I have three druids in my party but I don't know what to do when they level up and unlock a new level of spellcasting. Wizards need to find new spells and learrn them, clerics find new spells in churches, sanctuaries and temples, but what about druids? https://192168ll.link/
Druids gain their power by being a part of nature itself. Therefore, they when they level up, they are deepening their connection with nature. The differnt druid circles are what part of nature they deepen their connection with and gain powers from. Circle of spores, circle of the moon, circle of wildfire, ect...
Also, clerics, sorcerers, warlocks, paladins, and rangers all have a spell list. They all don't learn spells (except cantrips), they prepare them. Wizards are unique in that they don't get power from some god or demon or nature or even from being born from two greats. They learn how to cast spells with incantations and stuff,. This is also why wizards can learn almost every spell with a few exceptions while other classes only have class specific spells.
I have three druids in my party but I don't know what to do when they level up and unlock a new level of spellcasting. Wizards need to find new spells and learrn them, clerics find new spells in churches, sanctuaries and temples, but what about druids?
Do you not know how knowing and preparing spells work, and are you actually forcing your characters to find spells in the world? Wizards experiment with spells in the background, so they don't need to go to schools of magic to learn new ones, and clerics and druids simply prepare spells from their spell list.
I have three druids in my party but I don't know what to do when they level up and unlock a new level of spellcasting. Wizards need to find new spells and learrn them, clerics find new spells in churches, sanctuaries and temples, but what about druids?
In the interest of approaching this from a little more constructive standpoint than past commenters, your understanding of how spellcasting works is wrong, but you're coming from a good place wanting to incorporate the mechanics into the story. 5e, especially the 2024 rules, stripped away a lot of the descriptive text for how each class's magic works in the interest of allowing you to flavor it your own way, but I do feel like new players who aren't familiar with the older rules are a little left out in the cold with regards to the why of magic, even if the how is clearer than ever.
Wizards are the only spellcasting class that needs to "learn" spells. Each level, as a result of brainstorming, tinkering with arcane formulae, and sheer inspiration, they manage to, either through furthering their understanding or pure invention, "create" two spells that they add to their spellbooks. All additional spells must be discovered and added, either by copying from other wizards' spellbooks, or by copying off spell scrolls and the like. They prepare spells out of those spellbooks daily, but can only prepare spells they have copied into their spellbook.
Sorcerers draw arcane power from their bloodline, through an ancestral connection to a powerful force. They "learn" spells by growing their connection to that ancestor, essentially gaining inspiration from their blood. They have a list of spells, and they must choose a limited number of spells to always have prepared. When they level, they can gain additional spells, as well as shuffle those spells around a little, but their choices are limited.
Bards draw arcane power from sheer inspiration. Whether it is music, poetry, art, or communion with others, their power grows through inspiration and the connection it creates with the world around them. Their spell list functions similarly to a Sorcerer's, as they can choose a limited number of spells from a list, and can only change them as they level up.
Warlocks draw arcane power from the pacts they form with powerful beings. Their magic is granted to them as part of that agreement, and it grows more powerful as their connection to that power grows, either by falling more deeply into service with the being, or having a deeper understanding of (and greater ability to manipulate) their pact. Like Bards and Sorcerers, they choose a limited number of spells from a list, and can only change them upon leveling.
Clerics draw divine inspiration from either their deity or their connection to a deeper purpose. They have a list of spells, all of which are available to them at any time. As part of a Long Rest, they spend time communing with their deity/purpose, and in doing so, are granted spells in the form of divine inspiration. They can choose any of the spells available to them, and change out which spells they prepare after every Long Rest.
Druids draw divine inspiration from their connection to the natural world, and the energies that flow through it. Like Clerics, they have a list of spells that they can change freely at the end of a Long Rest, as they spend time reinforcing their connection to nature and weaving the power of the natural world into the fabric of their being.
The half-and-third casters like Paladins, Rangers, and Eldritch Knights all have some variation of these as well, and each have their own flavor as explanation. It's important to read the entire "Spellcasting" entry of any class that has spellcasting as a class feature, so you understand how they choose spells, and how their daily allotment of spells is provided and changes.
