A Beginner’s Guide to D&D Magic,

Magic Users, and Spells

The Casual Version for People Who Aren’t Well Versed in D&D

and Aren’t Afraid to be Entertained

Whilst They Learn Something

An Irreverent Primer on D&D Magic

Written by Cody Faulk

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and all other
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This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used
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All other original text in this work is copyright 2016 by Cody Faulk and published under the Community Content
Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
 A Beginner’s Guide to D&D Magic, Magic Users, and Spells

The Casual Version for People Who Aren’t Well Versed in D&D

and Aren’t Afraid to be Entertained

Whilst They Learn Something

An irreverent treatise on D&D Magic by Cody Faulk

Magic in D&D can take all sorts of shapes and sizes and whatnot. Let me start by talking about the

different kinds of magic and how it gets "made."

Arcane magic is magic that uses some sort of power to influence reality directly. It is an art, a science,

and/or a force of will that allows arcane casters to exert their power over reality. Arcane magic users are

wizards, sorcerers, bards, warlocks, eldritch knights, and arcane tricksters.

Divine magic is magic that is granted by the gods, or the collective spirit of nature, or some other form

of higher power. Think of divine magic as miracles of various sorts. Divine casters are clerics, druids, and

paladins.

So depending on the setting, arcane magic can come from various sources. In Forgotten Realms (the

standard D&D setting for 5e), it comes from a “thing” called the Weave. It’s basically the fabric and energy of

reality that binds all things together. No, it’s not the Force, but… ok it’s sort of like the Force. It’s not just

living things; it’s reality itself. It’s like the magic that holds realities together. The glue that binds. When you

use arcane magic, you are somehow altering the Weave in minor (or not) ways. So let’s talk about how

different casters approach that.

Wizards: Wizards use intelligence to cast spells, and they use spell books. What this tells us is that they

study the Weave. They learn how it works, and just as importantly, how to manipulate it. There is nothing

natural about how a wizard casts spells. Some might have a knack for it, like some people are good students,

but it does not come from within or without. It is science to a wizard. It’s also art. It’s understanding that 2 +

2 = 5 under certain circumstances. It’s knowing how to manually pluck the strings of creation to make the

desired effects occur.

This is why wizards are able to learn spells from spell books, scrolls, etc. It is like looking at a

geometry proof someone else wrote and figured out, then later you go home and understand how they arrived

at the solution. And now you can do the proof, too. You learned it, just like a wizard learns spells.

A wizard’s spell book may be full of doodles and whatnot, but in some form or fashion, it contains

diagrams, and science/art stuff that tells him how to make his magic work. The doodles might even be part of

the spell notes, but as long as he knows the art and science involved (keep in mind, most wizards are very

smart), he can cast the spells. This is why he has to prepare spells every day. He only has so much bandwidth

to actively remember X diagrams and notations each day. A smarter wizard’s spells are sometimes more potent

than a dumb wizard’s, quite simply, because he’s able to more accurately repeat the experiments that lead to

the end results he wants. Also, wizards must pick a school of study if they are more than dabblers. This

basically defines their style of study – the tradition in which they were taught.

Sorcerers: Sorcerers are very similar to wizards in that they cast mostly the same kind of spells. They are

drastically different, however, in that they don’t rely on studying the weave and influencing reality by precise

art/science, they do it by some innate force within them. They use charisma to cast spells – the force of their

own personality. They draw power from themselves and their innate magical heritage, then use that to bend

reality to their will. Basically, where wizards use study and intellect to control the weave, sorcerers use their

natural affinity with magic to work their spells.

Their natural magical heritage (maybe you’re descended from a dragon or touched by raw magic)

allows them a direct line to the Weave, and the stronger they are, they more they can influence it. This is why
they can’t learn spells from spellbooks and such. They just develop spells over time as they evolve and

practice. It is innate, not studied and learned.

Warlocks: Warlocks have no innate connection with magic, nor do they necessarily study ways to manipulate

the Weave. Instead, they literally make a pact with some sort of powerful entity (arch fey, fiend, great old one,

etc.). In exchange for service to that entity, the warlock receives power in the form of boons and supernatural

powers that allow them to alter reality in subtle (and not subtle) ways. It’s Cthulu or another sleeping sinister

alien intelligence giving powers to their servants, or even literally making a deal with the (a) devil. Like

sorcerers, warlocks use Charisma to cast, as the force of their personality and self is what allows them to use

their gifts to assert control on reality.

Bards: Bards basically understand the fabric of creation in the form of music and words. They know and

understand, at least subconsciously, parts of the song of Creation, and they use the force of their own

personalities to channel it. They literally speak or sing words of power, or play music, but in any format, their

performance resonates with the Weave and allows the bard to shape the world around him magically. And the

better his performance? The stronger the effect. So he casts with charisma, as well.

Eldritch Knights and Arcane Tricksters: Both basically work the same way. Both of them cast using

Intelligence. This means they both study how magic works, but they don’t use spellbooks or all of the fancy

wizard stuff. Instead, they learn just enough about how the Weave works and how to manipulate it to do some

minor magical stuff. They approach it academically the same way a wizard does, but not with all the

dedication and scholarship. It’s like someone who is self taught and dabbles in coding web pages occasionally,

but it’s not their day job. They aren’t going to be as good as someone who learned it formally and does it for a

living, most likely, but they have learned enough to get by. So when one of these casters casts her spells, it’s

because she’s smart enough to have figured out how to manipulate the Weave in some small ways.
Now as for Divine casters:

Clerics: Clerics are basically priests, but in a more active, adventuring type of role. They don’t typically just

hang out and do rituals and stuff. They actively serve their gods, and they do so with zeal. That said, you need

to understand that gods in most D&D settings are quite real, and there is no real question about whether or not

they exist. They have manifested in a variety of ways, and clerics are a good example of gods interacting with

mortals in everyday life.

