The Black Flag SRD also has some simpler spellcaster NPCs.
this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2025
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An addendum: I just discovered the SRD for Level Up: Advanced 5E by EN Publishing. And the document for NPCs does have simplified stat blocks which include spell descriptions for many NPCs!
I took a page from Flee Mortals and use actions instead of spells for NPC combatants.
https://shop.mcdmproductions.com/collections/flee-mortals-the-mcdm-monster-book
for what its worth, the new (2024/2025) monster manual supposedly has spellcasting monsters with more "magical" actions built in. While they do still have a list of spells, they have more built in tailored "magic action" type things they would be using instead of spell casting in most scenarios, like having a "magic bolt" type attack for a mage or something. We don't exactly know how extensive this is yet, since we've only seen previews so far, but it could make running spellcasting creatures a bit easier.
Spellcasters are a pain to run. You can do a few things:
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Assuming you're playing in person, you can make or buy spell cards and lay them out or put them on a ring.
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Pick 3-4 spells as their "signature" spells and primarily use those, and only deviate (perhaps via option 1) in special circumstances. Single-target, area of effect, buff/debuff/control, and healing are usually good. Also remember you can always re-flavor the spell description on the spot.
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If it's a party ally, turn over control (with the entire list of spells) to a player to control during combat. Provide guidance if they try to perform an action that would stray too far from what the NPC would do.
https://hardcodex.ru/ let's you enter the spells you need and print little cards for those. That's what I use for face-to-face games.
For VTT games, I used Fantasy Grounds with the core books, I just need to click on the spell to read it and cast it, and can drag them to my hotbar to instantly cast them from there like in an MMO. This option sadly is a lot pricier though, if you've already bought the books physical or for another VTT.