Gaining New Spells

Within this system, the way players learn new spells is tweaked in order to hold them to the laws of the world and create the desired effect of immersion and consistency.

When a player with the ability to cast spells gains a level, often they gain a number of spells, or can switch out their known spells for others of the same level. The rarities in this system take effect by requiring more of the players during this process than simply picking names from a list. Common rarity spells can be chosen as usual, as most people know of them and can learn them rather easily; however, spells of higher rarities must have a reason for being available. Uncommon rarity spells should be allowed to be chosen similarly to those of common rarity, however, the players should be encouraged to think about and provide reasons why they would have heard of these spells. For example, any wizard who has spent time in a court of nobility probably knows or has heard of the comprehend languages spell used in dealings between nations to translate, but a lowborn sorcerer might not have ever known such a spell existed. Context like this helps establish a background for the character and grants the spell itself a role in the storytelling.

Further, rare spells cannot normally be chosen from a list when gaining a level, instead, rare spells must be learned from someone or something that has knowledge of the spell, or is even its creator. Take for example Snilloc's Snowball Swarm, Depending on their fame, Snilloc may be the only mage who knows how to cast this spell, and as such a player learning it at random when leveling up makes little sense. If the players were to meet Snilloc and learn the spell first-hand, however, it would leave an interesting and lasting impression on players who chose to use that spell in the future. As such, when a player gains a level in their spellcasting class, they may not take or use any spells of rare or legendary rarity that they have not heard of or learned previously. When a player learns of a spell from any source, it becomes available to them. If necessary, they can choose to replace one of their current spells with it when it is learned.