Lazlow
First Post
Tales from Algernon's Amazing Archmagical Academy!
Update 9/16/05: Recruiting is now closed; if you're interested in being an alternate, please let me know.
In-game thread is here.
================================================
"Oh bother," the withered old man muttered into his unruly beard, "he's taken it again."
One bony hand pushed the cabinet door shut, and another carefully turned the key, locking the elaborately carved door. A circle of mystical runes were etched into that door, inside which was set a single circular pane of glass. Behind this sat a velvet cushion, made all the more conspicuous by the notable absence of whatever it was that sat upon it previously.
The ancient creature plopped down unceremoniously into an overstuffed chair and let out a long sigh. "I'm getting too old for this... HA! I've been too old for this for - well... For a very, very long time now. Who am I trying to kid?" he muttered. He chuckled as he let his eye wander around the room, and momentarily his brow furrowed. He pushed his skullcap back to reveal a few more inches of bare forehead and scratched it absently.
"Yes... Who am I trying to kid?" he asked himself, looking around quizzically. "Hello? Hello?" he asked, standing up slowly, precariously balancing himself once again on his spindly legs. "I'm afraid I've lost the punchline," he offered, walking around the table, "as well as yourself... You'll have to forgi-"
He stopped short as he came around the table to stand in front of the cabinet again. Peering behind the glass, he spied the empty cushion.
"Oh bother," the withered old man muttered into his unruly beard, "he's taken it again."
* * * * *
Later that morning, the geriatric gentleman stood leaning on a stout oaken staff in one of his empty lecture rooms. Assembled before him was a handful of students whom he himself had picked for the task he was about to entrust to them. They sat in silence, reverently awaiting instruction from their beloved Master. The old one thoughtfully traced a piece of the carved design on his staff with his finger, laying out those instructions in his mind before delivering them, as he had always done in so many lectures before. Presently he looked up and was surprised to see, assembled before him, a handful of students, the very likes of whom he was just about to collect in an empty lecture room.
"Ah! Oh, my dearie me, well this is most fortuitous... Just the group I wanted to see. Here, sit, sit, marvelous, yes..." He stepped forward and took a seat next to one of the students in the front row. Leaning in close, he whispered conspiratorially, "Who's on the lectern today, eh? I hope to the heavens it's not Finnegan." He abruptly let his head fall onto his shoulder and shut his eyes, feigning a loud snore. He popped back up and winked at the befuddled student with a chuckle. "Know what I mean, eh? Heh heh heh..." He settled himself down into the chair and waited patiently for someone to begin the lecture.
A couple of nudges from the other students prompted the one sitting next to him to speak up. "<ahem> Uh, s-sir? M-Master Algernon?" The young apprentice turned to fully face the doddering elder. "Um, sir, it was you who called us here this morning, sir. You had a task for us, something you wished to discuss."
"Ah, well, more's the better, m'lad, more's the better," he said, standing up and looking toward the door with disappointment. "Looks like Finnegan's a no-show, at any rate. Yes. well, splendid, yes. A task. AH! Yes, a task!" A sudden light shone in his eyes, and he fixed them upon the students gathered before him. "I need you to find something for me," he said with newfound vigor, "something that was taken from my own chambers, something that is very near and dear to me.
"Now, I can tell you straightaway who took it: Without question it was that scoundrel Cruikshanks. He's done it in the past, and no doubt he's done it this time. He'll have taken it to his island home, which is around the cape in Boulder Bay. You'll need to get in there quickly and quietly, and abscond with it before he realizes it's gone.
"Now, I know, I know... You're thinking: 'How will we do all this?' Well, to be sure I've picked you all because you are my very best students. My very best students, best, yes," he repeated, smiling warmly and sincerely at them all. "But I shan't send you in empty handed. Oh no. I've made arrangements with Fairbairn to allow some items from the Tower's own personal repository, as well as the use of one of the faculty crabs." He stood up straight, adjusting the skullcap that had by now slid down over his eyebrows. Moving the hat back he began to speak again, but he stopped short and frustratingly began to pat his robe down, evidently looking for something. Presently he withdrew a short, slightly thick, plain-looking length of wood from the inner recesses of his well-worn but richly appointed garment and frowned at it. "Hrmmm. Curious. Ah well, I suppose you can have this, too. Wonderful, yes... Moving right along now," he muttered as he handed the stick to one of the students in front.
Looking his pupils over, he smiled at them gathered before him, beaming a look of the utmost confidence to each one in turn. "Now... Have you any questions before you set off...? Eh?"
