A problem I often have is spell books. What spells are in those books? Which spells has the magic user memorized? What about his apprentices and friends?
Here’s my solution to this dilemma:
This works with my conservative interpretation of spell books (but does not depend on it) and it gives every group of magic users a distinct flavor.
Recently I was wondering how to write it down, however. I used to just write down the master spell book. That slows me down when figuring out which spells lower level casters know. Here’s how I wrote it down for my neogi deathspider spelljamming mages (these have a level of 1d8). The important part is the second column. I also like to include alternative spell names in order to add flavor.
| Spell Level | Caster Level | Spell Name | Traditional Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Power over lesser minds | charm person |
| 1 | 2 | Power of a merchant’s greed | detect magic |
| 1 | 7 | Mind blasting cattle brains | sleep |
| 2 | 3 | Listening to the chatter of idle brains | ESP |
| 2 | 4 | Bending perception | phantasmal force |
| 2 | 8 | Unity with our arachnid ancestors | web |
| 3 | 5 | Blasting of rebellious cattle | lightning bolt |
| 3 | 6 | All seeing eye of the overlord | clairvoyance |
| 4 | 7 | Bending the will of all creatures | charm monster |
| 4 | 8 | Blessing of chaos eternal | confusion |
(I’m not sure, perhaps it would make more sense to sort this table by the second column?)
Tags: RPG 