Multi classing wizard: Copying spells

[lord4571]

im a level 19 (full caster) taking a level in wizard
can i copy into my spell book a 9th level spell?

(i kinda just tried reading about this but its not clicking with me)

(I’m a 16th-level cleric and I want to take a level in wizard. Can I learn and prepare wish?
No. You determine what spells you know and can prepare for each class as though you were only that class. If you are a 1st-level wizard, you know six 1st-level wizard spells and cannot learn wizard spells above 1st level.)

I understand from normal leveling the answer is no, but copying a spell into your spell book seems like a yes with this next part... idk.

"If you find a spell scroll containing the wish spell, you could still attempt to cast it, but you would have to roll a spellcasting check as described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide."

[Sigreid]

That refers to casting it from the scroll. An apprentice trying to read and follow such a powerful spell is as likely as not going to screw it up and waste the scroll if he's lucky.

[Yunru]

I understand from normal leveling the answer is no, but copying a spell into your spell book seems like a yes with this next part... idk.

"If you find a spell scroll containing the wish spell, you could still attempt to cast it, but you would have to roll a spellcasting check as described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide."

Spell scrolls have nothing to do with copying spells I'm afraid, so that quote's meaningless.

[Gignere]

im a level 19 (full caster) taking a level in wizard
can i copy into my spell book a 9th level spell?

(i kinda just tried reading about this but its not clicking with me)

(I’m a 16th-level cleric and I want to take a level in wizard. Can I learn and prepare wish?
No. You determine what spells you know and can prepare for each class as though you were only that class. If you are a 1st-level wizard, you know six 1st-level wizard spells and cannot learn wizard spells above 1st level.)

I understand from normal leveling the answer is no, but copying a spell into your spell book seems like a yes with this next part... idk.

"If you find a spell scroll containing the wish spell, you could still attempt to cast it, but you would have to roll a spellcasting check as described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide."

That has nothing to do with copying a spell into your spell book. Your spellbook isn’t a scroll.

[bid]

I understand from normal leveling the answer is no, but copying a spell into your spell book seems like a yes with this next part... idk.

Your Spellbook (p. 114). The spells copied into a spellbook must be of a spell level the wizard can prepare.
Anything in the Classes chapter uses the class level. For that chapter, your levels in other classes do not exist. If you are a level 1 wizard, you can do anything a level 1 wizard can do. Nothing more, nothing less.

It does not matter that you are a level 19 character, each class is processed independently.

[Chronos]

Spellcasting classes are not processed completely independently. Your spell slots combine, so if you learn, say, Burning Hands as a wizard, then you can cast it from a high-level slot to do more damage (though generally still less damage than an actual higher-level spell like Fireball).

Also, cantrip damage depends on total character level, even including non-casting classes.

However, spells prepared/known are still based on each class individually, so if you only have one level in wizard, you can only prepare the wizard spells that a first-level wizard could (i.e., no spell above 1st level). There's room for debate about what you can put in your spellbook, but the general consensus is that that's limited in the same way.

[Remover of Obst]

So, a character starts at level 1 as a Tempest Cleric and knows Thunderwave.

At level 2, they multiclass into Wizard. Since they know Thunderwave and it is on the wizard level 1 spell list, could they enter Thunderwave into their spellbook?

[Anymage]

So, a character starts at level 1 as a Tempest Cleric and knows Thunderwave.

At level 2, they multiclass into Wizard. Since they know Thunderwave and it is on the wizard level 1 spell list, could they enter Thunderwave into their spellbook?

That depends on if you consider "a wizard spell" to mean any spell available on the wizard spell list, or whether you mean that a spell with broad availability has different versions for each of the potentially allowed classes. Although I could have missed a sage advice on the topic.

Still, if you did allow it to be copied as a wizard spell, in that specific case it would be useless for that character. It would take the cost for adding a known spell to your spellbook. In the case of something like Detect Magic it might have some edge utility, in that you might prefer to prepare it in a slot on your wizard side instead of your cleric side. Domain spells are automatically prepared on the cleric side. So while you could technically prepare it wizard side if you had it in your spellbook, that would be a waste. The only advantage would be that another wizard could then copy the spell out of your spellbook.

[Sigreid]

So, a character starts at level 1 as a Tempest Cleric and knows Thunderwave.

At level 2, they multiclass into Wizard. Since they know Thunderwave and it is on the wizard level 1 spell list, could they enter Thunderwave into their spellbook?

I would say no. They it's a completely different spell.

[Remover of Obst]

I am having a hard time accepting that they are different spells.

I understand that characters could come to their magical power in different ways and learn spells spells from different sources. But considering that 5e has moved away from having scrolls bound to classes (DMG errata p.200) and states that a spell is a discrete magical effect (PHB p. 201), I see that multiple classes are able to cast the same spells with the same effects.

For the sake of the wizard class, you can fill your spellbook in two ways. As you level, you gain spells reflecting the arcane research you conduct on your own and intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. Or when you find spells (PHB p. 114). For example scroll, tome or possibly taught?

So if you have had the intellectual breakthrough (even if it was originally divinely inspired) for a domain spell in your area of mastery, I would offer that you are quite able to transcribe it to your spellbook using your own notation if you have had the sufficient power development (levels of wizard class) and it is within your capabilities (on the wizard spell list).


Now that doesn't mean you can double dip. You would either have to cast it as a WIS based cleric spell or a INT based wizard spell.


So... RAW... or maybe RAI?

If you have the Arcana proficiency, you could make a scroll (XGTE p. 133) and then copy to your spellbook and probably upset some druids and party members over the wasted supplies.


As stated above, a lot of work and wasted resources (gold, time, prepared spell) for very little return even if you are casting it with Empowered Evocation.

[Chronos]

Another case where a multiclassed wizard might want to add spells from their other class to their book is rituals. Most ritual-casting classes still need to have a spell prepared in order to cast it as a ritual, but a wizard just needs it in their book.

Would I allow it? I don't know. On the one hand, it seems perfectly reasonable, but on the other, wizards are strong enough already, and don't need any buffs.

[Nhorianscum]

Another case where a multiclassed wizard might want to add spells from their other class to their book is rituals. Most ritual-casting classes still need to have a spell prepared in order to cast it as a ritual, but a wizard just needs it in their book.

Would I allow it? I don't know. On the one hand, it seems perfectly reasonable, but on the other, wizards are strong enough already, and don't need any buffs.

Wiz3 is a pretty good way to know a loooot of low level arcane spells as a known-spell caster without actually spending picks on them in later tiers of play thanks in-part to scribing known-spells into the book and dumping them on level up.