Revenge of the Magi

[Zaran]

In my campaign, the arcana users have been hit hard. Many have been consumed by demons and before they go the warlocks take alot of innocents with them. So many legitimate mages have been killed by superstitious villagers.

So in my paragon portion of my campaign, I'd like to have some sort of mage war. Something like Magic:The Gathering where arcane users of various sorts are the driving force in a huge war and that heroes have to get involved before the world is destroyed sort of thing.

So, I'm fishing for ideas from you guys. Have you done some sort of magocracy or war of magic users? I'm definately going to have a warlock faction. I will also probably have an anti-arcane faction. There are two arcane users in the party. A wizard and a swordmage.

 

[nothingpoetic]

So you would like to have each arcane faction fighting the other faction? Warlocks fighting the schools of magic of the wizards, the sorcerers playing guerilla tactics trying to weaken both sides, etc?

Or would you rather just have a magic war where there are arcane spell casters on one side and a world against them on the other?

My though with any kind of mage war would be to have an arcane vs. divine kind of war. Clerics against wizards, druids and sorcerers battling it out, etc.

 

[steeldragons]

I love the idea.

I also like your concept of having warlocks being a separate faction. I'd throw a few of the specialists in league with them (Conjurers for example?)

While the bulk of the specialists and the general wizards are trying to bring an end to the persecution (i.e. peace) by the divine factions and uneducated masses, the warlocks and their allies are fighting for dominance and through their actions continue to give arcane magic a bad name.

It's very X-Men. Two differing philosophies/approaches to facing the same fight.

While I never played it, I have a Mage Wars in the histories of my campaign setting.

Essentially, it was divine (the Zealotry) against arcane users. The world had been turned on it's ear by a cataclysmic overthrow of the world's deities. The cause for this overthrow is attributed to the casting of "the Great Spell" which according to legend was cast by the wizards of the now destroyed Selurian Empire.

After the divine overthrow, newly empowered clerics of the new gods (collectively called the Zealotry) rose in power quickly and sought to destroy "sorcery" for bringing the destruction and chaos of the previous decades down on the world and their cause fanned out across the continent like brushfire.

The whole REASON, I put the Mage Wars in the histories was to explain the creation of a new sovereign region, founded by the most powerful and wisest arch-magi of the time which they used great magics to seclude from the rest of the continent and become a refuge for the "magically persecuted."

It's been useful for spawning other flavorful tidbits around the world also.
A little more detail on the story can be found here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/5254110-post8.html

 

[nothingpoetic]

While the bulk of the specialists and the general wizards are trying to bring an end to the persecution (i.e. peace) by the divine factions and uneducated masses

What does this say about the divine clerics, paladins, and druids I wonder... lol

The whole REASON, I put the Mage Wars in the histories was to explain the creation of a new sovereign region, founded by the most powerful and wisest arch-magi of the time which they used great magics to seclude from the rest of the continent and become a refuge for the "magically persecuted."

And it would be into this setting that I would develop a flying landmass shrouded in fog lol. If for no other reason than I have always wanted to play in a setting that had one

 

[steeldragons]

One of those flavorful tidbits I meantioned:
"
Three "schools" continued to be practiced during the years following the Godswar and the Mage Wars (before formal Academies or even R'Hath itself had been founded). To this day, these "specialist mages" (who were simply referred to by their individual titles prior to the Schools' creation) may be found, trained in the traditional master/apprentice way, originating from anywhere in Orea and not required to be from or go to R'Hath for their study (though many if not most still will to further their power). These "special" specialists are:

• Illusionists: Illusionists in Orea were able to avoid some of the persecution of other mages due to their entertainment value. Many wizards chose to focus on the phantasmal arts in carnivals, traveling circuses or as entertainers for various nobility and royal houses. Still one had to be cautious around the members of the Zealotry. For a time following the Mage Wars and prior to the "outreach" of the R'Hathi mage's guild, Illusionists were the predominantly encountered "wizard" in many realms.
• Diviners: Sometimes diviners were able to follow the illusionists' way and keep safe in carnivals, reading bones or cards as fortunetellers or seers. But the use of diviners by power hungry individuals has been a tradition since the birth of magic. Those able to glean information from the ether are exceptionally useful to those in (or seeking) power. This included, at the time, the Zealotry who somtimes "kept" (and eventually killed) mages with divining spells to use for their ends against other spellworking-kind.
• Necromancers: Those individuals focusing on the darker side of the Art were not about to let the Zealotry or mindless barbarian hordes scare them or go quietly away to hide in the realms of R'Hath (at first). Necromancers across Orea did what they could to survive and impede the progress of the new gods' clerics or raging Gorunduun, usually quite effectively to the disaster of their enemies.

Funny you should mention, nothingpoetic, but R'Hath is often swathed in fog. Part of the coastal cities defenses include inhospitable illusions. R'Hath is firmly attached to the ground, though. haha.

There is also this (but not really a "land mass" and no fog here. :
[SIZE=+1]"Towerton[/SIZE]
The large trading town of Towerton started as little more than a collection of farmers, herdsmen, and timber workers. Today a small city sits on the coast surrounded by farmlands, herdmen, and timber workers, all tightly clustered within view of a great hovering chunk of rock. The community earned its name and vaulted reputation from its most famous (and originally its only) resident, the Wizard of the Tower. The town is ruled by a Council of chosen officials, who supposedly consult with the Wizard regularly, but this is usually only on matters of great importance.


In the dark years following the Godswar, there was a period of severe persecution of any magic-use not of divine origin. They were called the Mage Wars. A secluded wizard found himself beseiged by Zealot forces. The wizard used his powers to lift his tower (and a significant chunk of the surrounding earth) from the ground where it hovers, to this day. Over the ages, as the attitudes toward magic-users mellowed, and the need for protection ever-increased, settlers came to live in the shadow of the Tower beseeching the wizard’s great power to protect them and their lands.


Following the Mage Wars, the lands of Grinlia were still chaotic and treacherous with warlords and petty kings forever conquesting and conquering their neighbors. These gave way to Selurian raiders from across the sea, barbarian hordes, and eventually even the goblinoid armies of the Scourge Wars found their way to the floating citadel. So, over the centuries, many of the inhabitants of West Embrar, made their way to the surrounding environs of the wizard’s floating tower and Towerton was born."

--Steel Dragons

 

[steeldragons]

But enough about me. Anything you want to know about Orea can be found here. http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-places/284160-orea-world-its-people.html Haven't added anything to it in a while...but there it is.

As for Zaran's campaign.

I'd say there are a lot of ways to break up the groups in the conflict. Obviously, there will be some divine organizations whose doctrine would put them on the arcane side...or at least neutral. I don't know the theological set up of your world, but obviously any deity involved with magic, knowledge the mind, history, et al. (maybe even a "god of secrets"?). would not, I would think, be "against" the arcane classes.

Do all of the specialist schools feel the same? As I suggested, it would make an interesting schism to place at least Conjurers in the Warlock camp. Where are the Necromancers on this? Their magic more than any school simulates divine magic. I'd think perhaps they are the most neutral positioned. The Evokers, naturally, might be "jung ho" for the war to continue. An endless excuse to wing fireballs and lightning bolts? Sounds like an evokers dream come true.

And what about the poor Bards (and any other arcane affiliated class you might use)? I see rows and rows of Bards lined along street corners and the edges of battlefields constantly attempting to bring the conflict to a close with rousing renditions of "Give Peace a Chance" and "Kumbay Ya." Not to mention there usefulness (for any faction) in espionage and information gathering. Minstrels are allowed a good many places and privy to overhearing a good many things other people aren't.

So you need to break down who is against them, who is neutral, and who (perhaps secretly) is with them. From a Divine and Arcane side.

From there...it's your campaign...how do you want it to go? Is this something you see the characters involved (pivotally or otherwise) in ending? Are they simply to "pick a side" and fight?

 

[taxiadvertising]

Awesome!

