DM Quick Start

Get from install to “spells appear in a player’s Spell Book” in five steps.

Requirements: Foundry VTT 14+, dnd5e 5.3.0+.

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1. Install

Install the module through the Foundry setup screen or via manifest URL. See Installation and Settings for details.

Once enabled in your world, Spell Book adds:

• A Spell Book button on each actor sheet.
• A Spell List Manager button in the footer of the Compendium sidebar tab (GM only).

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2. Open the Spell List Manager

Open the Compendium sidebar tab and click Spell List Manager in the footer.

The manager is a draggable window with a detach button in its header (pops the manager out into a standalone OS window; dialogs opened from the manager follow along).

On first open the module indexes every compendium spell. A progress toast ticks as the fetch completes. This is a one-time cost per session.

Full walkthrough: Spell List Manager Interface Overview.

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3. Make Lists Available to Players

Important

Spells do not auto-populate on character sheets. You must make a list available to each spellcasting class using one of the two options below, or player spell books will appear empty.

Option A: Add to Spell Registry (stock lists only)

Select a list in the Spell List Manager content panel. In the toolbar that appears above the list, tick Add to Spell Registry. This:

• Adds the list’s UUID to the REGISTRY_ENABLED_LISTS world setting.
• Calls dnd5e.registry.spellLists.register(uuid) immediately, so newly added spells show their class label on item sheets right away (no reload needed).

Disabling the toggle removes the UUID from the setting but cannot undo contributions already pushed to the registry; a world reload is required to clear those. A notification explains this when you disable a list.

Option A only registers the list with the system for spell-label display on item sheets. It does not populate the player spell book. Use Option B to populate spell books.

Option B: Assign Per Class via Spell Book Settings

Open Spell Book Settings using the cog icon in the Spell Book sidebar (GM only). For each character, select the spell list for each class:

• Class Spell List — the class’s primary list.
• Subclass Spell List — the subclass list (optional).

This writes the list to the actor’s class rules and is the only path that populates the player spell book.

• Create lists: Creating New Spell Lists
• Modify existing lists: Modifying Existing Spell Lists
• Assign lists to classes: Class Rules

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4. Review Global Settings (Optional)

Open Game Settings > Configure Settings > Spell Book. You do not need to change anything to get started. A few worth knowing:

• Notify GM on Spell Changes — whispers you a card listing the cantrips and spells a player added or removed each time they save their preparation. Over-limit classes add a warning to that card.
• Default Spellcasting Rules — choose Legacy Rules or Modern Rules.
• Consume Scrolls When Learning
• Deduct Spell Learning Costs

Full reference: Installation and Settings.

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5. Players Open Their Spell Book

Players click the Spell Book button on their character sheet. Their spells come from the list assigned via Spell Book Settings for their class (Option B above).

If a player’s book is empty, confirm their class has a spell list assigned via Spell Book Settings (the cog icon in the Spell Book sidebar). The Add to Spell Registry toggle (Option A) only affects spell labels on item sheets and does not populate the spell book.

When a character gains a spellcasting class with no list assigned, a whispered card reaches you and the character’s owners with a button to assign the list.

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Troubleshooting

If something looks wrong, use the SpellBook Troubleshooter to generate a diagnostic report.

Programmatic access to spell data, list registration, and actor Spell Book state is documented in the API Reference.