Deep Dive: Divine Magic (Patreon)

Divine magic can often seem like it is based in opposites. It is capable of healing or harming the body, blessings or curses, and communicating with or banishing the dead. Some people extend this to things like good and evil, or light and dark, but that is an oversimplification of those concepts. Most spellcasters think of magic as “living” in the abstract sense, but there is truth to that statement for divine casters, when you consider the source of their abilities.

Divine spellcasters are created when a magic user forms a special connection with a powerful, otherworldly being. This is typically a god or deity of some kind, but can actually be any powerful enough extra-dimensional being, such as demons or elementals. Residing on their own dimensional planes (which are connected to the astral plane, same as ours), these beings are the masters of their domains, with their powers at their fullest. By forming a link with someone on the material plane, they grant that person a fraction of their powers and abilities.

Like most magic, divine magic can manifest at a very young age. A child might be overheard conversing with an “imaginary friend” of sorts - only for their parents to discover the truth once their child casts their first spell. This “friend” is often a being the person already has a tangential connection with, such as with a deity their family worships, but can also happen seemingly at random. Curiously, the ability to communicate directly with their magic-granting patron appears to be limited to childhood and dissipates as the person gets older.

Magical energy, specifically divine magical energy, can be either positive or negative. Divine energy that is positive heals and blesses, while the negative harms and curses. This does not inherently mean “good” or “evil,” but is more akin to an electrical charge. However, because of the abilities tied to each alignment, good and evil casters still often lean in the direction you would expect them to. Still, not all necromancers are evil, just as not all clerics are good.

Much of divine spellcasting is focused around the concepts of life and death. The body reacts to negative and positively aligned magic differently, with positive energy supporting the body’s ability to heal, and negative energy hindering it. That said, this is often limited to enhancing what the body is able to do on its own; a cleric reverse aging no more than a necromancer could create a disease from nothing. However, there are records of truly powerful spellcasters capable of things like regrowing limbs and even resurrection.

Divine spellcasters use their magic by channeling the powers of their patron. The domains and abilities of these patrons all differ, which in turn grants those abilities to the spellcasters. For example, a follower of a god of fire would have the ability to cast fire spells, and a follower of slumber demon would be able to cast spells related to sleep and dreaming.

As mentioned, the most common spells available to divine casters are those related to healing or harming the body. Blessing or cursing (charging an area or object with positive or negative magical energy) is also very common. As spells become more complex and powerful, spellcasters will often ask their patrons for assistance in casting, often in the form of prayer. This can lead to literal miracles being performed, though this is less common these days, as the divide between our plane and others seems wider.

Unlike other types of spellcasters, divine casters can be split into two categories into mages and warriors. All of them effectively function as an avatar of their patron deity/being, but the way they each use their magic differs. Clerics and Necromancers are the mages, using magic and casting spells in a manner more akin to traditional spellcasters. Paladins and Blackguards make up the latter category, being physical fighters who use their magic to enhance their abilities.

A Cleric, sometimes also known as a Priest, is perhaps the most well known type of divine spellcaster. Traditionally thought of healers and holy people, they would be taken in and trained at a young age by a church. In more secular families and communities, these individuals are often encouraged to seek out medical training in addition to the magical, going on to become doctors and physicians, using their magic to help treat their patients. Positively-aligned magic is also a strong deterrent against the undead, making clerics excellent at performing exorcisms and other “ghost busting” duties.

Also on the positive end of the spectrum are Paladins, also called Holy Knights. Sometimes described as a cross between a cleric and a warrior, they are thought of as chivalrous and holy warriors. Paladins are trained fighters, relying more on their strength and blade than pure magical prowess. Still possessing some level of healing ability, they more often use their magic to enhance their strength or bless their weapons, and are even capable of magically inspiring confidence in their compatriots.

On the negatively-aligned side of things are Necromancers, also as Heretics. Whereas clerics use positive energy to heal the body, the negatively-aligned energy that a necromancer uses causes it to decay. Their abilities in regards to the undead are also reversed, meaning it is much easier for them to communicate with and even control the undead. However, because of all of these things, necromancers are often thought of as unclean, evil, or even insane.

Blackguards, also known as Death Knights, are the final type of divine caster. Similar to how necromancers are the opposite of clerics, the same can be said of blackguards and paladins. They are even sometimes even referred to as anti-paladins. Where paladins inspire confidence in their allies, blackguards use magic to instill fear in the enemies. The spells they cast can charge their weapons and even bodies with negative energy, cursing and sapping their opponents strengths in battle.