Tower of High Wizardry

[TheOrangeOne]

First off I am in love with the idea of Weiss and Hickman's Dragonlances Tower of High Sorcery. I love the test, I love how there are factions and I love how they are governed. I also enjoy how everyone is neutral in the towers.

I am designing a campaign setting and I want a Tower of High Wizardy. first I only want wizard to be members, but all classes with access to arcane spells are welcome in the towers. I want there to be a test as in Dragonlance. I want them the Tower itself to be neutral but allow casters to freely side with any faction. The problem is I don't want the three factions based on alignments. I want more than three. I just don't know how I can orgainze these factions. I don't want to organize them by schools but they could be a faction's requirement. I don't want countless number of factions either. I will also adding a Tower Faction the remains completely neutral and acts on behalf of the governing body of the Tower of High sorcery.

So I need ideas to help make rules for the (non-national) factions. Creating and rules for representation within the governing body.

[riatin]

Well, not really sure what you're looking for from your description, but I'll take a stab at it. The Tower of High Sorcery had ranks within itself for power, ie 1st Order, 2nd Order, up through 9th Order with the 21 seats of the Conclave and the High Wizard of each order at the top. You could easily faction out each Order with a leader and a hierarchy based on level. A 3rd level wizard (in dragonlance) after passing his test would become first order and report to the first order leader, then so on up through the rankings, perhaps each ranking has its own names and traditions and the wizard must learn them as he progresses, each ranking could also have certain awards, achievements and tests associated with it and must be overcome to progress to the next order.

You could also easily divide the tower into sections based on philosophy and by color or element having four or five, the red, black, white, green, blue, gold of Gemmell are what I have in mind, but the more mainstream ajah's of Jordan's white tower are very similar.

School as you mentioned is also a good division but may be a few too many to keep track of. Maybe you could condense a few of them into the others, sort of depends how you see the world (ie all schools would have their own section of diviners and transmuters).

[Lathiira]

I know this isn't what you're looking for, but something you should think about nonetheless is what the non-wizard people would actually DO in the tower. If they can't be members, then what? Sorcerers and bards don't really have much need of libraries, especially bards who carry one in their heads in the form of their array of Knowledge skills.

Will the Tower of High Sorcery have political power outside its own infrastructure? If so, maybe they are recognized for policing wizards (as in the source material) or even monitoring the sales of magic items.

Maybe one faction will consist of the non-wizards, all vying for equality with the wizards by being allowed full membership and a say in how things go.

Just my thoughts.

[DeathQuaker]

Well, I've made up a bunch of bickering magocratic noble houses, so this is sort of similar, just a little smaller scale...

I'm not familiar enough with the old Dragonlance series (I played the Krynn Gold Box games and that's all) to comment specifically on the source material, but some generic suggestions:

Start by picking a number of factions you want. We have a good start with "more than three." I would suggest not too many---for both yourself and your players, as you have to track the interrelations and politics between your factions, and the players need to be able to remember the key traits between the factions without needing a complex flow chart. Personally, I like 5--it's "more than three" but isn't too many, but I would say anywhere between 4 and 7 would be fine. If you think there should be more, another way of looking at it is saying there are say, four or five MAJOR factions, and maybe any number of little factions that you can make up as you need to.

Second--think about key traits of each faction. There are three subsets of this I would consider (consider one, two, or all of them):

1. What is their magical specialty? Just as wizards are divided by school, mages in general tend to segregate themselves by how they use their magic.

Some very example options:
Artificers, Warmages, Planar Explorers, Elementalists, and Shamans (work with spirits and nature)

2. What is their philosophy/ideology about what magic is used best for?
Philosophy is always a great basis for faction differences.

Some examples, drawing loosely from a popular series of fiction about wizard's academy and the society it's built in:
- Magic is best used clandestinely to further one's ambitions
- Magic is best used to protect other people
- Magic is a means to an end, the important thing is research and enlightenment
- Magic is best used practically to make people's lives easier and better

3. What are their goals? Just brainstorm a bunch of concrete desires the different factions might have, that will allow for plot-advancing conflicts to occur in game
- Rule the Tower
- Eliminate the faction system
- Create the most powerful golem ever made
- Destroy a rival collective of mages from another region
- Make contact with an important planar being

SO what you do is
Just write down, brainstorm fashion, as many answers to these questions as you can possibly think of. Maybe consult some random tables in the GMG or what-have-you if you're struggling.

And then go back to the number of factions you wanted to have. So if you want five factions, go back, and circle five of each of the best answers you wrote down. Group them together appropriately, and you have the skeleton of your factions all ready to go.

