The Desportium of Magick

This annual festival night is held on the last night of Growfest, just after dark, at and around the Grand Citadel. Torchlight lights the area, and great crowds throng the square and surrounding streets. Then, to great applause, the fifteen contestants are led out to the contest.

The contestants are mages specializing in illusion magic, working in five teams of three members each. Around the Grand Citadel, they create the most magnificent illusions possible, based on a standard central theme: an attack upon the Citadel by various humanoids, repulsed by warriors and spellcasters within. This motif dates from an ancient event in the history of Greyhawk, the attempted invasion of the city by a mass humanoid army with mage support, which occurred at an un known time in the far distant past. The mages within Greyhawk repulsed the rabble of humanoids by the skilful use of illusions, and it is this which is reenacted in this spectacular display. Using the full range of illusion-type spells, the teams strive to portray the most vividly real and detailed illusions to the admiring crowds.

The basic theme has, by now, become embroidered far beyond the simple reenactment of the past. The invading force is now shown as including evil dragons, hydras, and other monsters of the most terrifying sort, so that crowds gasp in half-real fear at the terrors the illusionists conjure.

However, there remains one major limitation which affects the brilliance of these displays: the quality of the illusions is directly related to the personal experiences of the mage. The best detailed and most striking of the illusions can only be created of those monsters which the illusionist has actually seen in a threatening situation. The event is organized by Ephraim Blackrod of the Guild of Wizardry and the judging of the displays is made by Kieren Jalucian, Jallarzi Sallavarian, and Otiluke, and their marking is keenly attentive to detail. Finally, the maximum duration of a display is 40 minutes.

This night can be used for encounters of the type noted earlier-villainy is going on while everyone is absorbed in the magical display-or else the PCs can use this as a chance to meet such luminaries as Jallarzi, Kieren, Otiluke or other major mages. However, a PC illusionist may wish to enter the competition. If this happens, then you will need to determine some rules for the competition (and the PC will need to find team workers to join forces with, since no PC party is likely to include three illusionists). This eventuality is not dealt with in detail here, because of the wide range of possibilities- what has the PC illusionist seen, and what can he create a striking illusion of? Both his experiences, and his Intelligence, may be very important here, and the DM will need to balance these against NPC competitors designed to achieve a fair balance in the competition.

The reward for victory is usually 500 gp per winning team member, plus half price training for the next experience level at the Guild of Wizardry (and also free memberslup). As a final detail, note that hot chestnuts, roasted squirrels, and mulled wine are usually served up by vendors during the display, and that a large, hot repast is usually taken by all concerned after the conclusion of proceedings.