How well known are spells?

[Thrasher92]

What spells has the common person in the world heard of?

I would think simple spells like Magic Missile, Mage Armor, and Fireball would have been heard by many people in tales told by travelers. But, what about a spell like Magnificent Mansion? or perhaps Cone of Cold?

I would assume that higher level spells would be less known than lower level spells because less people know them.

[PhoenixPhyre]

What spells has the common person in the world heard of?

I would think simple spells like Magic Missile, Mage Armor, and Fireball would have been heard by many people in tales told by travelers. But, what about a spell like Magnificent Mansion? or perhaps Cone of Cold?

I would assume that higher level spells would be less known than lower level spells because less people know them.

Completely depends on the setting. In my particular setting, the PHB spells above level 1 are basically unknown (except as distorted legendary tales) to anyone except those in the Adventuring profession or casters themselves. Not only that, but the game spells are abstractions. There isn't fireball, there are a host of different variations that are abstracted into one "blow it up with a bang" game entity. Everyone does it slightly differently, and what works for one might not work for another.

There are tons of other "spells" that common people know--

* A ritual chant that makes weeds easier to pull.
* A village-scale ritual that repels pests from the crops. This one requires a blood sacrifice.
* Talismans that, when placed on a sealed container, keep the food inside fresh, but each only works once and on one type of food.
* etc.

And even most academic wizards are specialists, knowing a few specific lines. There's no cosmic list of spells that a newly trained caster picks from, complete with descriptions. Someone who's devoted to fire finds themselves developing a burst of fire spell (burning hands or firebolt). Etc.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

What spells has the common person in the world heard of?

I would think simple spells like Magic Missile, Mage Armor, and Fireball would have been heard by many people in tales told by travelers. But, what about a spell like Magnificent Mansion? or perhaps Cone of Cold?

I would assume that higher level spells would be less known than lower level spells because less people know them.

There are a couple of different D&D settings with variable levels of magic. So I guess the answer is, it varies.

What are you trying to figure out? If any common people know its possible to create a Simulacrum of their leader?

In the games I DM the important thing would be how the commoners decide to treat the spell caster who burnt down the temple with a hastily targeted Fireball. The gods and magic seem common place enough where folks should KNOW there is magic out there even if they don't know the difference between Burning Hands and Fireball.

As DM though as long as your are consistent you can set the world up however you want. Heck, sometimes the same place on earth once knew the planet was round and about how round then denied it officially. So as long as you are consistent make it what you need.

[Ixidor92]

With my games, there is no one simple answer for the world as a whole. A regular person has probably heard of basic spells that any conjurer could learn (as you describe) and would likely also have heard of the mightiest magics of legend (such as meteor swarm), though not necessarily by name. Adventurers that aren't spellcasters themselves probably know what spells are regularly helpful to them: such as enhance ability, protection from evil/good, and common evocations. Then of course you have people who are spellcasters themselves.

But really, it really boils down to, when I make an NPC and the question of magic comes up, how much do they actually know about it? And the answer is usually: "not a whole lot"

[Thrasher92]

What are you trying to figure out? If any common people know its possible to create a Simulacrum of their leader?

Nothing specific. I'm an amateur writer and I enjoy writing fantasy. I commonly pull from my DnD experiences. I was curious how the other Giants in the Playground people had it in their world.

[Greywander]

I can't remember where I heard this, and I don't think this is universally true (certainly not in homebrew settings). First, let's get in the right frame of mind. Think of this like UFO conspiracies or something like that.

Spells up to 5th level are openly acknowledged by the government. People know they exist, although their familiarity will depend on how well educated they are. Spells 6th level and higher are "government secrets". Experts in that field are likely to have a limited amount of knowledge on these spells, particularly if they can cast them themselves or know someone who can. And just like different governments keep secrets from each other, it's extremely unlikely that any one person has complete knowledge of all magic (not like we do if we flip through the PHB), except for maybe a few extraordinary individuals such as Vecna.

Something else to keep in mind is that characters 11th level and higher are rare, as they're pretty much limited to the larger-than-life badasses that you expect the PCs to become. Your magic professor at wizard school is most likely not even 10th level. So spells 6th level and up can be described as "experimental" (for spells being newly developed) or "mythical" (for spells known from legends), in the sense that some experts might be aware of the existence of specific spells but uncertain on the details of how to cast that spell or what its effects are.

So TL;DR, spells up to 5th level are widely known, or easy to get info on. Spells 6th level and up might not even exist (as far as you know), and even experts will only know of a few spells, and might not know details (such as the effects or casting method) of those spells.

But hey, that's just one way of doing it. It does make the world a bit more believable, though, as most of the reality-breaking magic is locked away and unknown. Resurrection, for example, is limited to a 10 day time limit with Raise Dead, and even then requires a powerful cleric (at least 9th level). Spells like Resurrection and True Resurrection might have whispered legends about them, but no one knows if they even exist.

