Greetings everyone, few weeks ago I shared an article about Wizard - The Most Flexible Class in Dungeons and Dragons and talked about why it is flexible and how good it is.
Today I will dive deeper and tell you how wizards learn their spells.
We will learn how they prepare their spells. We'll also look at what you need to do when copying into a spellbook and what you need mechanically. Slowly we will learn more thing for tabletop gaming, dungeons and dragons.
Let's start!
Spell means controlling of the magic in the dnd universe, to cast this spell you need various things. First of all, you need to know this of course. Then if there is a material that this spell needs you to need to provide it. For example, you might need chalk. Also if you don't want to use a material and you want to use spellcasting focus instead you can do that too. Focus can be a wand or a gem or whatever you like. For example, I've used an hourglass. One of my friends used a smoking pipe.
If you are using a wand or something like that as a focus, you don't need to provide materials. Only some spells need gold worth of materials and you need to find them, that's why you can talk to the DM beforehand, you can look for them in the game. For example, you might need 500 gold worth of gems for your spell. First, you need to find it, then steal it (let's be honest nobody pays for this kind of thing in gold, in dungeons and dragons games) and then use it for the spell.
I was going to explain what magic is, but I'll continue. Magic means the bending of energies in the universe and the web of these energies. It means creating something as a result of this bending and manipulating. In dnd worlds, magic can be very common or very rare. magicians have a completely different understanding of the universe. They see it as the workings and formulas of the universe. it has nothing to do with the gods. so in fact in many dnd worlds, there are gods who look at magic, but we will pretend that there are not.
Let's go on knowing that magic has its own potential, its own energy, its own arcane. That's enough for now.
It's actually very easy. Let me write it down simply; when you create your character you know some spells and these spells will automatically be written in your book. These spells are as follows;
And that's it. You don't need to learn more. These are the spells you will have to choose and write them down in your notebook. Of course, if you choose a spell book. If you choose another concept, you will write in it. For now, we will go like a spell book so that it is easy to understand, but every now and then I will give you examples of other concepts. You can also use threads like Auntie in the previous post.
We have a table it shows how many slots we have. Using these slots we can cast the spells we have memorized.
As you can see, on the first level, we have two slots. We will use these slots to cast spells.
So twice a day we can cast a spell of level 1. Cantrips are free to cast. You can cast them as many times as you wish. Leveled spells are different.
Think of them as a box. When you fill these boxes, even if you know the spell, you run out of energy.
You can fill the two boxes as you like. You can either cast spell A or spell B.
But after casting this spell you have to wait because you have spent your box. So how long do you have to wait? Until you cast long rest.
A wizard's slots come back with long rest. What about Arcane Recovery What is it?
Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. Here
You used all your slots? Are you too tired? Does the Warlock and Monk in your group always want to rest? Does he/she always want to take a short rest?
Great, because this works for you too. Once a day you too can recall your magic power. You can earn slots again. let's say you are level 2. following the formula above you can summon slots with a total of 1 level.
When you are wizard level 4, you can recall slots with a total of 2 levels. i.e. 2 level 1 slots if you want, or 1 level 2 slot if you want.
If you are a level 8 wizard, you can recall slots with a total of 4 levels.
This is great because it's a feature that other full casters don't have and with this feature, you will always have a spell slot in your hand! You won't just have to use cantrip for the next battle! You will be able to use spells with level! Which is amazing.
Wizard class can't memorize all the spells in the book. İt's impossible to recite the exact formulas of dozens of spells off the top of your head. Remember your most excellent teacher at school. Even he forgot a few formulas. That's how you will memorize spells in the morning.
But only if you want to change them.
If you don't want to change your spells and you want to keep the same things as the day before, then no problem. but in general, you can memorize as many spells as your wizard level + int modifier.
So this will vary for everyone, but in general, we can accept a +3 modifier. +4 is a bit difficult at first levels. +5 is already close to impossible. To this, you add the level of your own wizard.
