One D&D: Every Spell That Has Changed Schools

The second update for One D&D has been released, and it has changed the schools of magic for lots of spells in Dungeons & Dragons. In D&D, all spells are broken down into eight schools, which each representing a different aspect of magic. There have been a lot of disagreements among the fans about spell school placement and plenty of people argue that there are D&D spells that belong in different schools, with spells even switching schools between editions.

In D&D, the eight schools of magic are Abjuration, involving spells that create barriers or shield people from harm; Conjuration, which involves summoning items or creatures; Divination, involving seeing and experiencing things that are far away; Enchantment, which is about influencing or taking control of the minds of living beings; Evocation, which centers on creating and shaping energy; Illusion, which focuses on magical trickery; Necromancy, which is about directing positive and negative energy to control life and death; and Transmutation, physically altering things through magical means. The schools are especially important to wizards, as their Arcane Tradition subclass choice at level 2 involves selecting one of the schools. This dates back to the old days of D&D, when specialist wizards could cast extra spells from one school but were barred from using spells from specific other schools.

One D&D broke spells into three categories: Arcane, Divine, and Primal. This isn’t the only change that has happened, as the latest Unearthed Arcana article on the official One D&D website has been released. The article is called “Expert Classes” and it focuses on updating the bard, ranger, and rogue classes. Despite the name, the article doesn’t just focus on the sneaky classes, as it also includes the categories for all the spells from the most recent Player’s Handbook. The schools for some spells have been changed, though this is still all playtesting material, and it could potentially be reversed in a few years when the updated D&D 5e books are released in 2024.

All One D&D Arcane Spells That Have Changed School

Arcane spells are ones derived from the fabric of reality and their power can be called upon in a number of different ways. According to the first One D&D article, the Arcane magic users are artificers, bards, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards. The bard class can potentially use spells from the Divine and Primal types, thanks to their Magical Secrets feature at level 11. D&D‘s Evocation school of magic has taken some hits in One D&D, but they make sense, except for thunderwave, which should have stayed as an Evocation spell, or at least be changed to Conjuration.

All One D&D Divine Spells That Have Changed School

The Divine spells in the D&D multiverse are the ones provided through worship of higher powers or possessing a connection to divine energy. In One D&D, the Divine magic users are clerics and paladins. The cleric spell list has been overhauled in terms of school change, as all the healing spells have switched to D&D‘s Abjuration school of magic. It’s unclear why this change was made, but it wouldn’t be the first time that the cure wounds spell and its derivatives have changed school in the history of D&D.

All One D&D Primal Spells That Have Changed School

The Primal spells in the D&D multiverse are ones that draw power from nature itself, with casters able to create and destroy life through the power of magic. In One D&D, the Primal magic users are druids and rangers. Like the cleric, the druid spell list has seen a huge shift when it comes school, with the healing spells switching to Abjuration, and the reincarnate spell shifting to Transmutation. The earthquake spell shifting to D&D‘s Transmutation school of magic is also notable, even if most players will never get the chance to cast it, seeing as it’s a level 8 spell.

One D&D Has Been Bad For Evokers (But Great For Abjurers & Transmuters)

By far the biggest change in the latest One D&D article involves D&D‘s Evocation school of magic. It’s no secret that the D&D 5e Player’s Handbook overrepresented the school, with Divination and Necromancy barely getting a look in. This mostly affected Evokers (i.e., the wizards who took School of Evocation as their Arcane Tradition at level 2), as it meant they spent way less when copying spells into their spellbook.

D&D‘s healing spells for classes and subclasses have seen a total shift, with all of them switching to Abjuration. In the D&D 5e Player’s Handbook, the healing spells all fell into the Evocation school, with the explanation that they’re pumping positive energy into their recipients. Abjuration is a way worse choice than Evocation, as Abjuration spells are all about protecting people and creating barriers, while a healing spell involves reversing the damage that has already been done. It’s unclear why this choice was made, but maybe things will be clear when One D&D gets around to updating the cleric, druid, and paladin classes for Dungeons & Dragons 5e in a future update.

Source: One D&D