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Lore Post: The History of The Six-Fox Pact
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    • To be honest, I've been wanting to write more history stuff, but I tend to want to finish things by the end of an update, and writing history class is something I can't seem to make work at all. So I thought I'd do a lore post for anyone interested in that sort of thing.


    The Six-Fox Pact: A Brief History

    All modern political organisation can be traced back to two things. Firstly, the Secret of Unlife, whatever that may be. When the Undying became truly Undying, they became creatures of increasing power, year by year. A thousand years into their rule they congregated around the city of Vorstal, that great necropolis around which the politics of a continent turned. Those Undying still living, aside from the King of Bones, are those that were termed the 'Lesser Undying' in their day.

    Even the King of Bones was merely amongst those of the first tier, rather than standing at its peak. The great Undying Skull Keeper raised six necromancers of his clan to fight the Six-Fox Pact. He personally reduced three cities to rubble, killed over five hundred mages, and was none the worse for the wear at the end of the engagement. That he was somehow killed (the existing theory among scholars being that the King of Bones masterminded this) does not reduce the awesome potential of his power. A human being bound to the shell of his body in perpetuity, losing none of his intelligence and seemingly only gaining in magical power and wit as the years passed was a fearsome enough enemy. One given millenia to forge Artifacts to defend himself and invent new spells of awesome power is an enemy of absurd potency.

    Second, the Saint of the Archipelago. We still know little about her, other than that she was born, demanded the right to emancipate a great many people, and when it was denied sunk the capital city and all the lands immediately north of it, making Vorstal into a great port. She then raised the Saint's Archipelago, and took many of her followers to live there. The Empire's economy floundered, and where mages were once accepted, the reality of the Saint's rise left the Undying Empire afraid, and restrictive. It was this unrest and the mistreatment of ordinary mages (who even today remain all but forbidden in the Empire unless they are members of a Clan) that led to the rise of the Six-Fox Pact.

    The apocryphal story is this: that six Spirits in the form of foxes descended to a meeting where the many mages who were oppressed in the western half of the empire gathered, and spoke words of great power and insight to them. That they realised, thanks to these foxes how to rise up against the Undying, and strike where they were weak.

    The story propounded by scholars is this: that foxes are seen in all six nations of the Pact as lucky, and it was a convenient measure of propaganda to help convince the populace to rise up at a time when the memory of the Saint still held strong.

    So the Pact was created. It rose up, and was repeatedly defeated with almost humiliating ease by the Undying. Until the last in the war, when the Blessing of Foxes took place - according to the Pact.

    It is more generally held that the King of Bones (then the Prince of Bones) decided to unleash the millennia-long research he had accumulated on his most powerful rivals in a bid for power over the Empire. Given that the King of Bones was generally considered to be the eighth-most powerful Undying in the Empire when the Pact rose up, and was the first when the Undying were killed, this theory holds a great deal of water.

    After this victory, however, the Empire's western border was devoid of Undying, a scenario that has continued to this present day. The King of Bones treats his western border as a relative 'free zone' in which mages and magic may move more freely, and where flits move across the border to Vorstal for work, and on occasion to the Pact (which rarely accepts them). It is possible leaving his border mostly unguarded and week is part of some unseen stratagem, but it also seems likely that the King of Bones considers his fellow Undying a much more pressing threat than the Pact itself.

    The Pact was founded by six mages, and six nations were formed. Ironically, the nation with the greatest concentration of mages was the only one founded far from the principles of magic.

    Pre-eminent in the pact is Narubar, named after the city of Narubar. Once a small port city, Suvanas Artillerylord founded it as the site of a new nation, one founded on the principle of non-magical control. The Senate of Narubar is not a republican affair, but rather the Senatorial class, those descended from Senators and with sufficient wealth to gain acceptance by others. It is by no means an egalitarian system, but the Senate may have no practising mages. As such, while great personal power lies in the hands of Narubar's mages, the political division is sufficient to ensure that the nation is to a degree ruled by non-magicals.

    Narubar was the site of the final battle (and great loss) against the Undying, and it was from Narubar that the assassinations struck. Many of the mages who fought in the war chose to join Suvanas's new nation centered around this city, with enough territory to raise armies and levy taxes.

    Many of the other great archmagi chose to found their own nations, largely more peaceful and less politically divided ones. Athanas is a league of towns and villages with a small class of mages co-ruling with village heads, mayors, and local lords. The League of Athanas was founded by Athanas Poisonriver, who chose to unite the weakest towns and villages in a semblance of a nation, rather than see the powerful cities rule over the weak just as the Undying had ruled over them.

    Given that each Pact nation stems from the ideology of a different powerful mage, they are drastically different in political makeup and philosophy. Of late, though, Narubar has taken complete pre-eminence. Each Pact nation either pays in coin or soldiers to guard the border with the Empire, and as the Archipelagean War took up, the smaller nations tended to prefer not to pay in soldiers, and especially not in mages. As such, Narubar took a great deal of coin from the other nations and founded their own magical institutions, allowing them to educate anyone with a skerrick of magical talent to fight in their armies.

    As the cost of education warmages in Narubar fell, the other nations in the Pact devoted themselves to commerce and more traditional magic, shouldering the cost of coin as Narubar shouldered the manpower cost to guard the border. This has led Narubar to have a large professional class of mages, one no other Pact nation has. This sheer military power has led to Narubar effectively leading the Pact in foreign policy, and having great influence over its domestic policy.

    The next chapter of this History is devoted to a breakdown of each nation in the Pact, its philosophy, system of government, and wealth and so on.
     
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    2.2 - Second Weekend
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    • Saturday morning was worrisome. Ulos woke up, and went down to breakfast, thinking about the note.

    Obviously he was going to go. He knew he had done well on the test, and he assumed Inukar wanted to see him for something positive... but what if he didn't? What if Thomas had convinced him he was cheating? That could've happened.

    He ate quietly, ignoring Madavian's chatter. Normally he'd be happy to talk with his boisterous friend, but there was just too much on his mind. He walked up the stairs, into the building.

    Where was Inukar's office? He didn't know. Thankfully he'd walked down with time to spare, so he walked down towards the lecture hall. Nothing. He turned around, to the other end of the building. At the end there was a small door covered in rust. At the top of the archway above the door was a nameplate labelled 'Mage Inukar'.

    This must be it. It was very humble for an office, and Ulos knocked on the door. He had five minutes to spare, but being early would hardly hurt.

    "Come in, Ulos."

    The door swung open. At the end stood Inukar, barrel-chested and bald-headed. The man looked like he'd be better suited with a sword in hand than a piece of chalk, yet he was patiently writing some sort of obscure sigil on one of the two blackboards in his room.

    "Senior Mage?"

    "Do you know why I asked you here?"

    "Was it my test results?"

    Inukar laughed, a great sound resounding up from his belly.

    "Yes, you're a quick one. Let me tell you something, Ulos Flitter. Every year, there's one."

    He waited, and eventually Ulos spoke.

    "One, Senior Mage?"

    "Either one genius, or one cheat. I'm interested in finding out which you are. I've drafted a symbol on the board. You don't know what sort of spell it is, though it is in the Domain of Flesh. Lengthen its initial effect by three times, parallel to the plane of the earth."

    "Um..."

    "Or leave, it's really your choice. But this is a matter of personal interest to me."

    (Lore Check: 12 (Lore: Magical Theory) - 1 + 2 = 13. Pass vs DC 8 (not considered to be cheating), pass vs DC 10 (considered to be talented, pass vs DC 12 (considered to be immensely talented, fail vs DC 14 (considered to be a genius))

    Ulos looked up. The first line was a little too long, almost out of balance with the third.

    "I will need a ruler."

    Inukar produced one, a fine ruler made of hammered steel with precise measurements. Ulos shuddered to think of how much it might have cost.

    "So the third here is too long for this sort of effect because of..."

    Ulos closed his mouth and hummed thoughtfully, sketching lines and deleting them with his sleeve. After fifteen minutes he sketched a final line.

    "There. That should do it."

    Inukar looked down.

    "Hm. Almost."

    "Almost?"

    "You've lengthened the initial effect by four times. Very close, especially for a spell you've never seen before. Indeed, a spell you couldn't have seen before. That shows some great theoretical talent. Not quite on par with what I saw on your exam, but very impressive nonetheless. You have a talent for theory, Flitter."

    "Thank you, Senior Mage."

    "I tutor a talented third-year. Empire, like yourself. More talented than you, to be honest, but I doubt I'll see that sort of talent again for the next twenty or so years at least, so that's no aspersion on you. I told him last year that if he could not pass on his knowledge, it was useless. Hoarding spells is one thing, hoarding the theoretical knowledge to unlock the secrets of the world is another. He tried taking a tutoring group last year, but he didn't have the patience. Most of you children want to learn to burn your eyebrows off, not how to make the same spell dance to your whims. No patience."

    Inukar sighed, and continued.

    "You seem to have a modicum of talent in a year that otherwise seems devoid of it. I would like you to be taught by my student, rather than come to my class. It's clearly not the best use of your time, and seeing students languish is something I hate. He is quite abrasive and arrogant, I'll admit, but he needs to learn to communicate, and rephrase his ideas in ways intelligible for lesser intellects. I assure you, if you accept, you'll learn much faster than you would otherwise, though it'll take up a lot more of your time, and energy. He's demanding, even when I deal with him."

    (Unlocked Voting Option at end of post.)

    "    I..."

    "I know. Don't tell me now, it's a lot to consider. I'll be here at tomorrow, six PM. Come by, and tell me yes or no. If you're not looking to specialise in Theory, I'll understand. Disappointing, though. Your level of talent is uncommon. If you are... well, think it over. I've seen no-one else even worth offering this opportunity to."


    Artifact Appraisal:

    It wasn't that Ulos didn't try. It was that he couldn't find anyone on campus willing to help him. Teachers were out, but even Artifact Appraisal students brushed past him, unwilling to help.

    (Roll 18 + 10 (Cha) vs 50 DC. Failure)

    He wasn't willing to risk it by asking everyone, and his pursuit of an answer didn't really turn up much. Frustrating.