Then you wake up in the morning, let's say I am a level 2 wizard. Last night we found out that there are flaming creatures where we are going and ı always know flaming spells. When I get up in the morning and after drinking my Coffee, I will repeat the other spells in my book and memorize them. How many spells can ı memorize?
My level is 2 + my modifier is 3 so 5 spells in total.
I can cast any of these 5 spells whenever I want, I can use them whenever I want. but 3 times. so I have 3 slots if you look at the table above.
It is very simple. Dndbeyond and other pages already tell you that information.
As you can see one of them is red because that's the one I used. You don't have to use this website, it's free by the way, but you can use other websites. There are many good character creation websites on the internet. You can also create it yourself directly as a PDF. They are all available online.
Your opponent will roll a die to get rid of your spells. Saving Throw dice. Or you roll a die to hit them. There is a stat that affects these roles. This is your intelligence modifier, so choose your highest stat as int. The formulas are as follows
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
So if you throw a fireball and the other person is going to roll a dice to dodge, jump, run away, cry to get rid of it, the calculation of the number to pass is as above, Spell save DC.
If you are casting a spell that you need to hit him with, like Ray of Frost, then the d20 dice you need to roll is the d20 dice and the number you need to add to it is the number above, Spell attack modifier.
This can be very difficult at first. Many sites calculate it automatically. Do not be afraid. In fact, you will calculate it once and it will not change for 4 levels. After that, we can say that it will change every 3 levels or so. It takes many months to get a level in such a game. So you will do it once and forget it. I mean the calculation. Not the number, the number will always be ready on your character sheet.
Ritual Casting
You can cast a wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don’t need to have the spell prepared.
here
If you have 10 minutes, you can cast spells with ritual in their labels for free. You don't even need to spend a slot. You open your book, you perform the ritual by drawing magic energy from around.
I don't know if you're going to plant candles or if you're going to sit down and start knitting like the knitting aunt/grandma we gave the example of last week. of course, it is impossible to cast these spells during war, or combat. Don't attempt it.
But it is very logical to use these spells outside of the battle. Why should I force myself? Besides, I don't need to memorize them either!
I can open my book and cast whenever I feel like it. It's great. I just need an extra ten minutes.
I have sad news. Except for the two spells you get in your book for free after leveling up, you need money for the other spells you learn.
For example, you found a scroll and you want to engrave it in your book and learn it. You don't want to use the scroll directly. To do this, you need to spend gold value according to the level of the scroll spell you found. The calculation of this gold value is as follows;
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 GP.
Let us illustrate this point. Let's say your magic book is made entirely of metal and the pages are made of thin metal. To copy and work with it you might need, for example, 50gp worth of acid.
If you are not using a spellbook but hand knitting and sewing embroidery like your grandmother in the previous example, the money you need to spend might be the threads you use for the hand knitting.
If you don't have a spellbook and you are playing a character who tattoos her own body, you can think of the money you spend as the ink for the tattoo or the paper you use to work on the tattoo.
If you have a book like a standard Wizard and you want to copy it, then you can think of it as ink and quality paper. So whatever the theme of your character is, you need to adjust this money spending accordingly. For this, you should definitely be in contact with your dungeon master.
Now I know that at first, it is very difficult to choose a spell. Especially since we assume that you are someone who does not know at all, you may be asking yourself questions such as what spell and when you need it.
First, determine the theme of your character. If it has a flaming theme, choose accordingly. If it has an icy theme, choose accordingly. So it is very difficult to do something wrong in a game of Dungeons and dragons. There are no wrongs in this game. Relax.
Also, these choices are not irreversible choices. Remember that when you get to a new level, you can write 2 free spells for yourself. But I would still like to give you some advice. In short, let me write down things like what I can use these spells for. Let something come to your mind to start the game well. Again, you don't have to choose these spells.
Cantrips
Firebolt - This spell allows you to shoot small balls of flame. Throwing these fireballs is both fun and does nice damage at the beginning of the game.
