Vorstallen Magic Preparatory - The Third-Best School for Young Mages in the Nation! Enrol Today!

Ordinarily I'd make this something the thread would need to earn, but I feel like noting down some info but want to give a good amount of time before the next week's update. As such, here's all the information Ulos has been able to garner so far about Term 2 Class Lists. Note that this is not completely accurate (some classes have been offered in prior years, some haven't, and they do tend to change), but is probably a decent guide to what you're going to see.

Don't vote for these. Tentative information that Ulos possesses at this point, not a sure listing.

Magisterium: Practicum & Combat (Mandatory): This Magisterium is focused around creating and empowering spells, but more specifically, the exact hand-or-wand-or-penwork that goes into it, as well as being able to cast spells on the fly. As such, this class also teaches magics for combat. While most mages will not need these, being able to defend yourself, even against just a man with a club is a worthy skill to have.

Magical Practice and Combat

Magical Practice and Defense

Locked - Character must have Channeling 2 or above.

Magical Practice and Awareness (Mandatory) - The second term of Magical Practice. Focused primarily on detection and retreat spells.

Magisterium: Magical Theory (Mandatory): How do spells work? Why do they work? What is the Primordial Ether? What sort of equations do you need to know to modify a spell? How do you create a new spell? This magisterium is focused on teaching theory, but without it a lot of the skills mages rely on would cease to function.

Magical Theory (Remedial) : Do you want one Magical Theory Training Roll a week at a minus one modifier, taught by teachers who, quite frankly, don't care about you and teach you more as the dregs? Well, Remedial Magical Theory is for you! That isn't entirely true. Remedial Magical Theory is generally seen primarily for combat mages, spirit-callers, alchemists, and failures. So the bottom 25% of the year (who are truly incompetent), and those who are focused on other areas. Students Learn Combat Skill: Sigil Identification, and Lore: Magical Theory. One Training Roll per week.

Magical Theory (Standard): More of the same, really. Learn Lore: Magical Theory. Gain a Training Roll every week. Essentially how the class is taught in First Term. Generally taught by theorists who drew the second short straw.

Magical Theory (Advanced): The better version of Magical Theory. Inukar usually takes this. Gain two Training Rolls every week.

Magical Theory (Personal Tutoring): Tailored to your interests and needs and time available. Usually costs Willpower. Offers really, really nice bonuses, however. Access to interesting spell research, better Training Rolls, and personal relationships with teachers and the upper years.

Electives: (First Term) Not every elective is available every time, as the needs of the first-year students are subordinate to those of the upper years. Each term, on average eight electives are made available, though depending on the term it is sometimes more and sometimes less.

Basic Alchemy: Running twice, though the second-term version is largely running due to issues in the Alchemy department (read: graduate students being forced to run a course for the first-years as punishment), and is to some degree inferior to the first term version. Not as much opportunity to learn cool Recipes beyond the basics in class. Still get that sweet Alchemy training.

Runic Theory: Running twice. Why? Reasons. (Out-of-character, locking the Quest out of the other main schools of magic for a term just felt wrong - it's too railroady) Those reasons largely involved a number of students clamouring to take Runic Theory in their second term, and some of those students having rich parents. All students learn Lore: Runes at twice the rate of regular Runes class later on. Students who excel at Runic Theory may take Runic Practice early, and advance their Runic studies quickly.

Mind Magic - A Primer: Rather than the Theory courses offered in Term 1, Term 2 tends to offer more practical stuff. Mind Magic is primarily a little Spellweaving (necessary for complicated Mind Magic spells), and the three most primal Mind Magic Spells. Terror of Prey, Raw Rage, and Dog's Courage are all on offer here. Not usable in most magical duels, of course, but great for general usage.

Spirit-Talking: Maybe not Ulos's cup of tea. Talk to Spirits, get them to stuff for you. Unlocked due to Ulos's prior electives. Mostly levels Lore: Souls and Spirits. Involves adventures. Well, field trips. Cool ones.

Spirit-Binding: Unlocked due to Ulos's high Souls and Spirits score. Allows Ulos to begin properly attempting to Bind Spirits. Teaches the spell Bind Spirit, and levels it up immensely. This is the entire part of Spirits that is not Diplomacy-bound.

The Art of the Forge: All about crafting Runes in metal. Level up Craft: Rune moderately. The Art of the Forge focuses on three main runes for metal. First is Whirlwind of Blades (Copper). This Rune is forged into copper, and when charged and the command word is spoken, the Whirlwind of Blades activates, creating literally a number of temporary blades in the air, cutting through everything around it. Second is True Disruption (Iron). True Disruption negates magical constructs and spells around it for a second, cancelling enemy spells. Third is Thousand Steps (Gold). This rune allows a brief teleportation of about five hundred feet in one direction. Lastly, the Art of the Forge levels Craft: Smithing, and reduces the DC for runes cast in metal.

The Lives and Accomplishments of the Great Mages: Time to learn about the most famous, most powerful mages. Speculate on how they did what they did! Research their lives, and try and figure out what might be needed to replicate their accomplishments. All students learn Lore: Famous Mages, Lore: The Undying.


Remedial Spellcraft: Have poor dexterity? A tiny Magic Pool? Well, Remedial Spellcraft is here to save the day! Teaching you better Spellweaving, more efficient ways to cast spells so you don't use up that tiny mana pool of yours too quickly, or cast spells too poorly with your shaky, shaky hands! Still available in the Second Term, this class runs at all times for all people! Assuming you need it, that is. All students learn Skill: Spellweaving, and gain Improvements to all spells taught in Magical Practice and Awareness. Students can choose the form of said improvements (easier to cast, cheaper to cast, more range, etc).


There are also secret classes (generally versions of personal tutoring like you can formally unlock through Magical Theory) that you can unlock. Usually this involves being super nice to your teachers and excelling in their classes. Not everyone admires talent alone like Inukar.

Urgh, writing has been like pulling teeth today.

---

Ulos agreed to Radalscalp's terms pretty readily. The reality was, he thought, that Radalscalp got a great deal out of the bargain. Powerful magics from himself in a few years time, magics he might not want to give up. But in return, he offered power now, and that was a pretty good bargain. Even a minor power like the exploding brick would give Ulos a near-perfect escape tool, the sound and debris from the brick allowing him to evade enemies with ease.

He could even forge them and put them in useful places... the possibilities were endless.

He couldn't come back Monday, unfortunately. He had his tutoring session then, and it was going to be a brutal one.

(Magical Theory Tutoring Rolls: (4+1)+(4+1)+(2+1)+(2+1) = 16 * 4 = 64. Gained +2 Magical Theory. Current +22 Lore: Magical
Theory (25/30 next level))

Edward taught him all day, pushing him and sniping at him, forcing him to copy down diagram after diagram after diagram. Miserable, and Ulos hated every minute of it. Magical Theory was sometimes fun, sometimes interesting and clever, but today it was just tedious. Six hours in, Edward nodded.

"At least you're focusing. Come on down, we'll get lunch."

The other boy didn't smile. Ulos suspected he never smiled, except when he was making fun of someone.

They walked down, and Edward took him somewhere different. Rather than the teacher's lounge, he walked down the hallway and opened another door. Inside was an icebox, the runes for cold on steel gleaming atop it. Edward sighed, and Ulos felt - at the edges of his consciousness - magic move from Edward to the box.

"General price. You want to keep your stuff in here, you help keep it charged up"

He pulled out three sandwiches, each laden down with sliced roast beef, slightly soggy lettuce, and large hunks of cheese.

"One for you. Eat up, I'll eat while you copy the next fifteen diagrams from Tensor's Diagrammatic. Once you can explain to me the principles behind the changes in shape for what should be an identical spell, you get to eat."

Ulos walked back in. It was forty minutes before he managed to explain the diagrams. The sandwich had gone quite soggy by then, but it was still delicious.

It had been a good, if somewhat difficult session.

---

Tuesday was another day. Souls and Spirits continued to vex him. Little progress was made.

(Training Roll: 1x4 = 4, Gained +1 Lore: Souls and Spirits. Current = +11 Lore: Souls and Spirits (0/20 next level))

After class, though, he returned to Radalscalp.

The little man had clapped his hands in glee when Ulos has consented to the deal.

"Now, young Ulos. Time to talk about Clay Runes, I think. Here, look at how you might alter a Rune of Clay to decrease its energy requirements, or..."

(Runes Tutoring: (3+2+1)*4 = 24 . +1 Lore: Runes. Current is +11 Lore: Runes (12/20 next level)

It was soon after this Radalscalp started teaching him how to etch runes on clay, something he took to with ease. Learning how to etch on unformed clay and baked bricks was difficult, but he had the general idea fairly quickly.

(Runes Tutoring: (5+2)*4 = 28 . +4 Craft: Runes. Current is +5 Craft: Runes (8/10 next level)

(Learned Rune: Slumbering Brick!)

Lastly, Radalscalp turned to him.

"I have a set of tools that are most useful for engraving runes onto brick, young Ulos. Ten silver numismata and they're yours. I daresay I don't do a lot of brick work these days, and they might be more useful to you than to me..."

Ulos frowned. His purse was considerably lighter than it had been, but it might be a good purchase...

---

Later still, he found himself sitting and thinking, ready to study his Magic Pool. His mediations prior had not been successful, but these very well might be.

(Meditation Training (3)*5 = 15 . +3 Arcane Meditation. Current is +4 Arcane Meditation (0/5 next level)

He sat there for hours, breathing and meditation as instructed. It was at the very end of his practice that he felt something. Some glimmer of something unseen or unfelt before, and Ulos found himself drawn into his own mind, envisaging his Magic Pool. He saw it easily enough, a pool of blues and oranges all mixed together, swirling below him. And yet... something else lay beneath it. As he focused, he understood. The pool were the remnants dripping through a barrier placed to divert a river, droplets falling from a container larger than he could fathom.

The magic that he could see he could not touch, not even in his own mind. It flowed like a torrent behind invisible walls, the occasional dollop of it springing out from past barrier he could not understand, like floodwaters occasionally splashing over a wall built to restrain them.

He opened his eyes and shock, and the ability to envisage it vanished, gone like that same water flowing through his fingers.

"Damn it.", he muttered.

It made sense. He had not bargained away some portion of his magical power, but all of it. What remained to him was simply the inability of his Curse to transfer all the magic without losing a little, the same way that the occasional few stalks of wheat might fall out of a cart transporting them, or a coin or two might slip from the purse of a rich man without him noticing.

He felt the loss keenly for a moment.

"With all that..."

He shook his head. He had struck the bargain, and done well by it. Without the money made thereby he would never have made it here. Hopefully it could be remedied in future, but for now, the understanding was something. He thought again about telling Madavian, or perhaps Abraham, but...

No, even his friends should not know. The first rule of keeping secrets, he knew, was that two men can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Information carelessly ventured might find its way back to those who could use it, and nobody who knew what his Curse meant would be inclined to treat him favorably. Better to be another student with a bare trickle of magic, the same that most who practiced magic had. A little more unusual for Vorstallen, but not enough to be remarked upon.

---

Radalscalp offers Clay Runic Tools. +10 to all Craft: Rune rolls involving Runes of Clay. Cost 10 Coins.

[ ] Buy Them - Increasing the number of Runes you can put out is a huge advantage.

[ ] No, Don't - You're not spending hard-earned money on a minor trick.