Clerics cast with wisdom. Basically, the better they understand the will of their god, the better they

can shape reality. How do they shape reality? Through prayer and miracles. A cleric’s god gives them a

fragment of their power, or at least a conduit to draw power from their divine power. The wiser a cleric is, the

better able they are to work miracles (spells).

It’s all about divine favor with clerics. Clerics can access any of the spells their deities give them access

to, but they are only allowed so much divine favor a day, so they must choose what spells (miracles) they have

access to on any given day by praying for them while they rest the night before.

Paladins: Paladins work similar to clerics, but they aren’t always tied to a deity. Sometimes it’s just a crusade

they’re on, but in any case, their commitment to whatever it is (god, cause, nation, ideal, etc.) allows them to

access divine power and shape the world around them. It is the strength of their personality which allows them

access to divine powers to work miracles and exert control over the world around them. They prepare spells

like clerics do. They get a lot of choices, but only have so much force of will to exert in a given day, so they

must pray or meditate to prepare spells, as well.

Druids: Druids are sort of similar to clerics, but instead of serving a particular god, they draw their divine

magic from their relationship with nature. Druids understand that nature has a divinity all its own, and they

commune with nature directly, using their wisdom to understand that connection, to draw forth that divine

power, and use it to shape the world through miracles and the power of nature with a directed will behind it.
 Similar to clerics, they get access to lots of spells, but are only able to entreat the powers of nature to

let them use so many a day. Druids are a lot like clerics whose god is nature itself (as opposed to a nature

god). It’s a primal sort of magical force.

Rangers can do some minor spellcasting too. Rangers are to druids as paladins are to clerics, basically, but

rangers use wisdom to cast, just like druids. The ranger’s connection with nature and his understanding of it

allow him to use the divine power of nature to enact special spells and powers.

So that, in a very brief, very casual nutshell, is how the different casters work in D&D. That might help put

things in perspective a bit. If not, well, I tried. Next, I want to address some mechanical things.
Components of Spellcasting

Each spell a caster casts requires at least one of the following components, but possibly two, or even all three:

Vocal

Somatic

Material

These are denoted by V, S, and M on each spell in the book.

Spells that require Vocal mean you physically have to speak the magic words in some form or fashion. If you

are gagged or silenced or otherwise can’t talk, you can’t cast a spell with a Vocal component.

Spells that require a Somatic component mean you have to move one of your hands in special gestures,

like waving your hand, pointing, working your fingers in special patterns, etc. If you are restrained or

otherwise unable to move at least 1 free hand and/or its fingers, you can’t cast a spell that requires a Somatic

component. There is a caveat to this, but I’ll get to that later.

Spells that require a Material component mean you have to physically have and hold something special

in your hand while you cast the spell. If the spell requires a Material component, it will tell you what it is in

the spell description. This is usually something simple, like a bit of honeycomb, a copper wire, or simple things

like that. Unless they spell says so, the material component is not consumed by the spell (some spells do

consume it, though – it will tell you when that applies).

What this means is, if you don’t have the material component on you and you aren’t holding it, you

can’t cast that spell. This means you need to have a free hand to hold the stuff. In gameplay, you don’t need to

say, “I reach in my pouch and grab my snakeskin” as it’s just understood, but if you have your hands full or

your component pouch is missing, you ain’t casting it. That said, if you just have the equipment “component

pouch” handy in your inventory, all of your common material components are in there, and taking them out to

cast the spell is just part of the spell casting action.

 So, when someone casts message, he has to be holding a copper wire while he does it. Some DMs are

lax about that, but in combat, this kind of thing could be important. Or in social situations, if someone sees you

holding a copper wire and mumbling into your hand, they might notice and have questions. Wouldn’t you?

Some materials cost money and aren’t super common. Like for Protection from Evil and Good, you

need powdered silver and iron and holy water. Those things cost money (it tells you how much), and it also

says they get consumed by the spell. So you have to specifically buy those things and carry them around if you

want to cast that spell. If you don’t have them, you can’t cast the spell. Say you have 2 doses of those

ingredients. If you cast it twice and don’t buy more, you can’t do it again. Another caster (warlock, cleric,

whatever) can cast the same spell, but he needs the material components, too, so if he doesn’t have them, even

if he prepares the spell, he can’t cast it. He would be missing the material component.

Now here’s the caveat. Some classes are able to use an arcane/divine focus instead of common material

components. What this means is that some classes (wizard, sorcerer, warlock, cleric, druid, bard… I think)

can use a special item, hold it in their hand, and use that instead of common material components. This means

as long as X wizard has their arcane focus crystal orb in their hand, they can cast any spell requiring material

components that don’t have a listed price or don’t get consumed. Basically, this means instead of carrying

around a component pouch, they can use the arcane or divine focus. Wherever a component pouch wouldn’t

work, a focus wouldn’t work either.

Also, if you are using a focus, you can hold it in a free hand just like components, and use that hand to

do whatever somatic component the spell might require. So you could have a sword in one hand and your

arcane focus (or whatever component from your pouch) in the other.

For clerics, the divine focus is typically their holy symbol. Some DMs are lax about this, too, but

technically, a cleric or paladin needs to hold a holy symbol in his hand when he casts spells using it. Unless he

has a backup holy symbol (maybe a necklace or something), if a cleric loses his holy symbol, he’s going to have

a bad time. Similarly, might use his Rod of the Pact keeper as an arcane focus. If he’s not holding it, he can’t

use certain spells (the ones with a material component) unless he has the proper components in his hand.
Crash course in D&D magic users: complete. Go forth and fear not the caster!

I hope this helps!

-Cody Faulk