DMEntropy
First Post
The College Arcane
The College Arcane was founded with the initial immigration to Kinrisar from the Old Kingdom. It was organized to collect the magical teachings and abilities of those who fled the Old Kingdom so that a magical resistance could be offered to the tyranny of their homeland. Each of the city-states founded a school in which magic was taught to eligible pupils. These wizards and sorcerers then supplemented the forces of the resistance in the Old Kingdom or the armies defending their cities.
After defeat of the lich-king, the colleges were able to move their focus from developing spell casters for the armed forces and concentrate on the development of magical knowledge. The sages and wizards of the College have been able to delve into the deeper secrets of the Art for the past five hundred years.
Many of the noble houses seek tutors from the College for their children. This has maintained the connections the College has with the ruling families. These close ties are used to maximal benefit by the College in its pursuit of goals and information.
The Organization
Headquarters:
The central campus of the College is located in Pari Ka’ansa, the capitol city of Kinrisar. This is a large complex surrounded by a wall of stone 12 feet high. There are eight gates into the complex representing the eight schools of magic. The central keep is an octagonal three-story building. A large tower rises from the center of this to 120 feet at its pinnacle. Eight beacons sit atop the tower. These are lit to depict a member achieving the status of arch-mage (able to cast 9th level spells) and selecting their favored school of magic. The keep is known as the Nine Rings. Access to the inner rings is granted to arcane spell casters of increasing power. Only wizards and sorcerers of the highest ability are able to access the central tower. It is there that the beacons of the arch-mages shine forth over the surrounding city.
The central repository of the College's artifacts and resources is located on a demi-plane accessible through a portal at the Central College. This is a closely guarded secret by the College's arch-mages. The portal is located deep under the College's central keep in a well-warded basement.
Members:
The College is located in Kinrisar only. There are no chapters outside of the kingdom. Each of the major cities has a campus. The larger of these have a design similar to that of the main campus in Pari Ka’ansa, but, none rival the size and splendor of it.
It is unclear how many members the College has altogether. They do not speak of this readily
to anyone. It is also unclear how many members are able to access the inner rings of the College. This is a secret even more closely guarded than the number of members.
Hierarchy:
The College follows a loose organization of elected officials. The elected leaders are responsible for the upkeep of the facilities, libraries, laboratories and menageries of the College. They accomplish this through the acquisition of dues from each of the members.
True power in the College is not passed through these elected officials. Cabals and sects are
rife through the College. Rivalries are ever present. Sometimes these are just academic based. Sometimes they are more passionate and can lead to magic duels or other intrigue filled vendettas.
The College is overseen by a secret Council of Elders. This council can vary in numbers from seven to thirteen at any time. Most on the council are Wizards. There are always Sorcerers and at least one Bard on the council as well. The Council of Elders sets the rules of conduct for members. In addition they initiate policy decisions and set the short and long term goals of the College. Each of the campus Deans reports directly to the Council. Each of the College's campuses has a Dean in charge of the campus. Many layers of professorships fall under the Dean. Students and apprentices comprise the majority of the membership.
Leaders:
The titles and who holds them are unknown outside of the College. Some of the well-known personalities of the College are:
Azzar of the Flame Human
Wiz9/ElmSav10 (Fire) - Evoc
Hamaad Iz-ban Human
Div18 - Div
Ajouri al-Hajjim Half-Elf
Sor19 - Ill
Religion:
Urvon is respected by nearly all members of the College. His symbols and images can be seen throughout the campuses. Os and Prosimus also hold places of reverence, but it does not match that given to Urvon. There is no official or organized worship of deities within the College.
Alignment:
Lawful Neutral.
The College is very strictly controlled by rules and regulations. Outside the boundaries of College campuses these "laws" become more fuzzy and rivalries are more actively pursued. There is no restriction on alignment for membership in the College.
Secrecy:
High.
Members of the College freely wear the symbols of the organization in public. There is a well-known location in each major city, and most minor cities, associated with the College.
The College's inner workings are highly secret. A ruling council is rumored to exist. Who sits on this council, if it does exist, is not publicly known.
Symbol:
A cascade of seven pointed stars.
