Creating New Schools

The Player's Handbook lists eight different greater schools of magic, but more are possible. Additional schools can expand a player's options, add color to the campaign, and allow the DM to put his own mark on the game. Designing new magic schools is one of the DM's toughest jobs, but it can also be one of the most rewarding.

This chapter presents a step-by-step procedure for creating schools of magic from scratch. We'll demonstrate the process by creating a brand new school right before your eyes the school of metamorphics.

The Basics of Creating Schools

Before creating a school, following are a few general guidelines to keep in mind.

New schools should be unique. A new magic school should not overlap any of the existing schools. Since the eight major schools cover a lot of ground and there are already hundreds of spells in the AD&D® game, this is not as easy as it sounds. Not only should the DM avoid new magic schools whose spells duplicate the effects of existing spells, he should also avoid trespassing on the priest's territory. For instance, a school of magic focusing on healing spells isn't a good idea, since it conflicts with one of the priest's special areas.

A new school shouldn't be too powerful. The existence of a school whose spells can destroy dragons, level cities, and render the caster invulnerable makes it extremely difficult for the DM to maintain play balance. It's next to impossible for the DM to invent suitable challenges for wizards wielding that much power, ultimately making the game boring for all. The school of necromancy is about as powerful as any school should be.

A new school shouldn't be too weak. On the other hand, players won't be interested in a school that doesn't offer them a measure of power comparable to what's available in the existing schools. The school of greater divination is about as weak as any school should be.

A new school must be described precisely. Magical effects are difficult enough to adjudicate when their definitions are detailed and specific. When they're indefinite and ambiguous, it's nearly impossible to make consistent rulings and avoid frustrating players

Type of Magic

The first step in designing a new school is to decide what type of magical energy will be wielded by the specialist and how that energy will manifest itself. The type of magic must be general enough to encompass a variety of spells and effects, but it also must be specific enough to differentiate it from existing schools.

Before examining the specifics, consider the differences between the magic of wizards and the magic of priests. Though some duplication exists-- both have access to necromantic and summoning spells, for instance-- the way they acquire spells is strikingly different.

Priests vs. Wizards

Priests are granted the use of spells by deities of specific mythoi. Each deity has authority over particular groups of concepts, forces, and things, and these groups are called spheres. A priest's allegiance to his deity gives him access to certain spheres of magic that reflect the deity's special interests. Consequently, the magic of each sphere tends to be quite specific; spells from the sun sphere, for instance, deal primarily with light and darkness, while spells from the healing sphere deal primarily with curing.

Unlike the priest, a wizard isn't bound to a particular deity, and therefore does not depend on a deity for his magical abilities. A wizard learns and masters his spells in much the same way that a professor learns and masters a particular science. This is why the wizard class is a function of Intelligence. Wizardly schools focus on general categories of magical energy and effects and encompass a wide variety of spells.

To preserve the integrity of these differences between wizard magic and priest magic, any new wizard school should avoid focusing on magical effects stemming from one particular condition or thing. Instead, the school should be concerned with the manipulation of general energies and forces.

Categories of Effects

Confused? Consider the following.

Just as electrical energy or mechanical energy can be harnessed to accomplish specific tasks, it is also possible to channel magical energy to accomplish specific results. But while electrical and mechanical energies are limited by physics and other natural sciences, magical energy knows no such mundane boundaries. Magical energies can be channeled to produce any of the following list of effects.

Transformation: When this type of effect is produced, an object or condition is changed to give it different physical properties or new special abilities.

Creation: When this type of effect is produced, an object or condition is created that did not previously exist.

Requisitioning: When this type of effect is produced, an existing object or condition is summoned from a different location.

Paranaturalism: This type of effect involves the manipulation of forces and phenomena that exist beyond the confines of the material world and the laws governing it. (This can also be considered a catch-all category that includes effects not covered in other categories.)

All of the existing schools of magic can be assigned to these categories.

The schools of Alteration, Enchantment/Charm, and Abjuration all involve Transformation.

The schools of Illusion/Phantasm and Invocation/Evocation involve Creation.

Conjuration/Summoning involves Requisitioning.

