Wizards Guild Planning Committee

[Dram]

Baxtaw is willing to donate 2,000 to the guild to start. I like Pendletons ideas of the creation and priorities for the guild.

These are all the spells that Baxtaw has and is putting into the labratory.
Level 1
Charm Person, Dancing Lights,Magic Aura,Magic Missle,Protection from Evil, Read Magic,Sleep
Level2
Continual Darkness,Continual Light,Darkness 15ft (reverable light 15ft),Locate Object
Level3 (0)
Level4
Polymorph other,Polymorph self
Level5(0)
Level6
Invsible Stalker

[Zhym]

Sorry—I didn't intend "(spells?)" to mean "which spells?" I was just making sure that Baxtaw was willing to donate both spells and money.

[Marullus]

I can't wait to see the bylaws and what you offer as Guild and University.

[Zhym]

It'll take a few days. All I have at the moment is a preamble and a partial table of contents:

Bylaws of the Soecietus Arcanaeum de Gaul (Summary Description)

The following is summary of the bylaws of the Soecietus Magus Arcanaeum et Universitatus de Gaul (colloquially, the "Wizard's Guild of Gaul," or "Guild") is provided as a convenience. Although this summary document is intended to be accurate, it does not replace the official incorporating documents. Guild members are encouraged to refer to the incorporating documents (available by request and appointment only) for all official matters.

Mission Statement

Governance

Membership

• A. Founding Members
  
  B. Other Members
  
  C. Effect of Death, Resurrection, and Undeath on Membership
  
  D. Privileges and Responsibilities of Membership

Facilities and Services

Relationship to the University of Gaul

Anything obvious I'm missing so far?

[Dram]

Baxtaw- Will be donating spells and money. Maybe that should be requirement to have a actual vote in the guild. Almost like a cleric. 10%(or more) of your wealth received from expeditions needs to be given to guild.

[Zhym]

Hm Interesting idea. Wealth, or spells. I mean, we could go full commune/collective: contributing your entire spellbook, including spells you gain adventuring, gets you full access to the library and voting rights in the guild. Although there'd have to be a minimum number of spells or levels contributed (or a minimum mage level?) to avoid having 1st-level MUs join, contribute their entire books of spells the guild already has, and get a vast library of spells in return.

I was thinking that the founding members and voting members would be the same. So there's a governing board consisting of the founding members. Maybe it also has some members that who are notables from outside the guild, kind of like how modern corporate boards are structured. The board appoints the Archmage, can vote the Archmage out of office, and can vote to overturn decisions of the Archmage. The majority needed for each of those actions may vary (I'm thinking simple majority to appoint an Archmage, 3/4 to remove the Archmage, and maybe 2/3 to overturn a decision).

Another thought—at some point, if the guild is successful, getting new spells for the library will become less important because the library will already have all the known spells (dare to dream!). If that happens, we'd need some criteria for becoming a founding/governing member than contributing spells.

[Marullus]

The incentive to join is greatest for new MUs, who need access to spells to get started. The plan should accommodate them intentionally at some tier.

The simplest solution (which I thought you already picked) is a 1:1 trade on spell levels. You need to donate a (new, unknown) spell to get a spell. Since the tower gives access to resources need d to invent new spells, that's always a possibility and automatically ensures equity.

As the DM, I like encouraging new spell development and it has been rare thus far. This Guild hopefully works to expand that form of world-building.

[Dram]

I think the founding members should be the PC's that are actively here in this thread. Discussing ideas. And if one of the founding members meet there maker. A new founding member is voted in by the other fournding members. I think there is at least 5 of us in this thread.

[Zhym]

I'm thinking there'd be two major categories of membership: regular members, and founding/governing members. Founding/governing members contribute a lot, have access to everything in the guild, and have governing authority. Regular members can join without giving up a lot of money or spells, but they have more limited privileges. For example, they get access to spells on the 1:1 basis you mention. The governing council may mark certain spells off limits to regular members. Regular members may only get access to the lab facilities under supervision.

I've been assuming that everyone in this thread who has expressed interest in membership (i.e., not Earc) is a founding member. I think everyone has offered a substantial contribution (money or spells).

There needs to be some way for regular members to become governing members, of course.

