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Latest Update: 20 October 1997
Warning! The material on this page is incomplete and under
construction. More than enough is here for use in gameplay, but
some Orders are unfinished and may remain that way for some time.
My apologies. -- RMS
Table of Contents
- What is an Order of Magic?
- Game Effect
- List of Orders
- Secret/Banned Orders
- The Great Houses
- Sample Houses
What is an Order of Magic?
Most human mages will be members of an Order. It is not required
-- any good library will have enough information to start
learning a little magic, and a clever student can usually take
things from there on his own -- but being a member of an Order
makes things a lot easier.
Orders are a combination of magic school, social club and
professional guild. They provide places for study and for
recreation, and also usually ensure the quality and ethics of
their members. There are exceptions to this -- certain secret
orders pursue necromancy and other proscribed magics, and their
ethics are often shaky at best. But most orders are public, and
usually in good standing with their neighbors -- so much so that
self-trained or otherwise unaffiliated mages are not completely
trusted; they are often called "rogues" no matter their personal
deportment and behavior, and suffer a -1 Social Stigma. (In some
nations, the Orders have such power that rogue mages are outlawed
entirely!)
Orders are often large organizations with many branches. They
usually have a single leader, called an Archmage (regardless of
his actual magical prowess); some are governed by small
committees, each member of which is called an Oligarch. Its base
is called a Sanctum, and is usually a stronghold in some remote
or hard-to-reach location.
An Order will also have a number of Chapters. These are usually
located in major cities, and are the primary level of
organization seen by most mages. The Chapters are the social
centers and the "universities" of the Order. The head of a
chapter is known as a Factor and, unless overruled by the
Sanctum, has complete authority over the membership and
operations of the chapter. Each chapter will be located in a
building or complex of buildings known as a Chapter House; the
House will always be both magically and mundanely defended
against attack and intrusion.
Some orders also maintain magical research facilities, often in
remote and unpopulated areas.
Colleges
An order will normally specialize in no more than six to eight
colleges of magic. This always includes at least parts of the
Enchantment, Knowledge and Metamagic colleges, although the
precise spells available in these colleges may be quite limited,
and will vary from order to order. See the List of Orders for
further information.
A mage who wishes to pursue colleges not taught by his order must
either quit the order and join a new one, or find magical texts
and teach himself.
Membership
Most orders have no automatic restrictions on membership.
However, some Orders may be intended solely for members of a
specific race, such as the Sidhas Asathaul (or "Houses") which
are nominally for elves and half-elves only.
Membership in an order usually starts with apprenticeship. A
mage trained in another order or a "rogue" may apply for
membership, but they will normally have a harder time being
accepted, and will usually be required to undergo an "accelerated
apprenticeship" that is designed to be harrowing and difficult.
Mages are not encouraged to hop from order to order; unless he
has a spectacular reputation, any mage who does so will be
considered a dilettante and an opportunist, and will find it
harder and harder to join new orders.
A member must pay dues equal to 5% of his annual income to
maintain his good standing in the order. Apprentices taken in
their youth pay no fees, but must act as servants to their
Masters in exchange for their education and their room and board.
"Transfer students" must pay a fee based on a sliding scale; the
exact amount depends on a number of factors, not the least of
which is how much the local Factor wants to discourage the
applicant. In addition, the mage is expected to protect and
defend the order where necessary, and to act as the order's agent
when required. Also, like other fraternal orders, the mage
promises to aid his fellow members individually when needed.
In exchange for all this, the mage receives a small enchanted
tattoo, called an Order Mark, that identifies him as a member of
the order. This is normally on the hands, face or chest, where
it can be easily seen, although certain secret orders place their
tattoos in obscure locations. This tattoo acts as a "key" to the
magical defenses of a Chapter House, allowing the mage to enter
and leave freely. Order marks are keyed to their individual
owners, and can be remotely "shut down" to lock out an outcast or
banned member, or one who has changed Orders. In the latter
case, the physical tattoo remains, but its magical properties are
permanently removed.
Apprentices receive their Order Marks upon entering the order,
but do not normally get them enchanted until they are granted
full membership in the Order, at the end of their apprenticeship.
Until such time, they can only enter and exit the Chapter House
with their master or some other full member.
Members also receive access to chapter libraries and classes on
the colleges that the order specializes in. Library access
usually costs a token amount -- 10 copper per day or fraction
thereof. Classes cost more, on the order of 1 silver/day of
class.
