Spells in the Worlds of Adventure campaign are classified as either common or rare.
Common spells are freely available to spell-casting characters in the Worlds of Adventure campaign. They may be selected as spells known by characters of classes that know a limited number of spells (such as the bard), selected as automatically learned spells by wizards, freely prepared by characters of divine spellcasting classes that have access to their entire spell list (such as the cleric), etc. Scrolls of these spells may usually be found for purchase in most communities (scrolls of higher level spells will only be found in larger towns and cities, of course).
See each class’s description page, linked from the Classes page, for a list of the common spells available to characters of that class.
Rare spells are not freely available. In order for a character to be able to prepare, learn, or cast these spells, the character must find a scroll of the spell (most likely as treasure in some dungeon, or received in exchange for some favor or quest from an NPC spellcaster; scrolls of rare spells are almost never found for purchase on the open market; note that only wizards and witches may learn spells from scrolls), be taught the spell by someone who knows it, research the spell himself (see Researching New Spells, below), or otherwise discover it. (This applies even to divine spellcasting classes that get access to their entire spell list. Rare spells are not considered to be on any such divine spellcaster’s spell list until the character discovers or researches the spell, at which point the spell is on that character’s spell list forevermore.)
The following spells in the Core Rulebook are not available to characters in the Worlds of Adventure campaign, will never be found in the campaign setting, and cannot be researched:
bear’s endurance
Buff spells—spells that enhance your character or his/her allies in some way—work differently in the Worlds of Adventure campaign than they do in similar games. Instead of having durations of rounds, minutes, or hours per level, all buff spells fall into one of two duration categories: short and long.
Long-duration buff spells last all day. It is generally not necessary to track the exact duration of such spells, beyond stipulating that they may be cast at the beginning of day and last for the day’s adventure’s; if more exact tracking is required, the DM may decide how long the spell lasts; for example, "until sunset/sunrise" is usually reasonable. The Extend Spell feat makes long-duration buff spells last for approximately 24 hours (enough such that one casting per day is sufficient for always-on coverage).
Short-duration buff spells last through one combat encounter. Again, it’s generally unnecessary to specify this duration in rounds; regardless, this means that short-duration spells must be cast in combat, and may not be "pre-cast" out of combat (if this is done, the spells expire before combat begins). Such spells may also be used out of combat, in which case they last about as long as a typical combat encounter (usually about half a minute); the DM may decide, in each case, whether the spell’s duration is sufficient for the intended task. (For example, a fly spell will usually last long enough to enable a character to fly across a chasm, but not long enough to let that character fly back and forth several times to ferry his entire party across.) The Extend Spell feat does not apply to short-duration buff spells.
The following spells from the Core Rulebook are short-duration buffs in the Worlds of Adventure campaign:
align weapon
divine power
keen edge
spell resistance
The following spells from the Core Rulebook are long-duration buffs in the Worlds of Adventure campaign:
animal shapes
overland flight
The following spells from the Advanced Player’s Guide are short-duration buffs in the Worlds of Adventure campaign:
arcane concordance
cloak of winds
natural rhythm
veil of positive energy
The following spells from the Advanced Player’s Guide are long-duration buffs in the Worlds of Adventure campaign:
ant haul
Some spells are reversible, which means that they may be cast as either of two opposing versions of the spell, to produce one of two opposing effects. A reversible spell is considered a single spell for the purposes of learning the spell, but when it is prepared, the caster must choose which version to prepare. (A spontaneous caster can choose which version of the spell to use when casting it.)
A spell generally counters and dispels its reverse version.
forcecage, etc.: Same change as wall of force.
defile armor: Works like magic vestment?, except that it grants DR 5/good when using judgment.
The names of the following spells are different from what they’re called in Pathfinder. These are, in fact, the original and correct spell names; they were modified for Pathfinder, for trademark reasons; but we don’t have that problem, and can call the spells by their proper names.
Bigby’s clenched fist
- spell research rules etc. - make researching spells unique to rogues or warriors easier for those classes (they only have to pray/meditate/train/etc. and don’t have to go through the whole rigamarole that e.g. wizards have to do; as those spells represent class abilities more so than primary caster spells do)
spells to modify: hold person