The WeaveThe Weave is the fundamental force of both arcane magic and divine magic, from which spellcasters[a creature capable of casting magical spells] draw their strength. It permeates the world, comparable to aether, the mystical substance. The Weave is the means by which raw magic is tapped into and used by casters. The Weave is the way in which magic presents itself to beings for their use, and it flows throughout the world, touching almost every corner or existence, with exception of dead magic zones. The Weave coexists with the Shadow Weave.
Nature of the WeaveThe Weave is considered many things, including Mystra's body, the source of magic, all the studies of casters, arcane and divine alike, and the many energies and forces that exist around the planes. It can be thought of as a "fabric" on which magic is "drawn", and damaging the fabric causes magic to go awry. There occurs some deliberate falsification of the nature of the Weave in textbooks, as an attempt to limit the knowledge associated with spellcasting.
Casting a spell is equivalent to telling the Weave to rearrange itself to create an effect.
The Weave is able to grant extra powers to certain individuals. Silver Fire is an ability granted by Mystra only to the Chosen of Mystra and enables its user to envelop itself in silvery white flames that bestow many potent magical powers. Spellfire is a rare talent that allows its user to manipulate the Weave in a variety of powerful ways.
Because Mystra (and formerly Mystryl) was inextricably bound to the Weave (one cannot exist without the other), when Mystra was assassinated by Cyric and Shar many years ago, the Weave collapsed and initiated the Spellplague. She was, however, revived later on.
AnomaliesPlaces such as dead magic zones or wild magic zones are places where the Weave has been damaged or is non-existent.
Wild magic zonesIn wild magic zones, a spell can backfire upon its caster, target the wrong location, be dramatically increased in power, or many other things. A wild magic zone and its parameters can be detected using a detect magic spell. A caster can temporarily fix a wild magic zone with any dispel or permanently fix it using a wish spell.
During the Time of Troubles, the Fall of Netheril caused the emergence of severe wild magic zones after the Weave was heavily damaged. The mythals of the elves can also create localized zones of wild magic, but these areas are under the control of the elves and they can define the parameters under which the mythal operates, such as which spells will not work and which are enhanced in some way.
Dead magic zonesDead magic zones are places where the Weave is no longer in existence. Both it and its boundaries can be detected in the same way a wild magic zone can be detected, but from outside the zone. However, unlike wild magic zones, most casters innately know when they've stepped into a dead magic zone. A dead magic zone can only be fixed with a wish spell or silver fire.
The Shadow WeaveThe Shadow Weave is a force of magic that is the inverse and opposite of the Weave. The Shadow Weave does not originate from Mystra, but from the dark goddess Shar. A spellcaster who wants to manipulate the Shadow Weave must either worship Shar, or permanently lose a piece of his or her mind. A shadow adept is a spellcaster who specializes in using the Shadow Weave. The Shadow Weave is best suited for dark magic that drain life or muddle the mind and the senses, but less suited for magic that manipulate energy or matter. Spells from the schools of Enchantment, Illusion and Necromancy are enhanced, while those from the schools of Evocation and Transmutation are impaired. The Shadow Weave is also superior for fueling spells that create darkness (spells with the darkness descriptor), while it is impossible to use it to create light of any kind (spells with the light descriptor).
Since the Shadow Weave is a separate force of magic, it is not affected by areas of dead magic or wild magic within the Weave. It is harder for a Weave user to perceive, counter or dispel spells created by using the Shadow Weave, but at the same time it is also harder for a Shadow Weave user to affect spells created by using the Weave. Any magic item created using the Shadow Weave is a Shadow Weave item and affected by the same benefits and limitations as a Shadow Weave spell.
The Guardian of Illefarn was supposed to be bonded to the Weave. Because Netheril nearly destroyed the Weave with their attempt to ascend to godhood, he was forced to turn to the Shadow Weave, and became a creature of darkness, destroying Illefarn.
MagicMagic is a force of nature, and a part of the world. Tthere are two main types of magic: arcane, which comes from the world and universe around the caster, and divine, which is inspired from above (or below); the realms of gods and demons. Wizards, sorcerers and bards learn to cast arcane spells, which are typically flashy and powerful, but require complex movements and gestures which are impeded by wearing bulky armor. Clerics, druids, rangers and paladins cast divine spells, which draw their power from a deity, from nature, or simply the caster's inner faith. While the casting of these spells is not impeded by heavy armor, it may require the caster to wear a holy symbol as a focus. A spell may exist in both arcane and divine forms—for example, summoning of monsters can be cast by both wizards and clerics, although a cleric might use it to summon an angel while a wizard would feel free to summon whichever creature best fits the situation.
Arcane magicThese are typically spells devoted to manipulating energy, converting one substance to another, or calling on the services of other creatures. For wizards, these spells are generally committed to memory after a session of meditation upon a spellbook containing the details of the incantation; sorcerers and bards know their spells innately and do not need to prepare them at all, nor do they require a spellbook. Once prepared, the spell is cast using specific words, gestures and sometimes a specific material component.
Each spell belongs to one of eight groups, called 'schools'. Technically, divine spells belong to schools as well, but the distinction is, for the most part, irrelevant. A wizard (but not a sorcerer) may specialize in one school, but at the expense of completely forsaking one or more others. A few spells are "universal", meaning that they belong to no particular school of magic.
