The Mages Council of Cisnaud

   Here we have the Mages Council of Cisnaud, a prosperous city-state situated where a major river enters the sea, boasting several major and minor magical power nexi, and run by it’s chief wizards. The position of Archmage will soon be up for election, and the intrigue is already beginning…

   Since every mage on the council uses shields, the information below is cursory, from casual sources. If more detail is desired, the players will have to investigate specifically. Powershapers dominate the council; they’re more specialized powers work well in groups, where one can cover for another’s weaknesses, they get a good boost from the power points – and it’s easier to become one since their approach to magic is intuitive.

   It’s probably worth remembering that all of the major figures carefully cultivate their reputations…

   Faction One:

• Georkarlidge: A mid-level powershaper (Dimensions and Gates, Invocation) and candidate for archmage. Possibly overly nice for the job, he apparently has exceptional power-handling abilities, and can cast many more spells then would be expected. He’s also rather young for the role, being in his late 20’s or early 30’s. He might be a compromise candidate for the simple reason that few people are upset with him – and the council admits that it owes him. Georkarlidge is quite public-spirited, but a trifle impractical.
• Mondorvas: A mid-level powershaper (Transformations, Compulsions, and Life). Mondorvas is middle-aged, and fairly nice – at least outside his business of transforming people and creatures into more useful forms (admittedly, he only transforms humans who either request it or who have been sentenced for serious crimes – but it still gives him a bit of a reputation). Actually, Mondorvas would be a possible archmage candidate, but he prefers to stay out of politics, hence he supports Georkarlidge. Personally he seems to be something of a hermit, although he seems to enjoy “creating” new creatures.

   Faction Two:

• Kordan: A high-level powershaper (Binding, Dream- mastery, and Sendings). Kordan is in his late forties, well-respected, businesslike, somewhat ruthless, and a strong candidate for archmage – if only because he’s a capable administrator. Kordan keeps several mistresses and, at least according to rumor, has sold several of his children who displeased him. Most of them get apprenticed out fairly early. Kordan may, however, be cultivating this reputation to protect his offspring. He’s certainly subtle enough for that, and the rumors never actually provide any names.
• Thera: A half-elven mid-level powershaper (Weather and Enchantments), Thera runs the Gryphons Egg, a modest magic shop. Most of her stock is knotted or woven. She is in early middle age (but pretends to look older), and has two small elvish children. A nice person, Thera is usually apolitical and easily swayed. Lately she seems to be solidly in Kordan’s camp. No one knows why. She has a good deal of influence with the Sailor’s guild and seems to have a remarkable talent for long-term spells and subtle enchantments.
• Tunberht: A mid-level powershaper (Elements, Wards and Shields), Tunberht is Kordan’s closest supporter. He likes money and apparently thinks that Kordan would be an exceptionally good business manager. Tunberht is an ex-Hargorean – although he moved to Cisnaud many years ago – and tends to look down on most people. He tends to buy lots of stuff from Hargorea and the Dharos jungle, apparently because he likes a “touch of home”.
• Irena: A relative newcomer to Cisnaud, this high- level powershaper (Illusions and Glamours, Summoning – and Unknown) spends most of her time amusing herself. She seems to have plenty of cash whether she works or not, but does seem to be good at providing “entertainment”, programmed illusions, summoning gems, and the like.
• Larwin: Larwin is an elderly Sourcerer (no, not Sorcerer)/Alchemist, specializing in runic endowment. Larwin, along with a variety of craftsman-assistants, turns out quite a lot of the basic, “generic”, magical gear the city sells – enhanced armor, exploding arrows, simple weaponry, and so on. Specialized charms are usually added by one of the powershapers later. While he’s is quite powerful, Larwin seems to quite bitter, and is relatively easily led in practical matters since he rarely looks outside of his laboratory.

   Faction Three:

• Saker: A high-level powershaper (Wards and Shields and Philosophical Geomancy), Saker is a powerful candidate for archmage. While technically elderly, he apparently swore off aging somewhere around late middle age. As a rule, Saker tends to be an outsider, regarding those about him with little sense of companionship. He is a notable patron and collector of the arts – but there are stories that he occasionally “collects” the artists as well. Saker usually handles the high-powered shields, does a lot of the city construction, and has survived several recent assassination attempts.
• Tamisar: A mid-level powershaper (Divination [x2], Personal Shields, and minor Counterspells), Tamisar is a bit paranoid. It’s quite possible that he supports Saker simply because he likes shielding spells and Saker likes to know what’s going on. Curiously, Tamisar is something of a conservationist and, (contradictorily), is fond of exploring the wilderness and digging up old relics.
• Salinga: A mid-level thaumaturgist, Salinga is the only councilor who regularly goes “adventuring”. While this is considered odd, she’s admitted to be very good at handling emergencies. She’s also notably “psychic”, an attribute that has been known to cause confusion.

