Bonus Spells???

[EldarionZTG]

Hi,

I'm new to D&D, and english is not my native language, so I've been having problems understanding something from the players handbook.

First of all, the table on page 8 lists the bonus spells, which is pretty self-explanatory.
Secondly, on page 27 the table 'spells per day' for the bard says that he can cast 0 first level spels as a 2nd level bard. The explanation for this is that if the entry is 0 the bard can only cast spells of this level if he has bonus spells. If I am not mistaken, this would mean that he can cast ONLY bonus spells (considering all level 1 spells) while he is level 2.

My question is: how many of these bonus spells per day can he cast?

Also, in the table 3-5, some numbers have an asterisk saying - provided the bard has sufficient charisma to have a bonus spell of this level.
Is this bonus spell already included in the number with the asterisk? How could that be, when we don't yet know exactly how high his charisma is?

Could someone please explain to me in a little more detail this bonus spell system?

Thanks.

 

[mikebr99]

Welcome!!!!

You are reading the phb correctly... a 2nd level can't cast any 1st level spells, unless his CHR is high enough to grant bonus spells.

0/2* means, zero spells per day/Spells known

If a 2nd level Bard does have a high enough CHR to grant 1st level bonus spells (12+), then he knows 2 spells with which to cast x times per day... where x = number of bonus spells.

hope this helps.

 

[DMFTodd]

My question is: how many of these bonus spells per day can he cast?

It depends on his charisma. With a Charisma of 17, let's say, he gets 1 bonus 1st level spell (from page 8). So at 2nd level he can cast his Spells Per Day for the Class + Bonus Spells. So for a Bard, it is 0 + 1 = 1. He can cast 1 1st level spell per day.

At 3rd level, a Bard can cast 1 1st level spell + His Bonus spell = 2 1st Level Spells per day.

etc. You take the Spells Per Day from the Class and add in the Bonus Spells Per Day based on the stat.

Is this bonus spell already included in the number with the asterisk?

This is referring to Spells Known. At 2nd level, a Bard can know 2 1st level spells, BUT ONLY (the asterisk) if he can cast a 1st level bonus spell.

To get a bonus spell, he'd have to have a Charisma of 12 or higheer (page 8). So if your Bard has a Charisma of 12 or more he can know 2 1st level spells at 2nd level.

If his Charisma is lower than 12, he is not allowed to have any 1st level spells known.

 

[Caliber]

Note that Bonus Spells are Bonus Spells per Day .

How many a character knows is completely independant of how many Bonus Spells a character gets.

If the table says a Bard has a high enough Charisma to get Bonus Spells, he can cast that many spells a day.

A 2nd level Bard who gets 1 Bonus Spell would know 2 spells and could cast 1 of them per day.

As a side note, I believe that copies of the Player's Handbook are available in other languages, if that would ease things for you. Unfortunetly, I don't really know of any places where you could buy one.