Magic (Dungeons & Dragons)
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In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, magic is a force of nature, and part of the world. There are two main types of magic, arcane, which comes from within, and Divine, which is inspired from above (or below).
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[edit] Arcane magic
Arcane spells tend to be flashy and offensive. Though divine spells are also capable of inflicting damage, arcane spells are usually better at damaging large numbers of creatures over a wide area.
[edit] Divine magic
Divine spells are subtle, compared to arcane magic, but not less powerful. Almost all healing spells are divine magic.
[edit] Schools of magic
Not to be confused with universities dedicated to the teaching of magic, a school of magic refers to a related group of spells. There are eight defined schools of magic.
[edit] Abjuration
Spells that protect, block or banish. These spells favor protecting the caster or others. Spells in this school may increase one's defense, help set up traps, banish demons, negate, or suppress other magic.
[edit] Conjuration
Spells that bring creatures or materials to the caster. Conjuration allows for physical manifestations. There are five arcane subschools:
- Calling
- Creation
- Healing
- Summoning
- Teleportation
Both Calling and Summoning spells can conjure creatures or items from somewhere else; however, they are not the same. Summoning spells conjure a creature for a limited time; the creature vanishes when the spell duration expires. A summoned creature cannot actually be killed; "dead" creatures reform on their home plane after 24 hours. Summoned creatures cannot use any summoning abilities of their own; otherwise, one creature could potentially become an army.
Calling spells can be used to conjure creatures for longer terms of service, but they usually require some form of payment to the creature. A called creature can be killed, but it has no limitations on the types of powers it can use. For example, a summoned genie cannot grant wishes, but a called one can.
Creation spells do not bring items from elsewhere; they simply create items out of nothing.
[edit] Divination
Spells that reveal information. These spells allow for foresight and detection, and generally help the information gathering process.
[edit] Enchantment
Spells that grant the recipient with some property or endear the target to the caster. Spells in this school affect the minds and behaviors of the targets. The subschools of Enchantment are Charm (spells that make the target regard you as a friend) and Compulsion (spells that force the target to do something.)
[edit] Evocation
Spells that manipulate energy or create energy from nothing. This school of powerful offensive magic allows for the creation of energies out of unknown sources of power.
[edit] Illusion
Spells that alter perception or create false images. Illusion spells causes their targets to see things that are not there, hear voices that do not speak, and think thoughts that they normally wouldn't. A target unaware that a spell has been cast might not even be aware that anything is amiss.
[edit] Necromancy
Spells that manipulate, create, or destroy life or life energy. Spells dealing with life force, death, and the undead.
[edit] Transmutation
Spells that transform the target physically or changes its properties in some more subtle way. These spells allow for the change of the physical properties of an object or person.
[edit] Universal
As it is not truly a school, it covers a group of spells that do not belong to any school. Only a limited number of spells fall into this category; for example, the wish spell is Universal because it can duplicate spells from all schools.
[edit] Casting
[edit] Verbal component
Many spells require the caster to speak certain words, or, in the case of a bard, create music, to cast a spell. Being prevented from speaking, such as a gag, or effects that remove sounds, such as certain magical effects, makes it impossible for a caster to cast such a spell. A deafened caster may fail when casting a spell, by misspeaking, which causes the spell to be lost.
[edit] Somatic component
Many spells require the caster to make a motion to cast the spell. If the caster is unable to make the correct motion, the spell cannot be cast. Wearing armor or using a shield interferes with the somatic components of arcane spells, creating a risk of spell failure. Bards and some other arcane classes can cast spells in light armor without this risk.
[edit] Spell components
Casting a spell often requires that the caster sacrifice some sort of material component. Often, these components are virtually worthless, but some spells, such as spells to reanimate the dead, require material components costing thousands of gold pieces. If a caster is unable to access or use the correct spell component, the spell cannot be cast.
[edit] Magical focus
Alternatively, casting a spell may require that the caster have access to a holy symbol or other special object, to focus on when casting the spell. This is mostly true for divine spells.
