ActivitiesDuring your studies, you'll need to undertake a number of activities to fulfil your assignments. Here are a few examples, with how long they take
(0 days) Resupply: Basic supplies and sundries can be bought from the on-campus shops. Other purchases require a dedicated shopping trip.
(0 days) All-nighter: Write up & prepare your assignment for handing in. This will cause you to get tired and may adversely affect your final result.
(1 day) Write-up: Write up & prepare your assignment for handing in. This method will get you the best mark possible for the groundwork you put in.
(1 day) Study in the library: Depending on your study skills, you may learn a little or a lot about your chosen subject. Multiple days spent studying may produce better results, but just reading a book is no substitute for experience...
(1 day) Work: You may be picking up work piecemeal or have a regular job, but if you need money, this is the most reliable way to do so without selling your possessions.
(1 day) Heal up: You heal a little each day naturally, but a day spent in the Healing Halls on-campus will reduce your injuries by one whole step in addition to your normal healing. If you're injured and do not declare an action, you're assumed to be Healing Up.
(1 day) Shopping trip: It takes about a day to get to the nearby town and back, but the shops in town offer supplies cheaper than on-campus, and some things that you just can't buy anywhere else. There's also a pawn shop in town that will buy your used gear.
(1 day) Training: Regardless of what you choose to improve, buying one improvement from your XP requires a full day of training. (See Advancement)
(1 day) Delving: Spend some time in the campus labyrinth, and gain some XP! Please note that the labyrinth is a hazardous environment, and the Academy cannot be held responsible for any injury or death that may occur.
(varies) Field Work: Why sit & read about something, when you can go out and experience it for yourself? The time required for fieldwork varies depending on the distance travelled. As with book study, spending extra time in the field may yield better results, but the wilderness can be a dangerous place.
Finally,
(1 day) Slacking Off: Don't feel like doing anything? Take the day off. If you're uninjured and have not declared an action, you're assumed to be slacking off. Alternatively, you can choose to do this if you really want to.
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GearGear can be useful, but carrying too much is encumbering. Generally speaking, you can carry up to 4 weapons without trouble – two-handed melee weapons take the space of two weapons. Anything costing up to 10 gold is available on-campus; anything more expensive has to be bought in town.
Melee weapons
Melee weapons are shown here in order of effectiveness in each group (blunts, blades, polearms). All of them use the same Armed Combat skill, but if a Warrior has the Talent “Favoured Weapon: Longsword”, then he will lose the bonus if he wields (for example) an axe or zweihander instead. Weapons marked with a * are two-handed and cannot be used with a buckler or shield. Due to their reach, polearms provide a chance of denying an opponent their attack as they struggle to get in close enough. Longswords and Zweihanders provide a bonus to Active Defence.
Blunts
Club Free
Mace 30g
Axe 35g
Greataxe* 40g
Blades
Dagger 22g
Shortsword 25g
Longsword 30g
Zweihander* 35g
Polearms
Staff* Free
Spear* 25g
Pikestaff* 30g
Bows are good for attacking enemies from distances where they cannot retaliate, but are useless in melee. They (and some spells) use the Ranged Combat skill. Like Melee weapons, the Warrior Talent “Favoured Weapon” only applies to one type of ranged weapon.
Bows
Shortbow* 20g
Longbow* 25g
Enough Arrows for one fight 5g
Shields provide bonuses to Active Defence, but not to Passive Defence. All shields require the use of a hand to wield properly, and cannot be used with 2-handed weapons.
Buckler 15g
Targe 20g
Armour absorbs damage in combat, and offers a bonus to Passive Defence.
Leather 20g
Scale Mail 40g
Chain Mail 50g
Field Plate 70g
Full Plate 80g
General Gear
General gear can be useful in the Labyrinth or out in the field. While it’s rarely essential, gear can make certain tasks a lot easier but may carry disadvantages of its own. Items marked with a * are single-use and need to be replaced afterwards.
Torch* 1g
Rope 3g
Lifesaver Charm* 20g
Blue Ox* 10g
Painkillers* 5g
Glowstone* 5g
Torch: Specially treated to burn for hours, torches can be used to provide light in darkness. Lit torches require a free hand, so cannot be used with two-handed weapons or a sword/shield. A torch can be used as a makeshift club if necessary. Lit torches stick out like a sore thumb and ruin attempts at stealth.
Rope: Always handy, rope can be used as a climbing aid, as a means to cross chasms/rivers, or even to bind captured creatures.
Lifesaver Charm: Also known as the “Adventurer’s Friend”, Lifesaver Charms contain a one-shot enchantment that stabilises wounded folk and stops them from bleeding out. If you would otherwise be killed in combat, the Lifesaver Charm will trigger, stopping you just short of death. You will still be horrifically wounded, but at least you’ll live long enough to return home and heal up. Without a charm, death is a whole lot more final.
Blue Ox: A special potion created to offset the effects of tiredness just long enough to get through the day. Taking this potion will reduce the effects of tiredness by one step – but only until nighttime, when exhaustion kicks in. Using this potion during the day and then pulling an all-nighter is not recommended.
