A History of Magic: Evocation Subschools and Selected Spells (D&D)

Contents

Previously: The History of Evocation

The Subschools of Evocation: Air, Earth, Fire, Force, Water.

Air: Those who focus on the elemental powers of air most directly express their power through applications of lightning and thunder.

Earth: Geomantic practices are rarely considered among those discussing evocation. The earth-based magics of evocation seeming dwarfed by the physical conjurations or manipulations of transmuters. Even among evokers, the flash of pyromancers or even aero and hydromancers is enough to overwhelm the geomancer. However, the practice persists even outside that required to generate raw force energy. Generally geomantic power is manipulated slowly and subtly, like any influence of the stone from which it is drawn. However, it also has the potential to generate potent effects over such fundamental forces as gravity.

Fire: The stereotypical evoker focuses on fire, though this is by no means the only focus within the tradition. One of the benefits of the influence of the sub-school, however, is the ranging applications that have been discovered for what might otherwise be dismissed as a purely destructive energy. For example, pyromantic evokers are the source of the ubiquitous light spell and regularly create dizzying pyrotechnic displays for events and celebrations.

Force: While the pyromancer is the stereotype, the prototypical evoker is far more balanced in their use of elemental energies. At the core of their practice they bring these energies together to generate raw magical energy such as that discharged freely in magic missile. More controlled applications of such telekinetic manipulation are the various forms of levitation and flight, including feather fall.

Water: The clearest expression of hydromantic evocation is through the use of cold.

A History of Magic: The History of Evocation (D&D)

Contents

Previously: Necromancy Subschools and Selected Spells

The outer path, while later to arise than the inner path, developed much more quickly. Focused on elemental energies the result was an abundance of relatively safe power. In comparison to practitioners of the inner path these outer path students were able to simply seek out larger fonts of their desired energy and channel it with near abandon. In fact, the popularity of fire as an easily constructed, drawn, and enlarged source of energy is influential in the thoughts of evokers even today. While they risked physical and metaphysical injury doing so, such concerns were nothing compared to the violent reactions of positive and negative energy to the mortal form and spirit. The result was swift access to still greater flows of energy through channels to the elemental planes.

A History of Magic: Necromancy Subschools and Selected Spells (D&D)

Contents
Previously: The History of Necromancy

The Subschools of Necromancy: Animation, Destruction, Healing, Spiritualism.

                Animation: Called the blood path among many practitioners of necromancy, this subschool is what most modern sensibilities associate most clearly with the entire tradition; the raising of corpses and manipulation of the undead state. While it does little to settle most people’s sensibilities on the subject, it is worth noting that the vast majority of animation spells do not manipulate spirits or souls in any way, restricting itself to the application of energy to tissue in order to achieve its effects.

                Destruction: Sometimes referred to as necromantic battle magic, necromancers refer to schools in this subschool as the blood path. It represents the direct application of negative, and very rarely positive, energy to a subject to achieve a direct effect. The results are such spells as Disrupt Undead, Chilling Touch, Vampiric Touch, Finger of Death, Power Word Kill.

Healing: The use of positive energy, generally to heal creatures or even bring them back to life. These include any spell with the word heal or healing, cure spells, False Life, Regenerate, and Resurrection.

                Spiritualism: Referred to as the ash path or ectomancy, these spells manipulate the spirit or soul through the application of necromantic energy. Some of the most representative spells are those such as Soul Jar and Reincarnate, though a number of the more horrifying ways to raise the dead arise from this subschool.

A History of Magic: The History of Necromancy (D&D)

Contents

Previously: Eddies in Time and Space

While much time has been spent and ink spilled examining the moral and ethical implications of the “dark art,” little has been directed at the questions of its origins or true nature. Most understand necromancy to be exactly what it is named; the study of death and the dead. However, it appears that has not always been the case. While the formulae from this era are basic to all modern magic, necromantic manipulations trace back to those of the “inner path” most clearly.

