Editing Magic (section)

=== Magic in D&D 4e ===
Perhaps the closest thing that one can get to [[skub]] concentrate is how magic changed in D&D 4th edition. With this edition having been designed around the concept of eliminating the [[Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards]] issue, which required both buffing martial classes and [s]nerfing[/s] '''altering''' how magic works.

Firstly, the idea of magical classes running on [[Vancian Casting]] and its subsystems whilst martial classes just rolled to hit stuff was replaced with the universal [[AEDU System]]; every class has a pool (size determined by level) of in-combat tricks and special attacks, which are divided into being usable either at will, once per combat encounter, or once per day. This is the source behind the negative meme that "all classes in 4e are spellcasters".

Secondly, magic itself has been divided into two broad categories; Combat Magic and Ritual Magic. The intent behind this split is to let spellcasters still be able to do cool shit, but not at the expense of making other classes look like pointless [[meatshield]]s or just being flat-out useless.

Combat Magic refers to spells that are either offensive in nature, or which are utilitarian but simple enough that they can be cast in combat conditions. These latter spells thusly lack the "oomph" of utility spells of old - combat teleport spells are more along the lines of an old-school Dimension Door, whilst old-school Teleports or [[Plane Shift]]s are Ritual Magic. Every class has its own entirely unique arsenal of spells, designed to reinforce the themes of that class and its "archetypes" - the [[Invoker]] is big on curses and thunder/lightning/fire/radiant damage, the [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerer]] is all about short-ranged bursts and blasts that often do multiple damage types, the [[Cleric]] heals and buffs, and the [[Wizard]] is a jack-of-all- trades. Another major change is that, due to the AEDU System's reliance on powers over level-gated class features, there are a lot more levels of spells than in previous editions - nearly 30 levels of distinct spells, rather than the 9 levels of 3e and the "9 wizard levels, 7 cleric/druid levels" of 2e. Because of this, players are expected to replace their lowest-leveled spells as they level up to remain competitive with the increasing power of their enemies, rather than having spell potency being determined by character level, as was the subsystem in [[Vancian Casting]]. Some spells associated with "older" classes retain their familiar names, but their mechanics can differ from the old school experience due to the new edition's paradigms - in addition to what we just talked about, there's also the design paradigm that [[Save or Die]] and [[Save or Suck]] powers don't exist in 4e (except for a few monster abilities). Thusly, Disintegrate doesn't insta-kill whoever you point it at, but instead does a pretty hefty chunk of necrotic damage and then continues to burn away at the target's HP for multiple rounds. Fireball isn't an insta-gib spell, but is instead built for clearing out groups of [[Mook]]s or weakening bunched-up enemies; you want that [[Slayers|Lina Inverse]] feel, you want to have your DM use minions - also, because it's a low level, you'll eventually give it up for bigger and more impressive fire-blast themed spells.

Ritual Magic refers to spells that aren't directly combat related. Any of the "pass a skill check or negate an obstacle" type spells are slotted in here, like Alarm, Magic Mouth, Sending, Knock, [[Plane Shift]], Teleport, etc. Rituals now take extended periods of time to cast (minutes to hours, typically) - which isn't actually new, as many of these kinds of spells tended to have casting times longer than "1 round" to begin with - and usually require the expenditure of resources (simplified as a money cost) combined with a skill check to pull off. This means it's actually worthwhile to try to pick the lock or do things the mundane way first, but keeping the Ritual on hand for emergencies is still a good idea. Ritual Magic also covers non-combat but still cool magic, like identifying or creating magic items, fashioning castles from nothing, reshaping the land around you, erecting flying islands, building your own [[demiplane]] or [[Chronomancy|opening time portals]].

Ironically, this new system means that 4e actually works really well for [[Low Fantasy]] or [[Sword & Sorcery]] themed games where combat magic goes against the grain; just bar classes that are "too magical" (running an all-Martial party in 4e is incredibly viable right out of the PHB) and restrict magic to Ritual Magic, and you have a world where magic can be done to achieve mysterious and mystical effects, but in combat you depend on a strong arm and sturdy steel to see the day.