LL/5e Mashup: Arcane Trickster and Arcane Champion

I just came across some notes related to the ideas I had for a 5e-inspired Arcane Champion (Warrior) class and Arcane Trickster (Rogue) class.

It's just simple lists of spells, but I thought I might as well type them up, for completeness, rather than entirely discard them. So here we go.

Arcane Trickster
1st Level Spells

1. Auditory illusion
2. Dancing lights
3. Darkness globe
4. Doppelganger
5. Charm person
6. Feather fall
7. Comprehend languages
8. Jump
9. Read languages
10. Spider climb
11. Unseen servant
12. Ventriloquism

2nd Level Spells

1. Invisibility
2. Phantasmal force
3. ESP
4. Knock
5. Levitate
6. Locate object
7. Detect invisible
8. False gold

3rd Level Spells

1. Blink
2. Haste
3. Hold person
4. Nondetection
5. Suggestion
6. Infravision

4th Level Spells

1. Arcane eye
2. Charm monster
3. Dimension door
4. Polymorph self

Arcane Champion
1st Level Spells

1. Light
2. Magic missile
3. Burning hands
4. Protection from evil
5. Shield
6. Shocking grasp

2nd Level Spells

1.  Detect evil
2. Scare
3. Strength
4. Pyrotechnics
5. Mirror image
6. Ray of enfeeblement

3rd Level Spells

1. Dispel magic
2. Fireball
3. Lightning bolt
4. Haste
5. Hold person
6. Protection from normal missiles

4th Level Spells

1. Enchant arms
2. Fire shield
3. Ice storm
4. Wall of fire

LL/5e Mashup: Bard Songs

In my previous post about the Rogue class and its various sub-classes, I didn't go into any detail as to what spells exactly are usable by the magic-using sub-classes, the bard and the arcane trickster.

Here's the list of songs available to bards. I'm keeping things limited to the spells that are available in the LL Advanced Edition Companion, initially.

Bard Magic
Bard songs take one turn to have magical effect. Bards do not need to memorise songs -- they can play any magical song they know at any time, subject to the limited number of songs per level per day.

Bard songs which produce an effect with a duration need not be physically played or sung for longer than the one turn casting time. Once the spell takes effect, the bard may stop playing. The song instead lingers in the bard's mind until its duration expires. During this time, if the bard plays any other magical song, the maintained spell is cancelled. Songs with permanent duration do not have this requirement.

Songs which have the effect of enchanting another person must be audible to the target in order for the magic to take hold.

Bard Spell List

First level
Allure
Charm person
Doppelganger
Identify
Light
Mending
Protection from evil
Remove fear

Second Level
Arcane lock
Bless
Continual light
Cure light wounds
Invisibility
Knock
Phantasmal force
Snake charm

Third Level
Augury
Fly
Haste
Protection from evil, 10' radius
Purify food and drink
Tiny hut

Fourth Level
Arcane eye
Charm monster
Create food and water
Cure serious wounds
Enchant arms
Implant emotion

LL/5e Mashup: The Warrior Class

Following on from the write-up of my rough ideas for a 5e-inspired Rogue class for Labyrinth Lord, here are my thoughts on a Warrior class. (I'm following the 2e class groups here, a concept which I always found appealing -- so the classes will be: Warrior, Rogue, Priest, Wizard.)

Warrior
Proficiencies: all armour, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons, 2 of: Acrobatics, Awareness, Climbing, Survival, Swimming.

1st level:
Fighting Style: Choose one of the following fighting styles:

• Archery: +1 to attacks with missile weapons.
• Defence: +1 AC bonus when wearing armour.
• Duelling: +1 to attacks and damage rolls when wielding only a one-handed melee weapon.
• Heavy Weapon Fighting: When wielding a heavy, two-handed weapon, re-roll damage dice which come up 1. (You may only re-roll once per attack and must keep the second roll.)
• Protection: When wielding a shield, you can grant a +2 AC bonus to a single character within 5' of you.
• Two-Weapon Fighting: (The exact effect of this fighting style depends on the rules for two-weapon fighting, which I've not decided on yet.)

2nd level:
Warrior Archetype: Choose an archetype.

6th level:
Extra Attack: You can make two attack rolls on your turn.

11th level:
Extra Attack: You can make three attack rolls on your turn.

20th level:
Extra Attack: You can make four attack rolls on your turn.

Warrior Archetypes

Fighter
2nd level:
Improved Critical: An attack roll of 19 or 20 is a critical hit.

4th level:
Indomitable: Once per day, you can re-roll a failed saving throw.

10th level:
Fighting Style: Choose a second fighting style.

Arcane Champion
2nd level:
Spell-Casting: Limited spell list. Slow progression, up to 4th level spells. Number of spells known is strictly limited.

4th level:
Weapon Bond: With a one hour ritual, you can bond up to two weapons to yourself. A bonded weapon can be summoned instantly to your hand from anywhere on the same plane of existence.

10th level:
War Magic: You can make a single attack and cast a spell in the same round.

Slayer
2nd level:
Favoured Enemy: Choose a monster type (dragons, goblinoids, giants, animals, etc) or a profession (cultists, witches, outlaws, etc). You gain a +1 bonus to Search checks to track or Lore checks to recall knowledge about your chosen enemy.

4th level:
Extra Proficiencies: Gain proficiency with Awareness and Stealth.

10th level:
Second Favoured Enemy: Choose another type of favoured enemy.
Expert Slayer: Gain +1 to hit and damage against your favoured enemies. Gain a +2 bonus to saving throws and AC against their attacks.

Beast Master
2nd level:
Animal Companion: A normal animal becomes your faithful companion. You may purchase the animal or find it in the wild. In combat, you can give the animal verbal commands. If your companion dies, you may find another beast to replace it after a week.

4th level:
Extra Proficiencies: Gain proficiency with Awareness and Nature.

10th level:
Bestial Fury: Your animal companion may make one extra attack each round.

Berserker
I'm planning a berserker warrior sub-class, but haven't come up with any mechanics that I like yet. I'm not that keen on the 5e barbarian berserker, with the "resource management rage" mechanic. I don't see berserk fury as something that has to be scrupulously managed.

If anyone has any ideas for a berserker sub-class that'd fit with the system above, please suggest!

Wot No Paladins?
Yeah... I don't believe in paladins. I've never really understood how they're different from clerics.

D&D 5: Spells By School (PDF)

On a whim, I just knocked up a PDF of 5e spells by school. The lists include spells from all classes mixed into one, which may be of use to someone (it's probably going to be useful for me). It includes all the spells from the PHB and the Elemental Evil Companion.

Here's the link!

