Apotheosis Arcanaeum is one of the best academies for magical research and study. Founded by Archmage Aggi, a high elf born from the archfey, the academy prides itself on accepting everyone and anyone from all walks of life, of any alignment, but at the same time remaining neutral to worldly affairs so that they may send their assistance and services wherever they are needed. The Apotheosis competes with many academies for prestige and in recent years many world disasters have put the college in some dire straights, however they remain strong and intend to reclaim former glory. Once more their doors are open to for discovery, fortune, and adventure.
Creatures with imagination aren't constrained by our experiences - We're inspired by them.
You all will begin your adventure during the winter season in Trasis Republic in the city of Medaya, where the Apotheosis Arcanaeum is located. It is the year 7512, Duuri 7th. After a week of grueling tests and examinations, you have finally been accepted to the Arcanaeum. you're encouraged to take some time to familiarize yourself to your new classmates and staff, but be prepared; tomorrow you will begin your first delve and with it, learn what it really means to be a student of the Arcanaeum.
Trasis Republic: A largely Tiefling populated island, however there is also a sizeable elven population here as well. In the year 7330, the island was once part of Doros, but thanks to Archmage Aggi and his decision to succeed from Doros to prevent his academy from becoming a military asset for the current tyrant king, the island was split away from the earth and found a new home for itself in the middle of the ocean. Now a prosperous trade nation thanks to the Aracanium and the bountiful resources from the two mountains taken, the Trasis Republic is a sanctuary for demonic kind and those who genuinely wish to start anew. A tropical climate around the coast, though higher up the mountains the air becomes colder, if still humid.
Doros: A mighty trade kingdom that has existed since antiquity. Though it has grown and shrunk throughout the years, it is one of the few nations to have never fallen since it's existence, making it one of the oldest nations thus far. Best known for it's mighty order of valorous knights, Clan Claymorr, Doros has always maintained peaceful relationships if at all possible, but often trade or sell their warriors as mercenaries for whoever can afford their steel. A steadfast ally of the Trasis Republic long after it had left the mainland, with it's current queen being royalty from the Trasis Republic.
Or-Clans: Orcs have always been one of the most numerous and deadliest threats to all that live in the world. But despite their sheer numbers and individual strength, the orcs worse enemies are not humans, elves, or dwarves, but one another; scattered throughout the world are various warring empires and countries ruled by brutal warlords vying for control over the lands. Though the lands are rich with resources, other nations must be cautious when they traverse the lands or seas near these conflicted areas; though the orcs are often too busy fighting one another to unify against the world, they would gladly cease violence against each other to face a mutual enemy. And the last thing anyone wants is a united green tide sweeping their country.
Xiadan: Known as the "The land of the Far East" despite Doros being the geographically furthest east, these strange lands are known for their peerless warriors wielding steel swords of a sleek, yet deadly design. Although waning in influence due to it's seventy year war against the Majadan Empire, Xiadan is still a nation with strength that can hold it's own, especially thanks to it's powerful navy. Xiadan has one of the strongest navies in the world, and the waters they control are considered the safest for trade and travel. Pragmatic yet artistic, they can make great things with very little.
Crystaalilk: Once known as the Crystal Khannate, not a vestigial empire surrounded by enemies. A shadow of it's former self as it's once great empire is now fractured, fighting against themselves and what remains of the Khannate. But even with their loss of land and power, the strength of the Khannate shines on. Feared for their mighty mounted mages, they could cross a country within a day, rallying armies to attack cities, villages, and fortresses before the enemy could rally their own militias. Additionally their lands are rift with Archanium, powerful magic crystals that are said to tunnel deep into the earth itself, radiating powerful magics. Even with the lost of their empire the Crystaalilk still have access to these destructive magic rocks, and aren't afraid to use them.
Empire of Ferria: A Dwarven Empire that has recently been formed in the year 7488, thanks to the High King's ability to have the combative dwarven clans finally settle their differences and pledge their loyalty to him. Stout and strong, the Empire has been able to deflect foreign threats from outside their borders and within their lands, showing their strength to the world. The Empire of Ferria is also the leading developers of technology in the world, combining arcane and science together to better defend their empire. They guard these secrets closely, with rumors throughout the world of their fearsome assassins that will find anyone close to developing technology they're researching, stealing their knowledge and killing anyone else who knows about it.