Each of the major Colleges has its own secondary symbol set. These are displayed by members of the local colleges.
Motivation and Goals
The College does not have a collective motivation that is consistent. As different mages gain power and followers within the organization, they are able to steer the influence of the College towards their goals. The members of the College are quite active in politics in general. The intrigue of King Hadri’s court reaches within the walls of the College.
The most basic goal of the College is to preserve and protect its acquired knowledge about arcane magic and its control. New information or experiments are welcomed into their central library.
A secondary goal of the College is to preserve its tutorial relationship with the royal houses and the powerful guild families. Maintenance of this function is a part of the long-term strategy to remain influential in the royal court and political circles.
Testing promising pupils from the remainder of the population for aptitude in the Art is another project that receives great support. Several past Arch-Mages and other influential members were found in this manner. General testing is available for commoners twice per year. Chilldren aged five to eight years are the most commonly tested.
Recruiting
The College is so well known across Kinrisar that they need to do little active recruitment. Families bring their young members to be examined by the teachers and wizards of the College in hopes of being accepted for teaching. It is an honor to a family to have a graduate of the College in their midst.
Sorcerers also find their way to the College in hopes of learning to control their inborn abilities and shape the magic they create. These arcane casters are nearly uniformly accepted into the College’s schools. One reason for this is a historical fear that these wielders of the Art could organize on their own an organization to rival the power of the College. The founders of the College felt it better to incorporate these people so that they could be controlled.
Allies
The Knights of Kinrisar are not formal allies. There are many goals shared by the College and the Knights. A good working relationship exists given the complementation of strengths and weakness the groups have.
The church of Urvon works closely with the College. Many members of the College are also clergy of Urvon. They share a basic goal of increasing the understanding of arcane magic and its application.
Enemies
Few people or organizations will openly declare enmity with the College. They are powerful, intelligent and careful opponents who have the ear of many influential people in Kinrisar.
Given the caution recommended to their opponents they still do have them. The churches of Eraekoth and Lunakav both express conflicting goals to the College and openly challenge them in the court of King Hadri.
Eraekoth's clergy opposes the efforts spent by the College to control the oceans and their energies. These efforts are mainly on behalf of powerful merchants and the Navy. This is viewed as heresy by the clergy. As long as the College continues to research these areas the church will oppose them.
The College has a dim view of Lunakav's clergy due to the association their patron with areas of random magic. These are very dangerous to arcane spellcasters. It is believed by many diviners of the College that the priests of Lunakav can influence the appearance of such areas.
Encounters
The College Arcane is rarely encountered in an adversarial fashion without their prior preparation. They will be well prepared with defensive spells and conjured allies on a battleground of their choosing. In addition, scrying upon their enemies will have been performed to ascertain strengths and weaknesses.
Combat and Tactics
The College prefers a strong first strike against enemies. Conjured creatures will be sent to strike against enemy leaders and strong minions. If possible, this attack will be clandestine in nature and difficult to trace back to the College.
When forced into open conflict the College will establish a "safe zone" from which they can strike their opponents with spells. They prefer to establish a front line of protectors with conjured allies leading supported by non-conjured warriors.
If forced into conflict in a populated area most members will seek to preserve the safety of non-combatants. A few will even go to the extreme of self-sacrifice if the cause is right. This is heavily encouraged to preserve the goodwill of the common people.
Strengths and Weaknesses
A significant weakness of the College in combat is their desire to preserve non-combatants from the destructive force of their Art. Many unscrupulous opponents seek to capitalize on this trend.
The major strength of the College is its ability to use divination magic to foresee conflict. Using these powers the College is able to avoid conflicts they are not interested in pursuing or prepared for. They are also able to strike at their opponents before the conflict to disable or disarm them with little endangerment of their members.
Weapons and Equipment
Military personnel that support the College are often supplied with appropriate items to support their missions. Enchanted arms and armor are very common and marked with the sigils of the College either openly or with spells. Potions and other minor items are also common.
Special Items, and Supernatural Abilities
It is a common custom for the members to enchant their robes bearing the sigils of the College with abjuration and alteration spells. This will vary from member to member.
