Schools of Magic

[Szatany]

How do you think spells should be categorized in 4th edition? Did current D&D edition did it just right or could there be some improvements?

 

[Masquerade]

Assuming schools are handled in a similar manner, I would like to see Healing break away from Conjuration and become its own school, possibly renamed Restoration or Rejuvenation (to better fit the existing name convention).

And, at risk of further tearing away at Conjuration, no energy damage spells outside of Evocation (like the current "orbs").

Maybe eliminate the Divination school and make those spells Universal.

edit - Eee! Posted before the poll appeared!

 

[Sammael]

I think schools of magic should be turned into spell descriptors. Some spells aren't shoehorned easily, and shouldn't be restricted to one school only - or thrown into a random school because they don't fit elsewhere (cure spells, teleport, etc).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I would kill dual-school spells dead. I would make evocation very clearly the blasting school. As was suggested, I would make healing its own school.

And I would also make sure that, for specialist wizards, there's a meaningful spell at every spell level. It took almost 10 years for diviners to get a good spell list, and it's spread out over too many splatbooks. More than a few specialties have levels where their choices are either unsatisfactory or marginal improvements over previous spells.

 

[Aloïsius]

Assuming schools are handled in a similar manner, I would like to see Healing break away from Conjuration and become its own school, possibly renamed Restoration or Rejuvenation (to better fit the existing name convention).

Yup. Except that i'm fine with "healing" (wich will be translated in "guérison" or "soin" anyway )

And, at risk of further tearing away at Conjuration, no energy damage spells outside of Evocation (like the current "orbs").

Yup ! I would like to see more specific "summon spells", with various duration and utility. Things like "stone guardian" (1h/level spell, works like a very improved alarm, able to kick some intruder ass), "invisible spy" (tiny creature that can scout, but has limited intelligence), "runic blade" (a real magical sword ! complete with proficiency and soul-quenching black flames) etc... rather than boring "summon monster x". Conjuration could be an utility school IMHO

Maybe eliminate the Divination school and make those spells Universal.

I won't like this... Divination specialist are a real archetype.

I have a concern with transmutation : the school has no real focus.

A solution would be to remover schools ans use descriptors.

 

[drothgery]

I'd just kill schools, and leave descriptors around (and they're only staying because elemental weaknesses are a staple of fantasy). What purpose do they serve, besides roping spells off for specialist wizards?

The 3.5 Warmage is pretty much the closest thing to 100% Pure Blaster Mage in the slot-based casting system. Are all of his spells Evocations? Nope. He's got a lot of conjurations (even if some of them ought to have been Evocations). He's got some Necromancy. And he's even got a few Illusions. What he wants are spells that are good for directly damaging and/or killing his enemies.

And I think that's the model of the specialized caster I'd prefer to the 2e/3e specialist wizard -- a caster that gets all the spells useful to their specialty, and extra abilities that magnify that.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'd just kill schools, and leave descriptors around (and they're only staying because elemental weaknesses are a staple of fantasy). What purpose do they serve, besides roping spells off for specialist wizards?

They serve to keep illusionists around. Illusionists are cool.

 

[drothgery]

They serve to keep illusionists around. Illusionists are cool.

Yes, they are. And they should be their own, fully-realized class with their own spell list and class abilities. The PHB2 Beguiller does a pretty good job of being that in 3.x.

I'd just say that in 3.5 the dedicated specialist classes (warmage, beguiller, dread necromancer) do a much better job as exemplars of their specialties than their respective specialist wizards (evoker/conjurer, illusionist/enchanter, necromancer) do, so that's the model 4e should try to emulate. Whether that means creating a few talent trees for the wizard or creating a set of specialist classes in 4e supplements (a PHB2 or Tome of Magic or Complete Arcane-like product) would be completely up to WotC R&D.