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This is a FAQ based on the information in the Hero Can't Cast Spells thread, the Casting Spells FAQ, and on my own personal experience. Comments are appreciated, as I would like to make the guide as easy-to-use as possible.
Credit is due to a number of board posters, I'm just the collector of information!
Now, to the FAQ:
Q: My Character can't cast spells! Why not?
The first thing to check is the caster's primary casting attribute. As mentioned in the in-game help, you must have a minimum of score of 10 + spell level to cast a spell.
Quick reference guide:
Some examples:
Q: Some of that made sense. What do you mean by 'high enough level to know a spell of that level'?
A: As your character gains levels, he may (based on class) gain the ability cast new and different spells. For Wizards, Clerics, and Druids, the math is pretty simple. The highest level of spells you can know is your half of your class level (round up). For other classes, you will need to consult the in-game help - the manual isn't entirely accurate on the spell progression tables.
Some examples:
Of course, since there aren't any spells higher than 9th level in IWD2, having a 20 in your spellcasting attribute doesn't give you access to 10th level spells :)
Q: Wait a minute! My wizard can only have an 18 in INT! Does this mean he'll never be able to cast the 9th level Wizard spells?
A: On every level evenly divisible by four, your character will get a new attribute point. You can put that point into your spellcasting attribute, so that by the time you reach 9th level spells, you'll be able to cast spells of that level.
As an example, I might create a Wizard with 16 INT. At fourth level, I'll raise his INT to 17. At eighth level, I'll raise his INT to 18. At 12th level, I'll raise his INT another point to 19. So, when he gets to 17th level (and can learn 9th level spells), he'll already have the INT required to cast them.
Q: Why can't I scribe these scrolls?
A: Different classes know spells of each level in different ways. Understanding these ways is important, as your choices can significantly impact your character later in the game.
Q: In BG2 I was limited in how many spells I could learn based on my INT. Is this true in IWD2?
A: No. How many spells you can have in your spellbook is not influenced by any attribute your character may have.
Q: Crud. I just checked my character, and he can't cast spells because his spellcasting attribute is too low. What do I do?
A: For "pure" spellcasters (Wizards, Sorcerers, Clerics, and Druids) this is a very difficult situation. For the other spellcasting classes, you can frequently use some magical items (for example, a magical ring might give a +1 to WIS) to give your attribute a little "boost" until you can reach another level divisbile by four (so you can put an attribute point in your spellcasting attribute).
For example, I might start a Paladin with WIS 10. At fourth level (when he gains his first first-level spell), I would put the bonus attribute point into WIS (making it 11), or optionally I might use a magical item instead that would raise his WIS to at least 11.
Q: OK, I've checked my spellcasting attribute, and it's high enough that I should be able to cast spells. I still can't cast them, though... what's the problem?
A: For anybody but Sorcerers and Bards, you may need to memorize the spells you want to cast. You get a certain number of spell castings per resting period, and you much choose the spells you want to be able to cast after your next rest.
For example, my Wizard may have three first-level spells in his spell book: Identify, Magic Missile, and Mage Armor. However, he has two castings of first level spells per day. So, he has to choose and decides to use one spell slot for Mage Armor and one slot for Magic Missile. After resting, he will be able to cast each one of those two spells once, and then will not be able to cast spells until he rests again (possibly after changing what spells he wants to use the next day).
To get to your spell-book, so that you can pick out spells, you can use the S (think 'S'pellbook) key on your keyboard while in the game, or click on the scroll icon inside the oval on the user interface. The right side is the spells that are in your spellbook (ones you 'know'), and the left side is the spells you have currently memorized.
Q: Hey! My Sorcerer knows two first level spells (Magic Missile and Mage Armor), and when he cast a Magic Missile his number of remaining castings of BOTH Magic Missile and Mage Armor went down by one! What happened?
A: Sorcerers and Bards both have flexible casting: they get a certain number of castings per day at each level. For example, your Sorcerer as listed above may have 5 castings after resting. He can cast 5 Magic Missiles, 5 Mage Armors, 2 Magic Missiles and 3 Mage Armors, or any other combination... as long as the total number of castings doesn't exceed 5.
This gives the Sorcerer and Bard more flexibility than the Wizard at "crunch time", since they can pick any spell that they know to cast on the fly (up to the maximum number of castings per day), while the Wizard has to choose exactly which spells he is going to cast before resting the night before. However, since both Bards and Sorcerers get far fewer spells in their spellbooks than Wizards (potentially, since Wizards can scribe scrolls), things may even out in the end.
Q: Hey! My Ranger (or Paladin) just reached 4th level. He has a high enough spellcasting attribute (WIS 11), and I selected a spell, and then rested. However, he doesn't have a spellcasting icon on the toolbar, so I can't cast his spell! What gives?
A: The action bar (or toolbar) is now customizeable inside IWD2, unlike previous games made with the IE (like Baldur's Gate). Since your character didn't start with a spellcasting icon on the action bar, you'll need to change one of the buttons on the action bar to be the spellcasting icon.
Note that the left-most three buttons on the action bar are not customizeable: the rest of them are, and you can feel free to change them to your heart's content.
Q: Right, but HOW do I change the action bar to add a spellcasting icon?
