Abjuration

Abjuration is the solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath, often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege. (It comes from the Latin abjurare, "to forswear").

Abjuration of the realm

Abjuration of the realm was a type of abjuration in ancient English law. The person taking the oath swore to leave the country directly and promptly, never to return to the kingdom unless by permission of the sovereign. This was often taken by fugitives who had taken sanctuary:

English Commonwealth

Near the start of the English Civil War, on 18 August 1643 Parliament passed "An Ordinance for Explanation of a former Ordinance for Sequestration of Delinquents Estates with some Enlargements." The enlargements included an oath which became known as the "Oath of Abjuration":

In 1656-7, it was reissued in what was for Catholics an even more objectionable form. Everyone was to be "adjudged a Papist" who refused this oath, and the consequent penalties began with the confiscation of two thirds of the recusant's goods, and went on to deprive him of almost every civic right.

Magic of Dungeons & Dragons

Magic of Dungeons & Dragons consists of spells used in the settings of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). D&D defined the genre of fantasy role-playing games, and remains the most popular. Many of the original spells have become widely used in the role-playing community, across many different fictional worlds, and across books, board games, video games, and movies.

The specific effects of each spell, and even the names of some spells, vary from edition to edition of the D&D corpus.

Origins

The idea of spell memorization is sometimes called "Vancian" in the game designer community, since its first use, in Dungeons & Dragons, was inspired by the way magic works in Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories.

d20 System

The current rules are based on the d20 System—a core set of rules which can be (and are) used as the basis for many games. Thus, many d20 games might use the D&D spell list, while others create their own or even replace the entire magic system.

Types