just in case all their friends scrape their knees? Don't you think it might be a little bit ridiculous to make all of the already most versatile classes be swiss army knives in comparison to everybody else? Don't you find it just a slight bit humorous for spellcasting ability to have such a small bearing actual ability to cast spells? Don't you think it would be a bit strange to believe that limited spell slots, and nothing else, is enough to balance having 50-100 spells on hand at all times?
If you really hate the idea of preparing spells so much, boy have I got news for you! Sorcerer, bard, and warlock are all classes that exist. Go ham, my guy.
What a fun post! So many leading questions! ;)
Is a Wizard's spellbook 50 pages? I imagined it being bigger. (Go ham!)
I used to be a chess player. In chess, you learn openings. Not just one, but lots of them. Move by move, with variations, and each move means exponentially more variations. Most semi-good chess players, like expert level, which is only a 2000 rating, know a good 5-7 openings 20 moves deep and 10 others well enough to get by. If we start talking about National Master level players (2200+) it's a LOT more. They know EVERY response 20 moves into about 50 openings, with the ability to play many more in some variations.
Most good folk musicians can play a good 100 or so songs by heart with cord variations and lyrics.
Good poets know their poetry and hundreds of others by heart.
As a basketball coach I taught players offences with 20 plays, and different presses, defences, and other variations on formations.
Remembering something you do and practice daily, and have spent much of your life learning, is not actually so hard. Anyone who has spent their 10,000 hours at something (which is surely a requirement to become a level 1 Wizard), should KNOW what they're doing.
A 10th level Sorcerer can prepare 27 spells and cantrips. Of those I would normally prepare 2 level 5. So only two are really new and potentially need extra work to get right. Most of the kinds of spells for utility, knowledge, communication or influence that I'd love to see used more are low level. So it'd be like learning an archive of spells (songs) that you've used often over the years, and because you understand the structure of magic (like the structure of music) you continue to be able to cast them (play them).
To make a fantasy wrld the logic of ti has to be somewhat consistent with the logic of the real world. Preparing a spell in the morning and forgetting it in the afternoon when you take a short rest (because you prepare another) seems not consistent with the logic of any world, real or imaginary.
I used to be a chess player. In chess, you learn openings. Not just one, but lots of them.
And how many of those chess openings involved manipulating the Weave to remake reality as you see fit through the use of magical formulas, complex glyphs and sigils, obscure arcane languages, and gods knows what else is involved in casting magic?
It works the way it works; what is being proposed is far too powerful from a mechanical perspective, for a class that is already arguably the most powerful in the game, especially at higher levels.
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Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I used to be a chess player. In chess, you learn openings. Not just one, but lots of them.
And how many of those chess openings involved manipulating the Weave to remake reality as you see fit through the use of magical formulas, complex glyphs and sigils, obscure arcane languages, and gods knows what else is involved in casting magic?
It works the way it works; what is being proposed is far too powerful from a mechanical perspective, for a class that is already arguably the most powerful in the game, especially at higher levels.
The argument was that no one would be able to remember this many things. So how is a 45 minute lunch break going to get you to the point where you can suddenly change out your entire spell list if desired? ;)
The OP is about Wizards. I'm extending to say MAGIC. For everyone. For Rangers, for fighters, for monks. Whoever can use a spell and gets slots and has a spell list. They should be limited by their slots, not the spells they are able to perform effectively after a rest.
From a mechanical perspective a Barbarian raging is also hard to handle. As a DM I find a lot of classes have great abilities, and this isn't designed to prioritize magic as the only or best way to do something. It's to increase creativity and fun. Does it really change the game so much if the caster use speak with animals, or disguise self or sets an Alarm whenever they want or need to for the party?
As a DM I'm not thinking of combat or even the unlocking of doors. It could be deciphering text or interacting with an environment, but I want players to have the idea that they can try something unusual, or timely, or strange. It's a lot easier to do that if you have the tools you wouldn't normally prepare available.
Don't you think it's silly for a wizard to know the entire, incredibly complex contents of their 50 page spellbook at all times, without ever practicing to remember them? Don't you think it's silly to expect players to remember hundreds of spells and when they're most useful, off the top of their head? Don't you think it's silly to restrict major creative choices in characters because you can't be bothered to think ahead? Don't you think it's silly for a Grave Cleric, sworn to fight against the forces of undeath, to have animate dead ready to go at any time? Or a Death Cleric, who killed their entire village to pursue the secrets of lichdom, to have mass cure wounds locked 'n' loaded just in case all their friends scrape their knees? Don't you think it might be a little bit ridiculous to make all of the already most versatile classes be swiss army knives in comparison to everybody else? Don't you find it just a slight bit humorous for spellcasting ability to have such a small bearing actual ability to cast spells? Don't you think it would be a bit strange to believe that limited spell slots, and nothing else, is enough to balance having 50-100 spells on hand at all times?