Divination and Necromancy involve Paranaturalism.

Although some overlapping occurs (for instance, magical energies that Requisition existing objects may Transform them as well), all magic schools channel magical energies to produce the effects defined in these four categories.

What differentiates one school from another is the type of effects produced. For example, both illusion and invocation/evocation channel magical energy for Creation. However, illusions create unreal objects and conditions; invocations create objects and conditions that cause direct physical effects,

Defining the Effects of a New School

To begin the design of a new school, the DM must first define the type of effects it produces. Any definition is likely to be vague. But at this stage, it should be. Unlike the intentionally specific priestly sphere, a wizardly school must be general enough to accommodate a large variety of spells.

Use the steps that follow.

1. Choose one type of channelled magical energy from the four categories described above: Transformation, Creation, Requisitioning, or Paranaturalism. If you know what type of school you plan to design, the choice of category probably will be obvious. If you do not yet have any ideas about your school, pick any of the categories-- it's a good place to start. (If your choice of categories seems less appropriate as your school develops, you can always pick another.)

2. Define what specific type of effects these channelled energies will produce. If it is a Transformation school, what types of things or conditions will be transformed? If it is a Paranaturalism school, what type of paranatural energies or forces will be involved.

3. Ensure that the definition of the new school does not resemble the definitions of existing schools too closely. Compare them with The Schools of Magic descriptions.

How It All Works

To illustrate this procedure, a new school is created here. First, one of the categories of channelled energy is chosen. The school will involve changing one type of item into another, so the choice is the Transformation category.

Next, we define the type of Transformation effects the school will produce. This definition needs to be as clear as possible; writing down the definition in a sentence or two will put it on the right track. Our school will feature spells that cause an object or condition to change into a different but related object or condition. That description is vague, but good enough to get started.

Is this school sufficiently different from existing schools? Our school sounds very similar to the school of alteration, so it needs some adjustments. Since many of the alteration spells imbue a creature with special abilities, such as water breathing and fly, we can decide that the spells from our school will deal with physical transformations only. Further, all of our physical transformations will be permanent (subject to the usual limitations, such as cancellation by dispel magic).

Throughout the remainder of this chapter, we'll continue to develop this school as a demonstration.

Name of the School

Once you have an idea for a school, it needs a name. If an obvious name doesn't suggest itself, as it did for the school of illusion, check a thesaurus for synonymous words or evocative phrases. Fantasy literature is another good source for names.

Since our new school deals with change, we checked the thesaurus for synonyms and found metamorphosis, a word that is descriptive, has a nice scholarly ring to it, and even sounds a little mystical. We'll christen it the school of metamorphics.

Name of the Specialist

Specialists usually derive their names from the names of their schools by changing the suffix. Thus, from abjuration comes the abjurer, and from illusion comes the illusionist. Most of the time, this technique is satisfactory.

However, some schools simply do not lend themselves to wizardly-sounding names. For instance, the word alterer is clumsy, so the school of alteration has opted for the less awkward transmuter for the name of their specialist. We have a similar problem with our school of metamorphics-- both metamorphist and metamorpher are clumsy. Returning to the thesaurus, we find the word transfigure. We can call our specialist a transfigurist.

Spells

Minimum Spells for A New School

Level	No. of Spells
1st	3
2nd	3
3rd	2
4th	2
5th	2
6th	2
7th	1
8th	1
9th	1

The most important part of creating a new school is designing new spells that are different enough to set it apart from existing schools. There must be enough new spells to provide the user a reasonable variety of options. At the same time, duplication of existing spells should be avoided. Minor variations of existing spells should also be avoided. The spell selection should be attractive enough so that novice wizards will consider specializing in it, but not so powerful that the school overwhelms all others.

Basic Spells

A new school does not need an extensive number of spells immediately. Beginning with a core of basic spells is best, adding new spells as required by the campaign and the players. An acceptable core of basic spells includes the number of spells for each level given in the Minimum Spells for A New School table. Note that this is approximately the number of spells for the schools of greater divination and necromancy given in the Player's Handbook. If the DM is unable to invent this number of spells, he should concentrate on designing spells to fill the lower levels (levels 1-3) so his lower-level specialists can begin their careers.

