Recovery of Spells

Recovery of Spells

[Rest + Study/prayer && meditation]

Spell recovery, whether cleric/druid or magic-user/illusionist, requires about the same period of time.
In order to pray and meditate for a new spell to replace one used,
    or in order to study and memorize such a spell,
    it is necessary that the spell-user REST and revitalize his or her mental faculties.
Whether one or more spells are to be regained,
    the minimum time required for complete rest (usually sleep) is that required for the highest spell to be recovered.
Minimum REST periods are shown below:

[R]

SPELL LEVEL 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9

Time 4 hours [4] 6 hours [6] 8 hours [8] 10 hours [10] 12 hours [12]

Thus, if a cleric or magic-user needs only memorize first or second level spells,
he or she need only sleep for 4 hours and will then be able to memorize or regain as many such spells as he or she is normally entitled to.
On the other hand, if the character in question also wished to include a seventh level spell,
rest time would be 10 full hours, even though but a single seventh level spell were to be thus regained,
while half a dozen second level spells were also to be regained.

[S]
Once rested, an additional one-quarter hour [0.25] per level of spell must be spent in study/prayer and meditation in order to memorize/acquire the ability to cast each spell.

THE FORUM

I am writing you in reference to the rules
presented in the DMG regarding the memorization
of magic and cleric spells. On page 40, the
rules state the following:

Once rested, an additional one-quarter hour per level of spell must be spent in study/prayer and meditation in order to memorize/acquire the ability to cast each spell.

If one would follow this rule, it would take
an 8th-level magic-user 6 3/4 hours to memorize
the spells usable at this level, a 12th-level magic-user
user 16½ hours, and a 29th-level magic-user 70
hours!!! I find several flaws with this system,
especially when you also take into account the
amount of time for rest that is necessary. What is
the purpose in giving the spell-caster additional
spells usable as he or she progresses in levels if it
is physically impossible for the caster to memorize
these additional spells due to time limitations?
Using the system present, it would take over 13
hours for a 29th-level magic-user just to memorize
his 9th-level spells; if you add on the 12
hours of required sleep time, you have already
used more than a day's worth of time.

Unless I am misinterpreting the rule presented,
I feel that there must be a change in the amount
of time necessary to memorize a spell. Since the
ability to memorize is related directly to one's
intelligence, I suggest the following system:

Intelligence Minutes to memorize
one spell level

9 15

10 14

11 13

12 12

13 11

14 10

15 9

16 8

17 6

18 4

19 2

Since a magic-user's main ability score is
intelligence, this system would correlate the class
to the ability score to a much higher degree.
Using this system, an M-U of 29th level with a 19
intelligence can memorize all of his spells in
about 9 1/3 hours. Even with the necessary 12
hours of rest, it is now possible for the mage to
use and regain all of his spells in one day.
    Lawrence Lerner
    Somerset, N.J.
    (Dragon #106)

I would like to offer my congratulations to
Lawrence Lerner, whose Forum article appeared
in #106. His letter was well written, soundly
argued, and mathematically accurate. His suggestion
is very reasonable, and would be a great
help to many people facing the problem he mentioned
(staggering and apparently unreasonable
memorization times for high-level MU's).

Nevertheless, I will not use his system, and I
do not recommend it. I agree completely that a
29th level magic user would take about a week to
memorize all of his spells from scratch (allowing
for sleep and eating) . . . an absurdly long time,
on the surface. However, I submit that this is
exactly how things should be.

Firstly, there cannot be too many magic users
who survive to the 29th level, much less very
many 29th level MU PC's. But this point isn?t
germane to the discussion.

One must consider that the power to defy the
laws of nature at will (a fair description of spell
casting) is the greatest personal power a PC can
have in the game, and, as such, is most liable to
abuse, and most liable to upset game balance (oh,
no, another ?game balance? preacher . . .).

I remember how shocked I was when I realized
the intent behind the memorization system: it is
to limit the power of spell casters. A spell caster is
meant to be encouraged to carefully consider
whether it is opportune to cast a spell, for it
should not be easy for him to recover it. This
applies just as well to Flimflam the Prestidigitator
as to Mordenkainen.

