Arcane magic is the system of magic in which spells are drawn from physical or metaphysical sources. Spells are learned from spellbooks , inside magic schools, or on one's own through an innate ability. Arcane spells involve rituals, spell components , words, gestures, or magical items.
Practitioners
Users of arcane spells are often called wizards, sorcerers, magicians, mages, witches, or adepts . These spell casters are different from other spell casters such as druids, clerics, priests, paladins, or rangers who use divine magic.
Two aspects of arcane casting will be discussed here, that by the wizard and the sorcerer.
Wizard Spell Preperation and Casting
A wizard many cast spells depending on his experience and intelligence. May wizards see themselves not only as spell casters but as philosophers, inventors, and scientists, studying a system of natural laws that are for the most part unknown and undiscovered. There may be a temporal limit in spell casting and this could be the reason why wizards can only cast a certain number of spells of various degrees in one day.
Resting: Wizards need to rest prior to spell casting. This may be in the form of sleep or meditation. If a wizard refuses to sleep and goes on a spell casting binge, which is not entirely impossible, but rare do to temporal allowances, he will grow weary, possible dellusional and may experience many negative health effects.
Preparing: In order to prepare the actual spell or spells, a wizard needs a comfortable and quiet area to study the spell out of his spellbook. The spell is read, spoken, or memorized up untill the trigger. This is the easiest and most efficient way to cast arcane magic as a wizard because it means the wizard needs only to perform the trigger element of the spell when the need arises to cast it.
Many wizards are excellent problem solvers and some may have super abilities such as foresight that allow them to make accurate choices on which spells to memorize before the day begins. This can be the main weakness of the wizard, as he cannot cast an arcane spell that he has not prepared.
Casting: When the need calls for a certain spell to be cast, the wizard will allow his thoughts to retreat back into his conciousness in order to obtain it. It often appears that wizards are in trances while they are casting, which has some truth to it, but they are not so much entranced that they cannot recognize the outside situations.
When he finds the spell he wants, the wizard will then carry out the trigger sequence. This is the common view of a wizard casting, a bunch of weird words, a tossing of pixie dust, and a quirky hand movement. In actuality every part of the sequence must be exact or else the wizard may miscast, misfire, cast a entirely different spells, or cast nothing at all.
For example to trigger the spell Ignite Wood, a wizard would need to first speak the final words of the spell and then spread shavings of brimstone and sulphuric ash reagents onto the desired piece of wood to ignite.
Sorcerer Spell Preperation and Casting
A sorcerer may cast spells depending on her experience and charisma. Although they are generally smart people, the act of casting does not require them to be. Sorcerers have an innate affinity towards the arcane and do not require learning spells as they are simply known, however most will attend magic schools to better learn how to channel the magic. There may be a temporal limit in spell casting and this could be the reason why sorcerers can only cast a certain number of spells of various degrees in one day.
Resting: A sorcerer needs to rest in the same way as a wizard or else she may fall into mental fatique after too many castings.
Preparing: Sorcerers do not need to prepare spells prior to using them. They may call upon whichever spell they innately know and may cast it using only the trigger sequence. Reasons for this are speculative at best, but some philosophers believe that the main bulk of the spell is constantly being recalled subconciously by the sorcerer at all times during her waking day.
Casting: When a sorcerer wants to cast a spell she knows instinctively which spell to use as her thoughts focus directly on it. She becomes entranced as she hears the sounds or sees the visions of the spell manifest within her mind. She may then perform the trigger sequence in the same ways as the wizard as mentioned above.
Schools of Magic
Not to be confused with universities dedicated to the teaching of magic, a school of magic refers to a related group of spells. There are eight definied schools of magic.
Abjuration: These spells favor protecting the caster or others. Spells in this school may increase one's defense, help set up traps, banish demons, negate, or supress other magic.
Conjuration: Conjuration allows for physical manifestations. There are five arcanic subschools:
- Calling
- Creation
- Healing
- Summoning
- Teleportation
Divination: These spells allow for foresight, detecting information, and generally helping the information gathering processes.
Enchantment: Spells in this school effect the minds and behaviors of the targets.
Evocation: This offesively powerfully school of magic allows for the creation of energies out of unknown sources of power.
Illusion: Illusion spells causes their targets to see things that are not there, hear voices that do not speak, and think thoughts that they normally wouldn't. If the target does not know the spell has been cast he might think he was going insane or ate a funny mushroom.
Necromancy: Spells dealing with death and the undead.
Transmutation: These spells allow for the change of the physical properties of an object or person.
References
- d20 System Reference Document 3.5
