Quote:
Originally Posted by Inky
Did we sort anything out about the question of where they're to learn their spells from initially and what it's to cost? I can't remember. (There are some notes on page 293 of the Basic Set about finding teachers, including magic teachers. They look quite useful). From what ericthered got, it looks like our mages start out without any spells?
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Hi Inky,
That's where you come in - where are the mageborn learning their spells from? What is the price of such studying - do they get hit with a fee per spell they're taught, or do they somehow defer the costs in some fashion? Are they subsidized by the Lord's Largess or do they have to make arrangements of their own?
GURPS never made the distinction about how a character gets their spells largely because it never monetized the value of the spells themselves. Historically, when a practitioner of a craft (any craft) took on an apprentice, he often was paid to take the apprentice on - getting relatively free labor from his apprentice who was legally bound to him. In return, he was obligated to train his apprentice.
Many years before the FORUMS even existed, we had the GURPSNET mailing list. There, I ran an exercise called MAGEWARS, in which the forces of ROME could study their spells with unfettered access because the mages studied their spells from books or had multiple academies. Carthage on the other hand, had the master/apprentice style of study, which meant that the students could only learn spells that their masters knew - but that their skils were HIGHER in the spells they knew (useful for ritual magic casting). Keep in mind this was when GURPS MAGIC 2nd edition was NEW. If you have limited points to spend, do you buy 40 spells at 1 point apiece, or do you buy 10 spells at 4 points apiece?
Well, this time, the shoe will be on your feet. How do the mageborn on your manor learn new spells? Do they have to study with the local mageborn in your village ONLY? Do you ask a nearby manor's mageborn "hey, we need the animal spells that your mages have, but we have healing spells we can teach your apprentices - let's swap?" What about what happens when all the spells your mages know are for Magery 0, with no one knowing any magery 1 spells, and you have a Magery 1 mage in your village? How does he gain his spells?
Questions like these require the GM make some world building decisions. And this is where I will smile and sit back - letting you all put forth your own solutions. Where you run into issue - the solutions you will find will be solely dependent upon you.
Me? In the village I will detail little by little in this thread, I will put forth the notion that the Village Priest, who is supposed to be educated in his letters, will be responsible to training the fledgling mageborn. Said mageborn will soak up both the ability to read as well as pick up the ethics and morality of his priestly teacher (whether the mageborn FOLLOWS the ethics and morality is another question entirely!). But it helps to point out to the mageborn, what will happen if the mageborn fails to heed the limits imposed upon them for behaviors in the future. Put another way? If such a mageborn wants "Necromantic spells" - he's likely have a secret as a disadvantage, because chances are, the society will burn him at the stake, hang him in the gallows after blinding him etc.
Then, for my village, the only stone building around other than perhaps the grainery - will be either the Church or the Lord's manor house. Chances are good, any books required for study by a budding mageborn will be kept in the Lord's library. If he pays the price of the books manufacture, then he will likely retain ownership of the book(s). But which books will the Lord buy (how do you price a book?) How do you price a spell even? THAT is open for debate right now. So - put forth ideas, or help others refine their ideas.
As I often tell my players in game play...
"What is good for the Goose is good for the Gander"
Or
"A implies B" and let them figure out what B is after they put forth A.
:)