[GAME] Magic Academy/University, World Building

[Emerald Cat]

Originally Posted by ajardoor

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

Answer 8

The University was named Montreal Academie, a name it carries to this day. The French clerk who filed the paperwork founding the academy left off the accent marks in a passive aggressive attempt to discredit the founders.

Originally Posted by TGLS

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

Answer 9

Montreal Academie regularly taught talented female mages from its inception to starve out the covens that plagued Quebec. Teaching students of both genders is a tradition that has continued even after leaving Montreal. However, enrollment has only gotten harder as use of magical talent is no longer the sole factor for evaluating candidates.

Question 10

What educational institutions does Montreal Academie view as its main competitors? (1d6 = 4 Sentences)

[ajardoor]

Answer 10:

The main competition to the Academie is the infamous Black Forest Scholomance, a Central European university that has moved its campus across the continent several times in its rocky 500-year history in response to witch hunts and the misfortunes of shady underground magical conflicts. Once upon a time, the Scholomance was the centre of the black-hearted Western European Witch Cult, but it's present day incarnation has limited itself to the greyer side of outlaw warlock politics.

The next most fierce rival to the Academie is the Latin American Thaumatological Union Institute, funded and endorsed by the national governments of Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, and other big name countries of South America.

The third rival to the Academie is the Black Desert Academy, a mysterious middle-eastern cabal of magical scholars and mentors who work tirelessly to research the lost secrets of the Djinn and pass them on to the next generation of sorcerers.

Question 11:
What is the current year?
D6 = 2 sentences

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by ajardoor

Question 11:
What is the current year?
D6 = 2 sentences

Answer 11
It's 1953, which is an eventful year for the world, though only mildly so for Canada. QEII is crowned, Everest is climbed, and the H-bomb is tested.

Question 12
Are the "muggles" generally aware of magic?
(d6: 3 sentences)

Question 13
Who is the chancellor of the academy?
(d6: 6 sentences)

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Question 12
Are the "muggles" generally aware of magic?
(d6: 3 sentences)

A12
Yes, many people (especially those in more developed countries) are aware of magic, but it wasn't always like that. Magic was completely unknown by non-mages, up until the late 19th century, until the experimental discovery of Mana (which was named Aether after Newton's theories). This was of little interest, but when the Mages offered their help in World War 1, they became public knowledge.

Question 14 [SET]
Were mages particularly helpful during World War 1? What about later wars?
[D6 = 4]

Question 15 [ACA]
Why isn't Acadamie Montreal not publicly funded?
[D6 = 3]

AUX 1

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

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.

This is good stuff, but there are some things that may contradict some later points; namely the cost (if it's G$ then it's OK, if actual $, needs to be deflated to match 1953), and the SAT (which is largely used in American schools, though I think Canadian schools factor it when looking at American students).

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by TGLS

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. ...
Question 9
Was it usual that the university taught a woman in the 18th century? Has that changed?

Originally Posted by TGLS

A12
Yes, many people (especially those in more developed countries) are aware of magic, but it wasn't always like that. Magic was completely unknown, up until the late 19th century, until the experimental discovery of Mana (which was named Aether after Newton's theories).

I'm afraid that seems to be bit of a contradiction. We have the academy being founded before the mid-18th century (when it was teleported), but magic only being discovered in the late 19th.

I reckon we should let TGLS decide if he wants to amend it, or keep it as is but make a question about explaining the contradiction.

----

Question 15 [ACA]
Why isn't Acadamie Montreal not publicly funded?
[D6 = 3]

This is due to opposition from religious quarters in the government and society. The academy used to receive similar government funding to other institutions of higher education, but there was a mass protest against taxpayers' funds being spent on 'devil's magic', so the endowments ended. However, due to some legal loopholes this controversy generated, the academy is able to claim tax exempt status for religious entities, despite it not following any particular defined religion.

Question 16 [SET]
Do we have a similar Cold War to OTL just beginning to get into gear?
(d6: 6 sentences)

Question 17 [ACA]
Is Acadamie Montreal particularly renowned for any sports?
(d6: 1 sentence)

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

I reckon we should let TGLS decide if he wants to amend it, or keep it as is but make a question about explaining the contradiction.

That was a slip up; I meant by completely unknown to non-mages.

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Question 16 [SET]
Do we have a similar Cold War to OTL just beginning to get into gear?
(d6: 6 sentences)

A16
History has largely remained "On Schedule". World War One ended in Entente victory, and World War Two ended with the Allies splitting Germany and Japan surrendering. The largest difference is that Japan surrendered without the bombing of Nagasaki. Magic has caused some notable differences, including Operation Paperclip evacuating a number of Axis mages. The Soviets currently suffer under a Magic gap, in part because of magic's association with the Tsar and in part because of Stalin's paranoia. It remains to be seen whether Destalinization and realpolitik will help close the gap.

Question 18 [SET]
What's something minor or "behind the scenes" that is different in history?
(d6: 5 sentences)

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by TGLS

That was a slip up; I meant by completely unknown to non-mages.

I thought that might've been part of it, but people still would've noticed a teleporting campus.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

I thought that might've been part of it, but people still would've noticed a teleporting campus.

I figure that the disappearance could probably slip under the radar as a "Well, that's weird. Maybe there was a fire?", and be forgotten about. The appearance does have the advantage that there were no Europeans in the area until the late 1700s (Native accounts of their sudden appearance could be written off as an account of their settlement in the area). On the other hand, the university probably would have warped the settlement of the area to some degree or another.

[ajardoor]

Still got Q13, Q14, Q17 and Q18 unanswered.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Question 14 [SET]
Were mages particularly helpful during World War 1? What about later wars?
[D6 = 4]

Magic was a effective weapon in world war 1, but not a decisive one, as it did not solve the logistical issues that made breakthroughs impossible. In World War 2 its performance ranged from decisive to inconsequential, as commanders consistently failed to understand their mage's limits. This lag has decreased, but in many ways persists even today.

Question 19 (3 sentences)
Why were the covens of the 18th century seen as such a threat as to need to be "Starved Out"?


Question 20 (2 sentences)
Why does the Montreal Academie not list an american school as a rival?