Magic school stat blocks for Cypher Lodge and Twilight Academy in Varisia?


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion


Have there ever been Inner Sea Magic-style stat blocks for Riddleport's Cypher Lodge and Galduria's Twilight Academy? (The actual Academy, not the Harrowed Society which works behind the scenes there.)

For that matter, what about Magnimar's two magic schools: Stone of the Seers and the Golemworks?

I'm running Rise of the Runelords (for two different groups!), and one of the characters decided to contact the Cyphermages and exchange information, etc. with a view to eventually joining and earning the Eclectic Training reward. That had me scrambling to put together some sort of ad hoc stat block, and figuring out whether or not it was a guild or an academy.


Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I think, unfortunately, the magical academy stuff is another orphaned sub-system that never received support outside of the book it appeared in.


Martial characters got something similar in Inner Sea Combat, as did "intrigue" characters in Inner Sea Intrigue. Aside from those two sourcebooks, I believe that you are correct. :(


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Since there seems to be a resounding silence on the topic, here is the skeleton of a Cypher Lodge stat block (in the style of Inner Sea Magic) for my homebrew variant of Golarion.

Cypher Lodge stat block:

The Cypher Lodge is a guild (ISMagic p. 22), due to the fact that they don't actually teach students the basics, most of their membership travels a lot, and the "IP" (intellectual property - by which I mean the prestige classes, archetypes, and spells) associated with them is not just for wizards.

Location: Riddleport (Varisia)

Requirements
Entrance Fee: 100 gp
Entrance Exam: DC 20 Knowledge (Arcana) check
Tuition: 100 gp/semester

Education
Education Check (DC 15+current rank in skill): Craft (Calligraphy), Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (History), Linguistics, Spellcraft, Lore (Thassilon)
... Lore is a background skill found in Pathfinder Unchained
Semester: 4 months
Flunk: 4 consecutive failed Education checks

Extra-Curricular Tasks
... Decipher and catalogue Thassilonian lore, master the mysteries of Thassilonian ruins, understand long-lost magic and develop0protective measures against runelord-related ancient threats. (All according to the Adventurer's Guide.)

Awards
... (nothing developed yet)

... Plus the generic Fame rewards for guilds: Eclectic Training (5 Fame), Senior Guild Member (20 Fame), Esoteric Tranining (35 Fame), and Guildmaster (50 Fame). (All from ISMagic.)

Like I said, it's just the bare bones of a stat block. Any constructive criticism/suggestions will be welcome! :)


Bellona wrote:

Since there seems to be a resounding silence on the topic, here is the skeleton of a Cypher Lodge stat block (in the style of Inner Sea Magic) for my homebrew variant of Golarion.

** spoiler omitted **

Like I said, it's just the bare bones of a stat block. Any constructive criticism/suggestions will be welcome! :)

If it was my game, I would seriously consider revising the Eclectic and Esoteric training rewards. They are extremely strong (too strong on the right build, for example a mystic theurge build).


I must admit that I'm of two minds about Eclectic Training and Esoteric Training.

They are clearly designed to give a boost to multi-class spellcasters. As such, they remind me of 3.5's Practised Spellcaster feat.

Just like that feat, one has to remember that the level boost basically only affects the effective caster level (including what spells are available) and daily spell slots. For example, a familiar's effective level does not get the boost, not do other class features which are not directly related to spellcasting (like a Cleric's channel energy class feature). And no effective spellcasting level can exceed the character's total Hit Dice.

Bordering on too much? Yes, particularly Esoteric Training. Actually over that line? Maybe, maybe not. In my campaigns I would certainly want to stress the time and role-playing needed to get Esoteric Training, instead of just letting it depend on some die rolls.

In my campaign the one PC who has gone for it spent close to half a year of in-game time at the Cypher Lodge to earn that reward (plus jumping through a number of other hoops). This allowed the rest of the party to spend time with other NPCs, or research previously unknown family connections.


Bellona wrote:

I must admit that I'm of two minds about Eclectic Training and Esoteric Training.

They are clearly designed to give a boost to multi-class spellcasters. As such, they remind me of 3.5's Practised Spellcaster feat.

Just like that feat, one has to remember that the level boost basically only affects the effective caster level (including what spells are available) and daily spell slots. For example, a familiar's effective level does not get the boost, not do other class features which are not directly related to spellcasting (like a Cleric's channel energy class feature). And no effective spellcasting level can exceed the character's total Hit Dice.

Bordering on too much? Yes, particularly Esoteric Training. Actually over that line? Maybe, maybe not. In my campaigns I would certainly want to stress the time and role-playing needed to get Esoteric Training, instead of just letting it depend on some die rolls.

In my campaign the one PC who has gone for it spent close to half a year of in-game time at the Cypher Lodge to earn that reward (plus jumping through a number of other hoops). This allowed the rest of the party to spend time with other NPCs, or research previously unknown family connections.

Between them, they are roughly worth 4 feats ( 4X Prestigious Spellcaster ), but better because they don't require a pre-requisite (favored Prestige class) and can work with non- prestige class levels (like a Pal3/SorX build). Up to you if you think 4+ feats worth is too much from fame based rewards...


I know this is not likely the place to be submitting this, but would any of you chaps be willing to spit some ideas for homebrewing some kind of academy in Xa Hoi? Probably themed around draconic sorcery and the like considering the country is ruled by a sovereign dragon.

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