The First Level of Magic - Spells & Storytelling (Part 2)

This is my second post in the "Spells & Storytelling" series, which I began with a review of cantrips in D&D 5th Edition. Please refer to that first post for an overview of my thoughts regarding set & setting as pertaining to magic, and the goal of this series overall.

While I originally intended for this to be a "Tier 1 spells" to include 1st through 3rd level spells, a review of just the 1st level spells resulted in quite a few characters in itself. As such, it looks like I'll be doing a post for each spell level!

Generally speaking, these are spells which are under-valued when you read any of the online class guides. These tend to rank spells in order of their effectiveness. Part of my inspiration for this series is to prove that these rankings are at best misleading, as any spell can have its uses, particularly by NPCs in your world - even if your entire point of playing D&D is to run through fantasy combat scenarios.

For each spell I'm giving a basic review of information which I think isn't commonly considered with the spell. To get the full storytelling potential of each spell, one should take this information, and consider what kind of plot hooks, bizarre incidents and other encounters might take place given what I've written here. To go through all of those possible scenarios would take me at least twice as long, and my initial goal here is to simply get through and outline each spell's potential.

That said, let's get into the nitty-gritty of looking at 1st-level spells, evaluating their affects on setting, and their storytelling potential!

MAGIC OF THE FIRST LEVEL

ABSORB ELEMENTS

• While this spell is commonly used as an elemental shield by combat mages, its utility in day-to-day life as a material enchantment is immense.
• Pairs very well with the "Control Element" cantrips in creating magic-industrial processes.
• Absorb Elements can be used to reduce the impact of, as well as channel all forms of elemental energy. This is particularly the case in large urban settings where magic is prominent and technology is more widely available (DM discretion). Some examples:
  • Industrial uses. Absorb and transfer heat to automate basic black-smithing, particularly for common items like nails/screws/bolts, knives and utensils, and basic equipment. 
  • Create highly insulated surfaces to keep out the cold or heat. Cold/Heat can be transferred from windows for refrigeration and cooking or stored for later use. 
  • Make very effective magical barriers that resist elemental attacks. Doors, chests, and castle walls may all be imbued with adaptable Absorb enchantments to reduce incoming damage.
  • Elemental barriers and channels are commonly featured on Wizard Towers to transfer the power of storms, particularly powerful winds and lightning, to fuel arcane research. Versions of this are also used to protect buildings from powerful storms.
  • Absorb Elements could be used creatively to fashion interesting aqueducts and levies that are even more resistant to flooding, and can more easily direct the flow of elemental water as needed - particularly when used in conjunction with Shape Water cantrips.
• This effective use of such enchantments may require the use of special materials to gain the intended effects. As such, the acquisition or creation of those materials may in itself create new economic demands, and perhaps even adventuring opportunities.

ALARM

• Extremely common and important spell when it comes to magical security, this spell is vital in urban areas. With a high demand, many professional spell-casters make a living on creative uses of this single spell (though it's commonly paired with Contingencies, traps, and other enchantments).
• The presence of alarm systems often separates lower and upper/middle class neighborhoods. The poor tend not to have magical alarm systems.
• Many thieves specialize in detecting and dispelling magical alarms. A perpetual arms-race exists to maintain security systems, and also to hack them!
  • Example: Alarm is in place. Thief uses Detect magic to see the boundary of the alarm. Thief uses Dispel Magic to remove the alarm. A Contingency Counterspell goes off, canceling the dispel magic of the Thief. Another contingency goes off, triggering an alternate Alarm, that the house is being hacked!

ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP + BEAST BOND + SPEAK WITH ANIMALS