A: The basic idea is that left-clicking a button on the action bar does the action associated with it. If you right-click a button, then it pulls up a list of things you can reassign the button to be.
You can left-click on the spellcasting icon (if that's what you want to assign) from this list, or continue right-clicking the icons in the action bar until you find the button you want to place on the toolbar.
Note that this is a handy feature, and makes sense after you play with it. For example, IIRC I've customized the nine spots on my Cleric's toolbar to be the following:
Q: Hey, that reminds me. What's the deal with the Domain spells?
A: Each of the nice Cleric dieties (domains) give their clerics an extra spell at each casting level. This extra spell must come from one of only two that the diety provides. So, a first-level cleric might have 2 'normal' cleric spells from the regular spell list, and one 'domain' spell from his domain list (which only gives two choices). Other than that, it works pretty much like any other regular spellcaster.
Q: What's this Spontaneous Conversion, and how do I do it?
A: Good-aligned and Neutral-aligned clerics can change out a cleric spell for a Cure * Wounds of the same level. For example, my cleric may decide in the middle of combat to convert his Bless spell to a Cure Light Wounds spell, since the fighter has just taken a beating.
To convert a spell, you SHIFT-left-click the spell when you cast it, instead of just left-clicking the spell. So, in my example, I would hold down the SHIFT key and then click on the Bless spell inside my spellcasting icon. A text message should appear in your status box to inform you you've just converted the spell, and then you target the recipient of the Cure * Wounds spell to complete the task, and start casting on the target.
Note that evil clerics can spontaneously convert thier spells to Cause * Wounds spells of the same level, not Cure * Wounds spells.
Q: Hey! I tried to convert my domain spell and cure a character, but it didn't convert! How do I convert domain spells?
A: The short answer: you don't. Clerics can only spontaneously convert spells from their Cleric spell list. Domain spells and other spellcasting lists (for multiclassed clerics) cannot be converted.
Q: I tried to convert my sixth-level cleric spell to Heal, but it didn't work. Why not?
A: Spells can only be converted to Cure * Wounds or Cause * Wounds spells. If you want to have a Heal spell, you'll have to memorize it and rest.
Q: Sometimes I get casting failure. What's wrong?
A: Many types of armor and shields give a penalty to spellcasting (in a percentage form). If you're using an item that may cause spellcasting failure, and try to cast an arcane spell (Wizard, Bard, Sorcerer), you may 'fizzle' the spell because you're wearing armor or using a shield.
The simple solution, obviously, is not to wear the armor or shield while casting. Another solution is that the Armored Arcana feat reduces the spellcasting penalty slightly, so you might be able (for example) to have your Wizard cast armor without penalty in Studded Leather with 3 ranks of Armored Arcana.
Q: I can't scribe Enchantment spell to my Necromancer, although manual says I should be able to do so! What's wrong?
A: The manual is wrong. The correct list of opposition schools is as follows:
Q: I multiclassed my rock gnome to a rogue(1)/illusionist(1), but i don't get any known spells in my spellbook. My int is 16. What's wrong?
A: Unlike 3rd Edition D&D, wizards don't get "free spells" to scribe into their spell books when they reach a new spell level. As a result, when you gain a new level of spells, you have to scribe them into your spell book after purchasing or finding them.
Q: Ummm.... 'scribe'? How do I do that?
A: As you go through the game, you will find scrolls of various kinds, both as treasure and as items you may purchase. Your wizard (or specialty wizard, like an Illusionist) may be able to "learn" some of these spells, but transferring the spell to his spell book. Once that has happened, the spell is avaialble for your wizard to choose before resting.
The process to add a spell to your spell book is relatively simple. You right click on the spell in your inventory, and then click on Scribe Scroll at the bottom of the detail screen. The scroll will disappear, and the spell will appear in your spellbook.
Q: Uh, I can't select "Scribe Scroll", it's grayed out when I right click on the scroll. What's wrong?
A: There are a number of things you need to check. First of all, only Wizards and specialist Wizards can scribe scrolls. So, forget about your Sorcerer adding new scrolls to his spell book.
Secondly, the spell must be a spell that your Wizard can learn. You can read the spell description to determine if the spell is available to Wizards and Sorcerers. For example, Cure Light Wounds is a spell not available to Wizards, so they cannot scribe the spell to their spell books.
Thirdly, if you have a specialist Wizard (like a Conjurer, for example), you will not be able to scribe scrolls for the schools that are forbidden to your specialty. For example, a Conjurer cannot cast Evocation spells, so he will never be able to scribe spells like Magic Missile or Fireball, both of which are Evocation spells.
Q: I chose Identify as one of my initial spells. It shows up in my spellbook list, but not in my list of castable spells. What gives?
A: Identify doesn't get cast like normal spells, and doesn't appear under the casting icon. When you right click on an unidentified item in your bard's there's an identify butten, and when you click that you can choose to use a spell to identify it.
Q: My Wizard can't select spells of level '2', even though he meets all the requirements. I know I haven't done anything wrong, because he can even cast level 3 spells! Help!
A: There is a known bug in IWD2 that shows up if you learn more than 24 spells of a given level. The short-term fix is: Don't scribe more than 24 spells of a given level. No long-term fix has yet been promised (in form of a patch).
