Why apprentice at one wizard school over another?

[00Machado]

From this thread on PCs investing money into businesses, I noticed the following.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=181204

"In our recently pended campaign one PC opened a wizard school where he charges apprentices for learning his skills and some fo the excess magical products are sold to the king or turned over to pay the annual taxes."

The comment on charging people to learn his wizard skills made me wonder, at least in D&D, what's the advantage to paying your the PCs skills, as opposed to any random NPC? I mean, don't they basically all learn the same stuff? What would be a draw for one magic school over another?

 

[Seravin]

The same reasons as in real life.
Sometimes the perceived skills are better.
Sometimes someone is just a better teacher, regardless of how knowlegable they are.
Other times one teacher might be more prestigious than another

Finally it could just come down to personality types. The student might get along better with the PC than the NPC.

 

[WayneLigon]

The comment on charging people to learn his wizard skills made me wonder, at least in D&D, what's the advantage to paying your the PCs skills, as opposed to any random NPC? I mean, don't they basically all learn the same stuff? What would be a draw for one magic school over another?

Not every mage learns all spells from every level. I feel that in most well-rounded campaigns, there will be some groups of spells that not everyone has access to. Usually I make any spells that are not in the PHB (and even some that are) the sole province of a particular group or even just one person. That creates a need for a mage to go study at so-and-so's school or serve as his student.

Also, not every mage knows all there is about all forms of magic. Just like with lawyers and doctors you will soon get to a point where you have to specialize, and that creates demand just like in our real world.

 

[Sejs]

Reputation.

Availability.

Facilities.

Ultimately, ask yourself why someone would choose to go to one college over another. Same thing.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Some other ones from real life...

Because the other ones wouldn't let you in- you're the wrong race, wrong social status, not the right kind of demeanor, not apt enough a student for the fields they teach...

You could afford School 4 but not 1-3.

You could get to School 4 but not 1-3.

You heard of School 4 but not 1-3.

You had a special relationship with School 4 but not 1-3- you're a legacy, you impressed someone on the faculty, they chose you at random for a charity scholarship, this is the school where everyone from your race/family/city/religion goes to study magic...

Your buddies (or significant others) are going to School 4.

 

[Slife]

School specialization. Students at Ye Olde Schule of Necromancy aren't going to waste as much time studying spells that are in a forbidden school.

 

[Li Shenron]

Well there is even a more basic question: why paying someone to teach you when you can learn exactly the same things by yourself?

This is normally NOT the case in real life, where a teacher DOES allow for much faster improvement to nearly everyone. But in D&D, it's you don't learn any class features by attending a school or training. You can imagine that going on in the background, but if you don't gain Xp in the meantime, you're not gaining Wizard levels. And if you do gain those Xp, you don't need to explain how that translates into new spells.

For example, has the player itself ever needed a school to get to his current Wiz level?

To answer your question: maybe the school grants something extra than the standard class abilities. As an example, see the Arcane Order in Tome & Blood, where members pay a fee but have access to a prestige class and specifically the Spellpool. Or maybe there is a more generic benefit, such as making useful CONTACTS with other wizards, gathering information and stray knowledge (that doesn't translates into bonuses, just plain knowledge of things), etc.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

As has been said, access to spells. IMC, studying at Redhurst gets you access to a LOT more spells than studying at St. Feldin's, for instance, and a different set of spells entirely is available at the Wizard's Guild in Freeport.

It also doesn't hurt with the connections that form there. My players have already encountered snobbery between alumni of various schools. Having the right signet ring (and being able to sing the right alma mater) can open doors IMC just as belonging to the Harvard Club in NYC can in real life.

 

[delericho]

In the RAW, nothing really.

However, this is one of those areas where the DM can really make his game his own. By creating some feats, prestige classes and spells that are only available to graduates of a given school of magic (or the equivalent for certain martial arts masters, fencing schools, and so forth) he adds a lot of depth to his world, and provides a real reason to seek out one school/master over another.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well there is even a more basic question: why paying someone to teach you when you can learn exactly the same things by yourself?

In the RAW, nothing really.

However, this is one of those areas where the DM can really make his game his own.

Like in my current campaign!

In this campaign world, civilization has collapsed catastrophically, including the schools of magic. There are a few, hidden schools of magic, usually in subterranean empires, but nearly everything on the surface is gone, including scrolls and tomes.

As a result, finding spells to add to your spellbook is incredibly difficult. For those who actually have access to a school, they have their pick of spells...

But those others must do their own research, piecing things together from the merest scraps and their own experimentation. What they learn may not neccessarily be what they wanted to learn, but rather the result of some accidental discovery or a flash of insight.