The young acolytes looked at each other in bewilderment. To be sure, this was an honor of the highest degree - personally chosen by their Master, the Archmage Algernon himself, and chosen because of the skill and knowledge they've worked so hard to earn these past years! But...
"M-Master? We are indeed honored to undertake this task for you, but... If you please, sir, the item you wish for us to retrieve... Um... What, er... What is it?"
The archaic archmage fixed the student with a keen eye. "Aye, there's the rub," he replied matter-of-factly. He leaned against the lectern and pushed his skullcap back, scratching his forehead again.
"You see... I seem to have forgotten."
=============
Hello there. I'm looking to run a (relatively) short adventure, the name of which just so happens to be the very title of this thread (funny how that works out). However, this won't be your everyday, run-of-the-mill adventure, oh no. There will be... Conditions. Inspired in part by this game, the party will be the group of students - Apprentices, even - mentioned in the opener above, all of whom attend the highly acclaimed Archmagical Academy located on the Isle of Arran in Bredalbane Bay, headed by the astonishing (and, yes, amazing) Archmage Algernon. A very prestigious school of Wizardry open only to the most promising students (regardless, but not entirely oblivious, of background and means), the Tower has stood on the Isle for centuries, it seems, a stalwart testament to the expertise of the staff and potency of the ensorcelment therein. (Needless to say, this is all homebrew stuff.)
To wit:
- 4-5 players
- Books allowed: Core books and SRD only, no exceptions
- 3rd level 'Apprentice' class (see below)
- Any core race
- 20 point buy (yes, 20)
- 5gp to start (yes, 5gp, shut yer yap already)
- Good alignments only
- No familiars
- One feat only (this includes humans - no bonus feat for them)
- 1d4 HP: Full for 1st level, 1/2 max thereafter (8 total for 3rd level)
Apprentice class: Someone might have already done this (so someone please let me know if it's widely available), but this is basically an "Arcane Adept" class. As such, it's exactly the same as the Adept NPC class, save for these important differences:
- Prepares spells as Wizard
- Uses INT instead of WIS to determine spell level, spell save, bonus spells, etc.
- Class skills are the same as Wizards
- Chooses from the Sorcerer/Wizard spell lists, as follows:
0: Any
1: Protection from Evil, Unseen Servant, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Floating Disk, Silent Image, Ventriloquism, Animate Rope, Erase
- All students learn one additional language during their course of study (bonus language of your choice)
To make this a bit more interesting, players may choose one of the following:
1) Directed study: Through directed study with one of the Academy's specialist Wizards, an apprentice may "focus" in any one school of magic. He/she will be able to choose one first-level spell that is not on the list above, but must forego the ability to use two of the other spells on the list (regardless of the spell's own school). However, the "focused apprentice" can cast one extra 1st-level spell per day.
2) "Normal" Apprentice: An apprentice who does not undergo directed study may take one extra feat - provided you can give me a good reason why your character, who is both young (per their race) and has been studying the arcane arts most of his or her life has that feat. For example, you'd be hard-pressed to find a convincing reason to give your Apprentice the Combat Casting feat, and feats like Spell Focus or Spell Penetration are right out - they're still students! The 'general' feats are your best bet, here.
Apprentices get their spellbooks and spell component pouches (with normal components) through the school for free (it's a good school, they can afford stuff like that). They know all the 0-level spells and can choose x number of spells from the list of 1-level spells above, where x = 2 + INT mod. They're in the "graduating class", but still students, so they haven't yet achieved the level of a full-fledged Wizard. The "Directed Study" students get that extra spell of the school of their choosing on top of that, but lose the use of two other spells on that list.
As you can see, this should prove to be a challenge! Young children, old women, the faint-of-heart and country music fans need not apply! (Not to mention min-maxers and rules lawyers!) Along with your character sheet, I would like a short (2-3 sentence) description of your character and another short bit of background (as the school is the bulk of your character's "background" to begin with, just a brief mention of family or hometown will suffice). I will be taking character submissions through noon Friday (9/16, CST), and if I have enough players by then, I'll announce the chosen few that afternoon. I'll be choosing based on what I think will make a good party rather than first come first serve, so feel free to submit up until the last minute. I expect to get the game underway a week from today (9/19).
For those of you who wish to know a bit more about my style of adventure and DMing, please feel free to swing on by my other game, Tales From The Old Bald One-Eyed Salty Red Dog Tavern! [/blatant plug]
Thanks for your interest, and good luck!
