Remove ads

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

Reader mode
Remove ads
0.4 - Apologies and Class Lists
  • Threadmarks
    • Breakfast was a quiet affair, and Ulos didn't say much. Madavian was quiet as well. Eggs and bacon served on freshly-made bread,

    "Hey, Madavian. I'm going to go check out the class list. See you later, all right?"

    Madavian nodded.

    "Sure thing, Ulos. I'll see you later?"

    "Yeah. See you later. I'm heading up to my room first, though, I need a notebook, just in case they don't have any paper there to write stuff down on."

    The events of last night ran through his head. Sure, Madavian had screwed up, but they'd gone and learned things. He'd figured out the basics of a spell! The guy had helped him out a lot, and he shouldn't have been so cruel. So what if Madavian had been excited and forgot about dinner? It was his first day at a school where you learn magic! That's the sort of thing that makes you forget. Nodding to himself, he resolved to apologise at the first available opportunity.

    (Crafting an Apology: 11 + 10 = 21 vs DC 60. Moderate failure)

    Entering his room, Ulos unlocked the cupboard and took out one of his precious notebooks. Paper was expensive, but having notes on every class and being able to talk to Madavian about them before tomorrow would be valuable. He didn't have the same background a lot of the students had, and knowing the best classes for his particular personality and abilities would be crucial to getting ahead early.

    The door swung open, and Madavian walked in.

    "Hey."

    "Uh, hi, Madavian."

    "I'm just getting some stuff, and I'll be out of your way, don't worry."

    Ulos winced.

    "No, wait. I, um, I want to apologise."

    The other boy looked at him, his eyes suddenly focused on Ulos's, watching him intently.

    "Oh?"

    "Well, um... yesterday. Calling you an idiot wasn't right. I'm sorry. I don't care if you're stupid, you're still a good guy."

    "You don't care if I'm stupid?"

    "I mean, um..."

    Ulos's voice trailed off, and an awkward silence hung in the air. A few seconds later, Madavian laughed, breaking the mood.

    "It's okay. I'm sure when you say that sort of thing in the Empire it's just considered blunt, but in Vorstal we're a little more subtle. Even if you think someone's stupid, don't say it, yeah? My father always says if an idiot knows you think he's an idiot, then you're the real idiot."

    "Thanks. Sorry, I'm not good at this."

    Madavian laughed again.

    "It's okay, it's okay. If you were another member of the Families I'd have to do something to protect my reputation, but nobody heard us and you didn't mean anything by it. Water under the bridge. I'd come with you to check out the class lists, but my father has already given me a list of the classes I'm enrolling in, so not much point for me. Plus as much fun as you are, one of the girls at breakfast was really pretty. I think she might be from the Pact, and you know how they are."

    He winked.

    "See you later, Ulos."

    (Relationship with Madavian improved one step. Back to where they were before Ulos's poor choice of words.)

    Ulos made his way down to Enrolments, which was surprisingly close. Only a few buildings away, he expected the line would be out the door for people just like him. Instead, when he wandered in he found small clusters of people around the second and third-year boards. With his notepad in hand, he saw pencils tied to the various desks and things around the boards. The first-year board had no-one else there, as he studied one side carefully.

    (Check out the class list - 80 vs DC 80. Bare pass! Gain benefit - social opportunity)

    A moment later, a girl stepped out from the other side. She was tall, and pretty in a sort of angular way. Her hair was drawn back, and through it was a dyed blue streak.

    Ulos looked at her.

    "Here to look at classes too?"

    She eyed him for a moment.

    "Empire?"

    "Am I from the Empire, you mean?"

    "Yes."

    "I am, but-"


    "I'm a Narubite. We don't generally associate with you, you know."

    She smiled for a moment, almost mocking the statement.

    (Diplomacy roll: 1 + 10 (CHA) - 20 (Narubite) + 10 (Fortunate Encounter) = 1 vs DC 50. CRITICAL FAILURE)

    "Well, there's good reason for that."

    Ulos tried to joke in return, but his words fell flat, sounding accusing even in his ears.

    "Pardon?"

    "I mean-"

    "No, what is the good reason? You think you're better than me, Empire?"

    Ulos snapped. Who in the Primordial was this Narubite, and who did she think she was talking to? He'd given up everything to be here, she was probably here on a free ride from her government so they could get another mage! Anyone in Narubar could become a mage if they had the gift and some desire to work, he'd given up his power, his family, his life to be here. He could've spent that money to live comfortably forever, but he'd chosen otherwise.

    "Well, for one, your nation is barely two hundred years old. You're ruled by savages who kill anyone researching the Higher Magics, you-"

    "The Higher Magics? You mean Necromancy? There's a good reason we put necromancers to death in Narubar. We're equal there, and anyone can learn. Let me guess, Empire, you're from a pretty wealthy family who sent you here because the King of Bones decided not to teach you. Well, I worked to get here, and I-"

    "You worked? I worked myself to the bone! I did everything anyone could to get here! You think you know about work in Narubar, your little barbarian nation that's going to collapse in the next hundred years? You know nothing about work."

    "My little barbarian nation is going to smash yours into the dirt and your Liches, too. You tried to kill innocent people in the Archipelagean War, and you'll-"

    From the desk nearby, a throat was loudly cleared.

    An older girl stood up, and walked over.

    "You two. Narubite, you've gotten your class lists copied down, yeah?"

    "Yes."

    "Then get out. Empire, copy yours down and get out as well. Some of us are trying to think about our futures here, and I don't want a pair of petty, squabbling children to ruin them."

    "But-"

    In a moment, the girl traced a symbol in the air, and it flared briefly. The Narubite girl's hair suddenly turned a bright Imperial orange.

    "Get out, or that hair will last a week instead of a day. Am I clear?"

    She squeaked, and ran out.

    (Gained Rival: Laila Cartier. Rivalry level - dislike)

    "As for you, Imperial... well, I'm Imperial myself, so I can't say you're wrong, but there's a time and place for everything. If you don't learn that, you won't last long here. Tell me your name."

    "Ulos."

    "Well, Ulos. If I find you embarrassing us Imperials again, I may have to educate you. So don't."

    Ulos nodded.

    "Do you understand me?"

    "Yes."

    "Good. Now copy down your class lists and get out."




    The class list is fairly large, so I'll put it and the next vote in a separate post. Be up in 5-10.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Vote: Class Choice
  • Threadmarks
    • Ulos has obtained his Class List.

    Rather than take any future actions for the moment, take some time to look over the classes and electives and formulate a plan. There's no real reason to delay enrolling (and the better electives will close as you do), so I'm not going to bother putting waiting to a vote - it's a stupid decision and Ulos has clearly shown he wants to get in early. You have one Mandatory Action tomorrow (Orientation), and I don't see the point of voting for the second one, given that the thread has chosen to find out what the Class List is early.

    There are six electives available. You may vote for up to two.

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

    [ ] Magical Practice and Combat: Learn to attack, defend, and practice magic sigils. You'll learn basic self-defense skills and even learn to incapacitate your opponents. All students learn Spell: Kinetic Shield, Spell: Thermal Shield, Spell: Magical Bludgeon, Spell: Magical Blade, Skill: Spellweaving, Combat Skill: Magical Offense, Combat Skill: Magical Defense.

    Locked - Character must have Channeling 4 or above.

    [ ] Magical Practice and Defense: Learn to defend and practice magic sigils. You'll learn basic self-defense skills. All students learn Kinetic Shield, Thermal Shield, Skill: Spellweaving, Combat Skill: Magical Defense.

    Locked - Character must have Channeling 2 or above.

    [X] Magical Practice and Awareness (Mandatory) - About one-fifth of the year has a low magical potential. This is less unusual than it seems, many wealthy or influental people prefer their children even if they have only a smidgeon of magical talent to learn to practice magic. However, someone with so little power simply cannot maintain a Kinetic or Thermal Shield, and a Magical Bludgeon is well out. Magical Blades can be used by those of low potential, but mastering them to the point where they use little mana is difficult and requires great willpower. As such, this course is an alternative to the other two. If weaker mages cannot fight, they can at least know where a fight is, and how to avoid it. They are also taught how to leave a fight quickly, and find avenues of escape above all else. All students learn Spell: Thermal Awareness, Spell: Kinetic Awareness, Spell: Burst of Light, Skill: Spellweaving, Combat Skill: Retreat.

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

    [X] Magical Theory (Mandatory) : Learn the hows and whys of magic. Mandatory for all students. Good performance in this class in the first term sees the year sorted into streams, with the most talented theorists taken on by actual magical theorists, while those less capable or less interested are sorted into lesser streams. All students need to know the theory in order to modify spells on the fly, develop new spells, and understand how spells work. All students learn Lore: Magical Theory. After the first term the students are divided based on exam results. The bottom quarter are sent to Magical Theory (Remedial), the next two quarters are sent to Magical Theory (Standard). The top quarter is divided again two times. The 75-95% cohort go to Magical Theory (Advanced), and and the top 5% of students (generally the top 5 students in a year) go to Magical Theory (Personal Tutoring).

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

    Basic Alchemy: Often filled with the stubborn and the magic-deficient, Alchemy has the advantage of not requiring great magical power (though it does require some) to do well in. Alchemy is more trial-and-error than it is leaps of brilliance, with the Smokestacks filled with experiments day and night. Of course, the university only provides basic materials, so becoming a great alchemist tends to go hand-in-hand with either great wealth, or a wealthy patron. All Alchemists are taught to create the various important materials of their craft here, as well as to brew and distill pure alcohol, a crucial ingredient to most alchemical recipes. All students learn Craft: Alchemy, Craft Item: Wakeful Tincture, Craft Item: Soothing Poultice, , as well as Lore: Alchemy.

    + Requires low magic
    + Willpower-bound
    - Requires money for better potions
    - Has no relation to other schools of magic whatsoever, if you don't take Alchemy in later years it'll be relatively useless.


    Runic Theory: Letting a student craft runes before they can craft spells is seen as foolish by almost all magical institutions worldwide. Still, the theory of runes is quite interesting, and learning said theory will give a student a leg-up when it comes time to actually craft. All students learn Lore: Runes at twice the rate of regular Runes class later on. Students who excel at Runic Theory may take Runic Practice early, and advance their Runic studies quickly.

    + Runic Theory is applicable to spells a lot of the time
    + Intelligence-bound, as most Theory subjects are.
    - Has no practical application right now.
    - Runes tend to require a fair bit of magic to empower.

    Artifact Use and Identification: A fairly basic class, Artifact Use and Identification is about being able to discern an artifact, carefully activate one, and so on. While not particularly interesting, for anyone who might dabble in magical archaeology or alternatively want to try and buy artifacts on the cheap from the markets it is invaluable. In combat, being able to identify the Artifacts your opponent is using might very well be the difference between life and death. All students learn Lore: Artifacts.

    + Might get good bargains on artifacts. Knowing how an artifact works at a glance might let you turn it on its user.
    + Intelligence and Willpower bound
    - Not really practical outside of combat, archaeological digs, or buying and selling.
    - No synergy unless you decide to become a magical archaeologist or artifact merchant.

    Theory of Souls and Spirits: You've already snuck in to something like this! Students learn about the theories surrounding Souls and Spirits. May be valuable in regards to your curse. All students learn Lore: Souls & Spirits.

    + Understanding Souls and Spirits is applicable to basically all magic.
    + May help understand your curse
    + Theory is Intelligence-bound
    - Souls and Spirits is ultimately Cha-based magic
    - Binding most souls or spirits is reliant on Magic Pool.

    Theory of Illusions: Kind of niche, as illusions tend to be easy to see through and hard to set up. They are very impressive though, and also very useful against those not trained to see through them. Against your untrained classmates, though, it might also give you a temporary but powerful edge... All students learn Lore: Illusions. All students learn Skill: Perceive Illusion

    + Illusions are light on Magic Pool use.
    + For people who can't see through them, they're devastatingly useful.
    - Almost all mages can see through them after being trained.
    - Not a lot of synergy with other schools of magic.

    Magical Inheritance and Breeding: How does magic get passed from mother to daughter, father to son? Why did the Mage Blood laws of the Empire fail to produce a powerful class of mages? How does magic impact on one's personal traits when used, and what effect does magic have on children growing up? All students learn Lore: Magical Inheritance and Lore: History.

    + Mostly taken by Imperial students, more likely to make a friend.
    + Knowing history makes you seem less like a member of the lower classes.
    + Might help understanding why you were born with such a massive Magic Pool
    - No spells to learn.

    Continental History: History of the Continent, from the rise of the Undying Empire to the creation of the Saint's Bay and Saint's Archipelago, to the collapse of the Undying Empire and it's moderate revival under the King of Bones. All students learn Lore: History, Lore: Undying Empire and Lore: Six-Fox Pact.

    + Three Lore skills, all with some use in diplomacy
    + Knowing history makes you seem less like a member of the lower classes.
    + Willpower-bound. Boring to memorize.
    - No spells to learn
    - No spell-applicable lore to learn.

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

    + Augments your horrible combat abilities.
    + Having a few spells you know really well can be very useful.
    - No theory learned.
    - People will.. well, look down on you for taking more Spellcraft. Does a true mage really need to?


    Vote for TWO electives. Voting will last thirty-six hours or until a few options have taken a decisive lead.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Basic Alchemy
    [X] Theory of Illusions

    Yeah, this is why I wasn't keen on playing someone with very limited magic in a magic school. Even if we get our magic back we'd be left to play catch up in a lot of skills. Illusions seem pretty darn useful though, especially against nonmagical people who don't have an item of some sort to let them see right through them...
     
    [X]Remedial Spellcraft

    [X] Theory of Souls and Spirits

    They might look down on us for this but we will show them.
     
    Last edited:
    [X] Basic Alchemy
    [X] Continental History

    Alchemy cause potions have lots of utility for a low channeling cost; Continental History to cure our foot-in-mouth disease and help us make friends (I'm also a little biased because I took a year of History at uni)

    I'm guessing we shouldn't be getting into many fights this early in the quest. So we should be mostly safe.
     
    Last edited:
    [X] Basic Alchemy
    [X] Remedial Spellcraft:

    The low hanging fruit, we're likely to be weak for quite some time let's invest in other skills that can fix that/ requires no power.
     
    So, a brief explanation of how this will work post-Orientation.

    We'll generally run the quest with the weekdays being a turn, and the weekend (with more opportunity for mischief) as a turn. So each week will be 2 turns, though if not much is happening or if the thread decides they want to do the same thing for a few weeks, I can run a few weeks at a time. Each week has 4 classes (well, more than than in reality, but there'll be a short class vignette and the rolls associated with each class once a week), so you get a chance to do well in your classes and electives. Each day will have a 10% of something happening (a Diplomacy roll in class, getting to interfere in a magical duel, finding out about a secret part of the Preparatory to explore, so on and so forth), and on the weekend you'll get the chance to go into the city, or go do something, or just study.

    School is three terms of ten weeks, punctuated by two-week exam periods, and two-week breaks after term 1 and 2. Holidays will be either planned (a week doing this, a week doing that), or you'll get the opportunity to go on an Adventure, in which case it'll be a couple of weeks elsewhere doing something entirely different, and battling against tremendous odds! (Or working for two weeks in one of Madavian's dad's shops because you insulted him again and feel so bad you want to make it up to him, whatever).

    Week 1-10 - Term 1
    Week 11-12 Term 1 Exams
    Week 13-14 - Break 1
    Week 15-25 - Term 2
    Week 26-27 - Term 2 Exams
    Week 28-29 - Break 2
    Week 30-40 - Term 3
    Week 41-42 - Term 3 Exams
    Week 43-52 - Summer Sabbatical

    The only exams that matter in terms of getting access to other subjects are the End-Of-Term exams. Teachers will also set assignments, tests, readings, etc which may not impact on your exam grade but will impact how they view you. Performing well in class is generally a good way to get a teacher's attention, and a teacher's attention is only one step away from useful perks like extra tutoring and secret spells.
     
    @occipitallobe quick question about illusions can mages just passively see through them or do they need to deliberately cast a spell to detect them, ie. do they need to suspect that there is an illusion there anyway? Also can we do stuff like blind enemies with a flash of illusionary light before they counter it or something? Also what kind of stuff can alchemists make?
     
    No7sHere said:
    @occipitallobe quick question about illusions can mages just passively see through them or do they need to deliberately cast a spell to detect them, ie. do they need to suspect that there is an illusion there anyway?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Illusions are purely magic constructs - they're not actual light or sound, they trick the mind into thinking something is there that isn't there. They're very flimsy, and tend to require more finesse then power (mind-effecting magic in general has low power requirements), but if a mage suspects they're subject to an illusion, they can cast a detect magic, and if they see it's there, they can shatter it pretty easy. If you're good enough to prevent a trained mage casting detect magic, you can get around it, but that spell is like the first thing every mage does when they're in a weird scenario that makes no sense, because magic is usually involved somehow.

    Also can we do stuff like blind enemies with a flash of illusionary light before they counter it or something? Also what kind of stuff can alchemists make?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Alchemists can mainly make things that transmute stuff into other stuff. Though this can be transmuting the sleepiness of a cat into the sleepiness of a human (in potion form) if you want someone to nap for a good long time, or n. The magic has to some from somewhere, but alchemists can use parts of magical creatures (or parts of humans, which are technically magical creatures, if you're not too picky) to provide the magic part of the equation. Alchemy's big advantage is that it can take magic from an outside source, and the magic also stores pretty good.

    It can also transfer more esoteric stuff than regular magic. Lightning bolts and fireballs are almost impossible to do alchemically, but if you wanted to, say, create a potion that encourages the body to heal faster, you could do that. Regular magic tends to take fundamental forces and shake them down for their lunch money, but weirder stuff is harder to achieve with runes and spell sigils.

    One of the first things Alchemists learn is to take the wakefulness bit out of coffee, store it up in an alchemical tincture, and store more and more until you have something that's far more potent that even the most concentrated energy drink. It's not any more caffeinated, because you're storing something that's more like the notion of wakefulness, so you can drink a tincture of wakefulness without any ill effects in the short-term. Won't even get the jitters.
     
    A few more questions @occipitallobe :
    So if we used a really subtle illusion and the mage didn't think to check they wouldn't know it's there?
    Will experience in illusion magic carry over to some degree into other mental magic and does mental magic in general not require that much magic power?
    Just how esoteric can alchemy get, like could we take someone who is particularly good looking and turn that into a potion or could we take some ones youth, also are any of these potions permanent?
     
    On the other hand alchemy is probably also one of the ways we can make money, alchemical potions are something we can sell and considering we currently have no other source of income that is valuable. Plus alchemy can do something no other discipline can and will still be useful in future.
     
    Shard said:
    I'm concerned about our access to $$$ for alchemy.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I actually chose alchemy specifically because we DO have more money than many students due to the way we paid up front and conserved our money on lodging. The fact we've got enough money to pay for ALL our schooling up front is pretty fantastic and puts us at nearly the bank of the wealthier students. We've got 25 coins a year coming in from the bank due to our saving money on lodging, and next year if we need more we can room in the Smokestack and save even more money. 25 coins is probably a decent sum.

    Granted, we'd need to do some kind of social links or business or whatever to do the more elaborate Alchemy, but I'm pretty sure that kind of action investment would apply even to the wealthiest students- they'd just be writing letters home, whereas we have to get a bit more creative.

    Point is, unlike the scholarship students we DO have some money. And we've got a REALLY wealthy roommate we can probably sell wakefulness potions to and so forth as a potential customer. I'm guessing that's the 'Family Scion' guy with 500 coins for pocket change.
     
    Last edited:
    [X] Theory of Souls and Spirits
    [X] Remedial Spellcraft

    Fuck their laughing at us. When we regain our full power and have grinded up efficiency, we will show them all.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top