   Undecided Members:

• Marik: Technically, as a journeyman, Marik doesn’t qualify for a seat on the council – but he’s taken his teachers (Kafai’s) seat for the time being. Actually, Marik isn’t a “mage”. He’s a necromancer with shamanic talents. He’s also young, confused, and inexperienced. Half the people on the council are trying to steer him around. Interestingly, Marik might just manage to hang onto a seat on the council when the elections do come. He’s rapidly becoming known as a speaker for the younger members of the mages guild – the journeymen and apprentices.
• Asfrid: Another mid-level powershaper, Asfrid has a terribly useful set of fields – Attunement, Molding, and Tailoring. She does a booming business customizing things, tweaking the restrictions on arcane devices, and “fitting things” to customers. Possibly as a result of her fields, Asfrid tends to be able to see everybody’s point, to sympathize with any position, and to get along with almost anyone. She tends to be calm, reasonable, (incredibly) well-informed, and to vote independently. She may lean towards Kordan a bit – if only because he seems quite practical as well.

   At the moment the Mages Guild contains some twenty- three “master mages” (A matter of seniority and politics as well as actual ability), forty-six journeyman mages (Assistants, advanced students, and major talents) – and about two hundred “apprentices” (Ranging from servants with “paraclass”-level skills through minor talents to a mixed bag of “adventurers” of wildly varying power).

   Unseated Master Mages:

• Captian Orim: Alchemist and ex-adventurer, Orim primarily makes the powders, pills, potions, and lotions of low alchemy. He spends a great deal of time and money checking up on his third son – who decided to be an adventurer like his father. Orim is squarely for law and order, at least as a general principle.
• Miran Samora: Alchemist, engineer, and cyborg, she is primarily interested in high alchemy, and tends to be a bit less than practical about most things. She isn’t a native, but isn’t very forthcoming about where she’s actually from. It’s probably extra-dimensional.
• Alfhere: Alfhere isn’t really a mage, he’s a Sidhe Rogue with major talent for Astronomical Powershaping. While he can manage minor spells “on the fly”, Alfhere needs to set up his major formulas in advance – and so will have only a short list of major spells ready. He tends to be a bit of a “dashing romantic”.
• Isilril: Isilril possesses a major psychic talent for the manipulation and patterning of magical energy, but isn’t “truly” a mage – although the effect is much the same. Isioril also tales great pains to accumulate “favors” with various spirits, allowing him to draw on a variety of minor powers, at least until his accounts run out.
• T’Kan: A sourceress from the dharos jungle, T’kan dresses bizarrely (even for a mage), and is reportedly either a werecreature or wields dharos clerical powers of some sort (the two can be hard to tell apart). She isn’t an especially nice person – and seems to spend a great deal of effort cultivating her exotic image.
• Ahvendar: This sourcerer “specializes” in magical services – shrinking things, moving things, supplying large quantities of ice, unplugging the castle drains, and so on. His shop, “Ahvendar’s Amazing Accessories”, is only a hobby, and so tends to be a magical junkpile of bizarre, flawed, incredibly specialized, trivial, and otherwise semi-useless gear.
• Rhyfelcalon: A formidable sourcerer, Rhys displays a daunting enthusiasm for life. He keeps hounds and various hunting animals. He has beer for breakfast. He tells bawdy jokes. He’s skilled with a dozen different weapons – mostly of the sort used for hunting. He only sleeps about three hours a night – and seems to be quite invulnerable to disease, poison, fatigue, and ordinary injuries. Rhyfelcalon is rarely in the city, but can usually be found at his country estate – when he isn’t off “on safari”. Rhys keeps at least three mistresses, has about thirty children, and tends to be very, very, loud. He’s also a rarity – a talismanic sourcerer.
• Rhamsis: An elementalist (light), Rhamsis is also a notable c’hi master and something of a mystic. He’s rather competitive, and often tries to “show up” other light-mages or c’hi masters.
• Tamara: A skilled powershaper (Alchemistic magics and Chronomancy), Tamare supplies a variety of temporary devices, usually fairly powerful – and very specialized. She spends much of her time trying to obtain a variety of exotic ingredients. Tamara is quite patriotic, and tends to look down on foreigners a bit.
• Tornas Shaw: A relatively minor powershaper (Bardic Magics and Absolute Command), Shaw’s elevation to master was probably a matter of politics rather than ability. He has some fairly widespread business interests, ties off-continent – and runs a small trade in truly exotic creatures. He’s a major backer of the centaur cab service, which he seems to find “scenic” (whatever that means). Shaw is something of a trickster, and seems to regard most of the people around him with a kind of detached amusement.
• Chifea: A mistress of lunar magics and summoning, with minor access to nature magic, Chifea delights in being mysterious and awkward, as well as exotic – she’s from Hojin. Unlike most of the other mages, she has very strong religious convictions.