Osprey
02-18-2004, 04:28 PM
This is the 3rd kind of a academy I've worked out as a comprehensive, level-based wondrous structure that grants benefits upon each level of completion. As per the BRCS norm, these cost 25 GB per level to build and 2 GB per level per season in maintenance. P.S. - Any ideas for expansion: new advances, etc., are welcome.
Academy of Magic
Magical academies are exceedingly rare – in Anuire, the Royal College of Sorcery is the only example in existence, and it is but a shadow of its former self. The rarity of Magical Academies is due to the cost of building and maintaining one, and the relative rarity of blooded true mages. Academy mages tend to favor wizardry over sorcery for high magic, and magicians make up the majority of practitioners of the Lesser Path. However, most academies of magic will welcome any arcane spellcaster, as well as scholars of arcana, history, and lore.
Build Cost: 25 GB per level
Seasonal Maintenance: 2 GB per level
Requirements:
1. An Academy of Magic must be connected to a source directly or through a ley line. Its level may not exceed that of the highest source it is connected to; if the primary source is not in the academy’s province (and thus connected by a ley line), the maximum level is reduced by 1 per province distance. So a source(6) could allow up to a Level 5 Academy of Magic in an adjacent province connected by a ley line.
2. Due to the time and energy necessary to advance in the arcane arts, only 1 arcane advance may be taken per year, regardless of how quickly the academy is built. This reflects the time to draw mages from across the known world, as well as the extended time necessary for research and refinement. This rate is based upon the time elapsed since the last advancement was instituted (so the first advance may be taken immediately upon completing Level 1, but the Level 2 advance could not be taken for another 4 seasons, even if the 2nd level were to be completed only a month after the first!).
3. If the Academy’s regent fails to pay the seasonal maintenance, the academy’s level is permanently reduced by 1 level per season.
Benefits:
An academy of magic provides many benefits to its members and regent. As each level is completed, it represents a growing membership and the benefits of the academy’s focus. This might include advanced arcane research, alchemical advances, improved infrastructure, and almost anything else the DM or players can imagine (so long as they can win the DM’s approval).
Arcane Sanctum: An Academy of Magic is built in harmony with the local source energies (or those supplied by its primary ley line). As a result, the academy’s regent may add its level as a circumstance bonus to the DC’s of any arcane spells cast within it’s boundaries. This also applies to realm spells cast here. If a mage Guild is created, members may add ½ the academy’s level to arcane spell DC’s.
Arcane Advances:
1. Mage Guild: This is the typical advance for the first completed level of an academy of magic. This represents a formally organized structure of membership dues and benefits, along with an organized hierarchy of privileges and responsibilities. Most significantly, all arcane casters of the guild must take at least one level of the Guild Mage prestige class in order to gain full membership status. As a member, they pay dues in the form of arcane spells cast into the academy’s Spellpool. The Spellpool is built around the academy’s source (or primary ley line), and the cumulative effect of the pool adds to the source rating of the primary source. See the Mage Guild Supplement for further details on guild membership and the Guild Mage prestige class.
Beginning in the season following the establishment of the guild, the Academy of Magic’s level stacks with the level of the primary source for all purposes. Thus, the source regent may draw extra regency from the Academy (though not exceeding his bloodline limit), and any virtual guilds will also rise in level. This represents the monetary tithes members pay…usually a small percentage of their income from spellcasting services, artificing, and adventuring. For purposes of trade, an Academy of Magic is treated as a unique terrain type, and its virtual guild may trade with any other guild if a trade route is constructed. This may help further subsidize the academy’s expenses.
2. Advanced Instruction: Requires Mage Guild advance. Emphasis is placed on recruiting skilled teachers and promising students to expand the ranks of the Academy and mages at large. Once this advance comes into effect, skilled mages (of all sorts) become available for hire as lieutenants, court mages, adventurers, and temporary employment.
