Types of Magic?

[Bugworlds]

There are a few different types of magic, some obtainable for a PC and others not. I'm curious about the less common branches. Where should I be looking? At the moment these are what comes to mind:

- Arcane, fairly traditional. Not much to say.
- Divine, as arcane but a bit different. Usually coming from deities, or nature (as druids).
- Deity's Divine, I consider this to be a (big), step up from normal divine. This comes from having deity ranks, I think. Do deities use arcane magic?
- The 'in between arcane and divine,' such as an Artificer's ability to work with magic. In the description of artificers it says they consider their magic the most pure. I think there are other 'in between magics' used by some other classes but nothing comes to mind.
- High Elf Magic, can't say I know much about this but I know it's powerful. Is it obtainable to a PC?
- Epic magic, which I think is an extraction of other types. Wow I feel like I don't know much at this point :p
- War Magic, I've only seen reference to this once. You need to research it, similarly to epic spells. I'll get a link in later.
- I swear there's at least two more that I know of...

[Doc_Maynot]

Binding, Truespeaking, Mysteries, Invocations, Incantations (UA Variant), Psionics

[Rubik]

Psionics is internal magic, the magic of the self.

There are Sp and Su abilities, which are neither arcane nor divine, really, though they're closer to the former than the latter.

There's shadow weave magic, which is basically arcane magic filtered through Shar's shadow weave (FR only).

There's soul magic, incarnum, which acts much like magical items you can empower with the force of your soul.

There's binding magic (binders, from ToM), wherein you adjunct the spirit of a "this shouldn't exist, but does, if only barely" pseudo-creature to your body and soul, and it gives you power in exchange for sharing your experiences.

And there's the magic of friendship, which supersedes all others in the end, and frequently involves rainbow-colored explosions.

[HunterOfJello]

The answer could be longer depending on what you consider to be a different type. If it's merely the source, then Shadow Weave Magic is different than typical Arcane magic. However, you use the shadow weave in the same way that you do the normal weave so there really isn't much of a difference at all.

There are some types of in-between divine/arcane magics that pop up in a few sources as well. Place Magic and the Southern Magician feat come to mind.

There is also Extraordinary Magic, which is the use of abilities marked as "Ex:" that happen to do things that are obviously magical like swim through the earth.

Diplomancy is also arguably a form of magic in and of itself. It can overwhelm your enemies and break through all of their defenses in a single round.

Two more that could be added to the lists are Vile Magic and Sanctified Magic. While normally regarded more like schools of magic than types, they overcome the arcane/divine barrier and can be used by any spellcaster to great effect. (They should really be available to anyone who can use powerful spell-level abilities, but that's another story.)

The more supernatural maneuvers from Tome of Battle are really a form of magic in their own right. The Shadow Hand and Desert Wind disciplines are able to achieve powerful magic effects that are often very impressive.

I will post more if I can think of any.

[Prime32]

4e splits "power sources" into Martial (fighter, rogue), Divine (cleric, paladin), Arcane (wizard, sorcerer), Psionic (psion, monk), Primal (barbarian, druid) and Shadow. That's a decent list, though psionics is sometimes split from ki.

- The 'in between arcane and divine,' such as an Artificer's ability to work with magic. In the description of artificers it says they consider their magic the most pure. I think there are other 'in between magics' used by some other classes but nothing comes to mind.The way I see it, artificers don't channel magic through their own bodies so much as they "rewire" the magic around them, regardless of type.

Incarnum, from Magic of Incarnum, is basically about gathering up the energy of souls and soul fragments (from the living, the dead and the yet to be born) which resonate with a particular skill, attribute or emotion. When concentrated enough they form into a soulmeld, a ghostly magic item that floats around your body and boosts your own abilities in that area. You can further boost their power by increasing the flow of soul energy, or grant them new abilities by connecting them to one of your body's chakras (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra) (causing the soulmeld to fuse to your body and become a physical magic item that takes up a body slot).

By extension you could consider chakras to be a magic system available to all characters, which provide power to magic items and each have particular affinities, like speed-enhancing items being more easily powered by the feet chakra.

[Larkas]

4e splits "power sources" into Martial (fighter, rogue), Divine (cleric, paladin), Arcane (wizard, sorcerer), Psionic (psion, monk), Primal (barbarian, druid) and Shadow. That's a decent list, though psionics is sometimes split from ki.

I really like that breakdown! I actually brought up once the idea for breaking up the ranger and the druid from divine into primal, but I never thought 4E actually did that (and even with the same name)! I never got around to bringing that plan to fruition, though. Maybe some day.