Schools of Magic Fluff!

[Xar Zarath]

Based on the 8 schools of magic, can each of you playgrounders out there give your own take/style of fluff for the respective schools of magic? Thanks!:smallbiggrin:

[AvatarVecna]

Are you asking "what are specialists who use these spells like?" or are you asking "what mentality do these fields of magic reward?"

EDIT: Or maybe something else? I'm not sure...

[Kelb_Panthera]

A tagline for each:

Abjuration, "The only thing stronger than magic is the ability to break it."

Conjuration, "This world is too limiting so I reach into the others for what I need."

Divination, "I know."

Enchantment, "Power comes from the mind and I use the power of those who can't use their own very well."

Evocation, "Pen 'em in, blow 'em up."

Illusion, "Reality is what we percieve it to be. I make reality what I want it to be."

Necromancy, "How can you understand life if you don't understand death?"

Transmutation, "Change is inevitable."

Generalist, "Specialization's for insects."

[Bullet06320]

Abjuration, "I'm a scared little girl don't hurt me"

Conjuration, "I'm too lazy, this is easier"

Divination, "stop asking me for the winning lotto numbers"

Enchantment, "do as I say, now"

Evocation, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"

Illusion, "I really do have imaginary friends, see"

Necromancy, "Its ALIVE!!!!!!!!! sort of"

Transmutation, "I don't like this pair of shoes, now I have a hat"

[Inevitability]

Each school in a single word:

Abjuration: 'Nope'
Conjuration: 'Come'
Divination: 'Know'
Enchantment: 'Obey'
Evocation: 'Burn'
Illusion: 'Believe'
Necromancy: 'Rise'
Transmutation: 'Change'

[ThinkMinty]

A tagline for each:

Abjuration: "Keeping you safe, even from yourself."
Conjuration: "Anything, anywhere, anytime."
Divination: "There are no such thing as secrets."
Enchantment: "I'll make up your mind for you."
Evocation: "Explosions speak louder than words."
Illusion: "It's not lying if you believe me."
Necromancy: "You're already dead."
Transmutation: "If you don't have it, make it."
Generalist: "Always try new things."

As for how they would behave...

Abjurers tend to be a bit paranoid.
Conjurers are usually a bit smug.
Diviners are know-it-alls.
Enchanters seem really nice.
Evokers have a lot of enthusiasm.
Illusionists are clever or they're dead.
Necromancers are resourceful, if a bit secretive.
Transmuters are flexible.

Personally, I'd want to be a Necromancer or a Transmuter.

[ben-zayb]

Sure, I'll go for possible minimalist insignias:

Abjuration: a shield
Conjuration: a (n open) gate
Divination: an eye
Enchantment: a whip
Evocation: a spark of light
Illusion: a mask
Necromancy: a skull
Transmutation: a pair of analog clock hands

[Kelb_Panthera]

I suppose I should elaborate.


Abjuration, "The only thing stronger than magic is the ability to break it."

Abjurers focus on magic that protects them, particularly from other magics and allows them to unravel the magic of others. There's a certain contrariness here that suggests a stubborn kind of person; the kind of person who stands unyielding against whatever life throws at him.

Conjuration, "This world is too limiting so I reach into the others for what I need."

Conjurers pull energies and creatures from the realms beyond the material to further their own goals and knowledge. This suggests a fascination with the unknowable but also a shrewdness in dealings and sense of authority. Such a character would likely have a strong sense of authority about him but also a strangeness. Whatever his moral and ethical leanings, he would have very strong and well formed thoughts and beliefs. Dealings with beings made of those ideas tends to have that effect.

Divination, "I know."

Divination magic focuses on uncovering knowledge in all its forms. Characters specialized in such magic would likely be quite nosy and curious; someone who would leave no questions unasked, exceptions being made depending on wisdom. The knowledge already amassed could also likely lead them to being a bit of a know-it-all or a sage, depending on charisma and/or wisdom.

Enchantment, "Power comes from the mind and I use the power of those who can't use their own very well."

Enchantment is entirely about the manipulation of the minds of others. An enchanter would likely be very smooth though whether that comes off as cool or slimy is a function of charisma. Reaching into the minds of others also requires a certain lack of respect for personal boundaries. A skilled enchanter, as opposed to a hunted one, requires a delicate touch and that requires knowing about his targets. Such a character would likely be an encouragible gossip and just as nosy or worse than a diviner but only for useful info rather than any and all information.

Evocation, "Pen 'em in, blow 'em up."

Evocation is about destruction through elemental magic for the most part but also covers the use of force effects and contingency. Such magic is extremely loud and straight forward so you would expect its focused wielders to be so as well. The principle idea of such magic is that if you hit the problem hard enough, it's not a problem any more. You might expect an evoker to extend such to non-combat as well, resulting in a really bull-headed kind of character.

Illusion, "Reality is what we percieve it to be. I make reality what I want it to be."

Illusion magic is all about deception and showmanship. One might expect the same of its practitioners. Such characters would likely be quite comfortable with considering the truth to be something less than absolute. They might also have a craving for attention and/or a penchant for pranks. A fanciful streak might work its way in there too.

