Further, rare spells cannot normally be chosen from a list
Spell Rarities
The level of a spell dictates its power, but not always its
difficulty or prevalence. Some spells are known only to a
scarce few mages who need them for their work, or even only
those who invented them, while other spells are all but erased
from history, with only minor references and snippets
scribbled in the margins of the most ancient tomes. Some
spells that could change the world as it is known are so
difficult to master that only the most skilled mages ever
bother to try, while some are simple displays of pure force that
any mage of sufficient power may wield with ease.
This optional system serves to contextualize spellcasting in
your world, generate interesting connections between players
and their spells, and simultaneously provide an internally
consistent method for limiting the players' magical abilities to
manageable levels for the DM.
There are four rarities used in this system, and they are
detailed below:
Common: Almost every trained spellcaster, and even some
untrained ones who have the ability to cast this spell use it
often or know of it and have seen it used. Common spells
are almost always easy to master for spellcasters powerful
enough to wield them.
Uncommon: Some spellcasters know of and use this spell,
either due to its difficulty, its obscurity, or its niche
applications. Most spellcasters will have at least some
vague knowledge of this spell.
Rare: Very few spellcaster know of or use this spell. This may
be the personal spell of some powerful mage who created it,
or it may have been forbidden long ago and only exists in
the minds of a scarce few old wizards.
Legendary: No living person in the known world still uses
this spell, but there is some remaining record of it, whether
in the far memory of some considerably ancient warlock (or
their patron), the pages of a legendary lost tome, or in the
text of a crumbling old scroll, which can withstand but one
last casting before being lost to time.
Gaining New Spells
Within this system, the way players learn new spells is
tweaked in order to hold them to the laws of the world and
create the desired effect of immersion and consistency.
When a player with the ability to cast spells gains a level,
often they gain a number of spells, or can switch out their
known spells for others of the same level. The rarities in this
system take effect by requiring more of the players during this
process than simply picking names from a list. Common rarity
spells can be chosen as usual, as most people know of them
and can learn them rather easily; however, spells of higher
rarities must have a reason for being available. Uncommon
rarity spells should be allowed to be chosen similarly to those
of common rarity, however, the players should be encouraged
to think about and provide reasons why they would have heard
of these spells. For example, any wizard who has spent time in
a court of nobility probably knows or has heard of the
comprehend languages spell used in dealings between
nations to translate, but a lowborn sorcerer might not have
ever known such a spell existed. Context like this helps
establish a background for the character and grants the spell
itself a role in the storytelling.
when gaining a level, instead, rare spells must be learned from
someone or something that has knowledge of the spell, or is
even its creator. Take for example Snilloc's Snowball Swarm,
Depending on their fame, Snilloc may be the only mage who
knows how to cast this spell, and as such a player learning it
at random when leveling up makes little sense. If the players
were to meet Snilloc and learn the spell first-hand, however, it
would leave an interesting and lasting impression on players
who chose to use that spell in the future. As such, when a
player gains a level in their spellcasting class, they may not
take or use any spells of rare or legendary rarity that they have
not heard of or learned previously. When a player learns of a
spell from any source, it becomes available to them. If
necessary, they can choose to replace one of their current
spells with it when it is learned.
Distributing Rarities, and Their
Consequences
On the following pages I have included my distribution of
rarities for all of the currently available (Pre-Xanathar's) spells
in 5e (as according to The Grimoire) for my campaign setting.
If you wish to use GMBinder for this as I did, you can click
"Source</>" on top of this page to copy my format.
Take note when creating your own distribution as to the
differences between common and uncommon rarities. The
border here may become blurred at times, but know that
spells within the common category should be those who most
if not all magic users would know. This can have major
implications on the setting of a world, depending on the
prevalence of spellcasters. To take inspiration from this
WebDM episode, if spells such as revivify are made common,
then why would any person ever die in combat? What would
the diamonds used in the casting of that spell be worth? These
are things to consider when ranking spell rarities, and can
serve as inspiration for innovative cultures or economies in
your setting. By contrast, marking a spell as uncommon can
do well in leaving it open to players, but reducing its impact
upon your setting. If the spell revivify is supremely difficult,
then it may only be in use by those with significant skill, and
only for exorbitant amounts of gold, making its consequences
much less universal.
