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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neil the Knight" data-source="post: 7050851" data-attributes="member: 6801269">Hey guys sorry Iv kinda fallen behind here on my posts. It's been a particularly hectic week and this one is a little long. Now we will be moving on from the noble families and on to general factions of Endhome and what better place to start than the Wizards Academy.The Academy can serve as a very powerful resource throughout the campaign. It's library contains unknown amounts of knowledge and can be utilized to steer the party in a particular direction. Along with knowledge the Academy is able to provide the party with high level magic and consumable magic items,  such as scrolls and potions. Not just anyone is allowed onto the Academy grounds though. The party will need to gain access to the Academies resources, either through a fee, favour, recommendation or an invite to teach. Enforcing this will be Geraal Wistroan, a young scholar put in charge of the Acadamy reception, and in game terms, face for the Wizards Academy.The book suggests that the Academy charges 25gp per day of research at the library to non student and faculty. Furthermore the party can pay 100gp per day for a scholar to conduct the research for them (essentially giving the party the benefit of a legend lore spell) but there is still a 1 in 10 chance that the scholar recovers false information. Books of all kind are bought by the library. Standard toms fetch 2d6 gold pieces other magic or particularly rare books can get a much more.Contained within the library are unfathomable amounts of knowledge on vertically any topic imaginable, as long as some one is willing to spend the time to find it. Along with general information  those who can study magic may learn new spells. The book suggests any spell of 6th lv or lower may be found here. It takes one week per spell level for any spell of 1st, 2nd or 3rd lv and one additional week for spells lv 4th, 5th and 6th. So a 6th lv spell would take 9 weeks of study to learn. The DM may choose to have the wizard's savant feature of each arcane school apply to this time. Do not forget that any fees to use the library do not include the cost of the special inks and paper needed to transcribe spells as described in the Wizards section of the PHB. As for the time it takes to research knowledge to encourage quests and decipher puzzles, such as lore that leads to the sword and Shield of Kell, I would recommend it is not made to resource draining as to encourage the party to seek them out.When the party first arrive in Endhome the Academy grounds will be completely closed to the public. As a hook to MGK, a book has been stolen and until it is returned no access is permitted. If the party find and retrieve the book from Veltargo in the Temple of Blood Everflowing they will not only receive their first bits of information about the Lost City of Barakus but also 100gp worth of research time and reopen the facilities to the public.After that, in lew of payment to use the Acadamy facilities, Geraal may ask for a favour. He could request the party to retrieve over due books from Bezlur Orloff, an expelled professor of Conjuration from the Academy. The PC will be given his last known address which will lead them to his run down apartment in the warehouse slums district. The apartment door is locked but not hard to open, once inside the party will find the place in absolute filth. There are no occupants and no sign of the books they are looking for but will find plenty of evidence of Bezlur's opium habit and a crudely drawn map leading to a location in the sewer systems.If the party causes a racket a gruff and disgruntled Half-Orc land lady will show up demanding they pay for Bezlur's over due rent. If they party explain the situation she will settle for the party helping to clear out Bezlur's stuff. On the other hand If the players do any damage to the property getting in or rummaging around she will demand they pay for the damages. If the party refuses either of her requests she will scream and yell as the party leaves that she's gonna tell her nephew Grachet and then they'll get it (more on him later). The map to the sewers of course is a hook to the Renegade Wizard side quest in the Endhome sewer section of LCoB. It leads to an abandoned opium den where Bezlur, his faithful assistant Kaiser and a couple Dretches are trying to tunnel into the Academy library. The overdue books are there and once returned Geraal may reward the party with 100gp worth of research time or an appointment with one of the faculty.Once Geraal has gotten to know the party a bit he may ask for a personal favour. Geraal is great at his job but is not exactly a ladies man. There is an up coming Academy ball and he is to shy to ask the girl he has a crush on to go with him, so asks the party to ask her in his stead. The girl is Felicia Gaspar. The party may find her some where around the grounds of the Academy but unless they already have a significant amount of clout with the Gaspars or general notoriety they will first need to convince Felicia to hear them out.When she does finally Iisten to what they have to say, she will of course refuse, even laugh at the players