LL/5e Mashup: The Rogue Class

Now that we have a skill system, I'll present the rough outline for a class: the rogue. Yes, I'm calling it "rogue" not "thief". There's a good reason for that: one of the things I love about the 5e rules is the way that each class has several different "archetypes" -- essentially sub-classes -- which players can choose between. In the case of the rogue class, one of those archetypes is the thief.

Here's what I have so far. (Note that I won't discuss things like Hit Dice, XP progression, attack rolls, saving throws. That's, for now, assumed to be the same as in LL.)

First, a quick note on the types of proficiency...

Proficiencies

• Skills (see here).
• Weapons: non-proficient attacks incur a -4 penalty to hit.
• Armour: wearing armour with which the character is not proficient incurs some penalty that I've not fully considered yet. You definitely can't cast spells, at least.
• Tools: work like skills. 1 in 6 base chance of success, modified by ability score and proficiency bonus. I like the D&D 5 list of tools, so would go with that.

Ok, now the rogue...

Rogue
Proficiencies: light armour, simple weapons, hand crossbow, longsword, rapier, shortsword, thieves' tools, 4 of: Acrobatics, Arcana, Awareness, Climbing, Lore, Performance, Search, Sleight of hand, Stealth.

1st level:
Expertise: Gain a +1 bonus using 2 skills (or your proficiency with thieves' tools) of your choice.
Sneak Attack: +4 bonus to hit and double damage against a target who is not aware of your presence. (Finesse or missile weapons only.)
Thieves' Cant: Speak the secret code language of thieves.

2nd level:
Rogue Archetype: Choose an archetype.

6th level:
Expertise: Choose 2 more skills to gain a +1 bonus.

Rogue Archetypes

Thief
2nd level:
Fast Hands: Make two checks with your thieves' tools in one turn. (Note: I'm talking LL turns here = 10 minutes.)

4th level:
Read Languages: Make a Lore check to understand the broad gist of any text.

10th level:
Use scrolls: Make an Arcana check to use magic-user scrolls.

(Note: I think the thief could probably be beefed up a little bit, compared to the other archetypes.)

Assassin
2nd level:
Extra Proficiencies: Gain proficiency with disguise and poisoner's kits.

4th level:
Assassinate: (Exact effect to-be-determined... Probably simply an increasing sneak attack multiplier.)

10th level:
Infiltration: Pretty much as described in the 5e rules. The ability to create a false identity and to mimic someone's behaviour and voice.

Arcane Trickster
2nd level:
Spell-Casting: Limited spell list. Slow progression, up to 4th level spells. Number of spells known is strictly limited. Initially: unseen servant and one other.

4th level:
Legerdemain: Use thieves' tools or Sleight of hand via unseen servant.
Use scrolls: Make an Arcana check to use magic-user scrolls.

10th level:
Magical Ambush: Targets who are unaware of your presence suffer a -4 penalty on saves against your spells.

Bard
2nd level:
Magical Songs: Limited spell list. Slow progression, up to 4th level spells. Number of spells known is strictly limited. Spells require a Performance check and one turn.

4th level:
Read Languages: Make a Lore check to understand the broad gist of any text.

10th level:
Counter-Charm: (Exact effect to-be-determined)

Acrobat
2nd level:
Dodge: You can dodge out of reach of enemies, making a fighting retreat at full speed.
Tumbling Attack: Make an Acrobatics check to move towards an enemy, make a melee attack, then leap out of reach (effectively a fighting retreat) all in one round.

4th level:
Evasion: For effects which allow a save for half damage, a save indicates that you take no damage. You suffer half damage on a failed save.
Slow Fall: Subtract your level from falling damage.

10th level:
Uncanny Dodge: When damaged by an attacker that you can see, make an Acrobatics check to reduce the damage by half.

LL/5e Mashup: Skills

As I mentioned on Google+, I've been thinking about how it might look to take some of the bits I like about D&D 5 into a simpler rules system like Labyrinth Lord. One of my favourite bits of the new edition is the simple skills / proficiency system. This forms a foundation for some other stuff, so I'll lay that out first.

Skill Checks
1d6 based, like LotFP. All characters have a base 1 in 6 chance of success.

Modifiers:

• Relevant ability score above 14: +1 in 6 chance of success.
• Relevant ability score below 7: -1 in 6 chance of success.
• Proficient: +1 at 1st level, +2 at 5th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th level.
• Difficulty: easy tasks may increase, difficult tasks reduce the chance of success (as the referee wishes).

Notes:

I've never been a fan of the d20 system, so in considering a skill system suitable for bolting onto Labyrinth Lord, I knew immediately that I'd be looking for something else. I went for a d6 based skill system for several reasons: its precedent in the basic rules in the form of rolls to hear noises or find secret doors, surprise, etc; its use in LotFP, which I'm familiar with and have always admired. You could bolt on another system easily enough; you just need to make sure the proficiency bonus progression and any bonuses granted by other abilities match it.

List of Skills
Acrobatics
Arcana (detect magic -- 1 turn)
Awareness (surprise / notice hidden)
Climbing
Engineering (stone stuff, dwarves are proficient)
Lore (legends, history)
Medicine
Nature (knowledge, connection with animals)
Performance

Religion (detect divine or infernal influence -- 1 turn)
Search (find secret doors / hidden things)
Sleight of hand
Stealth
Survival
Swimming

Notes:

• I chose to split athletics into climbing and swimming as a nod to the traditional thief, who's great at climbing but whom I don't see as great at other athletic activities.
• The uses of arcana and religion to detect magic or cosmic influence are house rules I've used for years in LL. They seemed to fit these skills perfectly.
• I've chosen a list without any "social" skills. You could add them back in, if you like. The exact list doesn't really matter that much.

D&D 5: Shorthand Races PDF

As a companion to the shorthand backgrounds PDF which I posted the other day, I've done the same thing for the races in the PHB.

Here's the PDF.

I was actually very surprised that all the info could be fit onto a single page!

D&D 5: Shorthand Backgrounds PDF

I love the concept of backgrounds in D&D 5 but find their verbosity a bit overwhelming, both in terms of the amount of information to read and the number of decisions that are required, what with all the lists of flaws, bonds, etc. I'm sure those add a lot to a character, in the right campaign, but I tend to prefer presentations with simple basic rule summaries and extra details elsewhere, for use if desired.

So, I just got the urge to make a summarizing table of all the backgrounds in the PHB. I've wanted to try this for a long time as I've always felt that they could be expressed (in their most basic form) as a table on a single page.

So, here you go, as a PDF.

Seeing them presented like this also encourages me to invent some more backgrounds of my own!

D&D 5: School of Elementalism

You devote your career to the volatile magic of the raw cardinal elements (air, earth, fire, and water), unravelling the secrets of the composition of the natural world and gaining power over planar beings made of pure elemental matter. Unlike the traditional schools of magic (described in the PHB), the school of elementalism studies magic of many different kinds, unified by the characteristics of the effect produced, rather than the magical means of operation.

