Im starting a new campaign and I wanted to crowd source some ideas.
Imagine a school of magic that has been around for as long as anyone can remember.
What kinds of things would you expect to find? This is an open question, so don't worry too much about the specifics and just throw out some ideas please.
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- Blackboards that remember what was written on them, and can reproduce it later.
- A menagerie.
- A "dead magic" room, to dispose of failed experiments.
- Summoning circles engraved in the floor.
- A tower next to a lake, to practice feather-falling.
- Mundane guards, to keep the occasional angry mob at bay without escalating matters.
And you wish Hogwarts references excluded, correct?
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
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Petrified statues of wizards whose spells went wrong.
Random burns and odd sparkling spots near the 'cantrip' room.
Paintings depicting what happens when summoning circles are improperly drawn.
A hallway full of portraits of famous or successful alumni.
A large hospital for dealing with magical wounds and mishaps.
A hallway where the gravity was turned off and never turned back on.
A floor that moves around. Sometimes it's the second floor, sometimes the basement...
A menagerie where potential familiars are kept and bred.
Unseen servants everywhere, some out of control and semi-autonomous. Perhaps an invisible stalker hides as one of them.
A missing section of the school. People walk into it and walk out the other side, usually with some strange effect on them (usually harmless) and no memory of the space in between.
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A giant planetarium/orrery/star chart. Like Stonehenge but with more moving parts.
Labyrinths of libraries.
"Practice rooms" full of scarecrows or crystal targets for people to shoot spells at.
Alchemy laboratories, complete with bubbling cauldrons of anything you can imagine and vials of everything from alchemist's fire to eye of newt to powdered existential dread (just add water).
Gnomes.
Eccentric old professors and students that live up to all the "college kid" stereotypes.
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Very, very tired teachers.
I would also include an entrance that can only be found and used via creative use of cantrips. Figuring out how to get into the place on your own is the entrance exam.
How large? If its a large magic school it would likely have magic that specializes in moving large numbers of people.
I would say it would have a number of crafted constructs as janitors. Climate controlled rooms. Perhaps demiplane lab space, controlled portaled areas in other planes for research.
Security would generally be unobtrusive, magically invisible enforcers, polymorphed spies, familiars ect. Would still have a visible element for show, but real teeth of security not evident from casual observation.
The biggest problem with magic schools of a high magic setting is how did they ever afford the grounds. Not very many people could afford the type of outlays for even a modest lab let alone a full school. Perhaps they make money through library access, forcing grad students to scribe scrolls for sale, ect. Maybe they force student to go into deep debts to be able to attend, which they then have to pay back by finding high value employment (like adventuring). They could even control a portal to elemental planes and make money like utilities do selling clean water and/or steam.
I imagine that there would be even arenas where magic duels can happen, perhaps even pokemon style with summoned monsters. Could even make a sport out of it and charge admission to watch.
A garden with a strong enchantment on it... Nobody can find something they go in looking for, but you run across the most interesting statues, plants, and maybe other secrets in the labyrinth... If you dare. You might not be able to find the exit if you go looking for it, after all.
And you wish Hogwarts references excluded, correct?
Just reskin them for pathfinder flavor. Lol.
A stair case that teleports you from one end to the other
A "detention room" filled with petrified students
A silenced room for studying
It's a mountain essentially, so pretty large. Plenty of room for secrets to lie within. :-)
Doorways that teleport to other doorways.
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Rooms where the normal laws of geometry cease to apply. They may or may not respond to dispel magic and antimagic fields.
Fantastic geometry and features might seem like a nice flavor, but realistically the place will get exploded and rebuilt often enough that permanent magical features might not last. :D
Self erasing chalkboards.
Clarke's third law applies just as well in reverse. Magic is indistinguishable from any sufficiently advanced technology. Think about some of the technology that exists in modern or even science fiction research facilities. Especially some of the longer running ones. Even current academic institutions have all kinds of biometric pass-card systems.
One thing you'd expect to see in a long standing institution (that has not somehow been transported out of space and time to some abyssal plane) are safety measures. I'd expect to see many highly magic resistant and beserk-proof golems guarding key areas where the most magic tends to go awry.
Other things would include quite reliable ways to damp or contain the worst student mishaps, and maybe even some instructor ones.
I guess my point is that any magical institution that has not blasted itself to oblivion is one that is very good at containing magical messes. Class rooms and facilities in extra dimensional spaces would be one.
"Simulations" of magical effect and lots of programed instructional illusions.