A well-played MU, at any given high level,
should never find himself so plagued by circumstances
as to have exhausted his entire arsenal of
spells . . . for to be so is to be helpless. An extraordinarily
hard week?s campaigning might well
leave him needing several full days to recover all
the spells he has used, and that is just as it should
be . . . for a week?s hard campaigning may leave
the high-level fighter needing several full days to
knead muscles, refuel his hard-working limbs,
and rest! A week?s hard campaigning might leave
the thief with critical eyestrain and nearly uselessly
stiff fingers. Why should a high-level MU
not also need a significant amount of time to rest
his overworked mind?

I don?t want to belabor the point. I feel that the
system stands as written. I feel that giving the
intelligent MU the ability to learn 58 spells in a
day is asking for trouble.
    Lyle P. Wiedeman III
    Santa Ana, Calif.
    (Dragon #108)

I am writing this letter in response to Lawrence
Lerner's in #106, in which he complains that it
takes too long for high-level magic users to memorize
their spells. I personally think that it is good
that they do. It seems only logical that a 29th-level
archmage will spend more time poring over
old musty tomes of spells than will a 1st-level
prestidigitator.

Even if one assumes that this rule (the one in
the DMG) is bad, the solution Mr. Lerner gives
hardly solves the problem. With it, the ?problem
? of high-level magic users is not cured, only
lessened for characters with high intelligence. A
solution allowing for high-level MU?s to learn
spells faster would consist of this equation:
CL/(2 x SL) = T; in which CL is the level of the
character learning the spell, SL is the level of the
spell, and T is time in hours.

Assuming one wants to go to the trouble.
    R. W. Clark
    Gettysburg, Pa.
    (Dragon #108)

* * * *

Q: Can a magic-user fill a higher-level
spell slot with a lower-level spell?
For instance, can a magic-user memorize
fireball instead of a fourth- or
higher-level spell?

A: No. Spells can't be switched except
under certain special circumstances, such
as the use of a Rary's mnemonic enhancer
or Mordenkainen's lucubration spell.
(139.66)

Q: How often can a character go to
sleep and then regain his spells?
Does a character who goes to sleep
retain any uncast spells?

A: A spell-caster can go to sleep at any time
(after the proper study or prayer) and
regain his spells, even if it isn't "bedtime."
We suppose that insomnia could strike a
character who sleeps too often, but this is
up to the DM. Sleeping does not cause a
spell-caster to forget his spells.
(154.96)

ADQ: I am curious as to whether a
magic-user can duplicate use of the
same spells per day, i.e. memorize the
same spell twice as if it were two different
spells.

ADA: Yes, this is possible, but make
sure the magic-user counts each spell
separately on his/her list, and does not
simply cast the same spell twice.
(Polyhedron #13)

Handy Haversack wrote:
Hi Gary,

Another AD&D question to interrupt your editing work (heck, asking it is interrupting my editing work, so it's a win-win!):

In your games or in your original conception of the rules, did you intend that MUs and clerics could only rest and recover spells once per day, or did you allow them to cast their spells and then rest for four hours (or however long was needed) and, provided this time was uninterrupted, rememorize their spells? That is, can that spell memorization rest be done a couple of times a day or ONLY at night and ONLY once per day for the next day's spells. The PHB implies the latter, while the DMG implies the former. Thanks, as always, for your time.

HH (Michael)

Very busy indeed...

Spell-caster resting to recover spells was contemplated to occur once per day, just as one normally sleeps, but (light) condition/time of day is not a factor.
The once per 24-hour period is the measure.

In haste,
Gary

ScottyG wrote:
Gary, would you let a spell caster memorize their daily spells in chunks, or is it all at once?
For example, could a druid memorize predict weather, cast it, and then based on that decide to memorize call lightning or some other 3rd level spell?

Scott

Hi Scott,

Abslutely all at once is the intent for all spell-casters memorizing spells.
After having their mind refreshed by rest they must needs read or prat to store away all the spells they are sble to choose to remember for a time until activated.

Cheers,
Gary

SPELL LEVEL	1-2	3-4	5-6	7-8	9
Time	4 hours [4]	6 hours [6]	8 hours [8]	10 hours [10]	12 hours [12]

Intelligence	Minutes to memorize one spell level
9	15
10	14
11	13
12	12
13	11
14	10
15	9
16	8
17	6
18	4
19	2