• Since each casting of Animal Friendship lasts 24 hours, this spell allows for the domestication of an incredible variety of beasts which are otherwise quite dangerous, or not particularly useful to humanoids.
• Societies where Druidism is common feature systems of animal charming to maximize benefits of these spells and to manage the creatures properly.
• While some creatures can semi-permanently be enchanted in this manner, it's often preferred that such creatures be utilized temporarily to gain their benefits, then released back into the wild. This is to prevent accidents, but to also minimize impacts on the creatures. Animals may be abused in some settings in this manner, however.
• Typically animals will be captured or lured to a place where charming will take place in a low-risk environment. Frequently, the cantrip Friends will be cast on creatures first, to increase the likelihood of a successful charming. Then Animal Friendship will be secured. The creature may then change hands, and the spells Beast Bond and Speak With Animals are used to communicate the needs of the enchanter. By the time the spell wears off, the animal will be in a controlled environment where its potential hostility won't harm anyone. Many druids may pamper the creature prior to the spells wearing off, to minimize any negative effects of the charming.
• The ability to telepathically communicate orders to a tamed creature also increases the effectiveness of their domestication dramatically (in the form of the Beast Bond spell).  
• Some examples:
  • Giant spiders can be domesticated to produce large amounts of high-quality silk for clothing, traps, and containers.
  • Giant badgers, bears, and other martial beasts can be domesticated as very effective guard dogs, sniffers, and even laborers.
  • Massive reptiles can be domesticated as beasts of burden and protectors in swamp-lands, jungles, and other hard-to-navigate regions.

CEREMONY

• Many clerics and paladins can make a living by utilizing ceremonial rituals to perform all manner of holy rites throughout the lands.
• Those who suffer the many forms of PTSD and aren't themselves anymore can receive Atonement and be restored to their normal selves.
• Water can be blessed fairly easily and turned into holy water, with magical properties.
• Other ceremonies such as Coming of Age, Dedications, Weddings, and Funeral Rites all have their uses, with a high demand in both small villages and large cities.
• In places with corruption, Funeral Rites can be especially important to prevent the rise of Undead.
• Some priests may travel from town-to-town enacting such ceremonies for their orders, while others may do so for profit or donations to a cause.

COLOR SPRAY + GREASE

• Popular non-violent security measures and criminal deterrents, used in traps, alarm systems, as well as by town guards to keep the peace.
• Color Spray wands and Grease Potions are a high-demand utility devices for highway and town patrols to grant them a basic form of reliable crowd-control.  
• Rather than having only martial solutions to their problems, such patrols may blind and knock down a group of agitators, tie them up, question everyone, arrest brigands, or simply wait for emotions to calm. Such patrols have been known colloquially as Dazzlers, Flashers, or simply Blinders.
• Towns and roadways utilizing such methods are frequently more safe and see much-reduced crime rates.

COMPREHEND LANGUAGES

• Bards and other spellcasters with this ritual ability have a high demand in royal courts as well as merchant houses doing business in a variety of places.
• With this spell, one needs not have learned any other language to communicate with others. 
• Due to the prevalence of this spell in some societies, colleges and academies have fewer programs focusing on the learning of languages. Exceptions to this would be for the purposes of creating Art (writing novels, poems and the like), Histories, and the Grammars necessary to utilize language effectively.
• Interpreters in some places may have a great deal of power, able to twist and bend words and phrases slightly between communicating parties to manipulate opinion and behavior according to their whims. As such, those who utilize Comprehend Languages may be held to a very high standard of trust and loyalty to those they serve, frequently having to undergo Zones of Truth to ensure their integrity.

CREATE OR DESTROY WATER

• An absolutely vital spell in many places with an incredibly high demand, especially in arid environments, or otherwise places with less fresh water (due to pollution, corruption, or otherwise).
• With each casting, 10 gallons of fresh water are created, enough to support a family for a day. Enchanters able to imbue this spell in large basins may charge nobles a considerable fee for them to have a reliable source of daily water. Lower-class folk may have to spend a years' worth of silver and gold to have such a luxury, but it's always worth the money.
• Vital on expeditions where fresh water sources aren't guaranteed.
• Ability to create rain over small garden and crop plots means more consistent crop yields in places where clerics and druids are available to cast it. This has reduced many forms of superstition relating to the rains, though Druids and Clerics who utilize it often call attention to the spirits from which they draw their power.
• Power struggles are frequent when it comes to this spell. While some may be paid a fair penny to create water, others may be paid to destroy the water of their competitors, destabilizing crops. May also be used to form a water racket, hiking up the price of fresh water since these druids can control the flow.