faces for suggesting she be "seen in public with that nobody". But if the party press the matter she will agree to go to the ball with Geraal if the party retrieve a vital part of her outfit for the ball. This may take a few possible forms. One possibility is to ask the party to retrieve the pelt and horn of the unicorn found in area T of the wilderness section. Once at the glade the party will find something amiss. A witch has tainted the spring here which has cause the unicorn guardian to become crazed. This scenario brings up some interesting moral dilemma for good aligned characters and those with affiliation to nature. To begin with they should pretty much outright refuse to do the job. Unicorns are wholesome and good creatures who are protectors of the most sacred places in the forest. If the characters go through with it there should be some conciquences such as a vision from a deity demanding they go on a quest to atone for their sins. Failure to complete or be on track to completing such a quest may result in loss of certain powers or spells.I may not feel like dealing with such a thing so I do have an alternative. In REF3: Book of Lairs there is a Encounter with Brownies. The adventure hook is that a wealthy collector wish's to get their hands on a authentic brownie necklace. In this case Felicia would be the collector who wants the jewelry to wear to the ball. The actual combat occurs with two giant baggers and most of the encounter is either sneaking up to or chasing the slippery brownies. If the party does manage to catch one and acquire it's necklace Felicia will begrudgingly attend the ball with Geraal. In reward for this Geraal will conduct one free day of research himself which has no chance of false answers.Another way that the PC's may gain access to the Academies resources is through a recommendation from a faction with some clout with the Academy. As alluded to in my last post this is not the simplest of tasks due to the fact that the school maintains a strictly neutral stance and does not want to be seen to favour any one faction over another. Factions that may facilitate this are the Gaspars, the Pools and the Calaidra. If the SoG quest is complete and their respective scion brought home safe any of these houses would be happy to vouch for the party.The Gaspars may vouch for the party earlier if a special request is made and other rewards are sacrificed for completing the Greentree Daggers or Wearhouse Break Ins quest. Like wise if the party was to forgo some reward for the sewer upgrades quest I'm sure the Pool's would reach out to the headmaster on the parties behalf. The Calaidra are the best connected with the Academy out of all the noble houses and would probably make the best candidate to vouch for the party. If the PC's do approach either Andros or Kara for a recommendation they may ask the party to retrieve a wand which was stolen for them. This encounter comes from REF4: Book of Lairs II. The wand was stolen by a thief who took it down into the sewers to sell it on the black market. On his way he stumbled upon a Otyugh layer and was eaten. The Calaidra used magic to track the wand to a forgotten cavern beneath the city streets. It is up to the party to head down into the sewers and retrieve the wand from amongst piles of muck and pools of detritus and avoid falling pray to the three Otyughs who hunt there.Finally once the party has gained enough notoriety a wizard (or other full caster at the DM's discretion) may apply or be invited to teach at the Academy. The pay for a three month semester is 250gp, but does include free room and board and more importantly, access to the library as well as valuable contacts amongst the other faculty.A student who graduates from the Academy is considered to be a first level wizard so an easy stat block for an average student would be the apprentice mage from the NPC list in Voldo's. Some students re enroll and become 2nd or 3rd lv wizards such as Kara Calaidra. The average faculty is 5th lv but once again an easy stat block for the head of each school of magic can be found in the back of Voldo's under the relevant title (Abjurer for abjeration and so on). Faculty members may cast spells for the party, create scolls or potions but will be extremely hesitant to share spells from their spell book.Much like the library a faculty member will be hesitant to help the party out unless reimbursed monetarily or perhaps a favour like checking out the tower in area S of the wilderness section. If the party shares the discovery of Barakus there could be some thing from its depths a faculty member wants retrieved, or they may ask the party to locate the where abouts of Fenton Barmey, triggering the Finding Fenton side quest from LCoB. Alternativly a recommendation may get the party what they want but the total number of recommendation should be limited and each one only good for one favour.Wizard AcademySource: LCoB, MGK (Greyhawk Library)Game Purpose:Patron and Resource FactionFaction Type: Educational OrganizationGoal: To be a place for Wizards of all walks of life to come for study and research.Background:The Wizards Academy (officially the Endhome Academy of Wizardry, Alchemy, and Arcane Knowledge) is as nearly as old as Endhome itself. At one time, when