All this is to say, only Wizards need to "study" spells to grow their collection, and even then, they gain additional spells every level-up as a reflection of their own study and increased understanding of magic. It's 100% admirable to want to reconcile an expansion in magical ability with some real-world event, and you should feel free to explore that with your players as part of roleplaying. But make sure you aren't "locking" class features behind a roleplay "gate" unless you're ensuring those gates are unlocked before the players need them. There's nothing wrong with saying "before your druids can achieve the next level of spellcasting, they must seek out a druid circle and perform a Ritual of Growth," as long as you don't then make the task of seeking and performing the ritual something that impedes their ability to participate in the game at the level of the other players.
Either way, keep communicating with your players, and as long as everyone's having fun, keep doing that!
I really love it when my DM has put level-up elements directly into the story, both for myself and for other characters. The level 3 subclassing moment is an especially ripe time to do so, though it can be tricky to weave it into story for the whole party at the same time. Multiclassing is another time when I think it can be particularly valuable. For me these have created some of the most memorable moments in the campaigns.
Worlds Beyond Number (podcast) did an interesting thing with a couple of their players, where they leveled up sort of behind the scenes but then the first use/need of a feature was a big story moment for getting that power. In some cases the characters were maybe playing with their newly leveled hit points but brought the other features on line when the story made sense.
I love the idea of adding roleplay elements to power up as long as it doesn't interfere with a player's ability to be successful in the game. WBN was incredibly successful with making that choice because they are a very roleplay-heavy campaign, the story they were telling was about embracing failure, and Brennan was a very experienced DM. If you pay attention, you'll see that he never used the delayed leveling as a way to impede progress, and instead, when the story needed a push forward, the players' power would increase. That takes a level of skill and confidence that most DMs (myself included) would struggle with, and would only fly at tables where there is a lot of trust.
As a general rule, if I'm running the type of game where my players and I agree to fold power growth into the story, I would incorporate it into an RP-heavy "downtime" period. So, we just got done kicking in heads in the Sunless Citadel, and my players go back to town, where they spend a few days reflecting on their experience, training with experts, and studying their craft. I would guide my players to some new, relevant epiphany about their class, one of their abilities, or just a deeper understanding of themselves, and that would be what grants the level-up. That way, there's limited risk introduced into the mechanical portion of the game, and my players get to take a breath before diving into the Temple of Elemental Evil, or whatever.
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I have three druids in my party but I don't know what to do when they level up and unlock a new level of spellcasting. Wizards need to find new spells and learrn them, clerics find new spells in churches, sanctuaries and temples, but what about druids? https://192168ll.link/
Must find a Druid circle and commune with nature…
Druids gain their power by being a part of nature itself. Therefore, they when they level up, they are deepening their connection with nature. The differnt druid circles are what part of nature they deepen their connection with and gain powers from. Circle of spores, circle of the moon, circle of wildfire, ect...
Also, clerics, sorcerers, warlocks, paladins, and rangers all have a spell list. They all don't learn spells (except cantrips), they prepare them. Wizards are unique in that they don't get power from some god or demon or nature or even from being born from two greats. They learn how to cast spells with incantations and stuff,. This is also why wizards can learn almost every spell with a few exceptions while other classes only have class specific spells.
Hope this helps, cheers!
Cool place to write random stuff.
Do you not know how knowing and preparing spells work, and are you actually forcing your characters to find spells in the world? Wizards experiment with spells in the background, so they don't need to go to schools of magic to learn new ones, and clerics and druids simply prepare spells from their spell list.
In the interest of approaching this from a little more constructive standpoint than past commenters, your understanding of how spellcasting works is wrong, but you're coming from a good place wanting to incorporate the mechanics into the story. 5e, especially the 2024 rules, stripped away a lot of the descriptive text for how each class's magic works in the interest of allowing you to flavor it your own way, but I do feel like new players who aren't familiar with the older rules are a little left out in the cold with regards to the why of magic, even if the how is clearer than ever.
Wizards are the only spellcasting class that needs to "learn" spells. Each level, as a result of brainstorming, tinkering with arcane formulae, and sheer inspiration, they manage to, either through furthering their understanding or pure invention, "create" two spells that they add to their spellbooks. All additional spells must be discovered and added, either by copying from other wizards' spellbooks, or by copying off spell scrolls and the like. They prepare spells out of those spellbooks daily, but can only prepare spells they have copied into their spellbook.
