Divine VS Arcane Magic ?


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion


Is there a fundamental difference between Divine and Arcane magic in setting...or is it just a difference in how the character "shapes" magic effects ?

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

2 people marked this as a favorite.

It's just how the character shapes the magic.

In my mind, divine magic is 'top down': controlling and shaping it is about taking something larger than oneself and getting it to do the desired task. That bigger something is often a deity or demigod (and has to be, in the clerical style*), but can also be any powerful abstract. 'Nature' for druids and rangers. 'Justice' for paladins. Ancestor spirits, elements, and more for shaman and oracles.

In contrast, arcane magic is 'bottom up': knowing the secrets of reality to borrow, cheat, and exploit the rules to make something out of nothing. Wizards, alchemists, and magi all have to keep long books that allow them to reconstruct their spells step-by-step each day. Witches do the same thing, but by conferring with a patron instead of writing in a book. Bards are a bit more freestyling, but don't draw their power wholesale from a larger concept. Sorcerers, summoners, and bloodragers all draw an inkling of power from somewhere else, but they have to know how to amplify it and build it up into a spell.

*:
In Golarion, at least, Clerics, Inquisitors, and Warpriests all draw power from a specific deity or demigod. Other campaign settings may vary.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Lost Omens Campaign Setting / General Discussion / Divine VS Arcane Magic ? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in General Discussion