Some elementalists become planar explorers, drawn towards the mysteries of the elemental planes and beyond. Others, who choose to remain on their home world in the prime plane, are valued (or feared) for their power over the forces of nature, becoming wardens, fearsome war-wizards, or explorers in harsh regions of the world.


Elemental Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy an elemental spell (see list below) into your spellbook is halved.

Cardinal Transmutation
Starting at 2nd level when you choose this school, you gain the ability to transmute small quantities of pure elemental matter. For each 10 minutes you spend on the procedure, you can transmute 1 cubic foot of matter from one pure element -- air, fire, earth, or water -- to another. The transmutation is permanent.

Elemental Cancellation
Beginning at 6th level, when you cast a spell (such as counterspell or dispel magic) to nullify elemental magic, you weave the essence of the opposite element into the spell, increasing the effectiveness of the cancellation. You add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks required to cast the spell.

Elemental Summoner
At 10th level, you add the conjure elemental spell to your spellbook, if it is not there already. When you conjure an elemental using an elemental spell, you gain the following benefits:

• The creature's hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to your wizard level.
• If you lose control of the elemental, you may make a DC 15 Charisma save. If the save succeeds, instead of running amok, the elemental returns to its plane of origin.

Elemental Fusion
Starting at 14th level, after a long rest, you are able to infuse your physical form with elemental force. You must choose which of the four cardinal elements to bond with, gaining advantage on saving throws against and resistance to damage from that element (spells, for example, or the attacks of elementals). This deep integration with an element also makes you vulnerable to damage from the opposite element (fire and water are opposed, air and earth are opposed) -- if you suffer damage from the opposed element, the damage increases by one point per die rolled.

When in this state of elemental fusion, your physical form bears obvious marks of the transformation. You may be surrounded with clouds of smoke, dust, or steam; your hair may blow wildly as if in a storm; your eyes may flicker with lightning or glow like magma; or your skin may become charred, brine-encrusted, or studded with crystals.

After a long rest, you may choose to return your body to its natural state -- an equal balance of the four elements.

Elemental Spells
Spells in italics are described in the Elemental Evil Players Companion.

Cantrips (0 Level)
Acid splash (conjuration)
Chill touch (necromancy)
Create bonfire (conjuration)
Control flames (transmutation)
Dancing lights (evocation)
Fire bolt (evocation)
Frostbite (evocation)
Gust (transmutation)
Light (evocation)
Magic stone (transmutation)
Message (transmutation)
Mold earth (transmutation)
Ray of frost (evocation)
Shape water (transmutation)
Thunderclap (evocation)

1st Level
Absorb elements (abjuration)
Burning hands (evocation)
Catapult (transmutation)
Faerie fire (evocation)
Feather fall (transmutation)
Fog cloud (conjuration)
Ice knife (conjuration)
Earth tremor (evocation)
Thunderwave (evocation)

2nd Level
Aganazzar’s scorcher (evocation)
Continual flame (evocation)
Dust devil (conjuration)
Earthbind (transmutation)
Flaming sphere (conjuration)
Gust of wind (evocation)
Maximilian’s earthen grasp (transmutation)
Melf's acid arrow (evocation)
Misty step (conjuration)
Pyrotechnics (transmutation)
Scorching ray (evocation)
Shatter (evocation)
Skywrite (transmutation, ritual)
Snilloc’s snowball swarm (evocation)

3rd Level
Erupting earth (transmutation)
Fireball (evocation)
Fly (transmutation)
Flame arrows (transmutation)
Gaseous form (transmutation)
Melf’s minute meteors (evocation)
Sleet storm (conjuration)
Stinking cloud (conjuration)
Tidal wave (conjuration)
Wall of sand (evocation)
Wall of water (evocation)

4th Level
Conjure minor elementals (conjuration)
Control water (transmutation)
Elemental bane (transmutation)
Fire shield (evocation)
Ice storm (evocation)
Stone shape (transmutation)
Stoneskin (transmutation)
Storm sphere (evocation)
Vitriolic sphere (evocation)
Wall of fire (evocation)
Watery sphere (conjuration)

5th Level
Cloudkill (conjuration)
Cone of cold (evocation)
Conjure elemental (conjuration)
Contact other plane (divination)
Control winds (transmutation)
Immolation (evocation)
Maelstrom (evocation)
Passwall (transmutation)
Planar binding (abjuration)
Transmute rock (transmutation)
Wall of stone (evocation)

6th Level
Bones of the earth (transmutation)
Disintegrate (transmutation)
Flesh to stone (transmutation)
Investiture of flame (transmutation)
Investiture of ice (transmutation)
Investiture of stone (transmutation)
Investiture of wind (transmutation)
Move earth (transmutation)
Otiluke's freezing sphere (evocation)
Sunbeam (evocation)
Wall of ice (evocation)

7th Level
Delayed blast fireball (evocation)
Plane shift (conjuration)
Reverse gravity (transmutation)
Whirlwind (evocation)

8th Level
Abi-Dalzim’s horrid wilting (necromancy)
Control weather (transmutation)
Incendiary cloud (conjuration)
Sunburst (evocation)

9th Level
Gate (conjuration)
Meteor swarm (evocation)

Psychedelic Compounds for D&D 5

Some reworkings of old Labyrinth Lord material for D&D 5.

Addiction
Certain psychoactive substances favoured by adventurers have a highly addictive nature. Each time you consume such a compound, you must make a WIS save in order to resist increasing dependency. The difficulty of the save depends on the compound.

There are three levels of addiction, each with more severe side-effects than the last. When you fail a save against addiction, your addiction level for that drug increases one step.

Addiction levels:

1. After the dose wears off, for the next week, you must make another addiction save whenever an opportunity to purchase and use the drug presents itself. Failure indicates that you are unable to resist.
2. You must use the drug once a week or suffer disadvantage on DEX and WIS checks.
3. You must use the drug once per day or suffer disadvantage on all ability checks and attack rolls.

Memory Dust
Cost: 75gp
Duration: Until next long rest.
Addiction difficulty: 11
Appearance: Scintillating, rainbow-hued dust of the finest grain.
Usage: Snorted or swallowed. (The more elevated mage mixes the dust into fine spirits or absinthe, for leisurely consumption.)
Effects: You can prepare one additional wizard spell. Additionally, once during the period of the drug's effect, after casting a wizard spell you may spend an action to attempt to retain the expended spell slot. This requires an INT save (difficulty 10 + the level of the slot). If you fail, you are stunned until your next turn.
Side-effects: A natural 1 when making the WIS save versus addiction indicates that your tolerance for the memory dust has increased. Henceforth, you need to consume one extra dose to gain an effect. (The required dosage may continue to increase, if multiple saves come up 1.)

