Price of magick license?

The enemy lurks in shadows
Post Reply
yoroba
Posts: 108
Joined: Thu May 14, 2020 11:25 am

What would a magic license from one of the collages cost in GCs for an apprentice wizard character?
User avatar
Orin J.
Posts: 514
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:39 pm

i don't think they're sold exactly. although you'll have run up a hefty bill for schooling and have a monthly "donation" to the collages you're expected to pay off.
Visitor Q
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2021 8:29 am

As Orin J said the licences are never outright sold. There is an extensive vetting process to ensure the apprentice is the right calibre.

However once the licence is granted there is a yearly fee. This seems to vary depending on the edition. The value of currency also varies between editions as well.

With that in mind

1st edition Realms of Sorcery page 23
Annual licence fee is set by local government and generally costs 50 Gold Piece going up to 500 if the local area is particularly hostile to wizards.
To put that into perspective in 1st edition:
An Inn Keeper could expect to make 115 Gold a year (after running costs)
A sword cost 14 Gold
A pint of ale cost about 9 pennies

(In other words don't just charge 4th edition players 50GC or they'll hit the roof :-) )

2nd edition Realms of Sorcery page 73
There is no licence as such, rather once an apprentice is in an Order then they are vetted. However the Orders charge an annual fee is 10% of the apprentice earnings.

I can't see any more recent costs of it for 4th edition.

It is also worth noting that it is not clear whether an Elf (or other foreign wizard such as a Tilean) would need a licence as this varies a bit between editions. Worth checking with your GM.
yoroba
Posts: 108
Joined: Thu May 14, 2020 11:25 am

Thank you very much for the answers. I let my elf player off with a 2,5 GC registering fee at the Celestial Collage in Altdorf (ALL his money).

I read some where that since High Elves founded the collages in the Empire, they are granted special rights. Although they DO need to register with the local government.
So my elf player had to go to the elf quarter in Altdorf (I named it Atya Endamar (Second Home) to get a "visa" (free for all citizens of Ulthuan) and then had to get a stamp at a magical collage (2 GC, but he pissed off the clerk by being snobby. So 2,5 GC) to be able to legally cast spells.
Post Reply