CURE WOUNDS

• As with the Spare the Dying cantrip, Cure Wounds and other healing spells revolutionize health-care in the world, as well as the politics of it.
• While Spare the Dying may be cast readily to prevent death, Cure Wounds can only be provided a certain number of times per day. Accordingly, it's most often reserved for those who can pay for it.
• This puts Cure Wounds, the most common healing spell, at the fulcrum of social inequality in most D&D worlds. While at most the common folk can pray to be Spared, they often must watch on as their children and loved ones continue to suffer from crippling disabilities, while nobles may treat their bodies with very little respect, knowing full well that after a day of abuse, they may simply be healed. 
• Healing is also quite important politically. Thieves Guilds may make deals with or threats upon healers to ensure assassinations aren't negated. Politicians and firebrands may ensure access to this spell to protect themselves and their assets. The promise of healing services to local town-folk, particularly in places frequently raided by monsters, is often used as a means of gaining political support.

DETECT EVIL AND GOOD + PROTECTION FROM EVIL AND GOOD

• These spells are the bread-and-butter of monsters hunters across the land, not only allowing them to detect the presence of a wide-variety of often-dangerous creatures while patrolling towns, ruins and roadways, but granting them powerful benefits to assist them in destroying said creatures.
• The name of the spell is a bit of a misnomer, as it doesn't specifically detect evil or good. Instead, it detects certain types of creatures: fey, undead, celestials, undead, fiends, and aberrations.
• Hunters are usually professionally trained, and often specialized to find specific types of creatures. This is due to some limits of the above spells, particularly that they only last 10 minutes, and work within 30 feet. This means that hunters need to be able to effectively track down said creatures, to get within range for the spells to be effective.
• The most common hunters are actually those who track Faeries, present not only in small villages, but in expansive cities where they find many opportunities to cause chaos. Hunters of the Undead and Aberrations are also fairly common, though such creatures themselves are usually less prevalent than the ubiquitous fey (depending, of course, on the setting!). However, townsfolk and others are even more thankful to have such hunters around when they're needed, and accordingly they're paid a higher price. 
• Those who hunt elementals and fiends are less common, but still vital in some circles. Druidic townships may have more elemental problems, as well as those doing more dungeon-delving or exploring old ruins.
• Fiend-hunters are perhaps the least common, in no small part due to the fact that their quarry are the most insidious and intelligent of all evil creatures. Of those who exist, very few are known of openly as to protect their identities, and to ensure they're not hunted down themselves. Due to this, fiend-hunters often work for personal reasons rather than profit, and are just as likely to work for favors and boons as they are payments in gold.
• This spell is commonly used by Diviners to prevent the incursion of Familiars, who count as celestial, fey or fiendish creatures. Alarms can be setup to detect the presence of a familiar, that might be spying on a house in the middle of the night!

DETECT MAGIC

• A ubiquitous spell of incredibly value, this single spell consumes the lives of many mages throughout the realms.
• Aurans, Diviners, Seers - their names are varied, but their purpose is the same: To investigate and identify the presence and nature of magic in a wide variety of settings, for as many reasons as there are hues of color in the visible (and invisible) spectrums.
• Counter-actively, the prevalence of this spell has created an opposing profession: those who are able to obfuscate magical effects, and mislead those attempting to see the nature of a given magic, for a variety of usually-nefarious reasons (aka, Obfuscators).
• Since the spell reveals an Aura, the colors corresponding to the type or school of magic, many academies focus entirely on the various branches that spells fall into. Many mages spend their entire lives on the sole endeavor of identifying magic, its sources, and effects. Even if a mage is able to determine that an enchantment is of the Abjuration school, for example, only trained eyes can determine how such magic was placed, and what will occur if said magic is triggered. Even fewer can explain the source of Abjuration magic itself, and how it specifically relates to the other schools of magic in the Arcane Weave!
• Objuscators are often employed at a variety of levels. Security professionals who setup alarms will often obfuscate their enchantments, to make it more difficult for thieves to dispel protections on a home, for example. Obfuscators may also try to hide enchantments placed on certain items, such as gloves, rings and cloaks, so that items may not gain notice of guards within a royal court. The highest paid Obfuscators may even be able to hide the presence of an individual entirely from any form of divination.
• Those attempting to hide magic effects may also utilize some limits of the spell, particularly by utilizing certain construction methods. If it can be afforded, homes or specific rooms are often shielded using large stone blocks at least 1 foot deep, 1 inch metal walls, or separately entirely in sub-basements utilizing the surrounding earth to obfuscate. Boxes and other items may be coated in lead as well to obfuscate magical effects. Thieves guilds commonly employ craftsfolk who specialize in such endeavors and hide their works from the authorities, since this is often a sign that someone is trying to hide something.
• Since the spell may be cast as a ritual, one would expect that folk throughout the realms are at versed in the schools of magic on at least a basic level. Discussion of magic auras and their meanings would likewise be quite common even in the most remote villages, though a lack of education may lead to folk being manipulated.