Most orders maintain a program of social events. The budget for
these depends on the order and its philosophy (an ascetic order
will not have frequent banquets, for example!), but most orders
will have at least a monthly informal get-together. In some
cities, Chapters from different orders field sports teams and
play games against each other. At the very least, Chapter Houses
will always have lounges and discussion rooms where mages may
relax amid the company of other mages.
Sleepers
In the past, it has been heard of for a mage to be a member of
both a public Order and a secret, proscribed one. Such mages are
known as "Sleepers". They use the cover of their public image to
pursue the goals of their secret brotherhood. Many Orders
attempt to purge possible Sleepers from their ranks whenever such
are suspected, but such purges are infrequent in these modern
days.
Game Effect
In game terms, the member mage will gain the order as a Patron,
as well as a Duty to that Order. The exact value of each will
vary by the size of the Order. The Order will always have a
frequency of appearance of 15 or less.
Many orders require Vows -- such as celibacy or poverty -- from
their members. A mage who has changed Orders need not abide by
the Vows of his previous Order(s), but many do.
Members must have at least half a point in Savoir-Faire for their
Order, and half a point in Thaumatology. Area Knowledge (Chapter
House) is appropriate, especially if the Chapter House is
especially large. Sometimes members are required to know or
learn a certain language at IQ -- such as Sidhaisin for members
of the elven "Houses", or Old Common for Cerebromagi.
A mage need not know spells from all the colleges taught by his
Order, but can choose to specialize in one or two of them.
Being a "Sleeper" is a Secret whose revelation portends possible
death (a -30 point value).
List of Orders
This is by no means a complete list of all the orders of magic
found on the Jadiwan continent; it is merely a compendium of some
of the largest and/or better known. Many orders are no larger
than a single Chapter House/Sanctum -- such orders have not been
listed here.
All orders in this list will teach at least parts of the
Enchantment and Metamagic Colleges in addition to any explicitly
listed with an order. The precise spells known vary from order
to order; however, in the former case, most will have some or all
of the Wizard's Tools spells. All have the Knowledge College to
the extent of the following spells: Detect Magic, Identify
Spell, Mage Sight, Seek Magic, Mage Sense, and Analyze Magic.
Orders which list Enchantment, Knowledge or Metamagic among their
colleges have the full spell list for that college at their
disposal.
Some orders teach colleges that have prerequisites from outside
their college list. In such cases, the order has only as many
spells from the prerequisite college(s) as are needed, and no
more; and they do not count the college(s) among those that they
practice and teach.
Name: Brotherhood of the Elements
Size: 25 chapters
Sanctum: Palace of the Elements, Dirria.
Leadership: Oligarchy
Colleges taught: All Elements except for Acid subcollege of
Water, Gate up to and including the planar travel spells.
Character requirements: Must take a Vow never to coerce or harm
elementals. OPH (Snob) is common.
Order Mark: A small circle, quartered, with a stylized flame,
water drop, rock and cloud in the quarters.
Description/Philosophy: This order specializes in all uses and
forms of elemental magic. They tend to accumulate Allies and
Patrons in powerful elemental creatures; it is said that the
Rockthane itself aided in the creation of their sanctum. While
they are required to be always peaceful and polite to elementals,
they are under no such restriction when dealing with other
creatures; this order produces some of the more impressive
warrior-mages. While no particular church is required for
members, most mages in this order worship one or all of the
Elemental Lords, or one or more of Fermus, Friel, Kharul, Kel and
Lhen.
History: The Brotherhood is actually the descendant of an older
order that was shattered and destroyed during Devastor. More
than a century after its destruction, several mages discovered a
cache of its records, and went about reconstituting the order.
The original Brotherhood took pride in being one of the very
first orders; the restored Brotherhood continues this claim, even
though it bears only a slight resemblance to its pacifistic,
service-oriented forebear. Its policies are often self-serving
and self-aggrandizing, and members are sometimes snobbish to the
point of obnoxiousness.
Name: Cerebromagi
Size: Not applicable
Sanctum: Probably not applicable; if it is, then somewhere in
Cerebrospace.
Leadership: Probably not applicable
Colleges taught: Not applicable
Character requirements: Old Common, the Plane Shift:
Cerebrospace and/or Gate: Cerebrospace spell(s), Survival
(Cerebrospace), Cerebrospace Manipulation.
