Editing Magic (section)

===Magic in D&D 5e===
5th edition's magic is similar to what was seen in 2e and 3.5, with some notable differences. First, spells whose only difference were power level were consolidated into single spells. So instead of "''Cure Light Wounds''," "''Cure Moderate Wounds''," etc., there is a single "''Cure Wounds''" spell, which is more effective when cast using a higher level spell slot. By a similar token, the ''Bigsby's _____ing Hand'' line of spells and similar were reimagined as a single spell, whose effect is determined on every casting. There are still technically Arcane and Divine classes of spellcasters, but the difference between Arcane and Divine magic is largely fluff-based, with little mechanical effect.

Perhaps the most significant change is the return of [[Vancian]] Spellcasting, albeit in an altered form. Spellcasters in 5th edition are broadly divided into a pair of categories: prepared casters, or spontaneous casters. The former chooses spells from a greater list that it can cast each day, and the latter has a smaller repertoire of spells known, which it can always cast. In earlier systems, a character would have a certain number of spell slots, and prepare spells by assigning one for each slot (If you wanted to cast Fireball three times that day and Magic Missile twice, you would need to prepare three copies of Fireball and two copies of Magic Missile). 5th edition prepared casters only have to prepare spells that they wish to cast that day once, and may cast them as long as they have spell slots (A character with three 1st-level slots that had ''Burning Hands'' and ''Sleep'' prepared could cast ''Sleep'' twice and ''Burning Hands'' once, ''Burning Hands'' three times, or any other combination).