Quick access "panic" pressure plate "traps" with anti-magic, dispelling, or even disjunctive properties would likely be almost as common as fire alarm pulls in modern buildings.
Depending on how high level the headmaster/teachers/founders are/were, demiplanes are the way to go, especially with the altered time traits. School days might only last an hour from the perspective of outsiders. Actually, doing that too often would have the kids grow up too fast from an outside perspective too, which is not likely a desired side effect. But it's still useful in limited doses.
Depending on the level of entry, cantrips would either be the main content of the early courses, or an entry requirement. (Hogwarts definitely falls in the first group.)
Jewelry shops to produce rings and amulets to enchant.
I'd say the best way to build a magical school is to look at it practically.
For starters, there would be a large number of magical effects that are meant to keep the school safe and standing.
The Summoning Room would need to have some form of magical trap, and many duplicates of it, that cast Contingency Dismissal. If anything walks through the hallway leading out of the Summoning Room that is not from this plane, it is OUTTA' here. This would keep random "accidents" from going on killing sprees.
I would assume the Evocation classes would need Contingency Dispel trap or perhaps an Anti-Magic Field rune that can be activated if some student's magic goes out of control. A magical "sprinkler" system as it were.
Obviously there would be places to learn spell components, Knowledge: Arcana, and Knowledge: Planes. This would include a garden and a menagerie for the things that can be controlled. For the things that cannot be controlled through easy means, there should be specially prepared rooms with Walls of Force and Magic Circles.
Goggles of True Seeing would probably hang on the walls on pegs when you enter the Illusory Wing.
Constructs and Golems would be everywhere because they might as well be useful after they were created as a lesson.
For particularly powerful magic, I would even think that the classes would take part in pocket dimensions, so they can be sealed off in the event of cataclysmic disaster.
These are all the basics, but you can certainly have fun with fluff. I like how extra-dimensional space and teleportation can make the geometry of the entire place entertaining.
Oh, also I'd imagine that the professors would certainly be interesting in their own right. Certainly they must be cooking up something in their labs when they are not teaching classes!
Amnotep, the ancient wizard. He is a mummified head in a box so he can be transported without contacting mummy rot. He is the head of the magic history department.
A lab to make straw golems(they are cheep and easy to make) and a large auditorium where strawman arguments can be resolved.
All good stuff. I like the dispel magic sprinkler system idea. Perhaps some sort of anti magic infused water would be a simple yet entertaining occurrence. It won't be clear, but instead some interesting color. Maybe blue.
Also wands of Dispel CL 10 would be common for teachers/enforcers/hall monitors.
Although having a high level divination specialist in charge of "Accident prevention" could be a relatively simple solution. He sends the right people to either prevent or keep a situation contained. He's also in charge of scheduling. ;-)
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Wing of last resort.
1)High pressure R&D
Right next to
2) "The Tourist Bureau" Thank you for volunteering during this time of bleaching Portal to explore high risk destinations/Planes or act as emissaries not likely to survive encounter
Generally, I prefer for stuff in a magic school to be entirely within the bounds of the spellcasting capabilities of character classes. If there are magic rooms that are artifact-level anomalies, the players are going to wonder why students were able to make these accidents or pranks while ancient archmages cannot.
Generally, I prefer for stuff in a magic school to be entirely within the bounds of the spellcasting capabilities of character classes. If there are magic rooms that are artifact-level anomalies, the players are going to wonder why students were able to make these accidents or pranks while ancient archmages cannot.
That's my preference too. However, remember that this place has been around for longer than recorded memory. Stuff will have happened, but I'm not going to warp things just for the sake of warping it. Part of the culture will be to act altruistically for the school. Grand projects that will be donated. Hell, one archmage with a few well worded wishes could easily make improvements to the school that would last for hundreds of years. Most of the "Abnormal" rooms will be dempilanes. That's relatively simple and falls well within pathfinder capabilities. Frankly that's the simplest safeguard for dangerous magics.
In my 'Doomsday' campaign I had two schools of magic. The lower school which anyone could attend and the Higher school of magic. The only prerequisite to go the the Higher school was to get there...The rub is the school was built in an ancient storm giants castle. That's right. In the clouds. Hundreds, if not thousands of feet in the air above the city.
- Skeletal mage wearing the standard professors' robe holding a singed portion of it up in front of two new apprentices. The pupils are locked in poses of annoyance (via hold person), while the undead wizard loudly explains the academy's policies on faculty assault.