A History of Magic: Eddies in Time and Space (D&D)

Contents

Previously: Divination Subschools and Selected Spells

A History of Magic: Divination Subschools and Selected Spells (D&D)

Contents

Previously: The History of Divination

The Subschools of Divination: Gnosis, Revelation, Scrying, Spacial, Temporal

Gnosis: A gnostic spell calls information from far sources. The links formed are similar in nature to scrying links. However, instead of connecting to a given place or time they connect to pools, streams, and eddies of information. The sense of whether these contacts are other-planar entities, messages from future selves, or some disembodied wellspring of universal knowledge varies from caster to caster, spell to spell, and even casting to casting. Throughout history it appears, much to the frustration of specialists diviners accustomed to drawing answers from the universe, never to have been definitively resolved.

Revelation: The original practice of formalized magic, revelatory spells detect, uncover, or perceive directly. These are detection spells. Often described as a sense or sight, they can reach through most types of matter to some degree, uncovering things that might otherwise be hidden.

Scrying: A scrying spell creates an extradimensional link to a distant place. Where the link reemerges into the real world it opens an invisible portal, a magical “sensor” that sends information back directly to the caster’s mind.

Spacial: Both scrying and gnostic spells rely on the manipulation of the fabric of reality to create extradimensional linkages. It is the students of the spacial and temporal sub-schools who have pushed the understanding of magical power over space and time through their efforts to understand these links. Spectacular failures in their intended goal, which would behave in a manner similar to the Arcane Gate spell, they have instead provided advances in magic. This subschool forms extradimensional spaces (eg Demiplane, Rope Trick, and Mordankainen’s Magnificent Mansion) 
Temporal: Similar to the spacial subschool, by overpowering extradimensional links such as those used in gnostic and scrying spells, the spells of this subschool create eddies and effects in time (Slow, haste, contingency, temporal stasis, time stop).

A History of Magic: The History of Divination (D&D)

Contents

Previous: Introduction

The first recorded acts of formalized magic were divinatory, granting the ability of mortals to extend their perceptions beyond their purely physical senses. While I hope, some day, to discover the origins of these abilities I suspect that, initially, they were much like the limited arts of the sorcerer or warlock; instinctual or granted through outside influence rather than learning, research, or practice. They initially provided little in the way of increased awareness. However, the exertions of those who dedicated themselves to learning about these gifts, and turning these gifts to learn about the universe around them, proved these abilities sufficient for their recipients to make the fundamental discoveries necessary to set us on the path to our modern understanding of the art. Two of those discoveries stand out among the rest.

A History of Magic:Introduction (D&D)

Contents

I have long since come to accept that my limited magical ability will prevent my name from ever joining those of the great archmagi of the ages. However, I hope that in bending the intellect and will which once earned me a place as your apprentice to learning all I might about the structures and development of the arcane art, rather than the fruitless endeavor of trying to assail through raw stubbornness that which I am metaphysically ill equipped for, I have not wasted my energies. It has been said that, aside from my disability, I have one of the greatest minds of our age, as proved by the theoretical works which remain the only truly advanced dweomercraft I am capable of. However, I hope that it is this text which will be my legacy to our society. In pursuit of the knowledge contained here I have willingly placed life and mind in danger. Seeking neither new spells nor ancient spells of great power, but instead those small but controlling changes to formulae which underpin them.

A History of Magic: Table of Contents (D&D)

Introduction

The Dawn of Magic

• The History of Divination
• Divination Subschools and Selected Spells
• Eddies in Time and Space

Sources of Power

• The History of Necromancy
• Necromancy Subschools and Selected Spells
• The History of Evocation
• Evocation Subschools and Selected Spells

First Flowering of Magic

• The History of Abjuration
• Abjuration Subschools and Selected Spells

Children of the Elements

• The History of Conjuration
• Conjuration Subschools and Selected Spells
• The History of Transmutation
• Transmutation Subschools and Selected Spells

Scions of Light and Darkness

• The History of Enchantment
• Enchantment Subschools and Selected Spells
• The History of Illusion
• Illusion Subschools and Selected Spells

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Elemental Wisps (D&D 5e)

Most conjurers and adventurers think of the the mighty elementals that might be called forth by effects of great power and pose a threat to them. Perhaps these lesser creatures hope to grow into greater beings over the span of time much as a hatchling might become an elder wyrm, or perhaps they are cousins to these more fearsome forms, making them more akin to pseudodragons, instead. Regardless, there are more shapes and forms of raw and pure elemental spirit than the mighty...