Salts of Vitesse
Cost: 50gp
Duration: Until next long rest.
Addiction difficulty: 14
Appearance: Gritty, crystalline powder of alchemical manufacture.
Usage: Snorted or swallowed.
Effects: +2 DEX, +2 INT. Additional +1 bonus to initiative.
Side-effects: -1 CON until you rest for a full week.

(To be continued...)

D&D 5 Basic: Elf

Following on from my last post about a basic Dwarf class for D&D 5, here's my take on an Elf race-class.

You can download it as a PDF here.

Notes:

• This is a high elf eldritch knight with the noble background, all rolled together.
• Again, I replaced some of the equipment choices with suitably elfish options, in order to reduce the number of choice points.
• Likewise, I pre-selected dragon chess as the tool proficiency, as that seems the most suitably fey / noble.
• I made a small change to the mechanics of the class, removing the restriction on only choosing spells from certain schools at certain levels. I felt this was unnecessarily complicated and it would have pushed the description over onto a second page, which I wanted to avoid.
• Some of the text was based on Konstantin M's marvellous condensed basic rules.

I notice that I feel much happier about the PHB, with all its options and lengthy descriptions, now that I see it's possible to also distill the material down to something simple and suitable for new players or just people who don't like spending hours crafting a character.

[All D&D 5 basic classes: Elf, Dwarf, Halfling.]

D&D 5 Basic: Dwarf

I mentioned recently on google+ that I've been a bit frustrated by the complexity of character creation in D&D 5. Though they've eliminated much of the complexity of equipment selection (a very welcome change, in my books!), there's still a lot of different stuff to choose, which can be very overwhelming for new players.

I had a few ideas about how to remedy this: making some very simple summaries or conglomerations of all the choices during character creation, or maybe bringing back race-classes.

Just to see how feasible this might be, I had a quick attempt at making a description of a race-class (the dwarf) which fits on a single side of A4 and includes all of the relevant options, including a background.

Here's what I've come up with:

You can download it as a PDF here.

Notes:

• This is a mountain dwarf fighter with the soldier background, all rolled into one.
• The only thing that I left out was the background flaws, bonds, etc. I figure players can just make stuff like that up.
• I replaced the "choose two weapons" in the equipment section with suitably Dwarfish weapons, just to reduce the number of choices required.
• I made a single small change: adding Medicine to the list of skills. (I found it odd that the soldier background lists "healer" as a posibility, but the Medicine skill wasn't available.)
• Some of the text was based on Konstantin M's marvellous condensed basic rules.

[All D&D 5 basic classes: Elf, Dwarf, Halfling.]

D&D 5: Beginner PC Spellbooks

[I've made and updated version of these spellbooks, now with names!]

As mentioned in my last post, I found D&D 5 character creation to be a bit of a grind, especially with inexperienced players. Another point, which I didn't explicitly mention in the other post, was that spell selection for wizards adds a whole extra level of choices to make. Depending on the edition, this is also true of older versions of the game, so it's not a complaint specifically directed at D&D 5.

Spell selection (three cantrips and six 1st level spells, in D&D 5) is akin to the traditional method of equipping a new character: browsing big lists and trying to come up with a cohesive selection. D&D 5 has elegantly removed the list-shopping aspect of equipment selection, so I thought it could do with something similar for spell selection.

How about this: a set of pre-defined spell books with specific themes (conveniently tied to the schools of magic which the player will choose between at 2nd level).

Abjuration
Cantrips: Blade Ward, Light, Shocking Grasp
1st Level: Alarm, Grease, Mage Armor, Protection from Evil and Good, Shield, Sleep

Conjuration
Cantrips: Acid Splash, Mage Hand, Poison Spray
1st Level: Burning Hands, Find Familiar, Fog Cloud, Grease, Tenser's Floating Disk, Unseen Servant

Divination
Cantrips: Light, Prestidigitation, True Strike
1st Level: Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Identify, Magic Missile, Unseen Servant

Enchantment
Cantrips: Dancing Lights, Friends, Prestidigitation
1st Level: Charm Person, Chromatic Orb, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Sleep, Tasha's Hideous Laughter

Evocation
Cantrips: Fire Bolt, Light, Shocking Grasp
1st Level: Burning Hands, Chromatic Orb, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Witch Bolt

Illusion
Cantrips: Dancing Lights, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation
1st Level: Charm Person, Color Spray, Disguise Self, Illusory Script, Silent Image, Thunderwave

Necromancy
Cantrips: Chill Touch, Mage Hand, Ray of Frost
1st Level: False Life, Fog Cloud, Protection from Evil and Good, Ray of Sickness, Sleep, Unseen Servant

Transmutation
Cantrips: Mending, Message, Prestidigitation
1st Level: Burning Hands, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Jump, Longstrider


Other themed spell books could easily be created, along lines such as: frost, dimensions, energy, life, etc. Finally, here's the "standard" (quick build) mage spell book:

Mage
Cantrips: Mage Hand, Light, Ray of Frost
1st Level: Burning Hands, Charm Person, Feather Fall, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Sleep

D&D 5: Simpler Character Creation For Beginners

Last night, I had a character creation session for D&D 5 with a bunch of six largely inexperienced players. We had two players who'd "played AD&D 2nd edition a couple of times in the 90s", one who'd "played Das Schwarze Auge and Shadowrun", and three who'd never played any kind of traditional RPG.

How did D&D 5 stand up to this challenge?

In summary: mediocre / mixed.

The Good
The players responded really well to the choices of race / class / background. A lot of interesting, creative ideas emerged from this triple choice combo (plus the alternative racial backgrounds I'd prepared for the game setting).

The Bad
It's complicated. Way too complicated for beginners, in my opinion. This is coming from the perspective of someone who usually introduces new players to B/X (Labyrinth Lord). B/X character creation is super minimal, so even though the mechanical parts are a bit on the random / incohesive side, there are so few choices to make that even beginners are done with it fairly quickly. Choosing equipment is the only bit that tends to be very time consuming. Not so D&D 5. The choice of race / class / background is simple enough -- players can just go with what they think sounds cool -- but each choice brings with it a ream of traits to read and note, proficiencies and saving throws to mark, equipment to record. Admittedly, the equipment choice is simpler as it's done for you (no more shopping from lists), but overall it was a long and arduous process, compounded, unfortunately, by the fact that we only had a single PHB and no "cheat sheets" (not sure if such a thing exists for D&D 5?).