Order Mark: Not applicable
Description/Philosophy: Not applicable
History: The Cerebromagi are not actually a separate order, but
rather a loose organization of all those mages who have learned
how to enter and make use of Cerebrospace. The first cerebromagi
were the initial few explorers/users of C-space organized by the
elven mage Imasho Thyrillin, who, with several others, discovered
the unique properties of this part of the Astral Plane more than
a century ago. At present, the only requirements for "joining"
the Cerebromagi are the abilities to enter and shape
Cerebrospace, and knowledge of the ancient Common Tongue of the
Jadiwan continent.
Name: Crafters
Size: 57 chapters
Sanctum: Matrix Castle, outside of Krane, Kironar.
Leadership: Archmage
Colleges taught: Enchantment, Illusion and Creation, Making and
Breaking, Tech.
Character requirements: Must have at least a minor Delusion
(player's choice). -2 Reputation as "Weird". Wealth of
Comfortable or better suggested.
Order Mark: A hammer over a coin.
Description/Philosophy: The Crafters are among the premiere
enchanters of the modern era, rarely exceeded save for the
legendary elven-dwarven collaborations. However, they are also
obsessed with the nature of reality and truth, and are of the
opinion that little truly exists that is absolutely objective and
immutable. They point to the close link between Illusion and
Creation spells as the basis for their philosophy -- the ability
to create false seemings is innately connected to the ability to
create true things. All Crafters are eccentric, some much more
so than others, and are looked upon suspiciously by the general
populace. But their skills are much in demand, and they are not
so removed from the world that they do not realize their value to
other mages. Subsequently, they are a rich order; it is a rare
sight to see a shabby, poorly-dressed Crafter, or one without at
least a couple magic items.
History: The Crafters are an order which has a continuous
unbroken history dating back some seven centuries before
Devastor. Their mages, while not the first enchanters, have
compiled and refined the vast number of enchantment spells until
they have become the undisputed masters of the college; they
continue to add to the college as the decades pass. It is even
rumored that some Crafters are researching the possibility of
applying permanent enchantments to living beings!
Name: Fellowship of the Mind
Size: 29 chapters
Sanctum: Introspection Keep, Cerebrospace
Leadership: Archmage
Colleges taught: Body Control, Communication and Empathy,
Illusion and Creation, Mind Control; plus sufficient Gate spells
to provide entry to Cerebrospace.
Character requirements: Vow not to misuse their knowledge, or a
Code of Honor defining ethical use of their colleges.
Order Mark: A human head.
Description/Philosophy: The Fellowship seeks to understand the
workings of the mortal mind, and by extension, the soul. In the
course of this search, they have discovered all the many ways
magic can manipulate the mind. But instead of becoming a
fearsome force that can twist mobs and governments to its will,
the Fellowship imposed a strict code of ethics upon its members,
and enforced that code with deadly severity; even today,
centuries after the last known purges, no member will lightly
consider violating that code. With the discovery of Cerebrospace
and its sensitivity to the sentient mind, the Fellowship has
moved the majority of its R&D off-plane.
History: The Fellowship of the Mind is a new order, founded a
century after Devastor. It has spread somewhat, but is far from
ubiquituous. Founded in Chicoqe, on the Larquoneaa, it once had
its sanctum there, but the order's headquarters have since been
relocated to Cerebrospace.
Name: Geomancers
Size: 21 chapters
Sanctum: Rockhome Deeps, Bukkaazmur
Leadership: Oligarchy
Colleges taught: Earth, Fire, Knowledge, Metamagic, Water (but
no water subcolleges).
Character requirements: None. Members are encouraged to pay
reverence to Friel, but joining his church is not required for
membership. Engineering and architecture skills are common.
Order Mark: A stylized mountain, similar to that found in the
holy symbol of Friel.
Description/Philosophy: Given that it was founded by dwarves,
the philosophy of this order is not surprising: The foundations
of the world are of stone and earth, and all things come from and
return to them. Respect the fabric of Narth. The greatest
achievements are in creation and discovery. Geomancers, despite
a name that hints at divinatory abilities, are more often often
designers and crafters of stone structures and earthworks. They
are not loath to take life if necessary. Mining companies and
construction crews often have a Geomancer or two on their
payrolls. Mages of this order tend to be very pragmatic.
History: This order was founded by Dwarven earthmages only a
hundred years ago; it is one of the youngest orders to have
spread beyond the nation in which it was founded. For its first
few decades, non-Dwarven members were discouraged, but a
political shakeup among the governing elite of the order some 25
years ago changed the membership policy drastically.
Name: Golden Sun
Size: 32 chapters
Sanctum: Sunsholme, in Seenay.