Once per season, the Academy adds its level as bonus to any Diplomacy check made to recruit an arcane hireling there. A DC 10 check will find 1 mage of an ECL equal to the academy’s level. Higher results may yield multiple hirelings (EL=Academy level + 1 per 5 over DC 10 on the Diplomacy check result) or a single higher level mage (EL as above). Guild members may add their guild Status ratings to the Diplomacy check as well, and any source regent may add their Reknown score (if any) as well. Finally, an initial hireling attitude should be determined based on who is hiring and what their standing attitudes toward one another might be (if unknown, assume an Indifferent attitude as a default).
Payment and terms of service should be arranged individually, but a rate of 1 GB per 5 levels of hireling per season is a reasonable norm. The hirelings level should never exceed 2 x the academy’s level.
3. Arcane Specialization: Requires Advanced Instruction and a Level 3 Academy. This advance represents an emphasis on one general class of arcane spellcasters: wizards, sorcerers, bards, or magicians. Once achieved, there is assumed to be a greater concentration of this class in the Academy. Any Diplomacy check made to recruit hirelings of this class may add the Academy’s level as a bonus to the check when determining the hireling’s level. Any academy battle casters of this class are one level higher than normal. Arcane Specialization also allows for the development of more advanced class options, such as prestige classes, specialist wizards, and the like.
4. Elder Council: Requires Arcane Specialization (any) and a Level 4 Academy. Once specialization is achieved in at least one class, the premier mages of that class may be appointed or elected as Elders of the Academy. These Elders form a council that acts as a governing group. An academy can support 1 Elder per level. Each Elder is a mage whose level is equal to [2 x Academy Level – (d3-1)]. So a Level 4 Academy would have 4 elders of level 6-8 each. Typically, each elder tends to be an expert on a different area or type of magic.
5. Alumni: Requires Elder Council and a Level 6 Academy. This advance represents a significant group of former Academy students, instructors, and members who occasionally support, aid, and visit the Academy. These alumni typically have an ECL of at least the Academy’s level, and as high as 2 x the Academy’s level. So a Level 6 Academy would have a group of alumni ranging from 6th-12th levels.
If the academy is ever seriously threatened, a large number of these alumni could be called upon to defend it. In such case, the regent would make a Lead check at DC 10, drawing a number of mages equal to the Academy’s level with a successful check, +1 per 5 over the DC on the Lead check. So a 32 check result at a level 8 academy would draw 12 mages of levels 8-16.
At any given time, there might be 1d3 alumni visiting the academy. Often these veterans will come to teach a course as a visiting instructor, or lend a hand to some ongoing research or projects. Such a benefit allows the regent to add the Academy’s level as a circumstance bonus to any one Academy-related action (such as finding hirelings, researching magic, training units, etc.).
6. Arcane Library: This advance represents the acquisition of a comprehensive body of lore, arcana, and general knowledge. Research is greatly expedited as a result. The Academy may add its level as a circumstance bonus to any knowledge-based research and Spellcraft checks made there. This includes learning known spells up to the academy’s level (so a L4 academy aids in learning level 0-4 spells). A Level 10 Academy could (theoretically) aid in the research of Epic Spells.
The library also acts as repository of Lore, giving a bardic lore ability (d20 + level of Academy) usable once for any given item, question, etc. Accessing this ability requires research, of course, possibly hours, days, or weeks for very obscure lore (DC 10: 1 hour, DC 20: 1 day, DC 30: 1 week, DC 40: 1 month). The academy’s regent may use a Court Action to assign others to the task; this does not cost GB.
7. Artificing: Requires Level 5 Academy. This advance focuses the academy’s efforts toward researching and producing new enchanted items. Simpler items (whose minimum caster level does not exceed the Academy’s) become commonly available at the standard market price (per 3.5 DMG), while extraordinary items might be commissioned if their caster level does not exceed 2 x the Academy’s level. The array of items is limited to those that can be made by arcane spellcasters with the appropriate item creation feats. So a Level 6 Academy would commonly have scrolls, potions, wands (≤CL 6, up to 3rd level spells), wondrous items (≤CL6), and magical arms and armor (+2 max. enhancement bonus, a few special abilities possible).
