Do "10th-level spells" show up anywhere in 5th Edition lore?

Question

I saw a video a while back about some examples of so-called "10th-level spells" causing havoc, in possibly outdated lore.

I'm wondering if any of the examples of such spells have persisted in modern 5th ed worldbuilding documents, or if they've mostly been retconned.

Answer 1

None of the published settings books for 5th Edition mention the use of 10th level spells by that name, but unusually powerful spells still exist

There are no mentions of 10th level spells. Instead the lore refers to spells of great power in more generic language, for example, Rime of the Frostmaiden refers to a "spell of unparalleled power" that Karsus attempted to use to usurp Mystryl (thanks to @Carcer). So the concept that there can be unusually powerful spells has not been changed, but this is not expressed in spell level terms any more.

You can technically cast 10th level spells using the Book of Exalted Deeds, but in lore, the concept of 10th level spells in that language is not used.

Answer 2

Worth noting also that in Rime of the Frostmaiden you can find an a pair of 'scroll' type items (not to be confused with 'spell scrolls') that let you cast a pair of exceptional spells. One is Comet, which was explicitly a 10th level spell in older editions. The other one is equally as bonkers, but I won't spoil the fun, you can look it up if you want.

I suspect they just did it this way so they could include a 10th level spell without having to actually open that can of worms.