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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Starfox" data-source="post: 4922799" data-attributes="member: 2303">The word "Vancian" magic is commonly applied to DnD magic, especially pre 4th edition. But what does the word mean? Do we need to read Jack Vance's Dying Earth to understand it?In a DnD context, I submit that "Vancian" means "based on daily uses of spells, generally prepared in advance". You do NOT need to read the Vance books to understand this, and in fact reading the books might confuse you, as the magic there is quite different.Now, I absolutely recommend these books on their own merit. They have a great milieu and intriguing stories. Vancian adjectives are at least as rich as Lovecraftian ones. But to reference them and say they give a greatuer understanding of the DnD magic system is not really good advice. DnD's magic might have been inspired by Vance's work, but it started quite different and developed in its own direction for 30 years now.if you really want Vancian magic in a RPG context, try the Dying Earth RPG (by Pellegrine press IIR).</blockquote>