Leadership: Oligarchy
Colleges taught: Fire, Gate, Illusion and Creation, Light and
Darkness.
Order Mark: Stylized solar disk.
Character requirements: Patron: Order, on 9-. Reputation +1
from everyone as "crusaders against evil". Members may not be
obviously "evil" (no psychopaths, sadists or the like). They may
not learn spells from GURPS Grimoire, except for the Gate
College. Most members of this order have either Intolerance of
Necromancers or Obsession (Destroy Necromancy). Many members are
worshippers of Nerahn; some are outright Fanatics. Common quirks
include conservative or reactionary views about politics and/or
religion, and a dislike of nonhumans. The Old Common tongue is
known by almost all members.
Description/Philosophy: "We are the bearers of the light, the
keepers of its secrets. From light comes substance, and
illumination brings truth." The members of the Golden Sun have
long been among the forefront of the battle against evil,
particularly those who practice necromancy. Their origins as a
lay order of the church of Nerahn (below) are echoed in the their
unyielding adherence to their original (and unchanged) rules and
organization. The result is that the order is usually very
conservative (and at times reactionary) in its views, and its
leaders tend to be those who pleased the previous generation of
leaders with their adherence to the order's perferred dogma. The
Golden Sun is slow to change in any way, and almost never admits
an error in policy or philosophy. This conservatism is extended
even to the order's grimoires -- new spells, whether developed
in-house or deployed by other orders, are tested for years,
sometimes for decades, before being approved for use. As a
result, its members are usually not as versatile as those from
other orders, although they will often be very adept at the
spells they do know.
The order also encourages a great deal of self-reliance in its
members, and will only come to their aid under extreme
circumstances, hence the lower appearance roll for it as a
Patron.
History: The Golden Sun originated some ten centuries ago as an
offshoot of the church of Nerahn, and was originally dedicated to
the task of rooting out and destroying undead and their creators.
Over the first two centuries of the order's existence, it
gradually grew away from the church and became a separate,
secular body, with wider goals and beliefs. However, the order's
religious origins remain apparent in its rigid belief system and
political structure. This rigidity has perpetuated both a solid
dogma and a "we can do no wrong" attitude among the order's
leaders. The Golden Sun participated eagerly in the post-
Devastor persecution of non-humans, and even in these more
enlightened times has not admitted any wrongdoing in its
encouragement (or, in some cases, its part in) of some of the
atrocities of the period.
Name: Greenfellows
Size: 47 chapters
Sanctum: House of Life, Telzfar, Tinmak (recently destroyed)
Leadership: Archmage
Colleges taught: Animal, Food, Light and Darkness, Plant, Sound.
Character requirements: +1 Reputation from Farmers.
Self-Defense only Pacifism. Many Greenfellows are worshippers of
Maire, Lindelona and/or (sometimes) Rammis.
Order Mark: A intricate webwork of lines.
Description/Philosophy: "The cycle of life is sacred;
everything has its place and its role. Magic can help bring to
fruition a living thing's destiny in the great scheme of things."
The Greenfellows are mage-farmers, druid-wizards and others who
feel an integral link to the ecosystem of Narth. However, they
do not hold the ecosystem above humans and other mortals;
instead, their focus is on the cycle of life and the interaction
that sentient beings have with it. Few, if any, are "green"
fanatics.
One common mission of the Greenfellows is to teach farmers some
of the easier Plant college spells -- which are often the most
useful ones to the crop-owner.
History: The Greenfellows were founded almost 250 years
ago as a local order in Tinmak, a land not then known for
excessive fertility or abundance. The Greenfellows, led by a
mage who worshipped Maire, sought to improve the lot of their
fellow Tinmakki without disturbing the balance of nature. In the
decades that followed, this goal was achieved, and both Tinmak and
the order prospered and grew. Its Sanctum remained in the
original chapterhouse in Tinmak until the recent expansion of the
Kironar Empire. The House of Life was destroyed in the fighting
and the order is currently without a Sanctum.
Name: Lifegivers
Size: 62 chapters
Sanctum: The White Tower, Chesmir.
Leadership: Archmage
Colleges taught: Communication & Empathy, Food, Healing,
Protection and Warning.
Character requirements: Cannot Kill Pacifism, +1 Reputation from
all.
Order Mark: An equal-armed cross over an intricate spiral.
Description/Philosophy: "Sentient mortal life is sacred. There
is no greater calling than its protection and nurturing." One of
the two best-known healing orders, the Lifegivers focuses on the
preservation of human life. Unlike the Order of Physick, it does
not teach mundane medical skills, preferring rather to rely
entirely on the Healing college. In addition, the order
specializes in those other colleges which best lend themselves to
protection.
History: The Lifegivers were formed as the result of a peaceful
schism within the Order of Physick a little more than a century
and a half ago. A dozen or so mages, now revered as "The
Founders", left the OP over a philosophical difference in the
Order's focus, and created a new order to reflect their views.
Name: L'shentayka
Size: 45 chapters
Sanctum: L'shentakuz, Arakund
Leadership: Oligarchy
Colleges taught: Enchantment, Gate, Knowledge,
Making and Breaking, Protection and Warning, Tech.
Character requirements: Most members of L'shentayka are
orcs or half-orcs. A Major Vow never to destroy anything
living or unliving if it can at all be avoided -- Cannot Kill
Pacifism is frequently found in conjunction with this vow.
Many members have strict Codes of Honor governing their
personal behavior and deportment. Engineering and scientific
skills are common, as are diplomacy and other social skills.
Order Mark: The Arake'en rune for the letter "L".
Description/Philosophy: "Builders are we of soul
and civiliation. We give the lie to the stereotype of the
barbarian orc. We build where we can, rebuild where we must,
and never destroy where we can find another way." The
L'shentayka are an order of mages who seek to build, support
and reinforce the structures of the world. Destruction, be it
of life or a tumbledown shack, is anathema to them. They also
seek to demonstrate the best virtues of an advanced,
enlightented civilization. They are also often gifted scientists
-- as an example, while Arakund received the concept of
firearms from the elves, it was mages of the L'Shentayka order
who deduced from their observations and divinations how to
duplicate gunpowder.
History: The L'shentayka order was originally an
Arakundian vocational school some 250 years ago, but an
original member of the faculty was an experienced mage, and
increasing numbers of students came to study under him, and
later his successors. Soon, the focus of the training changed
from vocational to magical, and the school itself transformed
into an order of mages who specialize in building and
reinforcing -- and understanding -- the structures of the world.
In the last few decades, the L'shentayka Order has expanded
out of Arakund proper. The original school building is now
the order's sanctum, and chapterhouses can be found in almost
every country poised on the edge of the Larquoneaa.
Name: Order of Physick
Size: 70+ chapters
Sanctum: The Hospice, Lysiria
Leadership: Oligarchy
Colleges taught: Body Control, Food, Healing, Necromancy (only
enough for Resurrection!).
Character requirements: +1 Reputation from everyone; Vow:
"Hippocratic Oath" or equivalent, or Cannot Kill Pacifism.
Medical skills are common.
Order Mark: An abstract leaf-like form.
Description/Philosophy: "Heal those who need it. Do not take
life with your skills." These are the two rules by which all
mages of the Order of Physick live. They are doctors and
healers, often with both magical and mundane skills; as in other
areas of endeavor, medicine, too, has an "observer effect", and
diseases with a magical component can only be treated with
magic.
History: The Order of Physick is arguably the oldest of the
orders which survived Devastor reasonably intact. The earliest
independently verifiable records date the order as at least 1000
years old; the order's own records claim an additional 500 years
beyond that.
Name: Seekers
Size: 31 chapters
Sanctum: Elzpath, Jarras.
Leadership: Oligarchy
Colleges taught: Communication and Empathy, Knowledge, Movement,
Protection and Warning, Tech. Any and all "Seek" spells,
regardless of college.
Character requirements: Each member must take a Vow to pursue
some specific goal, usually an artifact or some unknown
knowledge.
Order Mark: An open eye.
Description/Philosophy:
History:
Name: Windriders
Size: 44 chapters
Sanctum: The Windspire, Dalamir, Elstrim.
Leadership: Archmage
Colleges taught: Air, Gate, Ice subcollege, Movement, Water,
Weather subcollege.
Character requirements:
Order Mark: Stylized cloud and wings.
Description/Philosophy:
History:
Secret/Banned Orders
For comparison, here are several of the underground orders whose
existence has been discovered. In addition to the character
requirements listed for each, a member of a secret or banned
order must take an appropriate Secret.
Name: Dwellers in the Shadow
Size: Unknown, suspected to be a large order.
Sanctum: Its sanctum was located in Lysirria and destroyed; it
is not known if they have established a new one.
Leadership: Rumored to be Archmage
Colleges taught: Body Control, Illusion and Creation,
Enchantment, Light and Darkness, Sound.
Character requirements: Must be a worshipper of Ntono. Bard
and/or Psychology are common.
Order Mark: The holy symbol of Ntono: a black silhouette
of a man.
Description/Philosophy: The Dwellers are a body of Ntono-
worshippers who seek to further the Voidchild's aims by sowing
discontent and chaos. In particular, the Dwellers like to incite
holy wars if they can, by rabble-rousing and demagoguery coupled
with clever use of illusions and other magic.
History: The Dwellers are believed to date back to the discovery
of magic. Ntono has always had his followers, and those who
learnt magic simply applied it to their agenda.
Name: Brothers of the Grave
Size: Unknown.
Sanctum: Believed to be in Edrad.
Leadership: Archmage.
Colleges taught: Body Control, Healing, Necromancy, Sound.
Character requirements: an Odious Personal Habit.
Order Mark: A stylized human skull.
Description/Philosophy:
History:
Name: Keepers of the Truth
Size: Unknown, believed to be small.
Sanctum: Believed to be somewhere in the Blasted Lands.
Leadership: Unknown, probably Oligarchy.
Colleges taught: Communication and Empathy, Gate, Illusion and
Creation, Knowledge.
Character requirements: Delusion: "We are the only Keepers of
the One Truth!", Intolerance of all non-Keepers, Mind Block skill
at 18+.
Order Mark: The Keepers appear to have no order mark.
Description/Philosophy: The Keepers appear to be a small band of
fanatics who operate out of the Blasted Lands. The specifics of
their beliefs and philosophy are unclear; Keepers tend to suicide
if captured, and seem to be resistant to magical mind-probing.
All that has been reliably determined to date is that they are
opposed to virtually every established government on the
continent.
History: Not much has been discovered about the origins of the
Keepers. Their apparent base of operations in the Blasted Lands
suggest that they are the descendants of some nation or Order
that was almost entirely destroyed by Devastor. The source of
their fanaticism may date back to the beliefs or politics of
their pre-Devastor ancestors and antecedents, but little is known
for certain. What is known is that they occasionally send agents
into the various nations that surround them, with the apparent
goals of sabotage and sedition; however, Keepers rarely are able
to maintain a cover identity for long and usually give themselves
away before they do any real damage.
Name: The Red Mark
Size: Unknown.
Sanctum: Unknown.
Leadership: Unknown.
Colleges taught: Animal, Body Control, Communication and
Empathy, Mind Control.
Character requirements: A minor Delusion or other "insanity"
disadvantage.
Order Mark: A simple circle of red.
Description/Philosophy:
History:
The Great Houses
The Sidhai have a system which was imposed thousands of years ago
to prevent any one clan from gaining an advantage over the others
through magic. In addition to the hundreds of family lines, the
Sidhai also have several dozen "Great Houses", which are
"artificial" clans composed solely of mages. At his birth, every
elven child is tested for magical potential. Those that test
positive are given to one of the Great Houses. (Any child born
to a Great House who has no Magery is given to a family who has
recently given up a child to a Great House.)
In the Great House, the child is raised to be a mage among mages,
taught by mages and living with mages. Each house specializes in
a small variety of magic, like the human Orders; but unlike the
Orders a member of a Great House cannot leave it and join
another, any more than any other elf could change his bloodline.
An elven mage who tried to go "rogue" in the human style would be
at the best outcast, and at worst, hunted down and killed. It is
not forbidden for an elven mage to learn magics outside those
taught by his House, but he is not allowed to teach them to
others in the line. (There are rare exceptions to this, but
all are virtually legends; only one is currently living.)
The priesthoods of Lindelona and Maire, as well, are Great
Houses, except an elf may join them at any point in his life by
renouncing his previous clan. Sometimes children are marked at
birth for the priesthood, in which case they are raised in the
same manner as mage children.
It is believed that the Yadhai use a similar system.
The Great Houses do not follow the human orders in their use of
Order Marks to identify members.
Sample Houses
Below are two sample houses:
Name: Asathon ad Alledhef ("The house of magic")
Colleges taught: Light and Darkness, Metamagic, Protection and
Warning, Sound, Tech.
Name: Asathon ad haushrel ("The house of the elements")
Colleges taught: All Elements, Plant, Weather.
Copyright © 1996-
1999, by Robert
M. Schroeck.
Narth, Narth
2000, Sidhai, and
Sidhaisin are
trademarks of
Robert M.
Schroeck.
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