NPC and Prestige Classes
Sample Location
The College Arcane was founded with the initial immigration to Kinrisar from the Old Kingdom. It was organized to collect the magical teachings and abilities of those who fled the Old Kingdom so that a magical resistance could be offered to the tyranny of their homeland. Each of the city-states founded a school in which magic was taught to eligible pupils. These wizards and sorcerers then supplemented the forces of the resistance in the Old Kingdom or the armies defending their cities.
After defeat of the lich-king, the colleges were able to move their focus from developing spell casters for the armed forces and concentrate on the development of magical knowledge. The sages and wizards of the College have been able to delve into the deeper secrets of the Art for the past five hundred years.
Many of the noble houses seek tutors from the College for their children. This has maintained the connections the College has with the ruling families. These close ties are used to maximal benefit by the College in its pursuit of goals and information.
The Organization
Headquarters:
The central campus of the College is located in Pari Ka’ansa, the capitol city of Kinrisar. This is a large complex surrounded by a wall of stone 12 feet high. There are eight gates into the complex representing the eight schools of magic. The central keep is an octagonal three-story building. A large tower rises from the center of this to 120 feet at its pinnacle. Eight beacons sit atop the tower. These are lit to depict a member achieving the status of arch-mage (able to cast 9th level spells) and selecting their favored school of magic. The keep is known as the Nine Rings. Access to the inner rings is granted to arcane spell casters of increasing power. Only wizards and sorcerers of the highest ability are able to access the central tower. It is there that the beacons of the arch-mages shine forth over the surrounding city.
The central repository of the College's artifacts and resources is located on a demi-plane accessible through a portal at the Central College. This is a closely guarded secret by the College's arch-mages. The portal is located deep under the College's central keep in a well-warded basement.
Members:
The College is located in Kinrisar only. There are no chapters outside of the kingdom. Each of the major cities has a campus. The larger of these have a design similar to that of the main campus in Pari Ka’ansa, but, none rival the size and splendor of it.
It is unclear how many members the College has altogether. They do not speak of this readily
to anyone. It is also unclear how many members are able to access the inner rings of the College. This is a secret even more closely guarded than the number of members.
Hierarchy:
The College follows a loose organization of elected officials. The elected leaders are responsible for the upkeep of the facilities, libraries, laboratories and menageries of the College. They accomplish this through the acquisition of dues from each of the members.
True power in the College is not passed through these elected officials. Cabals and sects are
rife through the College. Rivalries are ever present. Sometimes these are just academic based. Sometimes they are more passionate and can lead to magic duels or other intrigue filled vendettas.
The College is overseen by a secret Council of Elders. This council can vary in numbers from seven to thirteen at any time. Most on the council are Wizards. There are always Sorcerers and at least one Bard on the council as well. The Council of Elders sets the rules of conduct for members. In addition they initiate policy decisions and set the short and long term goals of the College. Each of the campus Deans reports directly to the Council. Each of the College's campuses has a Dean in charge of the campus. Many layers of professorships fall under the Dean. Students and apprentices comprise the majority of the membership.
Leaders:
The titles and who holds them are unknown outside of the College. Some of the well-known personalities of the College are:
Azzar of the Flame Human
Wiz9/ElmSav10 (Fire) - Evoc
Hamaad Iz-ban Human
Div18 - Div
Ajouri al-Hajjim Half-Elf
Sor19 - Ill
Religion:
Urvon is respected by nearly all members of the College. His symbols and images can be seen throughout the campuses. Os and Prosimus also hold places of reverence, but it does not match that given to Urvon. There is no official or organized worship of deities within the College.
Alignment:
Lawful Neutral.
The College is very strictly controlled by rules and regulations. Outside the boundaries of College campuses these "laws" become more fuzzy and rivalries are more actively pursued. There is no restriction on alignment for membership in the College.
Secrecy:
High.
Members of the College freely wear the symbols of the organization in public. There is a well-known location in each major city, and most minor cities, associated with the College.
The College's inner workings are highly secret. A ruling council is rumored to exist. Who sits on this council, if it does exist, is not publicly known.
Symbol:
A cascade of seven pointed stars.