If you really hate the idea of preparing spells so much, boy have I got news for you! Sorcerer, bard, and warlock are all classes that exist. Go ham, my guy.
What a fun post! So many leading questions! ;)
Is a Wizard's spellbook 50 pages? I imagined it being bigger. (Go ham!)
I used to be a chess player. In chess, you learn openings. Not just one, but lots of them. Move by move, with variations, and each move means exponentially more variations. Most semi-good chess players, like expert level, which is only a 2000 rating, know a good 5-7 openings 20 moves deep and 10 others well enough to get by. If we start talking about National Master level players (2200+) it's a LOT more. They know EVERY response 20 moves into about 50 openings, with the ability to play many more in some variations.
Most good folk musicians can play a good 100 or so songs by heart with cord variations and lyrics.
Good poets know their poetry and hundreds of others by heart.
As a basketball coach I taught players offences with 20 plays, and different presses, defenses, and other variations on formations.
Remembering something you do and practice daily, and have spent much of your life learning, is not actually so hard. Anyone who has spent their 10,000 hours at something (which is surely a requirement to become a level 1 Wizard), should KNOW what they're doing.
A 10th level Sorcerer can prepare 27 spells and cantrips. Of those I would normally prepare 2 level 5. So only two are really new and potentially need extra work to get right. Most of the kinds of spells for utility, knowledge, communication or influence that I'd love to see used more are low level. So it'd be like learning an archive of spells (songs) that you've used often over the years, and because you understand the structure of magic (like the structure of music) you continue to be able to cast them (play them).
To make a fantasy world the logic of it has to be somewhat consistent with the logic of the real world. Preparing a spell in the morning and forgetting it in the afternoon when you take a short rest (because you prepare another) seems not consistent with the logic of any world, real or imaginary.
Congratulations. You managed to read and respond to literally one of eight questions I put forth.
If you are trying to make magic in fantasy worlds realistic to magic in the real world, then you aren't going to have any magic. I'm going to go off the assumption that you aren't a wizard in real life; how the hell do you know how magic works!? What's so unrealistic about a fake system having rules that differ from a real one? Casting magic is not playing chess openings, nor is it playing music (well... not usually), nor is it comparable to anything in the real world. The flavor of magic is purposefully vague, to allow creative interpretation; if your suspension of disbelief can't handle a wizard having to practice their spells once in a while (long rest, not short rest. I don't know where you got the idea it's a short rest), then just explain it in a different way. Having to specially prepare/enchant all the components for their spells ahead of time, or having to tune their instrument to manipulate the fundamental laws of the universe in specific ways.
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When in combat, A Wizard can only cast prepared spells.
But outside of combat, A wizard should be able to cast any spell they have within their spellbook. It still uses a Spell Slot and adds 1 minute to the cast time.
Rituals remain as they are, Not needing spell slots, but take 10 minutes.
-Edit-
I think an even better way of handling this; Limit the types of spells that can be used to certain schools. For example, An Illusion Wizard would be able to cast any Illusion spell in their spellbook.
This would be enormously overpowered; it would let you cast symbol five times in five minutes otherwise for free, creating a trap that can deal 275 damage. Spend more time on the trap and it can be unsurvivable by most enemies in the game. And that's one of the least broken combos, nevermind infinite access to gate or wish etc.Ritual spells are the spells that you can cast for free out of combat, that's what they are there for, and on top of ritual casting Wizards already get a lot of extra spell resources already thanks to Arcane Recovery, Signature Spell etc.Edit: Completely misunderstood what you meant!
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You might have misread. You still use your spell slots and a minute is added to what is already present.
It simply allows the Wizard to go to their Spellbook and use a spell they know. Preparing spells are for combat.
The ultimate goal of this is to promote the use of lesser used spells. Allow for more creativity.
Your strength as a Wizard is still limited on how many spells you know.
Oh yeah, my bad I misunderstood!
Hmm, I mean Wizards already get to have full access to all ritual spells they know already, which can give them a huge amount of out of combat versatility; on my current Order of Scribes Wizard I've been purposefully trying to pick half spells I can prepare, and half that are rituals wherever possible for this reason, as it means my Wizard basically has zero spells he cannot cast (the only exception is chromatic orb which I learned purely so I would have more damage types to swap for on 1st-level spells).