Adapting Existing Spells

Before attempting to design new spells, first look at the existing spells for other schools. Notice that a number of spells listed in the Player's Handbook belong to more than one school; rainbow pattern, for instance, belongs to the schools of alteration and illusion, while limited wish belongs to conjuration/summoning and invocation/evocation. Do any of the PHB spells seem appropriate for your new school? The alteration spells transmute rock to mud and transmute water to dust are perfect for our school of metamorphics-- they both cause one substance to change to another, they both cause physical changes, and in both cases the effects are permanent.

There are other likely candidates from the PH spells for our school, but using an excessive number of duplicate spells (more than two or three) compromises the individuality of a new school.

Ideas for New Spells

The DM and players will need to brainstorm for ideas that will eventually be developed to fill in the basic spell list. Although the DM makes the final decisions when designing spells for a new school, the contributions and ideas of the players are important. Fantasy literature is another good source of ideas, as are the abilities of magical monsters and functions of magical devices. The DM and his players might also discuss encounters or battles from previous adventures and decide what types of spells would have been useful for the wizards.

The DM (with the assistance of the players) should then assign a spell name to each idea and decide the general effects of the potential spells. The names of the spells should be brief and descriptive. The effects can be approximate at this point-- they'll be refined later. We do not have the space here to develop a full range of spells for our metamorphics school, but here are three potential spells we'll use as examples:

Evaporate: This spell changes liquids into gases.

Blood to dust: This spell changes an opponent's blood to dust, instantly killing him.

Improved armor: This spell changes a companion's armor to a better Armor Class.

Checking for Duplication

Each potential spell should be checked against the spells in the Player's Handbook to see if it already exists. Considering that the PHB lists hundreds of spells, re-inventing an existing spell is easy. A DM need not be obsessive about this; a large number of existing spells inflict damage or add bonuses and penalties to saving throws. As long as the new spell has a unique twist of its own, it can be deemed acceptable.

Of our examples, we notice that blood to dust blood is superficially similar to the 7th-level finger of death spell, since they both instantly take a victim's life. But the methods of achieving this effect are distinctly different; blood to dust changes the victim's blood to an inert substance, while finger of death snuffs out the victim's life force. Further, blood to dust is only effective on victims with blood in their veins. Blood to dust is different enough to stand on its own.

Checking for Play Balance

After checking them against existing spells, all potential spells of a new school must be considered for play balance. Imagine that the wizard employs a particular spell every day-- will constant use have any significant long-term effects on the balance of the game?

Consider our potential metamorphic spells. Evaporate won't have any profound effects on the game, assuming it has reasonable limitations (for instance, evaporating an entire ocean should be prohibited). At best, blood to dust means one less opponent per day.

But improved armor presents a problem. Since our metamorphic spells are permanent, wouldn't a transfigurist immediately improve all of his party's armor as much as he could? Is this fair? We can't make the effects temporary, or we're violating the definition of our school. Let's throw out improved armor and invent another spell later.

Determining Effects and Levels

Once the inappropriate spells have been discarded, we need to define and describe the specific effects of the remaining spells, then assign them to levels. The description of a spell should cover its typical uses, but it is unnecessary-- and realistically, impossible-- to deal with every possible application. More importantly, the description should cover the spell's limitations in detail; not only do precise limitations make spells easier to adjudicate, they are easier to assign to levels. Here are some points to consider when assigning limitations to spells:

How many subjects can be affected by the spell? Generally, the more subjects affected, the higher the level of the spell (compare invisibility to mass invisibility, and charm person to mass charm).

What type of subjects can be affected by the spell? Subjects can be low-level or high-level (or low HD and high HD). They can also have specific characteristics (such as the subjects of detect invisibility), or they can be general types with no specific characteristics (such as the subjects of charm monster). Usually, higher-level spells are able to affect high-level (or high HD) subjects that have no specific characteristics-- finger of death is a good example.

