A Beginner’s Guide to D&D: Spell Basics

Witchcraft can be a somewhat confusing topic for the inexperienced. But don’t worry; this article is a guide to everything you need to know to cast spells and cast hexes.

The D&D spell system can be difficult to understand for new players. This does not mean that the system itself is difficult to penetrate. In fact, its simplicity and streamlined design are among D&D’s most important strengths.

But players who don’t use spells shouldn’t be mocked, especially if they’re new.

Learning to cast spells in D&D is no easy task. The system has a lot of complex mechanics that don’t fit together seamlessly like puzzle pieces should.

And as a once-new player who struggled to understand sorcery, I know the frustration of not understanding everything. But trust me on this. Goblins might even be able to figure it out if they’re dumb enough!

The first step to understanding how a magic spell works is to know the different schools of magic and what they focus on. As of the latest edition of 2024, there are eight schools of magic.

Knowing the different schools and what they bring to the table is essential to creating the right spell list!

Summoning Magic

Summoning consists primarily of elemental-based spells, and this is where spellcasters will find most of their combat spells. This school allows players to be pseudo-avatars of the elements, shooting fireballs, lightning, and even occasionally casting healing spells from their fingertips.

Necromancy Magic

Necromancy is a school of magic that practically explains itself. Now a fair warning: many virtuous people often view necromancy unfavorably. However, if the character does decide to take up these dark arts, a whole world of fun awaits them. From raising the dead to draining the health of a target like a mosquito, necromancy spells are terrifying to the recipient and have insane versatility.

The magic of renunciation

Renunciation can best be described as “I hit you! – Nope, no, you didn’t do it! school of magic. Most other schools have a variety of destructive and offensive spells. However, his spells such as Shield or Dispel Magic highlight abjuration magic. And who could forget about the good old “Counterspell”? A good spellcaster isn’t ready for adventure without an abjuration spell or two in the back pocket of his robe!

Fortune telling Magic

If a player wants to play a medium or some learned old man, they’ll probably want to take a look at divination magic. The best way to describe divination spells is simply that if a player wants to know something, a divination spell can tell them. I like to use spells like Arcane Eye and Lore of Legends to keep up with what’s going on in the campaign world.

Witchcraft magic

As players, we hate wasting our hard-earned gold on things we can get for free, right? Well, consider it a thing of the past with summoning magic! Being a school of magic, it not only allows those under the influence of arcane magic to summon creatures such as wights or devils, but also inanimate objects such as weapons or deadly clouds of poison.

Transmutation Magic

So let’s say a wizard wants to move a 5-foot cube of dirt onto a guy’s head because he cut himself in front of him in line. Or the witch intends to make a greedy adventurer suffer for trespassing on their hut. They would most likely use a transmutation spell to make such dreams come true.

Transmutation spells most often revolve around turning one thing into another, such as turning a person into a sheep using the Polymorph spell. More precisely, transmutation magic focuses on changing the physical state of something.

Enchantment Magic

Enchantment magic covers a variety of utility spells, each with many unique uses. For example, if the party needs to charm a guard, they can use the Charm Person spell. Or, if the barbarian’s weapon needs some extra power, he can use the Magic Weapon spell instead! Is the enemy rolling too high? Boom! Say “Bane”, idiot! Naturally, the school of magic includes various types of spells. When used correctly, enchantment spells provide incredible buffs and debuffs that give the party a superior combat advantage.

Illusion Magic

While there aren’t many damage-focused spells, illusion magic is one of the strongest schools a caster can focus on. As the name suggests, illusion magic is based on spells that can confuse and disorient the target.

Spells like these can be used for a variety of purposes, such as changing a player’s appearance using the Disguise spell. Or, if the player is feeling particularly mischievous, they can use Hypnotic Pattern. a spell to charm an entire tavern of NPCs before robbing them all blind.

Spells and spell slots simplified

Most new players are overloaded with spellcasting when someone tries explain how spell slots work. And oh my god, I am a prime example of this.

