The model for a "Guild Wizard" is, I believe, the Mage of the Arcane Order (CA 48) who needs to have the cooperative spell feat. So yeah, it makes sense that a wizard society would require its members to have its feat. But problems can arise only if a major goal of a wizard society is to amass as much firepower as possible, and forcibly recruit all other wizards to that end. Furthermore there would have to be enough wizards around to make the project practical, and that they would be willing to go along with the project. But it is quite conceivable that these not be true, even in high-magic, high-level campaign.
See this description of the high level wizards in Sep's campaign world, for instance:
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The most powerful known wizards in Wyre and its dependencies at the end of the Seventh Century were, in no particular order of precedence, Jovol the Grey, Hlioth the Green Witch, Waide of Hethio, Mostin the Metagnostic, Shomei the Infernal and Tozinak.
They were, compared to those great names of history such as Tersimion and Fillein, a group of only moderate power. Nonetheless, they commanded considerable resources and, had they so chosen, could have exercised great influence in the temporal affairs of Wyre.
Jovol was never seen. An Ogre-Mage of enormous talent and power, he lived in a tower built upon an inaccessible aerie high in the Thrumohar mountains where he, presumably, performed some kind of research. No-one knew what kind. No-one had spoken to him for twenty years, and his only means of communication with his peers – who at other times doubted his existence – was through the medium of dreams.
Hlioth the Green Witch, who enjoyed appearing in the form of a wood-nymph, was the oldest of the group, and may have been immortal. She had abandoned the pursuit of arcanism years before and taken up the practice of druidry – something which most of the wizards in Wyre regarded as an insane departure from the pursuit of truth. She maintained no permanent home, but would occasionally be encountered by unsuspecting travellers in the deep forests of western Wyre, where her perverse sense of humour would manifest itself on those unfortunate enough to arouse her interest. Once every year, at midsummer, Hlioth would hold a revel which, occasionally, other wizards were invited to. The location and nature of the gathering was always a closely-kept secret until the day before, and her choice of guests apparently random.
In comparison, Waide, Shomei, Tozinek and, to a lesser extent, Mostin the Metagnostic, were more conventional in their outlook.
Waide was a Transmuter of high credentials, although criticized for his conservatism and lack of inventiveness. Through diligence, organization and the systematic pursuit of his art, he achieved notable results. Inspiration was a faculty he did not possess in great measure, but his sheer perseverance and bull-headedness ensured his inexorable rise to the ranks of the mighty. Every day, without fail, Waide would rise at dawn and enter his study. His laborious and time consuming methods of investigation slowly, little by little, gave results. Waide would retire, sleep for two hours, and repeat the same process day after day, year after year.
Shomei the Infernal, unsurprisingly, liked devils. She admired their organized nature, their ability to get things done, and had romantic notions about how badly they had been treated in the great revolt. Shomei, although not evil – at least in the conventional understanding of the word – had taken various diabolic lovers, produced a number of half-fiend offspring, and subsequently abandoned them. They were miserable creatures from whom Shomei constantly expected some kind of vengeful attack. Despite the protestations of the Church of Oronthon – who found her understandably suspicious – Shomei lived in a manse near the city of Morne. The Temple was in no way assuaged by the fact that that the architectural style of the building was in many ways influenced by the palace of the Adversary in Nessus. Shomei possessed a second dwelling – an abandoned fortress on the Astral Plane – in which she spent an increasing amount of time. Devils could visit her there without going through the tedious procedure of compacting and calling. These included her latest infernal suitor, Titivilus, a Duke of Hell in service to the Arch-Fiend Dispater.
Tozinak never appeared the same way twice, whether through his own fancy or perhaps because of some magical experiment that had gone terribly wrong, the effects of which he had never bothered to correct. He dwelt in a modest house on an island in the still waters of Lake Thahan, and despite his constantly changing aspect was, in fact, a very affable and personable man. Illusion was his specialty but he did, at times, work magic for the local fishermen who regarded him as something of a demigod. His estranged sister, Qiseze, had been slain on the Elemental Plane of Fire by the Cambion Feezuu – Qiseze having retired from the Prime some ten years before. Saddened by the loss of a sister from whom he had grown apart, Tozinak was first gratified by the death of Feezuu at the hands of Mostin the Metagnostic, and then depressed again when he learned of her new incarnation. He brooded but did nothing because, despite his genuine good-nature, Tozinak was something of a coward at heart.