Using the university metaphor, it would be like the guild having professors and students. Students may eventually graduate, and may eventually become professors themselves. But you don't give a brand new freshman full access to everything in the chemistry lab.

As for founding members meeting their maker: I have a placeholder in the bylaws for the effects of death, undeath, and rebirth on guild membership. Because you just know that at some point, a wizard is going to die, become a lich, or find himself trapped in a damn painting for a few centuries. You have to have rules for what to do when that happens.

[Zhym]

BTW, here is what we have in the SMAUG library with the contributions from Baxtaw, Bianca, and Pendleton. We don't know yet what Idriss is willing to add to the list.

The Great Library of Gaul

Level 1
Charm Person (Baxtaw, Bianca, Pendleton)
Comprehend Languages (Bianca, Pendleton)
Dancing Ligts (Baxtaw)
Light (Pendleton)
Magic Aura (Baxtaw)
Magic Missile (Baxtaw, Pendleton)
Protection from Evil (Baxtaw, Pendleton)
Read Magic (Baxtaw, Bianca, Pendleton)
Sleep (Baxtaw, Pendleton)
Unseen Servant (Bianca)
Ventriloquism (Bianca)

Level 2
Continual Darkness (Baxtaw)
Continual Light (Baxtaw, Bianca)
Darkness, 15 ft (Baxtaw)
Detect Evil (Bianca)
ESP (Pendleton)
Invisibility (Pendleton)
Locate Object (Baxtaw)
Phantasmal Force (Bianca)
Web (Pendleton)

Level 3
Fly (Bianca)
Gust of Wind (Bianca)
Monster Summoning I (Pendleton)

Level 4
Massmorph (Bianca)
Polymorph Other (Baxtaw, Bianca)
Polymorph Self (Baxtaw)

Level 5

Level 6
Invisible Stalker (Baxtaw)

That's a pretty good list! It leaves the following LL Basic spells on the wish list:

1st-level: Detect Magic, Floating Disc, Hold Portal, Shield
2nd-level: Arcane Lock, Detect Invisible, Knock, Levitate, Mirror Image

And lots of spells at 3rd level and above, of course.

[Marullus]

That's pretty amazing!

[Zhym]

After a long night scribbling away in his room in the tower, Pendleton emerges with a stack of paper covered in meticulous handwriting—his draft of the Articles of Incorporation of the Soecietus Magus Arcanaeum et Universitatus de Gaul. He also carries a smaller stack of paper that contains his summary of the full articles. Seeing the size of the "summary," you hope, perhaps, never to have to read the fully detailed original.

Bylaws of the Soecietus Arcanaeum et Universitatus de Gaul
(Summary)

The following summary is provided as a convenience. Although this document is intended to be accurate, it does not replace the official incorporating documents. Guild members are encouraged to refer to the incorporating documents (available by request and appointment only) for all official matters.

I. Name

The formal name of the Society is "The Soecietus Magus Arcanaeum et Universitatus de Gaul." It may also be referred to as the "Society," the "University," the "Wizard's Guild of Gaul," or simply the "Guild." The use of the acronym "SMAUG" is not encouraged, but it is tolerated since there's not much we can do to prevent that sort of thing short of renaming the Guild or casting a reverse Comprehend Languages on all members, and that would be pretty counterproductive, wouldn't it?

II. Mission Statement

The Guild promotes the sharing of arcane knowledge to the mutual benefit of its Founders, Members, Students, and the public.

III. Membership

A. Membership Tiers

• Regular Members ("Mages")
  Members at this tier may join the guild for a relatively small cost but have limited (though still extensive) access to the guild's spells and resources. Mages are ranked in "Circles" that indicate the maximum level of spell the mage may access. For example, a Mage of the Fourth Circle may access fourth-level spells.
  
  The highest Circle is Six (i.e., regular members can only access spells of level 6 and below).
  
