Abraca-Pocus: Courses for a specialist mage academy

[steeldragons]

In a realm in my homebrew world of Orea known as "the Mage Lands", where the study and use of magic are the "status" by which a person (and/or family) are judged, where Academies/Universities of magic are proflific...

What are some "courses" that a "student apprentice" would be required to take?

Thinking across the board of all various specialist schools of magic...

Obviously, there are "arcane basics" courses (like we've learned, unfortunately, from Harry Potter). The no-brainers of things like "Introduction to the Dark Arts" or "Potion Making 101"...but thinking beyond that box...for other schools of magic...

"Elements of Conjuration" -a basic course for low level Summoning spells...the "Advanced Placement/Honors" class might actually include "labs" that conjure basic elemental creatures.
"Life, Death and You" -an Ethics course on the pros/cons of following Necromantic study.
"Transmutation 101" -learning the basic principles of the Transmutation school. Working on things like Levitating items, Enlarge/Shrinking existing things..."Grad Students" in this school might be working on their "Polymorphing Practicals"...

That kinda thing.

No idea is too weird or ridiculous...I am constantly try to make R'Hath (the Mage Lands) seem exotic or just plain bizarre to the other/outer/non-mage realms.

Have fun and happy spelling.
--Steel Dragons.

 

[Stumblewyk]

"Fireballs and You: Practical Exercises in Thermodynamics"

 

[fuzzlewump]

Seventh Sanctum - Academic Magical Realm Generator

Check out that website, it randomly generates what you're looking for. Here are some examples to see:

Analytical Military Evocation
Essential Enchanting
Ethical Divinatory Science
Future Sorcerous Science
Invisible Taxonomy
Military Taxonomic Alteration
Modern Essential Chronomancy
Modern Inter-Planar Academics
Sorcerous Instruction
Theoretical Inter-Planar Academics

Enjoy!

 

[steeldragons]

Shielding I: mandatory course in Abjuration, 1st semester.
Shielding II: mandatory course in Abjuration, 2nd semester.
Spell-blocking I: optional Abjuration course for 2nd year students.
Counterspelling: optional "Abj" course for 2nd year students, 2nd semester.

--SD

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Check out the downloads for the (amazing but long OOP) Redhurst: Academy of Magic. The players guide download has courses for all the D&D magical specializations.

 

[Quickleaf]

Ave Cadaver: coming out ahead in encounters with undead. This course includes consulting with dead spirits of archmages, parental permission forms are required.

 

[Kaodi]

If you are really serious about making a list of magical courses, there are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself first:

1) What sort of program is this academy running? Is it universal of specialized? Does it teach practical or theoretical magic primarily?

2) How large is the program? The number of students and master magicians is going to have an effect on how many different classes, and thus the variety of classes, that can be offered.

3) Does the academy teach basically the same slate of classes every year, or is it heavily subject to what professors want to teach?

4) What level are master magicians? And what level are associate faculty (not masters, essentially the graduate students and post-doctoral fellows)?

That said, I can imagine that every academy is going to have a first year class in the Language of Magic (Read Magic), and a first or second year class in Magical Analysis (Detect Magic). And probably, at some point, a class called Critical Spellcraft.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If there are classes that support Spellcraft, then there will almost certainly be classes that lead to a character learning the various Knowledge skills, with Knowledge: Arcana being an almost certain constant on campus.

I would also guess there would be a number of languages taught every term, including Draconic. The various elemental and outsider languages seem like they'd be common as well -- and possibly required classes for Conjurers.

 

[steeldragons]

[MENTION=1231]Kaodi[/MENTION]: Thanks for the well thought out details/questions. I have concepts for most of what you propose. But nice to see it all in writing so I can jot all of that stuff down.

@ anyone: "Must spread some around..." before XPing Kaodi again. If someone would care to cover for me I'd be ever so grateful.

To answer some of the thoughts: the type of academy would depend on location. In my world's wizard nation of R'Hath, Specialist schools are the norm. Outside of that realm (the majority of the continent) Universalists are more common, but in the major cities/larger universities, I picture introductory courses/say "Freshman and Sophmore years" as being general/universal in nature with "basic" 101/introductory courses for certain specialist schools...which ones would vary from academy to academy*.

*i.e. The Royal Academy in Brightmoon would have advanced courses for almost all specialties. The "best school" for those interested in Evocation or Conjuration would be found at the Universitas Arcania in Andril (on the other side of the continent). If one wished to study Necromancy in depth, however they would have to travel to the Necromancer academy [formal name t.b.d.] in R'Hath or find themselves a lone Necromancer to apprentice with on their own in the "old style" of master/apprentice learning.

After that, if a mage is studying to be a specialist, they would then focus on courses in their "school" for their "Junior and Senior" years, and naturally continue in those veins for their post-graduate work.

I would imagine, academic type "master magicians/instructors" would be in the range of 5th to 7th to 9th. A "headmaster"/university president, I don't think I would make higher than 10th...espcially outside of R'Hath. That leaves the "legendary magi" of the realms of Orea (approximately 7 individuals, iirc) to be the truly powerful wizards of the world (over 10th level). It also allows for the possibility of "truly gifted" grad-students and fellows to rise higher in level than their teachers...and all of the fun intrigue/conflict that may arise from that.

If the "head of the dept." is 6th lvl, for example, one of their grad-students might be 8th or 9th and feel they are being "held back", etc. The senior faculty researcher in the Abjuration Dept. may only be 5th level, with an adjunct instructor of 8th level. But she's been in the position for the past 10 years, her Knowledge: Arcana-Abjuration is off the charts and she's best friends with the university president...so she's not going anywhere any time soon...without some kind of "accidental misfortune", etc...

--SD