Apologies if I overlooked something or didn't have quite the right idea.

[TheOrangeOne]

The Tower of High Sorcery is an organization for all wizards. Only wizards can enter the Edifices of magical might. When a wizard can cast 2nd and 3rd levels spells they need to go to a tower and take a test. If you refuse to take the test you are labelled a renegade and are hunted down and forced to take the test. The test is life or death. They do this to make sure the magic users are not wreckless and are truly dedicated to magic. All Races of wizard take the test. Once you complete the test you are given robes of one of the three orders. white robes for good, red for neutral and black for evil. The governing body is seven elected mages from each of the three branches, then the three branches elect a leader amongst themselves. The Order of High Wizardry has no political influence. They do not deal with nations. Each individual mage is allowed to join any faction out side of the order. They do step in from time to time to prevent world disasters.

So I don't want faction based orders, I guess I don't mind national factions. I can't figure out how to form a governing body from these said factions. I want it to be a fair representation from each faction but I want certain larger factions larger representation as well.

[nighttree]

Something to consider......
Given the new classes in the APG, you may want to consider allowing any class that is arcane/prepared to become a member of the Towers.

I'm playing a Magus in our current DL game, and she will still be taking the test (although a little later in level than a Wizard), and will eventually become a renegade hunter.

Just food for thought ;)

[TheOrangeOne]

Deathquaker, wow. thanks for the indepth help. Nighttree good point as well.

[Kalyth]

Just an idea.

The Radimyrian Order: Oversees the maitanence and daily governing of the Tower. No political power specifically, but do police the tower itself to insure parties adhere to the Law of Nuetrality. They do head the "Hunters"; those that seek out renegades.
Typical Members: Abjurers, Diviners

The Order of Colithor: An order of arcanist that deal in the mercantile nature of magic. They rent out wizards/casters to nobles. Traffic in selling and trading of magical items. The view magic as a commodity to be traded and bargained with. Very much a guild of businessmen as much as a magical order.
Typical Members: Crafting Wizards, Enchanters

The Servants of Lux: Devoted to aiding those in need and seeking out and slaying magical threats. Tradition states they may not refused to aid those truely in need of magical assistance.
Typical Members: any, Magi

The Twilight Circle: Seers and mystics that seek heightened understanding of the multiverse and magic. Scholars and archavist. Generally opposed to using magic for personal gain or power.
Typical Members: Bards, Diviners, Sorcerers

Sathrus Dae: Very structure order, focusing on personal power. Regimented power structure and very cut-throat. Very focused on political power and are often found serving as advisors to nobles, though generally only to futher their own ends. Some suspect them of having plans to dominate the known lands and form a Mage-ocracy.
Typical Members: Conjurers, Enchanters, Anyone seeking personal power.

The Keepers of the Four Towers: Elemental mages, those that believe magic is purest when used in the forms of the four basic elements.
Typical Memember: Elemental Specialist, Invokers.

Just off the top of my head. Certain of these orders would draw specific types of casters as well as specific specialist wizards.

[TheOrangeOne]

Kaylth... I am using everything you posted. That is what I wanted, thank you very much. Shoot more info at me if you got anymore :)! Also thinking of adding another.

Order of Kaylth - A Group devoted on Magic not being wasted on minor needs or mundane uses. They originally proposed the test. Producers of artifacts of the old.

[Drejk]

Depending upon themes you wish to pursue in your game:

Brotherhood Of Purity: Cabal of wizard-supremacists believing in wizards' superiority over all other arcane casters (and possibly all other casters), especially such miserable arcane dabblers like Bards or those dangerous, chaotic and totally unschooled Sorcerers. Optionally all male, considering women as unable to grasp highest mysteries of arcane magic. If this option is taken they would consider Witches to be female magic and inferior to wizardry.
This might be faction on its own or cross-faction cabal.

Animist Seekers: Group devoted to study nature and life, trying to combine wizardry and druidic teachings to produce arcane spells beyond the usual sphere of influence possible to wizards (such as healing and affecting animal/plants). Need not be successful at all.

[Kevin Andrew Murphy]

One trope you need to have is to have the tower of lost magic. This is the faction that dabbled in something and one day they just disappeared. Not all of them--there were a few sick, or imprisoned, or charmed into taking a long vacation--but the core of the order just up and vanished one day, along with all of their books and other centralized research.

As to what happened, it could be something very bad, like having extradimensional horrors eating all of them. It could also be something very good, like ascending to a higher plane of existence. Or it could just be something plain weird, like doing a first test of the applied phlebotinum generator and having the whole order sucked into a parallel universe.

