emacs-rpgdm/dnd-5e/magic-schools.org
Howard Abrams 1602a9b01d Fix a couple minor bugs
Which really make demoing this "product" difficult.

While I was at it, I split my "taverns" document into a number of real
tables that I could pull up.
2021-03-24 22:42:20 -07:00

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Schools of Magic

See PHB, pg 203 or this summary.

School of Conjuration : “Pull a rabbit from a hat”

The School of Conjuration deals with creating objects and creatures, or making them disappear. 

Examples:

Low LevelFind Familiar, Poison Spray

Mid LevelSpirit Guardians, Conjure Elemental

High LevelPlane Shift, Wish

DM Thoughts: You might think Banishment would be within the School of Conjuration, since it deals with making things disappear, but it's actually within the School of Abjuration.

School of Necromancy : “Nice to you again…”

In general, think of spells within the School of Necromancy as manipulating the ebb and flow of different creatures' “life energy”, or the balance of energy between life and death. This can come across in the form of helping resurrection, or draining necrotic damage. 

Examples:

Low LevelChill Touch, Inflict Wounds

Mid LevelAnimate Dead, Blight

High LevelResurrection, Finger of Death

Unsolicited DM Thoughts: All forms of healing magic should be within the school of necromancy, and not scattered all about different schools of magic.

School of Evocation : Offence

Casters within the school of evocation unleash a raw magical energy upon their enemies. Whether it be flames, ice, or pure arcane energy: evocation spellcasters are here to deal damage and chew gum… and they're all out of gum. 

Examples:

Low LevelBurning Hands, Dancing Lights

Mid LevelFireball, Freezing Sphere

High LevelMeteor Swarm, Prismatic Spray

Unsolicited DM Thoughts: The spell sending is within the School of Evocation, though I think it is a better fit for the School of Divination.

School of Abjuration : Defence

Magical spells and effects within the school of abjuration are primarily designed for protection and shielding. Don't be fooled however, some Abjuration spells can pack quite a punch.

Examples:

Low LevelDispel Magic, Shield

Mid LevelDispel Evil and Good, Greater Restoration

High LevelInvulnerability, Antimagic Field

School of Transmutation : “Water to wine”

Casters who study within the School of Transmutation are able to manipulate the physical properties of both items and people. This could be something simple such as turning copper into gold or could be an advanced spell that turns you into a newt (it'll get better…)

Examples:

Low LevelShape Water, Feather Fall

Mid LevelGaseous Form, Stone Shape

High LevelPolymorph, Etherealness

School of Divination

The magical School of Divination is centered around revealing and granting knowledge and information to the caster. Useful for reading ancient scripts, identifying magical items, and seeing invisible enemies. 

Examples:

Low Level: Identify, Find Traps

Mid Level: Scrying, Locate Creature

High Level: True Seeing, Foresight

School of Enchantment : “You're getting sleepy…”

Spells within the School of Enchantment are designed to manipulate the mental state of the target. This entire school is very similar to hypnotism, where the affected creature may act completely differently than how they normally behave.

Examples:

Low LevelHold Person, Sleep

Mid LevelModify Memory, Mass Suggestion

High LevelFeeblemind, Power Word Kill

School of Illusion

The School of Illusion is concerned with manipulating the various senses of people and creatures. This could be vision, hearing, or other various senses such as body temperature. 

Example: 

Low LevelDisguise Self, Silent Image

Mid LevelInvisibility, Hallucinatory Terrain

High LevelProject Image, Weird