From Dark Wizard:
An organization of Magisters devoted to cleaning up magical mayhem, promoting magic and removing the stigma of the Spellplague and other magic incidents that left bad impressions. They could also work as a remnant cult to Mystra and Azuth.
The youngest of the Council, Verric the Blue. At a mere 35 years of age, he has risen swiftly in the ranks of the Council. Standing 5'11" and slightly overweight, he is tireless in his pursuit of new magics. He has sandy blonde hair that is starting to gray, and a short, but untidy brown beard and mustache also going to gray. He bears spellscars up his arms and covering his torso, and has learned to tap into them to strengthen his spells. His eyes glow slightly with swirling plaguefire. He Bears a staff, and wears robes of Gray with Blue Lightning running down the sleeves. The ring on his left hand seems to glow with plaguefire as well. He wears the Amulet that marks him as a member of the council (which bears the Symbol of lost Mystra on one side and that of Azuth on the other) under his robes.
He was born in Suzail, and was accepted into the War Wizard academy, but quit after a few years due to a conflict with an instructor. He set out to learn magic on his own, studying under any master that would have him. An encounter with a pocket of the spellplague scarred him, and forced him to change the way he accessed his Art, but he soon learned a method of using it to empower his spells under the tutelage of Yroeth, a member of the order of Blue Fire. He soon discovered both his new masters plans (seeking to ascend as the new god of magic) and some of the plans of the others in the Order, and he wanted no part of spreading the plague further, so left.
He now wanders Cormyr and the Heartlands, based out of the Councils safe house in the region. He stands against the Order of Blue Fire, attempting to save those not yet given over to their true plans, and destroying those who have gone to far. He avoids confrontation with Yroeth though, since his former master does not seem to be complicit in the rest of the Order's plans, but Verric deems him a bit unstable.
The council has taken on those duties that used to be the domain of The Magister. Among these are teaching responsible use of magic and holding and promoting Mage Fairs. They are adherents to the teachings of Azuth, and maintain several of his and Mystra's old temples. They stand against the agents of Shar, Cyric and Asmodeus for those gods parts in the deaths of their patrons. They have also taken on the task of enforcing the old rules about Mage Sigils, visiting those mages or others who use the sigil of a mage in order to pass themselves off as that mage, and explaining to them the error of doing so.
A more senior member of the Magisters, he was actually alive during the spell plague. An apprentice at the he saw many of the effects of the spellplague live. Flashing earthmotes and changeland shooting into the sky. Previously magical areas dying, and dead air filling with abundent magical static. The over charge in magic actually killed his Master during an item creation period, exploding the wouldbe wand in his face. After regrouping with the remaining Apprentice Magisters formed what is now the janitorial group of the realms.
After many hours in study and solitude, Albecnew thinks he has stumbled apon magic he believes will change things to their previous state: Transmutation. After his master's mishap the mayhem caused by rampant magic he devoted his time to the area of transmutation. He is now the leading expert in the particular field among practicing wizards. He is a true neutral, staying to himself and six apprentices (he sticks to the number seven when ever possible; him plus six younglings) all of whom help him in circle magics or transmutation research. His current home is on an earth mote surrounded by six rocks of smaller size. His apprentices stay on their respective rocks unless studying in Albecnew's library or performing services with him. His rock is preteceted by inumerable deffenses. So much so that he must feather fall away from it to teleport away and go to an outer dimensional space to scry.
To Albecnew's credit he has managed to suppress one wild magic area with a variation of an ancient planar suppresion spell based in transmutaion, bringing the sizable area back under control... The only problem was it almost killed Albecnew and succeeded on in destroying his most powerful homemade focus, along with three of his old under studies. Also after three months he had to tie an enchanment to the area filling it with power from a deep and powerful earth node. This in itself has taking him down a notch on the power scail, as he must sacrifce himself daily to keep it open.
Now he travels place to place studying areas of dead, or wild magic, along with pieces of Abeirol (Sp?) on Toril. He does not dabble in the areas of other mortals but has to defend himself from various attacks by the agents enjoying the imbalance or chaos on the planet.
Being a senior member of the council he may aquire all kinds of rare and/or powerful magical items short of artifact statis.