  Requirements:
  • Ability to cast spells at the Circle level (e.g., 1st level for a Mage of the First Circle)
  • Membership at the next lowest Circle (i.e., a prospective Mage of the Third Circle must already be a Mage of the Second Circle)
  • Contribution of one spell of the Circle level. The spell must not already be in the Guild library.
    Note: If the Archmagus determines that the library of has become sufficiently complete at a given spell level that it is unrealistic to expect an applicant to contribute a new spell, the Archmagus may allow a contribution of money, lab equipment, rare spell components, magic items, or other items or property of value in lieu of a spell. The Archmagus may establish rules setting out the requirements for alternate contributions.
  Benefits:
  • Access to unrestricted spells of the Circle level and below at a cost of 100 gp per level ("restricted" spells are those that the Guild has determined to be too dangerous to allow access without approval).
  • Free room and board—either a shared room (Mages of the First Circle), two-person shared rooms (Second Circle), or private rooms (Third Circle and above)
  • Supervised access to research facilities on an as-available basis.
  Mages of each circle may be referred to by the following titles:
  • First Circle: Prestidigitator
    Second Circle: Evoker
    Third Circle: Thaumaturgist
    Fourth Circle: Magician
    Fifth Circle: Enchanter
    Sixth Circle: Sorcerer
  
  Full Members ("Wizards")
  Members at this tier are full partners in the guild who are expected to make significant contributions to the guild and its continuing ability to achieve its mission.
  
  Requirements:
  • A significant contribution in furtherance of the guild's mission in a form useful to the mission of the Guild. Typically, this will be in the form of knowledge (e.g., spells), but significant contributions of money, equipment, or property may also qualify.
  • Approval by a majority of all Wizards.
  • Continuing support: Wizards are expected to share discoveries of spells or lore with the Guild. In particular, Wizards agree to allow the Guild to make copies of any new spells that the Wizards discovers.
  Benefits:
  • Unrestricted access to all spells in the library at the cost of materials (50 gp / level for ink)
  • Voting privileges in all Guild matters
  • Free room and board in private suite accommodations with good meals
  • Priority access to research facilities
  Founding Members ("Founding Wizards")
  Founding members are Wizards who made substantial contributions that enabled the formation of the guild. They have all the requirements and benefits of Wizards, including the expectation of continuing contributions to the Guild, except as follows:
  
  Requirements:
  • Elected by unanimous consent of all other Founding Wizards (a new member who makes a large enough contribution may be elected a "Founding Wizard").
  Benefits:
  • A 15-level allowance for ink from the guild's supplies to copy spells (i.e., the first 15 levels of spells a founding member copies into his or her spellbook are free). Additional spell levels copied are at cost (50 gp/level)
  • Free room and board in permanent, private suite accommodations with good meals.

B. Revocation of Membership (Expulsion)

• Guild members may be expelled from the guild only for good cause. "Good cause" may include, but is not limited to, theft from the guild, attempted destruction of guild property, violent action against other Guild members, or other serious conduct detrimental to the guild.
• Expulsion may only occur following a trial by a Council of Wizards. At least three Wizards shall preside, including the Archmagus unless the Archmagus is on trial. The Guild member to be expelled must have an opportunity to be heard, to hear and examine the evidence against him, and confront and cross-examine witnesses. Expulsion requires a vote of three-fourths of all Wizards (excluding those who are deceased, petrified, or otherwise ineligible to vote; see below). Note that the required vote is three-fourths of all Wizards, not of those voting (i.e., if there are eight Wizards and all five vote to expel while the other three do not vote at all, the expulsion fails).
• A Guild member who is expelled by less than a unanimous vote must be compensated to the extent possible for the member's net contributions to the guild. For example, an expelled member who had contributed twelve levels worth of spells and only copied three spell levels should be given a scroll totaling nine levels of spells.
• Founding Wizards may only be expelled by unanimous vote of all other Founding Wizards. Expulsion of Founding Wizards is otherwise subject to the rules listed above.

C. Renunciation of Membersip
Members may voluntarily leave the Guild. Members who do so are not entitled to compensation. Members who leave the Guild and decide to rejoin must rejoin as if they were new members.

D. Effect of Death, Incapacitation, Resurrection, and Undeath on Membership

• Death and Incapacitation
• Guild members who die or are incapacitated have their membership suspended (not terminated). Dead or incapacitated members are considered members in suspensa. Their rights (including voting rights), privileges, and responsibilities are held in abeyance for the duration of their death or incapacitation.
• Members in suspensa do not count toward vote requirements.
• For purposes of this provision, incapacitation includes physical death, turning to stone, paralysis that leaves a person incapable of communicating (including through magical means such as ESP), catatonia, and similar conditions.
• Incapacitation also includes possession (whether by deity, demon, or artifact, or any other source), charm, domination, or any other condition that prevents the person from exercising his or her own will.
• Exception: reversible death or temporary incapacitation will not suspend membership or voting rights if the death or incapacitation was caused by another Guild member with the intent to deprive the dead or incapacitated member of the ability to vote or exercise other privileges of Guild membership. In such circumstances, all votes must proceed as if the dead or incapacitated Wizard were capable of voting. This will, for example, prevent a unanimous vote of all Wizards if one Wizard was killed in an attempt to secure a unanimous vote of the survivors.