DETECT POISON AND DISEASE

• While the spell is often disregarded by adventuring types, the ability to detect poison, poisonous creatures, and most importantly disease, is vital to the health of any settlement, and a necessary part of any good town healer's repertoire.
• A ritual of Detect Poison and Disease is frequently the first method of diagnosis from a town healer, as it allows them to quickly isolate the cause and even the source of someone's ailments. After this magical diagnosis takes place, cures and other treatments can be more readily provided.
• In many townships, the presence of this magic has prevented outbreaks of disease, since it allows healers to quickly isolate those who are infected. Even if they're not able to be treated, the spread of the disease can be halted.
• Particularly nefarious individuals take this spell into account when attempting to enact their plots. Chemists have been known to be employed to create ailments that are not technically poisons or diseases, but are instead magical effects. To the horror of many healers, such magical illnesses elude their detection and diagnosis. Thankfully, they're far less common.
• The ability to detect poisonous creatures also serves other professions extremely well - especially those of the exterminator, and the hunter/gatherer. Snakes, scorpions, spiders and other bugs can be detected anywhere in or around a home, and dealt with accordingly. Hunter/gatherers looking for certain poisons in the wild are able to use this spell to hone in on their quarry to great effect, who then sell venoms, herbs both to healers and poisoners alike for a good profit.

DISGUISE SELF

• The bane of many a town guardsperson, this spell is frequently used in larger cities, mostly serving in the arenas of crime and politics.
• Thieves and brigands commonly use Disguise Self after stealing or committing violence to far more easily lose themselves in a crowd. They may also maintain a disguise while performing the crime so that their true form is never reported.
• In the realms of society and politics, it's fairly common for nobles and interlopers to pose as other people with Disguise Self. This is to produce slanderous rumors, to offend high houses, enhance blackmail scenarios, make social threats, and all manner of other dramas. Such plots often have disastrous consequences, just as often for the Disguiser as with their intended victims.
• Accordingly, in high-societies, doormen are often tasked to ensure no disguises are present by patting down anyone who comes in, looking specifically for such illusions. Since the disguise doesn't hold up to physical inspection, this is often a must. This is often a culturally-influenced procedure. Some would say more crass cultures have no qualms with a harsh pat-down, up to and including touching an individual's face to ensure they are who they say they are. More refined or uppity folk may eschew such measures, and they instead rely on Diviners to detect the presence of such illusions at their gatherings.
• The most effective magically-enhanced disguises, particularly those of the political sort, employ not only illusion but costumes, effective make-up to alter the contours of the face and body, stilts to change an individual's height, the use of accents, and obfuscation measures to prevent their subtle illusions from being detected. Accordingly, such individuals require years of physical and intellectual training, and are contracted at quite a high price. For those looking to undermine a particular noble house, however, such a service could be invaluable.

EXPEDITIOUS RETREAT + LONGSTRIDER+ JUMP

• The spell Expeditious Retreat is often a misnomer, as it's more frequently used to get somewhere or more towards something, rather than retreat away from it. As such, it's often called Minor Haste or simply Expedition instead.
• Messengers, Heralds, Thieves, Spies, Guards, Bounty Hunters, Performers and many others all employ this spell to more quickly reach their destinations, as it effectively allows them to move twice as fast as normal.
• Expediters accordingly have a high-demand, especially in large cities, focusing on the casting of this spell in as many ways as possible, both with their own magical abilities, and with the effective use of scrolls. Since it must be used on the self, those who use it must know the spell, or they must have a scroll, often created by an Expediter, to use when needed.
• To further enhance the effectiveness of Expedition / Minor Haste, the spell Longstrider is often paired with it, granting most folk a 25% enhancement to their movement (based on 30ft/round). For those who may already run at a higher pace (see: Rogues), Longstrider still maintains a demand to further improve their pace.
• Similarly, the spell Jump may be employed, allowing creatures to leap from rooftop to rooftop at incredible speeds, avoiding pursuers, or simply taking perfect shortcuts as the needs permit.