    Abraham's Room

    "    I'm sorry, but no rooms are available."

    "What? I'm in the Parrot's Perch, there are rooms right across from me!"

    "That's as may be, but student room approvals are unfortunately closed right now. We are considering renovating and upgrading empty rooms, and cannot accommodate anyone else now. I do apologise."

    (Rolled 2 + 20 vs 20 DC. 2 on the dice is an automatic Critical Failure!)

    The answer was the same in the Smokestack, and even the Tower. Nowhere on campus had any accommodation, and even though Ulos spent the latter half of the day searching, he could find nowhere they could let Abraham camp in the meantime. Frustrating.


    Go Shopping

    [Shopping miniturn will be up in next post, along with shopping options.]


    This one was fairly short, but does offer a fairly important option:

    [ ] Accept the Tutoring Offer - Sure, it's a little bit out there, but being tutored by a brilliant Third-Year would obviously help you advance a lot quicker than just sitting in class. You'd impress your teacher, as well. Still, it'll be hard, and if Inukar is to believed, the guy you'd be learning from is a bit of a jerk. Loses 1 Action per Weekday Turn. This Action and your Magical Theory Classes are replaced with "Tutoring Session: Magical Theory", which offers 2 Training Rolls per Action, and +1 to those Training Rolls. You will also gain Relationship: Senior Mage Akkos Inukar (Friendly Teacher: Invested In Your Progress). This will lock 1 Action per Weekday turn. Each session costs 1 Willpower, costing 2 Willpower a week.

    In short, you no longer take standard Magical Theory classes and one Action per week is locked. However, you will gain 2 Training Sessions that are as good as regular Willpower sessions plus you gain +1 to those Training Rolls. It utterly outclasses standard Magical Theory training, especially because it allows you to spend Willpower on your mandatory class Action. However, it does lock your classes (meaning you won't be able to protect your friends there), and it also locks you into Magical Theory training for the entire term. It also locks 2 Willpower per week, making you less versatile in the short-run.

    [ ] Decline the Tutoring Offer politely - No change. Middle-of-the-road option. No gameplay changes. You will gain Relationship: Senior Mage Akkos Inukar (Teacher: Mildly Disappointed)

    Locks nothing, but opens up the possibility of a Relationship with Inukar.

    [ ] Decline the Tutoring Offer harshly - No, you don't need tutoring. You've done damn well by yourself all these years, and you'll continue to do so! Ulos Flitter accepts help only when necessary, and this isn't one of these times. You need to seclude yourself from others except those you trust the most in order to succeed, not put yourself under the whim of some jerk third-year who may very well teach you nothing! Gain Trait: Willfully Independent (-20 to all Diplomacy rolls asking for help. Must pass a roll vs Willpower to accept offered help from non-Friends. Upgrade Start Studying to Lonesome Studying (Offers a Training Roll for associated subject, allows unlimited expenditure of Willpower to gain extra rolls) Relationship: Senior Mage Akkos Inukar (Unfriendly Teacher: Insulted)

    Major penalties, but allows you to use Lonesome Studying to spend all Willpower on one Action, gaining multiple rolls in one session. Useful for grinding a bunch of different skills in the long-term. Does a lot of diplomatic damage, however.
     
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    • Shopping Miniturn
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    • "Come on Ulos, you're so slow!"

    Madavian laughed as he ran through the streets with Abraham, Ulos puffing along behind them.

    "I don't.. puff... see... puff... why we couldn't take a... puff... cart."

    Madavian laughed.

    "You're so unfit, Ulos. Come on come on come on. Let's go!"

    Eventually they reached the marketplace, though it was really more of a set of shops around a great square.

    "Come on, Ulos."

    Ulos glared daggers at Madavian.

    "Let me... let me catch my breath. Then we go shopping."

    They started browsing, and Madavian took the items they had to sell and was animatedly discussing something with someone in a pawn shop. He came back, just as Abraham came back as well.

    "So, what are we getting?"


    The Shopping Miniturn has begun.

    You may spend any amount of money, from zero to all of what you have. You may sell as many items as you like. I am perfectly happy for people to vote for plans, and will likely divide the voting into a number of plans or options once people have decided what they may like. (as there are a lot of items to be bought), and this may be the better way to spend money.

    You have 238 coins. You may sell items and buy them effectively simultaneously during this turn (so you can spend more money than you currently have if you sell items as well.)


    Saleable Items:

    Masterwork Cutting Knife. +5 to all Craft: Alchemy rolls involving cutting. Can be used as a weapon in times of need. - 90 Coins
    Masterwork Bone Wand -     Offers ???. - 90 Coins
    Average Quality Measures and Weights - Necessary for Alchemy to take place. 32 Coins
    Artifact: Iron Amulet -     Offers ??? - 47 Coins. This may not be a fair appraisal.

    Purchasable Items (Minor):

    Full Camping Gear -     Allows Abraham to sleep comfortably in your room. Would allow him to sleep outside if necessary as well. - 7 coins

    Superior Writing Equipment -     Better books, better pen, more inks that don't blot and stay well. Offers +10 when rolling to inscribe a Sigil or Rune on paper. - 22 coins


    Itching Powder -     Obvious use in pranks. Enough to last indefinitely if you're only using it on one person at a time. - 9 coins.

    Sigil of Fire -     A pretty basic spell scroll. Put some magic into it, and make sure you're pointing at whatever you want lit on fire. Takes 20 Magic Points. - 10 Coins

    Sigil of Water -     A pretty basic spell scroll. Put some magic into it, and there you go, water. Useful as crowd control on your enemies or to put out fires. Takes 10 Magic Points. - 10 Coins

    Draught of Wakefulness -     Offers the ability to go a night without sleep. Unlocks 1 Free Action. Should not be used longterm - 22 Coins

    Draught of Healing -     Heals wounds, bruises, etc. Does not remove poisons, magical Curses, etc. Works by drastically increasing regeneration for a few minutes. Bad consequences for repeated overuse. - 24 Coins

    Potion of Speed -     Increases physical speed, allowing the subject to run and move much more quickly for a span of about thirty minutes. - 18 Coins

    Philter of Strength - Raw, concentrated Strength. Increases the subject's strength tenfold for thirty seconds. Useful in getting out of sticky situations. - 16 Coins




    Purchasable Items (Major):

    Potion of Precognition - Gifting the user with precognition on any actions they take within the next ten minutes, allowing them to avoid negative consequences where possible. Reroll on any failed Rolls in the following ten minutes as long as the failure is known within that time (does not work on tests that are marked hours later, for instance) - 67 Coins

    Quality Geometric Tools -     Very useful in determining the precise dimensions of a Sigil or Rune. Helpful in Magical Theory. (+10 to all Magical Theory rolls involving identifying a spell, or writing a new one.) - 52 Coins

    Poultice of Invisibility - Sure, it smells gross. Sure, you need to rub it all over your skin. Sure, you've got to be naked to use it. But it does make you invisible for the better part of twelve hours. - 80 Coins

    Runic Binding Circle - Fill it up with magic, fold it out, and away you go. Improves your chances of Binding a Spirit, and allows you more time to do so. Reroll any failed Binding roll. Only works when charged. Requires 200 Magic Points to fully charge. Infinitely reusable. - 150 Coins

    Magically Linked Bells -     Verging on Artifact status, these bells ring whenever the other one is rang. Useful to alert your allies or even send coded messages over great distances. Must be charged weekly, 40 Magic Points to charge. 225 Coins.


    Purchasable Items (Artifacts):

    Chimes of Cessation - Disrupts all nearby activated magic within 75 feet when rang. Will ring faster as it disrupts magic around you, and will counter magic to the value of the Magic Points put into it before it ceases ringing. Also disrupts the users magic. Requires 200 Magic Points to charge to a minimum. Can be charged up to 1000 Magic Points (5 Chimes). Does not counter spells that are either cast outside the radius, or which has their effects begin outside that radius. 380 Coins.

    Eye of Farsight - A dull blue sphere with near-invisible runes inscribed on its glass surface. Allows scrying on any place indicated by the Eye's controls. Can view anywhere up to ten kilometres away in a sphere around the user, with a maximum radius of ten metres by ten metres viewing. Lasts for ten minutes once activated. Requires 100 Magic Points to charge. 350 Coins.

    The Minor Arcana of Protection -     Five rings set in a chain linking them all together. When worn, they protect against one attack, each individual ring protecting against a different effect. These effects are: temperature variation, kinetic force, airborne poisons and acids, liquid poisons and acids and mental magic. Each ring takes 20 Magic Points to charge. The charge naturally dissipates after 1 week of not being activated by an enemy attack, and so must be recharged every week. - 450 Coins.

    The Training Cube -     Allows low-magic users to train their Spellweaving using their Physical Ability stat. Allows user to halve the cost of training Spells (by practicing with just the cube sometimes to ensure you can get it correct) in terms of Magic Points. Expensive, and must be set up in a room to use properly. Must be charged by 20 Magic Points per use. Offers the use of your Physical Ability stat instead of your Channeling when training Spells or Spellweaving. Only usable by one person at a time. - 455 Coins.

    Purchasable Services:

    Tutoring (Write-in Skill):     You may gain an Action that offers three Training Rolls for 5 Coins for any non-magical skill. You may gain an Action that offers three Training Rolls for 20 Coins for any magical skill. These Actions are single-use only.

    Magical Skills available to train include all Skills currently trained at school or those available in the Class Choice Post.

    Non-Magical Skills include Combat Skill: Sword and Shield, Combat Skill: Retreat, Skill: Surveillance, Skill: Five Families Etiquette, Skill: Merchant Etiquette, Skill: Haggling, Skill: Disguise, Skill: Traps and Tripwires, Skill: Architecture.

    Spell Training (Write-In School): Rather than purchase individual spells (which are difficult to learn and master, and you are entirely unsure what is and is not useful), you may purchase an Action allowing you to gain a useful Spell following the various concepts below. Any of these spells will cost you 100 coins, but are guaranteed to have a high degree of utility for your level of magic power.

    Awareness, Defense, Elemental Manipulation, Magical Disruption, Mind Magic.



    Please write in your desires for items below. If the item (or items) you desire is greater than our current amount of money, please add saleable items to your plan as well until it leaves us with a positive balance of Coins.
     
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    • End of the Weekend and Week 3 Vote
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    • Plan Runes and Saves has clearly won, alongside Accept the Tutoring.

    Sorry to keep everything being perpetual votes, but this should be the last vote without a following update for awhile. The following week's Actions are now available to be voted on below.


    "So, Ulos, what is it going to be?"

    Inukar looked him up and down, the man's giant arms crossed in front of his chest. Ulos had already stashed his various purchases in his room, and Abraham and Madavian were going to get him dinner so he wouldn't miss it when he got back.

    "I'll accept. Senior Mage, I know I'm not the strongest magically. That means the only way forward is to be smarter and learn more, and the only place to really do that is here. I could go learn Alchemy, but that's just... power. It's not the power that makes you more powerful, if that makes sense."

    Inukar smiled.

    "An interesting philosophy. Not one I personally cleave to, but the practicality of it is undeniable. Some seek power immediately, others have the mental capacity to seek out power that multiplies upon itself. Very well. Back at my office during class time. Your tutor will be there."

    "You're not going to tell me anything about him?"

    "No, I think he'd prefer it if I let it be a surprise. Good luck."

    You have gained Relationship: Senior Mage Akkos Inukar (Friendly Teacher: Invested In Your Progress).



    You presently have 3 Willpower. 2 Willpower is locked behind your new Locked Action, Tutoring Session: Magical Theory. This pool must last you for the week.

    Ulos will take 4 Actions, but one of these is locked in as Tutoring Session: Magical Theory. You cannot unlock this without abandoning the Tutoring Sessions entirely. As such, only 3 Actions will be taken from this list.

    Temporary/One-Off Actions:

    [ ] Appraise your Artifact - Sure, you can't do it, but you can find someone who can. Knowing what that Artifact does might be key to either keeping it or selling it for a good sum. Roll Cha vs DC (Moderate). Success offers information about Artifact. Failure offers no information. Critical failure offers completely false information. Roll will be hidden. Action is removed once either a success is rolled or a critical failure is rolled.


    Offensive/Defensive Actions:

    [ ] Scout out your Rivals - Pretty standard. Go spy on your enemies. Roll vs your Rival's roll to avoid being scouted. If you beat their Roll, gain +20 on all Actions against them (defensive or offensive) for the remainder of the week.

    [ ] Launch an Assault! - You have Itching Powder now, you can do something terrible (ly amusing)! Make your enemies itch in class to humiliate them, douse their clothes in it to force them to miss valuable learning sessions, or even convince onlookers they have some sort of disease. Roll vs your Rival's roll to succeed. A regular success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action. A major success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action and their classes for that day. A critical success will cause both these effects and cause them to be humiliated, reducing all Relationships with anyone who observes this humilation by one step.

    Training Actions:

    [ ] Start Studying (Write-In Subject) - You have your textbooks. Next step is reading through them. Sort of nerdy, but hey, aren't you here to learn? Gain a Training Roll associated with the subject you choose. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls. -1 to all Training Rolls of this sort due current roommate penalty.

    [ ] Practice Spellweaving -     Use some of your little magic to practice your Spellweaving. Gain a Training Roll vs Channeling. Cannot use Willpower upgrade, Channeling too low.

    [ ] Study Group - The Study Group needs to get going if you're going to dominate your subjects. Get your books, get your bag, and head on over to the Library to get the librarians to let you into a study room. Gain a Training Roll for Lore: History or Lore: Theory of Magic (50% chance each). Possibly gain a step in relationship with Abraham (20+30=50% chance). Cannot be taken while Trait: Banned Doppelganger is active. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a Training Roll in both subjects. Can only be taken twice per Week max.

    [ ] Practice Spell (Write-In From Spellbook) -     Time to practice a spell. Get better, cast faster, cast cheaper. Roll against DC (??? depends on Spell). Takes ??? Magic Pool, where ??? is equal to a Spell's cost times 5. Character gains an additional Training roll if they still have more mana after practicing. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain an additional two Training Rolls if you have enough mana for it.

    [ ] Tutoring (Lore: Runes) - That horribly expensive Tutoring you paid for. Each Action provides 3 (!) Training Rolls to your Lore: Runes. No Willpower expenditure possible or required. Can only be taken three times total.


    Diplomacy and Discovery Actions:

    [ ] Hang Out With A Friend (Write-in Friend) - It's good to spend time with people you know. Maybe take a break, and hang with one of your friends. Available options include Madavian Junotrin and Abraham Quincey. Increase Relationship by one step. Roll against DC (Variable, depending on friendship level). On success, increase Relationship by another step.

    [ ] Meet and Greet - Madavian might not be there to help you, but you can still meet people, right? Right? Offers 2 Diplomacy rolls for meeting people. No help from Madavian. (DC: Variable. Depends on who you meet) Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 3 Diplomacy Rolls.

    [ ] Go Exploring - It's a big campus, and you haven't seen the half of it. Who knows what you could find? Roll 1D100 vs ???. Success offers ???, failure offers ???. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a second roll. Spend 2 points to gain a third roll.

    [ ] Study your Magic Pool - You need to learn to meditate, focus, and understand what is happening in the Ether, and in yourself when you draw from it. Gaining such inner understanding may shed light on your Curse's functionality. Gain a Training Roll for Skill: Meditation versus Willpower.

    [ ] Suck Up To Inukar -     Figure out what they like. Do the research. Then suck up. Not hard in theory. Roll against DC 40 (depends on teacher) vs Cha and Lore: Magical Theory. Success increases teacher's Relationship by one step and future DC of this Action sharply. Locked for all teachers who are not Inukar (insufficient Relationship).

    Crafting, Gathering & Shopping Actions:

    [ ] Gather Mushrooms - Unlocked by your knowledge of the Secret Mushroom Colony. Self-explanatory. Roll against DC ??? using either Lore: Alchemy or Lore: Magical Plants. On success, gain ???.

    [ ] Go to the Marketplace - You have money to spend and items to sell. You need to spend some time gearing up, finding tutors, spells, artifacts, items, and more. Activates Shopping Mini-Turn with more Actions within it (including "Find a Buyer" for your items), allowing the buying and selling of items and services.

    [ ] Search for Ingredients -     You don't know about a whole lot of Alchemical Ingredients, but you can go looking. Even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, you can scout out good places. Roll against DC ???. On success, find Ingredients. On critical success find a Location with Ingredients.

    [ ] Map out the Dorms -     Knowing who is where, asking your friends about who has which room and how to get to places quickly. Sort of creepy, but also might come in handy. No skill gains. Roll against DC 65, on success gain Item: Map of Dorms (Unfinished). +10 bonus to pranks and similar actions taken within the Dorms.

    Locked Actions:

    [ ] Tutor Madavian (Magical Theory) - Madavian needs tutoring. He's falling behind already! Roll against DC ??? (depends on Madavian) vs Lore: Magical Theory. Success increases Madavian's grasp on Magical Theory and Relationship by one step. Locked. Requires Madavian to ask, or you to offer.

    [ ] Craft Alchemical Recipe (Write-In) - Time to get your Alchemy on! Get in there and make something useful! Roll against DC ??? (depends on Recipe). Success adds Recipe to Inventory. Locked. Requires at least 1 rank in Craft: Alchemy. Requires access to Alchemical Equipment.
     
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    • 3.1 - Week 3 Weekdays
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    • Monday was different. For two weeks, he'd shown up at the lecture hall, ready to write down the theories that underpinned magic and learn more about what exactly constituted a sigil, or a rune, or an alchemical recipe.

    Today, he walked back towards Inukar's office. He knocked on the door, and it swung open.

    Instead of the brawny teacher he was used to, a skinny, potbellied wildhaired boy stood there. His hair spilled down in curls over his shoulders, and his clothes were spotted and stained.

    "Ulos?"

    "Yes."

    "I'm Edward Aster. Teach told me you're not an idiot."

    "Well, thank-"

    "Ratio between sphere size and line length in the domain of raw ether?"

    "Square root of five."

    "X is the size of a fire spell, AX is the size of an ether spell, where A is a semi-constant coefficient that indicates the magic usage on said spell. Where does A cease to be constant and start to become variable?"

    "Effect sizes of around... six metres in radius?"

    "Sphere or circle?"

    "Sphere?"

    "Wrong, ether spells and fire spells both deal with cubes. The geometric effect shape of a spell is mediated by its domain for the most part. This is basic, Ulos."

    Edward looked down at him, suddenly disinterested.

    "Ok. One more. Keeping all effects constant, transferring a spell from one domain to another. Causing a fire effect with the domain of water. How could you do that, and what sort of magic usage difference would you expect?"

    Ulos's brow furrowed.

    "The obvious thing is to make the effect size repeatable and intelligent and really small. Go after the water in the air, superheat it. The heat should come out in the air as fire, I think."

    "The energy usage?"

    "I'm not sure, but..."

    "Rough estimate. Orders of magnitude."

    "At least a thousand times more."

    "Ten thousand. Not the worst estimate, though. Fine. Sit down, I'll teach you about changing spell domains."

    Edward waved his fingers through the air, casually engraving a complicated sigil that flared a rainbow of colours briefly before disappearing. A sluice of water ran along a nearby blackboard, consuming itself once it had taken off the chalk.

    "So firstly, only an idiot thinks domains are fixed. Sure, fire is fire, water is water, ether is ether. So on and so forth. But you can replicate effects across domains. You can make water move with fire, or fire move with water. You can push the water around in the air with the air if you're delicate enough. The elements exist and respond to the Primordial Ether in different ways, but the Primordial Ether transcends physical laws in some ways. You can heat water with a water spell or a fire spell if you're so inclined. The first can even be easier if you know what you're doing. So.."

    Edward went on. Two hours later, he stopped.

    "Ulos, come with me. We'll get lunch."

    "I packed my own, so-"

    "Undying below, Ulos. We're not eating the bread you scavenged from the nearest bin. Come with me."

    The two left, Edward leading him down towards another building.

    "This is the nearest cafeteria for mages. Normally we're not allowed in, but I'm me and you're with me, so it'll be fine. Let's get something better than the slop they serve in the dormitories."

    It was a little building, with a single worker inside. On a large runed piece of metal large pieces of chicken sat, sizzling merrily. The man behind the counter stared intently at the chicken, deftly picking pieces off and placing them on plates when he deemed them done.

    "Tanaka. Two lots of chicken with a side of vegetables."

    "Sauce?"

    "Whatever you think it is best. You don't tell me how to tear apart the fabric of the universe and bend it to my will, I don't tell you how to burn meat."

    Tanaka laughed.

    "Don't mind him, young man. He's like this with everyone."

    Ulos looked up, but before he could speak Edward spoke again.

    "He can say that because he makes me lunch. You just make me waste time teaching when I could be researching."

    The two sat down, eating. Edward wolfed down his in thirty seconds flat, and engraved another symbol in the air.

    "So, as you can see, the transformation between elements is impossible because it depends on the spell's effect, and spells do not smoothly move from one domain to another, so..."

    It was hours later in Inukar's room that he was still being taught. Inukar had come in, looked at the two, picked up some papers and walked out. Edward had taken him back down for dinner, but today had been tremendous. Every time he'd asked a question, he'd gotten an answer rather than having to search through his book to find something tangential. This lesson had been useful beyond belief.

    (Magical Theory Tutoring Rolls: (4+1)+(4+1)+(2+1)+(3+1) = 17 * 4 = 68. Gained +4 Magical Theory. Current +16 Lore: Magical Theory (0/25 next level).

    At the end of the day (well into the night, to tell the truth), Edward had looked at him.

    "You're not as hopeless as I had thought. Not exactly brilliant, but you'll do for the moment. Apparently you're what passes for talent in your year, so I suppose I hardly have a choice. Get out. I'll see you next week."

    Ulos looked up at him. The other boy was insufferable and arrogant, but he had a right to be. The sheer level of knowledge he had displayed here had made Ulos lose track of time completely, and learn more than he thought was possible in a single day.


    The rest of his classes seemed so prosaic, so pointless after that. The only thing he was able to pay attention in was Spellweaving, so he could follow along more closely with what Edward did.

    (Training Roll: 2x4 = 8, Gained +0 Lore: Souls and Spirits. Current = +10 Lore: Souls and Spirits (16/20 next level))

    (Training Roll: 1x4 = 4. Gained +0 Lore: History. Current +10 Lore: History (5/20 next level))

    (Training Roll: 3x2 (Training Room allows use of Phys instead of Channeling) = 6. Gained 1 Spellweaving. Current state +4 Spellweaving (4/5 next level)


    "Hey, Madavian. Look, I know I study a lot, but I feel like we don't hang out as much as we could. How about you come to study group?"

    Madavian looked at him and shook his head.

    "Not really me, Ulos."

    "Aw, come on. I never have any time right now, and you're a friend. Hang out with me, even if you find it boring."

    (Madavian Relationship Roll - 32 + 30 (Trait: True Friend or No Friend) = 62 vs 50 DC. Relationship increased two steps!)

    Madavian shrugged.

    "All right. But don't expect me to learn anything."

    It was later on, in his study group things became different. History remained more-or-less the same, though he felt like he made valuable progress in magical theory.

    (Training Roll: 1x4 = 4. Gained +0 Lore: History. Current +10 Lore: History (9/20 next level))

    (Magical Theory Tutoring Rolls: 4 * 4 = 16. Gained +0 Magical Theory. Current +16 Lore: Magical Theory (16/25 next level).

    (Abraham Relationship Roll: 88 + 30 (Trait: True Friend or No Friend) = 118 vs DC 80. Relationship increased!)

    It was after this all, when Sunette left, that Madavian stood up.

    "Ulos... that was the most boring thing I've ever sat through."

    He sighed.

    "By which I mean I don't understand any of it. Now I don't need to be the best, but if my father sees me failing..."

    Madavian winced.

    "I don't like to ask, but..."

    Ulos shook his head.

    "I'll help out."

    Abraham stood up.

    "Mind helping me as well? I feel like I just don't grasp the half of it in class, let alone when you talk about... whatever this is."

    Ulos nodded.

    "Let me think, though. I'm going to need to figure out how to run this..."

    "I don't mean to impose, Ulos, but you're really good at this. And I need the help. I live on the floor of your room. Now you're out of class, I don't think the teacher even notices me. Thomas hasn't done anything, but I can't focus in class, let alone excel."

    Madavian laughed, a short, barking sound.

    "I don't like to ask for favours, but my friend just got invited to go study with some sort of genius while I'm still figuring out how to open the textbook. I'd really appreciate it. Maybe meet up once a week to tutor us?"

    Abraham interrupted.

    "It's ok if you just help us out occasionally, though."

    Ulos stopped for a moment, and thought. How was he going to do this?


    Another vote.

    [ ] Help Weekly - It's a big time commitment, and it requires wrangling your two friends. Madavian is smarter, but has the attention span of a sparrow. Abraham tries, but this simply isn't something he's good at naturally. However, they'll learn a lot faster and get better marks than they ever would learning by themselves.. Locks 1 Action per week (Weekend Action). Ulos spends 1 Willpower point, Madavian and Abraham both gain 2 Lore: Magical Theory Training Rolls. Major relationship boost to Madavian and Abraham.

    [ ] Help Occasionally - Tutor them when you can find the time. However, they won't be keeping up as well with their classes, and you won't be able to teach them what they need to know sequentially. Unlocks Action - Tutor your Friends. Madavian and Abraham both gain 1 Lore: Magical Theory Training Roll. Costs 1 Willpower. No Relationship change. Madavian and Abraham will occasionally ask you to help them, locking Actions at random, approximately 1 Action every 2 weeks on average.

    [ ] Don't Help - You don't have time for this! You need to study and get ahead yourself! They're your friends, sure, but that doesn't mean you can spend your time training them when you need to become the best mage you can! No Actions locked, lose Relationship steps with Madavian and Ulos. Locked due to Trait: True Friend or no Friend. Cannot be taken.
     
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    • 3.1.1 - End of Week 3 Weekdays and Weekend Vote
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    • Ulos thought about it.

    "Every week. Both of you. We'll come to the Library and study hard. I'll tutor you both. I'm pretty busy during the week though, especially now I've got my own tutoring. So we'll do it on the weekends."

    "You sure, Ulos? I know you like to study. And you've already done, well, a lot for me."

    Abraham looked at him with worried eyes.

    Ulos smiled.

    "Thomas is after all of us, you know. So we all need to do well, and do well together."

    Madavian sighed.

    "Alright. I'll come study boring magical theory every single week. When I'm head of the Family, though, Ulos, I'm never reading a book again!"

    They laughed together, and headed back for dinner.

    (Major bonus to relationship with Abraham and Madavian. Madavian gains Close Friend: Whirlwind Friendship. Abraham gains Close Friend: Devotedly Loyal. Bonuses gained!)


    Spending the money on Runes tutoring hadn't exactly been an easy decision. Ulos had definitely considered Alchemy, as the power there seemed to be much easier to extract for him than that of Runes.

    In the end, two things had dissuaded him. The first was how little magical theory seemed to apply to developing new alchemy. Being a great theorist had less of an impact, it seemed, on being a great Alchemist, and Ulos understood the value of being very good at related things. If he was to become a great Alchemist, he would see his other studies suffer. The second thing, of course, was that Thomas was taking Alchemy. Ulos had learned exactly one Alchemical Recipe, and that had taught him how precise and how time-consuming Alchemy was. If Thomas managed to screw up a single thing, he could lose valuable resources alongside not learning the actual material of the class.

    Runes was safer. Admittedly, he'd doubtfully be able to charge them himself, but Abraham apparently had some significant magical power. Madavian had a fair bit as well, and the other boy would almost certainly agree to charge a Rune for him if he asked - he didn't see Madavian spending his spare minutes and hours mastering spells with his magical power, so it was a fair bet he'd have some left over.

    He walked down to the city, ready to meet his tutor. Madavian had set it up for him, saying only that "Junotrin knows him", which had apparently got him nothing in the way of a discount. Ah well. Madavian might be sending a favour the other way, after all, and it wasn't as if he was desperately hurting for money. Having his new friend spend money at Junotrin businesses would probably help Ulos's relations with family Junotrin, which could help in the long run, he imagined.

    He had walked down the cobbled streets for about half an hour, eventually finding his way to the little house he had been told to go to.

    He rapped on the door three times sharply with his knuckles. He heard some movement inside, followed by the door opening.

    "Ulos?"

    "Yes, for my six o'clock tutoring session?"

    The man looked up at him. A tiny wizened gnome of a man, his tutor wore massive spectacles and had tufts of hair coming out of his ears.

    "Well, come in, come in. I'm Radalscalp Evans, no need for any formalities. Let's learn about runes!"

    The man led him inside.

    "So. How much do you already know?"

    "Well, runes and spells are different, right? One cares about brush order, one doesn't?"

    "So an introductory lesson, I suppose. Well, Mr. Ulos. Let me tell you about runes."

    The little man took a breath, inhaling for several seconds.

    "Runes are sigils in a sense. They care about what shape they are in. They care somehow that they were drawn by human efforts. But sigils are odd. They care about so many, many things. A sigil needs to have the right stroke order, needs to be drawn quickly. If you draw half a sigil and come back and draw another half of a sigil later you don't really have a sigil. You have two half-sigils in the same physical space, neither of which will likely work. A rune can be drawn over time. The most important thing is this, though. Runes are different depending on what they're drawn on."

    Ulos looked at him. Most of his magical theory had covered sigils so far, with very little on runes.

    "Do they not work if drawn on the wrong material?"

    Radalscalp chuckled.

    "Well, all sigils are fundamentally the same. Draw a sigil on paper or in the air, it's the same sigil. Some materials sigils prefer more accuracy in, but it's always the same effect. Runes don't work that way. With a rune, well..."

    His voice trailed off.

    "The common example is the rune for water. I'm sure you've heard it before. But you can't draw runes on water, because that's rather foolish. So instead, you create a reversed rune in copper, cast so it inscribes itself into water running over it. When the water runs over the rune, it activates. But that rune wouldn't work on copper. Almost all materials have different runic requirements. In this sense, runesmithing is a lot like alchemy. Alchemy cares a great deal about the ingredients you put in, but does not need your own magic. Runes care about which materials they're inscribed onto."

    (Runes Tutoring: (3+2+3)*4 = 32 . +4 Lore: Runes. Current is +7 Lore: Runes (2/10 next level)

    Radalscalp scratched at one of his ears, absentmindedly flicking at a tuft of hair.

    "So. You know this much. What you probably don't know is that runes can be applied to materials that they don't entirely fit. A rune of water can be inscribed on a tree, though it'll be weaker, as trees have water in them. A rune for iron can be inscribed on steel, but it'll behave poorly. Purity is in fact a major issue for runesmiths, given the power of some runes for tin and gold, and how badly runes perform on impure substances. And furthermore..."

    A few hours later he left, having learned quite a bit.


    Due to Ulos's Close Friendships, he has gained new bonuses.

    Madavian's Close Friendship offers Action: Family Money.     Ulos may ask Madavian to send home for money. The amount will largely be determined contextually (Madavian will not give Ulos money for no reason, but will be willing to invest in opportunities or help pay for emergencies), and will require Madavian to pass a Cha check. Madavian will also help Ulos in his attempts to meet people, permanently upgrading the Action for as long as Madavian is a Close Friend to Ulos.

    Abraham's Close Friendship offers Action: Combat Training.     Abraham's massive Physical Ability coupled with an excellent Magic Pool makes him the perfect combat mage. Already standing near the top of his class, he will be more than willing to undertake combat training with Ulos to upgrade his Combat-related skills as well as his Spellweaving skills. Abraham will also intercede in any combat-related option unless Ulos specifically asks him not to, allowing him to undertake Combat for Ulos if he engages in it while Abraham is nearby.

    You presently have 2 Willpower. 2 Willpower is locked behind your new Locked Action, Tutoring Session: Magical Theory. This pool will regenerate after this turn.

    Ulos will take 4 Actions, but one of these is locked in as Tutoring Your Friends. You cannot unlock this without abandoning the Tutoring Sessions entirely. As such, only 3 Actions will be taken from this list.

    Temporary/One-Off Actions:

    [ ] Appraise your Artifact - Sure, you can't do it, but you can find someone who can. Knowing what that Artifact does might be key to either keeping it or selling it for a good sum. Roll Cha vs DC (Moderate). Success offers information about Artifact. Failure offers no information. Critical failure offers completely false information. Roll will be hidden. Action is removed once either a success is rolled or a critical failure is rolled.


    Offensive/Defensive Actions:

    [ ] Scout out your Rivals - Pretty standard. Go spy on your enemies. Roll vs your Rival's roll to avoid being scouted. If you beat their Roll, gain +20 on all Actions against them (defensive or offensive) for the remainder of the week.

    [ ] Launch an Assault! - You have Itching Powder now, you can do something terrible (ly amusing)! Make your enemies itch in class to humiliate them, douse their clothes in it to force them to miss valuable learning sessions, or even convince onlookers they have some sort of disease. Roll vs your Rival's roll to succeed. A regular success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action. A major success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action and their classes for that day. A critical success will cause both these effects and cause them to be humiliated, reducing all Relationships with anyone who observes this humilation by one step.

    Training Actions:

    [ ] Start Studying (Write-In Subject) - You have your textbooks. Next step is reading through them. Sort of nerdy, but hey, aren't you here to learn? Gain a Training Roll associated with the subject you choose. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls. -1 to all Training Rolls of this sort due current roommate penalty.

    [ ] Relentlessly Practice Magical Combat -     Use some of your little magic to practice your Spellweaving. Abraham will help you, using his progidious Magic Pool to help you deal with, avoid, and retreat from spells. Gain a Training Roll on the lower of Combat: Evasion and Combat: Retreat, as well as a Training Roll vs Channeling. This will help Abraham practice his own Magical Combat. Willpower Upgrade offers a second Training Roll for the applicable Combat Skill. Shooting at you with fireballs is not easy for Abraham, who will spend 1 Willpower undertaking this Action.

    [ ] Study Group - The Study Group needs to get going if you're going to dominate your subjects. Get your books, get your bag, and head on over to the Library to get the librarians to let you into a study room. Gain a Training Roll for Lore: History or Lore: Theory of Magic (50% chance each). Possibly gain a step in relationship with Abraham (20+30=50% chance). Cannot be taken while Trait: Banned Doppelganger is active. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a Training Roll in both subjects. Can only be taken twice per Week max.

    [ ] Practice Spell (Write-In From Spellbook) -     Time to practice a spell. Get better, cast faster, cast cheaper. Roll against DC (??? depends on Spell). Takes ??? Magic Pool, where ??? is equal to a Spell's cost times 5. Character gains an additional Training roll if they still have more mana after practicing. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain an additional two Training Rolls if you have enough mana for it.

    [ ] Tutoring (Lore: Runes) - That horribly expensive Tutoring you paid for. Each Action provides 3 (!) Training Rolls to your Lore: Runes. No Willpower expenditure possible or required. Can only be taken two more times.


    Diplomacy and Discovery Actions:

    [ ] Hang Out With A Friend (Write-in Friend) - It's good to spend time with people you know. Maybe take a break, and hang with one of your friends. Available options include Madavian Junotrin and Abraham Quincey. Increase Relationship by one step. Roll against DC (Variable, depending on friendship level). On success, increase Relationship by another step.

    [ ] Madavian's Speed Dating Agency - With Madavian here to help you, you'll have an easier time of meeting new people. Gain two Diplomacy Rolls. Madavian's presence also offers one reroll, mitigating any unpleasant social consequences (reroll will be taken after both rolls, reroll will prioritize Critical Failures over regular Failures). Willpower upgrade - Spend 1 point to gain a third Diplomacy Roll.

    [ ] Go Exploring - It's a big campus, and you haven't seen the half of it. Who knows what you could find? Roll 1D100 vs ???. Success offers ???, failure offers ???. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a second roll. Spend 2 points to gain a third roll.

    [ ] Study your Magic Pool - You need to learn to meditate, focus, and understand what is happening in the Ether, and in yourself when you draw from it. Gaining such inner understanding may shed light on your Curse's functionality. Gain a Training Roll for Skill: Meditation versus Willpower.

    [ ] Suck Up To Inukar -     Figure out what they like. Do the research. Then suck up. Not hard in theory. Roll against DC 40 (depends on teacher) vs Cha and Lore: Magical Theory. Success increases teacher's Relationship by one step and future DC of this Action sharply. Locked for all teachers who are not Inukar (insufficient Relationship).

    Crafting, Gathering & Shopping Actions:

    [ ] Gather Mushrooms - Unlocked by your knowledge of the Secret Mushroom Colony. Self-explanatory. Roll against DC ??? using either Lore: Alchemy or Lore: Magical Plants. On success, gain ???.

    [ ] Go to the Marketplace - You have money to spend and items to sell. You need to spend some time gearing up, finding tutors, spells, artifacts, items, and more. Activates Shopping Mini-Turn with more Actions within it (including "Find a Buyer" for your items), allowing the buying and selling of items and services.

    [ ] Search for Ingredients -     You don't know about a whole lot of Alchemical Ingredients, but you can go looking. Even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, you can scout out good places. Roll against DC ???. On success, find Ingredients. On critical success find a Location with Ingredients.

    [ ] Map out the Dorms -     Knowing who is where, asking your friends about who has which room and how to get to places quickly. Sort of creepy, but also might come in handy. No skill gains. Roll against DC 65, on success gain Item: Map of Dorms (Unfinished). +10 bonus to pranks and similar actions taken within the Dorms.

    [ ] Family Money - Madavian would be happy to send away for money on your behalf (or spend some of his money on you and then replenish it later). However, he'd need a good reason to do so. Reason must be written in if no reason has come up in the thread. No Skill gains. Madavian rolls Cha vs DC (Variable) to gain a Variable number of Coins.

    Locked Actions:


    [ ] Craft Alchemical Recipe (Write-In) - Time to get your Alchemy on! Get in there and make something useful! Roll against DC ??? (depends on Recipe). Success adds Recipe to Inventory. Locked. Requires at least 1 rank in Craft: Alchemy. Requires access to Alchemical Equipment.

    [ ] Craft Rune (Write-In) - Time to create the greatest Rune ever! Well, maybe a normal Rune. But a useful one! Locked. Requires knowledge of at least 1 Rune. Requires access to the Materials needed to engrave the Rune.
     
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    • Lore Post: Paths to Power
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    • Ulos had read a fairly focused selection of books so far, but "Paths to Power: A Study of Great Mages" was well outside his usual selection.

    Still, while he was waiting for the others to arrive for their tutoring session, he figured it might make some interesting light reading...


    Chapter One: A Summary of the Paths

    Many who have read previous editions of this work have written to the publisher and complained that this book does not contain the secrets to power. To them, I say, of course not. If power could be obtained as easily as reading a single book, all of us would be archmages and the great schools and universities of Vorstal would not exist. So to make it clear - this is not a book that describes some mythical and secretive path to power. Rather, it is descriptive, looking at those mages who have come before us and what forms their power has taken as to see what paths might be open to us as practitioners and wielders of the Primordial Ether.

    In that light, I am writing to summarise the basic ways mages have come to power in the last three or four hundred years.

    There are fundamentally two Great Paths, as I am calling them. The first is the Path of Inner Strength, the path walked by those who use sigils most commonly and fight in great wars. Mages of this sort have strength within themselves, strength called forth at need. Whether that strength comes from raw magical power, endless practice of spells, or secret knowledge of more powerful sigils depends on the mage in question, but the simple truth when facing a mage of this Path is this: You must not fight them unprepared, for they will win.

    The second is the Path of Accumulation. This is perhaps less common - the Path of Accumulation sees most generally those mages who focus on Runecrafting, Artifact Forging, and Alchemy. Mages who prefer to accumulate powerful items and use them to outwit and destroy their opponents. The simplest rule for facing a mage of Accumulation is this: Do not face them on ground of their choosing, for they will win.

    The Path of Inner Strength sees three primary sorts of practitioner.

    The first is the combat mage, who I will call the Mage of Power. Usually marked by their high physical abilities and great Magic Pools, they are mages who tend to master a small variety of spells - shields, attacks, and mobility spells, and focus on wearing their enemies down. They know a few utility spells, but tend to prefer to focus a few limited spells so that they might cast quickly and accurately. The Mage of Power is the most dangerous mage to face unprepared, and the average practitioner should retreat immediately if faced with such a superior mage.

    The second is the Mage of Secret Knowledge. Even a weak mage can be a dangerous opponent with secret knowledge. Most defenses are built to counter common spells, or common forms of attack. The more esoteric and unknown a vector of attack is, the harder it can be to defend against. Those mages with secret knowledge unknown to others can circumvent enemy defenses with ease, taking down more powerful opponents with little effort. The Mage of Secret Knowledge is the mage one should generally attack immediately, as they are generally focused entirely on a small array of tremendously esoteric spells, and their defenses are rarely all that powerful.

    The third is the Physical Alchemist. Rare among mages, the great Physical Alchemists number less than ten in recorded history, but each is tremendously powerful for a few simple reasons. The first is this: Magic is usually reliant on a mage's reflexes and a mage's dexterity in terms of casting. A Physical Alchemist tends to use a great many concoctions that sit in the body, often keeping a single pill or vial that activates them all, making them inhumanly fast and impossibly strong. While their casting is weak, a mage capable of covering ten or twenty times the ground you might in the same timeframe, and who can cast ten times as fast is a nearly impossible combat opponent.

    All powerful Alchemists tend to specialise in Physical Alchemy to some degree - where Runesmiths might have powerful charged defenses, an Alchemist generally has at least three or four concoctions in their body at any time, ready to be activated. For the most part these tend to be speed and awareness potions - helping an Alchemist escape to a superior position. An Alchemist who eschews mere escape can be so quick that even their inferior casting skills and lesser spell knowledge can overcome an enemy through sheer saturation. The easiest way to defeat a Physical Alchemist is to to know a decent flight sigil, or some form of spell that allows you to escape temporarily. Their Alchemy will soon be exhausted, upon which you should be able to kill them at your leisure.

    Conversely, the Path of Accumulation only really sees three sorts of practitioner.

    Firstly, the Runesmith. Forging Runes and Artifacts to form a nearly perfect defense, selling these to allow others to charge their equipment, leaving them never defenseless. A Runesmith might have eight or nine different sorts of defenses up at all times, as well as a layer of generalized defense that stops almost any sort of attack once and alerts them to the strike. Runesmiths tend to engrave their surroundings as well, empowering various defenses and awareness Runes in their smithy or laboratory. A Runesmith should never be confronted in their place of power. Even the most powerful combat mages tend to simply die in such situations. An enemy who can be prepared for any vector of attack and have a counter that automatically acts upon you is simply too powerful to fight. However, Runesmiths must leave their laboratories at some point, upon which they tend to be eminently vulnerable.

    Secondly, the Grand Alchemist. Unlike the Physical Alchemist, the Grand Alchemist tends to focus on peculiar traits to transfer in order to make their Alchemy ever more powerful. They tend to have a great many concotions and powers. They are the least powerful of all mages, at least personally. Grand Alchemists are researchers first and foremost, but the utility of their potions and poultices means that many other mages will pay to defend them. They tend to defend their laboratories with a mixture of runes and Alchemy-enhanced creatures. One of the most common Alchemical defense mechanisms is empower dogs or other trained animals to absurd levels, making them fast and incredibly deadly. Grand Alchemists are not strong as such, nor are they particularly threatening in combat, and few seek to kill them. Generally speaking, given the frustrating way in which Alchemy forces a mage to specialize away from other fields, it is best to befriend Alchemists - you do not want to be stuck making your own healing philters.

    Thirdly, the Magical Theorist. The Theorist is a peculiar sort of mage, hardly making anything of their own. Rather, they assist other mages in altering their runes and sigils, acquiring knowledge along the way. A Theorist is the most delicate of all mages, those often Theorists find themselves verging on being Mages of Secret Knowledge, as well. As weak as your average Magical Theorist is, though, it is entirely better to befriend them. Killing one will often find you all sorts of trouble, as those who can assist mages of true power reach higher potential have many allies. If you must kill them, do it swiftly and silently, with a common spell anyone could have used.
     
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    • 3.2.1 - Week 3 Saturday
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    • It was early in the day when the three got up. Ulos had thought about this the night before.

    "Madavian."

    "Yeah?"

    Ulos frowned, and looked down at him from his perch on the top bunk.

    "Can you help me meet people?"

    Madavian looked up at him, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

    "Yes, technically. Any people, or someone in particular?"

    "Just... other students. I feel like I don't know anyone beyond you two, and as much as we're friends, I think we should maybe branch out a little bit."

    "Fair enough. Look, I figure if you want to do this, we do it right. Let me introduce you to some people I've met. Breakfast first, then we go meet people, ok?"

    "Sure thing."

    Abraham grunted from his position on the floor, legs under Madavian's bed.

    "Count me out. I've met enough people, thank you very much. I'll stick around here, look over my Magical Theory books. We're still on for this evening, Ulos?"

    Ulos nodded.

    "Yeah."

    They walked down to breakfast together, quickly showering - two showering at a time while one stood guard, and then the last one showering once the other two had dried out. These little pieces of paranoia seemed to be coming into his life again, Ulos thought. Where he had been paranoid in the Empire, he had spent a few glorious weeks simply thinking about learning, and then he had gone and picked a fight. Still, life was like that. If you didn't have enemies, they tended to find you for some reason or another, unless you were too weak to be noticeable. On the whole, he decided, he'd rather have enemies with power than have no enemies and no power.

    Breakfast was a simple affair - bread and soup, not the usual fare they had on weekends. They ate quietly, and afterwards Madavian stood up.

    "Alright, Ulos. Come meet someone."

    Madavian walked over to another table.

    "Henrietta."

    He looked down at a girl who was perhaps as normal as Madavian was odd. Where Madavian wore ridiculous glasses and coloured his hair flashily, this girl had twin braids, a pair of neat horn-rimmed glasses, and wore a quiet, conservative grey dress.

    "Junotrin. What do you want?"

    Madavian struck his hand to his chest.

    "Henrietta, I'm hurt! I thought we were friends!"

    "No, Madavian. My mother happens to be friends with your father. Junotrin and Aufstadt are allies. Ideally we'd be allies from much further away, but unfortunately life doesn't yield everything you want immediately. Don't worry, though. Once I'm head of the Family, I'll buy you a nice island in the Archipelago so I never have to see you again. Not that I'm likely to ever be head, but a girl can dream."

    The words were delivered in a tired monotone, as if this conversation had been had before.

    "Gosh, Henrietta. Don't worry, just because you don't think we're friends doesn't mean I'll stop being your friend. In fact, I'm such a good friend I thought I'd introduce you to someone you'll find interesting. Ulos, this is Henrietta Aufstadt. She's a boring old lady stuck in a boring young lady's body. Henrietta, this is Ulos. He reads more books than you, so surely you'll be friends."

    She looked him up and down.

    "Literacy is hardly a prerequisite for friendship, Madavian. Thought I admit in your case the lack of it is somewhat jarring. Why should I be interested in him?"

    Madavian looked down at her, smiling widely.

    "Ask him about magical theory, Henry."

    "Henrietta."

    "    Heeeennnnry."

    She sniffed, and turned away.

    A few moments later she turned back.

    "Please tell me you know something about magical theory and you're not as insufferable as this one."

    Ulos smiled nervously.

    "Um, I could definitely tell you about the basic elements of transformation between domains and some of the mathematical underpinnings of switching spell domains."

    Her eyes narrowed.

    "How would you know that? We haven't even covered that in class yet, and even being far ahead in the book... wait, I haven't seen you in class. You are a first year, right?"

    Ulos nodded.

    "I'm just being tutored outside of class, after Mage Inukar thought it was a good idea."

    Her entire body snapped around to face him, her eyes intent.

    "That was you?"

    (Diplomacy Roll: 86 + 10 (Cha) = 96 vs DC 40 (Family Junotrin Ally!). Excellent success!)

    "    Yes?"

    "Well. Sit down, Ulos. Madavian, go away. Nobody likes you anyway."

    Madavian shrugged, and spoke.

    "I like me."

    By then, though, Henrietta was already ignoring him, asking Ulos questions at the speed of bullets about magical theory. He did his best to answer, and the two sat there discussing theory for around half an hour.

    Henrietta smiled at the end.

    "Madavian was right. You are moderately interesting. Anyway, I'm off, but talk later."

    (Gained Relationship: Henrietta Aufstadt. Acquaintance: Academic Peer)


    Madavian found him against at lunch.

    "Ulos! Come meet my next friend!"

    "Are they really your friend, Madavian?"

    Madavian looked not at all abashed.

    "Everyone's my friend, Ulos. Unless I don't want them to be. Now, come on."

    They'd just finished lunch, when Madavian took them outside.

    As they came towards a girl, her eyes narrowed.

    "You didn't tell me he was Empire, Madavian."

    "We're all Empire, Lucy. I mean, if you go back far enough. Poor Ulos here was just born a little earlier than the rest of us, geographically speaking."

    "That doesn't even make any sense."

    Madavian smiled at her. This girl was tall and lanky, towering over the two boys, though she still would've been towered over herself by Abraham. Her hair was short, cut nearly back to her scalp, and her frame was wiry and muscular.

    "Look, I know you like Souls and Spirits, right? I mean, I don't, but Ulos is pretty knowledgeable."

    "Really?"

    "Yeah, he knows about the light in the room or something."


    The girl looked at him, bright blue eyes suddenly interested.

    "You can see in the darkness of the classroom? You figured it out? That was you?"

    Ulos nodded nervously.