Update 9/16/05: Recruiting is now closed; if you're interested in being an alternate, please let me know.
In-game thread is here.
================================================
"Oh bother," the withered old man muttered into his unruly beard, "he's taken it again."
One bony hand pushed the cabinet door shut, and another carefully turned the key, locking the elaborately carved door. A circle of mystical runes were etched into that door, inside which was set a single circular pane of glass. Behind this sat a velvet cushion, made all the more conspicuous by the notable absence of whatever it was that sat upon it previously.
The ancient creature plopped down unceremoniously into an overstuffed chair and let out a long sigh. "I'm getting too old for this... HA! I've been too old for this for - well... For a very, very long time now. Who am I trying to kid?" he muttered. He chuckled as he let his eye wander around the room, and momentarily his brow furrowed. He pushed his skullcap back to reveal a few more inches of bare forehead and scratched it absently.
"Yes... Who am I trying to kid?" he asked himself, looking around quizzically. "Hello? Hello?" he asked, standing up slowly, precariously balancing himself once again on his spindly legs. "I'm afraid I've lost the punchline," he offered, walking around the table, "as well as yourself... You'll have to forgi-"
He stopped short as he came around the table to stand in front of the cabinet again. Peering behind the glass, he spied the empty cushion.
"Oh bother," the withered old man muttered into his unruly beard, "he's taken it again."
* * * * *
Later that morning, the geriatric gentleman stood leaning on a stout oaken staff in one of his empty lecture rooms. Assembled before him was a handful of students whom he himself had picked for the task he was about to entrust to them. They sat in silence, reverently awaiting instruction from their beloved Master. The old one thoughtfully traced a piece of the carved design on his staff with his finger, laying out those instructions in his mind before delivering them, as he had always done in so many lectures before. Presently he looked up and was surprised to see, assembled before him, a handful of students, the very likes of whom he was just about to collect in an empty lecture room.
"Ah! Oh, my dearie me, well this is most fortuitous... Just the group I wanted to see. Here, sit, sit, marvelous, yes..." He stepped forward and took a seat next to one of the students in the front row. Leaning in close, he whispered conspiratorially, "Who's on the lectern today, eh? I hope to the heavens it's not Finnegan." He abruptly let his head fall onto his shoulder and shut his eyes, feigning a loud snore. He popped back up and winked at the befuddled student with a chuckle. "Know what I mean, eh? Heh heh heh..." He settled himself down into the chair and waited patiently for someone to begin the lecture.
A couple of nudges from the other students prompted the one sitting next to him to speak up. "<ahem> Uh, s-sir? M-Master Algernon?" The young apprentice turned to fully face the doddering elder. "Um, sir, it was you who called us here this morning, sir. You had a task for us, something you wished to discuss."
"Ah, well, more's the better, m'lad, more's the better," he said, standing up and looking toward the door with disappointment. "Looks like Finnegan's a no-show, at any rate. Yes. well, splendid, yes. A task. AH! Yes, a task!" A sudden light shone in his eyes, and he fixed them upon the students gathered before him. "I need you to find something for me," he said with newfound vigor, "something that was taken from my own chambers, something that is very near and dear to me.
"Now, I can tell you straightaway who took it: Without question it was that scoundrel Cruikshanks. He's done it in the past, and no doubt he's done it this time. He'll have taken it to his island home, which is around the cape in Boulder Bay. You'll need to get in there quickly and quietly, and abscond with it before he realizes it's gone.
"Now, I know, I know... You're thinking: 'How will we do all this?' Well, to be sure I've picked you all because you are my very best students. My very best students, best, yes," he repeated, smiling warmly and sincerely at them all. "But I shan't send you in empty handed. Oh no. I've made arrangements with Fairbairn to allow some items from the Tower's own personal repository, as well as the use of one of the faculty crabs." He stood up straight, adjusting the skullcap that had by now slid down over his eyebrows. Moving the hat back he began to speak again, but he stopped short and frustratingly began to pat his robe down, evidently looking for something. Presently he withdrew a short, slightly thick, plain-looking length of wood from the inner recesses of his well-worn but richly appointed garment and frowned at it. "Hrmmm. Curious. Ah well, I suppose you can have this, too. Wonderful, yes... Moving right along now," he muttered as he handed the stick to one of the students in front.
Looking his pupils over, he smiled at them gathered before him, beaming a look of the utmost confidence to each one in turn. "Now... Have you any questions before you set off...? Eh?"
