D&D 5E Schools of magic and nonwizards

[Minigiant]

When I DM, I try to put a few rules and descriptions on the various schools of magic. I tend to explain this early to my players and use them for my rulings.

For example, the paladin's divine sense and ranger's primeval awareness both count as divination at my table. So they don't work on people with nondetection casted on them.

Shapechangers have advantage against transmutation spells but take double damage while transformed against their will.

I also use the "Evocation are magic. Conjurations are real (but may be real magic)" idea. So some cunjuration spells work in antimagic fields and magically dead zones if casted from outside. Dragon breath is evocation.

Then there are all the flavor aspects of the schools. Some thing necromancy is evil. Rituals can be invented base on the schools. Wild mage and lycantrope blood has hints of transmutation. Airships which run on evocation are less effecient than ones which run on conjured fuel.

So does spell school matter to anyone but wizards in your games?

 

[Ketser]

In my games they are pretty much a wizard only things. They are the way how the eight great philosophies of wizardry categorize magic, but outside that and related school abilities there is no mechanical effect.

In fact the members of different philosophies or traditions even argue over things like in what school a spell or magical effect belongs. For example there is a long argument about are healing spells necromancy or some other school, some conjurers are even saying that mage armor is more conjuration then abjuration

Magic is in my personal campaign setting a bit more varied and complex to be separated just into eight schools. With detect magic they get a few words about the nature of the spell, instead of school, although it tends to carry a bit risk of spoiling what spell comes from a trap or what magic item they just found (we use the harder identification variant rule). SOmetimes i want a additional arcana check for that reason.

 

[not-so-newguy]

I'm thinking of making a rock gnome transmuter. What's the "classic fluff" surrounding this magic school?

 

[Fanaelialae]

I don't do this in D&D.

However in a system I was working on, I had some types of magic that had a chance of being dispelled if they came into contact with cold iron, while illusions could often be penetrated if reflected in a mirror.

 

[Minigiant]

I'm thinking of making a rock gnome transmuter. What's the "classic fluff" surrounding this magic school?

The only fluff I knew of transmuters is them banning conjuration in Never winter Nights.

But you could easily steal flavor from sources like Fullmetal Alchemist.