- A student carries a small cauldron filled with a whispy blue-green liquid. The solution has formed a pseudopod that insists on "straightening" its carrier's hair.
- A young student chases a flying spellbook, flapping its covers and pages, past the PCs. A patrolling cassisian soon follows as it shouts "No running in the halls!".
- A mage suddenly teleports to an empty space four feet in the air...then drops.
- A goblin encased in a large block of ice labeled "Subject 245A" in glowing, arcane print.
- A treant lecturing while rooted in a massive rooftop greenhouse.
In my 'Doomsday' campaign I had two schools of magic. The lower school which anyone could attend and the Higher school of magic. The only prerequisite to go the the Higher school was to get there...The rub is the school was built in an ancient storm giants castle. That's right. In the clouds. Hundreds, if not thousands of feet in the air above the city.
I think i'll incorporate a version of that. Thanks.
Glad you like it TCG!
Also keep in mind:
What levels are the students? If study at the school encompasses 0th to 1st level, then chances are they're only playing with cantrips at most.
If it's a school for higher levels, that decreases the 'adventurousness' of the world by allowing spellcasters to be higher level just from attending school rather than having riveting, life-changing experiences of adventure.
All good stuff. I like the dispel magic sprinkler system idea. Perhaps some sort of anti magic infused water would be a simple yet entertaining occurrence. It won't be clear, but instead some interesting color. Maybe blue.
Also wands of Dispel CL 10 would be common for teachers/enforcers/hall monitors.
Although having a high level divination specialist in charge of "Accident prevention" could be a relatively simple solution. He sends the right people to either prevent or keep a situation contained. He's also in charge of scheduling. ;-)
Come to think of it... Silence the spell is actually a fairly effective lockdown spell for such a school. Virtually all spells have a verbal component where they may not have a material or even a somatic one.
This means a class on lip reading or perhaps a form of sign language may required. Staff hand codes that aren't tough to students? You can have the different instructors sighing stuff back and forth over both the students and PCs heads.
Another thing to keep in mind is minimum intelligence, assuming this is primarily Wizardy stuff. You must have an Int score of 10 + Spell Level to even think about trying to cast spells. This means that virtually all students will have a minimum of 11 if not more.
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One thing you'd expect to see in a long standing institution (that has not somehow been transported out of space and time to some abyssal plane) are safety measures. I'd expect to see many highly magic resistant and beserk-proof golems guarding key areas where the most magic tends to go awry.
Other things would include quite reliable ways to damp or contain the worst student mishaps, and maybe even some instructor ones.
A 'magical suppression system' that works like a fire alarm / fire suppression system and upon detecting evocation magic being cast in a warded area might immediately attempt to counterspell it, or, in the library, a magical crystal 'spell turret' in the ceiling might automatically attempt to counterspell any fire spell being cast, or, in extreme cases, drop an anti-magic field or time stop in the area!
Cheaper versions would be like fire alarms. Carved imp or pseudo-dragon faces set in the walls might scream if someone starts casting certain types of destructive spells (have permanant detect magic, an Int score of 10 and several ranks of knowledge-arcane, and an alarm spell that causes them to both scream audibly the name of the spell being cast, and alerting any support staff mentally).
The conjuring and necromancy practice rooms would likely have some specific warding effects, as well, to prevent creations / summonings from getting out and causing trouble.
The magical 'firing range' might have a special magic created by an old headmaster of Illusion, that converts any damaging magics cast into (mostly) harmless shadow energy duplicates of themselves, so that if someone's lightning bolt or fireball goes awry, it will be much less dangerous.
The protective wards in the enchantment study area are more subtle. Anyone who is currently under an enchantment / mind-affecting effect in the enchantment study area will have a glowing rune identifying the spellcaster appear on their face, that is only visible to the teaching staff, allowing the teachers in that area to immediately identify if one of their students is using the spells they are learning on their classmates. (Depending on the nature of the school, or the individual instructor who first noticed the 'charm mark,' the offending student may either be expelled or congratulated...)
The books in the illusion study area are all constructs of light and shadow-energy. They can be manipulated and read and learned from normally, but cannot be destroyed by mundane forces (and, if they are magically destroyed, can be replaced by just unlocking the sealed vault containing the original text and making another permanant shadow-illusion duplicate of it to place in the library).
The books in the 'secret archives' of the necromancy study area are the skulls of experts and artisans and scholars and even former necromancers, arranged neatly on shelves. The advanced student with access to this area selects the skull of the individual who has the information he seeks, and communes with the spiritual echoes of the former owner of that skull. Unlike reading a book, the 'echoes' can be a bit uncooperative, if not treated respectfully, and 'advanced studies' in this area require diplomacy and tact, not merely linguistic proficiency.
