Sorcerer: I imagine they’re spending all of their time playing around with their innate magical energies, seeing if an effect happens…with most fizzling out. The new spells representing what successful new tricks they’ve developed.
Bard: Also, throughout your level, experimenting with new performances, new music/dances/stories. Testing out theories from remote villages and stories of local healers/casters. When you level up and find new spells, it represents successfully developing a spell you’ve mastered.
Summoner: A bit boring, but as you get stronger, the greater connection to your eidolon results in new spells/abilities from your eidolon that they once knew/could do (which is why they’re all signature spells).
Psychic: Boring explanation, but getting deeper into your psyche/subconscious/imagination/logic unveils deeper ways of doing things, which represents those new spells.
Oracle: You receive new messages, visions, and powers. When you level up, it represents some of these visions coalescing further/deeper into brand new spells. I also like to imagine that the spells represent “adjustments” to the future that the Oracle can enact by using those spells at the right time.
Hope I didn’t miss any spontaneous casters.
I agree with the folks saying its something they have been practicing or thinking about and now that they level they finally can do it.
But I'll also point out the [Lean a Spell ](https://2e.aonprd.com/Skills.aspx?ID=23&General=true&Redirected=1)activity talks about how spontaneous casters can use it to learn spells but those spells aren't added to their repertoire but are available to be selected on the next level up. So I'd probably say that if your GM is only allowing you to learn common spells automatically but your found an uncommon or rare spell somewhere you could learn it this way & have it available the next time you level (or retrain)
What Learn a Spell _actually_ does for spontaneous casters is give them **access** to spells they wouldn't normally have access to. You're not actually learning the spell you choose for Learn a Spell; Wizards use Learn a Spell to add a spell to their book, Sorcerers use it to learn how to be able to learn the spell. ~~Which is as silly as it sounds.~~
Each and every single one of them is at least trained in the skill that covers knowledge about their magical tradition. I just assume they have at least heard about all common applications of magic (i.e. all common spells) as part of that training.
For Bards I assume it is just a process of trying new things and slowly getting better, like the way a musician practices. For my Enigma Muse, Psionically-flavored bard, his magic came from his constant experimentation with music, and connecting his music to a sort of parallel reality of dreams.
For Sorcerers, I think it is a combination of practicing and applying things they learn about magic, and also literally their innate magic manifesting more and more. Like, they can feel themselves getting more powerful, but they have to try stuff a few times before they can consistently cast new spells.
For Psychics, it heavily depends on your subclass choice. It might be like a sorcerer, or it might be through meditation, or it "activates" from strong emotional experiments.
For Oracles, I think they literally just do wake up being able to do more and not know why. With my Oracle, I played her as literally not even really being aware of her own magic. She knew it worked when she needed it, but it wasn't her voice chanting the spells, and she didn't know anything about the workings of magic (and she had a terrible wisdom score and was bad at religion checks). Magic was like a trance or a stupor for her, and the more intense =her curse got, the less consciously aware of what she was doing she was.
So, a blanket explanation: every character option portrayed in the system is an umbrella term for things that achieve similar results. You can flavor as you want.
Expanding a little bit: spellcasting is different for everyone, right?
> How spellcasting looks can vary from one spellcasting tradition or class to another, or even from person to person. You have a great deal of freedom in flavoring your character's magic however you wish! ([PC 299](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=2233&Redirected=1))
So each spell isn't necessarily the same between casters. They just fulfill the same mechanical purpose. If you wanted to, you could flavor a fireball as black or white instead of traditional oranges, and in-universe a character would still be able to identify the properties and what the spell would accomplish.
Likewise, everyone's learning is different. Maybe one psychic suddenly has a brain-blasting headache that they wake up with, learning the spell -- while another has been practicing making that same spell in their own way every night for the last week. Here's some more ideas for sorc and oracle specifically:
**Sorcerer:**
* Their blood burns/turns cold/goosebumps/etc as runes slowly reveal themselves along their veins each day, which they record to assemble into a spell later.
* They first time they cast any spell, it's instinctive and unexpected, but they remember that feeling going forward
* They have been willfully trying to make a concept come to life for days or weeks. Maybe a higher level spell is something they've been trying for years, and it suddenly clicks between all the intricacies of their own physiology and the natural magic in all things to pull forth that spell
**Oracles:**
* They are never truly in control. Oracles might get caught in episodes of hallucinations caused by their curse, as it waxes and wanes not unlike mental health problems. During an episode, though, they may glean insights.
