Council of Jesuits

Sometimes referred to as the "Sage Society", the Council of Jesuits is a fraternity of sages, experimenters, and professional researchers largely based in Candlehar. Officially, membership is open to nearly anyone whose aim is the pursuit of knowledge, but in practice it is only open to spell-casters. Exceptions exist, but the total number of non-spellcasters counted as members is very likely to be less than 5%.

Membership

Anyone wishing to become a Jesuit must first seek out a member of the Jesuitical Union, and formally request sponsorship. The number of Letters of Sponsorship any particular member can write per year is limited, so they are generally not given out lightly. If accepted, the Union member will write up a Letter of Sponsorship, and will have the candidate obtain at least three letters of recommendation from other members of the Council. Any member of the Jesuitical Union or Grand Council may write up a recommendation, but all recommendations given out become a part of that member's permanent file, and frivolous recommendations can become a stain on that Rector's reputation. At a minimum, a recommendation should list how long they have known the candidate, how acquainted they are with the candidate's skills & abilities, and why they recommend this person. Once recommendations have been obtained, the sponsor will (generally) write their own recommendation, and will forward the sponsorship and recommendations, along with any other proofs of competency (degrees or diplomas from other institutions, honors bestowed, or Letters of Recommendation and/or Introduction from non-members) to the Grand Council. The Grand Council will review all materials, have statements entered into existing members files, and determine whether the candidate should be granted an Examination Board.

An Examination Board will consist of at least one member of the Union, and three or more other members. Except in exceptional circumstances, no one having written a recommendation or Sponsorship for the candidate are to be allowed to sit on the Examination Board. The Board will investigate the candidate; and may use written, oral, or practical examination (or some combination). The Board will determine if the candidate has the skills and abilities stated in their recommendations, their ability to research and investigate, and whatever else the Board feels to be relevant.

If the Examination Board votes to accept the candidate, they will bestow a provisional membership, and will provide the provisor a number of research topics or tasks to be be competed within a set timeframe (the length of the provisional membership; commonly one year, but may be shorter or longer depending upon the nature of the topics or tasks). Oftentimes, the provisor will be tasked to assist (or even apprentice under) a more senior member. Upon successful completion of this research or apprenticeship, the provisor will stand before another Board (which may or may not comprise the same members as before), show what they have learned and/or discovered, and the Board will decide whether to approve the provisor for full membership. Membership to the Council of Jesuits lasts for life.

Council of Jesuit Binding

Upon officially being admitted to the Council of Jesuits, the applicant must swear an Oath of Binding to the Council. The oath requires the following commitments:

Obedience to the laws and strictures set forth by the Council of Jesuits.

Keep and protect the secrets set forth as such by the Grand Council.

Assist other Jesuits as time and ability do allow.

After swearing and accepting the Oath of Binding, the member receives the following benefits:

You learn one of prestidigitation, thaumaturgy, or druidcraft cantrip (depending on class), if you do not already know any of them. In addition, you learn how to make a permanent magical mark, used as a signature or stamp.

You gain the ability to learn special and reserved spells, as listed below:

1^st level: comprehend languages, detect magic, uncanny recall, mage quill

2^nd level: borrowed knowledge, darkvision, locate object, transcribe

3^rd level: artisan's workshop, dispel magic, impart knowledge, tounges

4^th level: charm monster, locate creature, Mordenkainen’s Burly Boat, quick perusal

5^th level: legend lore, scrying, research assistant, renew simulacrum

You learn the techniques necessary to memorize certain spells. At second level, you may memorize any one spell allowed to you by your class or by this binding. This spell is an additional spell you have prepared, and does not count against the number of spells you may normally prepare. However, this spell is fixed in your mind, and can only be changed during advancement training. You can memorize an additional spell at 7^th level, and again at 14^th, but you can only memorize a number of spells up to your spellcasting modifier (minimum of one).

If you are able to cast a spell as a ritual, you learn the means to extend the duration of the spell by re-casting the spell as necessary. This casting requires half as much time to cast as the original ritual. A spell that requires concentration may not be extended in this fashion.

Rhose Scoleria

Named in honor of one of the founders of the Council of Jesuits, Gallen Rhose, the Grand Council gives out a small number of special stipends to various people (often young people) in order to subsidize their ability to learn, study, and experiment. These stipends need not go to members of this order (although many do), and gaining one of these scloeria is considered a high honor. The amount of money given to any individual varies, but is typically just enough to cover modest room & board, training materials, and other monies as necessary.

