C6: University of Magical Arts

One of the most striking buildings in Clerkburg, from an architectural point of view, is the dramatic, three-sided pyramid of the College of Magic, as this university is often called. Its sheer sides and pointed crown are visible from many places in the district, and even from high locations in other parts of the city. But the drama doesn't stop there. As one approaches the college at street level, he faces a long, featureless wall-- one section of the triangular courtyard wall. Since the gate is not here, one might turn the corner to the next, and then the third wall.

But there is no gate.

Entry to the Wizard School (another common nickname in the city) is by invitation only. Apprentices, arriving to begin their studies, are whisked through the wall by the power of their teachers. Often, they do not emerge again for one or two years.

The pyramid is divided into 15 floors, or levels. Each level, naturally, is smaller than the one below, and each houses a successively smaller number of students. But the higher up in the pyramid, the more advanced the student.

The cellar of the pyramid is a huge, deep chamber, large enough to serve as auditorium for the staff and students of the school, as well as many more. This basement drops some 40 feet into the ground, and has a high, domed ceiling. Often, the room is cleared and used as an arena for levitation or flying classes, where students can practice without fear of wind gusts or derisive remarks from observers outside the school. (There is nothing quite so ungainly as a young mage trying to use his first flying spell.)

Each floor serves as dormitory, dining hall, and classroom for the students there. As a rule of thumb, the level in the pyramid corresponds to the student's level of experience. The teacher on the floor is always at least three levels higher than the highest student, with a minimum instructor level of 7th.

The first (apprentice) floor has perhaps 100 hopeful students, characters of 0 level. This number decreases to about 60 1st-level, 40 2nd-level, 20 3rd-level, and so on, with only single students or pairs studying levels above 6th. At the lower levels there is one teacher for every 10 students (1 per 20 for the apprentices), while there is one teacher per level above the 5th.

In addition, each of the lower floors is staffed with a priest or two, of levels equivalent to the teacher. These assistants generate food and water for the younger students, since these aspirants are not allowed to leave the temple during the course of their studies.

Also, the work of the Porters is much in evidence here, for these dwarves handle all of the heavy work not delegated to apprentices. See Ch3 FFF for a full description of the Porters, and of Kieren Jalucian, Principal of the College. Though Kieren lives at the Wizards' Guild, an apartment is kept ready for him at the top of the pyramid. Tobin Potriades, the Senior Tutor, also lives at the top of this pyramid. Full details of Tobin and other NPCs at the College of Magic can also be gleaned from Ch3 FFF.

Unlike many other universities, the College of Magic does not often keep students for three or four years in a row. It is far more likely that a student will study here for one, or perhaps two years, and then embark on the road to adventure for a while. After the character has earned some money and learned a little about the real world, he might come back to spend a year at the college before going on the road again.

Some of the students in the higher levels of the temple are quite old.

The magical protections and wards in this college would require an entire module to describe in detail. They include such things as invisible walls, magic mouth spells, clever use of permanent levitate spells, traps filled with slow gas, and entire rooms blanketed with silence or darkness spells. lf these protections are put to the test, the DM will be obliged to fill in the details. Keep in mind that the college, while not designed as a fortress, is very well defended.

And it needs to be. After all, the vault at the top of the pyramid contains several (2d4 + 1) valuable magical items. These are not listed because they change regularly, consisting of whatever is relevant to the current lesson. There is little money kept here, but an intruder might find some scrolls, and certainly a few spell books, if he knew where to look.

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C6: University of Magical Arts, This startling building, a three-sided pyramid surrounded by a three-sided courtyard wall 6 feet high, is 100 feet along each side and about 90 feet high. No door or window mars its exterior; the surrounding wall is similarly featureless and has no gate. Apprentices (at zero-level) are brought through the wall by magical means (employed by their tutors) once they identify themselves verbally while facing the wall. Once an apprenticeship begins, the student might not reappear for a year or two, by which time he or she has become a 1st-level wizard.

The university building has a huge underground auditorium and nine floors, each larger than the floor above it and containing classrooms, sleeping quarters, and a dining area for the students there. No kitchens are needed; priests of Boccob who live here create food for all. The first floor houses about 100 hopeful apprentices; the second about 60 1st-level students, the third has 40 at 2nd level, the fourth has 20 at 3rd level, the fifth has 12 at 4th level, the sixth is home to 6 at Sth level, and only one or two students of varying levels are housed per floor above this.

Tutors are about three levels of ability above their charges; tutors are never less than 7th level. An apprentice who reaches the Ist level of ability is allowed (actually encouraged) to leave the campus and go adventuring to broaden skills and knowledge. All wizards of Ist level and above have returned here for further training to achieve their next levels of ability. Students range from teenaged humans (quite common as apprentices) to a few ancient gnomes, with some elves of unknown age. Race, gender, and age are meaningless except to some ignorant apprentices; only the ability to command magic ranks the students.

Details on the pyramid’s interior often vary, depending on who describes it. Some students claim the pyramid has many more floors than expected, which could result from some floors and rooms being connected to extradimensional spaces or being linked by teleporters in curious ways. Heavy lifting and some maintenance work in the university is accomplished by Porters from the Wizards’ Guildhall (H13).

Kieren Jalucian (described at H13) is Principal of the university, and he has rooms on the top floor — or what seems to be the top floor. The Senior Tutor at the university is the extremely aged Tobin Pottiades [LG hm W16; hp 34; Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 17; many magical items], who is both deaf and blind but can see and hear clearly using magical devices and spells. He had a tabby cat (actually a changecat, a shape-altering feline) that died recently, 47 leaving him in a deep depression. The other tutors and Kieren Jalucian want the old mage to retire, and he might soon do that.

Admission to the university requires the recommendation of another wizard, approval by a board of tutors, and an initial admission fee of 100 gp. This amount is often paid by an older wizard, who gains the apprentice’s services as an aide during the first years of training. Training fees for older students are set as per the usual rules for gaining levels. Students are nearly all humans from Greyhawk and surrounding states and cities, with a few gnomes (learning to be illusionists) and a few elyes and half-elves. Few students are evil, but these learn to behave themselves here; most students have a neutral alignment component and worship Boccob.

DM's Notes: Little money is kept in the University of Magical Arts, but a considerable amount of magical writings, such as spellbooks and scrolls, are found within. Some minor potions are around for training, and a few powerful items are usually stored in a secret vault (with extradimensional connections) accessed from the top floor. The place is jammed with magical defenses too complex to describe here; it is not impregnable, but it is very dangerous to someone with bad intentions and few clues as to what might happen. The DM could improvise as desired if such defenses were tested to prevent theft or damage to the pyramid. The Thieves’ Guild does not dare bother with this place, preferring to stay in good graces with the wizards and purchase their services for various projects.