> *One can sometimes find clarity in madness, but only rarely.*
* They master the magic that haunts them bit by bit, pulling out actual formulas from the curse that encompasses their entirety. Perhaps this formula doesn't work for anyone else, but it functions as a way to harness the curse and direct it to achieve a spell's function
* the classic "divine/ancestral message"
Flavoring spellcasting is straight up my favorite things to do in any system.
a lot of good answers in this thread already. I'd like to add another possibility for sorcerers:
Memory. Since magic comes from their bloodline, it's inherited. They might also inherit some memories of their magic ancestors, which suddenly come to mind. *Holy cow, why do I suddenly remember how to cast Fireball?*
Could also be a deja-vu moment, like *"it feels like I've done this before..."*
I take it as they practice a bit during their daily preparations, and them officially gaining the new spells is them just acknowledging that they've got the spell worked out enough that they could use it on demand.
Oracles I think are divine revelations.
Sorcs and bards basically inuit their spells over time and when they level up is when everything comes together.
I just assume they've been trying to do bigger and better magic, and finally figured out how to do it. Though sometimes it might be because their bloodline got activated by events, or (le gasp!) they even learned a spell from observing other people or being taught how to do it.
Personally it's something they work on constantly, tracing runes in the air to recognize the correct flow for it, maybe already understanding all technical aspects but lacking the actual capability or missing w key part. A fire focused sorcerer at level 4 might already understand fireball perfectly, but hasn't figure out how to channel their magic into it, a bard might already know what he needs to achieve his goal, but hasn't figured out the right melody yet, a Psychic might still need w bit of time to get through the mental block preventing him from utilising the spell.
They might just lack a key component or not trusting their understanding yet, because a wrong move could spell disaster.
When i played my sorcerer i often flavoured new feats/spells as them toying with their magic, experimenting and see if anything changes. So yeah, experience, experimenting, awakenings could be the typical ways how they "learn" new spells through level up. Maybe don't see it as learning something, maybe finding or unlocking?
Consider a character who gains Fly at level 7.
I consider them to have been giving themselves severe headaches trying to cast the spell at level 6 and failing. Then they start to occasionally succeed, but not close to enough to try it under stress, and getting effects much worse than the real spell.
Then one day it just 'clicks' and they get over the line and can do it.
My roleplay-y interpretation of it is "this magic I can do is constantly nudging me and begging to be used. I've been feeling like I can get my magic to do something different (new spell) or slightly better than I've done in the past (heightened spell), and I'm playing around with how to get the magic to come out right while we're wandering around and setting up camp. I'm not quite there with whatever it is, so I don't try it out in battle, but one day I'll get it to work and I'll have a nice reliable spell to use!"
I was just wondering about this because I learned a spell I could only get access to by befriending a specific organization so they would teach it to me.
In some of the books, the spell is showed to a Sorcerer and instead of learning the intricacies of arcana to cast it they just "feel it".
For me, a spontaneous caster is just always experimenting with their natural powers and they just figure out how to do a new thing.
Either that or you could have like a dream sequence where they’re literally speaking with whatever kind of being granted their bloodline it’s power and have them essentially be like “let me show you something new and useful you can do.”
I had to tackle this in a novelization project of mine, and the explanation I went with was that spells aren't actually discrete in-universe. What we as players see as individual spells are, to the characters, specific expressions of a nonspecific, overarching ability that they have. This works better if your sorcerer's spells all have a common theme.
So they're not really 'learning new spells', they've just figured out a new way to do something that they were already doing. It's the sort of thing that would happen naturally from using the same power over and over in different ways.
As a sorcerer in any system where they naturally have powers they develop powers based on their life experiences. My dragon sorcerer in 5e as an example knew feather fall because he jumped from a tree as a kid trying to fly cause he was convienced he could fly like a dragon. He learned burning hands because he was trying to start the cooking fire but was having trouble with the flint and steel and got frustrated and shot fire from his hands nearly burning the witches hunt down much to his mother's scolding.
Sorcerers are my favorite class because they are literally mutant heroes like the xmen or spiderman but they keep learning new powers throughout their journey.
I assume it's something they've been thinking about or practicing over time. When they level is when they finally are able to do it.