[Tanarii]

Xanathar's sets the DC to identify a spell you see cast (on the fly) as Intelligence (Arcana) DC 15+spell level.

That means the average commoner can identify spells they see cast up to level 5, in a pinch and with some luck. Assuming the DM lets them make a check. If the DM decides a NPC doesn't know about a given spell (or class of spells, or levels of spells, whatever) they shouldn't get to make a check.

[Obscuraphile]

Depends on your setting, of course, but what spells are people constantly throwing around?

It's probably common knowledge that spells can charm, offend an opponent (the specifics would vary), and protect a recipient. I would say it should be common knowledge that divine spells can heal people, maybe even to the point that the common man believes that the local priest can fix anything short of death, regardless of whether or not that's true. Also, people probably know that you can magic up food.

One cool way I've done spells in the past is that the party arcanist has to go trolling for rumors about spells that people have seen performed, and then they have to go hunt up the practitioner to see if they can learn that spell from them.

[JackPhoenix]

As far as I'm concerned, while a random commoner may not be aware of specific spell, he knows magic exists, have some general idea what it can do, and wouldn't be surprised by it much. He knows there are spellcasters who can shoot fire or lightning, and while he may not know the difference between Fireball, Flaming Sphere and Burning Hands before he sees the result, he'll know keeping in tight cluster may be a bad idea. He wouldn't be surprised (afraid, yes, but it's not like he hasn't heard about that sort of thing before) when a demon or other monster appears out of thin air, and while it may not be his first conclusion, he won't call foul if he'll finds out later that the monster is illusion and not actual summoned creature... and he may at first assume objects or creatures appearing out of nowhere may be illusions, even if they are not, or vice versa (especially as illusions are more common that spells that make real stuff, not only because they are lower level (including cantrip), but also available on more spell lists, not that the commoner knows that). He may suspect that when his neighbor acts weirdly after talking to a stranger, the neighbor may be under the effect of some spell (or demonic possession, or vampiric domination, or being replaced by a doppleganger, or mind controlled by aliens...), but he may also mistakenly believe in protections against that sort of stuff that are mere superstitions.

And while he may not be aware of spellcasting mechanics, he'll be sure to geek the mage first, or to otherwise make his life harder... after all, the witch's evil eye won't curse you if she can't see you, can it?

[Armored Walrus]

I think that the bar for "know of" would be a lot lower than "be familiar with." I know about Black Hawk Helicopters, but if three of them landed in my yard this afternoon you can bet I'd react to it.

If I lived in a setting with no telephone, television, radio or internet, odds are I wouldn't even know about them. Three of them flying overhead one afternoon might cause my little town to talk about them for months. Three of them landing on my lawn would probably set me apart from all my neighbors as being strange for the rest of my life.

[holywhippet]

Most commoners would run away if an actual battle involving magic occurred -they are too likely to get blown up if they stick around. As such, they might not know specific spell names but might describe them in terms of what they might have seen from a distance. Like describing streaks of light fired out of a wizards fingertips that shot into an enemy (magic missile) or seeing a cleric reach over to touch a fallen comrade only to have them get back on their feet (cure wounds). Some might be able identify spells if they know someone who can use magic or maybe they had an ancestor who used to be an adventurer. If there is a wizards academy nearby they could probably spot certain spells on sight, but possibly only the obvious ones (like fireball).

Adventurers are meant to be a breed apart. They can identify spells because they have studied such things or encountered them during their training.

[Unoriginal]

I concure with the idea that in general people won't know the specific spell, but they'll know the kind of effect a spellcaster can produce: manipulate the mind, create illusions, use elements as attacks, etc.

They can even probably guess the amount of power something takes ie if someone uses a cantrip they're not going to be as impressed than if they use a 3rd level spell, even if both create fire.

[Asmotherion]

Your Setting, your rules.

In my, High Magic setting, everything published in the PHB is known to people Proficient with Arcana (up to Lv 5 spells), wile things from side books are a bit more exotic. I also have a variant modifier depending on how common is a spell considered, forming this table.

Arcana check DC to know about a spell: 10+Spell level.
Variant Modifiers:
Commonly used in combat situations:-1 (examples include Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Fireball)
Everyday use spells: -2 (Familiars, Unseen Servant and the like)
Spells with a Creator's Name included: +3 (Mordenkainen's etc). 0 Modifier if proficient in History as well.
Exotic Spells (source other than the PHB): Basic DC starts at 15.

Spells of a Higher level than 5 are considered an oddity and "supernatural", even among casters. "Official" studies (avalable to the players) on them have began only the last 50 years, so what they may know is a theoretical approach to a spell, or a Secluded Dangerous Caster who can cast a very powerful spell without some specific name, but unlikelly to know about Wish or Clone for example.