Knowledge is Power

The newest revision of the rules provides for wizard specialists to always choose two schools from which to be barred-unless they are Diviners. The implication is that Divination is the weakest school, which is not only not really true (in the noncombat arena, Divination is huge), but it sets up a situation where any wizard who thinks he might want to prepare one Divination spell per level anyway is always going to choose to be a Diviner. It becomes inherently better to specialize in Divination than any other school, regardless of what kind of wizard you want to be. Making an Illusionist? Why bother? Just make a Diviner and take Spell Focus (Illusion), you'll only have to bar one school.

I strongly recommend that DMs force Diviners to bar two schools, just like every other type of specialist. Of course, this creates a different situation, where there aren't quite the hard-hitting high-level spells in Divination to measure up. Players may also feel that the DM is "gypping" them of an extra school for the benefit of extra spells in a school the PHB makes clear isn't as strong. (Again, I disagree with this assertion, but still.)

So here's my solution. Add more high-level Divination spells. And look, here are four now (maybe there will be more in a future update, too). But let's be clear: the worst thing you could do would be to add these spells to the Divination school and then NOT alter the specialization scheme. That would make the lure of the faux-Diviner (where you declare Divination as your specialization but really focus on another school) all but irresistable.


Creature Sense
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: Circle, centered on you, with a radius of 400 ft. + 40 ft./level
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
----You gain an immediate mental impression of nearby monsters, learning the distance, direction, size, and type (but not subtype) of all creatures within range. You do not learn the specific kind of creature; for example, a minotaur would register only as a Large monstrous humanoid. This spell can be fooled by misdirection, nondetection, or polymorph magic. It can be blocked by a thin sheet of lead, but otherwise penetrates solid earth easily.
----Material Component: The brain of a bat.

Sense of Timing
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No
----The creature touched gains a powerful instinct about when attacks are occurring, allowing him to take dangerous or even foolhardy actions in the middle of battle with near-impunity. While benefiting from this sense of timing, the target does not provoke any attacks of opportunity for the duration of the spell, regardless of his actions. The target may choose to ignore his senses if, for some reason, he wishes to provoke an attack of opportunity. In addition, the target fights as if he knew the Combat Reflexes feat for the duration of the spell, allowing him to take advantage of openings he would normally miss.
----Focus: A tiny hourglass, filled with diamond dust, worth 500 gp.

Terrible Secret
Divination
Level: Brd 6, Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will half (see below)
Spell Resistance: No
----This spell uses powerful divination magic to access a secret that was never meant to be known; a sanity-shattering truth that tears at one's brain from within, threatening to destroy it. Unlike other divinations, though, you do not unveil this knowledge unto yourself when casting this spell. You instead reveal this terrible secret to one other creature, whispering in horrific insights into its ear, hoping this will cause his brain to explode at the very understanding of it.
----Knowledge of the secret inflicts 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 15d6) if it fully understood. The target can attempt to shut out knowledge with a successful Will save, which reduces the damage by half. The more intelligent the target, however, the more difficult it is to resist the urge to understand the secret. The target adds his Intelligence modifier to the Will saving throw DC, so that the secret is less effective on the blissfully ignorant. Creatures without an Intelligence score ignore this spell entirely, as do deific beings (as they presumably have the faculties to actually accept the secret as fact). Because the secret is whispered to the target, deafened creatures or those in a magical area of silence are also protected. The secret automatically adapts to any language the target knows, or is transmitted as a series of sounds of such primal significance that even the language-deficient can grasp them.
----The secret is such that the non-divine mind cannot grasp it for long, and it mostly fades from the target's memory after being revealed. Any creature that has been exposed to the secret remembers enough to help it resist the urge to look or listen should it be revealed again, granting it a +4 circumstance bonus to Will saves against this spell in the future.
----Focus: The preserved brain of an outsider with an Intelligence score of 14 or higher.

Terrible Revelation
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Targets: All living creatures within range
----As terrible secret, except this spell reveals the knowledge to all creatures within range. You and up to one creature per caster level of your choice may be shielded from the secret.
----Focus: The preserved brain of an outsider with an Intelligence score of 22 or higher.


Looking Back…
The 3.5 rules revision was new and untested when I wrote the introduction to this article, but I stand by my prediction: Many, if not all, optimization guides for wizards written since then recommend specializing in Divination simply due to the extra spell slot per level at minimal cost. I still believe that it would be better to make the cost of Divination specialization the same as that of other schools, but the cat is more or less out of the bag on this one. Dozens of powerful divination spells have been added to the game since the 3.5 Player’s Handbook was written, leading to exactly the imbalance I was worried about. So, given that there are already those other spells out there, it probably doesn’t matter anymore if you want to add these to your game without requiring diviners to bar two schools. Chances are, you’re already seeing a surplus of diviners anyway.

The only change I would make to the actual spells is to make the bonus for having heard the terrible secret apply only to uses of the spell from the same caster. Otherwise, a DM may find himself in the position of having to decide whether or not the creature may have encountered the spell before, wielded by a different mage.