Magic

Spells and magic items from UA are in play.

Spell selection

The spell acquired by a magic-user upon gaining a new level is chosen by the magic-user. However, the spell must be of a level the magic-user is capable of casting at their new level and the regular “chance to know” roll must be made. If the roll fails, another spell can be chosen until one succeeds.

Spells containing a person's name in the spell title (e.g. Tenser's floating disc) cannot be chosen at any time – they must be found “in the world”, through adventure.1) Based on the rules on DMG 39.

When creating a new character, magic-users and illusionists should only roll on and/or select from the spells in the PHB. On level-up, spells from UA can be selected.2) The UA spells are often situational. It's best to provide a standard repertoire for 1st level.

Magic resistance

Magic resistance applies to all spells, not just to magic-user spells.

Touch spell duration

Touch spells with the duration of “one touch” can be held in-hand until something is touched. If the character touches themselves or one of their items with that hand, the spell goes off. Be careful.

Recovering spells

A full night’s rest is not necessarily needed to recover spells. Only the amount of time dictated by DMG 40 is required. This means a two full suites of 1st level spells could be easily cast by someone with a day to spare.

Using non-offensive spells offensively

If a non-offensive spell is used offensively, such as teleport, the unwilling target is entitled to a save vs spells, and typically will need to be touched for the spell to target them.

Spell stacking

While most spells do stack, spells of the same line do not. Only the best benefits from each spell are used. The classic example is bless, chant, and prayer.

Learning from scrolls

Attempting to know a spell via a scroll releases the magic from the scroll. Whether the to-know attempt fails or succeeds, the writing fades from the scroll.3) Based on PHB 100-101 and DMG 117. We admit that there is no line that explicitly says “if the copier fails then the magic goes back into the scroll and someone else can try,” but we feel like using the scroll in the attempt most closely matches both the spirit of the game and the aforementioned passages.

Recharging magic items

See Recharging.

Magic circles of protection

Magic circles of protection can be drawn without the use of a spell.4) Reinforced by DMG 65. The production and nature of these circles are presently left up to the DM for their own campaign, as no player has ever attempted this in ours. But we'll put a TODO here as something we could set up some rules for in the future.