D&D 3.5 - Complete Mage [OEF]

CHAPTER 1
FUNDAMENTALS
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Warlocks whose power derives from demonkind are most
commonly chaotic evil and tend toward savage brutality.
Fey: A growing number of warlocks draw their power
from the mystical realm of faerie. Fey have always enjoyed
a special link to the wild magical energy that suffuses the
natural world, and most sages agree that mortals—even
the long-lived elves—can't begin to comprehend the sheer
untapped potential that rests within faeriekind. The rare fey
that interact with human folk represent only the tip of the
iceberg. True fey are more terrible and beautiful than mortal
eyes can bear to perceive. Legends of rival courts of fey—one
light and one dark—have persisted for ages, though the fey
themselves don't share details. The increase in mortals who
wield fey-given power, however, suggests that the realm of
faerie might be awakening from a long slumber. Woe to
those who underestimate the effect of this development on
the mortal realm.
A feyblooded warlock is equally likely to be a well-meaning
chaotic good, an unpredictable chaotic neutral, or a coldly
malevolent neutral evil individual. Few have the discipline
for a lawful evil bent, and most don't share the savage outlook
common to chaotic evil.
Slaadi: As beings of pure chaos unconcerned with matters
of morality, few slaadi care enough to make pacts with
mortals. Some of the most potent of them, however, such
as the mightiest of the death slaadi, occasionally empower
warlocks for their own unfathomable reasons.
Warlocks whose powers derive from the slaadi can be of
any alignment, but most are chaotic.
Celestials: The mere suggestion that the paragons of
virtue would grant such dark powers to mortals seems at first
to be unworthy of discussion. However, some particularly
wild or chaotic celestials, such as the eladrins, share more
in common with the fey than with the archons or angels. Is
it so inconceivable that the mighty denizens of the Court
of Stars (the eladrin lords detailed in Book of Exalted Deeds)
might see fit to share some fragment of their power with
charismatic mortals?
A warlock who has celestial power to thank for his invocations
is most likely to be chaotic good, though such power
has also been known to corrupt even the most well-meaning
soul. For another take on a celestial-themed warlock, see the
enlightened spirit prestige class (page 60).
Regardless of the source of his talent, the warlock might
represent a heretofore “missing link” between arcane magic and
innate magic—a link in the great chain that spans the distance
between the racial abilities of the dragon, archon, fey, or devil
and the learned abilities of the wizard. Only time will tell if
these strange individuals are destined to remain exceptions to
the general rules of magic, or if they presage a growing tide of
characters who wield power through their bloodline.
SPELL SCHOOLS
The uncertainties surrounding magic haven't stopped magical
practitioners from promulgating various theories and systems
for its use. Perhaps the most successful of these concepts is
the system of schools of magic relied on by wizards.
Schools don't explain exactly how magic works, and they
don't contain any rules or laws for working magic. Instead,
schools provide labels that fit the facts various scholars and
practitioners have observed about magic over the years.
Wizards have identified eight schools of magic: abjuration,
conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion,
necromancy, and transmutation. Each school describes a group
of magical effects that achieve similar results and that can be
brought into being using spells that have been structured in
similar ways. Characters who grasp the concept of spell schools
maintain a way of thinking about magic that helps them
achieve the proper frame of mind for working arcane spells.
Spell schools, and the techniques associated with them,
have proved such effective classifications that spellcasters of
all kinds have adopted the terms and methods associated with
schools to sharpen their own understanding of magic and to
focus their research into new spells. The detect magic spell is
just one example that proves the usefulness of the concept of
spell schools. The spell reveals magical auras, and anyone with
even a basic understanding of spell schools can examine an
aura and determine exactly what the aura's school is, regardless
of the original source of the aura. A magical aura reflects
what the magic is actually accomplishing, not where it comes
from. A trained observer can study an aura's characteristics
and relate them to one of the eight schools.
School classifications are useful for more than talking
or thinking about spells. The Spell Focus feat allows any
spellcaster (not just a wizard) to develop a knack for casting
effective spells from a single school.
Schools aren't the only method for understanding and
working arcane magic, just the most successful one. Other
approaches can prove just as effective, at least for some arcanists.
Warlocks, for example, are classified as users of arcane
magic (because they don't rely on a deity or ethos for their
magical power), but they don't work their magic within the
framework that schools have defined.
SCHOOL SPECIALIZATION
Wizards understand the school approach to arcane magic so
well that they can use a single school as the focal point for their
magical efforts. Doing this is commonly known as specializing
in a school. When a wizard chooses one school as a specialty,
he must also choose two prohibited schools (except for divination
specialists, who must choose only one prohibited school).
Wizards cannot prepare or cast spells from their prohibited
schools, nor can they read spells from their prohibited schools
from scrolls or release spell effects from their prohibited
schools if the item is activated with a spell trigger.
A few scholars maintain that some schools naturally
oppose each other; however, few wizards believe this is truly
so. In fact, a school specialist can choose any two prohibited
schools. Specialists must choose prohibited schools for the
simple reason that opting for a specialty doesn't leave them
enough time or energy to learn spells from all the schools.
Still, rivalries between students of particular schools have
arisen over the years, and certain schools appeal more to
some practitioners than to others. Here's a quick look at each
school and its typical practitioners.