Distract and charm your enemies! Protect and heal your allies! Roll a bunch of dice, do a bunch of damage! Raise the dead! Make a wish!

Magic in Dungeons & Dragons is great! It’s crazy and weird, and you can use it in super creative ways. Or you can just cast fireball on a horde of monsters, I’m not judging, that’s fun too.

I have a huge bias towards spellcasters, since that’s most of what I play. If you’ve avoided magic classes so far, I’d encourage you to pick one and give it a try! I’ve got some tips here that might help you out.

Most of my D&D experience is playing the classes called “full” spellcasters, instead of “half” casters. Full spellcasting classes are the bard, the cleric, the druid, the sorcerer, the warlock, and the wizard. These classes get spellcasting right from the get-go at level 1. (Half casters are the paladin and the ranger, who get spellcasting at level 2 and only get spell slots of 1st to 5th level.)

Warlocks are full spellcasters, but they act a lot different than the others in their spell slot distribution combined with their eldritch invocations. Regardless, these tips should still apply!

The first thing you need to determine about your spellcasting character is whether they have prepared spells or known spells. You can find that information under the “Spellcasting” section of your class features in the Player’s Handbook.For example, the bard has the heading “Spells Known of 1st Level or Higher” below the “Cantrips” and “Spell Slots” sections. The cleric, on the other hand, has a section called “Preparing and Casting Spells” in a similar place.

These sections are well worth looking over if you’ve never played a magic-user before. Also consider checking out the rules for spells near the back of the Player’s Handbook. These sections can help you get used to the idea of spell slots and the different ranges that spells have.

Alright, let’s talk about…

How do I keep track of all my spells?

Let’s face it, it’s really hard to get every detail of every spell down on the standard character sheet, especially as you level up. When I first started, I put the page number next to each spell, so I could find it as soon as possible. This is a pretty good solution, but others I’ve tried are:

  • Keeping a “spellbook”

As I mentioned in my session notes post, I have a lot of empty notebooks. For my second character, Finnith, I started to keep track of his spells in a small notebook.

As you can see, I basically wrote out as much of the spell description I could. I tried to abbreviate to keep it all in one page, but still maintain the accuracy and specific wording in case the DM asked me about the spell. Writing it out by hand helps your memory, too!

This option can be a bit tedious, especially if you’re playing a character in a one-off session. Typing spells into a Word document is similar but less work-intensive, and that’s what I did for one-shot characters and NPCs I was running as a Dungeon Master.

  • Gale Force 9 Spellbook Cards

This company makes accessories for Dungeons & Dragons, and their spell cards are pretty useful.

They give as much of the spell description as they can fit on the card, and they provide a PHB page reference if it doesn’t fit.

These cards are a great physical tool to remind yourself of what spells you have! It’s really easy to keep these on the table during play. Your character’s spell repertoire is literally at your fingertips!

  • D&D Beyond’s online character sheet

D&D Beyond has been improving their character sheet for a while. It’s current iteration is really helpful, and it’s basically all I need right now for playing Finnith. The spells tab has every spell laid out according to level, and it shows spells that upgrade when cast with a higher-level spell slot. Clicking on a spell gives you the entire description in a sidebar.

This is really helpful if you have access to all the content your character uses. If no one in the campaign has purchased the online resources, you’re stuck with the Basic Rules. The Basic Rules have a lot of the Player’s Handbook spells, but Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion also have some spells in them. Something to keep in mind!

Does this spell require a saving throw or attack roll?

Check the spell every time you use it, especially if it’s the first time you’re casting it! You really should scan the whole spell description to make sure it fits the situation, or at least to tell what you (or your target) need to roll.

If your target needs to roll against your spell save DC, the spell will call for a saving throw. If you need to roll against your target’s AC, the spell will call for an attack roll.

Your DM doesn’t know (and should not be expected to know) every spell in the book. If you have the spell in front of you, you can answer their questions about range and its effects. This is a part of knowing your character and their abilities. Feel free to ask your DM if you’re unsure of something! But at the end of the day, it’s up to you to know and use your character’s skills.

How do I keep track of my class abilities on top of my spells?

Spellcasting classes have a lot going on. They have class abilities on top of their spellcasting. Some of these augment certain spells you cast, others give you utility outside of your magic capabilities.

First, focus on remembering your passive abilities, if you have any. These are the “always-on” abilities your character has. For example, the life domain cleric’s “Disciple of Life” ability—every time you cast a spell that heals a creature, that creature gets additional healing. This always happens whenever that cleric fulfills the conditions for it to trigger.

I focus on remembering passive abilities first because, well, it’s kind of a bummer when you realize you could have been healing more this whole session, or you realize you technically had resistance to that effect, etc. These abilities don’t take any resource to use, and they are usually pretty helpful.

Next, pick one of your other class features—say, the bard’s “Song of Rest.” This ability doesn’t expend any resources to use, but I have to remember to, well, use it when we take a short rest, so everyone can recover a bit more health. For one or two sessions, try to find ways to use the feature you picked out (not to the exclusion of other abilities, of course!). You might not come across the right situation for it. But, in the future, you’ll be more likely to recognize when to use it.

This is a good way to become more familiar with your class abilities, which are what make your class and subclass unique.

What spells should I pick?

Whether you can change your spell list every day or every level, picking out spells can be tough! Some things to think about:

  • What options do I want during combat?

What spells do you see your character using in the tense, frantic moments of combat? How do they support their allies and hinder their enemies? Haste, fireball, and other spells like that.

I highly recommend taking a cantrip that does damage—that means you can deal damage even when out of spell slots.

Otherwise, consider that maybe you don’t need a bunch of damaging spells, but rather a few that cover most of your bases. (your mileage may vary, I tend to play support characters)

  • What options do I want during exploration?

How do you see your character helping the party out in their journeys? How do they help protect the group against danger? Here, I’m talking about stuff like dancing lights or leomund’s tiny hut.

Your character might not opt for these sorts of spells at all, but they’re worth looking at—you never know what might come in handy.

  • What options do I want during social scenes?

Does your character show off their magic to a crowd? Do they use magic to get the upper hand in negotiations? Or, do they use it to gather information? These are spells like charm person or detect thoughts.

These spells can tell a lot about your character and how they approach a given situation. They can be useful in a variety of situations, so long as you remember to use them!

Ultimately, the spells you choose are up to you—if a spell seems fun, go ahead and give it a try!

Really, every class has its own weirdness, so as long as you do your best and have fun, you’ll do just fine! Go forth, and enjoy being a master of the arcane or wielder of the divine!