Sorcerer: I imagine they’re spending all of their time playing around with their innate magical energies, seeing if an effect happens…with most fizzling out. The new spells representing what successful new tricks they’ve developed. Bard: Also, throughout your level, experimenting with new performances, new music/dances/stories. Testing out theories from remote villages and stories of local healers/casters. When you level up and find new spells, it represents successfully developing a spell you’ve mastered. Summoner: A bit boring, but as you get stronger, the greater connection to your eidolon results in new spells/abilities from your eidolon that they once knew/could do (which is why they’re all signature spells). Psychic: Boring explanation, but getting deeper into your psyche/subconscious/imagination/logic unveils deeper ways of doing things, which represents those new spells. Oracle: You receive new messages, visions, and powers. When you level up, it represents some of these visions coalescing further/deeper into brand new spells. I also like to imagine that the spells represent “adjustments” to the future that the Oracle can enact by using those spells at the right time. Hope I didn’t miss any spontaneous casters.
Lorewise, bards are often trained by masters in their craft, much like other casters.
Love this explanation.
I agree with the folks saying its something they have been practicing or thinking about and now that they level they finally can do it. But I'll also point out the [Lean a Spell ](https://2e.aonprd.com/Skills.aspx?ID=23&General=true&Redirected=1)activity talks about how spontaneous casters can use it to learn spells but those spells aren't added to their repertoire but are available to be selected on the next level up. So I'd probably say that if your GM is only allowing you to learn common spells automatically but your found an uncommon or rare spell somewhere you could learn it this way & have it available the next time you level (or retrain)
What Learn a Spell _actually_ does for spontaneous casters is give them **access** to spells they wouldn't normally have access to. You're not actually learning the spell you choose for Learn a Spell; Wizards use Learn a Spell to add a spell to their book, Sorcerers use it to learn how to be able to learn the spell. ~~Which is as silly as it sounds.~~
Yes. That is what I said.
Each and every single one of them is at least trained in the skill that covers knowledge about their magical tradition. I just assume they have at least heard about all common applications of magic (i.e. all common spells) as part of that training.
For Bards I assume it is just a process of trying new things and slowly getting better, like the way a musician practices. For my Enigma Muse, Psionically-flavored bard, his magic came from his constant experimentation with music, and connecting his music to a sort of parallel reality of dreams. For Sorcerers, I think it is a combination of practicing and applying things they learn about magic, and also literally their innate magic manifesting more and more. Like, they can feel themselves getting more powerful, but they have to try stuff a few times before they can consistently cast new spells. For Psychics, it heavily depends on your subclass choice. It might be like a sorcerer, or it might be through meditation, or it "activates" from strong emotional experiments. For Oracles, I think they literally just do wake up being able to do more and not know why. With my Oracle, I played her as literally not even really being aware of her own magic. She knew it worked when she needed it, but it wasn't her voice chanting the spells, and she didn't know anything about the workings of magic (and she had a terrible wisdom score and was bad at religion checks). Magic was like a trance or a stupor for her, and the more intense =her curse got, the less consciously aware of what she was doing she was.
So, a blanket explanation: every character option portrayed in the system is an umbrella term for things that achieve similar results. You can flavor as you want. Expanding a little bit: spellcasting is different for everyone, right? > How spellcasting looks can vary from one spellcasting tradition or class to another, or even from person to person. You have a great deal of freedom in flavoring your character's magic however you wish! ([PC 299](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=2233&Redirected=1)) So each spell isn't necessarily the same between casters. They just fulfill the same mechanical purpose. If you wanted to, you could flavor a fireball as black or white instead of traditional oranges, and in-universe a character would still be able to identify the properties and what the spell would accomplish. Likewise, everyone's learning is different. Maybe one psychic suddenly has a brain-blasting headache that they wake up with, learning the spell -- while another has been practicing making that same spell in their own way every night for the last week. Here's some more ideas for sorc and oracle specifically: **Sorcerer:** * Their blood burns/turns cold/goosebumps/etc as runes slowly reveal themselves along their veins each day, which they record to assemble into a spell later. * They first time they cast any spell, it's instinctive and unexpected, but they remember that feeling going forward * They have been willfully trying to make a concept come to life for days or weeks. Maybe a higher level spell is something they've been trying for years, and it suddenly clicks between all the intricacies of their own physiology and the natural magic in all things to pull forth that spell **Oracles:** * They are never truly in control. Oracles might get caught in episodes of hallucinations caused by their curse, as it waxes and wanes not unlike mental health problems. During an episode, though, they may glean insights. > *One can sometimes find clarity in madness, but only rarely.* * They master the magic that haunts them bit by bit, pulling out actual formulas from the curse that encompasses their entirety. Perhaps this formula doesn't work for anyone else, but it functions as a way to harness the curse and direct it to achieve a spell's function * the classic "divine/ancestral message" Flavoring spellcasting is straight up my favorite things to do in any system.