Are victims allowed a saving throw to avoid the effects of the spell? Disallowing a saving throw for a spell that would normally have one usually boosts it to a higher level. For instance, the 5th-level cone of cold allows a saving throw to reduce a victim's damage by half. If such a throw were not allowed, the spell would be significantly more dangerous and would belong in a higher level.

Suggested Maximum Damage of Spells by Level

Level	Maximum Damage of Spell (in hp)
1st	2-5 (1d4+1)
2nd	2-8 (2d4)
3rd	3-18 (3d6)
4th	8-20 (4d4+4)
5th	10-25 (5d4+5)
6th	6-36 (6d6)
7th	10-60 (10d6)*
8th-9th	10-80 (10d8)*

* Spells of 7th-level through 9th-level are differentiated by the number of subjects destroyed and special restrictions on death. For instance, a 7th-level spell might destroy only a single subject, while a 9th-level spell could destroy several. A 7th-level spell might allow a saving throw, while a 9th-level spell might not. A 7th-level spell might allow resurrection attempts, a 9th-level spell might not.

If the spell causes damage, what is the maximum? It would be grossly inappropriate for any 1st-level spell to inflict 100 hit points of damage. Similarly, a 9th-level spell should be capable of inflicting a significant amount of damage. The Suggested Maximum Damage of Spells by Level Table suggests the maximum amount of damage a spell of a particular level should be allowed to inflict on a single enemy. These figures are general guidelines only, and can be altered by any number of variables. For instance, if a hypothetical 3rd-level flying sword spell has only a 10 percent chance of hitting its target, its maximum amount of damage could be justifiably higher than 3-18 hit points.

Remember that the inflicted damage of certain spells may vary according to the caster's level; for instance, fireball causes 1d6 hit points of damage per level of the caster. (The Suggested Maximum Damage of Spells by Level Table gives the damage for a spell cast at its base level; if our hypothetical flying sword spell is 3rd-level, but can be cast at higher levels to inflict more damage, The Suggested Maximum Damage of Spells by Level Table indicates the maximum amount of damage it can cause when cast at its lowest level.)

If the spell causes damage, do victims get a saving throw? Of the spells in the Player's Handbook, many of them allow the victim to make a saving throw in order to reduce or eliminate the potential damage. Though it is unnecessary to allow saving throws in every case, this is a good way to add balance to what otherwise might be an especially dangerous spell. There are three options to consider.

1. No saving throw. This option maximizes a spell's lethality.

2. Half damage. This option means that the character suffers half-damage if his saving throw is successful. This is less lethal than a spell with no saving throw, but more lethal than the following option.

3. Negate. This option means that the character suffers no damage if his saving throw is successful. This is the least lethal option of all.

Note that saving throws need not always be saving throws vs. spells; consider different types of saving throws for spells of higher levels (in every case, however, only one type of saving throw should be allowed). A saving throw vs. spells is always an option, no matter what the level of spell, but here are some alternatives:

For spells of 3rd-level and 4th-level, use save vs. rods.
For spells of 5th-level and 6th-level, use save vs. paralyzation.
For spells of 7th-level, 8th-level, and 9th-level, use save vs. death.

If the spell is defensive, does it inhibit the enemy's ability to attack, or does it offer direct protection from damage? Generally, spells that defend against a specific type of damage (such as protection from normal missiles) are less powerful than spells that protect against a general category of damage (such as minor globe of invulnerability), and spells that protect the caster or subjects of the caster's choice (such as protection from evil) are less powerful than spells that inhibit the enemy's ability to attack (such as wall of fog). The highest-level defensive spells tend to be those that get rid of the attacker (such as dismissal and imprisonment.)

If a DM has designed a defensive spell that he wants to modify so he can assign it to a higher level, he can do one or more of the following:

Increase the types of damage against which it protects. (To assign the spell to a lower level, decrease the types of damage.)
Increase the number of subjects the spell protects, usually by increasing the area of effect. (For a lower level, decrease the area of effect, or have the spell provide protection for only the caster.)
Increase the number of opponents whose attack abilities are reduced. Again, this is usually accomplished by increasing the area of effect. (For a lower level, decrease the area of effect.)
Increase the power of the spell so it eliminates the attacker altogether.

