Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Technical & Gameplay Problems Memorized spells are acting really weird

I think it strange that Gale and shadowheart changes what spells are memorized, if you save the game, quit the game, and later starts the game again.. They will have memorized completely new spells, often making them completely useless in the first combat, because you forgot to check, and then you find out they have all utility spells instead or even fog cloud, which just makes anyone inside it a prioritized target, and it feels like it is lowering your AC to "you cant miss me".

Also, while out of combat, It is often possible to just enter your spellbook, and change spells, and you will have your spell slots renewed again. (yay, everyone is a Coffee-Lock, except you dont need to take the short rest option, and only if you're a "memorized spell-caster".)

I have not noticed the things you're saying. But i do know that the spell system isn't the same as the old BG games and even Pathfinder. I don't play the table top D&D enough so i dunno if this is a 5th Edition thing or what.

What I realized is long resting only renews your casting counts for each Spell Level eg. Four Level 1 Spells, Four Level 2 Spells, Three Level 3 Spells. What spells you decide to memorize isn't even restricted to your casting counts. In the old rules, if you had only four Level 1 slots, you could memorize only up to four Level 1 spells, either of varying types, or of a single type...eg...Magic Missile up to 4 times. So if you chose 3 Magic Missiless and 1 Colour Spray....you're not gonna have more than 1 Colour Spray to cast. In this game, you have a certain number of memory slots - which act as the "All the spells you would want to use" slots. So again, if say Magic Missile and Colour Spray are in your memory slots, you can use both spells in any permutation, but limited to 4 times.

Again, I'm not sure if this is a 5th Edition thing, or liberties taken by the game devs

I have definitely noticed this on Shadowheart. She has a hard on for Cure Wounds man, I can't keep it out of her lineup, it always shows back up. I don't run Gale much, but Shadowheart is in my core group.

I think that's a feature of Wizards, they can switch out spells out of combat and still cast them if they have spell slots available. Not sure if that's a 5e thing though, but it's definitely a thing here. I didn't know SH could do it as well.

In 5E both clerics and Wizards require a long rest to change out their memorized spells. Wizards can cast ritual spells as long as its in their spell book and does not require them to be memorized. Clerics have to have the spell memorized to cast it as a ritual.

BG3 house ruled it to let them change spells whenever they are out of combat.

I admit, I like this change then. It seems more logical to me that a wizard gets tired after 'x' amount of spells per day, instead of simply "oh, i suddenly don't remember how to cast water". I'm all for this rule change.

Oh, that explains why I could not memorize more than one of each spell in my book! I guess this makes a BG III wizard more of a wizard/sorceror hybrid as compared to BG II. I am still in the opening Nautilus area, trying to figure all this stuff out. The limit of two rests caught me by surprise (makes no sense with all those comfy chairs around here) and now I can't re-learn my spells.

5E spell use is very different than 2E (BG2). In AD&D (2E) you chose a certain spells you could cast per day and you had to pick them before the day started. You had WAY more spells memorized, but there were often times the spells would go unused because there wasn't a situation to use them. You may have picked 5 castings of heal or fireball, and a detect thoughts etc. and never had a reason to cast them. Once that spell was used you couldn't cast it again unless you had more selected. In 5E you get spell slots which can be used to cast any spell you have memorized as many times as you want as long as you have a spell slot of the minimum level required to cast the spell.

Take note of the distinction between short rest and long rest. You have a max of 2 short rests between long rests. Unless you're a warlock, priest and mage spells require long rests to replenish. Only certain skills replenish after short rest. Also, all characers head 50% of their health during short rests.

Can anyone tell me why Shadowheart only has one or two low level spells that I can use even after long rests?

My Shadowheart just got Level 2, so all she has is low level spells. At higher levels, it looks like you have to go into the spellbook and choose the new ones. I am still trying to figure out how the spell slots thing works ... how do you know how many active spell slots you have left? Eventually the whole list of icons grays-out when you use them all, except for cantrips. I have to un-learn the system I was used to seeing, & stare deep into the Mists of the Unknowing.