Kingdom of Bray: The oldest kingdom in the land, older than even Doros. Said to be the land where the first mortals came to existence, the Kingdom of Bray has a veritable treasure trove of ancient knowledge and techniques to defend it's people and defeat it's enemies. They have one of the mightiest order of knights in the world, the Sunlight Warriors, who have been defending the Kingdom of Pray since time immemorial. Though they currently have a peace agreement Apotheate, the Kingdom of Bray are their sworn enemies, and as soon as their strength returns they are more than willing to fight their greater enemy.
The Apotheate: A massive theocracy that was once known as the Kingdom of Forros. In the year 7500, Forros had been in a long bloody war with the Kingdom of Bray over the island continent of Tiien. However due to mass rebellion in the Kingdom of Bray, as well as the sudden onslaught an eradication of the undead army from the deadlands at Forros' eastern border, they have been able to plunder the once untouchable wasteland for powerful magic artifacts that allowed the kingdom to turn the tide of war and take the island, push back Bray, and even change the very nation from a weakening kingdom into a powerful theocracy lead by their God-King Zatani.
There are Fifteen deities in this world, however only twelve corresponds to a month within a year. Ren, as the top god, generally encompasses the entire year, while Tzaan has been removed from the pantheon and thus has no month of his own. Aarem, while part of the pantheon, also does not have a month of his own. Each month has seven days in a week, and four weeks in a single month. There are four season in which three months are grouped together which generally follow the ideal weather/temperature patterns, though this is subject to change depending on worldly events and location.
Days in a Week
Mekd - Day of Radiance (1, 8, 15, 22)
Veny - Day of Flames (2, 9, 16, 23)
Fet - Day of Air (3, 10, 17, 24)
Mev - Day of Life (4, 11, 18, 25)
Yxic - Day of Stone (5, 12, 19, 26)
Andr - Day of Water (6, 13, 20, 27)
Tyg - Day of Darkness (7, 14, 21, 28)
Deities without a Month ♂Ren- Generality (God of all Domains) ♂Aarem - Necromancy; Poison; Vampirism; Evil; Suffering ♂Tzaan - Demons; Curses; Ambition; Betrayal
Extended Resting The following rules replace the normal resting times. The goals of these rules are as follows: To extend the “adventuring day” over a longer period of in-game time, seeking to to alleviate the problem of short rest based classes and features feeling underwhelming when long rests are so prevalent. To promote the usage of Downtime Activities, as I think that they are really cool and help flesh out characters and the world, as well as giving more usage to things like Tools. And to extend the in-game length of adventures and the in-game time to level up, since being able to go from e.g level 1 to 7 in only 90 in-game days seemed rather too fast to me. When a rest allows you to “spend a hit die to heal”, it means that for each hit die spent, the player rolls the die and adds the character's Constitution modifier to it. The character regains hitpoints equal to the total (a minimum of 0).
Quick Rest (Effectively a "short rest" for ability cooldowns) A quick rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which you do nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds. You can spend a hit die to heal at the end of a quick rest. You can extend a quick rest to longer than 1 hour if you wish. For each additional hour you spend resting, you can spend an additional hit die to heal.
Short Rest (Effectively a "long rest" for ability cooldowns) A short rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity — at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity — you must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it. At the end of a short rest, you regain one spent hit die, and can spend any number of hit dice to heal, up to however many you have. You can spend hit dice to heal both before and after regaining this hit die. If you are exhausted, finishing a short rest reduces your exhaustion level by 1. You can't benefit from more than one short rest in a 24-hour period, and you must have at least 1 hitpoint at the start of the rest to gain its benefits. If you have not eaten enough food or drank enough water in the last 24 hours, you can’t benefit from a short rest.
Long Rest A long rest is a period of 5 days of Downtime Activity. This period can include even strenuous activities such as Pit Fighting or Training, but can’t include proper adventuring activity or overland travel. Each day of the long rest is split into two 8 hour chunks, each of which can be dedicated to a Downtime Activity of your choice. For example, you can commit 8 hours a day to Training for the whole workweek, and then spend 8 hours on the first two days carousing, and 8 hours on the last three days practicing a profession. Smaller activities such as shopping do not count against the number of downtime activities you can accomplish. If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity — at least 1 hour of adventuring activity — you must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it. At the end of a long rest, you regain all of your hitpoints and hit dice, and your exhaustion level is reduced to 0, if you had any. These benefits assume that you maintain a Modest lifestyle during your Downtime. Other lifestyles provide additional benefits, or penalties, based on the table below.