I avoided using full spellcasters for my entire first year of D&D because of how confused I was by spell slots. Honestly, I was just stunned trying to figure out why my scorching ray couldn’t be cast with a level 1 spell slot.

For simplicity, I will use the 5E Master’s Progress Chart in this article.

What are spell slots?

Spell slots are what allow spellcasters to cast their spells. Without them, spellcasters would be old aged sages, angrily waving sticks and crystals.

Each class has a certain number of spell slots depending on its level. For example, at fifth level, a wizard would have access to four first-level spell slots, three second-level spell slots, and two third-level spell slots. This means that a wizard can cast two third-level spells, three second-level spells, and four first-level spells before recharging their spell slots with a long rest.

Additionally, in order to recharge their spell slots, almost every caster class has to rest for a long time to get them back. Unfortunately, even the most powerful wielders of arcane magic demand a farewell.

However, what many new players don’t realize is that spells cannot be downgraded. This means that if a character has access to a third-level spell, such as fireball, he can only use third-level (or higher) spell slots to cast it. Thus, spellcasters cannot use a second-level spell slot to rain fiery glory on their enemies.

Upcasting is normal. Downcasting is bad. Don’t do this. This is impossible.

What do “B”, “S” and “M” mean?

In D&D, each spell has certain “components” that must be met before it can be cast. When a spell’s information is written down, its spell components are often abbreviated to V, S, and M.

Simply put, if a character can’t meet these basic requirements to cast a spell, then the spell just won’t happen, you know?

V is for Verbal. This means that the character must be able to speak to cast the spell. So if they’re underwater or gagged, the only thing they’ll say is… well… nothing. Because, you know, they can’t talk.

S stands for somatic. No, not Socrates. Somatic. After all, D&D already has plenty of controversial topics to talk about.

For somatic spells, the character must have at least one hand free to make gestures while casting the spell. Because if a character can’t make obnoxious hand gestures while casting a spell, what’s the point of casting it at all?

Lastly, M stands for Material. More often than not, unless a character casts a spell using a spell focus (such as a wand or a funny-looking rock), the spell will require some small item as the cost of the spell. These often scale with the level of the spell. So, wizard casting a 1st level spell, thank WotC for only having to use a handful of earth for the material cost instead of a 300 gold worth diamond.

Focus vs Material Spell

As stated earlier, some spells have a material component that must be cast. However, in most cases this component can be bypassed.

Think about what a stereotypical wizard might look like.

What would a wizard not be caught dead without? That’s right – their magic wand/old tree branch (aka their staff)!

However, spellcasters can bypass the material components of most spells if they wield an arcane focus such as a wand or staff. However, if the material required for a spell lists its cost in gold, that component will still be needed even if it is cast through a focus.

Using Arcane Focus makes it easier to learn spells and makes casting easier. However, using materials can free up space to create unique character spaces, making each spell the character casts much more valuable and effective.

Wait, what spells do I know again?

Each class has its own way of learning spells. For some, like Witch or Warlocktheir level determines the number of spells they can know. Meanwhile, for classes like Priest And Wizardtheir characteristics and level determine the number of spells they can know at the same time.

These are “spells prepared” and can be calculated by adding a class’s level to its spell modifier (Wisdom for Druid and Cleric, Intelligence for Wizard).

The main difference between the two is that a prepared spellcaster can turn off his prepared spells whenever he wants during a long rest. In contrast, a leveled caster can only switch her levels one at a time per long rest. Ultimately, the preference of which class a player wants to play is up to them, as both styles have their advantages.

And these tips are just the tip of the iceberg regarding all the rules of witchcraft. Each class has mechanics and abilities that make its spells unique, from class-specific spells to class features such as a sorcerer’s metamagic or a wizard’s spellbook.

The best way for players to learn how magic works is to simply play as a spellcaster and see what they like about each class.

What do you think? Is there any advice I missed that you personally would give to a new D&D player?

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