That said, in OneD&D it seems likely that all spellcasters will be able to cast rituals, so Wizards and other ritual capable casters may need something to compensate slightly for this, but I think this may still be too overpowered.
I'd still maybe go for something more along the lines of "once per day you can spend 10 minutes swapping one spell you have prepared for another in your spellbook", basically let you make a small tweak to your prepared spells when there's something you really need.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
All good :)
But yes, basically this suggestion is cutting out the need for that short rest. It's enough of a change to help separate Wizard from other casters. Let me also stress; All of this is out of combat. None of these spells could be used in combat.
Though, A more balanced approach might be what I added in my Edit. Limit spells that can be used to ones in your school. Or a tailored list for each subclass.
This allows each wizard to have more flavor and really feel like a different school.
I've always hated the mechanic that forces casters to "prepare" a spell regardless of their experience with the spells, the school or any other factor. We're talking about experts in their fields essentially having to practice with and relearn their tools EVERY DAY, or even multiple times a day, to use them. They should also be able to use ANY cantrip without having to prepare them all of the time. It'd be a much more creative magical world if there was a bit more freedom with use of magic.
Having to prepare spells is equivalent to a musician suddenly forgetting how to play music on the instrument they've spent their whole life playing. Sure, they may need to get some sheet music for a song they don't know, or know well, but they can still play a whole bunch of songs they know pretty well without that. As casters move up levels it would make sense that they could use any spells they have used on lower levels without having to prepare them. I understand that learning higher level new spells may take time, but using something familiar shouldn't need any short or long rest.
It would make sense to have a roll mechanism for spells not prepared (kind of like the wild magic table) that could impact their effectiveness. Unprepared spells could be rolled for attack with disadvantage. For area effect spells the caster would have to
Spells out of combat could have a chance of something else happening if rolled without preparation. Like a 1 minute delay to look it up and cast it, then a d20 roll and DC 10 INT/WIS/CHA (spellcasting ability) check to see if you have to roll on the Wild Magic table. A rolled 1 means automatic Wild Magic table roll.
I'd say the musician analogy actually defends spell preparation as written. Yes, many musicians know a handful of tunes they can play at any time. Those are a wizards cantrips. Most professional musicians have set lists and rehearsals for a reason. If the song is not "fresh" in the musician's mind through rehearsal (which is de facto studying the song) it's not going to go well, this includes songs the musician may have actually written. Improvisational music that comes from a player "inspired" that's analogous to sorcery. Cantrips are the various iterations of "twinkle twinkle little star," Plane Shift is "Freebird" and the analogy sort of breaks but also doesn't when you recognize Counterspell is "Dueling Banjos."
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I completely disagree. And cantrips are not Twinkle, Twinkle! That is a children's song! I'm making an analogy to professional musicians. Do you know any? I do, and they can play all day without music. Maybe not their part in a specific (or never played part) from an orchestral section, but other songs, yes.
There are a lot of musicians that never learn to read music and can play songs all day, again, or simply compose them on the fly. (Jazz, blues, many types of traditional music worldwide) which might be more like other casters. I teach in a school and regularly hear 14 year olds sitting down to improvise ragtime or blues on a piano.
Regardless, this is NOT music, and there is no downside to having casters use more distinct spells as long as they are within their level abilities and from their class/school of magic. They just get to be more creative, and more fun stuff happens. How many times did you not prepare Charm, Disguise Self or Speak With Animals when those might have created a a really unique and fun moment that wouldn't give any "advantage" to anything, being used out of combat?
In combat there is still an action economy, so let that 5th level Sorcerer use the full range of their 1st level spells all day long if they want to! They still use spell slots, and they're still only first level spells. What is the problem?
Wizards are already the best spellcasters in the game. They absolutely don't need a power buff like this.
Lore-wise, wizards prepare spells because they're playing with the fundamental underpinings of reality, and you don't want to screw up when doing that, the results tend to vary between "spell fails" and "total protonic reversal."
If you really, really want to be able to cast spells you don't have prepared, spend some gold and craft a few spell scrolls.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Yep, this. I was shocked to see a lot of agreement with this idea, considering it buffs the best class in the whole game, and buffs what they're best at... utility
As usual, you miss the point. This isn't about power, it's about a fun buff. Sure, you could spend some gold, but why would you not as a wizard who'd trained in magic for an entire lifetime (so far) not be able to use more than a handful or very simple spells at any one time, but could suddenly after just 30 minutes of review over lunch?
First, that is just a silly concept.
Second, this isn't about being powerful, it's about reacting to circumstances with creative solutions. I do play within the rules, but I consistently struggle to know whether I should have mend or message prepared, Detect Magic or Distort Value. There are so many interesting ways to use magic outside of combat and I feel players miss a lot of those because of preparation rules.
