Can you all explain the process of a Wizard "learning" a new spell?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

There is something I'm missing. Probably because I have never, ever played a Wizard somehow in any D&D. I suspect our group's DM's are being easy on our Wizards.

In 5e by the book how does a Wizard "learn" a spell?

Thanks for being kind.

[Kane0]

Well when they level up they get some for free and add them to their spellbook.

If they come across spells in the field in the form of scrolls, other spellbooks or what-have-you they can spend a bit of time and gold to copy those into their spellbook too, if they are on the wizard list. The PHB will tell you more about that.

At the end of a long rest when the wizard gets his spell slots back he can consult his spellbook to pick out his choice of spells he wants to have ready to use for the day, that number being his level + Int modifier.

[Whit]

You would think after they they get some spells in the spell Book from graduation, they go out adventure. If they raise a level to say access 2nd lvl spells they would not have any, and would have to find 2nd lvl spells or go back to School library and write some down.

Or maybe the school gives you all the free number of spells you can get at lvl 30 but you can’t read them yet so when you get to that lvl spells they are in the boom so your ok in a derp dungeon.

If they just pop up in your head and you write them down it makes you sound like a Sorcerer or warlock

Anyway up to you.

[Tanarii]

They get two for free every time they level up.

Otherwise they need to find a scroll with a spell. Note if the DM is using random magic item generation, the party won't find many spell scrolls. The DMG doesn't tell you how to choose the spell on the scrolL.

You might also find spellbooks in dungeons / adventuring sites, or capture enemy wizard spell books. Or buy scrolls, if available.

Basically, there's some level of DM fiat. Personally, I don't make it easy. Wizards get plenty of spells even if they never find any.

Once they find a scroll it takes 2 hours and 50 gp per spell level to copy it to their spell book. That's pretty expensive in Tier 1, and not entirely cheap in Tier 2. After that it's pretty minor.

[Greywander]

At 1st level, you have a spellbook containing six 1st-level wizard spells of your choice.

Each time you gain a wizard level, you can add two wizard spells of your choice to your spellbook. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Wizard table.

The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizard’s chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library.

Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.

Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.

For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
So the short version is: start with six spells, get two more at every level up. If you find a scroll or spellbook, you can copy those spells into your own spellbook at a cost of 2 hours and 50 gp per spell level.

[Theodoxus]

Basically, there's some level of DM fiat. Personally, I don't make it easy. Wizards get plenty of spells even if they never find any.

I agree with this, though I make rituals a bit more commonly found, as they're generally less combat oriented; plus anyone with the Ritual Caster feat wants them, as well as Tome 'locks.

But in general, yeah, wizards are only bested by clerics and druids which get access to their whole spell list to pick and choose from. But getting any 2 spells you want, every level, pretty much means wizards have exactly the spells they want to use all the time. Unlike Bards, Sorcerers and Warlocks who get 1 at best.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Do Wizards have to pay to inscribe their two spells they get at level up?

[smcmike]

Do Wizards have to pay to inscribe their two spells they get at level up?

No. Read the rules posted above.

[DivisibleByZero]

Do Wizards have to pay to inscribe their two spells they get at level up?

No. Those are free.

The short answer to the OP's question is simple. A Wizard learns his spells by adding them to his or her spellbook, whether that be the free ones "learned" at level-up or the ones that he finds and adds on his own (spending the necessary time and money to perfect his/her personal process for the spell).

[FelineArchmage]

Everyone has described how to mechanically learn a new spell so far.

However, if you're wondering from a story/fluff standpoint, wizards learn their new spells upon level up through self-experimentation and study in the period between levels.

[Aett_Thorn]

Everyone has described how to mechanically learn a new spell so far.

However, if you're wondering from a story/fluff standpoint, wizards learn their new spells upon level up through self-experimentation and study in the period between levels.

Yup, this is basically the fluff. Wizards are expected to be experimenting and doing research in their free time. This manifests in their two free spells when they gain a level. However, I do usually try to make them roleplay this a bit, and try to get them to commit to a bit of foresight. For instance, after their watch duty, the trees near the camp might be a bit singed (Fireball), some of the party's stuff might be missing a couple dozen yards away (teleport), etc.

[Theodoxus]

Which is all well and good when you're a bit higher level and can take multiple sessions/days to level, giving time for said experimentation. It's a little more jarring going from 1st to 2nd level where you might have a single encounter, or perhaps like Lost Mines, where you probably deal with an ambush and explore a cavern and then level up as a consequence (sometimes requiring a long rest to recuperate, but not always).

Sure, you could explain it that the wizard had learned 6 spells during his formative years, and a couple others he didn't quite grok... but 2nd to 3rd can be just as quick depending on the campaign and encounters... 2nd level spells are a little trickier...

Not saying the answer isn't correct, just that some folks might need a bit more exposition to build verisimilitude.

[Willie the Duck]

You would think after they they get some spells in the spell Book from graduation, they go out adventure. If they raise a level to say access 2nd lvl spells they would not have any, and would have to find 2nd lvl spells or go back to School library and write some down.

That's the way it used to be. I think the prevailing logic of the modern system is that the old way made the overall power-level of the Magic User Wizard entirely too DM-dependent.



Which is all well and good when you're a bit higher level and can take multiple sessions/days to level, giving time for said experimentation. It's a little more jarring going from 1st to 2nd level where you might have a single encounter, or perhaps like Lost Mines, where you probably deal with an ambush and explore a cavern and then level up as a consequence (sometimes requiring a long rest to recuperate, but not always).

