

How it Works (or better yet, how I want it to work, but can’t out how to)

Before we get to the fun stuff, let’s set up some guidelines on this works. In 2nd edition, the caster had the option of memorizing the actual spell or the reverse of the spell. As long as they had the needed components, the caster just had to decide which version of the spell they wished to memorize. But why have to choose between the two options. Why can’t everyone just cast either version of the spell, providing they knew the key phrases to change and had the required physical components?

This question stuck with me all week as I was working on this article. Sure, depending on the spell you memorize/pray for you could be getting two for the price of one. Is that fair? No matter what version of the spell you decided to use it still took a spell slot, so it wasn’t like you were cheating the system by having two options on how to cast a spell. If you can cast both, is it available to all casters, or only certain classes? Since your effectively memorizing two spells, does it take longer to learn your spells? Should it matter if it is arcane or divine magic?

A million questions and thoughts were played out in my head, almost equally for and against being able to memorize the original spell and cast either at will. I’ll be honest, I haven’t been able to decide which way to go even now. I’m sure someone more skilled than I could figure out a fair and equitable system to make it work, but as of this writing, that person is not me. That said, I decided to end up following the simple rules set up in 2nd edition.

When the spell is learned, both forms are recorded in the wizard’s spell books. However, the wizard must decide which version of the spell he desires to cast when memorizing the spell, unless the spell description specifically states otherwise. For example, a wizard who has memorized the stone to flesh spell and desires to cast flesh to stone must wait until the latter form of the spell can me memorized (ie., rest eight hours and study). If he could memorize two 6th level spells, he could memorize each version of the spell once or one version twice. 2nd Edition PHB, pg. 114

So for 5th Edition, let's go with the following.

A caster has access to both forms of a reversible spell, whether through their Deity, Patron, Spellbook. When memorizing the spell, the caster must decide then which version of the spell they wish to have available to cast. If the caster can memorize two or more spells of that level, they can memorize each version of the spell. Each version of the spell each counts as one spell slot when cast.

Pretty straightforward and it follows the basic guidelines set up in the previous edition. Honestly, though, it left me unsatisfied. So, I came up with this as a solution:

Reversible Spellcaster Feat

Your deep knowledge of magic allows you to memorize spells and their reversible spell at the same time.

Increase your spellcasting ability by 1, to a maximum of 20.

When memorizing a spell that is reversible, you have access to both versions of the spell once that spell is memorized. Each version of the spell still requires one spell slot to cast.



The Spells

There are a lot of spells in the 5th edition and not all of them can be reversible. But for those that can be reversed (and it makes sense to do so), I have worked on reading a new spell block and description for each of them.