The Great School of Magic - Part 2

This is all about 2nd edition rules, here. I think I was using the standard 2nd edition skill rules. Maybe. I'm not sure. The new philosophies and methodologies were developed on behalf of players who wanted them.

Arcana

Arcana covers supplemental knowledge that every wizard should have. By 1st level every wizard knows Spellcraft, Thaumaturgy, Literacy and Arcanology. After that a course may be taken in a single quarter. Classes may be taken multiple times to increase proficiency. A level need not be gained to take a new course. Courses marked with a * are required to graduate.

Agility Training, Ancient History*, Alchemy, Anatomy, Astrology, Astronomy, Blacksmithing, Book Binding, Brewing, Concentration*, Conjure Companion*, Dowsing, Engineering, Gen Cutting, Glass Blowing, Healing, Herbalism, Hypnotism, Language (any), Meditation*, Mental Resistance, Necrology, Omen Reading, Paper Making, Prestidigitation, Quick Casting, Research*, Sage Knowledge (any), Scribe, Spellcraft*, Tactics of Magic, Thaumaturgy, Planar Geography.

New Philosophy - Dracology

Dracology is the study and emulation of the magic of dragons. This philosophy is extremely difficult since almost all the spells are unique or learned from a dragon. Often spells will resemble other common spells but with a draconic touch. There is no set list of spells and there are no banned schools.

While it is not required for a Dracologist to choose a specific type of dragon often circumstances will cause this to happen. If the Dracologist does declare a dragon type specialty then specialist bonuses and penalties are increased by 1/5% for an alignment type and +3/15% for a specific color. The bonuses/penalties apply to Dracologist matters only.

A 1st level the Dracologist gains a +1 to reaction rolls with dragons. At 5th level the Dracologist is capable of learning actual Dragon spells, even if they may not apply to the Dracologist themselves (like natural attack enhancement spells). At 8th level a Dracologist can recognize any dragon in any form.

New Philosophy - Life

In many ways Life is similar to Transmutation with one important difference; it only affects living things. Life forms are warped and changed into something new. Banned schools are Necromancy and Illusion.

The spells in the school of Life are essentially Alteration spells which affect living things. There are also some enchantment spells that qualify. A Life specialist could get on easily without any newly created spells.

At 5th level the Life specialist can cast clerical healing spells as if they were known wizard spells. At 8th level the specialist gains 50% HP back with healing magics. At 11th level they never will lose their mind when polymorphed.

New Methodology - Alchemy

Alchemists specialize in the channeling of magical energies through combinations of components. In game terms this means that an Alchemist must have a prepared mixture ready in order to cast a spell. So not only is the wizard limited by spells per day as normal they are also limited to casting a spell as many times as they have mixtures prepared.

The basic elements for a spell can be found at an apocrathy and cost 10gp per level of the spell. If a spell is researched a second time the cost drops to 5gp per level and the components can be found in the smallest village (mostly through cooking needs). Researching a spell a third time allows the caster to scrounge up necessary components in the wilderness at no charge. Preparation of a mixture takes 1 turn. A mixture weighs 0.1 lbs.

At 1st level the Alchemist gains the Alchemy skill for free. In addition to standard brews an Alchemist with the Healing proficiency can prepare treatments for 20gp. Additionally, minor substances (glue, Greek fire, etc) can be researched as if they were 0 level spells. Finally an Alchemist has a base 20% chance of recognizing any potion. This increases 5% per level.

At 3rd level the Alchemist may create clerical healing spells if they have the Healing Proficiency.

At 6th level the Alchemist may create magical potions. 

New Methodology - Artifice

Artificers are wizards who create magical effects by enchanting items with the desired magics. The actual spell is a combination of the caster's will and energy and the construction of the device. In game terms this means that an Artificer must have a talisman for each spell and it must be "charged" beforehand in order to work. Charging a talisman takes about as much time as it takes to memorize a spell. Casting the spell from a talisman is instantaneous.

A basic talisman costs a minimum of 100gp per level of the spell to be stored in it. By using more valuable materials a spell may be cast as if the wizard were X levels higher (X is a max of 4). The cost is the base cost times 2^X. (So a magic missile to be cast as if it were 3 levels higher would cost 100*2^3 = 800gp.)

A talisman may be constructed to hold several spells (they must all be of the same school). To determine the cost, find the individual cost of each talisman as if it were separate and then total them. Then add 100gp per spell embedded beyond the first. The talisman must have a separate part of it for each spell (often these are gems of different types).