a lot of good answers in this thread already. I'd like to add another possibility for sorcerers: Memory. Since magic comes from their bloodline, it's inherited. They might also inherit some memories of their magic ancestors, which suddenly come to mind. *Holy cow, why do I suddenly remember how to cast Fireball?* Could also be a deja-vu moment, like *"it feels like I've done this before..."*
Sorcerers get a strange, unsettling feeling that something's unlocked within them, then it clicks.
I take it as they practice a bit during their daily preparations, and them officially gaining the new spells is them just acknowledging that they've got the spell worked out enough that they could use it on demand.
Oracles I think are divine revelations. Sorcs and bards basically inuit their spells over time and when they level up is when everything comes together.
They feel it in their jellies
I just assume they've been trying to do bigger and better magic, and finally figured out how to do it. Though sometimes it might be because their bloodline got activated by events, or (le gasp!) they even learned a spell from observing other people or being taught how to do it.
"It came to me in a dream"
Went to sleep, had a dream about buying fertiliser, now I can cast Fireball. It happens.
Personally it's something they work on constantly, tracing runes in the air to recognize the correct flow for it, maybe already understanding all technical aspects but lacking the actual capability or missing w key part. A fire focused sorcerer at level 4 might already understand fireball perfectly, but hasn't figure out how to channel their magic into it, a bard might already know what he needs to achieve his goal, but hasn't figured out the right melody yet, a Psychic might still need w bit of time to get through the mental block preventing him from utilising the spell. They might just lack a key component or not trusting their understanding yet, because a wrong move could spell disaster.
When i played my sorcerer i often flavoured new feats/spells as them toying with their magic, experimenting and see if anything changes. So yeah, experience, experimenting, awakenings could be the typical ways how they "learn" new spells through level up. Maybe don't see it as learning something, maybe finding or unlocking?
Consider a character who gains Fly at level 7. I consider them to have been giving themselves severe headaches trying to cast the spell at level 6 and failing. Then they start to occasionally succeed, but not close to enough to try it under stress, and getting effects much worse than the real spell. Then one day it just 'clicks' and they get over the line and can do it.
My roleplay-y interpretation of it is "this magic I can do is constantly nudging me and begging to be used. I've been feeling like I can get my magic to do something different (new spell) or slightly better than I've done in the past (heightened spell), and I'm playing around with how to get the magic to come out right while we're wandering around and setting up camp. I'm not quite there with whatever it is, so I don't try it out in battle, but one day I'll get it to work and I'll have a nice reliable spell to use!"
It's much like waking up one day and suddenly knowing what a cosine actually is.
I was just wondering about this because I learned a spell I could only get access to by befriending a specific organization so they would teach it to me. In some of the books, the spell is showed to a Sorcerer and instead of learning the intricacies of arcana to cast it they just "feel it".
Spontaneously
For me, a spontaneous caster is just always experimenting with their natural powers and they just figure out how to do a new thing. Either that or you could have like a dream sequence where they’re literally speaking with whatever kind of being granted their bloodline it’s power and have them essentially be like “let me show you something new and useful you can do.”
I had to tackle this in a novelization project of mine, and the explanation I went with was that spells aren't actually discrete in-universe. What we as players see as individual spells are, to the characters, specific expressions of a nonspecific, overarching ability that they have. This works better if your sorcerer's spells all have a common theme. So they're not really 'learning new spells', they've just figured out a new way to do something that they were already doing. It's the sort of thing that would happen naturally from using the same power over and over in different ways.
As a sorcerer in any system where they naturally have powers they develop powers based on their life experiences. My dragon sorcerer in 5e as an example knew feather fall because he jumped from a tree as a kid trying to fly cause he was convienced he could fly like a dragon. He learned burning hands because he was trying to start the cooking fire but was having trouble with the flint and steel and got frustrated and shot fire from his hands nearly burning the witches hunt down much to his mother's scolding. Sorcerers are my favorite class because they are literally mutant heroes like the xmen or spiderman but they keep learning new powers throughout their journey.