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Have the existing Schools of Magic ever been ranked according to relative power level?
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<blockquote data-quote="Orius" data-source="post: 6868898" data-attributes="member: 8863"><p>This. Evocation is strong in 2e because while some spells start getting capped, monsters don't have huge hp totals, so you can do some decent damage with it. By the end of 3.5, it's fallen out of favor because of damage caps and because save or die is much stronger, and those effects are in different schools. Also, remember 2e had specific opposition schools, so that affects things as well. 2e also has spells in multiple schools, and the definitions are a little looser than in later editions. And spells have shifted among schools from 2e to 3.0e to 3.5e to 5e (and at this point my head's spinning from trying to keep track of the changes). Frex, teleportation was generally Alteration in 2e, but shifted to Conjuration in 3.5. And spells were added, dropped, or dropped and re-added as well. Spells from outside core can also shift things around.</p><p></p><p>1e predates the modern setup, since mainly you just have the standard MU and illusionist. The schools originate here, but it's 2e that really introduces the idea of specialists.</p><p></p><p>I'd rank them like this in 2e:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alteration (i.e. Transmutation from 3e onward). It's got a huge list, even in core, and outside core it just gets bigger. Just look at the school lists in the last volume of the Wizard's Spell Compendium. Because 2e's school definitions were kind of weak, this school kind of became a catch-all category for spells and there's all kinds of stuff here. And all you have to do to specialize is give up Abjuration and Necromancy and have a 15 Dex as a human or half-elf. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Evocation. Blasting spells are still pretty good in 2e. Only humans can specialize, and they need a 16 Con and give up Enchantment and Conjuration. Still leaves some decent choices.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Conjuration. Not as developed as it gets later, and summoning spells don't show up until level three. Need a human or half-elf with 15 Con to specialize, and you sacrifice Divination and Evocation. But it has enough decent combat spells to make up for the loss of Evocation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Enchanter. Save or suck has always been pretty good in D&D, and 2e isn't really an exception. If you don't want to blast the hell out of everything, Enchantment is a good option. Any race that can go mage can take Enchanter with a 16 Cha, and only give up Evocation and Necromancy which still leaves a lot of very good spells.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Illusion. Probably the hardest to rank. I think 2e's designers saw Illusion as a power school because of 1e's illusionist, but illusions were subject to DM interpretation as well, so the power of the spells really depended on how much the DM was willing to let the player get away with. Specialization also requires the player to give up Abjuration, Evocation, and Necromancy, more schools than any other specialist, elf blood need not apply, but it's the only wizard option for gnomes, and you need a 16 Dex.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Abjuration. Defensive spells are always good, but 2e wasn't really on the ball here. Some spells that later ended up in Abjuration like <em>(mage) armor</em> or <em>stoneskin</em> aren't on Abjuration's list yet. The school is better at higher levels, starting with <em>dispel magic</em> of course. Specializing is human only, 15 Wis and Alteration and Illusion as opposition, so it's really not great for specializing.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Necromancy. Necromancy is kind of weak in core until you get the insta-kills and that's not until level 12. Even then, it's still pretty niche. Outside core, there's a number of spells that pump the school. Another human only school, requiring 16 Wis, and you give up Illusion and Enchantment.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Divination. Divination is another small niche school, and there's not a lot of power spells here, but it's still a good school. Like Enchanter, it's got the broadest race selection and requires 16 Wis. Also has the smallest sacrifice of all the specialists since it only opposes Conjuration. It's an okay choice for specialization.</li> </ul><p></p><p>3.0 went a long way toward balancing the schools. The player got to choose oppositions for the first time, and powerful schools required bigger opposition sacrifices. The designers seemed to rank the schools in these tiers:</p><p></p><p>Conjuration, Evocation, Transmutation</p><p>Abjuration, Enchantment, Illusion</p><p>Divination, Necromancy.</p><p></p><p>It could be argued that Evocation is only 2nd tier because of damage caps, though it still tends to be the combat mage school, and has the strongest damage options.</p><p></p><p>3.5 mixes things up even more. Gaining teleportation is what bumps Conjuration up to the top, and Transmutation is still high because of the buffs. Because save or die becomes the strategy at high levels, Necromancy becomes more important. Evocation falls quite a bit. Dandu's rankings are probably about right.