Evocation Magic in 5e Dungeons & Dragons - Web DM

BOOM! We're talking about the EVOCATION spell school! There's a ton more in there than fireball! Learn our best ways to fully wield the energy that makes magic itself! Don't forget to subscribe, comment & share. New episodes every Wednesday.

Written & Hosted by Jonathan Pruitt & Jim Davis
Produced, Directed & Edited by Travis Boles

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5e Dungeons & Dragons is here to stay, and Web DM is here to help!!! Jim Davis & Jonathan Pruitt have been playing Dungeons & Dragons for a combined 30+ years, and on Web DM they demystify, dethrone, and defrock this Dungeon we call Dragons! Subscribe to our channel for weekly videos on 5e Classes, Monsters, DM Tips, and more! Join Pruitt & Jim as we kick down the door and talk some serious Dungeons & Dragons!

[WebDM]

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[urbanben]

“I didn’t say ‘I ask how big the room is’, I said ‘I cast fireball’”

[guinevereteef]

the way i like to play it out is that the schools of magic in fiction are purely academic, and this is the exact kind of discussion a couple of disgruntled wizards would have

[ZerkMonsterHunter]

The wizard, a chem major:"Why can't I summon a base?"

the bard, who just got off his phone: "yeah, I'd like to summon a bass."

[stewanmaleno]

I like how half of every spell-school video is about how loose the spell classification is.

[cloudsRniceCM]

If magic would be real these guys would still be having the same discussion

[ericw]

The way I see it, when a spell is first developed, which school the developer of the spell belongs to gets the credit for the spell. Evocation is so broad spectrum because there were so many students blowing shit up and taking credit for it.

[richardwilliams]

Somewhere in 2e Planescape it mentions (albeit for comedic effect) that planar people and creatures are at risk of being unexpectedly conjured by prime material wizards. So in my mind Conjuration is something which summons material and energy from the Outer Planes, while Evocation summons it from the Inner (Elemental) Planes. That would mean Melf's Acid Arrow draws acid from one of the Elemental or Para-Elemental Planes, (most likely Ooze) while Acid Splash summons acid from somewhere in the Outer Planes. Likewise, Wall of Stone would draw from the Plane of Earth while Leomund's Secret Chest would be a real chest stored somewhere in the Outer Planes. Also important to note, I clearly have too much free time.

[az]

I can’t wait to have enough experience with DnD to talk about and understand it like you guys. Thanks for all your help.

[CitanulsPumpkin]

The best in world excuse for why the spell school sorting seems to damn wonky is to look at them like actual schools. Students at MIT have fundamentally different areas of focus than students at Stanford. Each school has it's own focus but they all have similar needs. Sending is evocation and message is transmutation because 5, 000 years ago Evokers came up with Sending for their communication needs and Transmuters came up with message.

Healing isn't necromancy, even though it should be, because divine casters are students at Brigham Young University and don't care about what is going on in the rest of the educated world. While necromancers are the University of Pennsylvania, off doing god knows what so often that people forget they're also an "Ivy League" school like conjuration, and illusion.

[SapphireCrook]

For those curious: "Why the heck conjuration?" in 3.5 you literally just teleport in chunks of the Plane of Good Feels (Positive Energy Plane, which fuels life, the opposite of the Negative Energy Plane, which fuels undead boogers) to make the boo boo go away.
Which, honestly, I have a soft spot for that kinda shenanigans.

[walkseva]

I see Web DM, I watch Web DM, I explosive rune.

[arsarma]

Fire is addition heat
Lighting is the movement of electrons
Cold is loss of heat
Acid is the motion of hydrogen (ie, it pulls compounds apart)

[Alefiend]

Thanks for this. I was hoping for some seriously wonkish discussion of this confusing school of magic, and you delivered. The standard D&D definitions are maddening.

[camerondilbon]

I've said this before on another video on schools of magic, but these are hands down my favorite of Web DM's videos. I have learned so much from you guys. Great work! I'm not sure if you guys have tackled all of the eight schools or not, but I look forward to the next one if any.

[jgr]

in an Apatheist World:
Wizard: "prove to me that the gods exist!"
Cleric: "that's the only explanation for the schools inconsistencies!"
Wizard: "you got me there!"

[carnage]

The way I've been doing Mordenkainen's sword, all it's spell text as written is the same, but if it hits a target the target must make a Con save, on a fail the target is petrified. A target under the stone skin spell has disadvantage on this save. A petrified or stone target struck by the sword is shattered, destroying it.

I love the image of a Wizard slicing through a mountain and causing an avalanche. I also feel like the players don't have enough access to one of the coolest status conditions in the game. It's a 7th level spell, let's have some fun with it here.

[DurdleDers]

Leomund's Habitable Hemisphere. Genius.

[TheNerdySimulation]

Never have I so quickly wanted to revamp a portion of D&D than when I started actually looking at the spell schools and their associated spells. Just attempting to comprehend them requires a plethora of Sanity Checks.

#HabitableHemisphere

Also, best stinger yet, guys. ;D

[BearBerserk]

I like to think of certain spells belonging to certain schools due to where the energy for the spell comes from. This typically determines what types of spells can be seen belonging to their schools, but it also means that nearly identical results can be derived from entirely different sources. This probably is just as mixed up as the descriptions in the PHB, but you can see below roughly how I break it down. Hope it helps.
Transmutation, physical energy
abjuration, magic energy in yourself
conjuration, magical energy from another plane
divination, spiritual energy
enchantment, emotional energy
evocation, magical energy in the environment
illusion, mental energy
necromancy, life force/energy