FEATHER FALL

• While adventurers may see this spell simply as a means to prevent death-by-pit-trap, it has a variety of uses outside of the dungeon. Similar to Expeditious Retreat it's accordingly known also as Minor Flight or simply Glide.
• Most commonly, Feather Fall is employed by explorers, druids, scouts, thieves and town guards to safely glide sometimes vast distances in a small amount of time. Such folk are trained, as it requires a bit of practice to get the timing correct, but it effectively creates a unique form of transportation for very little magical overhead cost.
• Typically, an individual, and even a group, must climb to a certain height. For example, up to 5 town guards frequently reside in a tall tower near the center of their jurisdiction. Upon hearing of trouble (often aided by the Sending or Message spells), Feather Fall is cast on them, they leap from the tower, and glide down to their destination.
• Thieves also employ this gliding effect to get over tall walls, and infiltrate buildings from the rooftops. Accordingly, those who seek good security will also ensure their dwellings and courtyards are protected from aerial incursion, or simply built in a manner to prevent it.

FIND FAMILIAR

• A classic spell throughout the realms, Familiars in some towns are as prevalent as house-cats and other domesticated animals.
• Since familiars are completely loyal to an individual and may persist for quite some time, they're just as likely to be employed by common folk as they are mages, adventurers, spies, and other high-society types. Households will frequently save up silver and gold to purchase a Find Familiar scroll, which will produce a long-lasting and incredibly useful pet to serve the family.
• Due to a master's ability to telepathically link to their familiar, this is a favored spell by anyone who needs to do a bit of spying. 
• In high-society this may be prevented in some measure by security, diviners and the like. However, it's often more difficult to prevent the incursion of a familiar than it is to prevent a disguised illusionist entry to a home. Accordingly, some neighborhoods completely outlaw bats, cats, crabs, frogs, and all manner of small creatures that may be familiars, and streets and alleyways are regularly patrolled by exterminators looking for them.
• In most places, however, familiars allows folk to cause all manner of chaos and ruckus. Neighbors may commonly spy on one another or gain entry in their tiny animal forms. In areas where this may be the case, windows, doors and hearths are secured even more than usual, with a sort of arms-race in places where local tensions are particularly high. The ability for a familiar to become a very small spider makes this a particularly annoying and/or curious endeavor for some.
• Some folk of an existential bent have been known to spend more time "in" their familiars than in their own bodies, addicted to the rush and the varied experience of cohabiting these magical creatures. While this may be looked down upon in some places, in others it's embraced as a hobby and a way of life. At Critter Parties or gatherings, invitees all come to socialize in the forms of their favorite familiars, a confusing and wondrous sight to behold.

FLOATING DISK + UNSEEN SERVANT

• A spell once again commonly disregarded by most adventurers (though named after one), floating discs offer many practical uses in society.
• Floating discs are favored by anyone commonly moving moderate amounts of goods and materials relatively short distances. Merchants, crafts-folk, farmers, caravan owners, miners, and soldiers all have a demand for this spell.
• The presence of floating discs also reduces the need for domestic animals like oxen and horses for those who can readily summon them. Mages just beginning to make their way in the world often rely on this demand to make a baseline amount of pay before branching out into more glamorous pursuits, though the work is likely looked down upon by the more prestigious.
• Various ingenious uses of these strange planes of force enable extraordinary feats. In mining and construction, since the plane is able to bear up to 500 lbs of weight, certain contraptions involving ropes and pulley have been invented that allow an individual to effectively lift or pull far more than they could otherwise. Loads of ore can be lifted up mine-shafts, walls can be more easily demolished with precision, and even human elevators have been known to be powered by such devices.
• Discs are also often employed by thieves to silently carry off large amounts of goods from their victims' homes and businesses, to great effect.
• Illusionists and performers have also been known to employ floating discs both for entertainment and manipulation, dressing up the discs to look like ghosts, or to use them as props in royal plays where such magical ingenuity is usually rewarded.
• The spell Unseen Servant is used in a very similar manner, though it's capabilities and limitations are slightly different. Since it's a ritual spell, Servants are quite a bit more common than floating discs, and are more prevalent around homes and businesses rather than being used for more industrious purposes.