An Idea
The players were fine with making the basic choice of race, class, and background but balked at the amount of information each choice entailed they read and record. How about cutting out that second part of the equation? Something like this:

1. Character creation session: choose race, class, and background. Do not read the sections on your selected race or background, just go from the DM's verbal description of them / your imagination. Do not record any mechanical information related to them. Just focus on understanding your class for now. Note down the equipment (and only the equipment) provided by your background.
2. First session: play your first adventure.
3. Second session: before the next session, read the section on your race and record any additional mechanical bits on your character sheet. Play the second session.
4. Third session: before the next session, read the section on your background and record any additional mechanical bits on your character sheet. Congratulations, you now have a fully fledged character! Go forth and play your third session and onwards.
5. Fourth session onwards: note to DMs: you should not allow characters to progress beyond 1st level until at least the fourth session -- with level advancement comes further choices (for some classes) and rules.

Sure, this means that, during the first couple of sessions, characters would not be at their optimal in terms of mechanics. They'd be missing things like racial stats bonuses, proficiencies from backgrounds, and so on. I don't think this would be a problem though, especially if the DM is running them through a relatively easy / forgiving introductory scenario.

ps. this is my 400th post on this blog!

D&D 5: The Good Bits

A while ago I wrote this about the latest version of D&D:

I'm sure I'll run some games of D&D 5 to get a feeling for it. There's a lot of good stuff in it which I, on first reading, prefer to my traditional go-to, Labyrinth Lord. I'm open to the idea of this becoming my standard base of rules to build from, and it feels like a very solid foundation, at that.

(http://the-city-of-iron.blogspot.de/2014/09/d-5-how-i-would-use-it.html)

In the comments, the esteemed Carter Soles posed the question of what exactly these preferred elements of the game are. This post is in answer to that question.

So, some things I prefer about D&D 5 when compared to Labyrinth Lord.

Unified Proficiency System
Among all the cool new ideas in D&D 5, this isn't one I've seen discussed a lot (that merit must go to the "advantage / disadvantage" system), but is without a doubt my favourite mechanical innovation. In older games there's always been the concept of proficiency with armour and weaponry, whether it was embedded in class descriptions ("magic-users can only use daggers and cannot wear armour") or made explicit through a system of weapon proficiency (a la AD&D 2nd edition). There was also some more muddy territory around who can use what tools -- for instance, can any character use lock picks or are they the sole domain of the thief class?

The D&D 5 approach to proficiency wraps all this up, along with a greatly simplified version of the later-edition skills system, into a single proficiency bonus which advances with level. A character is either proficient with something -- in which case he or she gets to add the bonus -- or not. There's no skill points to fumble around with and the rules are deliciously broad: proficiency with a tool, for example, allows the player to add his character's proficiency bonus to "any ability check you make using that tool".

I can also imagine stripping things down further at times and simply saying that a proficient character can do X while a non-proficient character cannot. No roll or bonus required.

Backgrounds
Now these have bee touted as a universally great thing and I'm not one to disagree on that point. Reminiscent of the AD&D 2e "kits" system, but completely class-neutral (your cleric can have the "criminal" background equally to a rogue), backgrounds are great packages of flavour for new characters.

To my mind (though obviously not to the designers of D&D 5), the backgrounds system completely eradicates the need for more than the four core classes. Want a barbarian? An outlander fighter. A bard? How about a rogue with the entertainer background. A paladin? That's clearly a fighter with the adept background. And so on.

Again, simple, flexible, and packed with flavour.

Admittedly, choosing a background adds an extra step to character creation, which means extra time. This stuff inevitably comes up at some point, though, anyway, in roleplaying situations or when the referee needs to know which characters could conceivably know or do a certain thing. Giving each character a single word background ("sage", "sailor", "urchin" etc) adds heaps of flavour. The flaws, bonds, etc could even be ignored initially at char gen, to speed things up.

Equipment
I love the equipment section. Simple guidelines on selling treasure, trade-offs for light vs heavy armour types, weapons distinguished by various properties (this is very much lacking in LL), pre-selected packs of adventuring gear, broad guidelines for lifestyle expenses and hazards / benefits, detailed equipment lists, and even a random table of trinkets! Good, very usable stuff.

 Schools of Magic, Divine Domains
Obviously, I like magic in D&D to have a bit more depth to it than the simple B/X approach. The Advanced Edition Companion for LL goes some way to providing the kind of elaboration I like, with the addition of another type of priest and another type of magic-user, but I'm always eager for more of this kind of thing. My feeling is: why stop at one alternative?

D&D 5 provides a really nice system here: casters must choose a specialisation. Clerics choose at 1st level and magic-users at 2nd (I think... or was it 3rd?). Each class has a choice of 8 or so specialisations, each granting some unique abilities (and, in the case of the clerical domains, a different spell selection).

Obviously, for someone of my proclivities, this still doesn't go far enough, but it at least provides a nice foundation for further work. Suffice to say, this is by far my favourite implementation of such things in any edition of D&D so far.

Downtime
Tying in with the guidelines for lifestyle expenses, in the equipment section, the short section on downtime activities on p. 187 is delightful in its simplicity and usability. It even includes rules for learning new languages (though I note it doesn't extend to skills) -- something which I've never seen done to my satisfaction in D&D before!

D&D 5: Classes to Class Options

I mentioned yesterday that I'd been considering how one could roll all of the "advanced" (i.e. non-core-4) class options into the core-4. Having had a more detailed look into this, it seems trivially feasible and adds a lot of really nice options to the classes without greatly increasing complexity. Here we go:

Fighter

• The ranger Hunter archetype can be applied directly to a fighter character, with no modifications.
• The ranger Beast Master archetype can be applied directly to a fighter character, with no modifications. Note that the "share spells" feature (at 15th level) would only apply to spells cast upon the fighter or beast by another, as the fighter class has no spell-casting capabilities of its own.
• The barbarian Berserker path could be applied to a fighter, with the addition of the "rage" feature (using the barbarian chart for uses per day).
• The barbarian Totem Warrior path could be applied to a fighter, with the addition of the "rage" feature (using the barbarian chart for uses per day).
• The paladin Oath of Devotion can be taken by a fighter character. The character gains the "channel divinity" feature (under "sacred oath"). Each oath spell may be cast once per day.
• The paladin Oath of the Ancients can be taken by a fighter character. The character gains the "channel divinity" feature (under "sacred oath"). Each oath spell may be cast once per day.
• The paladin Oath of Vengeance can be taken by a fighter character. The character gains the "channel divinity" feature (under "sacred oath"). Each oath spell may be cast once per day.

I must say, I really like the idea of a normal fighting man being able to take a religious oath under this framework. I'd consider using this instead of the cleric class altogether, in a suitable campaign.