    "Um, yes. It's pretty basic once you figure it out, though a lot of luck was involved."

    She smiled suddenly, going from suspicious to utterly friendly.

    "I'm Lucy. Lucy Firefield. I know, I know. The name is from my great-great-whatever-grandfather when he fought against the Empire back in the Rebellion. No hard feelings, right?"

    Ulos was a little shocked. This was a little different from the last few times he'd met Narubite students.

    "Well, no. I mean, I didn't fight in the war."

    She laughed.

    "That's the spirit! A lot of Narubites hate you all because you're the Empire, but Madavian said you were a flit. Basically every Narubite was a flit before we rose up, you know? I think it's silly not have the notion of solidarity, I mean, you probably suffer worse than we do from the Undying. Bunch of bony jackasses. Still, it's not like I'd be popular being friends with you..."

    She took a breath, and Ulos flinched.

    "But then, I wasn't really popular before. No skin off my face, you know."

    "Nose?"

    "No, know."

    "Huh?"

    Lucy laughed.

    "Look, I figure bad history between nations doesn't mean bad history between people."

    Ulos nodded.

    "You know, I think a lot of it is overblown. When the war happened, virtually all those Undying who ruled the region were killed. The remainder almost certainly helped Narubar get free, even if it was just them trying to destroy their rivals."

    (Diplomacy Roll: 23 + 10 = 33 vs DC 80 (Narubite). Major failure! Reroll! 76 + 10 (Cha) + 10 (Lore: History) = 96 vs DC 80. Bare pass!)

    Lucy's eyebrows rose.

    "Huh. I didn't know that."

    Ulos smiled.

    "Yeah. Anyway, what are you doing here? Out to practice something, or go for a run?"

    Lucy shook her head.

    "You know, I only know this pink-haired one because he helped me out buying school equipment. Met him down at the marketplace a few weeks back, got me some good bargains. Then he comes into day, asking if I wanted to meet his friend, so here I am. Thought he was going to try and set me up. Not that I'd say no, but my ideal man is more..."

    She waved her hands.

    "Gigantic and shooting fire from his hands and nostrils. It's a family thing. Anyway, how did you do the Spirit stuff?"

    "Well, I..."

    The two chatted for a bit. Ulos didn't exactly feel like he'd made a friend, but being able to talk to someone from Narubar without them being the enemy was surprising.

    (Gained Relationship: Lucy Firefield. Acquaintance: That One Empire Guy)


    At dinner, Madavian looked over at him, and jerked his thumb towards another table.

    "Again?"

    Ulos whispered at Madavian somewhat despairingly.

    "Oh, come on Ulos, it'll be fun!"

    He led Ulos over to a nearby table.

    "Hi, this is Ulos! I'm Madavian!"

    (Diplomacy Roll: 45+10 (Cha) = 55 vs DC 60. Bare failure!)

    A boy looked up from the table.

    "Please go away."

    "Oh, come on!"

    "No, we're eating dinner. I'm sure you're perfectly nice, but please, don't bother us."

    The other people sitting at the table nodded, or ignored them.

    Madavian sighed, and walked away.

    "Ah, well Ulos. Can't win them all."



    Later on, they were in the Library, Ulos tutoring the two about Magical Theory.

    "Madavian. Again. Reinald's First Theorem, in maths."

    "Um... x..."

    Ulos sighed in frustration.

    "Here. Write it down ten times. Then try reciting it to me again.

    "But Ulos, this is so boring. Can't we go meet more people?"

    Ulos looked down at Madavian.

    "Twenty more times."

    Madavian shook his head.

    "I'm going to die here. Die writing in a book! How does that make you feel, Ulos! Killing your friends with books and learning?"

    Ulos ground his teeth.

    "Write. It. Down."

    If he'd had any idea Madavian was going to be so dramatic about the entire thing, he would've said no. Getting the other boy to sit down and focus was like pulling teeth, and right now it felt like they were his own.

    It was several hours later when they'd left, Madavian having finally memorized the first two Theorems. Not that he could explain them, but at least he could recite them. That was... something. Abraham on the other hand had made slow progress. Ulos was surprised at how far the two were behind. Admittedly, he was probably halfway through the term's work already, but those two didn't seem like they'd even finished the first week!

    Madavian looked over at Ulos.

    "Hey Ulos."

    "What?"

    The words came out in an angry tone, and Ulos immediately regretted them.

    "Hey, don't worry. I'm not good at this, and I know I'm no fun to deal with. I was going to ask, though. Henrietta's pretty obsessed about being the best at magic, so she'd probably join your study group if you asked. Lucy... well, I figure she'd might be interested as well. To be honest, Sunette and you don't seem close at all anymore, and Abraham... he can't keep up with you. He's a great guy, but he's not the best at studying, sort of like me."

    Ulos thought about this. What to do?


    [ ] Invite Henrietta - Henrietta is clearly really interested in Magical Theory, so her joining the Study Group isn't really that much of a jump. It'd give you a good opportunity to make friends with her, too.
    + Having a intellectual rival will help keep you sharp.
    + Has similar interests to you, will allow sharing of research.
    + Highly likely to succeed.
    + Study Group offers a free Diplomacy roll for anyone you invite to it.
    - Aufstadt and Kerek don't like each other, so Sunette will be rubbed the wrong way and possibly leave the Study Group.
    - Really locks you in to the Aufstadt-Junotrin Family alliance side of things in Vorstal.
    - Abraham is kind of antsy right now, may upset him.


    [ ] Invite Lucy - Lucy might not seem super interested in studying with you, but she's friendly in general, so she'd likely say yes. I mean, probably.
    + Will unlock Souls and Spirits option in Study Group.
    + Make a Narubite friend!
    + Study Group offers a free Diplomacy roll for anyone you invite to it.
    = Moderately likely to succeed
    - Inviting a Narubite to the Study Group is really going to upset Abraham.
    - Doesn't offer a whole lot in terms of History or Magical Theory.

    [ ] Invite Both - Heck, get the whole gang together! Invite everyone!
    + Will unlock Souls and Spirits option in Study Group.
    + Pros of both options otherwise.
    + Get two free Diplomacy rolls!
    - Bringing in two new people makes it less likely you'll get either one. Lower chance of success per person.
    - Abraham is likely to be really put off his game. Two new people and one is from Narubar? He might freak out quite badly.
    - Cons of both options.

    [ ] Invite Neither - Easier on the group dynamic. Keeps all your current friends there, and allows you to proceed at your own pace
    + Changes nothing, can still make friends with your new acquaintances.
    - Changes nothing, but lose the opportunity to challenge yourself with new intellectual rivals in the Study Group.
     
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    Term Timetable
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    • The full learning period at the Preparatory is four years, though it is possible to matriculate early after three, though this is rare and normally offered as an alternative to expulsion or failure to wealthier students.

    There are three terms a year, each consisting of ten weeks. At the end of each term there is a two week exam period, though all the exams are at the very end of those two weeks. You then get a two week holiday. At the end of Term 3, the standard 2 week exam period applies, but then there's a ten week holiday period, where teachers buckle down and focus on research, and students either go home or assist with said research.

    Essentially there are four sorts of Phases to the game each year.

    First is the Term Phase, which will be Weekday Turns and Weekend Turns. You study, take Actions, and occasionally deal with a Crisis.

    The Exam Phase is the first real test phase, quite literally. Good exam results determine whether you pass or fail, your overall grade (which matters very little in truth - either you can bend reality with your mind or you can't), and what sort of options in terms of electives you might open up in future. The Exam Phase will simply be two Week Turns, followed by exam results.

    Afterwards comes the Holiday Phase. You'll generally get an option to go somewhere or do something (heading on a minor Adventure), or just take two Week Turns. This is different from all prior Phases because you're able to leave the school grounds for extended periods of time.

    Lastly is the End-of-Year Phase, after Term 3. The End-of-Year Phase is twelve Week Turns, and usually encompasses either a major research project, an major Adventure, or simply a lot of study. You'll almost invariably get some interesting options for the End-of-Year Phase.

    Below is the timetable, as well.

    Week 1-10 - Term 1
    Week 11-12 Term 1 Exams
    Week 13-14 - Break 1
    Week 15-24 - Term 2
    Week 25-26 - Term 2 Exams
    Week 27-28 - Break 2
    Week 29-38 - Term 3
    Week 39-40 - Term 3 Exams
    Week 41-52 - Summer Sabbatical
     
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    • 3.2.2 - Sunday and Week 4 Weekdays Vote
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    • The study group was tomorrow. Ulos thought about this for a moment.

    "Let's invite Henrietta."

    Ulos's tutoring session for the two ended, and they went back to bed.

    It was at breakfast when Madavian looked around, somewhat worried.

    "She's not here. That's... odd."

    They went throughout the day, and Ulos left Madavian to go practice his meditation.

    (Henrietta Roll - 1 vs DC 10 (DC low due to high Magical Theory skill!) - Critical failure! Bad things happen!)

    Ulos was busy reading the Six Hundred Meditations - fairly boring, mostly breathing exercises, and visualization exercises to better see his Magic Pool. He sat for an hour, trying to visualize his connection to the Primordial Ether as a stream rushing down a mountain, breathing in and out.

    (Arcane Meditation Training Roll = 1x5 (Willpower) = 5. Current rank is +1 Arcane Meditation (0/5).)

    He felt as though he'd learned a little, but didn't feel anything particularly interesting or useful. Ah, well. Not every day would be productive.

    It was later on that he decided on going to the study group that Madavian caught up with him.

    Huffing and puffing, the other boy looked really worried.

    "Ulos! Ulos!"

    Ulos looked over.

    "What is it?"

    "Henrietta. She's..."

    Madavian drew breath.

    "She's... suspended."

    "Suspended?"

    "Something about academic misconduct. No Library access for one weeks, no lessons for the week. It's pretty bad, they think she was cheating."

    "Was she?"

    "I.. don't see how Henry would've cheated. She's so prim and proper. I mean, it's possible, but on a meaningless test this early into the year? It doesn't make any sense."

    Ulos's mind whirled.

    "Tell me, Madavian. Is Henrietta close enough to you to be worth targeting for Thomas?"

