The Dominion Arcane
Bards Gates official Wizards Guild is known as the Dominion Arcane. Founded in 3214 by displaced wizards from throughout Foere, the guild has become one of the most powerful organizations in the world.
The guild is actually closer in nature to a secret society, since its leaders are officially unknown and information about its members is kept confidential. Despite its name, the guild is open to sorcerers, wizards, bards, magi, witches, summoners, and other practitioners of the arcane arts. Unlike many other guilds, membership is not mandatory, but the advantages of membership are such that few would refuse it. Members are allowed to purchase magical items and components at reduced rates, and are given access to the guild library and facilities in the guild hall. In addition, guild members are first in line for lucrative work with the city when magical assistance is needed.
The guild’s leaders are a group of 33 called the Dominion Arcane. Though officially secret, many members of this elite band of 33 wizards and sorcerers are actually fairly well known — one cannot be a powerful arcanist in a city like Bard’s Gate and avoid attention. Known members of the Dominion include such individuals as Velior, Andrigor, Manisool, and the Masters of the eight Schools of Magic and Sorcery. Other members of the Dominion are less well-known, and only members of the Dominion itself know the identities of all 33. Gatherings of the full Dominion are rare, as several of its members live elsewhere outside of Bard’s Gate, their seats held in absentia.
As a rule, the Dominion stays out of the internal affairs of Bard’s Gate, preferring to remain aloof from common politics and petty struggles. It is the publicly known eight Masters that serve in a rotating role on the Council of Burghers, each for a 3-month tenure. The health of the guild and its members, the furtherance of arcane studies, and the discovery of new magical techniques and spells are the primary interests of the Dominion. While members are often hired by city officials, and the guild is expected to participate in the city’s defense if needed, they remain relatively uninvolved in daily matters. Certain members of the Dominion such as Manisool and Andrigor have their own interests as well, and on occasion these interests directly affect the city and its welfare, however.
The guild has three categories of members. Sorcerers and wizards of 1st or 2nd level are apprentices, and usually serve as students and assistants to higher-ranking members. They also assist in the creation of scrolls and potions, and can be hired to perform basic magical functions for merchants, nobles, and the Bard’s Gate military. Once they have reached 3rd level, apprentices can apply for charter membership. Charter membership is granted to wizards and sorcerers of 3rd level and higher. Charter members are allowed access to the Apprentice Tower . Here they may study and trade spells with other charter members, or petition Dominion members for tutelage in higher level spells, or the crafting of magic items. Charter members are sometimes asked to perform quests or aid in a search for spell components in exchange for an opportunity to study with Dominion members. Most guild arcanists are charter members.
The Dominion Arcane is limited to 33 members, and open to membership by invitation only when a former member dies, resigns, or is declared dead by the surviving Dominion members. The Dominion has no official leader, though members are given one vote per caster level, so the higher-ranking members wield greater power in the council. The Dominion Arcane meets at the Tower of High Incantation. Only full Dominion members and their apprentices are allowed entrance to this tower.
Though it takes no active role in Bard’s Gate’s affairs, the Dominion nevertheless has eyes and ears throughout the North and the Duchy of Waymarch and beyond, including several different planes. Anything that might affect the Dominion is watched with great interest, and agents are often sent to investigate. The Dominion is also active in the search for relics, artifacts, new magic items, spells, and other arcane matters. Guild members are required to pay annual dues equal to 100gp per caster level. Air elementals collect payments from members regardless of their location, and failure to pay results in suspension and eventually expulsion from the guild in extreme cases. Membership is for life, regardless of alignment, race or religious affiliation.
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