When you distribute these spells, you must distribute them in whole, unchanged. Specifially, this file containing the copyright conditions, and the names of the editors must be included. Make sure that you distribute the entire package the way you have received it yourself. You may not claim these spells as having originated from yourself.
Once in a while, the Great Net Spellbook will be updated. Because of the large amount of work this involves, and the few spare time we all have, this will normally take quite a while. For example, it took me about two years to finish the sixth edition after I published the fifth edition. Note, however, that since the fifth edition, the entire layout has been changed, so these two years of work have not been in vain. I have never committed myself to a publishing date, and my successor (see the epilogue for more information) will not likely commit himself to a date either. Please, be gentle with him: don't rush him. Only the fact that he has taken much of the attention off ny back over the last half year or so has provided me with the time needed to finish this sixth edition. Whenever he thinks he has accumulated enough new spells to warrant a next edition, there will be a subsequent one, and it will be posted, and most probably put on various ftp and www sites.
Another remark about copyrights: the spellbook has been checked as thoroughly as possible not to contain any spells that have been published in any official TSR publication before. The fifth edition of the Great Net Spellbook appeared to contain no less than six of these copyrighted spells, which have been duly removed. If we want to retain our own copyrights, we must respect those of others.
D&D, Dungeons & Dragons, AD&D, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, TSR, Dragonlance, Greyhawk and probably lots of other words used here are either registered or non-registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. They are used in this work without permission, but this should not be regarded as an attempt to challenge their rights.
Note that this work can and should not be used without TSR's excellent Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, which have inspired a whole generation of roleplayers. Let me quote a passage from the Player's Handbook, which says:
"The AD&D game is continually evolving - each player and each DM adds his own touch to the whole. No list of special thanks can be complete without recognizing the most important comtributors of all - the millions of players who, over the years, have made the AD&D game what it is today."Let's all cooperate to make the game even greater! See below, under contributors, for an attempt to thank at least a few of the millions mentioned above.
Note further that spells from the Tome of Mighty Magic (another Internet resource, not the TSR book) have not been included in this edition. One reason for this is that all these spells were lacking most second- edition terms and were often too high or low level, the other reason was that its copyright status is uncertain. Anyway, the Tome of Mighty Magic can easily be used on its own, if necessary.
On some ftp-sites, you might find some of these spells as they have originally appeared, including the name of the one who posted them first. Lots of spells have been e-mailed to me directly, and won't be found on the ftp-sites, except for in this or another edition of the Great Net Spellbook. Note that where you found this collection of spells, you should also find a file containing all spells in their original form, if I could trace it back.
Especially, from the fifth edition on, I have tried to remove all traces that were left over from first edition AD&D, and to change everything to second edition terms and format. Should you find any remains of or references to the first edition, please send the editor e-mail saying so, so it can be corrected in a subsequent edition.
Note that - even though they aren't in the second edition - I did retain the cantrips. There are also some 10th-level spells, which have been introduced into second edition AD&D in the Dragon Kings book (Dark Sun setting).
Where no level was indicated, I just guessed what level the spell was to be in. Furthermore, in those many cases where either school, range, area of effect, or anything the like were missing, I just used my own brilliant mind and made them up.
I have used the following two notations when naming spells: II and [2]. Let me explain why I make this distinction. When a spell is named, for example, magic bolt [2], the [2] indicates that this is a spell of about the same strength of an already existing spell of the same name. The corresponding [1] spell can be found in either the Great Net Spellbook or in an official TSR publication. In the latter case, the original spell obviously has no [1] to its name. Spells that were almost exact copies of existing spells have not been included. When a spell is labeled magic bolt II, the II indicates that this is greater-strength version of an alreadly existing spell. Again, if the original spell was from an official publication, the original won't have a I attached. Note that most of these spells just increase the range, damage, or something like that, and thus aren't very interesting. Sometimes, however, one of these spells is really original. Since I don't want to be a judge on which spells to include and which to exclude, I have decided not to remove any spells at all.
Boudewijn Wayers, Keeper of the Great Net Spellbook and the Great Net
Prayerbook.
March, 1995.