Many people are amazed that so much magic can reside in such a short frame. Tarenn is a dapper Halfling from Waterdeep, he learned his craft many decades ago in Blackstaff tower. At over 50 years of age, he is beginning to feel a bit run down, but still enjoys travelling the realms. He has curly brown hair and brown eyes that seem to twinkle when he talks (rumor says he uses a cantrip to make them do so). He stands just under 4 ft. and has a slight paunch. He likes to wear bright colors. He wears his medallion quite openly, and his wand is always at the ready.
He has always loved magic, and feels it is a gift to be shared, whether that means using it to entertain children or other travelers in an inn, teaching a spell to a young mage, or using it to play a joke on a friend (or enemy). His rare unpleasant moment happen when he sees magic being abused, or used to bring harm to others. And he likes to demonstrate to those who do so though consequences of such, usually visited on the perpetrator. He particularly loves Illusion spells, but has learned a few more lethal ones over the years as well. He is also known to enjoy gambling, and will while the hours away in an inn with a pipe between his lips, a cold mug at hand, and whatever game everyone is playing, he rarely uses magic to win, nor slight of hand, but neither is out of the question, especially when he feels a lesson is necessary to another cheater.
He is the council member sent into hostile areas to feel them out, and report back, and he is good at it, especially since many folk don't really see a laughing, joking Halfling as a serious threat. Though his practical jokes occasionally wear on other members, his charm usually keeps wins them over in the end.
We need a leader and a few more members, maybe an HQ.
Kellum ‘Kel’ The Wanderer
It is a very rare thing to find Kel at the council headquarters as he is a firm believer in learning magic in the field. He is often heard saying that “A man who spends too much time with his head in a book shall end up with a lazy mind”. For Kel books are good only for holding his spells and rituals, research is all well and good but it is better to learn magic by its practical application. Most of Kel’s time is spent travelling from place to place following any rumour of lost magic which takes his fancy and unearthing relics from the past to bring to the Magisterial Council for cataloguing and use.
In appearance Kel looks more like a simple traveller than a wizard, he disdains the traditional wizard robes as impractical when travelling and he tends to move about in simple clothing with a rather unimpressive looking magical staff. His staff is for more than magic as he truly does need it to aid in walking about due to an injury acquired during one of his earlier wanderings which left him with a permanent limp.
While he may look like a simple traveller he has proven otherwise on a number of occasions when pressed by brigands, his staff flares with flame and lightning flashes from his eyes driving off his attackers or tentacles of dark energy will rise from the ground to grasp them. He meets each such assault with a laugh and a smile as each assault gives him a chance to practice in the shaping of his spells.
I was thinking that the leader of the group might be the last true Magister. During the spellplague she was nearly consumed by the spellplague and now any use of her magic, even items, causes an eruption of spellplague covering an area based on the power of the spell or item used. She still has all her spells and knowledge, but any use of the former would be devastating for the area she is in, so she has been hamstrung, and also must remain in a shielded tower to keep her from infecting the local area, as her body slowly exudes spellplague.
This is a cool idea, perhaps some of the other magisters help her research rituals that allow her to interact outside the tower for a limited time by suppressing her spellplague aura. She'd probably also be a good source for new rituals and powers as she slowly converts her knowledge into the new way of casting.
The great grandson of the famous Tethyrian warrior-mage Tabast Dauntrael, Thurlast Dauntrael is a recent edition to the Council of Magisters.
Thurlast’s relatively peaceful life as a Herald in the capitol city of Darromar was turned upside down when he discovered quite by accident that his family was one of several “Incipient Clans” (as they are referenced in old, long-forgotten genealogical texts that were once kept by priest-scribes of Mystra and Azuth) who were secretly manipulated by the Magister Maxiladanarr Torstren (reigned as Magister from 1322 to 1328 DR) into breeding and rearing Art-capable sons and daughters, so as to increase the number of wizards and sorcerers born to each successive generation.
Thurlast’s discovery of Maxiladanarr’s surreptitious manipulation of his ancestors ignited a flurry of research and discovery that led him to step down from his position as a Herald in service to Tethyr and instead offer his prodigious skills to the Council of Magisters in the hopes of accessing their lore and knowledge to further his private research.