An Artificer may attempt to create a talisman ad hoc in emergencies. Every attempt to use it has a 50% chance of success with the following modifiers: +1%/level of the caster, +1% per 10gp worth of the talisman, -10% if made from common items, -25% if made from bits of stick tied together, etc.

At 1st level the Artificer has a base 20% to ID a magic item. This increases 5% per level.

At 3rd level the Artificer may create one shot magic items ala Spells and Magic.

At 5th level the Artificer may create temporary magic items.

At 7th level the Artificer may make any magic item.

The Great School of Magic - Part 1

Here's the 2nd edition D&D version of the Great School game. This is probably how I should have handled the most recent campaign.

Overview

The Great School of Magic in Glantri City is a place of learning and the heart of Glantrian society. While many wizards have been privately tutored the best and brightest come from the Great School. The range and variety of wizards that the school produces is breath taking.

The course of study at the School is divided into three parts: Philosophy, Methodology and Arcana. Philosophy covers the wizard's approach to the nature of magic and includes the eight major "schools" of magic such as transmutation along some more esoteric approaches such as Shadow and Life. Methodology is the manner in which a wizard actually casts a spell. While traditional book magic is the most common alternatives such as Artifice and Alchemy are also taught. Finally, Arcana refers to learning that is tangentially related to spell casting, such as History or Necrology.

There are four two month quarters at the School separated by month long breaks. One on one mentoring continues until the wizard is 5th level at which point he is released to independent study. Routine testing is still administered until 9th level at which time the wizard graduates and is formally declared a Wizard. After that time he may stay at the school in order to use the facilities and take Arcana courses but this is usually frowned upon.

Costs and Expenses

The tuition for the Great School is 5gp a day. This covers access to the facilities, mentor, classes and common needs such as ink and paper. Thrown in for free is a small room and three (poor) meals a day for those who want it. Most wizards move out as soon as they can afford it and almost all are out by 5th level since that is usually when they begin building their library.

What the tuition doesn't cover is reagents. So all components necessary for the creation of spells or magic items are for the student to find and pay for. This also goes for alchemical needs. A student should expect to pay a minimum of 1,000 to 3,000 gp a quarter along with the 5gp/day tuition.

Leveling and Advancement

In order for a wizard to gain the benefits of his new level, he must spend at least 3 weeks plus one per level attained at the school with his mentor. After 5th level the personal training is no longer required but his new level won't be recognized by the School unless he continues testing.

Testing consists of the wizard creating a spell from scratch, either a known spell or one from his imagination, and demonstrating it to a panel of instructors. The wizard must be able to show his work and answer questions.

In order to graduate a special test must be taken. The nature of this test is shrouded in mystery.

Philosophy

A wizard's philosophy reflects how he believes magic to work. While he is capable of creating other effects it will always be less desirable. In game terms, a wizard's philosophy reflects his Specialty, if any. A non-specialist wizard is considered to have the philosophy of Thaumaturgy. The eight main philosophies are Abjuration, Conjuration/Summoning, Divination, Enchantment/Charm, Illusion, Invocation/Evocation, Necromancy and Transmutation. There are also other minor philosophies that are recorded and are there for a student to follow. Those are Shadow, Elemental, Geomancy, Dimensionalism, Wild Magic and Force. (Apparently all these are in Player's Option: Spells and Magic).

It is possible for a wizard to develop a new philosophy. While silly ideas are frowned upon (the Food philosophy), ones that can make a lasting contribution are encouraged (such as Life and Dracology). If a wizard achieves Wizard status with a new philosophy he is asked to contribute his learning to the school in exchange for a generous payment or a teaching position.

Methodology

Methodology reflects the manner in which a wizard casts his spells. In some cases a wizard's methodology eclipses their philosophy. The most popular methodology is standard book-bound spell casting. However the methods of Alchemy, Artifice, Channeling, Song and War are supported. (Note standard book magic and Channeling are covered in the rule books. The others are new.)

Maybe It's Better This Way - A Campaign Post Mortem

One campaign that appears several different times across several different notebooks is the Glantrian Great School of Magic game. About the only thing the notes had in common was that the characters were students at the Great School of Magic in Glantri City. Early treatments for 2nd edition D&D used the Player's Option: Spells and Magic books to focus on unique casting methodologies and philosophies. These write-ups mostly used the school setting from the Gazetteer - the students studied under masters and there wasn't really anything else that one associates with modern school. Later write-ups were obviously more inspired by Harry Potter. There were houses, everyone was younger and the flavor was much less severe. There were very few rules and it mostly consisted of fluff like lists of teachers and houses. This was a game that was very much on the top of my list of "things to run if you ever get the chance".