Lifestyle Price/Day Long Rest Effects Wretched | 0 | You only regain one hit die and half of your hitpoints, and your exhaustion level is only reduced by 1. Squalid | 1 sp | You regain half of your hit dice and half of your hitpoints instead of all of them. Poor | 2 sp | You regain half of your hit dice instead of all of them. Modest | 10 sp | A regular long rest. Comfortable | 20 sp | You have advantage on saves to recover from long-lasting disease, poison, or maladies. Wealthy | 40 sp | You gain the benefits of Comfortable. You can roll a hit die (without spending it) and gain temporary hitpoints equal to the number rolled, plus your Constitution modifier. These hitpoints last until you complete another long rest. Aristocratic | 100+ sp | You gain the benefits of Wealthy. You gain advantage on any checks against poison or diseases for the next 24 hours after your long rest. Any exhaustion or other afflictions which requires a rest to recover from will all be cured after the long rest.
You can spend 16 hours a day being self-sufficient for your lifestyle quality, instead of spending money (this is required if you are Long Resting outside of civilization). You can eke out a poor lifestyle doing so, or a modest lifestyle if you are proficient in Survival. The DC is a base 13, however circumstances can arise that may make this DC easier or harder.
The Arcanaeum is a massive structure, so large that it's virtually it's own city. A majority of the lands the Arcanaeum uses is for student housing; various dormitories, homes for rent, and other structures meant to house students, guests, and faculty. Located in between neighborhoods would be market places where students could purchase general goods for themselves and their homes, such as food, furnishing, and school supplies. There are, however various major locations within and outside of the academy that students should be aware of.
Carnage Armory - The Primary Weapons and Armor shop at the Arcanaeum. Owned and operated by Kharn, a rough fellow who is also a teacher at the academy. His craftsmanship rivals the dwarves in quality and strength, but he also creates affordable high quality equipment for students as well. His shops are ran by his apprentices as well as academy students looking for a part-time job.
Maeda's Musical Theater - An Arachnae who has everyone dancing to her tune. Maeda is a powerful bard who's more than willing to teach music and magic alike, and offers lessons in instruments and performances for anyone who bothers to show up. She also owns her own textile workshop where she makes clothing and designs various outfits. Your wizard uniform was in fact made by her too.
The Scarlet Fields - A beautiful field of flowers, flora, and other plants that also have a greenhouse garden that grows various food-bearing plants. Students are encouraged to come and pick fruit and vegetables for themselves or to sell for some quick coin.
Gaurot Garden - For students who need a time out or engage in criminal activities. The Gaurot Garden is the academy's prison and jail for anyone who commits crimes within the city and need to be held. It's also where any court sessions are held if someone is brought to trial, as well as the go-to place for anything lost and found. There are various kiosk and small offices where other law enforcement officers also reside, but they all go to Gaurot Garden at the end of the day.
Apocrypha - The library of the Arcanaeum. The go to place for any research project. A bountiful treasure trove of lore, history, stories, and of course magic. It is here that magic scrolls are also made and sold to students and adventurers. Students of the Arcanaeum can also participate in a barter program where students may trade spell scrolls with the Arcanaeum, gaining spell scrolls equal in strength to the scrolls they've made. Private rooms can also be reserved or rented for long term magical rituals, to ensure a safe space for those looking to attempt experimental spells or contact the outer planes.
Leehna Astronomical Headquarters - The Leehna Astronomical Observatory’s Research Institute has ensured a vast assortment of activities, such as discovering new stars, researching anything related to astronomy, and manufacturing telescopes. The personnel at Leehna's headquarters in Medaya manage books about every known star, collected from all over the world. Having been established as the annex of the astronomical observatories, the headquarters safeguards a gigantic library. The observatory also houses the Arcanaeum's most powerful artifact; the Eye of Woutan, a device capable of scrying anywhere, at anytime, everywhere. Only those who have permission from the Archmage himself is allowed to use it.
The Imp's Nest - Home. For you at least. This is the main dormitory for the players. One of the newer but smaller dormitories on campus, with four rooms on the ground floor and six rooms on the second floor. Second floor has a small lounge area for relaxation near a fireplace, as well as two lavatories with enchanted faucets that flow fresh clean water to clean one's self with or relive themselves in a nearby toilet. The ground floor contains the dormitory office, the kitchen and dinning area, the main lounge area, and two bathrooms for students to bath and wash themselves. Each are gendered so no coed bathing.
Individual rooms each contain a bed large enough for a single medium sized humanoid, a desk, a window, a bookshelf, a brazier, and a closet with a chest inside. To enter the room or open the chest in the closet one must use their Signet Ring, each which is attuned to the specific student. The brazier is enchanted to contain any flames within to ensure that it doesn't set anything on fire even if split, however new fuel needs to be added as needed to continue providing warmth and illumination. Further furnishing can be purchased with one's own funds, though do keep in mind that your room is rather small.