Alternate Spell Names
When using this system to enhance spellcasting in
your setting, you may find it beneficial to rename
certain spells to use the names of characters, gods,
or locations that are consistent within your own
setting. For example, Arms of Hadar can be made
into a small tidbit of worldbuilding verisimilitude if
named after an appropriate old god in your setting.
Spells of the Masters
There are a number of spells included in 5e which
are named after their creators, and similarly to the
spell names mentioned above, these spells could
also benefit from a bit of alteration or creative
worldbuilding to fit your setting. Think about who
these characters are and what they do based on
what they've created, and what position that lends
them in your world.
1
 Applying Rarity to Specific
Classes
This system as written applies mostly to wizards, and seems
less applicable to other classes. In this section I will provide
thoughts and examples on how to apply the ideas behind spell
rarity to other classes.
Bard
The Bard is an oddity in that they have no concrete, canonical
method for learning new spells (as far as I have found). Many
assume that they learn similarly to the sorcerer and just
spontaneously think of new spells to cast, Some think it is a
function of new songs or art pieces they've created granting
them new spells. Others still think they learn similarly to
wizards and learn spells through some amount of study,
whether it be artistic or not. For the purposes of this section, I
will assume that Bards attain spells through some
combination of thought and artistic expression that leads
them to the discovery of a new spell.
In this sense, common spells would be represented as
easily imagined and cliché ideas very common to the medium
that the bard practices. These ideas would then be very
prevalent and well-known to any bard worth their salt.
Uncommon Spells would then represent something like a
shallow subversion or a slightly different twist on one of those
clichés, allowing for special ideas that could lead to more
specialized spells. For example, a spell like disguise self could
have arisen in the mind of a shunned tiefling from thoughts of
a common story re-contextualized by their personal feelings of
isolation and social anxiety.
Then there are the rare and legendary bardic spells. I would
assume rare spells were some personalized work of high art
created for a specific purpose. This could be something like a
powerful and heartfelt ballad for a loved one that was lost in a
truly horrible way bringing to mind the spell raise dead. A
legendary spell would then be some powerful odyssey of
incredible artistic merit, such as a massive, sweeping, epic
poem that could cause even the most stubborn of men to
rethink their ideals.
Additionally, Bards can be taught spells by other bards
exposing them to the ideas and inspirations that brought
about the spell. The more deep and multi-faceted the
inspiration, the more difficult the spell is to learn.
2
Cleric
Clerics do not learn spells, they are given their abilities
through their devotion to their deity, faith, or other target of
worship. Mechanically, clerics simply "know" all of their
possible spells and just progress in the amount of power they
have to cast more of them. This omniscient knowledge of
course clashes with the idea of rarities in this system, but it
can still be leveraged to function normally with a few
considerations into how spells are distributed. There are three
main ways to deal with clerics in this system:
1. Deities treat uncommon spells similarly to domain spells,
only allowing certain clerics access to those powers based
on their needs, and treat rare and legendary spells as
special, direct divine gifts, heavily limited in their
distribution. This provides a reasonable hierarchy of
clerics with increasing access to certain powers, ending in
only the highest and holiest being able to perform true
miracles never seen by mortals.
2. Clerics know about all their spells, but may not necessarily
be given the power to cast certain ones due to other
factors, such as divine politics (i.e. gods of life not stepping
on the toes of gods of death with spells like resurrection).
This could allow for situations where a cleric has
knowledge of a powerful spell, maybe even one that could
resolve a problem very important to them, and they know
their god holds it just out of their reach, creating a
meaningful sense of doubt in one's own faith.