GOODBERRY+ PURIFY FOOD AND DRINK

• While adventurers tend to see the basic healing effects of the Goodberry as its main benefit, their ability to provide 24 hours of nourishment to up to 10 creatures is extremely valuable to society.
• A druid's ability to create goodberries in itself ensures they have an accepted role in nearly any town or village throughout the realms, barring only those who see such magics with a wary eye. A druid is commonly given a safe haven, a warm hearth, and other protection, so long as they provide goodberries to local townfolk as needs permit.
• Goodberries have been used to great effect, first in Elven armies where druidic soldiers were more prevalent. This allowed generals to eschew common limitations that providing food for soldiers usually entails, though the casting of the spells needed to be managed effectively as to not drain druids of their magical resources when the needs arose.
• While their nutritional benefit is indisputable, goodberries aren't always known for their great flavor. Indeed, the taste of a berry is said to be flavored by the individual who creates them. When casting the spell, a druid who is filled with care and love may produce juicy and deliciously sweet and even savory berries that can be used in a variety of recipes, to the delight of those who eat them, while a resentful druid may produce quite bitter fruits.
• The spell Purify Food and Drink has many similar impacts as goodberry, as it can be used to ensure that food provided to troops and townsfolk is free of any disease-inducing elements. 
• Purify is often employed by generals, politicians and arch-mages to ensure their food is never the source of their own assassination.

IDENTIFY

• While the spell is often a must-have for adventurers and those who frequent upon magic items, Identify is a bit less prevalent to common folk.
• In the same manner that Detect Magic is used to enhance security, especially in the upper echelons of society, Identify is used to verify questionable items, even if they're coated with lead.
• Where Detect Poison and Disease fails to diagnose magical ailments, Identify can be used to do that specifically. As such, the most skilled healers are trained in the use of both spells in order to diagnose any ailment that exists in the multiverse.

ILLUSORY SCRIPT

• Similar to Disguise Self, this spell is favored by criminals, nobles and the military, who place a high value on the security of their information.
• While the presence of Illusory Script could be found with Detect Magic, the hidden script itself cannot be deciphered. Since one of the only means of seeing the hidden script is the use of Truesight, a much more powerful spell, Illusory Script is often an extremely secure method of communicating secrets.
• Illusory Scripts can be written with relative ease, with a ritual casting time of only a minute, making it a favored method for writing secret directions to locations in alleyways and city walls. 
• Sometimes illusory scripts are written specifically to enhance paranoia, and throw folks off the trail of what may lie in plain sight.

SHIELD

• Most commonly known by adventurers as a spell that alters combat situations, the most ingenious of abjuration enchanters have been able to utilize this spell to create wards with great utility in everyday life.
• In conjunction with security measures and Contingency spells, Shield can ensure that particularly important objects are secured from damage. Historical artifacts, important family heirlooms, and great works of art are most frequently imbued with Shield enchantments to prevent damage from accidents, or outright attempts to destroy them.
• Important windows and doorways may also be enchanted in such a manner, though other spells are more commonly used. As such, this less-common enchantment tends to cost a bit more than standard spells.
• Shield cyphers are commonly made and sold to anyone who may need extra personal security, and are of particular demand by town guards and the military. These are commonly squeezed, crushed, or thrown at the ground in the event of violence, and are then consumed. 

SILENT IMAGE

• As per the Minor Illusion cantrip, this spell is a favorite of thieves, charlatans, as well as artists and designers.
• Larger images and sounds can be created for dramatic scenes in performances. This is particularly useful when telling stories featuring bizarre creatures like Trolls and even Dragons that require both sound, movement, and take up much more space than minor illusions.
• Artificers can form more powerful illusions with Silent Image to create more prominent effects. These are usually for specific events, or attached to Contingency spells for a specific purpose. Some examples might be:
• An illusion as part of a celebration, holiday ritual, or important religious ceremony
• A high-impact magical advertisement using both sound and light to attract business
• A much more convincing security measure, such as a monstrous creature confronting a thief who has broken into a manor.

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I hope you've enjoyed this list, and get some use out of these ideas! If this inspires some other ideas, please post below and I may add them to the list. Next up will be 2nd-Level spells. Cheers!

Submitted December 05, 2018 at 08:04PM by JimCasy https://ift.tt/2G3dFoc