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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 6104082" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Is there any functional difference between a spell and a magical supernatural ability? Because it seems quite often some players will decry the idea of paladins and rangers having spells, but be okay with them having magical supernatural abilities. Like the ranger being able to call an animal to them and in a matter of an hour or two turn the beast into an animal companion that will follow, fight, and assist the ranger, no questions asked, no years of training necessary. We all know that this is a magical effect-- it's just not a "spell" (because it doesn't appear in the spell list and instead is just assigned to the ranger directly).</p><p></p><p>But is there any particular reason why one is acceptable but the other isn't? To me... the reason why rangers and paladins get "spells" is because they get a <em>choice</em> of magical supernatural abilities from a wider list. Rather than filling up the class description with a list of 12 or more "magical supernatural abilities" from which the ranger and paladin select like <em>one</em> every couple of levels... the game just equates the mechanics and design to the spellcasting format. Makes it much easier for people to learn, understand and organize if you ask me.</p><p></p><p>After all... once you select your spell or two (and you don't acquire new ones haphazardly like the wizard does)... they pretty much are functionally equivalent to magical supernatural abilities. A particular paladin once per day can imbue his weapon with magical energy. Another paladin once per day can bless his fellow compatriots. The only difference is that "Magic Weapon" and "Bless" come from a long "spell list" of options rather than just being an entry in the paladin's class description.</p><p></p><p>Not many people seem to be adverse to paladins being able to detect evil undead and fiends... which is just as much a spell as a supernatural class feature. The only difference being every paladin has the ability, rather than some paladins picking and choosing.</p><p></p><p>Quite honestly... I just don't see the difference between the two.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 6104082, member: 7006"] Is there any functional difference between a spell and a magical supernatural ability? Because it seems quite often some players will decry the idea of paladins and rangers having spells, but be okay with them having magical supernatural abilities. Like the ranger being able to call an animal to them and in a matter of an hour or two turn the beast into an animal companion that will follow, fight, and assist the ranger, no questions asked, no years of training necessary. We all know that this is a magical effect-- it's just not a "spell" (because it doesn't appear in the spell list and instead is just assigned to the ranger directly). But is there any particular reason why one is acceptable but the other isn't? To me... the reason why rangers and paladins get "spells" is because they get a [I]choice[/I] of magical supernatural abilities from a wider list. Rather than filling up the class description with a list of 12 or more "magical supernatural abilities" from which the ranger and paladin select like [I]one[/I] every couple of levels... the game just equates the mechanics and design to the spellcasting format. Makes it much easier for people to learn, understand and organize if you ask me. After all... once you select your spell or two (and you don't acquire new ones haphazardly like the wizard does)... they pretty much are functionally equivalent to magical supernatural abilities. A particular paladin once per day can imbue his weapon with magical energy. Another paladin once per day can bless his fellow compatriots. The only difference is that "Magic Weapon" and "Bless" come from a long "spell list" of options rather than just being an entry in the paladin's class description. Not many people seem to be adverse to paladins being able to detect evil undead and fiends... which is just as much a spell as a supernatural class feature. The only difference being every paladin has the ability, rather than some paladins picking and choosing. Quite honestly... I just don't see the difference between the two. [/QUOTE]
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