FH Magic Colleges

[waiwode]

So, instead of just owning Fantasy HERO, I started to read it.

 

There are some pretty neat ideas crammed into the magic section, and it got me thinking. Currently I'm working on a number (I'll say eight for now, but the number is neither relevant nor fixed) of "Colleges." Each one must have a unique "theme & method."

 

The goal is to create a world where a number of Colleges strive for political (and magical) dominance.

 

The 2 things to avoid: Elemental schools & "form" Schools (ie, a Conjuration school versus an Evocation School, to borrow some familiar D&D terms).

 

What you can help me with: Come up with a rough framework for me. Just a couple ideas strung together.

 

Two and a half examples:

 

Mournhold College

Their founder walked the realms of the dead for a century, and returned with dark lore best left forgotten.

Strengths: Aid & (past) divination spells. (Summoning "possessing spirits" to give strength, or to aid knowledge). Spells that drain or weaken the living (but no transfer, death not vampirism).

Weaknesses: Travelling spells, spells that effect non-living materials, including the undead.

Feel: Ash & bone, chilly breezes and unholy howls.

Dress: Mournholders normally dress in off-white (bone) coloured robes, and in public wear thin gloves and silk "skull" veils.

 

The Green and Purple College(and a kudo goes to Jack Vance for this school).

The lore of lost Panaguria, of the gleaming cities of glass and bronze, survive in this school's strange nigh-weightless metal tomes.

Strengths: Wards and walls. Destructive rays. Enchanting auras that enhance items.

Weaknesses: Sensory or stealthy spells, charms and spells that effect the mind.

Feel: Flashy displays of green and purple light. Shining glyphs annd sigils swimming across enchanted items.

Dress: Voluminous and richly embroidered robes and sashes ... featuring green and purple.

 

The Alembic School

Not a college, although they put on the airs of one, the Alembic School is a loose collection of Alchemists and snake-oil salesmen.

Strengths: Potions and philtres of great expense and only minor efficacy.

Weaknesses: Anything magical.

Feel: Like swallowing a Bromo and stove grease.

Dress: Gaudy costumes and paste bangles, to appear wealthy and successful.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Cool idea. You could file some serial numbers off of other games magic styles to get some ideas. I think, for instance, a version of the Cult of Ecstasy from Mage: the Ascension would go pretty good with this.

 

Something like:

Carnal School (okay cheesy name, but it's off the top of my head)

This school seeks to gain power by swaying the masses, giving them entertainment and pleasure in exchange for their support in political matters.

Strengths: Presence Aids and Mind Control, Illusions, physical pleasure and relaxation

Weaknesses: Damaging attacks, spells that affect unliving matter

Feel: Silk and fine wine

Dress: Loose comfortable clothing, silks and laces

 

Another idea might be a group of commoners, like wise women or hedge wizards, who concentrate mostly on healing and crop production. They probably wouldn't be major players in a struggle for dominance, but are likely to be around anyway, minding their own business.

[DRThrush]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

A few years ago I created a campaign setting with the basically the same goal you are describing... If I understand it correctly.

 

I found that the best way of "coloring" the magic of each school was by setting which Advantages and Limitations the schools were: Required to use; Not allowed to use; Were allowed to use.

 

This left each school complete flexibility in its effects, but varied greatly how those effects were manifested.

 

Additionally I decided that I wanted my spell casters to have something physically unique about them, and that made it obvious to everyone that they were spell casters. I gave them all horns or antlers. Weird, I know, but I liked the idea. Each school had it's own look: Elk Antlers, Rams Horns, Ibix Horns, Clear Crystal Goats horns for the Illusionist school... and so on. My players liked it a lot too. As a mage grew in power so did his horns. So a Sorcerer with a Full Royal (largest normal set of Elk Antlers) would be seen immediately as a deadly adversary. EDIT: And he would have a massive, muscular neck too!

 

Dave

[PoorWandering 1]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Another idea might be a group of commoners, like wise women or hedge wizards, who concentrate mostly on healing and crop production. They probably wouldn't be major players in a struggle for dominance, but are likely to be around anyway, minding their own business.

 

Oh dear deity of choice. Not major players!! These would be THE major players. Imagine, You annoy them you kingdom vanishes in a sea of famine, you please them and bumper crops allow you to double your standing army. Worse yet crops in the orders lands NEVER fail this allows them to buy more land. Repeat as needed. The only folks who could oppose them would be the Necromancers (troops don't eat) summoners (troops don't eat here) or meta-mages who can block the spells. They would be kings and kingmakers and that is not even considering their healing powers. "Why yes oh great and venerable emperor our carnel brethren are offering you a better price for the Tremagistus codex, and we understand their representitive has been most ... persuasive. Our offer is simply this three gold coins... and you will live to see your great granddaughters wedding. Please sleep on the question. These negotiations have no doubt been tiring to your grace."

