Magic School in Baldur's Gate...?

[jasonpauldegraaf]

Hey all,

I've started a character I love who has come to Baldur's Gate to study magic until she can became a scholar at Candlekeep. What is the magic school in BGate that I can use for her storyline? Or is there one? Anyway suggestions would be great to flush out her story.

Thanks! -Caspian

[jasonpauldegraaf]

Okay,

Someone sent me a PM recently about there not being really any established magic school in Baldur's Gate. Here's a cut a paste of a piece of the PM.

There seems to be no canon material on a magic school in BG. The only significant magic comments came from the Volo material and spoke about a mage making a fortune on "remove dampness" spells.

Aside from "Sorcerous Sundries" there seems to be no "official" info as far as I can find. And that's basically just a magic supply shop. The closest thing to "official" mention of a magic school had to do with the ruins near Beregost ... a school which was destroyed about 300 years previous.

In other words ... a magic school in BG is pretty much up to the DM and material created just for this PW.

I'd recommend coming up with the school yourself, making or at least naming all major NPC's, and submitting it to a DM and saying very nicely "would this be okay?"

That all taken into account, would it be cool to request the formation of a magic school? An accurate idea could possibly be a small school run by some of the scholars at Candlekeep for potential wizards and casters to join their ranks.

Thoughts?

[DEV Jlf2n]

Yeah I'm with you. This is something I would like to see as well.

[jasonpauldegraaf]

Okay, let me Google around a bit and see what I can find about Candlekeep and/or magic schools in Faerun.

[whenwizardswar]

I suggest Tomes & Blood, its a very good add on for magic users and is applicable in almost any DnD setting, I've already adapted one group (The Wayfarers Union) into one of my stories.

I love all things magial, which is why alot of my plots have wizards and strange/magical beings.

If you can show me a concentrated effort by you, and other wizardly folk, I might see if i can set up a story to reclaim the ruins south of Beregost and turn it into an acadamy of some sort, provided it doesnt have any set-in stone FR lore that dictates reclamation and rebuilding of the ruins,I'm sure we can RP it out, but it will not be easy building an acadamy and reclaiming ruins.

We will see what we can do, and if you can get other players onboard with you, and you can generate enough RP I will submit the story/proceedings/conclusions and roleplay information ot Driller and J2fn, who of course have final say on a module change.

No promises though.

[jasonpauldegraaf]

Hmm, okay, I may need some help with this. I have no DND resource books (save for the very old school original DND Rules Cyclopedia). I'll put my two cents in though, for sure.

[whenwizardswar]

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20010713a

The First download link is a PDF for Tome and Blood, its kinda big but worth it.

[gwydion669]

I've got some info mostly from the Volo's Guide. It's kind of long, since it's just a "cut and paste" thing about sages in the area and the history of the school outside Beregost (including more details on the wizard of Beregost). Should it be posted here for the use of anyone interested in using it to flesh out a magic school or the history of their mage character?

A lot of the stuff is likely to not be used by the PW (griffon guards, wizshades, etc), but it might give a few ideas.

PS: For whenwizardswar ... should I cut out what Volo "claims" is in the ruins of Beregost? Most people know he's "almost" as deranged as I am. ;D

[jasonpauldegraaf]

gwydion669 sent me this in a PM. Worth looking at...

******************************************

Volo's Guide to Sword Coast

"(...) Halbazzer Drin on Stormshore Street. He's a gruff old wizard who has made his fortune with a spell that banishes mildew (12 gp per casting),and another that drives all moisture from things without harming them (10 gp per glamer). Despite fantastic
offers of gold, gems, and magic from Calishite, Amnian, and other interests, he does not sell scrolls of these spells or reveal the incantations to others." p8

"Among the more common vendors of silks, scarves, tobacco, and spices from the farthest reaches of the Shining South are masters of tattooing and disguise, and several minor wizards
who specialize in spells that temporarily arrange a client's hair into intricate patterns, cause areas of the body to glow or to adhere to certain scraps of garment or pieces of jewelry, alter skin and hair hue, and even cause scents to wax, wane, or
move around the body - sometimes accompanied by radiances. These artisans come and go with the seasons - and, I'm told, the approach of creditors or bounty hunters acting for far-off authorities. Among the more permanent of these artisans
are Lonthalin Mintar and Talessyr Tranth." p10

Sorcerous Sundries (shop and home of Halbazzer Drin, wizard); Home and Office of Krammoch Arkhstaff, Sage; Home and Office of Ragefast, Sage; Home and Office of Ramazith Flamesinger, Sage Extraordinaire; The Unrolling Scroll (shrine to Oghma) ... places of possible interest noted on map key on p13

The following info is on Beregost (p27) but should be taken with a grain of salt in that the Beregost in game is based more on the old CRPG.