Mage Hand - A spell every wizard should know. Because imagine that you can create a magical hand and it can open the door for you and reach for the remote control. It can bring another item from far away. If there is a dangerous trap, it can press that button. Even for the Corona period, it would be very nice, we wouldn't have to touch anything.
Minor Illusion - Who wouldn't want to create an illusion as small as a 5ft cube? It's great for both hiding and running away, but remember this illusion doesn't move. Read the spell well.
1st Level Spells
Absorb Elements - Since you don't have a lot of health if you take elemental damage you are likely to die quickly. I think this spell is useful even at level 20. It has an excellent feature of halving the elemental damage you take.
Shield - Unfortunately, your group fumbled something and suddenly you see a goblin about to swing his sword at you. You are not wearing armor anyway. You're wearing wizard robes. So it's very easy for him to hit you? Is that so? NO.
Thanks to the Shield spell, you can instantly add +5 to your defense armor, that is, your AC. And it lasts until the next round. It's perfect.
Sleep - There are many enemies around you. What to do is to get them out of the war as soon as possible. There are two ways to do this. One is to eliminate them, and that is to kill them. The other is to talk and negotiate with them. But you can put them to sleep with the sleep spell. It will be very enjoyable to put your enemies to sleep in the first levels. You can easily choose this spell because their health will be low.
Magic Missile - If anime has taught me anything, it's those magical energies flying in tangles that look really cool. And this spell hits automatically. Yes, the damage isn't great, but it's still very effective against a threat that you want to eliminate once and for all.
Charm Person - This is a must if you are playing a roleplay heavy campaign. It will be very enjoyable to say a few words and make a gesture like "You never saw us". Maybe you need to convince a guard, maybe you need to go inside. Remember this is a personal spell, you cannot cast it on monsters.
Detect Magic - I mean, it would be a shame to be a wizard and not be able to understand the magical things around you, wouldn't it? Yeah. Uh-huh. That's why I suggested these spells, and you don't have to memorize them. You just need to have it in your book. And then you can do it as a ritual. Then you can pick up magical things around you like radar. It's a must. It would be very strange to me that any wizard in a magical world would not know this spell.
If you are going to play Wizard, you need to read and study spells well. This is the bread and butter of your character.
Choose well what your book is. Just because it is a classic book does not mean it will be boring. It means that you can actually write it yourself and bring it to the table. You can also choose things like tattoos, metal books, thick skins, and hieroglyphics on stones. It depends on your creativity and your agreement with your DM.
Each time you level up your spells you can add 2 new spells. In addition to these, you can copy scrolls you find outside or spells you want to get from other wizards' books by spending 50 gold + 2 hours per spell level. This is a nice roleplay.
Your character will be a smart and intelligent person. It is useful to choose your background accordingly. Playing a new noob mage can be fun at first. But as you progress to higher levels, you should not remain an amateur. This is my opinion. You are free to do whatever you like, however, you like.
I think it is useful to think like a scientist whose view of the world is formulas, graphics, runes, and various research. This will be fun. A character who is curious and wants to learn everything will also be fun for DMs.
Be sure to talk to the DM when making your wizard. Maybe you might be studying at a school. You may be a graduate. You may even be a teacher!
Thank you very much for reading. I hope you play Wizard and let me know how it goes in the comments. See you soon!
Other Dungeons And Dragons Tabletop RPG Articles You May Be Interested In;
Wizard - The Most Flexible Class in Dungeons and Dragons
Case Study: Warlock. The Best Class in The Game?
How to Create Deeper Character Concepts For Tabletop and RPG Games
Your First Dnd One Shot Game - How to Prepare
How to Find the Best Music for Tabletop RPG Games
Dungeons & Dragons Rules Expansion Gift Set Review Tabletop Gaming
The Best Books In The Witcher Series and Dungeons & Dragons
deepl.com/translator is used on this post.