• Resurrection and Reincarnation
• Full membership rights, privileges, and responsibilities shall be restored upon the successful resurrection or return from the dead in the same or substantially the same form, personality, and mind as the Guild member had prior to death.
• Reincarnation into a new form terminates membership permanently. If the new form has the ability to cast arcane spells and retains memory of its old life, it may apply for reinstatement, which shall be granted upon a majority vote of all Wizards.

• Undeath
• Any Guild member who becomes undead is considered to be dead for the purposes of these rules, with membership held in suspensa for the duration of his or her undeath.
• Provided, however, that any Guild member who voluntarily undertakes to become undead, especially by becoming a lich, immediately forfeits membership in the Guild.

• Miscellaneous Provisions
• A Mage who loses his ability to cast the spells of his current Circle (e.g., through the energy drain effects of certain undead creatures) retains membership in that circle.
• Guild members who forfeit membership pursuant to these rules (e.g., through reincarnation or voluntary undertaking of undead status) retain the right to a trial to prove the basis of the loss of membership. The Guild member's rights, privileges, and responsibilities will be suspended pending the trial, and their votes do not count toward those required for vote margins (unless the Guild member would forfeit membership pursuant to these rules by the action of another Guild member with the intent to deprive the Guild member of his or her vote).

IV. Governance

The primary responsibility and authority for leadership of the Guild shall vest in an Archmagus.

• A. Selection, Term, and Impeachment
• The Archmagus is elected by a vote of all Wizards to a two-year renewable term. The Archmagus must be a Wizard (i.e., full member of the Guild).
• The Archmagus serves a two-year renewable term. There are no term limits. The Archmagus shall retain his or her position at the expiration of his or her term until a new Archmagus is elected.
• The Archmagus may be removed prior to the expiration of his or her term only by a three-fourths vote of all Wizards or by expulsion from the Guild pursuant to the rules above.

• B. Authority and Responsibilities
• The Archmagus has full administrative and executive authority over Guild matters. Decisions of the Archmagus do not require prior approval by other Wizards, but the Archmagus's decisions may be overturned by a simple majority of all Wizards.
• The Archmagus may (and is encouraged to) submit important issues to the full body of Wizards for consideration and vote when advisable and practical.
• The Archmagus keeps a seneschal as a retainer who manages the day-to-day operations of the tower. The seneschal employs the tower's cook and the guards who handle the lower gate. (The seneschal costs the Archmagus one retainer slot).

• C. Benefits
• The Archmagus shall have the title and rights of Lord of Gaul.
• The Archmagus is entitled to permanent, private suite accommodations in the Guild tower.

V. Facilities and Services

• A. Library
• Spells in the library are classified as "public," "unrestricted," or "restricted." Public spells are available to non-members to copy for a fee; they may also be made available for public purchase as scrolls. Unrestricted spells are available for copying by any member. Restricted spells are only available to Wizards.
• Regular members ('Mages') may copy spells from the library for 100 gp per spell level. This includes the cost of materials.
• Full members ('Wizards') may copy spells from the library for the cost of ink (50 gp per spell level).
• Founding Wizards are entitled to copy a certain number of spell levels at no cost. See the Membership section for more details.

• B. Laboratory Facilities
• Laboratory facilities shall be available to members for use in researching unknown properties of magical items, researching new spells, and for other uses related to the discovery of new knowledge.
• The laboratory may be made available to members of the public for a fee if it is not needed by any members of the Guild.
• Regular members ('Mages') may access the laboratory on an as-available basis, and only for the purpose of researching the properties of magic items. Due to the dangers inherent in researching and creating new magics, Mage-tier members may not use the laboratory facilities to research new spells or create magic items except under the supervision of a Wizard.
• Full members ('Wizards') may access the laboratory on a priority basis—i.e., they may take over the laboratory from a Mage who is using it, but must wait for other Wizards. A sign-up list will be provided.
• Founding Wizards may "cut" in front of non-founding Wizards in line to use the Laboratory, but may not take over the lab from a Wizard's current use of the Laboratory, except in emergencies where approved by a 3/4 vote of all Founding Wizards.

