Bard/Warlock Spell Rules Adjustment Question

[Clockw3rk]

New DM here. I've got a Bard and Warlock in my group and, from what I understand of the spell rules, they can replace 1 previously understood spell each level (PHB - 59) along with adding their new spells. So that would mean that they're locked into many of their spell choices for the game, except being able to change 1 previously selected spell when they level.

So...

First, am I following that correctly?

Second, it seems very restrictive from a game mechanics standpoint (forgetting role play aspects for now). Does anyone with a bit more experience out there think we'd get into trouble if I allowed them to switch spells up each level? I get that they're not clerics/wizards and need some restriction but want to let them try out different stuff so they can decide if a spell is useful instead of picking a few turkeys and being stuck with them. BUT, I'm also worried it would make them overpowered down the road. Or maybe it's not as restrictive as it seems since they're also adding new spells as they level and it will force them to think about their choices more carefully?

Thoughts? Theories? Recommendations?

Thanks.

[Hootman]

Yes, you are following that correctly. Bards, Sorcerers, and Warlocks are generally "stuck with it" when they pick a spell, but my experience suggests that the vast majority of spells are at least usable (if not all equally amazing), so even if they find that they don't care for a certain spell it should still do some work for them before they trade it out.

It's honestly always bugged me that they even CAN trade their spells out, from a roleplaying perspective. Did my Bard just suddenly forget the mystical lullaby he's sung like 100 times before just because--from a mechanical standpoint--the Sleep spell tends to get weaker as you level up? But you wanted to focus on mechanics.

I think it would be perfectly fine to allow your players to completely change their spells at every level if the restricted spell lists is chafing, since it'll make them happy and able to test out new combinations without actually increasing their power (since they have to give up the spells they had before). Depending on how new your players are, though, I could see them getting confused as to which spells they have now, and quickly regretting things if they decide to trade out a LOT of their spells every level and suddenly realize they can't do whatever favorite trick they had the previous level. That pretty much just requires them to be very conscious of their decision-making, though. After a little while, unless you have some very novelty-obsessed players, they'll all gravitate towards a few spells that they like the best, and the rest will pretty much be whatever seems useful only to the current game arc (Featherfall is great when you're fighting the Storm Giant King, but not nearly so important if you're treasure-hunting in The Pharoah's Tomb), which brings them more or less back into line with what the rules offer you anyways.

[Ventruenox]

Making spell scrolls available for purchase also presents an option for players to try some spells out. In an older edition I once had a DM deal with an indecisive problem player by giving him 3 scrolls of his choice, and when they got used up he had to pick which of those three would be his permanent choice.

[Christian]

It's a bit more OP for warlocks than bards, as even spells that scale are not usually as effective in a higher-level slot as a higher-level spell would be. Better balanced if you limit all but one of the spell selections to being the same level as the spell being replaced.

OTOH, since most of the warlock spell list is hot garbage, probably not a big deal.

[MrStabby]

I quite like the restriction as a DM. It means i can give out abilities and items that grant access to spells as treasure/rewards to these classes and they are pretty valuable.

[ghost_warlock]

Yes, you are following that correctly. Bards, Sorcerers, and Warlocks are generally "stuck with it" when they pick a spell, but my experience suggests that the vast majority of spells are at least usable (if not all equally amazing), so even if they find that they don't care for a certain spell it should still do some work for them before they trade it out.

It's honestly always bugged me that they even CAN trade their spells out, from a roleplaying perspective. Did my Bard just suddenly forget the mystical lullaby he's sung like 100 times before just because--from a mechanical standpoint--the Sleep spell tends to get weaker as you level up? But you wanted to focus on mechanics.

Of course you replace something that has outlived its usefulness. Think of it as a software upgrade.