</p><p></p><p>Not familiar enough with 5e to rank, but I decided to dump the starter set's Evoker for an Abjurer. I know the blaster mage isn't what it was in its glory days in AD&D, so I wanted something else. Conjurer, Transmuter and Abjurer seemed like the best options, and I went with Abjurer for its defensive abilities to mitigate squishiness.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Orius, post: 6868898, member: 8863"] This. Evocation is strong in 2e because while some spells start getting capped, monsters don't have huge hp totals, so you can do some decent damage with it. By the end of 3.5, it's fallen out of favor because of damage caps and because save or die is much stronger, and those effects are in different schools. Also, remember 2e had specific opposition schools, so that affects things as well. 2e also has spells in multiple schools, and the definitions are a little looser than in later editions. And spells have shifted among schools from 2e to 3.0e to 3.5e to 5e (and at this point my head's spinning from trying to keep track of the changes). Frex, teleportation was generally Alteration in 2e, but shifted to Conjuration in 3.5. And spells were added, dropped, or dropped and re-added as well. Spells from outside core can also shift things around. 1e predates the modern setup, since mainly you just have the standard MU and illusionist. The schools originate here, but it's 2e that really introduces the idea of specialists. I'd rank them like this in 2e: [list] [*]Alteration (i.e. Transmutation from 3e onward). It's got a huge list, even in core, and outside core it just gets bigger. Just look at the school lists in the last volume of the Wizard's Spell Compendium. Because 2e's school definitions were kind of weak, this school kind of became a catch-all category for spells and there's all kinds of stuff here. And all you have to do to specialize is give up Abjuration and Necromancy and have a 15 Dex as a human or half-elf. [*]Evocation. Blasting spells are still pretty good in 2e. Only humans can specialize, and they need a 16 Con and give up Enchantment and Conjuration. Still leaves some decent choices. [*]Conjuration. Not as developed as it gets later, and summoning spells don't show up until level three. Need a human or half-elf with 15 Con to specialize, and you sacrifice Divination and Evocation. But it has enough decent combat spells to make up for the loss of Evocation. [*]Enchanter. Save or suck has always been pretty good in D&D, and 2e isn't really an exception. If you don't want to blast the hell out of everything, Enchantment is a good option. Any race that can go mage can take Enchanter with a 16 Cha, and only give up Evocation and Necromancy which still leaves a lot of very good spells. [*]Illusion. Probably the hardest to rank. I think 2e's designers saw Illusion as a power school because of 1e's illusionist, but illusions were subject to DM interpretation as well, so the power of the spells really depended on how much the DM was willing to let the player get away with. Specialization also requires the player to give up Abjuration, Evocation, and Necromancy, more schools than any other specialist, elf blood need not apply, but it's the only wizard option for gnomes, and you need a 16 Dex. [*]Abjuration. Defensive spells are always good, but 2e wasn't really on the ball here. Some spells that later ended up in Abjuration like [I](mage) armor[/I] or [I]stoneskin[/I] aren't on Abjuration's list yet. The school is better at higher levels, starting with [I]dispel magic[/I] of course. Specializing is human only, 15 Wis and Alteration and Illusion as opposition, so it's really not great for specializing. [*]Necromancy. Necromancy is kind of weak in core until you get the insta-kills and that's not until level 12. Even then, it's still pretty niche. Outside core, there's a number of spells that pump the school. Another human only school, requiring 16 Wis, and you give up Illusion and Enchantment. [*]Divination. Divination is another small niche school, and there's not a lot of power spells here, but it's still a good school. Like Enchanter, it's got the broadest race selection and requires 16 Wis. Also has the smallest sacrifice of all the specialists since it only opposes Conjuration. It's an okay choice for specialization. [/list] 3.0 went a long way toward balancing the schools. The player got to choose oppositions for the first time, and powerful schools required bigger opposition sacrifices. The designers seemed to rank the schools in these tiers: Conjuration, Evocation, Transmutation Abjuration, Enchantment, Illusion Divination, Necromancy. It could be argued that Evocation is only 2nd tier because of damage caps, though it still tends to be the combat mage school, and has the strongest damage options. 3.5 mixes things up even more. Gaining teleportation is what bumps Conjuration up to the top, and Transmutation is still high because of the buffs. Because save or die becomes the strategy at high levels, Necromancy becomes more important. Evocation falls quite a bit. Dandu's rankings are probably about right. Not familiar enough with 5e to rank, but I decided to dump the starter set's Evoker for an Abjurer. I know the blaster mage isn't what it was in its glory days in AD&D, so I wanted something else. Conjurer, Transmuter and Abjurer seemed like the best options, and I went with Abjurer for its defensive abilities to mitigate squishiness. [/QUOTE]
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Have the existing Schools of Magic ever been ranked according to relative power level?
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