The evocation training area has walls of force in certain areas, often identifiable only by chalk lines on certain sections of wall, floor and ceiling, as they are kept out of phase until needed. At a silent command from an instructor, one of these permanant walls of force can appear, swiftly enough in some cases to protect those in the room from an errant explosion of magical fire (if they happen to be on the right side of the chalk line... If not, the wall of force might trap a student on the side with the out of control fire elemental!).
The breeding area has examples of many common animal types used as familiars (and some exotic specimens, such as Osirioni Wise-Eye cats, or the unusually aggressive albino Ravens said to come from the Linnorm Kings lands), while a workshop / smithy attached to the school constructs rings, amulets, fine staves and daggers, etc. for use for students seeking a fine item with which to to form an arcane bond.
I see plenty of typical teen dramedy pranks only created magically. Examples:
- Mage Hand induced wedgies
- Water balloon fights using Create Water instead of balloons
- Panty raids using Dimension Door instead of ladders
- Scrying the girls' locker room (or boys', whatever floats your boat)
Mage hand does not work on attended objects. You're thinking of telekinesis.
Most of these 'teen pranks' are within the level that in 3.5 would be associated with wizards already capable of becoming archmages. What kind of world is this?
A room in which various key items (stones, staves, swords, things of flavor) contain the truenames of various outsiders, and can be plugged in to an altar to cast a form of Gate spell. The room is designed to train students to bargain, discuss and commune with outsiders. There is a small library of specific outsiders, from lemures to solars. The key items take from a day to a month to recharge for use again. The higher ranked outsiders are kept under lock and key by the most trusted of the magi. While the room is magically protected to the highest degree, many of the more powerful outsiders have some influence on the room.
One high-ranked Contract Devil, for example, creates intense flames along the sides of the room which turn the chamber into an oven. It deals nonlethal fire damage, slowly building up until the summoner collapses or calls off the meeting. This is a tactic used by the devil to make his negotiators rush their bargains and overlook details in his contract, or make hasty choices, or better yet, collapse in the heat and die. Usually, the key is only taken out to train a particularly gifted planar conjuror in the art of outsider negotiations. Usually, there is a host of professors watching to ensure the prospect does not die. Usually.
Also keep in mind:
What levels are the students? If study at the school encompasses 0th to 1st level, then chances are they're only playing with cantrips at most.
If it's a school for higher levels, that decreases the 'adventurousness' of the world by allowing spellcasters to be higher level just from attending school rather than having riveting, life-changing experiences of adventure.
Class levels in attendance are a pyramid. Lots of low level with fewer and fewer high level. It's increasingly harder to level by just studying.
Returning ti the school as faculty at higher levels is kind of a retirement option for old/injured former adventurers.
A room in which various key items (stones, staves, swords, things of flavor) contain the truenames of various outsiders, and can be plugged in to an altar to cast a form of Gate spell. The room is designed to train students to bargain, discuss and commune with outsiders. There is a small library of specific outsiders, from lemures to solars. The key items take from a day to a month to recharge for use again. The higher ranked outsiders are kept under lock and key by the most trusted of the magi. While the room is magically protected to the highest degree, many of the more powerful outsiders have some influence on the room.
One high-ranked Contract Devil, for example, creates intense flames along the sides of the room which turn the chamber into an oven. It deals nonlethal fire damage, slowly building up until the summoner collapses or calls off the meeting. This is a tactic used by the devil to make his negotiators rush their bargains and overlook details in his contract, or make hasty choices, or better yet, collapse in the heat and die. Usually, the key is only taken out to train a particularly gifted planar conjuror in the art of outsider negotiations. Usually, there is a host of professors watching to ensure the prospect does not die. Usually.
I like this idea, but it's a bit expensive and insanely dangerous for beginners. I think I'll simplify it a bit. "contract negotiation 101" is taught by one of the higher level masters familiar, Javi the imp. He has a item (mini staff lets say) that allows him to "cast" a few merciful spells for Intimidation purposes.
- Institutionalised rivalry between Wizards and Sorcerers.
- A Familiar shop.
- A Material Component supply room/garden/breeding station.
- Arcane Mark graffiti.
- A work shop, to learn how to craft basic materials.
Here's a good point to note, what sort of accommodations does the school make for non-wizard casting classes?