Each of the major Colleges has its own secondary symbol set. These are displayed by members of the local colleges.
Motivation and Goals
The College does not have a collective motivation that is consistent. As different mages gain power and followers within the organization, they are able to steer the influence of the College towards their goals. The members of the College are quite active in politics in general. The intrigue of King Hadri’s court reaches within the walls of the College.
The most basic goal of the College is to preserve and protect its acquired knowledge about arcane magic and its control. New information or experiments are welcomed into their central library.
A secondary goal of the College is to preserve its tutorial relationship with the royal houses and the powerful guild families. Maintenance of this function is a part of the long-term strategy to remain influential in the royal court and political circles.
Testing promising pupils from the remainder of the population for aptitude in the Art is another project that receives great support. Several past Arch-Mages and other influential members were found in this manner. General testing is available for commoners twice per year. Chilldren aged five to eight years are the most commonly tested.
Recruiting
The College is so well known across Kinrisar that they need to do little active recruitment. Families bring their young members to be examined by the teachers and wizards of the College in hopes of being accepted for teaching. It is an honor to a family to have a graduate of the College in their midst.
Sorcerers also find their way to the College in hopes of learning to control their inborn abilities and shape the magic they create. These arcane casters are nearly uniformly accepted into the College’s schools. One reason for this is a historical fear that these wielders of the Art could organize on their own an organization to rival the power of the College. The founders of the College felt it better to incorporate these people so that they could be controlled.
Allies
The Knights of Kinrisar are not formal allies. There are many goals shared by the College and the Knights. A good working relationship exists given the complementation of strengths and weakness the groups have.
The church of Urvon works closely with the College. Many members of the College are also clergy of Urvon. They share a basic goal of increasing the understanding of arcane magic and its application.
Enemies
Few people or organizations will openly declare enmity with the College. They are powerful, intelligent and careful opponents who have the ear of many influential people in Kinrisar.
Given the caution recommended to their opponents they still do have them. The churches of Eraekoth and Lunakav both express conflicting goals to the College and openly challenge them in the court of King Hadri.
Eraekoth's clergy opposes the efforts spent by the College to control the oceans and their energies. These efforts are mainly on behalf of powerful merchants and the Navy. This is viewed as heresy by the clergy. As long as the College continues to research these areas the church will oppose them.
The College has a dim view of Lunakav's clergy due to the association their patron with areas of random magic. These are very dangerous to arcane spellcasters. It is believed by many diviners of the College that the priests of Lunakav can influence the appearance of such areas.
Encounters
The College Arcane is rarely encountered in an adversarial fashion without their prior preparation. They will be well prepared with defensive spells and conjured allies on a battleground of their choosing. In addition, scrying upon their enemies will have been performed to ascertain strengths and weaknesses.
Combat and Tactics
The College prefers a strong first strike against enemies. Conjured creatures will be sent to strike against enemy leaders and strong minions. If possible, this attack will be clandestine in nature and difficult to trace back to the College.
When forced into open conflict the College will establish a "safe zone" from which they can strike their opponents with spells. They prefer to establish a front line of protectors with conjured allies leading supported by non-conjured warriors.
If forced into conflict in a populated area most members will seek to preserve the safety of non-combatants. A few will even go to the extreme of self-sacrifice if the cause is right. This is heavily encouraged to preserve the goodwill of the common people.
Strengths and Weaknesses
A significant weakness of the College in combat is their desire to preserve non-combatants from the destructive force of their Art. Many unscrupulous opponents seek to capitalize on this trend.
The major strength of the College is its ability to use divination magic to foresee conflict. Using these powers the College is able to avoid conflicts they are not interested in pursuing or prepared for. They are also able to strike at their opponents before the conflict to disable or disarm them with little endangerment of their members.
Weapons and Equipment
Military personnel that support the College are often supplied with appropriate items to support their missions. Enchanted arms and armor are very common and marked with the sigils of the College either openly or with spells. Potions and other minor items are also common.
Special Items, and Supernatural Abilities
It is a common custom for the members to enchant their robes bearing the sigils of the College with abjuration and alteration spells. This will vary from member to member.
NPC and Prestige Classes
Sample Location
Last edited:
