Violet Flame Wizard’s Guild

3 weeks ago
Admin
8 minutes

The Violet Flame is Cormyr’s foremost arcane fellowship. Many a fledgling arcanist comes to Arabel in order to broaden their knowledge of magic. Practicality and application are emphasized there at the expense of flashiness and abstraction. The guild is sponsored by the churches of Mystra, Azuth and Savras, and while it is centered in Arabel, it functions independently of, but at the pleasure of, the Crown of Cormyr. Academians are encouraged to focus on practical uses for magic. The Violet Flame strives to populate the world with wizards who are capable of using magic to help those around them, not just in times of crisis but for everyday needs.

Goal: Applied Magic for All

The wizards of the Violet Flame believe that magic exists to be put to use. The Flame recognizes that the more magic impacts the lives of ordinary people in helpful ways, the better its reputation will become among the masses.

The Violet Flame is a pragmatic organization and doesn’t stand for complex ideologies beyond its core tenet that magic can make the world a better place, and that magical talent should be nurtured and developed to its full potential. However, masters and apprentices alike act on the philosophy that nothing is free and that anything worth having is worth paying for. In times past, this often meant aspirants to the guild either had to come from wealth, or they had incur debt in order to study in the Violet Flame’s tower. However in modern times, the guild’s waiver system has enabled poorer apprentices work their way through their studies, contributing their talents to crafting which stocks the magic shop operating out of the tower — which is patronized by many an adventurer, and has become a significant source of funding for the tower’s operations.

Headquarters

The Arcane Tower of the Violet Flame is located in the southern district of Arabel, and is the centerpiece of the city ward. Within its walls are housed all of the laboratory and classroom facilities of the guild, as well as boarding for students and associates visiting from abroad. The only publicly accessible area is the ground floor, which houses the magic shop, conference hall, as well as a shrine to the goddess Mystra and her attendants, Azuth and Savras.

Leadership

The Violet Flame is presided over by the Council of Mages, that jointly determines curriculae and any collective associations made by the guild as a whole. This council is comprised of one Master Arcanist of each school of magic, the Master Librarian, and Master Alchemist. The council is helmed by the Headmaster, chosen from among the members of the Council, and voted by majority of the Council. When a Master is so appointed, a new Master of the Headmaster’s school or department is chosen to fill their seat.

Joining

The guild is open to arcane spellcasters and alchemists. Twice a year, an open entry exam is held at the Arcane Tower. The exams are individualized, testing current magical ability, magical aptitude, scholarship, and ability to follow directions. While each docent issues the exams in a slightly different way, the one universal is that every applicant has to have some aptitude for magic. Those who succeed are granted admission to the Flame, becoming students.

Academians’ magical ability determines their rank in the school: at the 1st circle of casting ability they’re apprentices; at 2nd and 3rd circle, journeymen; at 4th and 5th circle, mavens; and at 6th circle and higher, they are arcanscenti, and are eligible to become teachers in the guild. Those truly gifted who reach the 9th circle of magic are considered archmages. This ranking determines the status of a guild member in the tower. Experienced mages may join the tower as associates (rather than as students), gaining approximately the status of students of their level.

Gaining Prestige

Every applicant of the Violet Flame, by virtue of passing their entrance into the guild, has at least one total faction point (TPA). Gaining further prestige is often as simple as contributing new information, such as a new spell or magic item not found elsewhere in the school. Solving a high-profile problem in a way that emphasizes the value of practical magic can bring prestige as well, especially if it is done in the public eye to the credit of the guild. In addition to specific missions furthering the goals of the guild, members gain 1 faction point each time they gain a level in an arcane spellcasting class.

Resources

The Violet Flame has one of the largest libraries of magic scholarship in Eastern Faerun. Students can browse at will through the main stacks, which include every major scholarly work on combining magic with almost every human endeavor. Restricted sections relate to topics deemed too dangerous for students or secrets held closely by the guild. Most obscure and dangerous spells (and all those with the evil descriptor) reside in the special sections.

In addition to spells and scholarly works, the guild is filled with scholars who are willing to trade or even give away information on magical techniques. There is an informal information chain, and questions about a particular topic will eventually be directed to an expert on the field in question.

And of course, the wares produced by the colleagues of the tower are available to their fellows, usually at a discount compared to their prices to the public.

  • 1 TPA: Study in the library, whether for general knowledge or common spell theory; library access provides sufficient research for adding spells to a wizard’s spellbook or alchemist’s formula book. When in the tower library, gain a +5 on Knowledge (arcana) checks. The check takes 1 hour, reflecting the need to reference the appropriate materials.
  • 1 TPA: Purchase scrolls and potions from the tower magic shop at a 5% discount.
  • 1 CPA: Gain a +5 bonus on any one Profession or Craft check representing 1 week of work. This benefit requires daily access to the library for 1 hour each day during the week the check occurs.
  • 1 CPA: Transcribe a common spell (those from the Core Rulebook) from the tower’s library into a wizard’s spellbook or alchemist’s formula book. This benefit does not require a Spellcraft check or any additional transcribing costs.
  • 5 TPA: Purchase wands, staves, and wondrous items from the tower magic shop at a 5% discount.
  • 5 TPA, 1 CPA: Become familiar with an uncommon or rare spell (at the GM’s discretion) from the tower library, allowing a bard, sorcerer, or similar spellcaster to select it as a spell known at the next available opportunity (this benefit allows such a caster to gain access to bard or sorcerer spells from sources other than the Core Rulebook without having to do spell research or find a copy of the spell while adventuring).
  • 5 TPA, 1+ CPA: Borrow a magic item from the school’s collection for 1 week. The CPA cost is 1 per 1,000 gp of the item’s market price. Increase this cost by 1 CPA if the item must travel outside of Cormyr, by 1 CPA if the use doesn’t further the interests of the guild, and by an additional 1 CPA if there is a significant risk of the item’s loss or destruction. Most of the school’s items are utilitarian (such as a lyre of building) rather than destructive or flashy (such as a horn of blasting). The school does not lend out charged items or items that are destroyed after use.
  • 10 TPA: Eligible to serve on the Council of Mages, given an opening in an arcane school or station the character can represent; the character must be nominated to the seat, and have the confirmation of a majority of the seated Council.
  • 15 TPA: May use tower facilities to craft magic items for 45% of their market value, rather than 50%, reflecting the accessibility of materials and endowments of the guild for such projects. Alternately, rather than crafting goods at a discount for personal use, said crafted items can be consigned through the tower magic shop to gain back the investment in the crafted item plus 5% of the market value.
  • 15 TPA, 1 CPA: Transcribe an uncommon or rare spell (at the GM’s discretion) from the school’s library into a wizard’s spellbook or alchemist’s formula book. This benefit does not require a Spellcraft check or any additional transcribing costs.
  • 15 TPA, 2+ CPA: Perform independent spell research to create a new spell. This research takes 1 week, and the cost is 2 CPA per spell level of the new spell. This replaces the normal 1,000 gp per week per spell level cost listed in the core rules.
  • 15 TPA, 2 CPA: Access a special section of the library for 1 week and gain a +10 bonus on any Knowledge check.