Does the spell increase or decrease a subject's saving throw modifier? Penalties and bonuses to the subject's saving throw alter the effectiveness of a spell. Consider again our hypothetical 3rd-level flying sword spell. Assume that it inflicts 1-10 hit points of damage on subjects when used at night, and that a saving throw negates the damage. If the subject is allowed a +2 bonus, it might be more appropriate to assign flying sword to 2nd-level. Conversely, if no saving throw is allowed at all, the spell might belong at 4th-level.

Is the effect of the spell permanent? Spells whose effects are temporary are less powerful than those whose effects are permanent. (Remember that few spells are literally permanent, since dispel magic negates their effects in most cases. A limited wish or wish can negate almost any spell.)

What are the spell's duration, range, and area of effect? Longer durations, ranges, and areas of effect translate into more powerful spells. Adjusting these elements is a good way to modify a spell to assign it to a higher or lower level. For instance, if flying sword persists for only one round/level and has a range of 30 yards, it belongs in a lower level than if it persisted for one turn/level and had a range of 100 yards.

There are no minimum or maximum requirements for durations, ranges, or areas of effect, as long as the DM stays within the bounds of reason. For instance, a range of 1 mile/level sounds ridiculously high for any 1st-level spell. A good place to start for establishing durations, ranges, and areas of effect is 1 round/level (duration), 10 yards/level (range), and a 10-foot cube or one creature/level (area of effect). Remember that these are general guidelines only, and are not appropriate for every type of spell. Many spells have an effective range of 0, meaning they affect only the caster. Others affect only a touched subject. Those spells whose effects are permanent until negated have no set duration. For some spells, such as extension, area of effect is irrelevant.

When the DM has finished defining the effects of a new spell and has assigned it to a level, the spell should be compared to the existing spells of that level. If the new spell is clearly weaker or excessively more powerful than spells from the same level, the DM should either assign it to a different level or make adjustments as suggested above to make it comparable. In general, the illusion and divination spells are the least powerful, and the necromancy and invocation spells are the most powerful; a new spell should be checked against these first.

Let's return to our two new spells for the school of metamorphics. Evaporation causes a quantity of water or other inorganic liquid to instantly turn to vapor, just as if the sun had evaporated it. It will not inflict any direct damage (evaporating the blood or other organic liquids of a creature is forbidden). Evaporation is difficult to perceive as providing meaningful defense for a party. Evaporation is destined to be a low-level spell, probably 1st-level.

Range? Most 1st-level spells have a range of 30-60 yards; since evaporation is relatively weak, we will give it a higher range of 60 yards.

Area of effect? Most 1st-level spells affect an area of 10-30 yards (or 10-30 foot-radius, or 10-30 foot cube). In this case, we will give evaporation an area of effect of a 20-foot cube + 10-foot cube/level. (This makes the spell more powerful as the wizard increases in level.)

Checking our 1st-level evaporation spell against the existing 1st-level spells in the PHB shows no major discrepancies. The definition of evaporation still needs more tightening. We need to determine whether it affects liquids concealed in containers, rain, quicksand, and lava, and other limitations it has.

Looking at blood to dust, it belongs in a higher level because it causes death. We will decide that blood to dust causes all of the blood of a single victim to turn to dust, instantly killing it. It is certainly not as powerful as a 9th-level spell (the 9th-level power word, kill can destroy several creatures at once let's place it at 7th level and give it a range of 60 yards (comparable to other 7th-level spells). Checking the existing 7th-level spells, we discover finger of death, a spell not unlike blood to dust. Finger of death is more powerful, since it can destroy any creature, even those without blood, but it also allows a saving throw. To balance blood to dust against other 7th-level spells, let's say that victims of blood to dust are not allowed saving throws. Further, undead, monsters from other planes, and monsters with more than 4 HD will be immune to blood to dust. With further adjustments (Can the affected subject be resurrected or raised? Can the corpse be animated to become a zombie?), we'll have a powerful but balanced 7th-level spell for the school of metamorphics.