Rogue

• The bard College of Lore can be applied to a rogue by adding the concept of inspiration dice (but not the full "bardic inspiration" feature), using the arcane trickster spell advancement table and the bard spell list. The bard's "magical secrets" feature could be added too.
• The bard College of Valor can be applied to a rogue by adding the concept of inspiration dice (but not the full "bardic inspiration" feature), using the arcane trickster spell advancement table and the bard spell list. The bard's "song of rest" feature could be added too.
• One could also consider allowing rogues to take the ranger's Hunter archetype, though I feel it fits much better as a fighter option.

Wizard

• The warlock's Archfey Patron can be applied to a wizard, with no modifications. The character also gains the "pact boon" feature at 3rd level.
• The warlock's Fiend Patron can be applied to a wizard, with no modifications. The character also gains the "pact boon" feature at 3rd level.
• The warlock's Great Old One Patron can be applied to a wizard, with no modifications. The character also gains the "pact boon" feature at 3rd level.
• The sorcerer's Draconic Bloodline option can be applied to a wizard. The "elemental affinity" and "draconic presence" features both recharge after a long rest (no sorcery points). (Presumably, the character is a specialist in the field of draconic magic.)
• The sorcerer's Wild Magic option can be applied to a wizard, with no modifications. (Presumably, the character is a specialist in the field of wild magic.)

Cleric
I feel that the following options are a bit more campaign-specific, but might also work:

• The warlock's Archfey Patron can be applied to a cleric, with no modifications. The character also gains the "pact boon" feature at 3rd level.
• The warlock's Fiend Patron can be applied to a cleric, with no modifications. The character also gains the "pact boon" feature at 3rd level.
• The warlock's Great Old One Patron can be applied to a cleric, with no modifications. The character also gains the "pact boon" feature at 3rd level.
• The druid's Circle of the Land option can be applied to a cleric, with the addition of the "channel divinity: charm plants and animals" feature from the nature domain.
• The druid's Circle of the Moon option can be applied to a cleric, with the addition of the "channel divinity: charm plants and animals" feature from the nature domain.

Note that I've not looked at the monk class yet, so can't comment on that.

D&D 5: Class Prejudice

Following on from my recent thoughts on how I might use the full menagerie of D&D 5 races in a campaign, I've been giving some thought to the full complex of classes presented in the new PHB. As much as I might try to reconcile them all, my feeling remains grognardy on this one.

Barbarian: this is a culture, not a class. Especially with D&D 5's great system for character backgrounds, I find the choice of including such a class pretty questionable.
Bard: I'm not a knee-jerk bard-hater -- I used to like them in AD&D 2e -- but I just don't like the mechanics of the new one. The inspiration dice are just too abstract / disconnected for my taste. I also feel that a bard type character could easily be created as a rogue or wizard with the entertainer background.
Cleric: a nice 2e-ish implementation of the class. The way the divine domains are implemented is very well done. I don't use clerics in many campaigns, but I'd be happy to use this one.
Druid: also a decent version of this class. There's a lot of overlap starting to show here, however. How is a cleric of nature different to a druid? What's the difference between a ranger, a totem warrior barbarian, and a green knight paladin? There are too many nature-oriented, magical classes, with no clear distinction or connection between them. The description of the cleric's nature domain (p. 61) is an admittance of this. It just doesn't make any coherent sense to me. Purely on the topic of the druid class, though, I'd happily use it, in the right campaign setting.
Fighter: nice. Lots of simple options to give fighter characters different flavours.
Monk: the monk... yeah... super culturally specific, doesn't mesh at all with the rest of the classes, why was this class ever included in core rules? I guess it's just historical really (somehow Greyhawk or Arduin related, perhaps?). Anyway, I must confess that I've not even read this class yet in the new PHB. I can't imagine ever using it, except if I were to run some Asian inspired campaign. (Also, for me, like the barbarian "class", it's just way too culture-specific... can anyone seriously imagine a world with dragonborn, halfling, and gnome monks or barbarians? I'm afraid I can't. Well, not a world I'd like to run a campaign in, anyway.)
Paladin: I've never seen the point of the paladin class. The cleric is a holy warrior, right? No question. So what's a paladin? This version doesn't change my feeling. More vague overlap without clear differentiation or explanation.
Ranger: I like the flavour of a wilderness-oriented warrior a lot, but feel that this archetype can be modelled very nicely with a background (outlander, for example). I don't get the need for magic either, to be honest.
Rogue: again, thankfully, a nice implementation of this classic core-4 class. I'm very happy with the options and features presented.
Sorcerer: yeah... I just never understood the need to separate an intuitive wizard from a bookish wizard, mechanically. The mechanical differences themselves are so small that I would have just made this an option under the umbrella of the wizard class. And if you really want to go for the "bloodlines" thing, why not make some racial options? Sorcerer, no thanks.
Warlock: very nice flavour, but again I'd just make this an option for wizards. Doesn't seem like it needs to be a separate class, and the mechanical differences seem (to me) just kind of forced.
Wizard: a very nice version of this class! As someone who (obviously) loves wizards, I'm glad to say that I really like the 5e class. The approach to school specialists is great.

So, apart from the core-4 classes, the only ones which come anywhere near to desirable, in my mind are the druid and warlock. Luckily I like the core-4 classes a lot in 5e, so I'd be perfectly happy to run a campaign with just those.

I've also had some thoughts on taking the options from the non-core-4 classes and rolling them into the core-4. It seems like this would be perfectly possible... but that's a topic for another post.

Edit: I noticed that I'd totally forgotten to mention the monk class. Shows how far off my radar it is! Added above.

D&D 5: Accepting All Races

Thinking about trying out D&D 5 as-is (i.e. without succumbing to the urge to massively house rule it before I've even played it once!), but I can't stomach the generic modern fantasy vibe. Here are some explanations which I find more palatable for all those races.

Dwarves: men from the Iron Planet who descend to Earth to trade metals.
Dragonborn: slaves spawned in the vats of wizards. All are male.
Tieflings: victims of the shadow plague, their appearance becomes more inhuman as the disease progresses. Eventually disappear into shadow and smoke.
Halflings: gibbering semi-sentients which stalk the wastes in search of living prey to sacrifice to their idols. Among nobles of the City, it is the height of fashion to rear a captive halfling as a pet, teaching it to mimic civilised, human behaviours.
Gnomes: space pirates from the asteroid belt. Sometimes fall to Earth in meteor storms.
Elves: the construction of homunculi was once the prime mode of magical endeavour in the City. Elves are homunculi gone rogue, evolved into beings of human stature over centuries spent lurking in the shadows.
Half-elves: elves can only reproduce with descendents of their creator. Who would mate with such a being?
Half-orcs: men whose souls have been consumed by the ravenous spirits of the wastelands (known as orcs). Their bodies warped and bestial, their minds torn between humanity and depravity.

Ix: Metamorphs (D&D 5)

Here were scant details on the metamorphs of the city of Hul Nostra on the borderlands first revealed.