"Well?" he asks. "What do you think?"

Okay, that's a lot. And it still leaves some things to be done. Specifically:

• What is the full list of spells in the library? (I'm waiting on Spearmint to speak up for Idriss on this)
• Who are the Founding Wizards? I assume they're Pendleton, Baxtaw, Idriss, and Bianca, but I'm waiting to make sure about Idriss's contribution.
• Which spells are public, unrestricted, and restricted?
• What are the prices for spells, scrolls, and services available to the public?
• What's the lab setup in the tower—or at least, what's the lab's bonus to research?
• What rules does Pendleton establish for "alternate contributions" for the First Circle, since the library already has most of the known first-level spells?
• The University aspect is pretty minimal at the moment, mostly because everything that's there took enough time as it is. We could easily "reskin" the bylaws by making regular members "Apprentices" or something like that. Or students/apprentices could be something we take on separate of the Mage/Wizard tiers.

I'm sure there are some other blanks to fill in, but these are the questions I can think of at the moment. Marullus will probably remind me of some things I forgot to address.

[Zhym]

Here's a summary of the summary. Just the highlights:

Membership:

• Two levels of membership: regular ("Mages") and full ("Wizards").
• Regular members need only contribute one spell to the library to get access to spells of that level, but pay 100 gp per spell level to copy spells and are not allowed to copy "restricted" spells (spells that are deemed too dangerous to allow just anyone to copy). Regular members do not have voting rights. They can use the lab facilities for item research but not spell research or creating magic items.
• Full members are essentially partners in the guild. They are expected to make "significant" contributions—typically entire spellbooks, lots of money, etc. They are also expected to contribute new spells to the library as they learn them. Full members have access to all the spells in the library, including restricted spells, at the cost of materials. They can use the lab facilities for any purpose and can "bump" regular members to do it. They have voting rights. They are elected by a majority vote of all full members.
• Founding members are a special type of full member. They can copy a certain number of spell levels for free in recognition of their role in getting the guild started. They are elected by unanimous consent of all founding members.
• All members get free room and board (good meals).
• There are a bunch of rules about how a member can be expelled from the guild and what happens if a member dies, is turned to stone, gets sucked into a painting, etc. Basically, death only pauses membership. The only ways to lose membership permanently are to voluntarily quit, be thrown out for misconduct, be reincarnated into a different form, or become a lich.

Governance:

• Full members (Wizards) have full voting rights. Regular members don't.
• The Archmagus is elected to a two-year presumptively renewing term. Election is by simple majority; removal before the end of the term is by three-fourths vote.
• The Archmagus's decisions can be overriden by a simple majority vote of all full members.

That's the gist of what I have in the rules right now.

[Marullus]

The biggest thing missing is the entry/inventive option for new PCs. (If you don't help them on arrival, they are likely never to need/want to join.)

I recommend exchange by spell levels, not spells-of-a-level. A new PC can donate their second level spell that they can't cast and get two useful first level spells. Someone who has a scroll with a 5th level spell they can't cast can trade it in for several spells of lower level.

At 100gp/spell level you are profiting off the transactions (which is fine - standard in most NPC shops) but it likely prices out new PCs. If someone is exchanging spell knowledge, perhaps charging at-cost (50gp) would be kinder.

If you haven't committed your whole spell book, I recommended getting spells only by equal exchange. Your call if that works.

You need rules for NPC help in your research. (At the Witchwood, which is totally egalatarian, you need to help everyone who helps you. So you can get a +5 on your week of research but then need to commit five weeks of clock time to helping others.) I don't expect you to be egalatarian, so decide what's fair per tier.

I think low level PCs should be encouraged to research and create. Requiring them to do it with a higher level mentor and not blow up the lab is cool (and encourages the PC-PC roleplay.)

