Arcanamirium
The Arcanamirium is one of the largest and most prestigious schools in Absalom. The Arclords of Nex built the institution following the disappearance of the Archmage Nex and their subsequent exile from their distant homeland. They designed its imposing high black stone walls, stone gate, and soaring towers to foster a sense of security among its students. The single entrance features an intimidating portcullis and red-robed guards wielding pikes; they are meant to remind visitors that magic is a potent force best kept locked away from ignorant minds.
Today the Arcanamirium stands for practical magic—using spells and magic tools toward a direct and measurable result in the world. To its students and staff, magic is simply a tool to improve the lives of all people. Graduates often become artificers or politicians, or even provide magical services to common citizens.
The school conducts an annual open exam for anyone wishing to study behind its well-guarded doors. The professors, called docents, subject prospective students to a variety of esoteric tests in an attempt to ascertain their magical potential. Those who pass these tests are then ranked as either an apprentice, journeyman, maven, or the honored arcanscenti, a rank desired by senior spellcasters worldwide.
Once per year, each tenured docent can bestow a single student with a full scholarship covering their basic living expenses and secondhand equipment. The cutthroat competition for these scholarships subjects docents to political pressure, bribes, and offers of questionably moral favors in order to win the honor, sometimes successfully.
Nevertheless, the school produces top-quality spellcasters from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide array of talents. Unlike instructors at other magical institutions, Arcanamirium docents oppose specialization for how it limits the range of students’ capabilities. Instead, docents believe that a broad spectrum of training unlocks the greatest amount of potential. They practice this philosophy by arranging classes toward measurable goals rather than traditional schools of magic, such as Artifice and Enchantment, Battle Magic, Performance Magic, Fabrication, Magical Theory, Magical Transportation, and Relic Studies.
Graduates are required to complete an apprenticeship with an influential organization, such as the Harbormaster’s Grange, Office of Prisons, Pathfinder Society, or Scriveners’ Guild. These apprenticeships often lead to permanent positions that further increase the Arcanamirium’s influence. The school also sometimes creates and sells magic items for profit, which puts them at odds with the Guild of Spears and the Union of Carpenters, Stonemasons, and Metalworkers.
Lady Darchana of House Madinani, archdean of the Arcanamirium and second spell lord, has an interest in teleportation magic and consistently grants her annual scholarship to mages who show a talent for the art. She’s rumored to have created a network of teleportation circles to major cities across Golarion, including Magnimar, Nerosyan, Highhelm, Whitethrone, Sothis, Katapesh, and distant Goka. This network allows Lady Darchana to circumvent the purview of the Harbormaster’s Grange and Scriveners’ Guild to bring goods into the city without being taxed or documented, drawing suspicion, condemnation, and avarice from several fronts.
Today the Arcanamirium stands for practical magic—using spells and magic tools toward a direct and measurable result in the world. To its students and staff, magic is simply a tool to improve the lives of all people. Graduates often become artificers or politicians, or even provide magical services to common citizens.
The school conducts an annual open exam for anyone wishing to study behind its well-guarded doors. The professors, called docents, subject prospective students to a variety of esoteric tests in an attempt to ascertain their magical potential. Those who pass these tests are then ranked as either an apprentice, journeyman, maven, or the honored arcanscenti, a rank desired by senior spellcasters worldwide.
Once per year, each tenured docent can bestow a single student with a full scholarship covering their basic living expenses and secondhand equipment. The cutthroat competition for these scholarships subjects docents to political pressure, bribes, and offers of questionably moral favors in order to win the honor, sometimes successfully.
Nevertheless, the school produces top-quality spellcasters from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide array of talents. Unlike instructors at other magical institutions, Arcanamirium docents oppose specialization for how it limits the range of students’ capabilities. Instead, docents believe that a broad spectrum of training unlocks the greatest amount of potential. They practice this philosophy by arranging classes toward measurable goals rather than traditional schools of magic, such as Artifice and Enchantment, Battle Magic, Performance Magic, Fabrication, Magical Theory, Magical Transportation, and Relic Studies.
Graduates are required to complete an apprenticeship with an influential organization, such as the Harbormaster’s Grange, Office of Prisons, Pathfinder Society, or Scriveners’ Guild. These apprenticeships often lead to permanent positions that further increase the Arcanamirium’s influence. The school also sometimes creates and sells magic items for profit, which puts them at odds with the Guild of Spears and the Union of Carpenters, Stonemasons, and Metalworkers.
Lady Darchana of House Madinani, archdean of the Arcanamirium and second spell lord, has an interest in teleportation magic and consistently grants her annual scholarship to mages who show a talent for the art. She’s rumored to have created a network of teleportation circles to major cities across Golarion, including Magnimar, Nerosyan, Highhelm, Whitethrone, Sothis, Katapesh, and distant Goka. This network allows Lady Darchana to circumvent the purview of the Harbormaster’s Grange and Scriveners’ Guild to bring goods into the city without being taxed or documented, drawing suspicion, condemnation, and avarice from several fronts.
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Owner
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