8. Advanced Battle Magic: Requires a Level 2 Academy. This advance focuses the academy’s resources toward training soldiers and mages in the arts of battle magic. This advance has several benefits.
-The Eldritch Knight prestige class is developed, and warrior mages become a regular aspect of the academy. Warcraft becomes a class skill for Guild Mages.
-Military units may train at the academy to gain the magical training advance. This is usable only with arcane battle casters.
-For every 2 levels of the academy, veteran units may train to gain an additional magical training advance. Each magical training advance allows one battle-caster group (usually 1-3 casters), and these extra advances may exceed the limit for veteran troops (normally 2 advanced training options, one of which would be magical training). Thus, a L4 Academy could train Veteran Heavy Infantry with Toughness and Magical Training (3). Each advance adds 1 GB to the unit’s muster cost, but this does not include the cost of the actual mages.
- Academy units (those mustered/controlled by the academy regent) do not pay any fee for the battle casters, as the academy advance covers the expense of keeping trained battle casters on hand. Foreign regents who desire battle casters must hire them separately (usually for 1-4 GB per season, depending on their caster level; 1 GB per 5 caster levels is reasonable).
-The Academy can train battle casters whose caster level cannot exceed the Academy’s level. Once per season, the Academy may produce one Battle Caster group. This includes one mage with the maximum level, and two support mages, each with a level equal to ½ the group leader’s level (round down). So a L4 academy could produce a battle group with one 4th level mage and two 2nd level mages each season. Such a group hired out would have an average cost of 2 GB per season.
Note: no more than one Battle Caster group per level of the academy may be ‘on hand’ at a time, regardless of how much time has passed since the last group was assigned to a unit. So our L4 academy could keep up to 4 groups ready to join a unit with magical training.
9. Arcane Espionage: Requires a Level 2 Academy and a Level 4 (Virtual) Guild. The academy’s efforts are bent toward developing and specializing in magics useful to espionage. If the academy regent is also a guild regent, a normal guild in the same province may be joined with the academy to allow this advance. Most academy regents will simply raise the virtual guild to the appropriate level.
-Divination and Illusion magics become specialties of the academy, and the Arcane Trickster class becomes available to guild members who meet the requirements. Rogue mages become a regular part of the academy.
-The Academy’s level now stacks with its virtual guild levels when defending against Espionage domain actions targeting the academy. Thus, a L4 Academy + L6 Virtual Guild would impose a +10 to the DC of any Espionage domain actions vs. the academy.
-Agents of the academy gain a circumstance bonus equal to the level of the academy when performing Espionage domain actions.
-Bluff, Disguise, and Gather Information become class skills for Guild Mages.
-Military units may now gain the Stealth special training option when trained here (+2 GB muster).
10. Mysticism: Requires a Level 4 Academy and an associated Temple of Ruornil or Avani (level 0). This advance signifies the joining of divine and arcane magics within the academy. Mage-priests (of Avani or Ruornil) become a visible part of the academy’s membership. A small chapel to a deity of magic becomes a permanent fixture within the Academy (the level 0 temple). A larger temple to Ruornil or Avani in the province would signify an increasingly important role of spirituality in the life of Academy mages. The Mystic Theurge prestige class becomes available for those pursuing both paths of magic. Any units with Magical Training trained here are now capable of working with divine and arcane battle magics.
-Mysticism allows the Academy to be treated as a Temple of equivalent level for the purpose of casting Divine Realm Spells here. However, this does not allow more than one realm spell, of any type, to be cast here in a given month. Nor does it add additional RP to the collections of a mage/priest regent of the academy.
-Any temples of Ruornil or Avani in the province may be included within the academy’s walls (thus, the Academy may protect up to its own level in temples as well as sources) once this advance is achieved, so long as this is agreeable to all regents involved.
Ex.: In a 1/6 province there is a source(6) and an academy(4) is built. A level 0 Temple of Ruornil is also built by the source regent, who is a Cleric of Ruornil in addition to being a wizard. The regent decides he wants to make Mysticism the Level 4 Advance for the Academy. Once he learns a few divine realm spells, he could cast any that require a Temple(4) or less in the province.