 

[Cor_Malek]

Making two (or more) layers of complexity there might be a worthwhile idea. Obviously, necromancers as ones that can control undead at their whim might need additional shielding from people who can't tell the difference between zombie and a daemon. But that doesn't make them one happy family. And it might be troublesome when they need some decent illusion cast on hideout for protection from mobs.

So the organizations would need various specialists to carry out their objectives. Find objectives. Then create groups that via various means could carry them out. Once you have those - think how they would perceive other organizations.
For idea:

• A group of feminist think that the crisis was caused by recklessness of their male colleagues. They decide to unite and bring stability to magic users. Within this group you could have members who are borderline (and beyond) chauvinist who think only female wizards should remain, as well as those who want the movement to merely establish a balance between male and female magicians.
• Nobles and royalist magicians that want to throw off influence of magic on secular world and it's kingdoms. Within them there might be a crack as to whether it means arcane, divine or both. Some think magic is invaluable to countries - for example "speak with dead" made finding murderers almost easy. But what if a wizard uses animate dead and illusion instead? Who'd be the wiser?
• Some religions could see this as an opening to finally establish that divine is good, and arcane is bad. Their clerics are just as - if not more - powerful than any wizard - so why do they have to play humble servants when mages spent their lives in luxury and use their power only as they see fit? Lot's of infighting, especially on side of LG religions (bulk of which might refuse taking any part in this).
• Powerful mages that were refused any serious influence in both magical - and secular world. For them it could be a godsend - bad blood and weak ones are purged, and balance of power is disturbed - which means it might be their turn to make it to the top. More of a coterie than unified organization.
• Druids trying to save nature from damage of all this fighting. One duel between low-tier wizards can destroy ancient forest in matter of hours. A fight between powerful mages could level whole region. Some would focus on shielding the nature directly, some would rather take on the real problem - the mages.
• Those with more academic approach. Every tower destroyed, every laboratory purged - means hundreds of tomes lost, knowledge destroyed forever. All reasons to fight might seem just as silly to those mages who care only about pure knowledge. Little do they care about balance of power - even if arcane becomes a taboo, one day they might be able to come back. It won't matter if they do not preserve the knowledge.

Still, some camaraderie (and enmity) of chosen school would remain, making it for fun interactions between individuals. Should all schools be preserved equally? Should all religions gain power?

As to their interactions - well, it's not a team deathmatch. Bulk people should realize, that at best - they will be able to obtain only some of their goals and to some degree. And each person has own idea of what those are. For example the clerics might vary greatly as to how they perceive movement of feminist wizards - from useful distraction for arcane users, through threat to their own patriarchal organizations to chance of change for religions. Many academics might agree with feminists that they're a better shot at stability, while others might see one-sex balance bad regardless of who has upper hand. Druids might seek help of clerics to shield towns and nature from arcane destruction alike. To some clerics though, druidic power resembling their own but not coming from God is even worse abomination than arcane tricks...
Possibilities are endless. As I said - once you have goals, and organizations that pursue them - interactions between them will crystallize. And as PC's will go through world - they might influence it as well.

 

[Zaran]

I have at least 4 factions in mind.

1) The remaining Arcane community. There are relatively few of these left. The PCs will probably be part of this group.

2) Warlocks - These aren't the class. They are corrupted magic users possed by demons.

3) Necromancers - Led by a lich who has seized control of the kingdom.

4) The remaining divine community - The evil in the land has been doing a pretty good smear campaign and has been waging war against the divine for some time. So many people no longer have faith in the gods. The divine blame the arcanists for alot of this.

This campaign is basically a play on Points of Light except that the lights are dimming. The common man is superstitious and if they had the chance would burn any magic user at the stake. Temples of Pelor mysteriously burn down. Werewolves wander the wilderness. The PCs are currently going through the heroic tier dealing with sort of thing.

 

[Zaran]

So still thinking along the lines of M:TG , I was applying the colors to the factions.

White: Divine, Mundane
Black: Lich King
Red: Warlocks
Blue: Rogue Wizards
Green: I was thinking Primal just to match up a bit with the color. I've already had some backstory for Shifters and a future adventure will deal with a druid so that might work out as well. I just need to figure out how to have them all interact with each other.