Sure, you could explain it that the wizard had learned 6 spells during his formative years, and a couple others he didn't quite grok... but 2nd to 3rd can be just as quick depending on the campaign and encounters... 2nd level spells are a little trickier...

Not saying the answer isn't correct, just that some folks might need a bit more exposition to build verisimilitude.

Sure. That's just a larger extrapolation of the overall verisimilitude-issues with a level-based game. Suddenly become better at fighting overnight? Learn a new language or skill during a 6-day adventure (admittedly, this edition doesn't have much gaining new skills as you level, but you still can)? Back in the day, when you hit 'name level,' you might get a keep and followers as class benefits. It was (in most editions) coded as gaining the social stature that people would take you seriously if you built a keep and carved out a fiefdom for yourself, and would slowly attract followers. But I always loved the idea that, mid-combat, you finally kill that last griffin or something to hit 9th or 10th level, and suddenly a fully built and populated castle would appear right in front of you, regardless of circumstances (heaven help it if you were flying at the time). :smallbiggrin:

[Tanarii]

Explaining away Wizards getting new spells is hardly the only place where 5e's hyper fast level gains, especially at low levels, with no downtime training makes for some funkiness.

If it bothers you, use the downtime training rule. Or just don't reward XP until they return to town for some downtime. The latter is especially easy if you're generally using 1 session = long rest = returning to town.

[smcmike]

Explaining away Wizards getting new spells is hardly the only place where 5e's hyper fast level gains, especially at low levels, with no downtime training makes for some funkiness.

If it bothers you, use the downtime training rule. Or just don't reward XP until they return to town for some downtime. The latter is especially easy if you're generally using 1 session = long rest = returning to town.


Alternatively, don’t bother explaining anything. Since those early levels go by so fast, you can just sort of pretend that the character always possessed their 5th level abilities, and simple chose not to use them, for whatever reason. This makes more narrative sense than a massive power up over the course of a week-long adventure.

[Greywander]

pretend that the character always possessed their 5th level abilities, and simple chose not to use them
This could also be explained as them being aware of these abilities, but not confident enough to attempt to use them. A wizard in a tight spot might decide, "Hey, I kind of remember reading about Fireball, and I think I might remember the gestures for it. If I mess up, I might explode, but if I sit on my duff I'm going to get ground to paste by this troll. At least if I mess up, I'll go out in a blaze of glory."

The wizard already kinda knows how to cast fireball, but is afraid of messing it up. Being in a life-threatening situation provides the motivation to take the risk and cast the spell, and once successfully cast it becomes a staple of the wizard's inventory. So basically, gaining a new ability at low levels is like finally trying out that awesome move you saw your teacher do, but were never brave (or competent) enough to pull off yourself, until now.

So the progression would go something like this:

1st level - "I've read about Fireball."
3rd level - "I might remember how to cast Fireball, but it could be risky."
5th level - "Eh, might as well try it. I've lived through worse."

[DeadMech]

A wizard or really any other class could probably live a long safe life if they continued training in whatever safe cloistered place they began their training to reach level 1. But they wouldn't be PC's in that case. And in some races cases that initial training might have taken 50-60 years.

My current wizard is an elf and has been training in magic for basically her entire life. She has struck out adventuring precisely because it's the shortcut to power. Maybe it's studying and experiencing things in person that gives a wizard better insight and inspiration for creating new spells. Maybe it's having the freedom to experiment with principles and powers their teachers were hesitant to allow them to practice. Perhaps they always had a fair idea of how these new spells were performed but simply lacked the innate magical power until a burst of adrenaline forced them to adapt additional spell slots or tap deeper, more abstract sources of power. Maybe it's out clearing ruins they stumble upon lost sources of knowledge. At any rate magic like any skill is something that probably develops with use. My wizard tends to cast far more spells in an adventuring day than during downtime and I imagine the spells cast during combat and exploration are things that stick in her memory more than the days of prestidigitatizing clean the school grounds and older students laundry in her freshman decade. It probably takes students quite a long time to even learn how to tap magic power to perform their first cantrip in the first place.

[Vogie]

Another way of fluffing it is prior introduction - talk to the player, and find out what spells their wizard is intending to progress through. You can then use that knowledge to give similar spells to NPC casters the party encounters prior to that level - for example, the wizard sees another caster using something like Resilient Sphere or Control Water, then actually figures it out themself by the time he or she hits 7th level.

[Sigreid]

You would think after they they get some spells in the spell Book from graduation, they go out adventure. If they raise a level to say access 2nd lvl spells they would not have any, and would have to find 2nd lvl spells or go back to School library and write some down.

Or maybe the school gives you all the free number of spells you can get at lvl 30 but you can’t read them yet so when you get to that lvl spells they are in the boom so your ok in a derp dungeon.

If they just pop up in your head and you write them down it makes you sound like a Sorcerer or warlock

Anyway up to you.

I look at it as while they are adventuring they're also observing the magical effects around them and experimenting. The 2 they pick up are their Ah HA! Moments where they gained some insight.

[BloodOgre]

When I first started playing, AD&D, the DM rolled for the spells you got (at least my DM did). I got two spells at first level. I don't recall what they were, but I do recall that neither of them were combat spells. It didn't really matter though, because cantrips weren't a thing yet, so most low-level magic users threw darts at range and stabbed things with a dagger up close. And when we gained new levels, there was a cost for the components we wasted as we learned new spells. Magic users have it so easy these days:smallbiggrin: