I've been considering trying again on an idea I had a while back, that didn't work out quite the way I wanted.  It would be a game focused on students in a powerful magical school or academy.  It would be a higher level game, maybe 8th, with gestalt characters to provide an increase in variety, since every player would need to be a magic user of some kind.  So players would be experienced wizards, sorcerors, etc. exploring the deeper aspects of magic.

The game itself would focus on player interaction, role-playing, and magical discovery.  There would be combat and intrigue, but they would be secondary to the social and magical aspects.

I was considering placing it in Eberron, possibly the magical academy of the 12, or Arcanix.  This would provide political intrigue as a backdrop to the game, and allow deeper character development.  It wouldn't be a PvP game, but politics could make for interesting stories.

Interested to see what people think of the idea, any input, or questions.  I feel there will be a fair amount of prep for me, making the school and npcs, so I want to be sure before I start it.
This message was last edited by the user at 22:08, Sat 26 Nov 2016.

This sounds interesting, I'd give it a look.

Would you be houseruling or banning spells like Charm Person, Detect Thoughts, and so on? In my experience they become much more powerful (and irritating to deal with) in social games than in dungeon crawls.

well, I would be adjudicating their use.  I don't think I'd allow players to use them on other players, at least not without some serious limitations.  But using them on NPCs would be ok.  The point of the game would be to allow higher level magical characters to really explore using magic, so in an average situation, with basic NPCs, I'd be all for their use.  As for other people in the academy itself, it's pretty likely instructors, etc would be fairly protected or resistant to that kind of thing.

Thanks for the quick reply! That sounds like a good way to handle it.

I would love to join this game count me in. You said all the right words in the intro for me

I think you will have no problem getting people. Lots of people like gesalt games. Lots of people like school games. I know the character I want to play already...

any opinion on the Eberron setting, or the 12 versus Arcanix?

Eberron is probably my least favorite D&D setting, to be honest. I can live with it if we're going to be in a homebrew academy setting anyways, though. I don't know enough about it to distinguish between those two sites.

I'm not sure what other setting to use.  I am not interested in creating a wholly new world to set it in, and an academy full of 8th level mages seems a lot less impressive in Faerun.

But yes, I would be designing the academy and those who run it myself.

Sounds very interesting but I also have limited experience with Eberron and none with 12 versus Arcanix.

Just a thought though the school could be a nexus between worlds and characters would be the best and brightest from whichever world they hail. Of course that is just me rambling.

A planar game is a bit higher level than what I planned, at least to start.  exploring planar magic will definitely be something to work toward, but it would make the game too immediately fantastic to make exploring magic as an 8th level character all that exciting.

How focused on arcane vancian magic would this magical school be?
I ask, because there are plenty of magical classes not arcane but with some academical background (Archivist/shugenjas) and Arcane classes that doesn't use the vancian system (Warlocks/Dragonfire Adept/Truenamers/shadowcaster/incarnum).

Also, would this school be open to exchange students from other schools like psions/cloistered clerics?

every player would need to have an arcane caster as one side of the gestalt mix.  I haven't yet decided if things like warlock or beguiler or truenamer will be allowed to count as that arcane class, but they will likely be allowed as part of the mix.  As will divine magic, and psionics.  But they will not count as the arcane caster side that is required. (so a psion/wizard or cleric/sorcerer would be allowed, but not a psion/fighter or cleric/rogue.)

there is a small chance I may have the school have a separate psionic side, with its own instructors, but I have not decided on that.  But there wouldn't be a divine side, that doesn't fit the setting or the goal of the game.

Just perusing the forums and thought I would sprinkle a bit of input from my experience.

A friend of mine was considering doing this style of game, and one interesting possibility that emerged was to make everyone play an Adept gestalt, just using spellbook rules and a slightly tuned spell list.

The adept's abilities are not too strong to activate the full  bore gestalt madness, and gestalting onto a caster class really identified people who were dedicated to the craft, as opposed to people who were just there to please rich dad (like Rogues and Fighters).

It's an interesting possibility if you consider Magic Academy to be like real school or college, educational and influential but not necessarily utterly identity-defining.

I'd be interested, but 8th level seems too high. First, Eberron is famously focused on 1st to 6th level, so 8th-level mages would be, not students, but noted experts and leaders in their fields. Second, regardless of setting, they're already accomplished mages who know most of their fields and are now researching the upper echelons and deeper secrets. What you've got there is a high-powered thinktank or research institute. A school game implies 1st-level or less, where students have a chance of failing at their spells.

Just a suggestion, but you might consider allowing alternatives like wordcasting, 3.0 witchcraft, or spheres of power. The variety of different casting styles would really emphasize the exploration of magic.

I believe to remember that there is a special zone in Eberron, a dragon island or continent, where high level characters is an everyday thing. Maybe the school is located there?

What about classes that can have a very strong arcane feel, while not fully arcane? Ranger or Paladin with the Sword of Arcane Order feat seems to come to mind.

And I would love a psionic part of the school specialized in psionics. A vote for that :D

The idea is interesting, but shouldn't it be focused on classes that need education? A sorcerer going to school to learn magic is something odd, given that magic runs in her veins.

Just my two cents... 8th level gestalt does seem a bit high for a strict Academy.

I would suggest you start out by figuring out what kind of classes are being offered. Things like alchemy, herbology, and any of the Craft feats come to mind. If there is a psionic curriculum, that's fine, but I'd still want one of the character's classes to be arcane. The Adept idea sounds like a good work-around.

As for the Charm spells, perhaps the Academy has a ward against that school of magic... except in the specified classroom.

You don't need a lot of detail to get started. For example, you don't need floor plans of the Academy right off the bat, just a general idea of the main building, how many towers, etc. Of course, if you have a map of some other place that you can use, that works, too. Likewise, is the Academy run by a single wizard or a council? Full character sheets for them and the teachers aren't needed, but if the head is the wizard Aristobulus, then you should know he's 15th level with a 19 INT and 17 CHA, etc.


The only other thing that might be a good idea is that when players apply to the game, require their characters to have a motivation for attending the academy as well as a goal. For example, Makron the Fighter/Adept might want to gain spell abilities so that he can free his father from the influence of the Grand Vizier. That way, the character has something to accomplish and the player has a direction to steer his character.

I appreciate the input.  8th level is where it will start, I think.  The idea is for it to be a bunch of experienced magic users delving into the deeper secrets of magic, beyond the standard spells of lower levels.  Planar magic, summoning, creating.  That's just not possible with low level characters, and rpol moves far too slowly to start low level and ever hope to reach that goal.  Besides, if the red wizards of Thay can have high level students of the zulkirs, then it isn't impossible for 8th level characters to study under a more experienced mage.

As for the level cap of Eberron, I'm aware it focuses on low level, but I will be adjusting it.  The average level of the people outside the school won't effect the school itself much.  Its the only setting I can think of where this would work.  Faerun has the opposite problem.  8th level characters are nothing compared to the epic level archmages that litter the setting.

It won't be limited to just wizards, that would make it too restricted.  Sorcerors may gain their abilities naturally, but that doesn't mean they are innately wise to the ways of magic or the world.  They can still learn a lot.  I will be looking over stuff like truenamer.  My only hesitation is that it will add in too many variations of power that would make characters learning together too complicated.

I still have not decided if it will be an aspect of the 12, or arcanix.  The 12 would mean every player would need to belong to a dragonmarked house, or be sponsored by one, but it would provide a very global and powerful feel.  Arcanix would be more political, tied to Aundair, but wouldn't require the direct connections that the 12 would.
This message was last edited by the user at 18:15, Sun 27 Nov 2016.

So the setting you're contemplating is less like a wizard school where you get your wizard diploma, and more like a post-doc in advanced blowing-your-mind.

that's a fitting description, grad students as opposed to middle school.  I'm a doctoral student myself, so yeah, that's proably where my view comes from in part.  This game would be more delving into the depths of magic, less classes on wingardium leviosa.  Dr. strange would be a good comparison as well, though I had the idea before I saw the movie. (why do I feel I have to justify that?)  "students"  of masters, who are still quite capable in their own right.

I have started the game.  It is still under construction, but I can begin to look over applicants.

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