Now, apropos nothing in particular, here are some game-stat elucidations on these beings for use with the 5th edition of D&D.


The Metamorphs of Hul Nostra
A human character of Hul Nostran origin may choose the following trait packages in place of the standard human Ability Score Increase:

Pandrogyne
Ability Score Increase
You may increase four of your ability scores by 1.

Sexual Morphism
Your sex changes on a periodic cycle, usually over the course of a year. The cycle progresses as follows (you may start play at a point of your choosing): male to hermaphrodite to female to sexless to male (cycle restarts). If you become pregnant during your hermaphrodite or female phases, the sexual cycle pauses until the child is born.

Monoform
Ability Score Increase
You may increase four of your ability scores by 1.

Form Adaptation
Your body -- including height, weight, hair, eye, and skin colour -- adapts to match that of those around you. After spending a week in someone's company, you begin to take on their characteristics. If living in mixed company, you attain a kind of in-between or average state of the features of those around you. When solely in the company of a single individual, you come to exactly mimic their form, over a period of three weeks.

Bimorph
Ability Score Increase
You may increase two of your ability scores by 1.

Dual Form
You have two distinct forms -- both of the same sex -- and are able to voluntarily shift between them whenever you take a long rest. Powerful drugs (with dangerous side-effects) exist which can accelerate the transformation to occur within the space of a short rest.

Phagomorph
Ability Score Increase
Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Form Consumption
By genetic absorption, you take on the appearance and characteristics of the beings that you consume. Phagomorphs typically die young, as they develop non-human physiology which is unable to support their bodies. You were, however, carefully nourished on an almost exclusively carnivorous diet by knowledgeable parents or caretakers and have developed a stable biology.

When eating a normal diet consisting of multiple different types of beast, you take on some characteristics of the creatures you consume, such as a pig-like nose and tusks or a covering of fine fur or feathers. In order to attain a purely human appearance, you would have to primarily eat human flesh.

You are also able to undertake a special process of genetic absorption by consuming the body of a creature in its entirety, whereby your physiology changes as the genetic makeup of your prey is integrated with your own. This process takes four days. Once the genetic absorption is complete, your appearance is half-human, half-beast. In this state, you may use the attack forms of the consumed creature, replacing the specified attack and damage bonuses with your own. This half-beast state lasts for two weeks, at which point you must either perform the process again or lose the benefits.

At 1st level you may absorb the form of creatures of up to Challenge Rating 1/2. From 5th level you may absorb the form of creatures of up to Challenge Rating 1.

True Metamorph
Ability Score Increase
Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Changeling
You are able to change your physical form at will, over the course of a short rest:

• At 1st level you may alter your skin colour, eye colour, and facial features.
• At 3rd level you may alter the length and colouration of your hair, as well as your height, weight, and apparent age (to within the range of human norms).
• At 5th level you may change your sex or take on unusual traits of other races.

Sterile
A genetic side-effect of your rare biology is that you are unable to reproduce.

D&D 5: Spells by School

As I previously mentioned, I've been mulling over some ideas for tweaking the wizard class in D&D 5. Not that it really needs tweaking -- I like it well enough as it is -- but, well, it's inspired me to think about some alternative ideas which might be fun too.

The main idea I have in mind is to make school specialization stricter, so that specialists can only cast spells from their chosen school. The big boon being, however, that they can also cast spells from the spell lists of other classes (including clerical spells, for instance). A wizard who chooses to remain non-specialized (which I also have in mind as an option) would be limited to spells from the standard wizard list.

So, what would these super-focused spell lists look like? Here you go -- all spells in the D&D 5 PHB, by school, irrespective of class:

[Update: I've formatted these lists, also including the spells from the Elemental Evil Companion, as a 2-page PDF which you can download here.]

Abjuration
Blade Ward (0)
Resistance (0)
Alarm (1)
Armor of Agathys (1)
Mage Armor (1)
Protection from Evil and Good (1)
Sanctuary (1)
Shield (1)
Shield of Faith (1)
Aid (2)
Arcane Lock (2)
Lesser Restoration (2)
Pass without Trace (2)
Protection from Poison (2)
Warding Bond (2)
Beacon of Hope (3)
Counterspell (3)
Dispel Magic (3)
Glyph of Warding (3)
Magic Circle (3)
Nondetection (3)
Protection from Energy (3)
Remove Curse (3)
Aura of Life (4)
Aura of Purity (4)
Banishment (4)
Death Ward (4)
Freedom of Movement (4)
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (4)
Antilife Shell (5)
Banishing Smite (5)
Circle of Power (5)
Dispel Evil and Good (5)
Greater Restoration (5)
Planar Binding (5)
Forbiddance (6)
Globe of Invulnerability (6)
Guards and Wards (6)
Symbol (7)
Antimagic Field (8)
Holy Aura (8)
Mind Blank (8)
Imprisonment (9)
Prismatic Wall (9)

Conjuration
Acid Splash (0)
Mage Hand (0)
Poison Spray (0)
Produce Flame (0)
Arms of Hadar (1)
Create or Destroy Water (1)
Ensnaring Strike (1)
Entangle (1)
Find Familiar (1)
Fog Cloud (1)
Grease (1)
Hail of Thorns (1)
Tenser's Floating Disk (1)
Unseen Servant (1)
Cloud of Daggers (2)
Find Steed (2)
Flaming Sphere (2)
Misty Step (2)
Web (2)
Call Lightning (3)
Conjure Animals (3)
Conjure Barrage (3)
Create Food and Water (3)
Hunger of Hadar (3)
Revivify (3)
Sleet Storm (3)
Spirit Guardians (3)
Stinking Cloud (3)
Conjure Minor Elementals (4)
Conjure Woodland Beings (4)
Dimension Door (4)
Evard's Black Tentacles (4)
Grasping Vine (4)
Guardian of Faith (4)
Leomund's Secret Chest (4)
Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound (4)
Cloudkill (5)
Conjure Elemental (5)
Conjure Volley (5)
Insect Plague (5)
Mass Cure Wounds (5)
Teleportation Circle (5)
Tree Stride (5)
Arcane Gate (6)
Conjure Fey (6)
Drawmij's Instant Summons (6)
Heroes' Feast (6)
Planar Ally (6)
Transport via Plants (6)
Wall of Thorns (6)
Word of Recall (6)
Conjure Celestial (7)
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (7)
Plane Shift (7)
Teleport (7)
Demiplane (8)
Incendiary Cloud (8)
Maze (8)
Tsunami (8)
Gate (9)
Mass Heal (9)
Storm of Vengeance (9)
Wish (9)