As a DM I might have to have some table rules about this, so any non-combat spell (for any class BTW) could just be available. This isn't at all about Wizards only, it's about a party finding unique and interesting ways to solve problems, explore, socialise and influence. I'd like to playtest that Unearthed Arcana!
I think there's an argument that this could actually reduce creativity. For example; if you are faced with a locked door then instead of trying to figure out a way past it using the spells and abilities that you have available, you could just use knock even though you never actually bothered to prepare it. If you encounter a gorge you can't cross on foot suddenly you're casting dimension door, fly or whatever.
Over time it's pretty safe to assume that a wizard will tend towards knowing most of the spells on the wizard list, as they get a pretty huge 45+ as standard by 20th-level, and you can easily double or triple that due to extra spells being copied from scrolls etc. So this means that for any given situation a wizard will almost always have a spell that they know that is an ideal answer to that problem; but where's the challenge in always having an answer to every problem? The challenge for a Wizard comes in part from choosing the spells you prepare for the day, based on what you know about what you're likely to face, it's about the trade offs you have to make, and the spells you can't prepare because you wanted something else more.
There's also a potential issue with wizard variety; if you no longer need to worry about what out of combat spells you prepare, then 100% of your prepared spells are going to be combat focused, which is likely to mean less variety. My wizards often end up very different thanks to being limited, because it forces more focused choices for my combat spells to go more damage, or more control etc.
While I'm not opposed to wizards being able to cast some spells they haven't prepared, I definitely think it needs more of a limitation, e.g- swap one on short rest, or proficiency times per long rest or whatever, so it's not just "you can literally cast any spell you know whenever you need it".
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I think the Wizard who is looking at losing a spell slot for Knock while alerting anything within about 300ft that there is a Wizard behind the door are sufficient reasons to let the Rogue give it a shot first! ;)
All of these still expend a spell slot, and yeah, sometimes they could take the easy route with a spell, but there are always consequences to doing that. Plus not many of those would allow more than just the Wizard to use the utility in question.
So variety of options in combat is a bad thing? What we're talking about here is actually letting them use lower level non-combat spells without having to prepare, so if they do want to prepare a bunch of level 1-2 combat spells and use them over and over at level 5, sure, but that is probably not their best action economy choice.
In combat it's nearly always that you want to have the biggest affect with your action and bonus action. So you're most likely going to us the high level spell you must prepare. There are times though when entangle, or darkness, or some other cool thing could be REALLY useful to everyone else in the party, and isn't available to anyone else.
"Oh, wait guys. I knew how to send a globe of darkness over the Orc Shaman this morning, but since I prepared a different spell at lunch I've completely lost track of how to do that now, sorry."
The entire concept of altering reality by waving your hands around while saying "abracadabra!" is silly. This alteration to how wizards work doesn't change that.
Except that it is being more powerful because it gives a massive increase to the flexibility of a single class that's already known for being extremely flexible. As Haravikk said, this would lead to less unique and interesting ways to solve problems because it changes the answer to "the wizard casts a spell" for everything.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
This OP is about wizards. I'm also proposing this would be a better way of using magic for all users of magic not just the true caster classes. So this is not about increasing power for one class, but creating flexibility for the use of magic. I accomplish this now as a DM by giving out a bunch of low level magic items that do fun things. This can be cool, but many of these items (like ever-smoking bottle) have no limitations like spell slots, so they become a default trick for a certain player once given.
No one responding so far as recognized limitations of "wizard casts a spell for" for everything. There are spell slots, and a clever DM knows when to limit rests for a party that expends resources too quickly. This would not turn into magic users being the dominant force within a party due to casters not wanting to use slots on something another character can accomplish easily. It just lets them decide when to use those slots for something fun that they can access easily because it's not limited by the ridiculous construct of spell prepping.
It's easy to say the whole concept of magic is silly, so whatever silly construct we then place over the top of that is fine, but judging by the arguments raging everywhere on these forums about ONE D&D I don't think most players feel like any alterations to the "silly" concept of magic or anything else in game is trivial. :) (Hence also responses to this thread).
Don't you think it's odd that a caster changes their abilities midday, or overnight even, like they're not somehow proficient in using magic, but sudden'y have to have these moments of study/reflection/thought to do something they already know how to do?