[Zhym]

Yeah, I thought about the incentives for low-level PCs, but the problem with that—and with 1:1 spell exchange—is that most new PCs won't have anything the guild needs. The library currently lacks only four 1st-level LL Basic spells: Detect Magic, Floating Disc, Hold Portal, and Shield. One or two of those might be filled in from Idriss's contribution. That means there's little room for a 1st-level PC to contribute a spell that we don't already have.

That's why I see 1:1 spell exchange as hard to sustain as the library grows more complete—there's decreasing room to add new spells. Thus the 100 gp/spell-level cost: the idea is to have a relatively easy entry cost for basic members (a single spell the guild doesn't have), but with copying the spells still being kind of expensive. That's the incentive for basic members to become full members. The "profit" would go toward inks, improving research facilities, and operational costs.

It's also based on the idea that PCs routinely come back from adventures with lots of gold (except in Pendleton's case, for some reason), but spells are more rare. Thus, it's easier for newer PCs to pay in gold than in spells the guild doesn't already have.

Still, 1:1 exchange on a per spell-level basis is an interesting thought. Donate a 2nd-level spell that the library doesn't have and you can copy two 1st-level spells or one 2nd-level spells. That might help fill out the higher levels, and it gets around the problem of the library filling up on lower-level spells. Hm.

My solution to the library filling up was to require members who wanted to advance to a new circle to go find a new spell if they don't have one that's not already in the library. I had a whole tiered system of increasing requirements for how much effort would be required. At 1st Circle, all you need is to show that you don't have a spell in your book that the library doesn't have, and you can pay gold instead. At higher Circles, the mage might be required to go find a new spell (adventuring hook!). I decided it was too complicated. But it would simplify things to say that the Mage needs to contribute a spell of Circle level or higher—which would play reasonably well with a 1:1 spell-level exchange.

As far as attracting brand-new PCs: I wasn't thinking of the guild as something a brand-new PC could join as soon as the character is rolled up. The new PC is unlikely to have anything to add to the guild, either in spells (we have all the popular choices for mages just starting out) or gold. When they get back from their first expedition, though, flush with cash and/or spells, that's when they and the guild could start being of value to each other.

I'm a little reticent to allow low-level regular members access to the labs for spell research as long as "LAB ASPLODE!" is a possible result. Because of the potential for something bad to happen, I see spell research as something reserved for higher-level PCs. Maybe that's not how you envision it, but it's my take from the way the rules are set up.

As for NPC help with research, I'm not sure where to start on that. Nor do I have any idea how many NPCs will be available for the Guild. Any thoughts on that?

I'll think about whether 1:1 spell-level exchange would work better. Anyone else have any thoughts on that point?

[Marullus]

You seem fixed on who is an adjunct and who gets tenure, but aren't considering how you attract a student body.

I imagine most of my factors fall into that concern and brainstorming the University component of SMAUG will resolve them.

* If New PCs get better admission offers from the Witchwood, Templars, and Hagaseth, you may be shorted as a Guild. Focusing on what new students can do to benefit the Guild (as opposed to cutting a break the other direction) seems short-sighted.

* NPC apprentices who help with research: I imagine for SMAUG that's like grad students helping the professor's post-doc work. You get X amount of free help, but you need to devote X time to teaching and mentoring.

* PCs researching spells in conjunction with a higher level "faculty" member encourages growth and creativity and supports it with inter-PC roleplay. I think that's a double-good. If getting spells requires giving spells, then making new spells fulfills that through this mechanism.

One of the things I like about offering exchange for new PCs is that it encourages them to NOT all min-max the same spells. Yes, Sleep and Magic Missile are staples that everyone needs. That means it is all anyone has. If someone could start with something else and know they could get those here, then that widens the variety and creativity of the game.

[Zhym]

What's the value in attracting brand-new characters to the guild if they can't contribute to it? Especially since there's nothing preventing them from taking what's useful then never interacting with the guild ever again as they level. I think my model of the guild being attractive after the first adventure makes more sense.

Your idea of PCs selecting different spells because they can get Sleep and Magic Missile in the guild isn't bad, but I'm not sure it would work in practice or be sustainable. For a brand-new PC, 50 gp is a lot of money. And it'll only take a couple of PC's doing that before there are no new 1st-level spells to trade in. Trading in a 2nd-level spell for two 1sts would still be 100 gp, which few brand-new PCs will have to spare.