3. Simply create a different rarity distribution for clerics
where everything is common. This of course may have
unwanted connotations in terms of worldbuilding, such as
widespread resurrections, longer lifespans,
overpopulation, and an eventual obsolescence of death.
this can all be hand-waved away of course, but this system
is singularly intended to confront the consequences of
widespread spellcasting head-on, so the omission of large
details like this is not ideal.
Clerics cannot simply trade spells between each other with
training and education, but they can petition their gods for
special spells in times of need, and most likely keep them
afterwards.
Druid Warlock
Druids, similarly to clerics, simply prepare their spells from a Wizard
list of which they always know, and don't necessarily "learn"
spells. The difference is their source of power for these
abilities: their devotion to nature and its many aspects. This
can sometimes appear very similar to a cleric, such as a druid
that worships an aspect of the natural world (such as the cycle
of life and death) as if it were a deity. Other times, druids may
gain their power from their own understanding and
acceptance of natural concepts, such as the cycle of water and
how it affects different creatures.
When applying this system to druids, it can be flavored
similarly to the way the Circle of the Land's circle spells work,
in that only druids who deal in certain aspects of druidic arts
gain the appreciation for the natural aspect needed to cast
certain spells. For example, a spell like ice knife would be
relegated mainly to druids hailing from icy tundras. For rare
and legendary spells, more mysticism could be involved in
their existence. For example, faeries could inject a particularly
powerful spell, such as geas, into the minds of certain
unstable druids in order to cause a bit of chaos for their
enjoyment.
Druids can teach other druids their spells, but it is a
significantly more difficult task if the druid is not able to
experience the nature they seek to learn about first hand.
Without spending time learning about the spells in the
environment to which their aspects are linked, I would
surmise that a druid can only reasonably learn spells of 2nd
level or lower. This may of course differ in your view, but it is
simply an example.
Paladin
Paladins function very similarly to clerics in terms of their
spellcasting, and can use the spell rarity system in similar
ways. Paladins derive their power from their oath, their
conviction, and their belief in their deity or power. The spells
they learn can be seen as gifts from that power, or simply as
techniques that can be taught through training. If the case is
the former, then the techniques for adapting clerics to spell
rarity will work identically for paladins. If it is the latter, then
uncommon spells can simply come down to a difference in
training depending on where they learned their craft. For
spells of rare or legendary, a divine gift suits their concepts
more favorably, but they could simply be specially developed
techniques specialized to one order of paladins, or even to a
singular knight.
Obviously whether or not paladins can teach others their
spells depends on whether they are divine gifts or techniques.
However, like clerics, paladins can petition their deities for
more power in times of need, and as such can sometimes be
made to use special spells if the situation is dire enough.
Ranger
The magic available to rangers falls somewhere between the
domains of a druid and a bard: The ranger's attunement to
nature fuels their spells, and they can only know a scarce few
at any time. Of course there is not much written on how a
ranger learns their spells, but for this section I will assume
that they learn them similarly to druids: through communal
with aspects of nature.
