How did the Wizard schools get their names?
- Thread starter MeiRen
- Start date
babomb
First Post
Er...you mean the "Ask Gygax" thread that IS still going on.
the Jester
Legend
Well, they've evolved over time, that's for sure.
Enchantment used to be Enchantment/Charm.
Evocation used to be Invocation/Evocation.
Transmutation used to be Alteration.
Conjuration used to be Conjuration/Summoning.
Illusion used to be Illusion/Phantasm.
Divination was broken into Lesser and Greater Divination in 2ed (which, imho, was extremely stupid).
There was a Possession school with (to the best of my knowledge) only one spell (magic jar) in 1e.
Enchantment used to be Enchantment/Charm.
Evocation used to be Invocation/Evocation.
Transmutation used to be Alteration.
Conjuration used to be Conjuration/Summoning.
Illusion used to be Illusion/Phantasm.
Divination was broken into Lesser and Greater Divination in 2ed (which, imho, was extremely stupid).
There was a Possession school with (to the best of my knowledge) only one spell (magic jar) in 1e.
MavrickWeirdo
First Post
They usually get named after some rich guy who donates alot of money to the school. 
dvvega
Explorer
I am assuming you mean the following schools of magic ...
* Abjuration
* Conjuration
* Divination
* Enchantment
* Evocation
* Illusion
* Necromancy
* Transmutation
It goes a bit further back than old D&D, the schools of magic (and the descriptors) actually correspond to "real world" magic.
Abjuration is derived from old Latin abjurare meaning "to swear away" or "do away" which is what Abjuration is about ... protection ... doing away with harm.
Conjuration was usually associated with summoning devils and demons, however it was originally to do with making promises (which is essentially what a conjurer does when summoning things).
Divination was the old art of prediction which existed (and still does) throughout cultures in history. The watching for signs, the cutting up of animals and reading entrails, etc.
Enchantment was originally the placing of a spell on person or object. It was derivied from Latin incantare which meant putting a spell on someone. It was mainly to do with affecting one person at a time. Normally it was designated as coercion magic.
Evocation was originally synonomous with Conjuration - the bringing forth of spirits to do your bidding. However it evolved to be synonomous with Invocation - the calling forth of spirits into the body. In either state, the evoke spirits would inhabit objects or people or animals and the effects produced (fire/smoke/etc) were by the power of the spirit.
Illusion, the creationion of illusions for entertainment is as old as history. We marvel at stage magicians even now. They are illusionists and this this school represents them.
Necromancy was the art of Divination by using the spirits of the dead. Originally an Ancient Greek word it was derived from Divination with the Dead (or something like that).
Transmutaion is a turning one thing into another. Alchemy throughout the ages attempted to make Lead into Gold using Transmutation principles. They were always searching for the Philosopher's stone.
Hope that is what you were after.
D
* Abjuration
* Conjuration
* Divination
* Enchantment
* Evocation
* Illusion
* Necromancy
* Transmutation
It goes a bit further back than old D&D, the schools of magic (and the descriptors) actually correspond to "real world" magic.
Abjuration is derived from old Latin abjurare meaning "to swear away" or "do away" which is what Abjuration is about ... protection ... doing away with harm.
Conjuration was usually associated with summoning devils and demons, however it was originally to do with making promises (which is essentially what a conjurer does when summoning things).
Divination was the old art of prediction which existed (and still does) throughout cultures in history. The watching for signs, the cutting up of animals and reading entrails, etc.
Enchantment was originally the placing of a spell on person or object. It was derivied from Latin incantare which meant putting a spell on someone. It was mainly to do with affecting one person at a time. Normally it was designated as coercion magic.
Evocation was originally synonomous with Conjuration - the bringing forth of spirits to do your bidding. However it evolved to be synonomous with Invocation - the calling forth of spirits into the body. In either state, the evoke spirits would inhabit objects or people or animals and the effects produced (fire/smoke/etc) were by the power of the spirit.
Illusion, the creationion of illusions for entertainment is as old as history. We marvel at stage magicians even now. They are illusionists and this this school represents them.
Necromancy was the art of Divination by using the spirits of the dead. Originally an Ancient Greek word it was derived from Divination with the Dead (or something like that).
Transmutaion is a turning one thing into another. Alchemy throughout the ages attempted to make Lead into Gold using Transmutation principles. They were always searching for the Philosopher's stone.
Hope that is what you were after.
D
Henry
Autoexreginated
MeiRen said:
Not to sound smar-alecky, but I doubt it was much more complicated than Gary had a good thesaurus with other words for "magic", and a healthy imagination.
Over time, someone noted that you could lump spells together and make specialty wizards (besides the illusionist, which was the inspiration for that idea, I believe), and it's just been refined and tuned over time.
Dirigible
Explorer
I've often wondered along those lines myself, particularly regarding White Wolf. Is that how they come up with some of the obscure words they turn into concepts for their settings?
I mean, I assumed Caitiff and Gangrel were made up words before I read King Lear. Thye do have that made up sound, y'know?
