Arbiter of Wyrms
First Post
Abjuration:
Safety from. . . is a prerequisite for safety to. . .
In the game of paper/scissor/rock that is the evolution of magic, that is any arms race, that is life itself, abjuration is the ultimate trump, for no spell can harm the master abjurer, and what peasant wants his fortune told, who cares about flashy evocations and illusions when their safety is in question.
Conjuration:
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Summoned monsters to ward off bandits, a horse to pull your cart, the ability to traverse the world in the blink of an eye. This is true magic. With the proper tools, any task is possible, and the conjurer can always get the tools she needs.
Divination:
Divination is like a pair of eyes in your head. It doesn't seem like much, but without it, there can be no knowledge, no wisdom.
Forewarned is forearmed, and the diviner sees all. He knows who cames calling, and when, and why. He sees the hearts of men as well as the hands. To study magic and forego divination is like training at arms, but wearing a blindfold into battle.
Enchantment:
The secret of flesh is that flesh is stronger than steel. - Thulsa Doom
A man dies because his heart has stopped. The heart stops beacause it has no blood. The blood left when the vein was severed. The vein was severed by a sword, weilded in a hand, directed by a man. That man died because I told him to. My will is supreme amongst men, for I am the enchanter, and all men are my slaves.
Evocation:
If you're asking me why evocation is the one truly worthwhile magic, you'll never understand the answer.
Evocation cannot be explained. It must be felt. Power. Power coursing through one's very soul from the Well of What Might Be, out to my fingertips and beyond where it sears the flesh of those who would oppose me. If you cannot see, a priori, the superiority of evocation, then it is because you have no soul. Return to your dusty old books that you might learn to amuse beggars.
Illusion:
Life is an illusion. Illusion is life.
Consult the great sage-monks who dwell alone in obscurity in the highest mountains. They will tell you that what you see, what you touch, what hear, taste and smell is not real at all. Beyond the veil of samsara exists the canvas onto which "reality" is painted. The magics of illusion create artificial unreality, and fools and wise-men alike mistake these figments for what they think is real. The mind of an illusionist, though, sees what is REAL, what is illusion, and what is mage-craft. We create what is not there. We obscure what we would have unseen. We draw into being things that blur the line between illusion and creation. Life=illusion=reality.
Necromancy:
Posit, if you can, something greater than the power over life and death.
Others pine away for silly rituals and parlor tricks they do not understand, but they never approach the power of the necromancer. The squemish apprentice shys away from necromantic studies and belittles or villifies those willing to undertake its ardors in earnest. The wizard of discernment and dedication knows that every other path is short and futile, easily mastered in less than a lifetime. True magic is all or nothing. True magic is Necromancy.
Transmutation:
Some say that other specialities in the arcane arts are superior to the art and science of Transmutation. Perhaps you even agree. Things change.
All things are mutable to the gods. We value the skills of a man or woman who can transform an ingot of iron into a horseshoe and nails, or one who trasforms wheat into bread, or flour into wheat, or seeds into grain. To know what things are and what laws dictate their form is to gain control over form. To gain control over form is to render all things mutable. To render all things mutable is to be a god.
I have to agree wholeheartedly. If you want to sling lots of spells, become a sorcerer. If you want the solution to any and every possible dillemma, become a generalist wizard. Specialization is for flavor. Flavor is good. That's why I use the (poorly named IMO) arcane domains from UA.
Safety from. . . is a prerequisite for safety to. . .
In the game of paper/scissor/rock that is the evolution of magic, that is any arms race, that is life itself, abjuration is the ultimate trump, for no spell can harm the master abjurer, and what peasant wants his fortune told, who cares about flashy evocations and illusions when their safety is in question.
Conjuration:
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Summoned monsters to ward off bandits, a horse to pull your cart, the ability to traverse the world in the blink of an eye. This is true magic. With the proper tools, any task is possible, and the conjurer can always get the tools she needs.
Divination:
Divination is like a pair of eyes in your head. It doesn't seem like much, but without it, there can be no knowledge, no wisdom.
Forewarned is forearmed, and the diviner sees all. He knows who cames calling, and when, and why. He sees the hearts of men as well as the hands. To study magic and forego divination is like training at arms, but wearing a blindfold into battle.
Enchantment:
The secret of flesh is that flesh is stronger than steel. - Thulsa Doom
A man dies because his heart has stopped. The heart stops beacause it has no blood. The blood left when the vein was severed. The vein was severed by a sword, weilded in a hand, directed by a man. That man died because I told him to. My will is supreme amongst men, for I am the enchanter, and all men are my slaves.
Evocation:
If you're asking me why evocation is the one truly worthwhile magic, you'll never understand the answer.
Evocation cannot be explained. It must be felt. Power. Power coursing through one's very soul from the Well of What Might Be, out to my fingertips and beyond where it sears the flesh of those who would oppose me. If you cannot see, a priori, the superiority of evocation, then it is because you have no soul. Return to your dusty old books that you might learn to amuse beggars.
Illusion:
Life is an illusion. Illusion is life.
Consult the great sage-monks who dwell alone in obscurity in the highest mountains. They will tell you that what you see, what you touch, what hear, taste and smell is not real at all. Beyond the veil of samsara exists the canvas onto which "reality" is painted. The magics of illusion create artificial unreality, and fools and wise-men alike mistake these figments for what they think is real. The mind of an illusionist, though, sees what is REAL, what is illusion, and what is mage-craft. We create what is not there. We obscure what we would have unseen. We draw into being things that blur the line between illusion and creation. Life=illusion=reality.
Necromancy:
Posit, if you can, something greater than the power over life and death.
Others pine away for silly rituals and parlor tricks they do not understand, but they never approach the power of the necromancer. The squemish apprentice shys away from necromantic studies and belittles or villifies those willing to undertake its ardors in earnest. The wizard of discernment and dedication knows that every other path is short and futile, easily mastered in less than a lifetime. True magic is all or nothing. True magic is Necromancy.
Transmutation:
Some say that other specialities in the arcane arts are superior to the art and science of Transmutation. Perhaps you even agree. Things change.
All things are mutable to the gods. We value the skills of a man or woman who can transform an ingot of iron into a horseshoe and nails, or one who trasforms wheat into bread, or flour into wheat, or seeds into grain. To know what things are and what laws dictate their form is to gain control over form. To gain control over form is to render all things mutable. To render all things mutable is to be a god.
jmucchiello said:
I have to agree wholeheartedly. If you want to sling lots of spells, become a sorcerer. If you want the solution to any and every possible dillemma, become a generalist wizard. Specialization is for flavor. Flavor is good. That's why I use the (poorly named IMO) arcane domains from UA.