Opposition schools
| Alteration | Illusion | Enchantment |
| Divination | ✵✵✵✵✵✵ | Conjuration |
| Invocation | Necromancy | Abjuration |
AbjurationAbjurations are protective spells. They create physical or magical barriers, negate magical or physical abilities, harm trespassers, or even banish the subject of the spell to another plane of existence. They include dispel magic and resist energy. A wizard who specializes in abjuration is known as an abjurer.
ConjurationEach conjuration spell belongs to one of five subschools: calling, creation, healing, summoning, or teleportation. Conjurations can bring manifestations of objects, creatures, or some form of energy to the caster for brief intervals (summoning), transport creatures from another plane of existence (calling), heal (healing), transport creatures or objects over great distances (teleportation), or create objects or effects on the spot (creation). Conjured creatures usually (but not always) obey the caster's commands. Spells of the conjuration school include the various summon monster spells and gate. A wizard who specializes in conjuration is known as a conjurer.
DivinationDivination spells enable the caster to learn secrets long forgotten, to predict the future, to find hidden things, and to foil deceptive spells. They include detect magic and scry. Divination is often considered the "weakest" of the schools; specialist diviners need only forsake one other school (rather than the normal two), and no other specialist can use Divination as one of their forsaken schools. A wizard who specializes in divination is known as a diviner.
EnchantmentEnchantment spells manipulate the energies of the physical world, they allow magical energies to be stored within inanimate, or sometimes even living matter. Enchantments can also affect a certain area within which the spell is cast. Enchantments such as 'Rune of Pain' for example, are magical traps which allow (in this instance) to cause tortous pain to whomever reads it. Wizards specializing in enchantment magic are known as enchanters.
EvocationEvocation spells manipulate energy or tap an unseen source of power to produce a desired end. In effect, they create something out of nothing. Many of these spells produce spectacular effects, and evocation spells can deal large amounts of damage. Many of the game's iconic offensive spells such as magic missile, fireball, and cone of cold are of the evocation school. A wizard who specializes in evocation is known as an evoker.
IllusionIllusion spells deceive the senses or minds of others. They cause people to see things that are not there, not see things that are there, hear phantom noises, or remember things that never happened. They include permanent image and disguise self. A wizard who specializes in illusion is called an illusionist.
NecromancyNecromancy spells manipulate the power of death, unlife, and the life force. Spells involving undead creatures make up a large part of this school. Spells of the necromancy school include animate dead and finger of death. A wizard who specializes in necromancy is called a necromancer.
TransmutationTransmutation spells change the physical properties of some creature, thing, or condition. They include bull's strength and the various polymorph spells. A wizard who specializes in transmutation is known as a transmuter.
UniversalUniversal spells have effects too broad to place into one class, or too useful for any specialist to consider forsaking. They often can perform multiple effects, or perform a very specific effect that does not fit into another category. The most famous of these spells is "wish", the most powerful spell within the game, which can duplicate spells from all schools. As universal spells are not a school, per se, no one can specialize in them.
Divine magicDivine spells take their name from the fact that they are mainly granted to clerics by the grace of the cleric's patron deity, although the spells cast by druids, rangers and paladins also come under this category. Although divine spells can be cast equally well while wearing armor, only rarely require material components, and do not need to be prepared from a spell book, they are generally less overtly powerful than arcane spells and have fewer offensive applications. Despite the lack of flashy spells such as fireballs or meteor swarms granted to a wizard, many very powerful spells—such as gates, summonings, and energy drain—are shared between clerics and wizards. Other powerful wizard spells, such as time stop, are granted to clerics who take up the mantle of certain domains. Finally, spells such as implosion are restricted to clerics only.
Cleric spells are typically devoted to either healing the wounded, restoring lost abilities, and acquiring blessings, or to inflict harm and to curse opponents. These spells must be prepared by the caster daily through a session of meditation or prayer. Since a cleric is also something of a church knight and a champion of his faith, his spells also include ones which temporarily improve his combat ability. Clerics also have the ability to either turn (drive off or destroy) or rebuke (cow or command) undead, based on their alignment. The spells and abilities of a cleric are based on his deity, as well as his alignment. Each cleric also has access to bonus spells and granted powers from two (or occasionally more) domains which represent his deity or faith; examples include War, Trickery, Good, Evil, and Travel. Clerics have the ability to lose a prepared spell in order to spontaneously cast either a Cure Wounds spell or Inflict Wounds spell of the same level based on their alignment.
Druid spells are typically devoted to communing with nature, interpreting or directing the weather, communicating with creatures and plants, and the like. The druid shares some spells with the cleric, such as some healing spells, and has a surprising number of offensive spells which use the power of nature—calling down lightning storms, for example, or summoning wild animals to fight. Druids have the ability to lose a prepared spell in order to spontaneously cast a summoning spell of the same level.
Paladin and ranger spells are similar to cleric and druid spells, respectively, but they are allowed fewer spells per day, only gain access to lower-level spells, and gain access to them more slowly. Both classes have some unique spells that can be fairly powerful, despite their low level. In compensation for their diminished spellcasting ability, paladins and rangers have a more martial focus than clerics and druids.
Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:11 am