I'd imagine Alchemists might have their own curriculum, blending alchemical training with arcane theory, with expanded courses for those who choose to specialize in an archetype, such as divination, necromancy, and conjuration for psychonauts, reanimators, and preservationists, respectively.
I suppose their might be a wing devoted to arcane music and performance for the few bards who attend the school.
Magi might have expanded courses in combat spells, and access to a specific wing of the sparring fields/firing range to perfect their combat technique.
Sorcerers might have tutors devoted to helping them control and focus their wild arcane power, in addition to their normal studies.
Summoners might be roped in with conjurers, perhaps with special permission to summon their eidolons on school grounds.
What few witches that attend an institute of wizardly learning might recieve advice about selecting a safe patron.
It wasn't a very big thing but it was a really nifty detail from the old TSR9549 College of Wizardry: every few days one of the Department Heads would go up to the roof of the tallest tower of the college in order to cast a modified gust of wind spell on the school's banner so that it was always flying and could be seen from miles away.
Here's a good point to note, what sort of accommodations does the school make for non-wizard casting classes?
I'd imagine Alchemists might have their own curriculum, blending alchemical training with arcane theory, with expanded courses for those who choose to specialize in an archetype, such as divination, necromancy, and conjuration for psychonauts, reanimators, and preservationists, respectively.
I suppose their might be a wing devoted to arcane music and performance for the few bards who attend the school.
Magi might have expanded courses in combat spells, and access to a specific wing of the sparring fields/firing range to perfect their combat technique.
Sorcerers might have tutors devoted to helping them control and focus their wild arcane power, in addition to their normal studies.
Summoners might be roped in with conjurers, perhaps with special permission to summon their eidolons on school grounds.
What few witches that attend an institute of wizardly learning might recieve advice about selecting a safe patron.
It'll be eclectic. Though wizards will be the vast majority, since anyone with an int bonus could be taught wizardry, but other specialty courses will be present also. For example, there will be a small fighter college on campus that certain martial types could attend (magus, fighter dips for eldrich knights, etc). Hell rogues can develop SLA's.
I actually have a character submission who is entirely non-magical. His basic backstory is that he works for the college as a target of sorts. Give the dwarf a merciful weapon and tell the student to defend against him while he tries to beat the snot out of them.
It wasn't a very big thing but it was a really nifty detail from the old TSR9549 College of Wizardry: every few days one of the Department Heads would go up to the roof of the tallest tower of the college in order to cast a modified gust of wind spell on the school's banner so that it was always flying and could be seen from miles away.
I have the idea that a lot of families would pay for a child's tuition (in whole or part depending) by trading services. It could be a simple as strategically placing permanent gusts of wind in key area's to keep air circulating. They'd be above where most people walk. Or other permanent effects.
Light tricks will be fun. why bother with privacy curtains when one can simply cast illusionary wall? I try to keep cost/benefit ratio's in mind when dealing with magic. It's generally cheaper to may a person for 1000 years to do something mundane than to create a permanent magic effect to take care of it. It'll be a magical school, but not everything will be magical when a mundane solution will do.
I believe there was an exceptionally difficult puzzle game out there called Memento that had a beautiful ancient magic school... =) look it up if you want.
If it can be done with a low-level spell, there's no reason the students couldn't do it. That'd be effectively free. Of course, higher level stuff would take up faculty resources, so it'd be less common. Things with expensive material components would be the rarest since no matter who does it, it'll still cost a lot of money.
May have missed it: a 'dueling' grounds?
May have missed it: a 'dueling' grounds?
I was thinking about that recently actually. Perhaps a zone that gave all spells and weapons the merciful property and prevent spell effects from leaving the area. Perhaps coliseum style! The could sell tickets!
I believe there was an exceptionally difficult puzzle game out there called Memento that had a beautiful ancient magic school... =) look it up if you want.
Sounds interesting, but my google fu isn't bringing up anything relevant. Can you elaborate and/or link something to help me out?
I have an idea for a graduation question...
one could be a problem solving issue.: There is a deep hole with deadly fluid at the bottom. In the center is a pillar you must get to. Near where you stand and on top of the pillar in the center of the hole, which is 200 feet across, there is a tree. You have 300 feet of rope and a chicken skull. How do you get across (with no spells)?
or the second choice simply ask, 'why?' The question was put to a college class and only one person passed. Most everyone wrote pages and pages of 'why'. The one person who passed only wrote two words...
Why not?
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I can do it in one word.
Because!