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With the arrival of Deep Magic, which is an amazing book, I have been thinking about introducing these spells into my own game, currently Carrion crown Book 3.
How do y'all approach spells in game in terms of rarity and finding new spells? Do any of you have different rarities for spells?
I think spells would be defined not just by level but by Rarity, like it was done in the Old AD&D Wizards Spell compendium.
CRB spells - Common, anyone can have them at level and scrolls are easy to find.
Official Paizo Content (minus race specific spells) - Uncommon spells - takes a bit of work to find, can take these at level up if in large enough town for a caster of appropriate level to have access to them. Can be found in spell books and scrolls fairly easily but there is a 25% chance a copy of the spell is not available. Usually copied from scrolls or borrowed spell books. Race specific spells would be uncommon for members of that race.
Third party (Deep Magic, 1001 spells, etc.), Race specific Paizo Spells - Rare Spells - Cannot be taken at level up unless the character has access to a tutor with the spell or has encountered a scroll of the spell that has either been used by the spontaneous caster or copied into th3e spell book of a non spontaneous caster. Can also research the spell by spending the appropriate amount of gold on the research with approval of the GM.
Other spells, Custom spells - Very rare spells- Usually known only to their creators and direct students. Very hard to get hold of. Must complete a trade or quest depending on level to obtain the spell.
These are how I have started thinking of spells. But I don't want it to only affect Arcane casters. For Divine casters, the rankings would be the same with the Divine power providing access to Rare spells with an appropriate offering with the spell then being permanently attached to the requestor's spell list.
I had begun to look at spells this way because there is nearly a spell for everything and I want spells to have a mystique to them, a caster has to hunt and research for hidden spells.
Thoughts or opinions would be great.
For divine casters, one of the things to consider is Mystery Cults. There were a lot of real religions that had secret ceremonies only the initiated could participate in.
There was, of course, the general audience (and one could consider Clerics of first level or so among them), but there would be deeper aspects to religions that a person had to pass certain training to get into. Naturally, one of these was secrecy. For divine casters, you could have CRB spells be common rites. Official Paizo Content (minus race specific spells) could be tier one mysteries (they really aren't that secret but you keep them out of the hands of most novices a while). Third party (Deep Magic, 1001 spells, etc.), Race specific Paizo Spells could be tier two mysteries (only those who prove they can keep secrets can learn them). Other spells, Custom spells could be tier three mysteries and are between the deity (or whatever) and the Cleric and that's that.
Honestly, the content provider already determines the rarity of the magic. You're more likely to find magic from Paizo stuff than from obscure 3pp supplement books.
I do something similar in my campaigns.
Common: Core and Advanced Player's Guild. Easy to find and learn about. I will tell players about these spells if they ask me out of combat.
Uncommon: All other Paizo sources. These will take more searching to find, but they are definitely around. I give players less information if they ask me about them, reflecting that most casters don't know as much about these spells.
Rare: Unofficial Pathfinder sources, and official 3.5 D&D spells that have not been reprinted for Pathfinder. These will take some real work to find or learn about. I do not tell players about these spells. If characters/players want to find out about them then they will have to do research.
Very Rare: custom made, unofficial 3.5 D&D spells, or official 2E D&D spells that have not been reprinted for Pathfinder. These spells may be nothing more than rumors and fiction. If they do exist, there may or may not be anyone on the character's world that knows them. These shouldn't come up unless a character actively and persistently pursues them AND you feel full comfortable letting them have and use it. Except custom spell, for which there are guide lines.
In all cases, remember that you can disallow spells that would be unbalancing, inappropriate, or nonsensical in your campaign. When in doubt, it is probably best to say that the characters can't find the spell they want, at least until you have a chance to read and think about the spell.
I run it like so...
Levels 0 - 2 Common
Levels 3 - 5 uncommon
Levels 6 - 8 Rare
Level 9 ultra-rare
This is just a benchmark however individual spells may be higher or lower in availability based on relative power, local custom, etc...
I do not allow 3rd party or old 3.5 in my games.