#pathfinder second edition

Time to yell at clouds again

I really don't like it when D&Dtubers use recognizably Pathfinder art for unrelated D&D concepts

Feiya has nothing to do with Fey

Why is she here!?

Of course, the reason is that Pathfinder Iconics Art is usually more detailed and easier to acquire in my experience, that's why Pathfinder Goblins often show up in Vids about D&D Goblins

(art by AdamRichardsArt on DeviantArt)

I figured this week I’d take on a grab-bag of different topics that otherwise weren’t worth dedicating an entire week to, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Like the title suggests, we’re going to be talking about applying the pre-Remaster schools of magic to spells from the Remaster.

For those that aren’t aware, prior to the Remaster, the schools of magic in Pathfinder are the same as they are from Dungeons and Dragons, which makes sense, given the game’s origins. These schools represent broad categories of what magic can be used to do, and therefore the wizard schools of the same name are the study of how to master every aspect and permutation of that particular aspect.

And that’s all fine and dandy, but when we had that brief scare with the leaked revised version of the OGL that would have screwed over other game companies (including Paizo) and fans alike, the Remaster was conceived to strip away as much product identity terms from the system and setting as possible. Monsters, spells, and many terms that were legacy holdovers from the old days had to be renamed, rewritten, or cut entirely in some cases. One of those cases was the names for the schools of magic. While they were all technically perfectly normal terms, the collection of all of them together could in theory be used as legal leverage should WotC and Hasbro get ideas again and not get beaten back by the weight of popular opinion.

…So… Spells in the post-Remaster game just straight up don’t have school tags anymore, which would be perfectly find if one of the major lore points of the earliest AP and all those derived from it didn’t involve… oh, I don’t know… tying seven of those schools to the seven deadly sins and an entire ancient empire revolving around them. Instead, the wizard class still has schools, but they are more schools of thought about how magic should be used and in what way. Things like Civic Wizardry, and Battle Magic, and the like.

Now, we did eventually get Thassilonian Rune Magic as a school, but the spells listed as being part of that school and the seven different virtue/sin variants of it are more based on vibes now than anything concrete.

And that’s why I’m writing this little guide, to give you a more clear idea of what spells should belong to each of these curriculums, whether you’re using the Thassilonian Rune Magic school (with or without the Runelord archetype) or you’re using the old schools because aside from some modification you absolutely can and are encouraged to still use pre-remaster stuff. Either way, it will be useful to have a handy guide for expanding upon the spells that count for those various schools.

So let’s get right into it! Keep in mind that there’s some blurry area with some spells, so don’t feel bad if someone disagrees with you.

Starting off, Abjuration is the magic of prevention. Whether it is a dispel removing magic that already exists, a ward that negates damage of a certain type, or a barrier that blocks magic or attacks from getting to the target. Note that freestanding walls are often evocation or conjuration instead unless they have some magical effect that prevents something from happening, and defensive spells that change the body in some way are usually transmutation. Conversely, some spells that manipulate energy are still considered abjuration due to their protective or punitive effects, such as a spell that charges the caster with electricity that punishes those that touch them.

Next up is Conjuration, which covers any spells that bring forth real matter or energy from the ether or from elsewhere. Summoning spells, calling spells and rituals, conjurations that attack with real matter, or create distortions in space (including teleportation), or just simply make something that persists for a while are all conjuration spells.

Divination is the magic of knowledge, whether it be remotely viewing another location from a distance, enhancing the mind or senses in magical, non-enchanting or transforming ways, precognition, fate manipulation, or simply gaining knowledge on a subject from perfect analysis, or by asking the gods or some other force of wisdom are all applications of this school, including the rare attack forms like cursing a foe with an imminent disaster or overloading a foe with a sudden glut of information.

Enchantment is the magic of altering the mind. Inducing emotions for good or ill, causing someone to act and think of another creature or subject in an unusual way, or just straight up controlling the actions of the target. This also includes the power word spells and the like, pure expressions of an idea, charged with magic that force the listener to conform to the reality of the statement, even if it means going blind or dropping dead on the spot.

Next is Evocation, the magic of expressing energy and even sometimes matter through raw magic. If a spell unleashes a flash of energy that either vanishes or exists for a duration before disappearing and leaving behind no trace of itself beyond the effects it had on the environment, it’s probably evocation. This includes not just blasts of elemental power, but also sustained things like walls and constructs of force, and even esoteric expressions of energy like psychic beacons.

Illusion is the school of false sensation, projecting deceptive phantasmagoria that have no real substance. This includes spells that generate sights and sounds from nothing but have no substance, to figments that are only real to the target (though their reaction to them might be quite dire), and even shadow illusions that blur the line between the real and unreal, replicating more substantial spells as long as the targets are fooled into thinking they are real. The fact that some illusions are purely mental does mean that illusion has some conceptual overlap with enchantment, but an easy way to remember it is that enchantment makes you think or feel something, while illusion merely presents a false scenario.

Then we have Necromancy, the magic of life and death. This covers the manipulation and evocation of both vitality and void (aka positive and negative energy) to heal or harm, the disruption or restoration of bodily functions, some expressions of primal fear, and of course all spells and rituals that have to do with the creation, manipulation, or otherwise affecting of the undead specifically. There is some overlap here with healing and harming arguably being conjuration, evocation, or even transmutation depending on the spell, or of fear spells being enchantment, but that’s certainly a gray area.

Finally, we have transmutation, the magic of altering and manipulating things that already exist. This can be as subtle as enhancing or hampering aspects of the object or creature, transmuting objects or creatures into different forms or substances, or even warping time and occasionally space as well. Anything from polymorphing into a Tyrannosaurus to disintegrating a rival mage to reshaping the landscape or raw materials to suit your needs are possible with this school, and the sheer possibilities means that it is perhaps the most robust school in terms of the number of spells in it.

Additionally, some spells are universal, which can either mean that they are so flexible as to be able to replicate effects in nearly any school, or because they manipulate magic itself in ways that are not directly expressed in reality, such as permanently granting oneself the benefits of another spell.