Starter Set vs. B/X - Spell Lists.

Okay, so this isn't Better Know A District Hex. Don't worry, that's still coming, but this was something I could dash off quickly that I thought might be interesting to discuss.

The 5e starter set's spell list just came up in an excerpt on Wizards' website.

I thought it might be interesting to compare the spell lists they offered up to the Basic/Expert one. I think the changes are pretty interesting. Spells struck through are only in the old list, spells in italics are only in the new one, spells that are bolded changed levels

	Cleric Cantrips	Wizard Cantrips
1	Guidance	Dancing Lights
2	Light	Light
3	Resistance	Mage Hand
4	Sacred Flame	Prestidigitation
5	Thaumaturgy	Ray of Frost
6	--	Shocking Grasp

The cantrips, of course, are almost completely new. I'm somewhat ambivalent about Light being a cantrip, it seems to make torches or lanterns something of an unnecessary investment for a party with either class in it. I'm not a huge aficionado of the resource-and-logistics game beloved of many old-schoolers, but I hope the DMG will include guidelines for those that are, and presumably that'll involve moving Light back up.

	B/X cleric spells, level 1	5e Starter Set Cleric Spells, level 1
1	Cure Light Wounds	Bless
2	Detect Evil	Command
3	Detect Magic	Cure Wounds
4	Light	Detect Magic
5	Protection From Evil	Guiding Bolt
6	Purify Food And Water	Healing Word
7	Remove Fear	Inflict Wounds
8	Resist Cold	Sanctuary
9	--	Shield of Faith

Two AD&D standbys, Command Word and Sanctuary, come into the Next list. Losing Purify Food and Water seems in line with the less resource-management focused game (though I'm quite certain it'll be there in the PHB-- most of the removed ones, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see there, before one worries too much.) I'm most surprised to see Protection From Evil out of the Starter Set list, unless Shield of Faith is its new name. I might have to check the playtest packet on that. Spells like Guiding Bolt and Healing Word show a little 4e influence-- my memory from the playtest is that Healing Word is a minor (or whatever they ended up calling it) action healing spell with a lower value than Cure Wounds, and Guiding Bolt is an attack spell that gives a bonus to other allies attacking. The "leader" focus of the 4e cleric is cool, so it's neat to see that they want to run with that, IMO.

	B/X Magic User spells, level 1	5e Starter Set Wizard Spells, level 1
1	Charm Person	Burning Hands
2	Detect Magic	Charm Person
3	Floating Disc	Comprehend Languages
4s	Hold Portal	Detect Magic
5	Light	Identify
6	Magic Missile	Mage Armor
7	Magic Mouth	Magic Missile
8	Protection From Evil	Shield
9	Read Languages	Sleep
10	Shield	Thunderwave
11	Sleep	--
12	Ventriloquism	--

The 5e Wizard's list is shorter and somewhat more blasty. I suspect the loss of Read Magic is a matter of need-- unknown scrolls can be sussed out with a simple identify, but as to copying spells from other spellbooks... well, we'll see? Once again I wouldn't be surprised to see the rest of the B/X list turn up in the PHB. Thunderwave is another loan from 4e, it pushes the target away and does a little damage. Its inclusion here feels to me like a deliberate 4e-ism more than anything, I probably would have put something else on the list. Don't know what. Otherwise it feels like a very logical, iconic list to me, the old classics-- Charm Person, Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Sleep, are all still there.

	B/X Cleric spells, level 2	5e Starter Set Cleric Spells, level 2
1	Bless	Aid
2	Find Traps	Augury
3	Hold Person	Hold Person
4	Resist Fire	Lesser Restoration
5	Silence, 15’ Radius	Prayer of Healing
6	Snake Charm	Silence
7	Speak With Animals	Spiritual Weapon
8	Spiritual Hammer	Warding Bond

Augury's an old AD&D favorite, of course, and I think so is Aid, but my memory could be off. I'm not sure what Prayer of Healing or Warding Bond are... maybe Warding Bond is our Protection from Evil? I'm led to understand Lesser Restoration handles things like blindness, paralysis, disease, etc, in which case it's lower-level than usually expected. I don't miss Snake Charm overmuch, but I am sorry to see Find Traps and Speak With Animals not there. I'll be interested to see if they make it into the PHB.

	B/X Magic User spells, level 2	5e Starter Set Wizard Spells, level 2
1	Continual Light	Blur
2	Detect Evil	Darkness
3	Detect Invisible	Flaming Sphere
4	ESP	Hold Person
5	Invisibility	Invisibility
6	Knock	Misty Step
7	Levitate	Spider Climb
8	Locate Object	Suggestion
9	Mirror Image	Web
10	Phantasmal Force	--
11	Web	--
12	Wizard Lock	--

Another shorter list, though not quite so much more attack-focused as the level 1 one. There are utility spells, but many of them are different. I always liked Spider Climb, though. Between the lack of Knock here and Find Traps on the Cleric list, maybe they made an effort to cut down on the ability of casters to eat the Thief/Rogue's lunch. I feel like ESP and Phantasmal Force (or as they've been known in more recent editions, Detect Thoughts and Minor Image) should have been there, though. The lack of Continual Light is perhaps  logical since you can cast Light as a cantrip.

	B/X Cleric spells, level 3	5e Starter Set Cleric Spells, level 3
1	Continual Light	Beacon of Hope
2	Cure Blindness	Dispel Magic
3	Cure Disease	Mass Healing Word
4	Growth of Animals	Protection from Energy
5	Locate Object	Revivify
6	Remove Curse	Spirit Guardians
7	Speak with Dead	--
8	Striking	--

This must be the most radically different spell list of the lot. Nothing is shared between the two lists. But that makes sense considering how many of the old ones moved around in level. Protection From Energy is clearly a close cousin to Resist Cold and Resist Fire. In 3.x Revivify was like Raise Dead with an extreme time limit... I think it might have been only effective within a single round of death. Dispel magic moves down in place of Remove Curse, but Remove Curse might be part of Lesser Restoration as well (here I've counted it as being, because I think it was). I don't recall for sure from the playtest. Mass Healing Word is fairly obvious in its function, but I don't know about what the other new ones might do.

	B/X Magic User spells, level 3	5e Starter Set Wizard Spells, level 3
1	Clairvoyance	Dispel Magic
2	Darkvision	Fireball
3	Dispel Magic	Fly
4	Fireball	Lightning Bolt
5	Fly	Protection from Energy
6	Haste	--
7	Hold Person	--
8	Invisibility, 10’ Radius	--
9	Lightning Bolt	--
10	Protection from Evil, 10’ Radius	--
11	Protection from Normal Missiles	--
12	Water Breathing	--

This one is the most reduced of all, almost too much so. That said, while the Cleric was most unlike, what remains here is possibly the closest list, with only one new spell. Of the ones that didn't make the cut, I'm most surprised about Haste.

Overall, I think the list strikes a good balance of old and new, but as it increases in level there are slightly too few spells in the new lists, and does a good job of suggesting some of the differences in assumed playstyle between 5e Basic and B/X. These are differences I'm mostly comfortable with but I predict some old-schoolers might not be. But I remain optimistic that the DMG will include guidelines to tweak it to focus a little more on resources and stuff, which should hopefully placate them as well.