Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Let’s take a look at Spellcasting in Combat in AD&D, and find out why it is the best version of Dungeons & Dragons in this How to Play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons series. Buy the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide: drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17004/dungeon-master-s-guide-1e?src=hottest_filtered&affiliate_id=50797
How to Play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ZMN0IxDq3TXm3Q0Cf692N-qw805XabQ
Thank you Creator Patrons Aaron Hardy & D. Robert Handy, Producer Patron David Galindo, Developer Patrons Chris Androu & Sam Ruiz, and all of the YouTube Members!
Like, Subscribe & Click The Bell
Patreon: patreon.com/AdamPC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Merchandise: dlsaga.com/shop
Play TTRPGs: https://startplaying.games/referral/cmjfslgm6004fjx045w45tt8n
Join My TTRPGs: https://startplaying.games/gm/adampc
Membership: youtube.com/@DLSaga/join
Buy Dragonlance: dmsguild.com/en/browse?setting=45354-dragonlance&src=fid45354?affiliate_id=50797
Buy Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?ruleSystem=44829-1e-ad-d&src=fid44829?affiliate_id=50797
Sign up for Audible today: amzn.to/4o4q9N7
#Spellcasting #Combat #ADnD #DragonLanceSaga #OSR #DungeonsAndDragons #TTRPG #DungeonMaster
Transcript
In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, casting a spell is not as simple as swinging a sword. Let’s discover why magic-users need protection at lower levels.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to talk about Spellcasting in Combat in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I'd like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members and Patreon patrons, and invite you to consider becoming a member or patron — you can even pick up AD&D and Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. I'm referencing the Players Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
Every spell in AD&D is built from up to three ingredients, called components. You'll see these listed on every spell description as V, S, and M.
V is Verbal. The spell requires spoken words — specific sounds in a specific order. This matters in play because if you can't speak — if someone has magically silenced you, or physically gagged you — you cannot cast that spell. Period.
S is Somatic. This means physical gestures. Your hands and body have to move in exact, prescribed ways. If you're tied up, grappled, restrained, or even just crouching on the ground, you can't complete those movements properly, and the spell fails.
M is Material. Some spells need a physical object — a pinch of something, a specific ingredient. Most of these small components are stored in the little pockets and pouches sewn into a spellcaster's robes, so they're always at hand. But some components are bulky, and some are rare — and the rare ones have to actually be found during play.
Here’s an important rule: when a spell is cast, its material components are used up and gone. A few exceptions exist, like holy symbols and a druid's mistletoe, but the general rule is: cast the spell, lose the component.
This is one of the most important things to understand about AD&D magic.
When you cast a spell, the memory of it is completely wiped from your mind. Gone. The act of speaking those words discharges the stored energy, and that discharge erases the spell pattern from your brain entirely.
Why? The DMG actually explains this. Every spell is a set of sound patterns charged with energy from other planes of existence. Speaking the words releases that energy — and the release burns the pattern out of your memory. The casting doesn't drain you, physically, but the spell itself is consumed.
You can prepare the same spell multiple times. If you want to cast Magic Missile three times in one adventure, you can fill three of your spell slots with Magic Missile. But each one is a separate preparation, and each one is gone after use.
Scroll spells work the same way. The magic is written into the scroll itself. When you read it to cast the spell, the writing vanishes from the page. The energy was stored in the ink and symbols, and casting it consumes them.
Okay. This is the section that most new players find surprising, because AD&D spellcasting in combat is much more demanding than in most other RPG systems.
Let's walk through exactly how this plays out in a combat round.
First — you declare your spell before anything happens. At the very start of the round, before initiative is rolled and before anyone knows what the other side is doing, you have to announce what spell you're casting. You're committing blind. If the situation changes mid-round — your target drops, the enemy rushes your position — it doesn't matter. You've started, and the rules still apply...
Let’s take a look at Spellcasting in Combat in AD&D, and find out why it is the best version of Dungeons & Dragons in this How to Play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons series. Buy the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide: drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17004/dungeon-master-s-guide-1e?src=hottest_filtered&affiliate_id=50797
How to Play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ZMN0IxDq3TXm3Q0Cf692N-qw805XabQ
Thank you Creator Patrons Aaron Hardy & D. Robert Handy, Producer Patron David Galindo, Developer Patrons Chris Androu & Sam Ruiz, and all of the YouTube Members!
Like, Subscribe & Click The Bell
Patreon: patreon.com/AdamPC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Merchandise: dlsaga.com/shop
Play TTRPGs: https://startplaying.games/referral/cmjfslgm6004fjx045w45tt8n
Join My TTRPGs: https://startplaying.games/gm/adampc
Membership: youtube.com/@DLSaga/join
Buy Dragonlance: dmsguild.com/en/browse?setting=45354-dragonlance&src=fid45354?affiliate_id=50797
Buy Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?ruleSystem=44829-1e-ad-d&src=fid44829?affiliate_id=50797
Sign up for Audible today: amzn.to/4o4q9N7
#Spellcasting #Combat #ADnD #DragonLanceSaga #OSR #DungeonsAndDragons #TTRPG #DungeonMaster
Transcript
In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, casting a spell is not as simple as swinging a sword. Let’s discover why magic-users need protection at lower levels.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to talk about Spellcasting in Combat in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I'd like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members and Patreon patrons, and invite you to consider becoming a member or patron — you can even pick up AD&D and Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. I'm referencing the Players Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
Every spell in AD&D is built from up to three ingredients, called components. You'll see these listed on every spell description as V, S, and M.
V is Verbal. The spell requires spoken words — specific sounds in a specific order. This matters in play because if you can't speak — if someone has magically silenced you, or physically gagged you — you cannot cast that spell. Period.
S is Somatic. This means physical gestures. Your hands and body have to move in exact, prescribed ways. If you're tied up, grappled, restrained, or even just crouching on the ground, you can't complete those movements properly, and the spell fails.
M is Material. Some spells need a physical object — a pinch of something, a specific ingredient. Most of these small components are stored in the little pockets and pouches sewn into a spellcaster's robes, so they're always at hand. But some components are bulky, and some are rare — and the rare ones have to actually be found during play.
Here’s an important rule: when a spell is cast, its material components are used up and gone. A few exceptions exist, like holy symbols and a druid's mistletoe, but the general rule is: cast the spell, lose the component.
This is one of the most important things to understand about AD&D magic.
When you cast a spell, the memory of it is completely wiped from your mind. Gone. The act of speaking those words discharges the stored energy, and that discharge erases the spell pattern from your brain entirely.
Why? The DMG actually explains this. Every spell is a set of sound patterns charged with energy from other planes of existence. Speaking the words releases that energy — and the release burns the pattern out of your memory. The casting doesn't drain you, physically, but the spell itself is consumed.
You can prepare the same spell multiple times. If you want to cast Magic Missile three times in one adventure, you can fill three of your spell slots with Magic Missile. But each one is a separate preparation, and each one is gone after use.
Scroll spells work the same way. The magic is written into the scroll itself. When you read it to cast the spell, the writing vanishes from the page. The energy was stored in the ink and symbols, and casting it consumes them.
Okay. This is the section that most new players find surprising, because AD&D spellcasting in combat is much more demanding than in most other RPG systems.
Let's walk through exactly how this plays out in a combat round.
First — you declare your spell before anything happens. At the very start of the round, before initiative is rolled and before anyone knows what the other side is doing, you have to announce what spell you're casting. You're committing blind. If the situation changes mid-round — your target drops, the enemy rushes your position — it doesn't matter. You've started, and the rules still apply...