Alchemical Advances: There are several significant, large-scale developments in alchemy that can be achieved. In Cerilia, advanced alchemy requires the use of arcane magic to power the complex transmutations involved. These advances represent the efforts of many dedicated alchemists, and extensive facilities to support their work. These advances tend to be quite lucrative, as the alchemical processes do not drain experience as does artificing, and the product can be made in quantity and usable by anyone with the proper training.
All Alchemical Advances require Arcane Specialization: Magician. Magicians are ideally suited to alchemy, as their more subtle arts can manipulate small but delicate processes, and they excel at rituals and formulae.
1. Alchemists’ Fire: Requires a Level 4 Academy. Alchemists’ fire is a naptha-based substance that will burn once exposed to air, and cannot be extinguished by water. As such, it is greatly desired by most land and naval militaries, as it can be used by catapults, castle defenders, specialized fire ships (with hoses spewing the stuff from the bow). The full-time production of alchemists’ fire allows one of the academy’s trade routes to be dedicated to the export the substance. Such a route generates an additional 2 GB for the academy each season.
2. Gunpowder: Requires a Level 5 Academy. In Cerilia, advanced alchemy is required for the development and production of weapons-grade gunpowder. Once the alchemical secrets of gunpowder are discovered, the development of gunpowder weapons may be instituted at a War Academy connected to the Academy of Magic by a dedicated trade route. Such a trade route is extremely lucrative, and generates twice the normal income in GB each season for the Academy of Magic. Thus, the Academy earns GB equal to the primary source’s Virtual Guild level from a gunpowder trade route.
3. Gold Production: Requires a Level 6 Academy. A section of the academy’s alchemists are committed to full-time transmutation of lead to gold. Once full production is underway, the Academy generates 1 GB per level each season. In this way, an academy can subsidize half of its seasonal maintenance.
4. Component Production: Requires a Level 7 Academy. Alchemical advances have progressed to the point where a variety of substances and forms are easily created, in quantity if necessary. Once taken, the costs for any material spell components (for Academy mages only) is halved – including Realm Spell and battle magic components. Furthermore, the material costs for enchanting items here are also halved (1/4 of market price).
Academy of Magic
Magical academies are exceedingly rare – in Anuire, the Royal College of Sorcery is the only example in existence, and it is but a shadow of its former self. The rarity of Magical Academies is due to the cost of building and maintaining one, and the relative rarity of blooded true mages. Academy mages tend to favor wizardry over sorcery for high magic, and magicians make up the majority of practitioners of the Lesser Path. However, most academies of magic will welcome any arcane spellcaster, as well as scholars of arcana, history, and lore.
Build Cost: 25 GB per level
Seasonal Maintenance: 2 GB per level
Requirements:
1. An Academy of Magic must be connected to a source directly or through a ley line. Its level may not exceed that of the highest source it is connected to; if the primary source is not in the academy’s province (and thus connected by a ley line), the maximum level is reduced by 1 per province distance. So a source(6) could allow up to a Level 5 Academy of Magic in an adjacent province connected by a ley line.
2. Due to the time and energy necessary to advance in the arcane arts, only 1 arcane advance may be taken per year, regardless of how quickly the academy is built. This reflects the time to draw mages from across the known world, as well as the extended time necessary for research and refinement. This rate is based upon the time elapsed since the last advancement was instituted (so the first advance may be taken immediately upon completing Level 1, but the Level 2 advance could not be taken for another 4 seasons, even if the 2nd level were to be completed only a month after the first!).
3. If the Academy’s regent fails to pay the seasonal maintenance, the academy’s level is permanently reduced by 1 level per season.
Benefits:
An academy of magic provides many benefits to its members and regent. As each level is completed, it represents a growing membership and the benefits of the academy’s focus. This might include advanced arcane research, alchemical advances, improved infrastructure, and almost anything else the DM or players can imagine (so long as they can win the DM’s approval).