    Madavian thought for a second, and cursed under his breath.

    "Minor member of a Family allied to me? Not super popular? Yeah, it makes sense. Hit the weak targets your enemies rely on for general support, and hit them just hard enough that they feel like you can't protect them. Don't anger them too much, because then they'll hunker down with their allies, but make it clear you could've hit harder, and they'll abandon their alliances. That's what father would tell me to do in this sort of a situation."

    "Could he have done it?"

    Madavian looked down.

    "You weren't there this week in class, and in testing. Abraham and I are pretty close with our tests, make sure nobody sees them, touches them, so on and so forth. I don't bother to guard Henry, because she's got her own group of friends, though friends might be a strong word. She's sort of the middle part of her Family - important enough to send, but not so important that hitting her is an open declaration of war."

    Ulos found his face morphing into a snarl.

    "Damnit! I feel like we're always behind whatever he's doing. Getting someone suspended?"

    "Sure, but we were going to do that to him, so..."

    Ulos shrugged.

    "Alright. We've got to do something about this."

    Madavian's eyebrows went up.

    "We just lost this round, Ulos. Politics isn't played tit for tat. You take advantages where you see them and defend disadvantages where you can. What would you do to stop this?"

    Suddenly, Madavian looked interested.

    "We hit them back. Hard. Get in there, use the itching powder we brought, destroy-"

    "Which is exactly what they'd expect. Accumulate proof and see if they can get a teacher to catch you. Provoke attacks from your enemy when your enemy is unable to attack cohesively. This is basic, Ulos. No, we need to plan if we're going to hit back. Or look at getting Henry back onside. I'm not losing my father a useful alliance right now."

    Unlocked Action - [ ] Assist Henrietta - Henrietta is forbidden to go to class or the Library at the moment, but you can do some of those things for her. Take your subject material in shared classes to her, and borrow books on her behalf (using her Library Chits). Taking this Action will mitigate the diplomatic effects of Henrietta's suspension to you, allowing her to join your Study Group. Due to trying to take extra notes, gain extra class materials, etc, this Action will inflict a -1 penalty on all in-class Training Rolls for the week.

    The Study Group afterwards was fairly boring, a little magical theory that Ulos felt he was far ahead on anyway, though he managed to sketch out a few useful symbols that were related to the runic theory he had studied earlier. History felt stultifying and tedious, and his interest felt as though it had be waning for some time over the past few weeks.

    (Training Roll: 4x4 = 16. Gained +1 Magical Theory. Current +17 Lore: Magical Theory (7/25 next level).

    (Training Roll: 2x4 = 8. Gained +0 Lore: History. Current +10 Lore: History (17/20 next level))

    Besides, the concern he had was not for the various bits and pieces of magic he'd learned, but rather for the enemy who had managed to outmaneuver him and Madavian - if this continued, they could be in a great deal of trouble.


    You presently have 3 Willpower. 2 Willpower is locked behind your new Locked Action, Tutoring Session: Magical Theory. This pool will not regenerate this turn, and must last for this turn and the next.

    Ulos will take 4 Actions, but one of these is locked in as Tutoring Session: Magical Theory. You cannot unlock this without abandoning the Tutoring Sessions entirely. As such, only 3 Actions will be taken from this list.

    Temporary/One-Off Actions:

    [ ] Appraise your Artifact - Sure, you can't do it, but you can find someone who can. Knowing what that Artifact does might be key to either keeping it or selling it for a good sum. Roll Cha vs DC (Moderate). Success offers information about Artifact. Failure offers no information. Critical failure offers completely false information. Roll will be hidden. Action is removed once either a success is rolled
    or a critical failure is rolled.

    [ ] Assist Henrietta - Henrietta is forbidden to go to class or the Library at the moment, but you can do some of those things for her. Take your subject material in shared classes to her, and borrow books on her behalf (using her Library Chits). Taking this Action will mitigate the diplomatic effects of Henrietta's suspension to you, allowing her to join your Study Group. Due to trying to take extra notes, gain extra class materials, etc, this Action will inflict a -1 penalty on all in-class Training Rolls for the week. If not taken this week, Henrietta will refuse to join your Study Group or become friends with you.

    Offensive/Defensive Actions:

    [ ] Scout out your Rivals - Pretty standard. Go spy on your enemies. Roll vs your Rival's roll to avoid being scouted. If you beat their Roll, gain +20 on all Actions against them (defensive or offensive) for the remainder of the week.

    [ ] Launch an Assault! - You have Itching Powder now, you can do something terrible (ly amusing)! Make your enemies itch in class to humiliate them, douse their clothes in it to force them to miss valuable learning sessions, or even convince onlookers they have some sort of disease. Roll vs your Rival's roll to succeed. A regular success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action. A major success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action and their classes for that day. A critical success will cause both these effects and cause them to be humiliated, reducing all Relationships with anyone who observes this humilation by one step.

    Training Actions:

    [ ] Start Studying (Write-In Subject) - You have your textbooks. Next step is reading through them. Sort of nerdy, but hey, aren't you here to learn? Gain a Training Roll associated with the subject you choose. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls. -1 to all Training Rolls of this sort due current roommate penalty.

    [ ] Relentlessly Practice Magical Combat -     Use some of your little magic to practice your Spellweaving. Abraham will help you, using his progidious Magic Pool to help you deal with, avoid, and retreat from spells. Gain a Training Roll on the lower of Combat: Evasion and Combat: Retreat, as well as a Training Roll vs Channeling. This will help Abraham practice his own Magical Combat. Willpower Upgrade offers a second Training Roll for the applicable Combat Skill. Shooting at you with fireballs is not easy for Abraham, who will spend 1 Willpower undertaking this Action.

    [ ] Study Group - The Study Group needs to get going if you're going to dominate your subjects. Get your books, get your bag, and head on over to the Library to get the librarians to let you into a study room. Gain a Training Roll for Lore: History or Lore: Theory of Magic (50% chance each). Possibly gain a step in relationship with Abraham (20+30=50% chance). Cannot be taken while Trait: Banned Doppelganger is active. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a Training Roll in both subjects. Can only be taken twice per Week max.

    [ ] Practice Spell (Write-In From Spellbook) -     Time to practice a spell. Get better, cast faster, cast cheaper. Roll against DC (??? depends on Spell). Takes ??? Magic Pool, where ??? is equal to a Spell's cost times 5. Character gains an additional Training roll if they still have more mana after practicing. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain an additional two Training Rolls if you have enough mana for it.

    [ ] Tutoring (Lore: Runes) - That horribly expensive Tutoring you paid for. Each Action provides 3 (!) Training Rolls to your Lore: Runes. No Willpower expenditure possible or required. Can only be taken two more times.


    Diplomacy and Discovery Actions:

    [ ] Hang Out With A Friend (Write-in Friend) - It's good to spend time with people you know. Maybe take a break, and hang with one of your friends. Available options include Madavian Junotrin and Abraham Quincey. Increase Relationship by one step. Roll against DC (Variable, depending on friendship level). On success, increase Relationship by another step.

    [ ] Madavian's Speed Dating Agency - With Madavian here to help you, you'll have an easier time of meeting new people. Gain two Diplomacy Rolls. Madavian's presence also offers one reroll, mitigating any unpleasant social consequences (reroll will be taken after both rolls, reroll will prioritize Critical Failures over regular Failures). Willpower upgrade - Spend 1 point to gain a third Diplomacy Roll.

    [ ] Go Exploring - It's a big campus, and you haven't seen the half of it. Who knows what you could find? Roll 1D100 vs ???. Success offers ???, failure offers ???. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a second roll. Spend 2 points to gain a third roll.

    [ ] Study your Magic Pool - You need to learn to meditate, focus, and understand what is happening in the Ether, and in yourself when you draw from it. Gaining such inner understanding may shed light on your Curse's functionality. Gain a Training Roll for Skill: Meditation versus Willpower.

    [ ] Suck Up To Inukar -     Figure out what they like. Do the research. Then suck up. Not hard in theory. Roll against DC 40 (depends on teacher) vs Cha and Lore: Magical Theory. Success increases teacher's Relationship by one step and future DC of this Action sharply. Locked for all teachers who are not Inukar (insufficient Relationship).

    Crafting, Gathering & Shopping Actions:

    [ ] Gather Mushrooms - Unlocked by your knowledge of the Secret Mushroom Colony. Self-explanatory. Roll against DC ??? using either Lore: Alchemy or Lore: Magical Plants. On success, gain ???.

    [ ] Go to the Marketplace - You have money to spend and items to sell. You need to spend some time gearing up, finding tutors, spells, artifacts, items, and more. Activates Shopping Mini-Turn with more Actions within it (including "Find a Buyer" for your items), allowing the buying and selling of items and services.

    [ ] Search for Ingredients -     You don't know about a whole lot of Alchemical Ingredients, but you can go looking. Even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, you can scout out good places. Roll against DC ???. On success, find Ingredients. On critical success find a Location with Ingredients.

    [ ] Map out the Dorms -     Knowing who is where, asking your friends about who has which room and how to get to places quickly. Sort of creepy, but also might come in handy. No skill gains. Roll against DC 65, on success gain Item: Map of Dorms (Unfinished). +10 bonus to pranks and similar actions taken within the Dorms.

    [ ] Family Money - Madavian would be happy to send away for money on your behalf (or spend some of his money on you and then replenish it later). However, he'd need a good reason to do so. Reason must be written in if no reason has come up in the thread. No Skill gains. Madavian rolls Cha vs DC (Variable) to gain a Variable number of Coins.

    Locked Actions:


    [ ] Craft Alchemical Recipe (Write-In) - Time to get your Alchemy on! Get in there and make something useful! Roll against DC ??? (depends on Recipe). Success adds Recipe to Inventory. Locked. Requires at least 1 rank in Craft: Alchemy. Requires access to Alchemical Equipment.

    [ ] Craft Rune (Write-In) - Time to create the greatest Rune ever! Well, maybe a normal Rune. But a useful one! Locked. Requires knowledge of at least 1 Rune. Requires access to the Materials needed to engrave the Rune.
     
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