Help: Determining schools of magic and detect magic

[djreynolds]

One of my players likes detect magic. Often I'm not sure about the magic, and often the game/adventure may not tell me It's school

For instance, a magic weapon is it transmutation like the spell, is a frost weapon conjuration or evocation as well. Or is it enchantment

And the end of the first paragraph of detect magic spell says if any. Are magic items just "any"

Obviously some of this is on the DM, me.

Is it all right to say, I don't know. Or it's magic

I saw a guide on olddungeonmaster.com, its good. But does someone have more insights

[JackPhoenix]

If it's not spell, it doesn't have school. That's what the "if any" part following the "you learn its school of magic" part is for.

[Mjolnirbear]

Jack gave the easy and simple and RAW answer.

In the event you want more, it helps to know some of the lore of the schools, which was greatly expanded on in 3rd edition. Once you know in general what kind of magic a school has, and you identify the effect that any given magic effect has, you can place said effect into the right school.

In general:

Abjuration; protective forces, spells, or energies

Conjuration; bring g something real into being, moving real things from place to place

Divination; detecting stuff, identifying it, finding information about it

Enchantment; altering the minds, wishes, or actions of a target against their will

Evocation; energy effects. If it has a damage type other than psychic and is a pure spell it's evocation

Illusion; spells that have effects that are not real, altering people's perceptions

Necromancy; the forces of life and death themselves; healing, animating the dead

Transmutation; changing one thing into another.



So if Detect Magic finds a trap that spits magical cold, it's evocation. If a wall is hidden by a false image, it's illusion. A Staff of the Serpent will be largely transmutation and a Broach of Shielding will be largely abjuration.

Some effects might have multiple schools (a wand that can cast both shield and magic missile) and that's fine, or it might not fit (an ordinary +1 weapon), in which case 'I don't know' is a perfectly adequate answer.

[ImproperJustice]

As a player, knowledge of the school is often a minor hint towards it’s function.

If you feel generous as a GM and you don’t know the school, you could choose to offer a minor hint in it’s place.
I.e: My wife when she would run, could care less about rules minutia and would say such things as “blasty magic, movey magic, and of course shiny magic”.

Or choose none of the above and go RAW and only mention if it says so in the description.

[JackPhoenix]

Well, my answer is actually false: IIRC, there are instances in adventures where you can detect the school of non-spell based magical effect, but that's a specific exception, the general rule is that only spells have school aura, not magical items (https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/05/23/any-advice-on-what-school-of-magic-to-prescribe-for-enchanted-magic-items-upon-casting-detect-magic/).

[Tanarii]

Conjuration; bring g something real into being, moving real things from place to place

Evocation; energy effects. If it has a damage type other than psychic and is a pure spell it's evocation


So if Detect Magic finds a trap that spits magical cold, it's evocation.In 5e this is not that clear cut. Conjuration spells also conjure elemental/energy effects and damage. Although they tend to be focused on ones that can be visualized as calling into being a substantial elemental or energy "thing" in many cases. At least, outside the Cantrips, which are puzzlers.

Acid Splash
Create Bonfire
Poison Spray
Produce Flame

Ice Knife
Flaming Sphere
Call Lightning
Thunder Step
Cloudkill
Incendiary cloud

[PhoenixPhyre]

I've always told them about the schools of magical effects (based on what they do along the fluff @Mjolinbear described), even if they're not official "spells". Mainly because I prefer to give more information and let them figure out what to do about it than even seem to play gotcha games. "There's magic here" as the only effect of the spell would annoy me as a player.

Of course...I've always done a (completely house-ruled) "magic sense"--people with experience in magic (whether arcane, divine, or natural) will get impressions about large-scale magical effects. Things like "this area radiates a cold, deathly magic" or "the entire sky is filled with a hurricane-like storm of aether, swirling around the center of the city." Or "the ground in this area seems off, the aura crawls at your skin and whispers strange things in your ears." More atmospheric and scene-setting than actually mechanical, although I've had spell-casters sometimes more affected by certain atmospheric elements because they're more attuned to it.

[Tanarii]

"There's magic here" as the only effect of the spell would annoy me as a player.
Personally I'd accept it as info that's probably kept me alive.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Personally I'd accept it as info that's probably kept me alive.

Seems stingy to me--just because there are spells listed in the PHB doesn't mean that those are the only spells out there. But again, I'd rather overshare than undershare. What people do with the information, to me, is more interesting that stumbling around in the dark. The "traps" and such are rarely able to be defeated simply by knowing of their existence. If they can be, those aren't good traps (in my opinion).

But YMMV.

[JackPhoenix]

Seems stingy to me--just because there are spells listed in the PHB doesn't mean that those are the only spells out there. But again, I'd rather overshare than undershare. What people do with the information, to me, is more interesting that stumbling around in the dark. The "traps" and such are rarely able to be defeated simply by knowing of their existence. If they can be, those aren't good traps (in my opinion).

But YMMV.

When you realize you can use Nystul's Magi Aura to troll the hell out of any uninvited guest depending purely on Detect Magic...

[Kane0]

Abjuration protects you
Conjuration brings things (and creatures) to you
Divination teaches you things
Enchantment robs you of your free will
Evocation destroys things
Illusion dupes the senses
Necromancy plays with life and death
Transmutation turns one into another

A lot of the time it's more about effect than method. For example, a Flametongue sword would likely ping as Evocation (fire energy) rather than say Transmutation that might have been used to make and enchant the sword (not to be confused with Enchantment to enchant the sword, that was a couple editions back).

[Mr.Spastic]

Magic Weapons, per the spell, are transmutation in my games. Other general rules are basically what others have said. When you know the spell schools it's not that hard. I also give multiple schools for things like staffs and wands. You could also go the route of describing the magic based on what the item does. A flame tongue sword my be described as some sort of fire magic. The staff of insects feels kinda buggy ya know. Ultimately it's up to you to make it as accurate or as detailed as you want.

[gloryblaze]

In 5e this is not that clear cut. Conjuration spells also conjure elemental/energy effects and damage. Although they tend to be focused on ones that can be visualized as calling into being a substantial elemental or energy "thing" in many cases. At least, outside the Cantrips, which are puzzlers.

Acid Splash
Create Bonfire
Poison Spray
Produce Flame

Ice Knife
Flaming Sphere
Call Lightning
Thunder Step
Cloudkill
Incendiary cloud

For Thunder Step specifically, I believe teleportation effects are universally categorized as Conjurations in this edition - Misty Step, Thunder Step, Dimension Door, Far Step, Steel Wind Strike, Teleportation Circle, Tree Stride, Scatter, Transport Via Plants, Word of Recall, Plane Shift, Teleport, and Gate are all conjurations.

[JackPhoenix]

For Thunder Step specifically, I believe teleportation effects are universally categorized as Conjurations in this edition - Misty Step, Thunder Step, Dimension Door, Far Step, Steel Wind Strike, Teleportation Circle, Tree Stride, Scatter, Transport Via Plants, Word of Recall, Plane Shift, Teleport, and Gate are all conjurations.

That goes back until at least 3e.... teleportation subschool was part of the conjuration school.