Arcane Sanctum: An Academy of Magic is built in harmony with the local source energies (or those supplied by its primary ley line). As a result, the academy’s regent may add its level as a circumstance bonus to the DC’s of any arcane spells cast within it’s boundaries. This also applies to realm spells cast here. If a mage Guild is created, members may add ½ the academy’s level to arcane spell DC’s.
Arcane Advances:
1. Mage Guild: This is the typical advance for the first completed level of an academy of magic. This represents a formally organized structure of membership dues and benefits, along with an organized hierarchy of privileges and responsibilities. Most significantly, all arcane casters of the guild must take at least one level of the Guild Mage prestige class in order to gain full membership status. As a member, they pay dues in the form of arcane spells cast into the academy’s Spellpool. The Spellpool is built around the academy’s source (or primary ley line), and the cumulative effect of the pool adds to the source rating of the primary source. See the Mage Guild Supplement for further details on guild membership and the Guild Mage prestige class.
Beginning in the season following the establishment of the guild, the Academy of Magic’s level stacks with the level of the primary source for all purposes. Thus, the source regent may draw extra regency from the Academy (though not exceeding his bloodline limit), and any virtual guilds will also rise in level. This represents the monetary tithes members pay…usually a small percentage of their income from spellcasting services, artificing, and adventuring. For purposes of trade, an Academy of Magic is treated as a unique terrain type, and its virtual guild may trade with any other guild if a trade route is constructed. This may help further subsidize the academy’s expenses.
2. Advanced Instruction: Requires Mage Guild advance. Emphasis is placed on recruiting skilled teachers and promising students to expand the ranks of the Academy and mages at large. Once this advance comes into effect, skilled mages (of all sorts) become available for hire as lieutenants, court mages, adventurers, and temporary employment.
Once per season, the Academy adds its level as bonus to any Diplomacy check made to recruit an arcane hireling there. A DC 10 check will find 1 mage of an ECL equal to the academy’s level. Higher results may yield multiple hirelings (EL=Academy level + 1 per 5 over DC 10 on the Diplomacy check result) or a single higher level mage (EL as above). Guild members may add their guild Status ratings to the Diplomacy check as well, and any source regent may add their Reknown score (if any) as well. Finally, an initial hireling attitude should be determined based on who is hiring and what their standing attitudes toward one another might be (if unknown, assume an Indifferent attitude as a default).
Payment and terms of service should be arranged individually, but a rate of 1 GB per 5 levels of hireling per season is a reasonable norm. The hirelings level should never exceed 2 x the academy’s level.
3. Arcane Specialization: Requires Advanced Instruction and a Level 3 Academy. This advance represents an emphasis on one general class of arcane spellcasters: wizards, sorcerers, bards, or magicians. Once achieved, there is assumed to be a greater concentration of this class in the Academy. Any Diplomacy check made to recruit hirelings of this class may add the Academy’s level as a bonus to the check when determining the hireling’s level. Any academy battle casters of this class are one level higher than normal. Arcane Specialization also allows for the development of more advanced class options, such as prestige classes, specialist wizards, and the like.
4. Elder Council: Requires Arcane Specialization (any) and a Level 4 Academy. Once specialization is achieved in at least one class, the premier mages of that class may be appointed or elected as Elders of the Academy. These Elders form a council that acts as a governing group. An academy can support 1 Elder per level. Each Elder is a mage whose level is equal to [2 x Academy Level – (d3-1)]. So a Level 4 Academy would have 4 elders of level 6-8 each. Typically, each elder tends to be an expert on a different area or type of magic.
5. Alumni: Requires Elder Council and a Level 6 Academy. This advance represents a significant group of former Academy students, instructors, and members who occasionally support, aid, and visit the Academy. These alumni typically have an ECL of at least the Academy’s level, and as high as 2 x the Academy’s level. So a Level 6 Academy would have a group of alumni ranging from 6th-12th levels.
If the academy is ever seriously threatened, a large number of these alumni could be called upon to defend it. In such case, the regent would make a Lead check at DC 10, drawing a number of mages equal to the Academy’s level with a successful check, +1 per 5 over the DC on the Lead check. So a 32 check result at a level 8 academy would draw 12 mages of levels 8-16.