Mostin the Metagnostic was regarded with mixed feelings by the other great wizards of Wyre. Jovol paid him little or no heed – although in this regard Mostin differed little from the other powerful mages – and the Alienist had long since given up trying to contact the Ogre-Mage for the exchange of useful news, spells or items. Mostin had only once been invited to one of Hlioth’s gatherings, and had found the Green Witch to be rather difficult company. Although her magical resources were extensive, her interest in arcana was not, and Hlioth’s pursuit of druidry involved a definite evangelical side. Cavorting with nymphs and dryads was all very well, Mostin had thought, and made for an amusing distraction, but it hardly constituted a worthwhile investment of time and energy.
Waide was a stuffy pedant, and hence closest to Mostin in disposition, although the Alienist cared little for him. He was moved by transmutation only – nothing else was of the remotest interest to him, and Mostin found this narrow-mindedness intolerable. After all, there was room for a good deal of eclecticism in magic, and a sound knowledge of other schools often informed theories in the field of specialization.
Shomei, on the other hand, was one with whom Mostin at once possessed a natural rapport. She shared his Goetic inclinations – although in her case, she had gone somewhat further than the Alienist deemed advisable – and was attractive to boot. Mostin was disturbed by her misalliances with a number of Infernal dukes, however, and had not paid her a visit in several years. His own mentor, the Alienist Vhorzhe, had been a frequent visitor to Shomei’s manse until his unfortunate death**. It was from Vhorzhe that Mostin also developed a passing interest in diablerie.
Tozinak and Mostin were on polite, if not amicable terms. They shared little in the way of mutual interest, and the Alienist found the Illusionist’s constant shape-shifting rather baffling. Nonetheless, it was difficult not to like Tozinak – he was agreeable and threw fine parties, at which wizards of varying ability and persuasion would hob-nob, boast of their accomplishments, and attempt to humiliate their rivals. Mostin would occasionally visit these congregations, although his eeriness and precise logic often left those with weaker wills feeling disturbed.
Aside from those six already mentioned, a number of other mages of noteworthy, if lesser, power existed. The Enchanter Idro, who dwelt deep within the forest of Nizkur, was an erstwhile acquaintance of Mostin, although the Alienist had not visited him since his attempted manipulation of Ortwin of Jiuhu to slay his rival, Troap. Idro was mean-spirited and grabbing, and exercised dominion over a number of creatures – mainly feys – in his locale. To be so old, yet to have grown so little in terms of aspirations and accomplishment, spoke of both a limited ability to master magic and a lack of diligence.
Troap, on the other hand, enjoyed a reputation for benign – if erratic – intervention in the affairs of the great forest. The Feys considered him kindly and, despite his goblin blood, even the Elves paid him little heed. Troap’s existence was unknown to Mostin for many years, and the Alienist often wondered how many other wizards pursued their art in utmost secrecy, preferring a wholly solitary lifestyle to even the most infrequent of contact with their brethren.
Idro and Troap, and others of their ilk – including Griel (an evoker), Dauntun of Gibilrazen (a diviner), Rimilin of the Skin and the Hag Jalael – represented the ‘second tier’ of mages in Wyre. There were, perhaps, a dozen in all and in a few cases (notably Rimilin and Jalael), they approached the great mages in terms of their power and resources. They possessed a range of specialities, and their characters – as viewed by the general populace - ran the gamut from benign and well-liked (like Dauntun) to ruthless and despised (like Rimilin). As a group, they demonstrated little cohesion, but most were known to each other and, barring vendettas traceable to real or imagined wrongs between them, they co-existed in relative peace.[/sblock]
Even with the n-spell reading of cooperative spell there is no reason to think that any of the wizards mentioned here would take it.
Note too that wizards with n-spell capability are very powerful, but also very vulnerable. If they gather, they are an enormous target for any enemies they might have.
I would like to point out, too, that the spells you mention (quest, mark of justice, etc.) are not kept in check by nerfing cooperative spell. If you had enough high level clerics in one place that their cooperative quests would be a problem, then there is a problem even if they don't cast them cooperatively. They could cast them individually for almost as good an effect. I guess I am saying that the problems you point out would exist anyway, given the assumption that there are many high powered, power-hungry spellcasters around who will cooperate to gain more power. Cooperative spell doesn't bring this problem into being, though I admit the n-spell version would make it worse.
Anyway... I think I've made my main points, and repeated some of them more often than I needed to. If anything new occurs to me, I'll be sure to add it.
Good gaming!