Sorcerer

3

Common Spells
(c) Acid Splash
(c) Blade Ward
(c) Chill Touch
(c) Control Flames
(c) Create Bonfire
(c) Dancing Lights
(c) Eldritch Blast
(c) Fire Bolt
(c) Frostbite
(c) Guidance
(c) Gust
(c) Light
(c) Mage Hand
(c) Magic Stone
(c) Mending
(c) Message
(c) Minor Illusion
(c) Mold Earth
(c) Poison Spray
(c) Prestidigitation
(c) Produce Flame
(c) Ray of Frost
(c) Resistance
(c) Sacred Flame
(c) Shape Water
(c) Shillelagh
(c) Shocking Grasp
(c) Spare the Dying
(c) Thaumaturgy
(c) Thorn Whip
(c) Thunderclap
(c) True Strike
(c) Vicious Mockery
(1) Absorb Elements
(1) Alarm
(1) Animal Friendship
(1) Bane
(1) Beast Bond
(1) Bless
(1) Burning Hands
(1) Catapult
(1) Color Spray
(1) Compelled Duel
(1) Create or Destroy Water
(1) Detect Magic
(1) Detect Poison and
Disease
(1) Dissonant Whispers
(1) Divine Favor
(1) Earth Tremor
(1) Ensnaring Strike
(1) Entangle
(1) Expeditious Retreat
(1) Faerie Fire
(1) Feather Fall
(1) Find Familiar (2) Ray of Enfeeblement (5) Banishing Smite
(1) Fog Cloud (2) Rope Trick (5) Circle of Power
(1) Healing Word (2) Scorching Ray (5) Cloudkill
(1) Heroism (2) Shatter (5) Commune
(1) Hunter's Mark (2) Silence (5) Commune with Nature
(1) Identify (2) Spider Climb (5) Cone of Cold
(1) Inflict Wounds (2) Spike Growth (5) Conjure Volley
(1) Jump (2) Spiritual Weapon (5) Control Winds
(1) Longstrider (2) Warding Bond (5) Destructive Wave
(1) Mage Armor (2) Warding Wind (5) Dispel Evil and Good
(1) Magic Missile (2) Web (5) Flame Strike
(1) Purify Food and Drink (3) Aura Of Vitality (5) Hallow
(1) Ray of Sickness (3) Beacon of Hope (5) Hold Monster
(1) Sanctuary (3) Blinding Smite (5) Immolation
(1) Searing Smite (3) Blink (5) Passwall
(1) Shield (3) Conjure Animals (5) Seeming
(1) Shield of Faith (3) Conjure Barrage (5) Swift Quiver
(1) Silent Image (3) Counterspell (5) Telekinesis
(1) Speak with Animals (3) Crusader's Mantle (5) Teleportation Circle
(1) Tasha's Hideous Laughter (3) Daylight (5) Tree Stride
(1) Thunderous Smite (3) Dispel Magic (6) Arcane Gate
(1) Thunderwave (3) Elemental Weapon (6) Bones of the Earth
(1) Unseen Servant (3) Erupting Earth (6) Chain Lightning
(1) Wrathful Smite (3) Fear (6) Circle of Death
(2) Aid (3) Fireball (6) Contingency
(2) Animal Messenger (3) Flame Arrows (6) Disintegrate
(2) Arcane Lock (3) Glyph of Warding (6) Find the Path
(2) Augury (3) Lightning Arrow (6) Forbiddance
(2) Barkskin (3) Major Image (6) Globe of Invulnerability
(2) Beast Sense (3) Nondetection (6) Guards and Wards
(2) Blindness/Deafness (3) Phantom Steed (6) Heal
(2) Blur (3) Protection from Energy (6) Heroes' Feast
(2) Branding Smite (3) Sending (6) Investiture of Flame
(2) Cloud of Daggers (3) Slow (6) Investiture of Ice
(2) Continual Flame (3) Stinking Cloud (6) Investiture of Stone
(2) Darkness (3) Tidal Wave (6) Investiture of Wind
(2) Darkvision (3) Tongues (6) Mass Suggestion
(2) Dust Devil (3) Water Breathing (6) Move Earth
(2) Earthbind (3) Water Walk (6) Planar Ally
(2) Enhance Ability (4) Aura of Life (6) Primordial Ward
(2) Find Steed (4) Blight (6) Programmed Illusion
(2) Find Traps (4) Compulsion (6) Sunbeam
(2) Flame Blade (4) Conjure Woodland Beings (6) Transport via Plants