An individual who accepts such a scloeria is assigned a member of the Jesuitical Union who acts as an advisor, councilor, and sometimes even an assistant to the recipient; as well as keeping track of their study progress. This advisor reports back to the Council; which uses the reports as a way to determine if the scoleria will continue. The recipient often pursues their own research, but may occasionally be asked to assist with work of a member or one or more other scloria recipients.

Organization

Jesuits

The rank and file members of the Council are referred to as Jesuits, and represent the vast majority of members. Jesuits can come from any mystic tradition; whether that is arcane, divine, or eldritch; and can even come from non-mystic sources. Approximately 2% of the Sage Society have little or no magical power whatsoever, instead being mundane scholars of subjects such as architecture, the law, and natural philosophy.

Jesuitical Union

A subset of the Council of Jesuits who especially promote and work towards the organization and dissemination of knowledge. In Candlehar, membership to this group is required in order to work as a professional researcher-for-hire. The Union is largely composed of members that either devote a significant portion of their time to research, study, or experimentation; or are employed full-time by the Grand Council. Council regulations restrict the upper size of the Union to one out of every twelve members, but in practice the Union is seldom that large. Members of the Jesuital Union are referred to as Rectors.

Grand Council

The Grand Council is the ruling body of the Council of Jesuits. They are responsible for establishing and updating the order's laws, maintaining proper relations with kingdoms and other organizations, and judging disputes. A member of the Grand Council is called a Chair, and the position they hold is called a Seat. Each member of this council holds a specific seat, and is acknowledged to be an expert concerning the seat they hold. The number of Chairs in the Grand Council is not strictly proscribed, but has had fifteen positions for the past 250 years. (The seat of History was raised to permanent status at the same time the seats of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy were combined 175 years ago.)

The current Chairs are listed below:

Seat

Chair

Holder's Class

Abjuration Magic

Sark Henholg, male half-orc

Eldritch Knight Fighter

Arcane Binding & Artifice

Robert Baker, male human

Battle Smith Artificer

Conjuration Magic

Oriel Dukes, female human

Conjuration Wizard

Divination Magic

Enline Merlin, female human

Divination Wizard

Enchantment Magic

Merle Sage, male human

Enchantment Wizard

Evocation Magic

Helena Quick, female human

Evocation Wizard

Fey Magic

Beiro Xiloscient, male elf

Circle of the Land Druid

History

Jo Jarjar, female halfling

College of Valor Bard

House of Avereen & Religion

Felix Grubber, male human

Peace Domain Cleric

Illusion Magic

Nochtli Graysky, female human

Coven of the Half Moon Witch

Mathematics & Natural Philosophy

Lilli Leffery, female gnome

none, non-caster

Necromantic Magic

Louis Chambert, male human

Life Domain Cleric

Psionic Magic & Phenomena

Akemi Ren-Saki, female human

Aberrant Mind Sorcerer

Shadow Magic

Clerebold Spruce, male human

Hexblade Warlock

Transmutation Magic

Olin O'Lokke, male human

Transmutation Wizard

In addition to the official Seats listed above, there are numerous unofficial Chairs (often called a Bench or a Stool (derogatory)). Some of the more prominent Benches are listed below:

Art & Literature

Dragomir Erinstretski, male human

none, non-caster

Law

Simon Hernandiz, male human

Order Domain Cleric/Enchantment Wizard

Library Organization

Pyra Savorel, female teifling

Order of Scribes Wizard

Metamagic & Tokken

Lukka Potter, male human

Bladesinging Wizard

The Outer Planes

Brottor Caebrek, male dwarf

Divine Soul Sorcerer

Unofficial Chairs are more prone to arise and dissolve as necessary. An unofficial Chair can only be elevated to a permanent status by three consecutive unanimous votes (voted on annually) by the Grand Council. Due to the regulations (and often politics) involved in establishing a new permanent Seat in the Grand Council, it is not unheard of for a Bench to exist largely unchanged for a century and not be raised to official status.

Ex Cathedra

In addition to official and unofficial Chairs, the Grand Council maintains a small group of full-time clerks and scribes, whose principle duties involve maintenance of records, handling of membership requests, and other day-to-day tasks that insure the smooth running of the organization. Members of the Cathedra (Ex Cathedra) technically belong to the Jesuitical Union and not the Grand Council, but in practice wield the same authority.