"Begun as a farming village under the protection of a school of wizardry, Beregost is now dominated by the Song of the Morning, a major temple to Lathander. The mage Ulcaster, a conjurer of note, founded his school over 300 years ago - but grew too successful, attracting would-be wizards from all over the Sword Coast. Calishite mages came to fear the school's power and destroyed it in spell battle, though Ulcaster himself disappeared during the fray and was never found. The school burned to an empty shell, which still stands on a hill east of the town. Local fear of the ruins, which are said to be haunted by phantoms who are still able to cast spells, has caused Beregost to be expanded to the west of the Coast Way road, leaving the hills east of it to the sheep. Beregost has only one tavern. It is called the Burning Wizard, of course. It has no signboard, but the traveler can easily find it. It's the building with the crowded hitching rail that stands just north of where the small rivulet known as Wizards' Doom Creek - which rises on the hill where the ruins stand against the sky - crosses the Coast Way. That's where I heard of the two chief dangers to the curious and to young magelings hoping to gain spells or items who approach the ruins too closely. There's a wizshade who hurls random spells at folk, sometimes appearing as a thin, wraithlike, impossibly tall, bearded man and sometimes just as a battered wizard's hat. There's also another wizard wraith - a haunt - who tries to
lure folk into the depths of the ruin's cellars and possess their bodies. Old villagers also speak of magical traps deep in the ruins and at least one gate that leads to unknown destinations.
This last claim has been confirmed as truth by no less a pair of magical personages than the Lord Mage of Waterdeep, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, and Elminster of Shadowdale.
Beregost's governor strongly disapproves of explorations of the ruins. Although there is a five-person town council, the governor's word is law in Beregost, and he is a tireless proponent of farming, starting up new businesses, and improving the place. He is also Most Radiant of Lathander (high
priest of the temple) Kelddath Ormlyr, and his temple troops police the town, keeping it safe so that trading, meetings, and spending at the shops are brisk. In this, he has two powerful
allies: the wizard Thalantyr, a conjurer of great repute who unfortunately wasn't at home when I visited, and the smith Taerom "Thunderhammer" Fuiruim."

The following from p28 talks more of Thalantyr:

"Northwest of the main settlement of Beregost stands High Hedge, the estate of Thalantyr the Conjurer. It is guarded by a fiercely loyal mated pair of griffons and by some sort of invisible servant creature that has been known to spy and deliver things for its master right into town. Thalantyr is a courtly man who can sometimes be seen walking about the countryside, his long, black staff in hand. He's had no apprentices for years and doesn't welcome visitors. Locals say he's interested in far-off places and things, and is sometimes absent for long periods. Those who've seen his abode say that it's a dark, turreted stone house overgrown with pines and that he has his own fishpond behind it. Sometimes he sits next to the pond and talks with something that stays just under the surface of the water."

**********************

That all being said, it doesn't look like there is a magic school in the Gate. But there are a lot of wizards and "mentors" for Amber to study under until she get accepted at Candlekeep. Is it cool if I choose a Sage and say she's studying under him? Someone fairly unreknown but still a viable NPC?

Thanks!

[DEV Jlf2n]

I have been pondering this. How about instead of a mage school we have 3 wizards that casters can choose to apprentice under. We can use Ragefast, Ramazith Flamesinger, and maybe an evil one. we can set up their towers and allow access to certain floors to apprentices only.

I will start working on the first two sages interiors soon, so we could get something going pretty quick. Driller is it possible to allow only certain people, maybe carrying a ward or stone, into certain areas?

[whenwizardswar]

Jul 16, 2008 14:16:46 GMT -5 DEV Jlf2n said:

I have been pondering this. How about instead of a mage school we have 3 wizards that casters can choose to apprentice under. We can use Ragefast, Ramazith Flamesinger, and maybe an evil one. we can set up their towers and allow access to certain floors to apprentices only.

I will start working on the first two sages interiors soon, so we could get something going pretty quick. Driller is it possible to allow only certain people, maybe carrying a ward or stone, into certain areas?

Perfect idea if you ask me, especially since it seems that the ulcaster ruins do have a current, per cannon lore/

[Iceshard]

lol apprenticing off level 1 NPCs (accordin to that list you gave me JLF)

-Ice

[jasonpauldegraaf]

Great! That works well!

[DEV Jlf2n]

Jul 16, 2008 16:54:09 GMT -5 Iceshard said:

lol apprenticing off level 1 NPCs (accordin to that list you gave me JLF)

-Ice

Yeah I was thinking of fudging these guys like they did in the BG game. Making them more wizardly than scholars.