The young acolytes looked at each other in bewilderment. To be sure, this was an honor of the highest degree - personally chosen by their Master, the Archmage Algernon himself, and chosen because of the skill and knowledge they've worked so hard to earn these past years! But...
"M-Master? We are indeed honored to undertake this task for you, but... If you please, sir, the item you wish for us to retrieve... Um... What, er... What is it?"
The archaic archmage fixed the student with a keen eye. "Aye, there's the rub," he replied matter-of-factly. He leaned against the lectern and pushed his skullcap back, scratching his forehead again.
"You see... I seem to have forgotten."
=============
Hello there. I'm looking to run a (relatively) short adventure, the name of which just so happens to be the very title of this thread (funny how that works out). However, this won't be your everyday, run-of-the-mill adventure, oh no. There will be... Conditions. Inspired in part by this game, the party will be the group of students - Apprentices, even - mentioned in the opener above, all of whom attend the highly acclaimed Archmagical Academy located on the Isle of Arran in Bredalbane Bay, headed by the astonishing (and, yes, amazing) Archmage Algernon. A very prestigious school of Wizardry open only to the most promising students (regardless, but not entirely oblivious, of background and means), the Tower has stood on the Isle for centuries, it seems, a stalwart testament to the expertise of the staff and potency of the ensorcelment therein. (Needless to say, this is all homebrew stuff.)
To wit:
- 4-5 players
- Books allowed: Core books and SRD only, no exceptions
- 3rd level 'Apprentice' class (see below)
- Any core race
- 20 point buy (yes, 20)
- 5gp to start (yes, 5gp, shut yer yap already)
- Good alignments only
- No familiars
- One feat only (this includes humans - no bonus feat for them)
- 1d4 HP: Full for 1st level, 1/2 max thereafter (8 total for 3rd level)
Apprentice class: Someone might have already done this (so someone please let me know if it's widely available), but this is basically an "Arcane Adept" class. As such, it's exactly the same as the Adept NPC class, save for these important differences:
- Prepares spells as Wizard
- Uses INT instead of WIS to determine spell level, spell save, bonus spells, etc.
- Class skills are the same as Wizards
- Chooses from the Sorcerer/Wizard spell lists, as follows:
0: Any
1: Protection from Evil, Unseen Servant, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Floating Disk, Silent Image, Ventriloquism, Animate Rope, Erase
- All students learn one additional language during their course of study (bonus language of your choice)
To make this a bit more interesting, players may choose one of the following:
1) Directed study: Through directed study with one of the Academy's specialist Wizards, an apprentice may "focus" in any one school of magic. He/she will be able to choose one first-level spell that is not on the list above, but must forego the ability to use two of the other spells on the list (regardless of the spell's own school). However, the "focused apprentice" can cast one extra 1st-level spell per day.
2) "Normal" Apprentice: An apprentice who does not undergo directed study may take one extra feat - provided you can give me a good reason why your character, who is both young (per their race) and has been studying the arcane arts most of his or her life has that feat. For example, you'd be hard-pressed to find a convincing reason to give your Apprentice the Combat Casting feat, and feats like Spell Focus or Spell Penetration are right out - they're still students! The 'general' feats are your best bet, here.
Apprentices get their spellbooks and spell component pouches (with normal components) through the school for free (it's a good school, they can afford stuff like that). They know all the 0-level spells and can choose x number of spells from the list of 1-level spells above, where x = 2 + INT mod. They're in the "graduating class", but still students, so they haven't yet achieved the level of a full-fledged Wizard. The "Directed Study" students get that extra spell of the school of their choosing on top of that, but lose the use of two other spells on that list.
As you can see, this should prove to be a challenge! Young children, old women, the faint-of-heart and country music fans need not apply! (Not to mention min-maxers and rules lawyers!) Along with your character sheet, I would like a short (2-3 sentence) description of your character and another short bit of background (as the school is the bulk of your character's "background" to begin with, just a brief mention of family or hometown will suffice). I will be taking character submissions through noon Friday (9/16, CST), and if I have enough players by then, I'll announce the chosen few that afternoon. I'll be choosing based on what I think will make a good party rather than first come first serve, so feel free to submit up until the last minute. I expect to get the game underway a week from today (9/19).
For those of you who wish to know a bit more about my style of adventure and DMing, please feel free to swing on by my other game, Tales From The Old Bald One-Eyed Salty Red Dog Tavern! [/blatant plug]
Thanks for your interest, and good luck!
Last edited:
