[GAME] Magic Academy/University, World Building

[ajardoor]

This is a collaborative setting construction forum game. The objective is to combine our shared talents to build an magical school setting. The school in question will probably be pretty large - more of an university with labs and dorms for adult students than a Harry Potter-style boarding school, perhaps. I personally would prefer an human-only and modern earth fantasy world, but that is not mandatory. We'll see how we go, yes?

The method is to answer a posted question about the setting, then post a question of your own. Build bit-by-bit on what the other posters have written, and try not to contradict anything that's been established. Questions can be anything from the very general to extremely specific, complex or simple, and can follow on from what's gone before or start off a new direction.

Rapid Fire Rule - 1d6 Sentence Limit. For this iteration of the game, we'll be trying a new rule with the aim of getting short, quick answers with each post. For each question you pose, roll 1d6 and state the result. This will be the sentence limit for the answer to that question, though the answer may be shorter.

To make it easier to read through, clearly mark questions and answers in bold, and quote the question you're answering, in the below format.

Example of post format:

Question 42
What's the name of the pit master? (1d6: 2 sentences)

Answer 42
The pit master is known only as Gorge. He is freakishly large and immensely strong.
---

Question 1
What magic is studied at the academy?
(D6: 4 Sentences)

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Question 1
What magic is studied at the academy?

Answer 1
Primary: Ritual Magic, plus Magical Theory
Intermediate: Sorcery, cultivating personal magical talents.
Advanced: Syntactic Magic, limited to those students who did well at Magical Theory and whose magical talents include Wild Talent.

Question 2
What criteria are required for admittance?
(6 to 8 sentences for clarity.)

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

Question 1
What magic is studied at the academy?

Answer 1
Primary: Ritual Magic, plus Magical Theory
Intermediate: Sorcery, cultivating personal magical talents.
Advanced: Syntactic Magic, limited to those students who did well at Magical Theory and whose magical talents include Wild Talent.

Question 2
What criteria are required for admittance?
(6 to 8 sentences for clarity.)

The founders established the school to be an elite institution. It is open only to persons able to prove their lineal descent from one of the Three Magi. All applicants must demonstrate a talent for magic (i.e. Magery). They must also have a mundane GPA of at least 3.2 and SAT scores in the 70th percentile or higher. The school receives no public funding, so tuition is expensive ($100,000/yr) and it is not accredited for student loans. Consequently attendees must find some way to pay for themselves, although in higher years they are usually able to find well remunerated research or other work opportunities.


Question 3:

What faculties or similar subdivisions is the institution divided into? (D6: 5 sentences.)

[TGLS]

Question 3:
What faculties or similar subdivisions is the institution divided into?
(D6: 5 sentences.)

Answer 3:
There are four major faculties and several minor faculties:

1) Faculty of Thaumatology: teaches the theoretical basis of magic as well as the newly discovered syntactic magic.
2) Faculty of Elements: teaches about half of the paths of ritual magic including the five elements, enchantment, and material magic.
3) Faculty of Cogitari: teaches about half of the paths of ritual magic including metamagic, body control, necromancy, and non-material magic.
4) Faculty of Alchemy: teaches about the magic inherent to all things, including the eponymous Alchemy, sorcery, the path of technology, and others.

Question 4:
How large is the campus?
(D6: 3 sentences.)

Question 5:
What are the minor faculties?
(D6: 3 sentences.)

[ajardoor]

Just to clarify; Do the major faculities cover research laboratories and studies and so on, in addition to classes?

Yes, this is a teaching university, but it should also publish in journals and develop experimental projects, right?

EDIT/ADD: And to answer a question...

Question 4:
How large is the campus?
(D6: 3 sentences.)

Answer 4:
The biggest buildings are the adminstration offices, the classrooms, the research laboratories, the dormitories and the library. Smaller buildings include the toilets, the cafeteria, more classrooms, the parking garages, and storage. The campus grounds, including gardens and footpaths, stretch across an area of ~400 metres squared (although unmapped underground tunnels and space magic makes this hard to measure in total).

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ajardoor

Just to clarify; Do the major faculities cover research laboratories and studies and so on, in addition to classes?

Yes, this is a teaching university, but it should also publish in journals and develop experimental projects, right?

Yes, I was just being lazy and copying from the viewbook.

[Emerald Cat]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Question 5:
What are the minor faculties?
(D6: 3 sentences.)

Answer 5

The faculty of Martial Magic teaches the students how to fight using magic when faced with mundane and supernatural threats. The faculty of Health teaches mundane medicine and is responsible for ensuring the physical fitness necessary to be a successful mage. Finally, the faculty of Humanities is responsible for the arts, law, and sociology.

Question 6

What are the main threats that the Faculty of Martial Magic is training their students to fight against?
(d6: 5 sentences)

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Emerald Cat

Question 6

What are the main threats that the Faculty of Martial Magic is training their students to fight against?
(d6: 5 sentences)

The Faculty of Martial Magic divides potential foes into the categories of Mortal (humans), Arcane (other mages), Monstrous (live but mostly unintelligent creatures), and Otherwordly (spirits that normally dwell beyond this realm). The faculty is mostly cautious, emphasizing survival and striking from afar over flashy battle magic. Though there are exceptions...

Question 7

In what part of the world may one find the university, or if its beyond this world, where may a student find an entrance?

[ajardoor]

Question 6
What are the main threats that the Faculty of Martial Magic is training their students to fight against?

Answer 6: Alternative
First and foremost are the undead and hostile spirits - most are more hungry and aggressive than demonic or evil, per say.

Much rarer and deadlier are the horrid Daath entities, invaders from the anti-reality Outer Black who seek to devour our existence for sustenance.

Slaying dragons and their spawn is a lucrative but highly specialised work, with few opportunities but much bigger payouts than any ordinary monster hunt.

"Warlocks" who practice "The Dark Arts" are a common foe, according to offical doctrine, but really the classification/term is mostly political - enemies for the country or serial criminals who use magic are usually what they mean by "Dark Wizards".

Question 8:
What is the Academy's name?
(2 sentences)

[TGLS]

Question 7
In what part of the world may one find the university, or if its beyond this world, where may a student find an entrance?
(I Rolled a 5!)

Answer 7
The university was originally founded in Montréal. Political upheaval in the mid-18th century prompted the regency of the university to decide to move. While the Regency debated where to bring the university, gate magess Renée Léana Blanchet decided to teleport the whole university from "Coast to Coast". The university was suddenly found itself placed in the Georgia Strait, and survived by gating across the continent for supplies and students. Today, it continues gate from campus without regard for borders, which has brought the interference of Canadian authorities among others.

Question 9
Was it usual that the university taught a woman in the 18th century? Has that changed?
(I Rolled a 3!)