(2) Gentle Repose (4) Control Water (6) True Seeing
(2) Gust of Wind (4) Elemental Bane (6) Word of Recall
(2) Heat Metal (4) Freedom of Movement (7) Delayed Blast Fireball
(2) Hold Person (4) Grasping Vine (7) Divine Word
(2) Knock (4) Guardian of Faith (7) Etherealness
(2) Levitate (4) Hallucinatory Terrain (7) Fire Storm
(2) Locate Animals or Plants (4) Ice Storm (7) Forcecage
(2) Magic Mouth (4) Polymorph (7) Mirage Arcane
(2) Magic Weapon (4) Staggering Smite (7) Plane Shift
(2) Misty Step (4) Stone Shape (7) Sequester
(2) Moonbeam (4) Stoneskin (7) Symbol
(2) Prayer of Healing (5) Antilife Shell (7) Teleport
(2) Pyrotechnics (5) Awaken
 (2) Flaming Sphere
Common, Cont. (2) Invisibility
(8) Antipathy/Sympathy (2) Lesser Restoration
(8) Demiplane (2) Locate Object
(8) Dominate Monster (2) Mirror Image
(8) Earthquake (2) Phantasmal Force
(8) Glibness (2) Protection from Poison
(8) Holy Aura (2) See Invisibility
(8) Incendiary Cloud (2) Skywrite
(8) Maze (2) Suggestion
(8) Mind Blank (2) Zone of Truth
(8) Power Word Stun (3) Bestow Curse
(8) Sunburst (3) Call Lightning
(8) Telepathy (3) Clairvoyance
(8) Tsunami (3) Create Food and Water
(9) Gate (3) Feign Death
(9) Imprisonment (3) Gaseous Form
(9) Mass Heal (3) Haste
(9) Meteor Swarm (3) Hypnotic Pattern
(9) Weird (3) Lightning Bolt
(3) Magic Circle
Uncommon Spells (3) Mass Healing Word
(c) Booming Blade (3) Meld Into Stone
(c) Druidcraft (3) Plant Growth
(c) Friends (3) Sleet Storm
(c) Green-Flame Blade (3) Speak with Plants
(c) Lightning Lure (3) Spirit Guardians
(c) Sword Burst (3) Vampiric Touch
(1) Charm Person (3) Wall of Sand
(1) Chromatic Orb (3) Wall of Water
(1) Command (3) Wind Wall
(1) Comprehend Languages (4) Arcane Eye
(1) Cure Wounds (4) Aura of Purity
(1) Detect Evil and Good (4) Confusion
(1) Disguise Self (4) Conjure Minor Elementals
(1) False Life (4) Death Ward
(1) Goodberry (4) Dimension Door
(1) Grease (4) Divination
(1) Guiding Bolt (uncommon/rare)
(1) Hail of Thorns (4) Dominate Beast
(1) Illusory Script (4) Fabricate
(1) Sleep (4) Fire Shield
(1) Witch Bolt (4) Giant Insect
(2) Alter Self (4) Greater Invisibility
(2) Calm Emotions (4) Locate Creature
(2) Cordon Of Arrows (Uncommon/rare)
(uncommon/rare*) (4) Phantasmal Killer
(2) Crown of Madness (4) Storm Sphere
(uncommon/rare*) (4) Vitriolic Sphere
(2) Detect Thoughts (4) Wall of Fire
(2) Enlarge/Reduce (4) Watery Sphere
(2) Enthrall (5) Animate Objects
(5) Conjure Elemental
(5) Contact Other Plane
(5) Contagion
(5) Creation
(5) Dominate Person
(5) Dream
(5) Greater Restoration
(5) Insect Plague
(5) Maelstrom
(5) Mass Cure Wounds
(5) Mislead
(5) Modify Memory
(5) Scrying
(5) Transmute Rock
(5) Wall of Force
(5) Wall of Stone
(6) Blade Barrier
(6) Conjure Fey
(uncommon/rare)
(6) Create Undead
(6) Eyebite
(6) Flesh to Stone
(6) Harm
(6) Wall of Ice
(6) Wall of Thorns
(6) Wind Walk
(7) Conjure Celestial
(7) Finger of Death
(7) Project Image
(7) Regenerate
(7) Reverse Gravity
(7) Whirlwind
(8) Animal Shapes
(8) Antimagic Field
(8) Control Weather
(9) Shapechange
(9) True Polymorph
Rare Spells
(c) Armor of Agathys
(c) Arms of Hadar
(c) Hellish Rebuke