Divination
Guidance (0)
True Strike (0)
Comprehend Languages (1)
Detect Evil and Good (1)
Detect Magic (1)
Detect Poison and Disease (1)
Hunter's Mark (1)
Identify (1)
Speak with Animals (1)
Augury (2)
Beast Sense (2)
Detect Thoughts (2)
Find Traps (2)
Locate Animals or Plants (2)
Locate Object (2)
See Invisibility (2)
Clairvoyance (3)
Tongues (3)
Arcane Eye (4)
Divination (4)
Locate Creature (4)
Commune (5)
Commune with Nature (5)
Contact Other Plane (5)
Legend Lore (5)
Rary's Telepathic Bond (5)
Scrying (5)
Find the Path (6)
True Seeing (6)
Foresight (9)

Enchantment
Friends (0)
Vicious Mockery (0)
Animal Friendship (1)
Bane (1)
Bless (1)
Charm Person (1)
Command (1)
Compelled Duel (1)
Heroism (1)
Hex (1)
Sleep (1)
Tasha's Hideous Laughter (1)
Animal Messenger (2)
Calm Emotions (2)
Crown of Madness (2)
Enthrall (2)
Hold Person (2)
Suggestion (2)
Zone of Truth (2)
Compulsion (4)
Confusion (4)
Dominate Beast (4)
Dominate Person (5)
Geas (5)
Hold Monster (5)
Modify Memory (5)
Mass Suggestion (6)
Otto's Irresistible Dance (6)
Antipathy/Sympathy (8)
Dominate Monster (8)
Feeblemind (8)
Power Word Stun (8)
Power Word Kill (9)

Evocation
Dancing Lights (0)
Eldritch Blast (0)
Fire Bolt (0)
Light (0)
Ray of Frost (0)
Sacred Flame (0)
Shocking Grasp (0)
Burning Hands (1)
Chromatic Orb (1)
Cure Wounds (1)
Dissonant Whispers (1)
Divine Favor (1)
Faerie Fire (1)
Guiding Bolt (1)
Healing Word (1)
Hellish Rebuke (1)
Magic Missile (1)
Searing Smite (1)
Thunderous Smite (1)
Thunderwave (1)
Witch Bolt (1)
Wrathful Smite (1)
Branding Smite (2)
Continual Flame (2)
Darkness (2)
Flame Blade (2)
Gust of Wind (2)
Melf's Acid Arrow (2)
Moonbeam (2)
Prayer of Healing (2)
Scorching Ray (2)
Shatter (2)
Spiritual Weapon (2)
Aura of Vitality (3)
Blinding Smite (3)
Crusader's Mantle (3)
Daylight (3)
Fireball (3)
Leomund's Tiny Hut (3)
Lightning Bolt (3)
Mass Healing Word (3)
Sending (3)
Wind Wall (3)
Fire Shield (4)
Ice Storm (4)
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere (4)
Staggering Smite (4)
Wall of Fire (4)
Bigby's Hand (5)
Cone of Cold (5)
Destructive Smite/Wave? (5)
Destructive Wave (5)
Flame Strike (5)
Hallow (5)
Wall of Force (5)
Wall of Stone (5)
Blade Barrier (6)
Chain Lightning (6)
Contingency (6)
Heal (6)
Otiluke's Freezing Sphere (6)
Sunbeam (6)
Wall of Ice (6)
Delayed Blast Fireball (7)
Divine Word (7)
Fire Storm (7)
Forcecage (7)
Mordenkainen's Sword (7)
Prismatic Spray (7)
Earthquake (8)
Sunburst (8)
Telepathy (8)
Meteor Swarm (9)
Power Word Heal (9)

Illusion
Minor Illusion (0)
Color Spray (1)
Disguise Self (1)
Illusory Script (1)
Silent Image (1)
Blur (2)
Invisibility (2)
Magic Mouth (2)
Mirror Image (2)
Nystul's Magic Aura (2)
Phantasmal Force (2)
Silence (2)
Fear (3)
Hypnotic Pattern (3)
Major Image (3)
Phantom Steed (3)
Greater Invisibility (4)
Hallucinatory Terrain (4)
Phantasmal Killer (4)
Creation (5)
Dream (5)
Mislead (5)
Seeming (5)
Programmed Illusion (6)
Mirage Arcane (7)
Mirrage Arcane (7)
Project Image (7)
Simulacrum (7)
Weird (9)

Necromancy
Chill Touch (0)
Spare the Dying (0)
False Life (1)
Inflict Wounds (1)
Ray of Sickness (1)
Blindness/Deafness (2)
Gentle Repose (2)
Ray of Enfeeblement (2)
Animate Dead (3)
Bestow Curse (3)
Feign Death (3)
Speak with Dead (3)
Vampiric Touch (3)
Blight (4)
Contagion (5)
Raise Dead (5)
Circle of Death (6)
Create Undead (6)
Eyebite (6)
Harm (6)
Magic Jar (6)
Finger of Death (7)
Resurrection (7)
Clone (8)
Astral Projection (9)
True Resurrection (9)

Transmutation
Druidcraft (0)
Mending (0)
Message (0)
Prestidigitation (0)
Shillelagh (0)
Thaumaturgy (0)
Thorn Whip (0)
Expeditious Retreat (1)
Feather Fall (1)
Goodberry (1)
Jump (1)
Longstrider (1)
Purify Food and Drink (1)
Alter Self (2)
Barkskin (2)
Cordon of Arrows (2)
Darkvision (2)
Enhance Ability (2)
Enlarge/Reduce (2)
Heat Metal (2)
Knock (2)
Levitate (2)
Magic Weapon (2)
Rope Trick (2)
Spider Climb (2)
Spike Growth (2)
Blink (3)
Elemental Weapon (3)
Fly (3)
Gaseous Form (3)
Haste (3)
Lightning Arrow (3)
Meld into Stone (3)
Plant Growth (3)
Slow (3)
Speak with Plants (3)
Water Breathing (3)
Water Walk (3)
Control Water (4)
Fabricate (4)
Giant Insect (4)
Polymorph (4)
Stone Shape (4)
Stoneskin (4)
Animate Objects (5)
Awaken (5)
Passwall (5)
Reincarnate (5)
Swift Quiver (5)
Telekinesis (5)
Disintegrate (6)
Flesh to Stone (6)
Move Earth (6)
Wind Walk (6)
Etheralness (7)
Etherealness (7)
Regenerate (7)
Reverse Gravity (7)
Sequester (7)
Animal Shapes (8)
Control Weather (8)
Glibness (8)
Shapechange (9)
Time Stop (9)
True Polymorph (9)

Comment:
Just looking at the number of spells in each list, we see that divination looks a bit sub-par (which was expected), abjuration looks surprisingly ok, and illusion and necromancy look surprisingly sparse. Necromancy, on the other hand, has access to raise dead et al, which is a very powerful boon.