His efforts were not without fail, for the Council soon made him a full member in recognition of his rapid discovery of the personal histories and wizard marks belonging to five Magisters previously unknown to the Council.
With membership came access to the Council’s hidden storehouses of lore. Thurlast wasted little time in ensconcing himself in these secret chambers, poring over the Council’s tomes and scrolls with the same exacting thoroughness he once applied to learning and memorizing the heraldry and history of the nobility of Tethyr.
And he discovered much, for Thurlast has learned that Maxiladanarr’s efforts were not limited to just one family in Tethyr. He has discovered at least four other families (Belvrost, Chaserperi, Klaeverdar and Phaerdinzer) besides the Dauntraels who were covertly influenced by Maxiladanarr into producing numerous mages of unique talent and skill.
Though Thurlast has shared nearly all of his Magister-related findings with the Council, he has made an absolute secret of his research into the lost Incipient Clans. Thurlast keeps prying eyes away from his studies by means of his family’s wealth, from which he draws ever larger sums with which to send forth adventurers to lands beyond Tethyr “in the name of the Council,” but in truth to discover lost lore of Maxiladanarr before any other members of the Council stumble upon it and realize the true nature of his family’s secret benefactor.
Of late Thurlast has cultivated a growing ambition to fund an expedition into the vast, humid wetlands of former Halruaa. Many of the tomes and scrolls Thurlast has personally read point to lost Halruaa as a land once steeped in the worship of Azuth.
It is in Halruaa that Thurlast hopes to make the definitive discovery that will reveal the true purpose Azuth and Mystra had for the Incipient Clans, so that he can make this knowledge known to his kin (he considers any blood-relative of the five families as kin, not just his own family) and use it to unite them in service to the Council of Magisters, with Thurlast as its leader.
Good on you, naex.
... just trying to give back, and we need "good" organizations, since they took away the older ones (Harpers and the Chosen mainly). And remember to thank Dark Wizard for putting the idea in my head.:::::::::::::::::::
I was thinking maybe we could detail some of the enemies of the Council of Magisters? Maybe expand a little on the entry for the Order of Blue Fire from page 264-265 of the FRCG?
In reference to your earlier point about the true leader of the order being the last true Magister: Have you thought up a name or location?
Also, is this person known to other plague-touched beings? If yes would she be thought of almost as a quasi-deity or divine in the eyes of the more fanatical individuals that know of her?
Like he came to Toril shortly after they came back in sync and has since spent his time learning about the Realms and what caused the Spellplague?
He would join them do to having similar interests, but not so much from having known the GoM.
I was thinking that the leader of the group might be the last true Magister. During the spellplague she was nearly consumed by the spellplague and now any use of her magic, even items, causes an eruption of spellplague covering an area based on the power of the spell or item used. She still has all her spells and knowledge, but any use of the former would be devastating for the area she is in, so she has been hamstrung, and also must remain in a shielded tower to keep her from infecting the local area, as her body slowly exudes spellplague.
The last magister is Talatha Vaerovree, I believe. I had the same thought. She's from Innarlith on the Lake of Steam. Isn't Innarlith a ruin now? Perhaps that would be a good place to situate her.
Best keep her in the background. The spellplague/spellscarred angle incapacitates her, perfect for the 4E design philosophy in keeping a leash on powerful good characters. Her primary goal would probably be to research ways to contain the Spellplague (especially within herself) or perhaps rework it into some sort of controllable magical ability/power source.
She should have a herald or two of some sort who act as the 'public' face of the organization. Possibly only they know of the true leader of the Council of Magisters.
I quickly wrote up a brief "mission statement" months ago when Naex created the thread, but I never went anywhere with it.
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The Magisters is a loosely knit organization of wizards and other arcane practitioners who share the common goals set forth by the old office of the Magister during the years prior to the Spellplague. Today they continue the important work of the Magister made all the more delicate due to the magic infused chaos of the last century. The magisters tirelessly work to clean up the aftermath of magical mayhem, promote responsible magic use whenever possible, and undoing the stigma of the Spellplague and other magical catastrophes that etched fearful impressions on peoples minds about the arcane and those who wield it.
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