Necromancy, "How can you understand life if you don't understand death?"

Necromancers, contrary to the more mainstream outlook, need have no reliance on undead or corpses. However, their studies center around the interplay between positive and negative energies, between life and death. In all likelihood they might not see life as being something particularly sacred or even special. Practicing their art means weakening and even killing living creatures and may lead to examining, destroying, or even occasionally creating or controlling undead. Expect a very cold, clinical outlook about people and more than a little irreverance surrounding their deaths. They're not necessarily pale and creepy unless they're specialized in working with undead.

Transmutation, "Change is inevitable."

Transmuters focus on changing themselves and the world around them to suit their needs. This rings of a desire for instant gratification; a bit of impatience if you will. There's also likely a focus on his own body image, either a need to conceal deficiencies or a pride in what it is and what his magic can make it become. In either case his ability to make obstacles in his path into trivial hindrances may lead to a sense of being unstoppable, deserved or not, and a certain brashness in how he approaches situations. Confidence is not something a transmuter will lack outside of interpersonal relationships and maybe not even then.



That's my take anyway. I presumed wizards for each of these because they're generally going to be the only ones who define themselves by the magic they wield while divine casters will define themselves more by their chosen religion and spontaneous casters, outside the list casters, are more likely to define themselves by the mechanism of their power source, heritage for a sorcerer, music for a bard, etc. Even the wu-jen is more likely to define themself by their relationship with the spirits of their chosen element than the school of magic to which their spells belong.

[Uncle Pine]

Abjuration: "Every plan has some holes."
Conjuration: "Everything. Everywhere."
Divination: "Every puzzle has an answer!"
Enchantment: "Everyone has a price."
Evocation: "Every hand has its pinky."
Illusion: "Every sense can be mislead."
Necromancy: "Everyone has to die."
Transmutation: "Everyone can change. I improve."

[Psyren]

Complete Mage goes into this subject a great deal from page 8 to about 30 - talking about the likely personalities of mages that choose a specific school or a specific archetype/focus of caster.

[Cirrylius]

I once had a character who grew up in a repressive anti-creepymagic setting, and as a student he submitted a thesis called "Sins of Inherency". Basically the idea is that every form of magic encourages behaviors that are antisocial or destructive, if not the actual spells then how the wizard eventually comes to perceive others/themselves/everything due to the school's philosophy.

Conjuration and Necromancy were super no-no's, so in an attempt to broaden local opinion he suggested that perhaps it's not only the power sources of UltraDeathGrimDark and GenericDiabolicEvilsBelow that turns casters bad, or that only bad people could ever use them, but that the radical shifts of psychology that come from seeing life as so very transient and fragile and only subjectively valuable, and from contact with the afterlifes and beings of (ultimately) alien and equally subjective cosmic motives. Necromancers and Conjurers aren't bad, there's just a lot of fallout.

Needless to say, the paper was poorly-received, so my character took his own self to the Black Stacks:smallamused:

Anyway, TL;DR, my idea was that irresponsible, incautious, callousness, or overuse in magic can affect specialists in specific ways, in extremis. Diviners and privacy, Abjurers and paranoia, Illusionists and delusion, Enchanters and control issues, that sort of thing.

[Seto]

Each school in a single word:

Abjuration: 'Nope'
Conjuration: 'Come'
Divination: 'Know'
Enchantment: 'Obey'
Evocation: 'Burn'
Illusion: 'Believe'
Necromancy: 'Rise'
Transmutation: 'Change'

For some reason, this feels really awesome.

[Zale]

Magic holds powers of rejection, space, information, minds, energy, perception, death and matter.

[Xar Zarath]

Are you asking "what are specialists who use these spells like?" or are you asking "what mentality do these fields of magic reward?"

EDIT: Or maybe something else? I'm not sure...

More like your own descriptive fluff for each school of magic like in Complete Mage or was it Arcane?

[ThinkMinty]

I once had a character who grew up in a repressive anti-creepymagic setting, and as a student he submitted a thesis called "Sins of Inherency". Basically the idea is that every form of magic encourages behaviors that are antisocial or destructive, if not the actual spells then how the wizard eventually comes to perceive others/themselves/everything due to the school's philosophy.

Conjuration and Necromancy were super no-no's, so in an attempt to broaden local opinion he suggested that perhaps it's not only the power sources of UltraDeathGrimDark and GenericDiabolicEvilsBelow that turns casters bad, or that only bad people could ever use them, but that the radical shifts of psychology that come from seeing life as so very transient and fragile and only subjectively valuable, and from contact with the afterlifes and beings of (ultimately) alien and equally subjective cosmic motives. Necromancers and Conjurers aren't bad, there's just a lot of fallout.

Needless to say, the paper was poorly-received, so my character took his own self to the Black Stacks:smallamused:

Anyway, TL;DR, my idea was that irresponsible, incautious, callousness, or overuse in magic can affect specialists in specific ways, in extremis. Diviners and privacy, Abjurers and paranoia, Illusionists and delusion, Enchanters and control issues, that sort of thing.

Can I ask for more details via PM if you have any more details on the subject? Sounds interesting.