Alternative Casting Manual
Wonderous Item, Very Rare or Legendary
This manual contains tips and techniques for approaching spellcasting in unorthodox ways. The manual will be associated with a certain class and ability score, according to the tables below. To gain its benefits, you must spend 48 hours over a period of 6 days or fewer studying the book's contents and practicing its guidelines.
If you have levels in the class associated with the manual, your spellcasting ability for that class becomes the ability score associated with the manual. In addition, for any class feature that references that class's original spellcasting ability, you may use the associated ability score of the manual instead.
If you do not have levels in the class associated with the manual, reading the manual changes the requirements for multiclassing. When multiclassing into the class associated with the manual, any ability score minimum for Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma becomes an ability score minimum for the ability score associated with the manual. Once you gain a level in the class, you receive the above benefits as well.
After use the manual loses its magic, but regains it in 1 year.
Very Rare Manuals
| Spellcasting Ability |
Class | Name |
|---|---|---|
| CHA | Cleric | Cultists with Personality: How to impress your god by standing out among your peers. |
| CHA | Druid or Ranger | On The Nature of Civilization: An eye-opening introspective on how civilized races are still a part of nature and hold nature's power within themselves. |
| CHA | Wizard | Casting With Confidence: How believing in yourself can empower your spells. |
| INT | Bard | Magical Music Theory: Theories on the interactions between arcane energy and patterns of sound. |
| INT | Cleric | Practical Theology: A guidebook on which religious rituals work best historically for channeling divine power for various deities. |
| INT | Druid or Ranger | Arcane Ecology: An extensive study on how magical power flows through the natural world. |
| INT | Paladin | Oaths and Ethics: A written toolkit to help one understand the logical consequences and practical applications of their morals and beliefs. |
| INT | Sorcerer | The Inner Weave: An academic exploration of innate magic in the body. |
| INT | Warlock | Elder Logic: An analysis of eldritch spells and the bizarre thought processes of the creatures that craft them. |
| WIS | Bard | The Rhythms of Life: How to see the music in everything. |
| WIS | Paladin | Paragon Parables: Inspiring short stories of about paladins which impart valuable morals on how to pursue an oath carefully and wisely. |
| WIS | Sorcerer | Meditations of Power: Tapping into your inner power through inner peace. |
| WIS | Wizard | The Wise Wizard: An intuitive, mindfulness-based approach to spell comprehension. |
| WIS | Warlock | Philosophies of The Beyond: A guide to understanding the minds of demons, fey, and other strange creatures. |
Art by Alex Defoulny on Artstation
Legendary Manuals
| Spellcasting Ability |
Class | Name |
|---|---|---|
| STR | Bard | SHOUT! The Art of Bellowing: Any word can warp the weave if you scream it loud enough. |
| STR | Cleric | Fist of the Gods: An alternative method of cleansing the undead. |
| STR | Druid or Ranger | Survival of the Fittest: Mental and physical exercises to become one with the spirits of nature's greatest beasts. |
| STR | Paladin | Making Right with Might: How to strongarm your way to a better world. |
| STR | Sorcerer | Body and Soul: Physical exercises that can stimulate and increase your magical output. |
| STR | Wizard | Muscle Wizard Casts Fist: The biography of a wizard who brought his casting to the next level through intensive strength training. |
| STR | Warlock | Arm-Wrestling the Devil: Winning your patron's friendship and support through friendly competition. |
| DEX | Bard | Wonderous Warmups: Vocal exercises to limber up for bardic spellcasting. |
| DEX | Cleric | 1001 Micro-Prayers: A collecting of subtle holy movements you can use to stealthily reinforce your faith throughout the day. |
| DEX | Druid or Ranger | Tree, and Other Poses: 100 mystical positions to better connect you with nature—if you're flexible enough. |
| DEX | Paladin | The Swift Hand of Justice: How to apply your oath with decisiveness and accuracy, both in combat and in life. |
| DEX | Sorcerer | Full Body Casting: How developing fine control of your body can help you pull magic from every fiber of your being. |
| DEX | Wizard | Advanced Somatics: A guide to spellcasting with a strong focus on precise somatic gestures. |
| DEX | Warlock | Avoiding the Inevitable: Tips on hiding from the all-powerful patron you stole power from. |
| CON | Bard | Hold That Note: How to tap into the weave using persistent vocal frequencies without passing out from lack of air. |
| CON | Cleric | Vessel of the Divine: Preparing your body to channel massive amounts of divine power. |
| CON | Druid or Ranger | Roughin' It: Connecting with the natural world by forgoing modern conveniences. |
| CON | Paladin | Endure for Your Cause: An inspirational book about not giving up in pursuit of what is righteous. |
| CON | Sorcerer | Casting Hope: A self-help book for those coping with debilitating arcane surges. |
| CON | Wizard | The Art of the All-Nighter: How to memorize spells through brute force, written by a veteran wizarding school student. |
| CON | Warlock | No Pain, No Gain: A guide for those with sadistic patrons on how to please them and survive. |
Usage Notes
By their nature, these items are very abusable to create absurdly powerful builds and multiclassing combinations. DMs who include these items should be very careful about how they hand them out to players, at the risk of breaking the game.
A good use of these items is to reward players who have put in the roleplay work to achieve a certain multiclass, but don't have the stats to make it happen. For example, if a player's low-charisma wizard goes through character growth that makes them want to take a serious oath against evil, you might let the party find a copy of Oaths and Ethics, so that the wizard can go down the path of a paladin.
* Wizard books can be used for Eldritch Knight and Arcane Tricksters.