Schools of Magic:

All wizard spells belong to one or more schools of magic.  A school of magic represents related spells with common features or characteristics.  For a mage, who is the basic of general wizard, the school of a spell doesn’t matter too much; he can learn and cast any spell without regard to the spell’s school.  The only exception to this rule is wild magic, which is completely unfathomable to any wizard except a wild mage.

 While the majority of wizards are mages, a significant number choose to be specialists who concentrate their efforts in one particular school.  Generally, this increases the wizard’s abilities within the school of his choice at the cost of losing access to any schools with opposing philosophies.
 There are three schemes of school organization used in the AD&D game: philosophy, effect, and thaumaturgy.

Schools of Philosophy:

 The eight standard schools of spells presented in Players’ Handbook-abjuration, alteration, conjuration/summoning, enchantment/charm, greater divination, illusion/phantasm, invocation/evocation, and necromancy- are the schools of philosophy.  While all spells in this scheme of organization are cast much the same way, the approach and method by which they achieve their purpose varies from school to school.  For example, conjuration spells generally bring something to the caster from another location, while necromancy spells manipulate the forces of life and death.
 While spells in a school of philosophy generally involve the application of a common principle, they vary greatly in effect.  For example, invocations create anything from solid matter such as walls of stone or iron to comprehensive such as contingency or limited wish.  Note that all spells grouped into schools of philosophy share the same execution or method of casting-the use of verbal, somatic, and material components to summon and direct magical energy.  The basic philosophies behind each school are briefly describe below:

 

 Abjuration spells are specialized protective spells designed to banish some magical or non-magical effect or creature.  Protection from evil in an example of an abjuration spells, since it creates a barrier that evil or supernatural creatures are reluctant to cross.

 Alteration spells cause a change in the properties of some previously existing thing, creature, or condition.  Pyrotechnics is an alteration spell, since it takes an existing fire and creates special effects from the blaze.

 Conjuration/Summoning spells bring some intact item or creature to the caster from elsewhere.  Any monster summoning spell is a good example.

 Enchantment/Charm spells cause a change in the quality of an item or the attitude of a person or creature.  Charm person is an enchantment, since it affects the way an individual perceives the wizard.

 Divinations are spells that provide the wizard with information or the ability to acquire information.  Contact other plane is a divination, since it allows the wizard to seek answers from extraplanar entities.

 Illusion/Phantasm spells seek to deceive the minds or senses of others with false or semi-substantial images and effects.  Phantasmal force is a good example, as well as spells such as mirror image, invisibility, or blur.

 Invocation/Evocation spells channel magical energy to create specific effects and materials.  For example, lightning bolt manifests this energy in the form of a powerful stream of electricity.

 Necromancy is a school concerned with the manipulation of the forces of life and death.  Necromancy spells include those that simulate the eddects of undead creatures, such as vampiric touch, and more direct assaults on life energy like death spell or finger of death.
 
 
 
 
 

Schools of Effect:

 A second scheme for organizing wizard magic is by effect.  Schools of effect differ from schools of philosophy in that the spells of the school all share one common result or ingredient.  For example, the spells of the school of fire all involve fire in some way, without regard for what the spell accomplishes.  Divinations, the direction and control of energy, and the summoning of elementals can all be linked by the common effect of fire.  The schools of effect are described below:
 
 
 
 

 Air:  The elemental school of air naturally includes any air-based spell or effect, including spells that control of affect wind, breathing, falling and flight, air elementals, and other elemental phenomena.  Gust of wind or cloudkill are examples of air spells.

 Earth:  Spells of elemental earth are based around stone-earth, or mineral-based effects.  Dig, stone shape, and stone to flesh are earth spells.

 Fire:  Any spell involving the manifestation of flame or heat is a spell of elemental fire.  Not all fire spells are attack spells; fire charm and affect normal fires are examples of fire spells that don’t cause direct and immediate damage to the wizard’s enemies.

 Water:  Last but not least in the elemental schools, spells of the school of elemental water involve water in some form or another, including spells of ice and cold, since these are linked to the element of water.  Water breathing, ice storm, and part water are all included in the school of elemental water.

 Dimensional Magic:  While all AD&D spells draw power from outside the mage, dimensionalists go one step further-they draw their power from another dimension.  Like most schools of effect, the school of dimensional magic overlaps several pre-existing schools, including alteration, conjuration/summoning, and invocation spells.

 Force:  The school of force is a new school of effect presented later in this book.  A force mage relies on spells that create or manipulate fields of cohesive energy, such as wall of force, magic missile, or any of the various Bigby’s hand spells.  Many spells of this school are borrowed from the school of invocation/evocation.

 Shadow:  All the spells in this school are linked by the common effects of shadow and darkness.  The shadow mage can make use of a number of illusion spells dealing with the Demiplane of Shadow and shadowstuff, including shadow monsters, darkness 15’ radius, and shadow walk.  He also has access to a number of necromancy spells.  Although necromancy and illusion are opposing philosophies, schools of effect ignore these restrictions and concentrate on results.
 
 
 
 

Schools of Thaumaturgy:

 A school of Thaumaturgy defines a specific method or procedure of spell casting that varies from the standard executions of a spell’s components.
 Spells belonging to a school of thaumaturgy are not linked by philosophy or effect-instead, they’er related by the manner in which they are physically cast.    In fact, the "standard" approach to wizard magic defined by the eight philosophical schools represents one common thaumaturgical method.  Other thaumaturgical methods include the following schools:
 
 
 

 The School of Alchemy:  In this approach to magic, spell effects are achieved through the combination of unusual material components.  Spells such as affect normal fires, glitterdust, and cloudkill can all be cast through the use of strange powders and reagents, and belong to the school of alchemy.

 The School of Artifice:  Artificers are weak in the direct command of magic and instead use various devices and magical items to focus their energies.  Spells such as Melf’s minute meteors and magic staff are included in the school of artifice.

 The School of Geometry:  Geometers use diagrams, symbols, and complex patterns to cast their spells.  Naturally, any spell involving some kind of writing, making, or pattern belongs to the school of geometry, including spells such as explosive runes, sepia snake sigil, and symbol.

 The School of Song:  While alchemists rely on material components and geometers rely on somatic components, a song mage use the power of his voice to summon and shape spell energy.  Any spell that involves speaking, singing, or some other use of the caster’s vocal powers belongs to the school of song.  Sleep, charm monster, and Otto’s irresistible dance are all examples of spells of this school.

 The School of Wild Magic:  Some wizards have learned to make use of the principles of randomness in their magic, giving rise to the school of wild magic.  Wild mages shape the raw, uncontrollable stuff of magic in the hope that something resembling their intended spell will appear.
 
 

More to come in my next installment of info…