Whatever it is, it gives you something mysterious, forbidden and lost, and that's always good for plotting.

Plus if you have the citadel of high wizardry with five towers but a gaping hole in the ground where a sixth once stood, that looks a lot more perilous than just five neat towers and no plans for a sixth. Or maybe the gaping hole as been badly landscaped over, causing uncomfortable questions among the students.

[LazarX]

TheOrangeOne wrote:

First off I am in love with the idea of Weiss and Hickman's Dragonlances Tower of High Sorcery. I love the test, I love how there are factions and I love how they are governed. I also enjoy how everyone is neutral in the towers.

I am designing a campaign setting and I want a Tower of High Wizardy. first I only want wizard to be members, but all classes with access to arcane spells are welcome in the towers.

Why not be a bit different and have the Wizards be properly standoffish with those spontaneous casters? Maybe up to the point where they issue bounties on sorcerers?

[Kalyth]

Something else you could do is make certain spells closely guarded secrets of specific orders. Or make new spells unique to each order.

Example: Wish may be a spell that only the Twilight Circle knows and they dont teach it outside of their order.

I could see a few of the orders activly hunting down or trying to ruin those that do happen to gain knowledge of their secret rites and rituals.

Perhaps the Keepers of the Four Towers have a collection of Elemental Spells that are known only to them.

Sathrus Dae is known for its political and social intrigue and manipulation and has a large number of memeber that focus on manipulating those in power. They establish themselves in various social/political circles and use that influence to futher their own ends. To this effort they have developed and guard many spells that aid them in this.

BINDING THE TONGUE
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range Close
Target One humanoid creature
Duration 1 day per level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
Some secrets need to be kept, this spell insures that they will be for at least a short time. When this spell is cast the caster lays a compulsion upon the subject preventing him or her from revealing or conveying a specific piece of information. If the subject fails to resist this spell they will be unable to communicate a specific piece of information as dictated by the caster. They can neither speak, write, gesture or the like in anyway meant to reveal or convey the information so bound.
The information that can be bound by this spell must be specific regarding a specific person, place, item or situation. The subject could be bound to tell no one his name, like wise he could be bound not to reveal the location of a person place or item. Commonly this spell is used to prevent a subject from speaking of the casters presence or activities.
If a spell or effect compels the subject to speak he will speak but will avoid answering directly and will simple ramble. If an effect compels the subject to speak and compels the truth, the caster must succeed in a caster level check with a DC equal to 11+the level of the caster when the Binding the Tongue spell was cast.

SPLENDOR
School enchantment (charm) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 3
Casting Time 1 round
Components V,S,F (a piece of jewelry worth at least 50gp)
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration 10 minutes per level
Saving Throw: Will (negates); Spell Resistance yes
While this spell is in effect the caster is shrouded in a subtle aura of grandeur. Those in her presence find the caster intriguing and may be spellbound by her charming smile or enchanting voice. The caster gains a +2 enhancement bonus to charisma. Furthermore all creatures with an intelligence of 3 or more, that are not hostile to the caster have their attitudes toward the caster improved by one step. There is no saving throw versus the initial effects of this spell though spell resistance does apply. Creatures that successfully resist the spell are not subject to the fascination effect.
For the duration of this spell the caster may fascinate any creature with an intelligence score of 3 or more simply by interacting with them, engaging them in conversation or by subtle yet noticeable gestures (winking, sideward glances and the like). The target receives a saving throw to resist this effect but once failed will remain fascinated as long as the caster focuses her attention on them. For every three caster levels an additional creature may be held in fascination at the same time as long as the caster continues to interact with all fascinated subjects. Once a creature successfully saves against the fascination effect, they are immune to further attempts to fascinate them through this casting of the spell.

ENSLAVE PERSON
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 3
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S
Range Close
Target One humanoid creature
Duration Concentration (up to one round per two levels)
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes

Reaching out with your thoughts you seize control of the target creatures mind and force it to obey your mental commands. For as long as the spell persists you can control the actions of the target as if it were subject to Dominate Person. You must maintain line of sight to the subject or the spell ends. The subject receives a saving throw each round to end the effect.

These spells would be closely guarded secrets of that order. Any caster caught teaching these spells to those not of the order is dealt with harshly and those found knowing them outside of Sathrus Dae usually disappear mysteriously.

[Kalyth]

Even Sorcerers and Bard may have to learn their spells. They may not keep spell books but some practice and special techniques are required. Orders could have spells that are easier for Sorcerers and Bards to learn through instruction from that order.