 

I would recommend against an organized healer collage or if you do make one then put it under severe restrictions in a non industrial economy these folks have all the power they want.

 

There was a college i made for a long ago f-hero game. All this orders magic had to work through their personal wand or staff but they were the only mages to have access to all powers and SFX. The only really nasty rule was that any effect over 15 active points had to be independent and enchanted in the wand. Effects under 15 pts simply had to use the wand as a focus. In the game a senior wizard of this order was killed and wars were waged over that wand. The order was called "the pristine order of the external soul" or the pristine order for short

[waiwode]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Cool idea. Carnal School

 

Another idea might be a group of commoners, like wise women or hedge wizards, who concentrate mostly on healing and crop production.

 

LOL. You caught me. I started this thinking about the Mage traditions (an obvious starting point). Very loosely, the Mournholders were Euthanatos (with Drains instead of Entropy) and the Green and Purple were Hermetic (with rays and walls instead of Forces).

 

The "commoner-wizards and hedge-magic" might be a good school but they'd make a bad college. I see the colleges ending up kind of as Medieval Bishoprics. Lands, a city, a college instead of a cathedral, mundane armsmen... ...and like the Bishoprics semi-independant from the rule of the nobility.

 

But I don't know, it's just ideas right now.

 

Doug.

[waiwode]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

I found that the best way of "coloring" the magic of each school was by setting which Advantages and Limitations the schools were: Required to use; Not allowed to use; Were allowed to use.

 

Something I'll certainly do once I start building things.

 

I do want flexibility of effect. I just want relative strengths and weaknesses so that other colleges can be jealous of each others' mystic lore, yet not have an outright advantage that would give them a phenomenal edge. The same is not true of the Schools. Even the Alembic School has an advantage: They may not be powerful, but they can make potions.

 

I gave them all horns or antlers. Weird, I know, but I liked the idea.

 

Actually, I think it's a really neat idea.

 

Doug.

[waiwode]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Oh dear deity of choice. Not major players!! These would be THE major players.

 

And that's why I'd limit Hedge Magic to pretty folksy stuff. A willow-knot that helps a cow heal while it wears it, not a wand wave that springs up a whole field of crops from barren soil.

 

 

I would recommend against an organized healer collage or if you do make one then put it under severe restrictions in a non industrial economy these folks have all the power they want.

 

There was a college i made for a long ago f-hero game. All this orders magic had to work through their personal wand or staff but they were the only mages to have access to all powers and SFX. The only really nasty rule was that any effect over 15 active points had to be independent and enchanted in the wand. Effects under 15 pts simply had to use the wand as a focus. In the game a senior wizard of this order was killed and wars were waged over that wand. The order was called "the pristine order of the external soul" or the pristine order for short

 

I might do something like this for a couple Colleges, but I'd probably make the Focus personal. I'm not sure I want to have a tradition of "kill the wand-weilder to gain a 100 Real-point before Focus Grimoire." -makers!

 

Doug.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

LOL. You caught me. I started this thinking about the Mage traditions (an obvious starting point). Very loosely, the Mournholders were Euthanatos (with Drains instead of Entropy) and the Green and Purple were Hermetic (with rays and walls instead of Forces).

 

The "commoner-wizards and hedge-magic" might be a good school but they'd make a bad college. I see the colleges ending up kind of as Medieval Bishoprics. Lands, a city, a college instead of a cathedral, mundane armsmen... ...and like the Bishoprics semi-independant from the rule of the nobility.

 

But I don't know, it's just ideas right now.

 

Doug.

 

Heh heh...maybe the subliminal context of the Mournholders is what suggested that then...

 

I agree with you on the commoner magicians. PoorWandering1 makes a good point as to their potential power, if they were united and inclined to use it that way, but I'd assume that they'd rather stay out of all that sort of stuff, and just help their individual village get along as best they can. They'd only be interested in politics if it impacted on them, like increased taxation or something.

[Old Man]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Sounds like the major houses of Harry Potter...

 

I loike it.

[DRThrush]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Actually, I think it's a really neat idea.

 

Doug.

 

Thanks, Doug.

 

Dave

[Markdoc]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Heh heh...maybe the subliminal context of the Mournholders is what suggested that then...

 

I agree with you on the commoner magicians. PoorWandering1 makes a good point as to their potential power, if they were united and inclined to use it that way, but I'd assume that they'd rather stay out of all that sort of stuff, and just help their individual village get along as best they can. They'd only be interested in politics if it impacted on them, like increased taxation or something.

 

But why not have them as one of your factions? They'd be helpful and potentially powerful, but not as powerful as suggesed. Sure, they can ravage your kingdom with famine - but the traditional answer to that has always been to send all your soldiers - in this case, together with your death-dealing magicians - to THEIR territory, where there is plenty to eat...

