New Minor Schools

Do other minor schools of magic exist? That's a decision for the DM. Depending on the DM's style and the parameters of his campaign, he could select a small group of spells and assign them to a minor school. For instance, a minor school of lesser illusions could include all illusions of 1st-level through 3rd-level. A minor school of lesser abjuration/necromancy could include all abjuration and necromancy spells of 1st level.

To add color to the campaign rule, the DM might want to create a historical explanation for the existence of any new minor schools. It's possible, for instance, that the minor school of lesser illusions was created by the administration of an academy of magic to accommodate students who lacked the aptitude to become full-fledged illusionists. The minor school of abjuration/necromancy might have been developed by an ancient clan of good-aligned wizards to help protect them from attacks by a rival band of abjurers allied with a force of undead.

All wizards, regardless of their specialty, should have access to the spells of any minor school. If he wishes, the DM may assign bonuses and penalties to the various specialists' chances of learning the spells of a related minor school. Some possibilities follow.

· A specialist has a 15 percent (or 30 percent) bonus, a non-specialist has a 15 percent (or 30 percent) penalty.

· A specialist has a 30 percent bonus, a non-specialist has a 30 percent penalty.

· Both the specialist and the non-specialist have 15 percent (or 30 percent) bonuses.

Careful judgement should always be exercised when adding new minor schools. Remember that the more access characters have to magic, the more powerful they become. And the more powerful the characters are, the harder it is for the DM to maintain play balance. In general, the following two guidelines should apply:

· A minor school should include only a handful of low-level spells, none of them higher than 4th-level. Four or five 1st-level spells, two or three 2nd-level spells, one or two 3rd-level spells, and one or two 4th-level spells are sufficient.

· A campaign should include no more than two minor schools. (Note than in almost every campaign, one of the two minor schools will be lesser divination.)

Table of Contents