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Joining the Star Mages Guild
Note: The following is the role play used by Cayzle to allow Arien Silverbow, played by Adam Reeves of the Windhorn Hamlet game, to join the Star Mages' Guild (see Woldian Organizations in the Oshirr House). This document is intended as an example of one way to let a character play the joining of an organization. It also gives a little info for those interested in the Star Tower.
The Dragon Quarter of Plateau City is a place of marvels. The finest shops there cater to adventurers -- and so do the taverns, which makes them exciting places to be! And of course, the one shop to rule them all is here as well -- the castle-sized (and shaped) Catacombs, the grandest magic shop in the Wold!
But dwarfing all of these, and putting even the mighty Catacombs in its place, is the majestic Star Tower. Rising 300 feet into the air, the edifice dominates Magic Square, and of course, it rises in the shape of a star.
You reach the place on a busy day.
You notice a group of young people -- early twenties? -- dressed in grey smocks and leather aprons, all carrying covered vats. The vats, cast iron by the look of them, are quite heavy, if the expressions of the carriers are any indication. You see one of the lids pop up and back down, and the girl carrying it gets a frightened look as she heads into the tower.
Of course, there are people in wizard robes and pointy hats, people with hooded cloaks that hide their faces, folks in adventuring gear, a few who could be merchants, or commoners, or nobles, but who knows? Not to mention the menagerie of cats, bats, hawks, and weasels -- some of them evidently on business of their own!
All these folks walk up and down the great steps that stretch from one point of the star to another.
The main entrance is twenty feet wide and fifteen feet high. It opens into a huge space within, 100 feet high and at least that wide and deep. Just within the entrance are four large golems made of rose-laced marble -- you would think them statues, except that they speak out and greet many of the passers-by.
"Welcome back, Doctor Krendiki! Good to see you, Jorji! Tembell Tonkrit, Lady Loradolsa was looking for you. She is in the Silver Library of Enchantments today!"
The golems are very blocky, and if all four stood in the entrance, not even a rat could pass through.
You are standing at the base of the steps, not yet in the Star Tower proper, looking in.
Arien pauses a moment to fully survey the tower, appreciating the fine architecture of the tower. Then, Arien walks up towards the nearest golem, and if it is not speaking to someone already (in which case he waits) says, "I am Arien Silverbow and I am interested in becoming a member of this establishment, might you direct me to where I would register or at least talk to someone about this?" Should the golem know Arien will follow its directions, otherwise he will enter the building and look for a front desk type area and repeat his question there.
As Arien walks into the tower, he sees that the interior is a vast hall with five regular sides. There is an archway, carved in the shape of a sinuous beast, at the center of each wall -- snake, wyvern, centipede, kraken, weasel. At the center of the room is a grillwork in the shape of a circle, stretching from floor to ceiling. Within the grillwork, a magic circle is inlaid in the floor. A matching circle is inlaid in the ceiling above. The circles are made of green stone; the grillwork seems carved of gold, if that's possible.
Between the circles, floor to ceiling, it is misty, so that Arien cannot see into the center. People are passing through a gate in the grillwork, where they are given an amulet by the gatekeeper, and then they pass into the mists. Other people are coming out of the mists, surrendering their amulets to the gatekeeper, and going on their way.
Arien approaches one of the golems and makes his declaration. "Member Applications -- Kraken Way, second door on the left!"
Following the directions given, Arien approaches the Kraken-shaped arch. As he does so, he notices that its suckered arms move slightly from time to time, and its eyes are watching him.
Arien pauses to regard the stone kraken a moment, at once both admiring the craftmanship and thinking all the magic at work here was a bit much. Shrugging he continues through the arch giving the kraken a nod as he passes under it. Arien continues down to the second door on the left, opens it, and walks inside. Arien looks about the room a moment before closing the door behind him and approaching the most likely candidate of whomever was in charge of member applications.
Passing through the door, Arien finds himself in a cramped little room crowded with a few chairs around a small table and a high desk off to one side. At the desk, perched on a stool, is a middle-aged human wearing a black robe. He barely looks up from his book as he reaches into a drawer, removes a piece of parchment, a pen, and a small bottle of ink. He shoves them at Arien.
So far not a word has been spoken.
The parchment has several questions and spaces in which to write answers:
What is your name?
Are you a Wizard? Can you cast spells after first preparing them from your spell book?
What third level spell are you prepared to cast today as part of your membership application?
Do you understand that the Star Tower does not condone evil spells or acts?
Are you prepared to pay 150 gold pieces today for one year's membership, or 1,500 gold pieces for lifetime membership?
Arien looks over the parchment before answering the questions.
What is your name? Arien Silverbow
Are you a Wizard? Can you cast spells after first preparing them from your spell book? Yes and Yes
What third level spell are you prepared to cast today as part of your membership application? I currently have Fireball and Lightning Bolt memorized twice both and I also have Slow memorized, any of those will do though I specialize in the former two.
Do you understand that the Star Tower does not condone evil spells or acts? Nor do I.
Are you prepared to pay 150 gold pieces today for one year's membership, or 1,500 gold pieces for lifetime membership? I will pay the 1,500 lifetime membership.
Arien looks over the parchment again after he finishes and passes it back to the human at the desk.
The man in the black robe gets off his stool, moving like his joints are rusted shut. he leans forward slightly as he walks. "Come," he says, as he opens a door opposite the one through which Arien entered.
Passing through the door brings Arien and the robed man into a large empty room. It is at least 40 feet wide and 100 feet across. There are many other doors leading into the room. The ceiling is about 30 feet high.
"Cast," the man tells Arien. He watches the mage with eyes that seem to catch every movement.
Arien nods to the man and turns to survey the room. Still surveying the room, Arien says "I trust this room is shielded from magics so I shall not worry too much about damaging the building." Then Arien picks a spot on the other side of the room and falls into his spellcasting, he unleashes a fireball at the other end of the room, aimed to cause the least damage to the structure as possible, just in case.
As Arien casts his spell, he has the feeling that the man in the black robe is noting his every movement. He watches the fireball, runs his right hand through his thinning hair, and says, "Fine."
The room seems undamaged by the spell.
The man leads Arien back into the office and resumes his seat at the desk. "Cash," he says.
Sitting down Arien reaches into his magic haversack, mentally summoning three bags, each with five hundred gold pieces in them. Setting them on the table in front of the man Arien says, "Each of these hold five hundred gold, so three bags makes fifteen hundred gold pieces for the lifetime membership." Arien passes the gold over to the man and leans back in the chair, waiting for the man to continue.
The man in black empties the sacks. He takes a wand from the sleeve of his robe and waves it over the gold. Then he casts a spell (Spellcraft check 15 to tell it is a cantrip that Arien has never encountered before) -- and the gold sorts itself into neat piles. The man quickly counts the piles.
Then he offers Arien a scroll, made of fine vellum, and a pen and ink. He opens the scroll, offers it to be read, and says, "Sign."
The scroll reads:
"By the power I command as a wizard, for so long as I am a Star Mage, I vow to follow the lawfully writ ordinances of the Star Mages' Guild and comport myself according to the professional standards of my fellow Mages, lest I be disrobed and cast out of the Tower."
Arien reads the scroll quickly but carefully then signs his name to the scroll. After signing the scroll he offers it, along with the other items the wizard passed Arien, back to the wizard.
Arien signs the document, which must have been magical, because as he finishes, he feel a tingling in the palm of the hand with which he wrote his name. Looking at his open hand, he sees a sigul, in a very thin black line, of a small star in the center of his palm. As he looks at it intently, it fades in and out, and somehow he knows that he can make it fade to invisibility or become clear just by concentrating.
Looking up, he sees the middle aged man in the black robe. His face is contorting in an odd way that does not look comfortable at all -- Sense Motive (or Wisdom) check vs. DC 11 to figure out that the man is actually trying to smile.
He sticks out his own hand, which Arien sees also has a small star mark, and offers to shake. "Welcome." the laconic man says. And then he adds, "I'm Lahster" -- which seems to be quite a speech for him!
Lahster leads Arien out of the office and takes him on a tour of the Tower. He sees the vast libraries, marvels at the well-equipped labs, and meets other mages. He learns the secrets of working the internal teleports and the ones that link the main tower to Chapterhouses.
The mages that he meets are friendly to him for the most part, and encourage him to spend time in the Tower -- the better to learn all that it has to offer. [OOC: remember that Arien must study here each level to gain the skill ranks that come with membership.] The resources of the Tower are impressive, and it may be a little daunting to Arien to realize that he is welcome here now.
