Quote *I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves... Men... and Orcs. * - Gandalf the Grey
Magic has a great potential to become integral to story-telling and role-playing in our games. Rather than let it fall into doldrums of repetition (I cast magic missle, again. Sigh.), let us generate some lore and flavour to be included in our magic usage.
This project is based off of the Ecology Project by /u/famoushippopotamus and originally suggested by /u/wolfbrother180, and I was so impressed by the community's creative genious exhibited in the Ecology Project, I asked to spearhead this thread.
Topics We're not trying to change mechanics here, so let's leave those alone. Instead, give us a better understanding of: * The origin of the spell. Who invented or discovered it? What were the circumstances? Did they have guidance, or find it through experimentation? * Learning the spell. Challenges in the initial transcription, ways to obtain the rarer spell components, descriptions of the verbal chants and somatic hand wavings. Diagrams if you feel frisky. * Description of the resultant spell effect. Does it manifest uniquely for each caster or uniformly regardless of who cast it? Are there secondary effects such as a strange odor, or ionized air. Does it leave evidence of the casting afterwards, and for how long? (such as a circle of glowing runes from a teleport spell, or charred ground from Flaming Sphere) * Famous/Infamous uses of the spell in history. Examples of creative or extremely appropo castings. (feel free to use examples from real games, or your imagination) * Failed and wild magic. What happens if the player fails their concentration check? What effects occur when the material components are compromised? How does the spell behave in areas of wild magic or on other planes? (For example, do Shadow spells create real creations on the Plane of Shadow?)
DM's Toolkit This is primarily a group for DMs, so give us some ideas how to use the spell as a plot hook, as treasure, as part of a trap, or by villious NPCs against the players. Definitely include any successful real world examples that you experienced or heard about.
In keeping with established rules, the following rules will apply:
1. You can post more than 1 Spellbook Entry, but no more than 5. 2. You must nominate a spell for yourself by commenting. This list will then be updated with the users who have committed to the post. Please don't commit unless you plan on delivering. 3. The post title should JUST be the name of the Spell. Nothing else. 4. After you post, flair your post with the flair "Spellbook Entry: " (which was just created)
The Spell List Due to the large number of spells just in the SRD, /u/famoushippopotamus asked me to limit the number of spells recommended. I used a combination of these criteria to choose the list: Iconic spells of D&D, Interesting Material Components, and creative usage. If you feel compelled to do one not on this list; once it is done, I'll add it.
| Spellbook Entry | Contributor |
|---|---|
| /u/famoushippopotamus | |
0-Level Spells * Dancing Lights * Light * Mage Hand * Open/Close * Prestidigitation
1st-Level Spells * Animate Rope * Color Spray * Grease * Identify * Summon Monster I
2nd-Level Spells * Detect Thoughts * Glitterdust * Locate Object * Spider Climb * (Tasha’s) Hideous Laughter
3rd-Level Spells * Blink * Dispel Magic * Gentle Repose * (Leomund’s) Tiny Hut * Magic Circle Against (Chaos, Evil, Good & Law)
4th-Level Spells * Black Tentacles * Dimension Door * Geas, Lesser * Scrying * Stone Shape
5th-Level Spells * Baleful Polymorph * Feeblemind * Permanency * Prying Eyes * Symbol of Sleep
6th-Level Spells * Antimagic Field * Contingency * Eyebite * Mislead * Stone to Flesh * True Seeing
7th-Level Spells * Insanity * Project Image * Reverse Gravity * Simulacrum * Spell Turning
**8th-Level Spells * Binding * Clone * Mind Blank * Moment of Prescience * Prismatic Wall * Sympathy
9th-Level Spells * Gate * Mage’s Disjunction * Refuge * Shapechange * Time Stop * Wish