Sorcerers draw arcane power from their bloodline, through an ancestral connection to a powerful force. They "learn" spells by growing their connection to that ancestor, essentially gaining inspiration from their blood. They have a list of spells, and they must choose a limited number of spells to always have prepared. When they level, they can gain additional spells, as well as shuffle those spells around a little, but their choices are limited.
Bards draw arcane power from sheer inspiration. Whether it is music, poetry, art, or communion with others, their power grows through inspiration and the connection it creates with the world around them. Their spell list functions similarly to a Sorcerer's, as they can choose a limited number of spells from a list, and can only change them as they level up.
Warlocks draw arcane power from the pacts they form with powerful beings. Their magic is granted to them as part of that agreement, and it grows more powerful as their connection to that power grows, either by falling more deeply into service with the being, or having a deeper understanding of (and greater ability to manipulate) their pact. Like Bards and Sorcerers, they choose a limited number of spells from a list, and can only change them upon leveling.
Clerics draw divine inspiration from either their deity or their connection to a deeper purpose. They have a list of spells, all of which are available to them at any time. As part of a Long Rest, they spend time communing with their deity/purpose, and in doing so, are granted spells in the form of divine inspiration. They can choose any of the spells available to them, and change out which spells they prepare after every Long Rest.
Druids draw divine inspiration from their connection to the natural world, and the energies that flow through it. Like Clerics, they have a list of spells that they can change freely at the end of a Long Rest, as they spend time reinforcing their connection to nature and weaving the power of the natural world into the fabric of their being.
The half-and-third casters like Paladins, Rangers, and Eldritch Knights all have some variation of these as well, and each have their own flavor as explanation. It's important to read the entire "Spellcasting" entry of any class that has spellcasting as a class feature, so you understand how they choose spells, and how their daily allotment of spells is provided and changes.
All this is to say, only Wizards need to "study" spells to grow their collection, and even then, they gain additional spells every level-up as a reflection of their own study and increased understanding of magic. It's 100% admirable to want to reconcile an expansion in magical ability with some real-world event, and you should feel free to explore that with your players as part of roleplaying. But make sure you aren't "locking" class features behind a roleplay "gate" unless you're ensuring those gates are unlocked before the players need them. There's nothing wrong with saying "before your druids can achieve the next level of spellcasting, they must seek out a druid circle and perform a Ritual of Growth," as long as you don't then make the task of seeking and performing the ritual something that impedes their ability to participate in the game at the level of the other players.
Either way, keep communicating with your players, and as long as everyone's having fun, keep doing that!
I really love it when my DM has put level-up elements directly into the story, both for myself and for other characters. The level 3 subclassing moment is an especially ripe time to do so, though it can be tricky to weave it into story for the whole party at the same time. Multiclassing is another time when I think it can be particularly valuable. For me these have created some of the most memorable moments in the campaigns.
Worlds Beyond Number (podcast) did an interesting thing with a couple of their players, where they leveled up sort of behind the scenes but then the first use/need of a feature was a big story moment for getting that power. In some cases the characters were maybe playing with their newly leveled hit points but brought the other features on line when the story made sense.
I love the idea of adding roleplay elements to power up as long as it doesn't interfere with a player's ability to be successful in the game. WBN was incredibly successful with making that choice because they are a very roleplay-heavy campaign, the story they were telling was about embracing failure, and Brennan was a very experienced DM. If you pay attention, you'll see that he never used the delayed leveling as a way to impede progress, and instead, when the story needed a push forward, the players' power would increase. That takes a level of skill and confidence that most DMs (myself included) would struggle with, and would only fly at tables where there is a lot of trust.
As a general rule, if I'm running the type of game where my players and I agree to fold power growth into the story, I would incorporate it into an RP-heavy "downtime" period. So, we just got done kicking in heads in the Sunless Citadel, and my players go back to town, where they spend a few days reflecting on their experience, training with experts, and studying their craft. I would guide my players to some new, relevant epiphany about their class, one of their abilities, or just a deeper understanding of themselves, and that would be what grants the level-up. That way, there's limited risk introduced into the mechanical portion of the game, and my players get to take a breath before diving into the Temple of Elemental Evil, or whatever.