Casting Times

All spells must state their casting times. A guideline is to make the casting time equal to the level of the spell (a 7th-level spell has a casting time of 7), but casting times of one or more rounds are also common. Complex spells might have casting times of one or more turns. Avoid short casting times for high-level spells and excessively long casting times for all but the most powerful spells.

We'll give our 1st-level evaporation spell a casting time of 1 and our 7th-level blood to dust a casting time of 1 round.

Components

Every spell has one or more components. There are two ways to determine the components for a new spell:

Locate existing spells from the Player's Handbook that are similar to the new spell and assign similar components. For instance, finger of death is similar to our new blood to dust spell, so we'll decide that blood to dust has verbal and somatic components.
Assign the components randomly. If this sounds too arbitrary, consider that the components of a particular spell were likely determined by the wizard who originally researched it. A common assumption is that two wizards working independently could discover the same spell; it is unlikely that they used exactly the same components. For our evaporation spell, we'll use verbal, somatic, and material components, the most common combination.

Instead of choosing a specific set of components for a new spell, you can determine them randomly by rolling 1d20 on the Random Determination of Spell Components Table. If you get a result that contradicts the conditions under which the spell is cast, roll again.

Consider the level of the spell and assign components accordingly. Requiring all three components makes a spell harder to cast. Reducing a spell's components to make it easier to cast might be a reason to create a higher level version of a low level spell.
Still can't decide? When in doubt, require all three components; most existing spells use all of them.

Random Determination of Spell Components

d20 Roll	Components
1-14	V, S, M
15-17	V, S
18-19	V, M
20	V

As for the precise nature of these components, be guided by common sense and imagination. Material components should relate to the effect of the spell. Check existing spells for component ideas and comparisons. We'll decide our evaporation spell's material component will be a drop of water.

Allowed Races

Not all races can become specialists of all schools. Usually, these limitations are due to a particular race's body chemistry, mental or emotional predisposition, magical resistance, or cultural restrictions. The history of the DM's campaign world might also suggest limitations.

If the DM imposes racial restrictions on a new school, he should present justification for them. For instance, gnomes are restricted from specializing in our school of metamorphics. The reason? A thousand years ago in our campaign world, a brotherhood of transfigurist gnomes accidently developed a metamorphics spell that permanently transformed a city of gnomes into a field weeds. The gods were so upset by this carelessness that the transfigurist specialty has been forbidden to gnomes ever since.

Ability Requirements

All characters must have an Intelligence score of at least 9 to become a wizard. A new school might require a higher Intelligence score for specialization, but only in the rarest circumstances should it be higher than 13.

All specializations require a minimum score in a secondary ability. This minimum score should be at least 12, but no higher than 16. Wisdom, Constitution, and Dexterity are the most common secondary ability requirements, but Charisma and Strength are also possible. Remember that setting the ability requirements high will keep the number of specialists low, and vice versa.

Because some of the somatic components for metamorphic spells require precise execution, we will set a minimum Dexterity score of 15 for specialists in the school of metamorphics.

Clothing

Though none of the schools described in The Schools of Magic have any specific dress requirements, a new school might require (or strongly suggest) that its specialists wear distinctive garb to indicate their status.

Not all specialists of a school would necessarily adhere to this dress code. Perhaps only graduates of a particular academy would wear distinctive garb. Perhaps only 1st-level specialists would wear it. Perhaps it is worn only by high level specialists as a symbol of achievement. All such distinctions are the decision of the DM. Caution is advised-- obvious identifying garb can be a red flag to enemies who wish to wipe out the members of a particular school.

Dress requirements are not restricted to items of clothing. Rings, pendants, anklets, and bracelets are all possibilities. Likewise, certain colors might symbolize graduates of a school, while other colors might be forbidden.

For our metamorphics school, we will require that 1st-level transfigurists wear a red arm band to identify them as beginners. When a transfigurist reaches 10th level, he is allowed-- but not required-- to wear a red cloak to symbolize his competence.