And "attract lots of members" isn't necessarily one of my goals. "Add to the library" is, which of course may mean attracting members. But only if they have something useful to contribute.

I'm also trying to make sure that the founding members aren't suckers for donating their entire spellbooks to the cause. If everyone can copy spells at materials costs, people who donate full spellbooks (or scrolls full of spells), and are expected to continue contributing spells as they learn them, aren't getting that good of a deal if they pay the same cost to copy spells. I admit to designing the rules more to make sure that the guild is an equitable way to share knowledge between founders and to recognize their contributions. Maybe I'm overestimating how much knowledge the will have or how attractive it will be for others to join. But we need founders, or the guild doesn't happen. Adding members is definitely a goal, but if we never add even one new member, the guild could still go on and even thrive as a spell-sharing and facilities-sharing collective.

I'm biased by my experience with Pendleton, but when he was in desperate need of spells a while back, the model I propose would have been ideal. The Witchwood and Templars have alignment and religion restrictions he didn't meet. Hagaseth wasn't around, I don't think, but he still isn't set up to accept members as a guild. He does have scrolls for sale, which is a good way to add spells to a spell book, but those scrolls are more expensive than 100 gp per spell level, and you still need 50 gp per spell level to copy them into a spell book. What I've drafted seems to me like a great deal: for the donation of one spell, you get access to a whole bunch of spells at prices that are cheaper than anywhere except places with religious or alignment restrictions. That's perfect for someone like Pendleton was, with a few hundred GP and damned little in the way of spells. But maybe magic-users with lots of spells and little money would have an easier time with the 1:1 exchange approach.

Still, it might be worth adding another membership tier: provisional members or 'Apprentices' ('Adepts?'), who use the 1:1 spell exchange method. That way there's an option for people with money to spend, and an option for people with less money but spells to contribute. Or maybe it's worth changing the Mage level to use 1:1 exchange, based on what the other founding members think. I'm not totally opposed to it; I'm just not sure it will attract brand-new PCs the way you seem to think it will.

As for lab use, I'm still extremely reluctant to let anyone use the lab for spell research when it's possible to blow up the lab, damage the tower, and kill NPCs with a bad roll. Maybe we could rule around that by ensuring that any spell research has the +10 modifier needed to avoid the "oops" roll. I'm not sure what we would need to do to ensure that, though. Unless the spell research rules change, I'm strongly against letting anyone but full members do something that could blow up the tower.

[Zhym]

Another thought: to some extent, money is as useful as spells to the guild. Hagaseth, the Templars, the Witchwood, and even Fingers (by consignment) all have spells that one or more of our guild members can purchase and transcribe into the library. If we get some funds from spell copy fees, we can buy a lot of those spells and increase our library as we choose. Granted, it would be better to add unique spells to the library instead of spells already available elsewhere, but if we only charge materials costs for copying spells, we have to rely on what people are willing to offer.

[Zhym]

An alternate approach could be that everyone, including founding members, copies spells on a 1:2 spell-level ratio (donating one level of spells gets you two levels to copy), at the cost of materials. Founding members get to copy spells for free on a 1:1 spell-level basis for any spells contributed at the time of founding (i.e., contributing twelve spell levels at the time of founding grants twelve levels of spells that can be copied for no cost).

In some ways, it's simpler, and ensures fairness even between founding members (OTOH, how would Baxtaw's cash contribution, in addition to lots of spells, be recognized? Maybe on the basis of how many spell levels that amount of money could buy elsewhere?). But then it's harder to see what distinguishes full members from limited members, or if there should even be such a distinction. I'd probably have to change around the whole membership level system, including who gets to vote on guild business, how we decide who gets access to dangerous spells, and who we think can use the lab facilities without blowing them up. And we wouldn't have a cash flow to purchase other spells.

There might be a system along those lines that could work, but having spent way too many hours last night putting my current proposal together, I'm not sure I'm up to a complete re-write at this point.

And I wonder if a quota system for founders wouldn't actually result in "founding gifts" that are less generous than they are now, just because it would encourage an accounting mindset.

[Marullus]

You could reward Baxtaw's founding cash at 100gp/spell level. That's my standard for NPC transactions (modified by circumstances). Then your proposal is probably both simple and solid.

Did you apportion the Archduke's approximate donation? I lowered prices here a few weeks ago.