Silent Members

Beyond the official and unofficial Chairs, and the Ex Cathedra, there are rumored to be special advisors to the Grand Council, the so-called Silent Members of the Grand Council. Some of these people may simply be "unofficial" unofficial Chairs, while others may be employed in such a way that no official mention of their contributions or work can be acknowledged. Whatever they may or may not be, little is known beyond rumor and supposition.

The Method

The Method is a means of acquiring knowledge through experimentation, and is widely taught and used by the Jesuits. The use of the Method is an iterative process, and follows these basic steps:

1. Conjecture: Formulate the proposition you wish to study.
2. Evidence: Gather evidence about your conjecture; not only in support of it, but in defiance of it as well.
3. Evaluate: Evaluate & weigh your evidence.
4. Hypothesis: Define an explanatory hypothesis as clearly as possible.
5. Prediction: State what you think is the most likely outcome of your hypothesis.
6. Experiment: Formulate & conduct a test in an attempt to verify your prediction.
7. Analysis: Analyze the results of your experiment to determine if your prediction was correct.
8. Iterate: Review, and then revise a more precise conjecture in order to begin again.

Relationship With Other Organizations

Guild Arcanum

As the only other large organization with the goal of teaching and educating wizards and other arcane practitioners, the Guild Arcanum maintains their primary Office of the Cousulate in Candlehar. However, relations between these two organizations is seldom completely cordial.

Church of the House of Avereen

The Council of Jesuits generally maintains good relations with the largest group of divine magic practioners in Manavata. Approximately 10 - 12% of the Council's total membership is made up of priests & clerics of The House, but only 4 - 6% of the Jesuitical Union. The reasons for this are unclear, but it is commonly believed that more powerful casters (which tends to describe the Union) tend to be far more involved with ecclesiastical work than their arcane counterparts.

The Royal Court

Relations with the Crown is normally cordial, despite the majority of Court Wizards belonging to the Guild Arcanum. Even though the Guild is the de jure body that regulates arcane magic under the auspices of the Court, in practice the Council is allowed to deal with all but the most serious infractions amongst its members, sometimes even in spite of the Arcanum's objections.

The Archdruid

While those who follow the Old Religion do not tend to organize large hiearchies, the leader of the Arborita generally takes up the role of speaking on behalf of the interests of druids and witches. The Archdruid is not elected, appointed, or even necessarialy approved by those he or she would represent; but knows that if they do not fulfill the role they take upon themselves, they may either be asked to step down, or simply be dispatched; allowing another to take up that mantle.

Dues & Funding

While membership in the Council of Jesuits is for life, dues must still be paid annually. Dues are assessed annually (on the first of Ain) per grade (similar to the Guild Arcanum), and are 50 gp per grade level. Dues are generally paid when a member undergoes training (either for advancement or other reasons), and some members go several years without notice. There are no additional instructor fees, as every member is expected to teach and share the knowledge they have acquired. Any fees paid to a teacher are still subject to taxation.

The majority of funding the Council collects comes from the production and sale of books, scrolls, maps, and the like. Nearly every library building has a room for scribes and others to write and transcribe, and use of these rooms is subject to a small fee. As these rooms are well-appointed for such work, few serious scribes choose to work elsewhere. Another source of revenue come from access to Prentice grade (3rd level spells) and above spells & materials. Lower level spells are also subject to fee collection, but as many of these can be found nearly anywhere, the Council does not actively attempt to collect those fees.

Spell Repositories

The Council collects fees to allow access to spells & materials. Prices vary by spell, but is often 25 gp per spell level (prices generally include access to a transcription room). Rare, difficult-to-find, and custom spells can cost as much as four times the normal price. Access to any given spell is generally just long enough to transcribe it (2 hours per spell level). If a Jesuit wishes to transcribe spells in bulk (such as when they reach a new Grade), a bulk transcription discount of 10 - 20% is often given.

Owned Spells

Those who discover or create a new or novel spell are generally considered entitled to be paid for their efforts, and the Council collects those fees on behalf of their owners. The owners of these spells are allowed to set their own prices (within reason), but these prices are often 10-15 gp per spell level. The council does not charge their owners for collecting those fees, but will apply them to any outstanding Council dues or fees owed by the owner.

Type

Guild, Mages