Don't you think it's silly for a wizard to know the entire, incredibly complex contents of their 50 page spellbook at all times, without ever practicing to remember them? Don't you think it's silly to expect players to remember hundreds of spells and when they're most useful, off the top of their head? Don't you think it's silly to restrict major creative choices in characters because you can't be bothered to think ahead? Don't you think it's silly for a Grave Cleric, sworn to fight against the forces of undeath, to have animate dead ready to go at any time? Or a Death Cleric, who killed their entire village to pursue the secrets of lichdom, to have mass cure wounds locked 'n' loaded just in case all their friends scrape their knees? Don't you think it might be a little bit ridiculous to make all of the already most versatile classes be swiss army knives in comparison to everybody else? Don't you find it just a slight bit humorous for spellcasting ability to have such a small bearing actual ability to cast spells? Don't you think it would be a bit strange to believe that limited spell slots, and nothing else, is enough to balance having 50-100 spells on hand at all times?
If you really hate the idea of preparing spells so much, boy have I got news for you! Sorcerer, bard, and warlock are all classes that exist. Go ham, my guy.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
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What a fun post! So many leading questions! ;)
Is a Wizard's spellbook 50 pages? I imagined it being bigger. (Go ham!)
I used to be a chess player. In chess, you learn openings. Not just one, but lots of them. Move by move, with variations, and each move means exponentially more variations. Most semi-good chess players, like expert level, which is only a 2000 rating, know a good 5-7 openings 20 moves deep and 10 others well enough to get by. If we start talking about National Master level players (2200+) it's a LOT more. They know EVERY response 20 moves into about 50 openings, with the ability to play many more in some variations.
Most good folk musicians can play a good 100 or so songs by heart with cord variations and lyrics.
Good poets know their poetry and hundreds of others by heart.
As a basketball coach I taught players offences with 20 plays, and different presses, defences, and other variations on formations.
Remembering something you do and practice daily, and have spent much of your life learning, is not actually so hard. Anyone who has spent their 10,000 hours at something (which is surely a requirement to become a level 1 Wizard), should KNOW what they're doing.
A 10th level Sorcerer can prepare 27 spells and cantrips. Of those I would normally prepare 2 level 5. So only two are really new and potentially need extra work to get right. Most of the kinds of spells for utility, knowledge, communication or influence that I'd love to see used more are low level. So it'd be like learning an archive of spells (songs) that you've used often over the years, and because you understand the structure of magic (like the structure of music) you continue to be able to cast them (play them).
To make a fantasy wrld the logic of ti has to be somewhat consistent with the logic of the real world. Preparing a spell in the morning and forgetting it in the afternoon when you take a short rest (because you prepare another) seems not consistent with the logic of any world, real or imaginary.
And how many of those chess openings involved manipulating the Weave to remake reality as you see fit through the use of magical formulas, complex glyphs and sigils, obscure arcane languages, and gods knows what else is involved in casting magic?
It works the way it works; what is being proposed is far too powerful from a mechanical perspective, for a class that is already arguably the most powerful in the game, especially at higher levels.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
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The argument was that no one would be able to remember this many things. So how is a 45 minute lunch break going to get you to the point where you can suddenly change out your entire spell list if desired? ;)
The OP is about Wizards. I'm extending to say MAGIC. For everyone. For Rangers, for fighters, for monks. Whoever can use a spell and gets slots and has a spell list. They should be limited by their slots, not the spells they are able to perform effectively after a rest.
From a mechanical perspective a Barbarian raging is also hard to handle. As a DM I find a lot of classes have great abilities, and this isn't designed to prioritize magic as the only or best way to do something. It's to increase creativity and fun. Does it really change the game so much if the caster use speak with animals, or disguise self or sets an Alarm whenever they want or need to for the party?
As a DM I'm not thinking of combat or even the unlocking of doors. It could be deciphering text or interacting with an environment, but I want players to have the idea that they can try something unusual, or timely, or strange. It's a lot easier to do that if you have the tools you wouldn't normally prepare available.
Congratulations. You managed to read and respond to literally one of eight questions I put forth.
If you are trying to make magic in fantasy worlds realistic to magic in the real world, then you aren't going to have any magic. I'm going to go off the assumption that you aren't a wizard in real life; how the hell do you know how magic works!? What's so unrealistic about a fake system having rules that differ from a real one? Casting magic is not playing chess openings, nor is it playing music (well... not usually), nor is it comparable to anything in the real world. The flavor of magic is purposefully vague, to allow creative interpretation; if your suspension of disbelief can't handle a wizard having to practice their spells once in a while (long rest, not short rest. I don't know where you got the idea it's a short rest), then just explain it in a different way. Having to specially prepare/enchant all the components for their spells ahead of time, or having to tune their instrument to manipulate the fundamental laws of the universe in specific ways.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)