Endome was little more than a popular trading Village, an adventuring wizard took up residence here and, having made his fortune, decided to begin teaching the art of Wizardry to a few promising locals. As Endhome grew, so did The Wizard Academy. It is now considered the continents premier training ground for wizards.Endhome continued neutrality has as much to do with the Wizards Academy and their local influence and formidable power, as the Senate and the city's High walls. In fact, it is the Academy's founder, Basil Storm, who suggested to the local elders that Endhome need not aligned itself with any nation, that it would in fact be in the cities best interest to remain neutral. Basil wished his Academy to be friendly to wizards of all walks of life, and did not want to see it turned into a tool for one nations military. Thus both the faculty and the students alike are swift to answer the call should ever Endhome be threatened by outside forces.The current Headmaster is Stylus Kant, an ambitious and talented young wizard at 51, he is in fact the youngest Headmaster the school has ever had. Stylus would like the school's faculty to focus more on innovative research then it traditionally has, and his new goal has attracted a number of clever and powerful wizards to the school's staff.Traditionally no more than a hundred to a hundred fifty wizard train in the school at one time, and most are young adults.On the school's grounds there's a building for faculty as well as a number of research laboratories. There are eight rectangular buildings each which are dedicated to one of the schools of Wizardry (there is an abjuration house, a conjuration house, a divination house and so on. Finally there is a building that serves as the school's dormitory and mess hall.The school's library is contained within a vast labyrinth sublevel and holds hundreds upon hundreds of tomes magical and otherwise. It is even rumored there are a number of chambers and doors that haven't been opened or explored in centuries. The school's library is open to any Wizards who wish to conduct magical research. There are certain rules, however. First, Wizards  must pay a base fee of 25 GP per day for research. Two, no demonic research is permitted. Third, the research cannot in any way disturb the working of the school. Finally, the Wizards Academy reserves the right to refuse anyone access to the library and terminate research without prior notice.Members:Stylus KantThe current Headmaster of the Wizard Academy, Stylus Kant wears his black hair in a long ponytail, Sports and neatly trimmed mustache and goatee, and wears robes from the absolutely finest silks and wool Endhome offers. Stylus spends most of his time at the Academy, but being an important figure in the community, is from time to time summoned to the Senate or the Governor's mansion. Stylus is surprisingly charming. He has a quiet intensity about him that many people initially  mistake for aloofness. Once in conversation, however, he is Lively and interested and possessed of exquisite manners. He is extremely ambitious as well, however, and does not make close friends easily. Only a select few are permitted into his inner circle. Offers to dinner are usually politely declined. Those who do know him well are fiercely loyal, and the combination of his intelligence and Charisma make him a prized friend.Geraal WistroanA young and budding scholar Geraal takes his job as Receptionist for the Wizards Academy very seriously. Those like most young men he has a weakness for the fairer sex Specifically he is head over heals for  Felicia Gaspar. Unfortunately for him a match not likely to happen due to his common up bringing.Gareel is a clean shaven baby faced man with rosy cheeks and green eyes. Due to his inclination towards books rather than physical activity he is tall but scrawny. What he lacks I'm brawn he makes up for in brain. He is well read and possesses vast amounts of knowledge. He is always polite but firm in conversation. Face: Geraal WistroanRelationships:Close with Calaudra family but officially neutral in all political affairs within the city.Notes:The faction crest is blazon thus Azure, an open book proper, having on the dexter side seven seals or, between three estoiles of eight points orQuest notes:If party tells Geraal they have information about the missing book and sucseed on a Cha check he will tell the party that a valuable book was stolen from the library just before it opened. The only reason they know of the theft is that a young scholar stumbled upon the assistant. The scholar had been up all night doing research when he reports bumping into a cleric dressed in vestments of Thyr. Both of them fell and all they were holding scattering on the floor.  He says the gaunt bald man with bad teeth  scrambled to retrieve the missing book, then set off at a dead run when the scholar gave chase and called after him he dove out an open window, the thief ran off into the city and has not been seen since. The tome has been identified as one that had been long lurking in one of the deepest rooms of the library, it's pages a mystery to all for its clasp is held by a magic lock that defies all attempts to open it. (MGK)</blockquote>

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