Alright with all of the fancy stuff out of the way, let's get into the basic boring rules.
Rules:
1. Basic rule in any RP: My word is law. I have the final say, and if you disagree, you're free to leave. I will of course be willing to hear out your side of the argument but don't push it. I can only be so tolerant.
2. This is a 5e, Fifth Edition, Dice Rolling RP. I may or may not have maps up if I feel the need for it but in general things would take place in the theater of the mind. Stuff like range and movement speed is still important however, so keep that in mind if you think you can get away from something that moves faster than you. Also here's a link to the Guild's Dice rolling stuff. This is where all the rolling will happen for your characters, and I will be checking to make sure you aren't fudging your numbers. You'll get one warning. You don't get a second.
3. While combat is of course going to be something that you may eventually run into, tbh I won't include much combat at first, and even afterwards you'll only get into fights if you go looking for a fight. You certainly won't find much trouble if you just stand around the inn hoping for a drunkard to take a swing at you.
4. New characters start at Level 1 and must take their first level in Wizard. We are doing standard 27 point buy. I use this site for easy calculations. Character Sheets must be made on a Google Doc, specifically this one. Please finish the Character Sheet and post it into the OOC when you are finished. You are allowed whatever you would get from your background (Which you can find here) as well as the following items:
1 Mage Staff (Quarterstaff) or 1 Crystal Knife (Dagger). Both will have been given to you by the organization and these specific item can serve as your arcane focus and they count as magical for the purpose of overcoming Damage Resistances. 2 Potions of Healing 2 Alchemist Fires or 2 Antitoxins Scholar's Pack or Explorer's Pack Spellbook Academy Signet Ring 3 Robes and 1 Wizard Hat
Aha, if you've gotten this far, than know this: One additional thing I'd like you to put in your OOC post for your CS is a description of how your character passed their exam. I want to see both quality and quantity, as well as your understanding of D&D mechanics and creative applications of your spells beyond "shoot things with firebolts". The Exam is split into three parts: First is a general aptitude test just to make sure you know how to read, write, and do math. Second is a knowledge test. Roll me whatever knowledge check you have, give me the results from the die roller, and in that post write a report or whatever based off your knowledge roll. If you had rolled well, I may even make it canon, or at least the interviewer might believe it's true. And finally the last exam is an actual magical aptitude test; I want you to demonstrate how you would use each of your spells, including your cantrips, and at least two of the six spells you know. You may also use Ritual Spells if you have them. Remember, creativity is key: everyone knows the basic usage of the spells. In what ways can you use them that leave people wondering "Is that possible?" without literally being impossible. So no using Shield to try and crush someone underneath your force field or something. Also, you do not have the Student Starter Gear when you do this test, though you will at least be given a wand for the purpose of spellcasting.
5. Those who wish to use different languages but don't know how to actually translate those languages into the written word, you can write your language between these symbols to represent your characters speaking different languages. Most languages have both spoken and written script, some even have a sign language (Such as thieves cant or drow elvish). More symbols added as different languages are considered.
6. As far as resources go, I allow Core, Unearthed Arcana, Elemental Evil, Xanathar's Guide, Swordcoast Adventure's Guide, as well as a few homebrew stuff which I either made myself, just sorta accept as par of course, or just don't really mind. If you wish to introduce a homebrew thing, please bring it up to me first before you implement it or even get too hopeful about using it. As much as I would like to crush your hopes and dreams, I don't got time to hurt you that much. Also here's a good site for general D&D stuff like classes, feats, and so forth. Doesn't have everything but it has most of it I'd imagine.
I would perfer a google doc if only because I seem to have problems accessing Mythweavers. Plus the Gdoc is a bit more dynamic. If you simply can't use a gdoc, then use whatever medium you see fit and I'll port it over once I approve of the CS.
anyway for the additions to the CS, do you want us to write like we'd write an IC post ("Blah blah blah," I said before doing blah) or more like an after-action report (XYZ did blah blah blah)
@Lucius Cypher Oh right, since we only get a full set of spells back once a week, are spells like Mage Armor, Rope Trick, etc. going to have durations scaled to compensate?
No. Spells are of a normal duration and short rests is effectively a long rest for the purpose of abilities and such that relies on them. I revised the rest rules to reflect that.
@Lucius Cypher As far as official content goes, are Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes and Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron intentionally omitted or just forgotten about in the “allowed resources” section?
Also I’m going to assume Plane Shift content is intentionally omitted cuz lmao Plane Shift
