D&D General Should Schools of Magic Be Proficiencies?

[doctorbadwolf]

I’m tempted to get complex with it.

You take Pyromancy proficiency, you can do some stuff at-will, and you can boost those uses by spending spell slots. There are standardized spells that have been pretty much perfected that you can learn from others or from books or whatever, and some of them require multiple magic proficiencies to learn.

So, Fireball hits above its weight class, but that’s fine because it also requires proficiency in both Pyromancy and Aeromancy specialties.

Then there is ritual magic, which requires proficiency in a magic skill, like Arcana or Nature, and at least one relevant magic specialty proficiency, and can be improvised from some basic principles, like circles contain and ward, but can be given ingress and egress points that allow specific things in or out, which Cardinal direction you orient toward changes what can be done (or how hard it is at least), and what tools and components you use have different dials they turn.

Basically you need the Circle, Skill, Specialty, Tools, and something relating sympathetically to the effect, and to either the source or target, as well as a stabilizing central offering like water, wine, milk and honey, etc.

I’d love to design a system that is robust and intuitive enough that players can just design rituals as a normal part of play.

 

[bedir than]

I wish the Schools were similar to 2024's Holy Order for clerics. A minor bump when chosen and the opportunity at 9th for a second School or an additional bump at 9th.

Evocation - 2nd level, your Evocation spells do INT bonus additional damage.
Post Grade Evocation - 9th level Evocation spells do an additional die of damage.

Abjuration - 2nd level, the Ward
Post Grade Abjurer - Your INT bonus is included in your AC when not wearing Armor

etc

 

[DammitVictor]

In Rolemaster, spells are part of spell lists-- like a Cleric's Domain-- and spell lists are learned like skills in that system. I'm not sure I'd handle them that way in 5e's proficiency system, but I definitely think no character should have unrestricted access to to the full Wizard list.

 

[Shardstone]

Making them Skills is a genius idea. You could tie cantrips to DCs and get rid of cantrips, just make that using your Evocation or Divination Skill. Then when you're out of slots, maybe you can make a skill check to cast the spell. If you fail, you either lose HP to cast it (blood always lets one amplify their magical abilities), or fail to cast it and waste that action/bonus action or whatever. You'd have to cut down on how many slots a class has (probably 1 for all levels, or 2 for 1st/2nd/3rd and 1 for the rest).

Thanks for the ideas, thread, this was quite illuminating! You could even let Martials get these skills, like Ranger, which would be interesting. Rituals could be a single skill check at the end of the ritual to do it right, or you spend a slot anyway to turn the failure into a success. This would be such a neat system!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

In Rolemaster, spells are part of spell lists-- like a Cleric's Domain-- and spell lists are learned like skills in that system. I'm not sure I'd handle them that way in 5e's proficiency system, but I definitely think no character should have unrestricted access to to the full Wizard list.

Yeah I’d also add a fairly broad spell improvisation system using more sensible magic types rather than schools, I think.

So, Pyromancy has some basic uses like a normal skill or like a prestidigitation style cantrip, and then notes on the type of effects that each level of spell slot can power.

But D&D is so…specified, it’s hard to make such a system without making it 100 pages long.