At any given time, there might be 1d3 alumni visiting the academy. Often these veterans will come to teach a course as a visiting instructor, or lend a hand to some ongoing research or projects. Such a benefit allows the regent to add the Academy’s level as a circumstance bonus to any one Academy-related action (such as finding hirelings, researching magic, training units, etc.).
6. Arcane Library: This advance represents the acquisition of a comprehensive body of lore, arcana, and general knowledge. Research is greatly expedited as a result. The Academy may add its level as a circumstance bonus to any knowledge-based research and Spellcraft checks made there. This includes learning known spells up to the academy’s level (so a L4 academy aids in learning level 0-4 spells). A Level 10 Academy could (theoretically) aid in the research of Epic Spells.
The library also acts as repository of Lore, giving a bardic lore ability (d20 + level of Academy) usable once for any given item, question, etc. Accessing this ability requires research, of course, possibly hours, days, or weeks for very obscure lore (DC 10: 1 hour, DC 20: 1 day, DC 30: 1 week, DC 40: 1 month). The academy’s regent may use a Court Action to assign others to the task; this does not cost GB.
7. Artificing: Requires Level 5 Academy. This advance focuses the academy’s efforts toward researching and producing new enchanted items. Simpler items (whose minimum caster level does not exceed the Academy’s) become commonly available at the standard market price (per 3.5 DMG), while extraordinary items might be commissioned if their caster level does not exceed 2 x the Academy’s level. The array of items is limited to those that can be made by arcane spellcasters with the appropriate item creation feats. So a Level 6 Academy would commonly have scrolls, potions, wands (≤CL 6, up to 3rd level spells), wondrous items (≤CL6), and magical arms and armor (+2 max. enhancement bonus, a few special abilities possible).
8. Advanced Battle Magic: Requires a Level 2 Academy. This advance focuses the academy’s resources toward training soldiers and mages in the arts of battle magic. This advance has several benefits.
-The Eldritch Knight prestige class is developed, and warrior mages become a regular aspect of the academy. Warcraft becomes a class skill for Guild Mages.
-Military units may train at the academy to gain the magical training advance. This is usable only with arcane battle casters.
-For every 2 levels of the academy, veteran units may train to gain an additional magical training advance. Each magical training advance allows one battle-caster group (usually 1-3 casters), and these extra advances may exceed the limit for veteran troops (normally 2 advanced training options, one of which would be magical training). Thus, a L4 Academy could train Veteran Heavy Infantry with Toughness and Magical Training (3). Each advance adds 1 GB to the unit’s muster cost, but this does not include the cost of the actual mages.
- Academy units (those mustered/controlled by the academy regent) do not pay any fee for the battle casters, as the academy advance covers the expense of keeping trained battle casters on hand. Foreign regents who desire battle casters must hire them separately (usually for 1-4 GB per season, depending on their caster level; 1 GB per 5 caster levels is reasonable).
-The Academy can train battle casters whose caster level cannot exceed the Academy’s level. Once per season, the Academy may produce one Battle Caster group. This includes one mage with the maximum level, and two support mages, each with a level equal to ½ the group leader’s level (round down). So a L4 academy could produce a battle group with one 4th level mage and two 2nd level mages each season. Such a group hired out would have an average cost of 2 GB per season.
Note: no more than one Battle Caster group per level of the academy may be ‘on hand’ at a time, regardless of how much time has passed since the last group was assigned to a unit. So our L4 academy could keep up to 4 groups ready to join a unit with magical training.
9. Arcane Espionage: Requires a Level 2 Academy and a Level 4 (Virtual) Guild. The academy’s efforts are bent toward developing and specializing in magics useful to espionage. If the academy regent is also a guild regent, a normal guild in the same province may be joined with the academy to allow this advance. Most academy regents will simply raise the virtual guild to the appropriate level.
-Divination and Illusion magics become specialties of the academy, and the Arcane Trickster class becomes available to guild members who meet the requirements. Rogue mages become a regular part of the academy.
