D&D Why There Is Only One HighLevel Divination Spell

D&D: Why There Is Only One High-Level Divination Spell

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Divination is one of the schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons, yet it only has one high-level spell called Foresight due to how broken it can be.

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D&D Why There Is Only One HighLevel Divination Spell

Divination is one of the schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons, yet it only has one high-level spell in the official rulebooks. The reason for this is that divination has the potential to be one of the strongest schools in D&D and giving it high-level effects can eliminate all of the challenges in a campaign. The ability to predict the future and see things without risking harm will quickly drain the fun out of the game.

The spells that belong to divination broadly fall into two categories: communication, and using magic in replacement of a sense. There are only a few divination spells that are intended for combat, with the true strike cantrip and hunter’s mark being the most famous. Instead, the divination spells are intended to solve mysteries and allow the player to gather information about their surroundings. There are also some divination spells that give the player glimpses into the future, but these cannot be relied upon, due to the ever-shifting nature of a D&D game. The fact that divination spells aren’t meant for combat is alleviated by many of them being D&D ritual spells, which means they can be cast without expending a slot, so long as the caster has ten minutes to prepare.

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There are no shortages of D&D spells that can inflict bodily harm, conjure creatures from another dimension, or weave illusions that can be mistaken for reality. Divination is a sorely underrepresented school in the official D&D rulebooks, with only a few mid-level spells and a single high-level spell. There is a reason for this, as divination would be a popular school in real life, but it has a tendency to spoil D&D games.

The Seers Can Break Dungeons & Dragons

The most powerful divination spell in D&D is foresight, a ninth-level spell that grants one creature advantage to pretty much all of their rolls for eight hours. There are no other ninth-level divination spells, nor any seventh or eighth-level spells. There are only two sixth-level divination spells: find the path, which tells the caster the most direct route to a location, and true seeing, which gives one willing creature truesight, making them immune to illusion spells and letting them see everything within 120ft.

The reason why divination spells peter out so quickly is that they have a tendency to remove the element of surprise from a game. The fourth-level spell arcane eye is a great example of this. It allows the player to conjure a floating invisible eyeball that can be commanded from afar, sending visual information back to the caster. This one spell can let a caster explore a dungeon in safety, ruining all of its surprises unless the DM can come up with a workaround or a reason why it won’t work. The ability to learn a dungeon’s layout, predict an enemy’s next move, or instantly learn an answer to a mystery is counter-productive to storytelling. As D&D divination spells grow to feel like cheating, they make the game less fun, as the players will learn information before it can be revealed at a dramatically appropriate time. Dungeons & Dragons is a game about telling exciting stories and roleplaying as heroes and villains. The divination spells are essentially movie spoilers in magical form, which is why the school runs out of spells as the player climbs the character levels.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dungeons-dragons-divination-spell-foresight-broken/

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