Painkillers: These handy little pills take the edge off your pain. Taking Painkillers will reduce the penalties for injury by one step, but you will still need to heal normally.
Glowstone: Popular for adventurers and partygoers alike, this small leather pouch contains a small stone that, when crushed, reacts with the leather pouch to produce light equivalent to a torch. Using the handy drawstrings, the pouch can be tied to a wrist or belt, or worn around the neck – in either case, it does not require a free hand. Lit glowstones stick out like a sore thumb and ruin attempts at stealth.
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AdvancementAs your studies go on at Magisterion, you're quite likely to pick up a trick or two along the way. Your options for self improvement are:
XP Cost Improvement
1: Advance a Favoured Skill
2: Advance a Non-Favoured Skill
2: Gain or improve an Advantage
3: Gain a Talent
5: Improve Health
5: Improve Fatigue
5: Minor Subject: Gain access to another Course’s non-exclusive Talents
8: Improve a Favoured Attribute
10: Improve a Non-Favoured Attribute
AdvantagesNot as powerful as Talents, Advantages are open to everyone. Unless specified, you can only gain each advantage once.
Armour of Heroes: You gain a small bonus to passive defence that stacks with the Dodgy talent.
Charmed Life: Once per fight, you gain a chance to reduce injuries taken by one level.
Fast Healer: Your natural healing rate is doubled.
Windfall: You gain a one-off bonus of 50 gold.
Scholarship: You gain a Scholarship, as detailed in the Money section
Night vision: The penalties for operating in darkness are reduced. Taking this advantage twice will remove the penalties entirely.
Night Owl: The penalties for pulling an All-Nighter to write up your assignment are halved.
Minion: You have a friend who doesn’t mind helping out from time to time. Choose one of the following:
--Errand Boy: Your minion will go on Shopping Trips for you, but will take 1-3 days to get around to it. If you have the Bartering Talent, your minion does not benefit from it.
--Hoarder: You can borrow one item (worth less than 50 gold) from this minion, so long as you return or replace it within a week.
--Enchanter: Your minion can provide you with a Minor Enchantment for mates’ rates (20% markup on Enchanter Talent prices), but needs a full day’s notice. (i.e. if you ask for it on Monday, you get it on Tuesday)
You may gain the Minion advantage up to three times, but must pick a different option each time.
Weapon of Choice: You gain a bonus to combat skill rolls with a specific weapon (not weapon type) of your choosing. You can adjust your fighting to a different weapon of the same type for the cost of 1 day and 20 gold, losing your bonus with the previous weapon in the process. You may take this Advantage multiple times, choosing a different weapon each time.
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EnchantmentsThere's nothing like a well-made piece of kit...except maybe an enchanted well-made piece of kit. Our doctorate students are making good headway into getting an item to accept two enchantment effects, but so far nobody has ever managed to apply more than one effect to any given piece of kit - any new enchantments overwrite existing ones.
Out of Character:
You don't need armour for armour-specific enchantments - instead, your normal clothing can be treated as Cloth armour that provides no defensive bonuses
Minor EnchantmentsMinor enchantments can be purchased in permanent form, or applied temporarily by students or minions with the Enchanting Talent.
Effect // Temporary cost // Permanent cost
Dictation // 5 // 25
Fortified // 13 // 65
Scribing // 5 // 25
Warding // 7 // 35
Warning // 4 // 20
Weighted // 5 // 25
Dictation - a notepad with this enchantment takes notes for you, providing a small bonus to Research checks.
Fortified - armour with this enchantment is that little bit tougher than normal, absorbing more damage.
Scribing - Does your penmanship suffer when you're tired or hurt? A quill with this enchantment eliminates some of the Fatigue/Injury penalty to your Debate check while pulling an All-nighter writeup.
Warding - Applied to armour, this enchantment provides a small bonus to Passive Defence. Applied to a Weapon, the bonus goes to Active Defence instead.
Warning - Never be ambushed again! Probably. An item with this enchantment vibrates when an aggressor approaches. You may still be drawn into a fight, but you won't be taken unawares.
Weighted - This enchantment magically increases the weight of a weapon when it hits, causing more damage on successful attacks.
Major EnchantmentsMajor enchantments are only available in permanent form.
Effect // Cost
Bane-weapon // 130
Dancing // 200
Healing // 100
Refreshing // 100
Bane-weapon - Your weapon seems almost drawn to an enemy's weak points. Provides a bonus to attacks.
Dancing - Not very useful during the Annual Ball, an unwielded weapon with this enchantment provides assistance during a battle. Wielding a weapon with this enchantment prevents it from assisting.
Healing - The perfect companion to a Lifesaver Charm, armour with this enchantment heals you by one level after a fight...assuming you're still alive.
Refreshing Armour with this enchantment keeps you cool on warm days and warm on cold days, and almost feels lighter than air. You gain a bonus to resist Fatigue loss.
EDIT: Forgot to include details of enchantments. I'll fix the formatting when I have time.