About eight months ago I got the chance to run a game and this was the one I pitched. I began trying to pull together strands of all the things I had laying about to make it into something fun. Since I was going to use a heavily modified 3rd edition rule set the Harry Potter feel was tossed out the window - kids tossing around spells meant for dungeon diving didn't fit. I developed the school into a collegiate form with the PCs sharing the same adviser. The adviser assigns a group project where the PCs are to write a report on each of the Seven Secret Crafts per term.

The campaign outline was basically for there to be an adventure based around each of the Secret Crafts. This would take the first seven terms and ten terms would be needed to graduate. However their instructor was Troikithus, an Alphatian spy, who was using the PCs to gather information to report back to the Empire. He would be murdered at the beginning of the eighth term and things would escalate until war was declared on their graduation day - campaign over.

Things didn't go as planned. At all. And I'm about to just end the damn thing so we cam play Dresden Files instead.

Things That Worked

My natural ability to adapt. That's it.

Things that Didn't Work

The Spell System
Since everyone was a wizard I used rules where you could cast any spell you knew of the appropriate level as many times as you wanted. However you had to succeed a caster to check to do so. The idea was that since there was no limit on what they could cast, knowing more spells made you more powerful so a major goal would be to learn new spells. I even created spellbooks for each player and printed out one page descriptions for each spell they knew so that they didn't have to look them up (and also because some spells needed editing and there would be lots of unique new spells.)

The problem was that every time they failed at casting a spell their fun diminished. On top of that they never really got into the whole "collect spells" things. I should have just made it so that they didn't have to roll to cast since they were under utilizing what they could do anyways so there wouldn't be any problems with being too powerful. In addition the big spellbook required them to spend a little extra time to become familiar with what was in it and no one had the time or inclination to spend an extra second thinking about the game outside of the session (or sometimes in the session.)

The Storytelling
While I had a structured campaign in mind my natural instinct to just let players explore was too strong. Except for the few Secret Crafts people wanted to join no one gave a damn about their assignment. I probably didn't push it enough, either. So they wandered off aimlessly in their own directions and the campaign took this rambling, directionless feel. Players with more drive dominated play while others fell asleep waiting to be pulled in. I eventually grabbed the reigns and began forcing a story on them but it just felt wrong and nobody really seemed to care at that point anyways.

Additionally I think the use of the d20 rules made everyone think this was going to be an actual Dungeons and Dragons game. They kept wanting to find things to kill when I was trying to make it a more socially oriented, school focused game. There was a place for action and adventure but it wasn't supposed to be in some dungeon. Unfortunately I gave in to those instincts and the school and social stories fell into the background.

The Session Length
The group I'm in does short campaign runs. I figured ten sessions, one for each term, and a few more thrown in here and there as needed and I'd be done. However, even when I got to run the initial adventures I had prepared, they took at least two sessions to get through. This was due to the player's unfamiliarity with my houseruled system, my allowing people to explore as they pleased and that we usually had 2 1/2 to 3 hours of play in an evening. As it stands, we're eight months in, on session 12 and there are still four terms left.

Wrong Game for the Wrong Group
There are lots of other things that went wrong, but what it really boils down to is that it was the wrong game for the wrong group. What the game eventually became probably would have been fine with my old D&D groups - they loved detail oriented, crunchy campaigns that could potentially go on forever. But this group is usually exhausted by the time they get to play so lots of fiddly details and crunch are pretty unwelcome. They just want to have fun, not go through college all over again. Additionally the campaign structure that I ended up with was one that did not lend itself to resolution in a reasonable time. Plot threads are hanging all over the place and if I had another year or more to run the game they would all be covered. But I don't have that long. Better to just put a pillow over over its face and move on.

What Would Have Been Better
I should have just run this as straight D&D with all spell casters as was one of my original visions. The Great School would have been as originally written with the PCs just sharing a master and having more free time to adventure and poke around. No terms, no structure, just adventuring until they reach level 5 and graduate.

The other option would have been to use a different system but I'm not sure what would have worked without jettisoning details about spell casting. The main feature of D&D for this game was the lists of existing spells that works so well to give wizards that "nose in the books" feel. Perhaps Ars Magica would have worked.

So, it's dead. If I'm allowed behind the screen for this group again I'll probably run something like Dungeonworld, a Gumshoe game or Lady Blackbird.