(c) Hex
(c) Ice Knife
(c) Protection from Evil and
Good
(c) Tenser's Floating Disk
(1) Aganazzar's Scorcher
(1) Maximilian's Earthen
Grasp
(1) Melf's Acid Arrow
(1) Nystul's Magic Aura
(1) Pass Without Trace
(1) Snilloc's Snowball Swarm
(2) Animate Dead
(2) Fly
(3) Hunger of Hadar
(3) Leomund's Tiny Hut
(3) Melf's Minute Meteors
(3) Remove Curse
(3) Speak with Dead
(4) Banishment
(4) Evard's Black Tentacles
(4) Leomund's Secret Chest
(4) Mordenkainen's Faithful
Hound
(4) Mordenkainen's Private
Sanctum
(4) Otiluke's Resilient Sphere
(5) Bigby's Hand
(5) Geas
(5) Planar Binding
(5) Raise Dead
(rare/legendary)
(5) Rary's Telepathic Bond
(6) Drawmij's Instant
Summons
(6) Magic Jar
(6) Otiluke's Freezing Sphere
(6) Otto's Irresistible Dance
(7) Mordenkainen's
Magnificent Mansion
(7) Mordenkainen's Sword
(7) Prismatic Spray
(7) Simulacrum
(8) Abi Dalzim's Horrid
Wilting
(8) Feeblemind
(9) Astral Projection
(9) Foresight
(9) Power Word Kill
(9) Prismatic Wall
(9) Storm of Vengeance
Legendary Spells
(3) Revivify
(5) Legend Lore
(5) Reincarnate
(7) Resurrection
(8) Clone
(9) Power Word Heal
(9) Time Stop
(9) True Resurrection
(9) Wish
Spells of Named Spellcasters
Abi Dalzim (Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting)
Aganazzar (Aganazzar's Scorcher)
Bigby (Bigby's Hand)
Drawmij (Drawmij's Instant Summons)
Evard (Evard's Black Tentacles)
Leomund (Leomund's Tiny Hut, Leomund's Secret Chest)
Maximilian (Maximilian's Earthen Grasp)
Melf (Melf's Acid Arrow, Melf's Minute Meteors)
Mordenkainen (Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound,
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum, Mordenkainen's
Magnificent Mansion, Mordenkainen's Sword)
Otiluke (Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Otiluke's Freezing
Sphere)
Otto (Otto's Irresistible Dance)
Rary (Rary's Telepathic Bond)
Snilloc (Snilloc's Snowball Swarm)
Tenser (Tenser's Floating Disk)
Spell Rarity System
(v0.5)
Closing Note
This system is meant to contextualize your world
first and foremost, while secondarily making
players' spells mean more than just their effects. A
far third to this would be the limitation and
throttling of players' power. I understand that many
DM's dislike certain spells and find them
unbalanced, but I feel I must urge that this system
not be used primarily to restrict player choice to the
DM's opinion. This system can easily be abused by a
power-hungry DM and if it is misused it will never
be fun for the players. Use with care!
/u/SubjectiveSloth

My Other Works:
Bloodrager and Whirlwind Barbarian Paths
Spell Rarity System
Tiefling Subraces for the Lords of the Nine
Siren and Rusalka monsters
Thediem, Master of Everything
The Mechanist subclass for the UA Arteficer
For Honor subclasses for 5e
Naeris, The Mythic Dragon Monster
Tieflings Reimagined
Trapper Rogue
Fey-Touched Sorcerer
Inner Self Monk
Elemental Barbarian
Bard College of Doors
Nomad Class
Fringe Seeker Rogue
Way of Balance Monk
Non-Human Aasimar Variants
Bard College of Flavor
Support me on DM's Guild:
Tieflings Reimagined
Fey-Touched Sorcerer
The Nomad Class
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