 

OTOH, if they're nice to you, you be nice back and everybody benefits.

 

That kind of balance is what you are after, correct?

 

cheers, Mark

[PoorWandering 1]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

They'd only be interested in politics if it impacted on them, like increased taxation or something.

 

I find it a little difficult to believe that any group would walk away from political power. I could see that more of this orders members may want to try to stay away from politics than is the case in the avarage college, but the order as a whole.... I could see them having a non-political image I could even see them trying to stay non-political but they couldn't. They have power and power breeds politics. Why should they be any different than the other orders in that respect. Mages are people after all.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Maybe I wasn't seeing them as an order, per se. More of a, well, a tradition. Master teaching apprentice, and occasionally meeting with other nearby practicioners to exchange new techniques and shortcuts. No overarching organization that would aspire so high as kingdom level politics.

[PoorWandering 1]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

But why not have them as one of your factions? They'd be helpful and potentially powerful, but not as powerful as suggesed. Sure, they can ravage your kingdom with famine - but the traditional answer to that has always been to send all your soldiers - in this case, together with your death-dealing magicians - to THEIR territory, where there is plenty to eat...

 

 

Where they meet your larger, better fed, better equipped, army supplimented with very well paid mercenery death dealing wizards. Think of it like a RTS game. This order would have the cheat codes that increase resource production. The other side might have a few better high end fighters but these folks have the grunts and they can recover from war much faster than the other side. They might not allways win but it would not be wise to bet against them too often. Also how loyal is a hungry soldier.

 

Anyway this is all off topic, suffice it to say that an order centered on Healing and Crop effecting powers has the possability to be a major power in a pre-industrial society. It woud be interesting to see a campaign where this order was the hidden evil.

[PoorWandering 1]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

I might do something like this for a couple Colleges, but I'd probably make the Focus personal. I'm not sure I want to have a tradition of "kill the wand-weilder to gain a 100 Real-point before Focus Grimoire." -makers!

 

Doug.

 

The kill the wand wielder bit was part of the idea when i created them. The history of that order was soaked in blood. The member hated and feared each other but the needed each other. Both for research etc but for refuge and understanding against a largely hostile society that had been caught in a few too many crossfires. It made for VERY paranoid wand-wielder players. In the one wand duel we played out the two mages fought to a standstill destroying most of a city ward in the process. The independant lim makes for LARGE powers.

 

 

I like the snake oil order. One question though are they the only ones who can make decent potions or are they just better at it than the others? I was toying with a potion order when i made the wand jockies. The idea was for an order which made extensive use of the Independent lim. I can see some pretty nice potions with independant 1 charge does not recover esp. if you toss activation and side-effects in as well. I wonder how many of the gems are really paste and how much of the snake-oil is a cover. Cool idea.

[PoorWandering 1]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

Maybe I wasn't seeing them as an order' date=' per se. More of a, well, a tradition. Master teaching apprentice, and occasionally meeting with other nearby practicioners to exchange new techniques and shortcuts. No overarching organization that would aspire so high as kingdom level politics.[/quote']

 

Cool idea. But you would need to answer why these folks haven't organized if other groups have. Maybe they were organized in the dim past and were either smashed or a member found 'something man was not ment to know' and the knowledge shattered the order. maybe a life:death same coin different sides sort of thing. Or maybe they just havent found a leader/organizational system, yet.

[waiwode]

Re: FH Magic Colleges

 

I like the snake oil order. One question though are they the only ones who can make decent potions or are they just better at it than the others? I was toying with a potion order when i made the wand jockies. The idea was for an order which made extensive use of the Independent lim. I can see some pretty nice potions with independant 1 charge does not recover esp. if you toss activation and side-effects in as well. I wonder how many of the gems are really paste and how much of the snake-oil is a cover. Cool idea.

 

The following is all conjecture. I haven't truly started planning this game yet.

 

The Alembic School are the best at potion-making. But.

 

They're a School. Colleges, controlling an entire city, can afford to use divination to find likely recruits. As a result, they recruit folks with a fair degree of talent.

 

Schools are scattered. Decentralized. Less standardized. You find a willing master here or there willing to impart the School's Lore. However students tend to find the School, and I'd imagine Colleges do a bit of head-hunting among the best a School has to offer.

 

I'd imagine The Alembic School is about 1/4 fairly skilled magi who make effective potions ... enough that the Alembic Schoolmen aren't treated solely as fakes and charlatans. I'd add another group, about an 1/8, who are reclusive research types. The kind of "pure research" alchemists who spend their entire lives searching for the Elixir of Immortality. (Hmmm. That's official now!) Supported, no doubt by the Masters of the School, who see the sheer profit in such a venture. The remaining... 15/28ths of the Alembic Schoolmen are nothing but snake-oil salesman capable of only the most minor of enchantments.

 

Doug.