-The Academy’s level now stacks with its virtual guild levels when defending against Espionage domain actions targeting the academy. Thus, a L4 Academy + L6 Virtual Guild would impose a +10 to the DC of any Espionage domain actions vs. the academy.
-Agents of the academy gain a circumstance bonus equal to the level of the academy when performing Espionage domain actions.
-Bluff, Disguise, and Gather Information become class skills for Guild Mages.
-Military units may now gain the Stealth special training option when trained here (+2 GB muster).
10. Mysticism: Requires a Level 4 Academy and an associated Temple of Ruornil or Avani (level 0). This advance signifies the joining of divine and arcane magics within the academy. Mage-priests (of Avani or Ruornil) become a visible part of the academy’s membership. A small chapel to a deity of magic becomes a permanent fixture within the Academy (the level 0 temple). A larger temple to Ruornil or Avani in the province would signify an increasingly important role of spirituality in the life of Academy mages. The Mystic Theurge prestige class becomes available for those pursuing both paths of magic. Any units with Magical Training trained here are now capable of working with divine and arcane battle magics.
-Mysticism allows the Academy to be treated as a Temple of equivalent level for the purpose of casting Divine Realm Spells here. However, this does not allow more than one realm spell, of any type, to be cast here in a given month. Nor does it add additional RP to the collections of a mage/priest regent of the academy.
-Any temples of Ruornil or Avani in the province may be included within the academy’s walls (thus, the Academy may protect up to its own level in temples as well as sources) once this advance is achieved, so long as this is agreeable to all regents involved.
Ex.: In a 1/6 province there is a source(6) and an academy(4) is built. A level 0 Temple of Ruornil is also built by the source regent, who is a Cleric of Ruornil in addition to being a wizard. The regent decides he wants to make Mysticism the Level 4 Advance for the Academy. Once he learns a few divine realm spells, he could cast any that require a Temple(4) or less in the province.
Alchemical Advances: There are several significant, large-scale developments in alchemy that can be achieved. In Cerilia, advanced alchemy requires the use of arcane magic to power the complex transmutations involved. These advances represent the efforts of many dedicated alchemists, and extensive facilities to support their work. These advances tend to be quite lucrative, as the alchemical processes do not drain experience as does artificing, and the product can be made in quantity and usable by anyone with the proper training.
All Alchemical Advances require Arcane Specialization: Magician. Magicians are ideally suited to alchemy, as their more subtle arts can manipulate small but delicate processes, and they excel at rituals and formulae.
1. Alchemists’ Fire: Requires a Level 4 Academy. Alchemists’ fire is a naptha-based substance that will burn once exposed to air, and cannot be extinguished by water. As such, it is greatly desired by most land and naval militaries, as it can be used by catapults, castle defenders, specialized fire ships (with hoses spewing the stuff from the bow). The full-time production of alchemists’ fire allows one of the academy’s trade routes to be dedicated to the export the substance. Such a route generates an additional 2 GB for the academy each season.
2. Gunpowder: Requires a Level 5 Academy. In Cerilia, advanced alchemy is required for the development and production of weapons-grade gunpowder. Once the alchemical secrets of gunpowder are discovered, the development of gunpowder weapons may be instituted at a War Academy connected to the Academy of Magic by a dedicated trade route. Such a trade route is extremely lucrative, and generates twice the normal income in GB each season for the Academy of Magic. Thus, the Academy earns GB equal to the primary source’s Virtual Guild level from a gunpowder trade route.
3. Gold Production: Requires a Level 6 Academy. A section of the academy’s alchemists are committed to full-time transmutation of lead to gold. Once full production is underway, the Academy generates 1 GB per level each season. In this way, an academy can subsidize half of its seasonal maintenance.
4. Component Production: Requires a Level 7 Academy. Alchemical advances have progressed to the point where a variety of substances and forms are easily created, in quantity if necessary. Once taken, the costs for any material spell components (for Academy mages only) is halved – including Realm Spell and battle magic components. Furthermore, the material costs for enchanting items here are also halved (1/4 of market price).