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Message: <blockquote data-quote="tuxgeo" data-source="post: 6279721" data-attributes="member: 61026">That's the clue, I think: magic began with the monsters. Just as there are animals which are naturally poisonous -- spiders and snakes, for example -- so (in D&D) there are beings which are naturally magical: • Dragons have magical breath, and have either formal spells or spell-like abilities that they can cast; • Gnomes can disappear, and have a propensity toward illusion; • Pixies are naturally invisible unless they want to be seen. Sorcerers - The first of the PC classes to manifest magic, as mentioned in the quote above. They get their magic from their bloodlines, and are therefore part-monster. Shamans - Having seen natural magic among monsters, and spontaneous magic among sorcerers, they go to dire extremes (such as drugs and spirit journeys) to contact the spirits of deceased magicians in order to beseech them to confer such abilities upon each Shaman. (Learning by stretching the soul's experience.) Druids - A codification of the Shaman's way, with more emphasis on learning what came before, and with much less (or even "no") direct investigation involving drugs and spirit journeys. (Learning by stretching the mind's experience instead of the soul's.) Invokers in 4E (or NPC Prophets) - They get messages from the gods telling them what to do. Clerics - Having learned from the Prophets, they learn to pray as the Prophets direct. Warlocks - Having seen what the Clerics do, they attempt to circumvent the need for boring and rigorous devotion by skipping the gods (for the most part) and dealing directly with lesser beings instead. Bards - Taught by the Druids, they become musical because they become magical. There is power in stories. Wizards - Learners of complex formulas based on long experience with the magic of less intellectual classes. These are the would-be scientists who deconstruct the messages of the gods and the ways of the dragons to try to codify the underlying principles behind their powers. Difficult stuff, and mainly for the brightest of minds.</blockquote>

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