How magic schools work

The eight schools of spells, what the manual says each one holds, what a school level unlocks, and a few spells in each.

verified 6.37updated 2026-10-02 · Jake6 min read

A magic school is a group of spells that a nation learns together by research. Where a magic path belongs to a mage and rarely changes, a school belongs to the whole nation and grows over the game. A spell can be cast once the nation has researched its school up to the spell’s level, a mage who has the spell’s paths is at hand, and he holds any gems or blood slaves it uses.

The schools index lists all eight and each school’s page lists its spells by level from the Inspector’s data. This page says what each school is for. It repeats the manual’s account and we have not re-measured it. Paths are on How magic paths work.

How a school level works

Each school has levels from 1 up to 9. Researching a level gives the nation access to the spells of that level, and the manual says a nation’s mages can then use any spell of the school up to that level for which they have the paths. How research is carried out, who does it and what it costs is on Spell research.

A higher level does not mean a harder path requirement. The manual’s own example is Will o’ the Wisp, a level 5 Conjuration spell that needs only Fire 1. For the same reason it advises learning which spells sit in which school before you plan research.

The manual also warns that schools are only a rough sorting. Acashic Knowledge sits in Conjuration, yet it summons nothing. It searches provinces for sources of gems.

Level 9 is special. The manual says level 9 of every school except Construction holds legendary spells. When you reach it you choose one to learn, the others can be researched later one at a time, and with the default game setting you can research level 9 more than once to collect them.

The schools

The manual describes seven schools and speaks of Divine spells as a special case. The wiki shows Divine as an eighth school because the Inspector files priest spells there.

Conjuration

The manual says it summons powers and beings from other worlds, and that many of its spells bring you extra units. Every nation may research it. It is the largest school in the Inspector’s data. Examples: Summon Lesser Fire Elemental (level 3), Will o’ the Wisp (level 5), Summon Fire Elemental (level 5), Acashic Knowledge (level 6). See its page.

Alteration

It changes the physical world, in the manual’s words: it can raise a unit’s strength or give resistance to fire, and it can change the weather. The manual also places the gold-making alchemy rituals of Earth and Fire here. Examples: Earth Grip (level 1), Barkskin (level 3), Storm (level 5). See its page.

Evocation

It aims arcane power into the world, which the manual calls the school of the traditional wizard’s fireball and lightning bolt, and it holds a lot of battle magic. Examples: Fire Darts (level 1), Lightning Bolt (level 2), Acid Bolt (level 3), Earthquake (level 5). See its page.

Construction

This school sets which magic items your nation may craft: the level you have researched in it is the limit on forging. It also holds some spells that create magic units. Items of the top level are unique artifacts, and the manual says only one of each can exist in a game at a time. Examples of its spells: Clockwork Soldiers (level 2), Golem Construction (level 6), Iron Dragon (level 8). The items themselves are on the items table. See its page.

Enchantment

It grants magical properties to people, items or land. The manual’s examples are a protective dome over a whole province and long-lasting good health for your subjects. Examples: Fire Shield (level 3), Heal (level 3), Raise Dead (level 4), Dome of Flaming Death (level 7). See its page.

Thaumaturgy

It handles the arcane in the ways the manual calls the old sorcery. It cites sending the souls of a soldier’s victims against him, and opening a window in space to see far lands. Examples: Communion Master (level 1), Astral Window (level 4), Enslave Mind (level 6), Charm (level 7). See its page.

Blood

Every spell that uses blood magic has to be unlocked here, so a nation with blood mages should expect to research this school. The manual points out that the school and the path of the same name are related but not the same thing. A mage still needs the Blood path to cast what the school unlocks. Examples: Blood Heal (level 1), Bind Fiend (level 2), Blood Feast (level 3). See its page.

Divine

Divine spells need no research. They are open to every nation with priests from the first turn, and what a priest can cast depends on his Holy level and not on his nation’s school levels. All of them are battle spells. The Inspector gives them level 0. A pretender with high enough path skill replaces Banishment and Smite with path versions, as Pretender design explains. Examples: Blessing, Sermon of Courage, Smite. See its page.

Schools and the rest of the game

• Rituals and battle magic. Spells of every school are one or the other. Rituals take a whole turn on the map and need a laboratory. Battle magic is cast in combat, and some of it spends gems the caster carries. See Combat magic.
• Communions. Some spells exist so that several mages can cast together. Their rules are on Communions.
• Laboratories. Research, forging and rituals all happen in a province with a friendly laboratory.
• Global enchantments. A global enchantment is a ritual. The game setup caps how many can be active at once, at 3, 5, 7 or 9.

What the manual leaves open

• It calls the schools seven and lists Blood Magic as the seventh, yet it speaks of a Divine school in its spell chart. The wiki counts eight.
• It says level 9 is legendary for every school but Construction, and also says level 9 Construction items are the artifacts. It does not say whether Construction level 9 holds any spells at all. The Inspector’s data lists Construction spells only at levels 2, 4, 6 and 8.
• It says the schools sort spells only loosely, and gives one example. It does not list the others.