The Mages

In this world, wizards are spell-users trained by the Politi Order. The Politi Order historically was limited solely to those of Shal blood. Over the past three centuries, however, those of mixed and even pure human blood have become members. To be trained as a wizard, an individual must be accepted to a particular house, and be apprenticed to the house. There are three ranks within the Order:

Apprentice – known as an a’dalin – Wizard levels 1 – 3.

Journeyman – known as chanati/chanata – Levels 4 – 12

Master – known as Dominta/Dominti – Levels 12 or higher.

As an apprentice, a Politi trainee is restricted in travel, and receives his training within the household. The center of the training is a mosaic laid into the floor of the central chamber of the house. The mosaic is a magical focus within the house, with magical energies bound into it. Each member sworn to the household can draw upon the mosaic, and also invest it with his or her own energies. The mages of a house can gather on the mosaic and work together to cast spells of a higher level (or maximize the power of a spell) than any of them could do alone.

At journeyman level, a Politi mage is free to leave the chapterhouse and travel wherever he or she wishes to go, returning only for a trial to determine whether he or she is ready to be advanced into the ranks of Dominti/Dominta. If sworn to the chapterhouse at that point, the wizard may draw upon the mosaic even at a distance.

Politi generally wear grey somewhere in their outfit. Apprentices wear a single silver loop in their left ear; journeymen wear two loops; and Dominit/Dominta wear three.

The Evandin

The Order also has as its members, Evandin – or Oathbound –who typically combine fighting prowess with lesser magical abilities. Evandin take an Oath to a house or to a particular mage. Once sworn, the Evandin is distinguished by a silver link necklace. Custom prohibits a Politi-trained wizard from attacking an Evandin with magic. There are practical reasons for this: Any wizard casting a spell upon an Evandin takes 1d6 per spell level of damage. Further, the Evandin has a saving throw against all spells cast by a wizard even if a save is not normally allowed.

For PCs, the Evandin are a prestige class.

Prerequisites: Ability to case 1st level spells; base attack bonus +6; to take the class, the player must role-play achieving the request by a mage or household to become an Evandin.