Official Magical Schools

[RUMBLETiGER]

Alright, I'm looking into more background fluff now designing the War Weaver Buffer Character.

I want a classically trained Wizard. Somebody who went to school while young, learned magic The Right Way, was the kind of nerdy math kid you couldn't stand in middle school, if that kid went to an entire school if kids just like him, on magic.

Mage of the Arcane Order is seriously fluffed in Complete Arcane with all the info on Mathghamhna University and the community there of students and faculty. Now, I really, really like using official organizations from out of D&D material instead of making my own. I'm not against making my own organizations, but if there's something premade, I'd rather work off that.

So if Mathghamhna is "University", is there any existing organization that would be "High School"? Do any of the books refer to a Wizard school that wold start training students at child age? The primary focus is studying Arcane Magic that would be inclined to produce a more traditional seeming Wizard.

Some examples:
Mathghamhna- Complete Arcane p.181
College of Concrescent Lore- Complete Adventurer p.165
The Order of the Book- Epic Level Handbook p.238
Darkspire College of Thaun- Players Hnadbook II p.171
Sharulhensa, The Alabaster Towers- Players Handbook II p.179

EDIT: For [MENTION=85158]Dandu[/MENTION]'s sake, I'd like to clarify, D&D official sources.

 

[Dandu]

Mahora Academy

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Mahora Academy

Hey now, not Magical Japanese girls. Please stick to D&D.

 

[Tomn]

It seems like it would be pretty common to get an apprenticeship in order to learn a bit about magic. Perhaps your character learned a bit from the village wizard, before it was realized that he had real potential (read "was a pc") and was sent off to a wizard college.

This sounds like a really fun character concept, and I hope you have his focus on buffing others and stuff be explained in his backstory/personality. It just seems like such a great opportunity for roleplaying!

 

[Sekhmet]

I think you misunderstand the term "University" and "College" as it applies to early history education. Universities covered the broadest range of education imaginable, from basic science and math to advanced philosophy and politics. They weren't just for men with prior knowledge, they existed to give knowledge to anyone* who was eager to learn.

The Mathgamhna, as well as any school in the Thay region of the Forgotten Realms, would almost certainly cater to new students of the arts.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I think you misunderstand the term "University" and "College" as it applies to early history education. Universities covered the broadest range of education imaginable, from basic science and math to advanced philosophy and politics. They weren't just for men with prior knowledge, they existed to give knowledge to anyone* who was eager to learn.

The Mathgamhna, as well as any school in the Thay region of the Forgotten Realms, would almost certainly cater to new students of the arts.

Fair enough, I had considered just assuming The Arcane Order had students from all ages.

I'm spinning this PC off an NPC from a separate campaign. In a campaign that consisted of 4 brothers, in where I play a Factotum, the adventurers started off at level 5 in a frontier village where some women had gone missing. They discover the local well has a crack that leads to some underground caverns. The Frontier people are real Davey Crockett types, tanning, lumber, rugged, etc.

The Favored Soul of Kord used a Light spell to tap a small pebble and offered it to an 8 year old boy with a wink. Later, when the spell wore off, the Favored Soul tapped the pebble again.

6 years later when the Factotum is level 10 and taking a year off from adventuring, he returns to the frontier village where it all started and moves into the cliffs nearby to construct a fortress. He hears that the kid left the frontier village life and went toward civilization to pursue the Arcane Arts.

This PC will be that boy.

I'm trying to think of a system where a student, having received his education and sent out into the world, can correspond with the university at lower levels. Pre-Sending spell. Thoughts?

 

[Empath Negative]

I doubt there would be a magical highscool. Im even leery about a magical college.

Really think about how incredibly destructive a lvl 1 wizard would be in our own world and then tell me anyone in tgeir roght mind would hand that power to a 14 yo.

 

[Sekhmet]

I doubt there would be a magical highscool. Im even leery about a magical college.

Really think about how incredibly destructive a lvl 1 wizard would be in our own world and then tell me anyone in tgeir roght mind would hand that power to a 14 yo.

Exactly why, my dear sir, you need to educate those fourteen year old children. Also why Sorcerers are almost unanimously feared in their childhood.

If you teach them to control their powers and to have discipline and self control, you'll have far fewer incidents than letting them run wild and untamed.

It is also why the average starting age for a Wizard is so much higher than everyone else.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I doubt there would be a magical highscool. Im even leery about a magical college.

Really think about how incredibly destructive a lvl 1 wizard would be in our own world and then tell me anyone in tgeir roght mind would hand that power to a 14 yo.

Like the Chronicle Movie.

 

[Nebten]

I really like this book: Amazon.com: College of Wizardry (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons/AD&D Accessory) (9780786907175): Bruce R. Cordell: Books

It breaks down Mathghamhna in a great amount of detail. It is actually a high schoo" and university combined. I don't know if you want to go this route, but they even describe the Apprentices (level 0) daily schedule with random chore tables (and punishments). Later on you graduate to Initiate (level 1-6) and has the duties that entails and then finally you become a Guild Wizard at 7th level.

There is a lot of detailed information, all written for AD&D 2nd ed. But I feel it is very done. It is one of my favorite books that I try to use for my wizard PCs which I play or DM.