Magic Schools and Types of Effects

School	Type of Effect
Alteration	Transformation
Enchantment/Charm	Transformation
Abjuration	Transformation
Illusion/Phantasm	Creation
Invocation/Evocation	Creation
Conjuration/Summoning	Requisitioning
Divination	Paranaturalism
Necromancy	Paranaturalism

Experience Levels and Spell Progression

All existing schools use the experience level progression and spell progression given on the root Wizard Class section. New schools should use these, too. It is possible to devise new tables from scratch, but this creates considerable work for the DM, adding unnecessary complications and an increased chance of an unbalanced campaign. In any case, specialists should not be allowed to progress more quickly than the advancement tables allow.

Hit Points

All existing schools use 4-sided dice to determine their specialists' hit points. The power wielded by a specialist, especially in the higher levels, more than compensates for his relatively low number of hit points. If the specialist is too weak, consider creating more spells, adjusting the current spells to make them stronger, or giving him access to spells from more schools.

Languages

This campaign uses non-weapon proficiencies, and uses the #Lang. column on the Intelligence table for ponus proficiencies. The player may spend these proficiencies as they see fit, including languages, both ancient and modern. In addition, in order to read or write in a given (non-magical) language, additional proficiency slots must be spent to master reading and writing another language.

Oppositional Schools

Each school lies in opposition to one to three of the existing schools of magic. The specialist of the new school will be unable to learn spells from the schools that lie in opposition to his school.

The first step in determining oppositional schools is to decide which existing school most closely resembles the new school. In some cases, this is obvious; for instance, our new school of metamorphics is most like the school of alteration. For less obvious cases, you can eliminate most of the possibilities by recalling which type of magic your new school is derived from (see the Types of Magic section above). A new school will most closely resemble an existing school derived from the same type of magic (see the Magic Schools and Types of Effects Table for instance, if your new school produces Creation effects, it most closely resembles either the school of illusion or invocation/evocation. Once the choices have been narrowed to two or three schools, it should be easy to pick the school most like your new school. If necessary, try comparing your new spells to the existing spells in the Player's Handbook.

When you've decided which existing school most closely resembles your new school, consult the opposition diagram in the Specialists section. The school that lies directly opposite this school is the oppositional school. The school of metamorphics most closely resembles the school of alteration.

The school directly across from alteration on the opposition diagram is abjuration. Therefore, abjuration is the school that is in opposition to metamorphics.

One to three oppositional schools may be assigned to a new school. If the new school is relatively weak (the weak school of greater divination has only a single oppositional school), only one opposition school may be needed. If your new school is relatively powerful, it is appropriate to assign it as many as three oppositional schools.

Look again at the opposition diagram. The schools on either side of the oppositional school are also options for oppositional schools. For instance, additional oppositional schools for illusion are invocation/evocation and abjuration. If it's appropriate for your school to have three oppositional schools, choose these three.

Most likely, your new school will be neither extremely weak nor extremely powerful. In this case, consider giving it two oppositional schools. One should be the initial oppositional school, and the other can be either of the adjacent schools. To decide between the adjacent schools, choose randomly or choose the one that seems less compatible with your new school.

We must choose the oppositional schools for our new school of metamorphics. Since it is neither exceptionally weak or powerful, we will assign it two oppositional schools.

We decided previously that the school of metamorphics most closely resembles the school of alteration. According tothe opposition diagram, the oppositional school of alteration is abjuration; therefore, the oppositional school of metamorphics is also abjuration.

According to the opposition diagram, the adjacent oppositional schools for abjuration-- and likewise, for metamorphics-- are conjuration/summoning and necromancy. We need to choose one of them for our other oppositional school. Either conjuration/summoning or necromancy would be appropriate, but since the school of alteration already has abjuration and necromancy for its oppositional schools, we will choose the other combination. Therefore, the opposition schools for metamorphics are abjuration and conjuration/summoning.

Admittedly, the choice of the second and third oppositional schools is somewhat arbitrary, but remember that we not only strive for balance, but also for schools with unique advantages and restrictions. The DM always has the option to invent a rationale for the existence of specific oppositional schools. For instance, the energies employed by conjuration/summoning and abjuration magic might induce agonizing headaches in a transfigurist, making it impossible for him to learn spells from those schools.

Ethos

The final step in designing a new school is creating a unique ethos. This step is optional, but it adds color to the school and makes it more interesting for the players.

An ethos also serves as a springboard for determining the personality of specialist characters. An ethos can be anything from a simple outline to a detailed profile. Following are some questions to consider when designing an ethos for a new school.

Do the specialists of the school adhere to any particular philosophy? Do they share any particular goals? Such philosophies and goals are often derived from the nature of the magic studied by the specialist. For instance, specialists from the school of metamorphics study spells dealing with change. Continual exposure to the transience of all things might lead transfigurists to be skeptical about the existence of absolutes--a transfigurist, then, might believe that concepts such as "right" and "wrong" are relative to specific situations.

Are evil-aligned characters more drawn to this school than good-aligned characters (or vice versa)? In most cases, wizards of all alignments can be specialists in any school, but a new school might discourage certain alignments and encourage others. Likewise, certain magical academies might accept students of specific alignments only.

If a school does not promote harm to any living creature, or promotes healing, safety, comfort, or compassion, then it probably excludes evil alignments. If it promotes cruelty or self-interest, the school probably excludes good alignments. If a school promotes no particular philosophy, it probably includes specialists of all alignments.

If a school advocates logical thinking and adherence to strict behavioral norms, and discourages excessive self-expression, it probably leans toward lawful alignments. If it encourages creative thinking, freedom of expression, and spontaneous actions, it leans toward chaotic alignments (this is particularly true if it also encourages defiance of written laws to achieve individual goals). If the school takes no particular position on the specialist's relationship with his culture and society, it probably includes lawful, neutral, and chaotic specialists. (The school of metamorphics takes no particular positions on these issues, therefore it is open to specialists of all alignments. Note that this attitude about alignments is also consistent with the school's general philosophy of skepticism about absolutes described above.)

Are any particular personality types drawn to the study of this school? Do they tend to share any common eccentricities? Common likes or dislikes? Would anything about your new school tend to discourage certain types of people or attract others? The school of metamorphics attracts students with a natural interest in the world around them. Since its spells change one thing into another, most students will be interested in how things work and how things are put together-- in short, metamorphics students are analytical, curious, and creative.

What's the relationship of the specialist to other members of his party? Usually, the type of spells available to a specialist will suggest his role in the campaign. If the specialist has a lot of offensive spells, he will likely be on the front lines when the party goes to battle. A specialist with a lot of defensive or reconnaissance spells might be a good spy or investigator. Although we haven't yet devised many spells for our transfigurists, it looks like neither offensive nor defensive spells will predominate. Therefore, it seems likely that a transfigurist will leave the bulk of the fighting to others in his party.

Do specialists of this school tend to have a lot of friends? Are they likely to have spouses and families? This depends on the specialist's philosophy, goals, and personality. Unless the specialist is extreme in one of these areas-- for instance, if he is obsessive about the study of magic, or if his field is considered repulsive or frightening (such as the school of necromancy)-- he is likely to have an average number of friends and an average chance at a successful marriage. (Since transfigurists have no extreme traits, we will assume that they have a fair number of friends and are as likely as anyone to marry and raise a family.)

Where do these specialists prefer to live? As mentioned previously, certain schools tend to attract certain types of people. If a school's specialists tend to be outgoing and affable, they probably prefer to live in an urban area. If they're brooding and anti-social, or if they're conducting potentially dangerous research, they probably live in an isolated area. Usually, a specific location won't suggest itself-- specialists tend to live just about anywhere. We will make this the case with transfigurists.

How do the specialists spend most of their time? Reclusive types will stay close to home, usually lost in research, reading, or writing. Curious types are more inclined to explore the world, eager to meet people and experience new situations. In most cases, there will not be obvious pastimes applicable to all specialists of a school. This will be the case with transfigurists. They spend some of their time doing research at home and a fair amount of time out in the world exploring and socializing.

How do the specialists typically earn a living? Common occupations for wizards include teaching, counseling, researching, and advising. However, the spells available to a particular specialist might suggest additional careers. The metamorphics spells do not suggest any particular occupation, so transfigurists probably pursue the common wizard occupations.

[Complete Wizard's Handbook]

Player's Handbook