Arcane spells vs. Divine spells [Archive] - Wizards Community

Arcane spells vs. Divine spells [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
RaivokasMagma
10-09-07, 10:56 AM Which one is better?
Which spells have more power?
Gnarl
10-09-07, 11:13 AM Which one is better?

It depends on what you're looking for.
Seeker95
10-09-07, 11:59 AM For wizards, arcane spells are way better. They can cast them.
For clerics, divine spells are way better. They can cast them.
For mystic-theurges, both are great.

For wizard fans, divine spells are better, because they love to complain.
For cleric fans, divine spells are better, because they don't have to micromanage an account ledger.
For mystic-theurge fans, it doesn't matter; the spell sheet is too small to hold all of them.
Treantmonklvl20
10-09-07, 01:52 PM Mechanically, there is very little difference between an Arcane Spell and a Divine Spell.

For example - protection from evil is both an arcane and divine spell. The only real difference is how it is gained and use of a Divine Focus or a Material Component.

If you are referring to comparing the Cleric spell list to the Wizard spell list. They of course have completely different strengths. However, usually the wizard list is considered slightly better because of inclusion of more broken spells.
Pitiless_Interfector
10-09-07, 06:09 PM Arcane spells are more powerful, because they're essentially the only class feature wizards and sorcerers get. Clerics, on the other hand, can fight, wear armor, and god knows what else (especially given domain powers and the weirdass feats from Complete Divine and Complete Champion), so their spells aren't powerful as actual spells per se; however, their ability to heal and pump up the whole party can be a lot more useful, since making your teammates (and you) more effective at kicking ass is usually better than using spells to kick ass directly.

Now, from an in-world perspective, things are totally different; divine casters's sole marketable skills are (accurate) fortunetelling and healing. Arcane spellcasters, on the other hand, have an array of fantastic effects at their fingertips, and their enchantment spells obviate the need to actually earn a living, since they can just dominate huge swathes of people and need never do anything themselves.

And why oh why does EVERYONE forget the druid? It's quite clearly the most broken class in the game, seeing how it can fight (a damn sight better than most fighters, given their spell enhancements), heal, blast, and summon: three classes for the price of one! How dare you poor bastards forget the druid?
JulesCARV
10-10-07, 01:26 PM All other things being equal, divine spells are better, because 1) they are not subject to arcane spell failure, and 2) they do not require the caster to get a full eight hours of peaceful rest to prepare them. In addition, a spell found on both divine and arcane spell lists is often cheaper to cast as a divine spellcaster. For instance, arcane identify requires a 100 gp pearl. Divine identify requires a divine focus.

Of course, all other things are not equal, and you don't see arcane and divine spellcasters having exactly the class same features and spell lists. (For example, the Unearthed Arcana divine bard converts from arcane spellcasting to divine spellcasting, but pays for it with a wisdom dependency in addition to charisma dependency and alignment restrictions on spells with descriptors stricter than those of a cleric, and also gets several new powers known.)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RaivokasMagma 10-09-07, 10:56 AM	Which one is better? Which spells have more power?
Gnarl 10-09-07, 11:13 AM	Which one is better? It depends on what you're looking for.
Seeker95 10-09-07, 11:59 AM	For wizards, arcane spells are way better. They can cast them. For clerics, divine spells are way better. They can cast them. For mystic-theurges, both are great. For wizard fans, divine spells are better, because they love to complain. For cleric fans, divine spells are better, because they don't have to micromanage an account ledger. For mystic-theurge fans, it doesn't matter; the spell sheet is too small to hold all of them.
Treantmonklvl20 10-09-07, 01:52 PM	Mechanically, there is very little difference between an Arcane Spell and a Divine Spell. For example - protection from evil is both an arcane and divine spell. The only real difference is how it is gained and use of a Divine Focus or a Material Component. If you are referring to comparing the Cleric spell list to the Wizard spell list. They of course have completely different strengths. However, usually the wizard list is considered slightly better because of inclusion of more broken spells.
Pitiless_Interfector 10-09-07, 06:09 PM	Arcane spells are more powerful, because they're essentially the only class feature wizards and sorcerers get. Clerics, on the other hand, can fight, wear armor, and god knows what else (especially given domain powers and the weirdass feats from Complete Divine and Complete Champion), so their spells aren't powerful as actual spells per se; however, their ability to heal and pump up the whole party can be a lot more useful, since making your teammates (and you) more effective at kicking ass is usually better than using spells to kick ass directly. Now, from an in-world perspective, things are totally different; divine casters's sole marketable skills are (accurate) fortunetelling and healing. Arcane spellcasters, on the other hand, have an array of fantastic effects at their fingertips, and their enchantment spells obviate the need to actually earn a living, since they can just dominate huge swathes of people and need never do anything themselves. And why oh why does EVERYONE forget the druid? It's quite clearly the most broken class in the game, seeing how it can fight (a damn sight better than most fighters, given their spell enhancements), heal, blast, and summon: three classes for the price of one! How dare you poor bastards forget the druid?
JulesCARV 10-10-07, 01:26 PM	All other things being equal, divine spells are better, because 1) they are not subject to arcane spell failure, and 2) they do not require the caster to get a full eight hours of peaceful rest to prepare them. In addition, a spell found on both divine and arcane spell lists is often cheaper to cast as a divine spellcaster. For instance, arcane identify requires a 100 gp pearl. Divine identify requires a divine focus. Of course, all other things are not equal, and you don't see arcane and divine spellcasters having exactly the class same features and spell lists. (For example, the Unearthed Arcana divine bard converts from arcane spellcasting to divine spellcasting, but pays for it with a wisdom dependency in addition to charisma dependency and alignment restrictions on spells with descriptors stricter than those of a cleric, and also gets several new powers known.)