D&D General wait what is arcane magic anyway?

[Yaarel]

Yeah, but that does not reflect either Warlocks nor Sorcerers by any stretch. Neither of them are "scientists", which means them being arcane casters is a complete misnomer. Which is my point

The only way I can make sense of the Sorcerer is if one is something like a magitech cyborg. (This like driving a car, rather than building a car.)

Notably, this magitech involves planar properties.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Pretty sure it's just effects created by Materias made from refined Mako.

 

[Tonguez]

Imc Magic - the M-field - is the fifth fundamental force, alongside gravity, electromagnetism and nuclear forces. Magic is the force that maintains Dimensional Stability between the planar essences that form the fabric of reality. (there is an essences for everything)

Divine magic utilises the natural oscilations of the essential universe whereas Arcanist develop techniques (arcana) that create instability between essences generating an artificial 'flow' as Magic seeks equilibrium that can be manipulated to create various effects (spells)

 

[jmartkdr2]

For a longer, less flippant answer: dividing all magic into arcane and divine stopped making sense back when druids were introduced in the 80's, so I tend to have a lot more categories and use use the term arcane to refer to what wizards do. Arcane would include wizard-adjacent classes like artificer and eldritch knight, but bards and druids are doing their own things that aren't really divine or arcane, and sorcerers and warlocks are doing other stuff by subclass (some of which would classify as divine or arcane). But I would need at least three extra categories just to cover the PHB.

 

[Yaarel]

I consider Primal magic and Psionic magic to be the same thing. It is the power of the "soul": intention, will, visualization, experientiality.

If the Psion class is the Primal power source, or the Barbarian is the Psionic power source, I am fine with that.

Psionic and Primal tend to flavor differently. Psionic tends to be more Human, while Primal tends to be the animistic soul of a mountain or a river or an animal or a tree, but the method is the same.

The Psionic/Primal magic is the "old magic", and both Arcane and Divine require the activity of ones soul to do these other magics too.

 

[Laurefindel]

Arcane Magic: a magic that is not divine in nature.

We barely escape circular logic by being able to define Divine Magic as "a magic originating from the realms of the gods", but even that is getting more and more wishy-washy as time goes...

 

[Yaarel]

Astral Plane = Divine
Ethereal Plane = Arcane
Material Plane = Primal

 

[The Sigil]

“The Weave” is the Faerun (Forgotten Realms) term.

I am not the biggest fan of the Mystara term (“The Radiance”) but to avoid too much in spoilers I will say in BECMI (and 1e and 2e) magic seems to work similar to radiation, including thin sheets of lead (or thicker layers of other material) blocking magic like a Faraday cage. That seems to work similarly to the notes of wizards being scientists and figuring out how to tap into it like you might tap into electromagnetism or gravity (or the Higgs field if you like quantum theory).

I prefer the “arcane works on science/Int”, “divine works on faith/Wis” and “occult/primal works on willfulness/Cha” myself. Different mechanisms for acting on the same underlying universal forces/fields.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Magic is an inherent element of the multiverse.

Divine magic is mediated access to this element. It's based on getting power from some deity-like being directly, or attuning to universal principles like those represented by cleric domains. Generally this is done through some form of faith or meditation or conviction, or having that connection directly conferred to you by some sort of ritual from someone else with that connection.

Arcane magic is direct access to this magical element. You make the magic happen in one of a couple ways.

It can be done scientifically, by learning words, gestures, and materials which, when combined with directed intent, invoke and channel this power in a more focused way than its ambient existance all around you. Ths is how wizards do it.

Or you can have an inborn (or similar) connection that gives you an intuitive feel for this magical energy, and makes it easier to learn how to channel and focus it. Typically you use the same components to direct it, but you grasp them intuitively and channel it without needing to ritually prep your brain (ie, without spell preparation). This is how sorcerers do it.

Innate magic can be considered a form of arcane, kind of like an extra innate sorcery. Or you can like at it as in-between divine and arcane, where it is somewhat mediated by the nature of your species. Or you can imagine it as more like a manifestation of the magical from its raw form, which defies the arcane/divine divide.

Warlock magic is arcane magic that mostly works like sorcery, but rather than being inborn you acquire it from another magical being. So it has a mediated acquisition, but an arcane nature. Or you can view it as borrowed arcane magic where an entity that uses arcane (rather than divine magic) sets up a funnel to channel it to you. By contrast, even deities themselves use divine magic, mediated by essential principles of their portfolios, which would distiguise this from divine magic.

Bards basically use highly flavored sorcery. They include extra techniques involving words of power not utilized by wizards and sorcerers.

no a bard is more like a wizard they work for the same reason that Albert einstein was good at both music and physics.

It depends a lot on your setting. Are you running your game in the Forgotten Realms, a homebrew setting, or somewhere else?

probably homebrew but it helps to have examples to work off.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

no a bard is more like a wizard they work for the same reason that Albert einstein was good at both music and physics.

I see where you're coming from, but I don't think that explains the Charisma casting stat and limited spells known shared with the non-wizards.