Tuesday, 12 April 2011
J is for Jade College of Magic
You might recall from H is for Hedgefolk I have a soft spot for the naturalists--maybe it's the deer hunt or fishing trip and the call of the outdoors that feeds this interest, it's not my love of red meat, caffeine, gluten and dislike of "raw" food--especially in trends--for certain.
Magic in WFRP 2e is formed around the eight winds, or colors, of magic: White, Blue, Yellow, Green, Brown, Red, Grey, and Purple. The officially recognized colleges of magic each focus on a wind. The Jade Order is Green, or as it is known in runic form, Ghyran. The Jade Order lore is associated with Life. The winds in harmony is the basis of Elven High Magic, the winds in discordance is Chaos.
Whereas 2e dropped Druids and the Old Faith from the game, the Jade College is more commonly observed by the citizens of the Empire as a new order of Druids. When the colleges were formed over two centuries ago, the Jade Order was also described as "soil magic." In fact, many of the spells found in study of the "Lore of Life" might have roots in the Old World legends of Earth and Water Elementalists.
Jade wizards are rarely found at the college proper in Altdorf, instead often they are tasked with assuring the land is fertile and cleansed when fouled by Chaos encroachment. They can also be found tending to leylines and henges throughout the Empire, focusing the flow of Ghyran in nature.
I created such a henge in my campaign called Taal's Teeth. The name was apropos, but of interest to the players was how green lightening could often been seen in the vicinity of the henge. Yet, if only in name, was more often associated with the priests of Taal.
The Colleges of Magic present a great campaign framework, individually or as a larger campaign in and around Altdorf proper. With the popularity of "magic school" fiction, the colleges are ripe fodder. And generally the Jade College is the most "progressive" of the colleges of magic, with more women practitioners than the other orders.
The colleges are exquisitely detailed in the Realms of Sorcery and visited again in Spires of Altdorf, part two of the Paths of the Damned campaign. The original Druidic practices and Old Faith from 1e can be found in Mad Alfred's resources, reintroduced for 2e. Elementalism is also examined in the Mad Alfred's library.
Now, go forth and study the Ghyran!
Magic in WFRP 2e is formed around the eight winds, or colors, of magic: White, Blue, Yellow, Green, Brown, Red, Grey, and Purple. The officially recognized colleges of magic each focus on a wind. The Jade Order is Green, or as it is known in runic form, Ghyran. The Jade Order lore is associated with Life. The winds in harmony is the basis of Elven High Magic, the winds in discordance is Chaos.
Whereas 2e dropped Druids and the Old Faith from the game, the Jade College is more commonly observed by the citizens of the Empire as a new order of Druids. When the colleges were formed over two centuries ago, the Jade Order was also described as "soil magic." In fact, many of the spells found in study of the "Lore of Life" might have roots in the Old World legends of Earth and Water Elementalists.
Jade wizards are rarely found at the college proper in Altdorf, instead often they are tasked with assuring the land is fertile and cleansed when fouled by Chaos encroachment. They can also be found tending to leylines and henges throughout the Empire, focusing the flow of Ghyran in nature.
I created such a henge in my campaign called Taal's Teeth. The name was apropos, but of interest to the players was how green lightening could often been seen in the vicinity of the henge. Yet, if only in name, was more often associated with the priests of Taal.
The Colleges of Magic present a great campaign framework, individually or as a larger campaign in and around Altdorf proper. With the popularity of "magic school" fiction, the colleges are ripe fodder. And generally the Jade College is the most "progressive" of the colleges of magic, with more women practitioners than the other orders.
The colleges are exquisitely detailed in the Realms of Sorcery and visited again in Spires of Altdorf, part two of the Paths of the Damned campaign. The original Druidic practices and Old Faith from 1e can be found in Mad Alfred's resources, reintroduced for 2e. Elementalism is also examined in the Mad Alfred's library.
Now, go forth and study the Ghyran!
Posted by at 7:00 AM in d10
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Comment: at Wed, 13 Apr 12:49 PM
Earth Blood is still there, if not as described above. Healing is set at one wound for each half actions spent casting the spell, limit ten. In context of a role playing game, it makes sense.
I used to take Jade Magic for the greater daemon of Nurgle (the great unclean one) in WHFB, with the hopes of drawing Earth Blood. This is where the caster vanishes into the earth, then the next turn will re-appear on the board with full health, and then be allowed to immediately cast another spell. Giving it to Nurgle this spell was so nasty, since he could charge (causing a terror test) and attack, which was usually nasty enough. If during the attack he(?) got hurt, I'd just cast Earth Blood. Used to piss people off to no end, but was completely within the rules.