RP: Social backgrounds of BW's?

[Demothios]

I believe I've read that to get accepted into the wizard colleges of Altdorf, wannabe students have to pay a fee for the education.

Does this, in terms of RP, limit the social backgrounds of BW's to something like the merchant classes or maybe nobility? Are all wizards trained and educated in Altdorf's colleges or is it possible they've been trained by say, the village wizard? How common/rare are wizard families where the skills are taught down from father/mother to son?

[Mirander]

Basically, if a person is found out to have the gift for magic in the Empire, one of two things happens to them: they're shipped off to the Colleges, or they're killed. The populace distrusts magic too much to abide an unlicensed mage, and the threat of corruption by Chaos is too great if a magic-sensitive person is left on their own for too long.

Most Colleges do require payments, but a person wouldn't be turned away for lack of money, they'd probably just have to do drudge work on top of their schooling.

Some wizards won't be taught at the physical College, but will rather follow a single master through his travels in the Empire. The idea of the 'village wizard' doesn't really exist in the Empire as, again, the general populace despises and fears magic and magic-users, and only barely tolerates even the licensed ones.

As for wizard families, in most of the Orders, it's not terribly likely. However, it isn't completely uncommon for Bright Wizards to fall in love and have a family (they do have a tendency towards passion, after all), but this probably wouldn't be any sort of dynasty of magic users; only in the Jade Order could that truly be called commonplace.

[The Penguin Hunter]

Basically, if a person is found out to have the gift for magic in the Empire, one of two things happens to them: they're shipped off to the Colleges, or they're killed. The populace distrusts magic too much to abide an unlicensed mage, and the threat of corruption by Chaos is too great if a magic-sensitive person is left on their own for too long.

Most Colleges do require payments, but a person wouldn't be turned away for lack of money, they'd probably just have to do drudge work on top of their schooling.

Some wizards won't be taught at the physical College, but will rather follow a single master through his travels in the Empire. The idea of the 'village wizard' doesn't really exist in the Empire as, again, the general populace despises and fears magic and magic-users, and only barely tolerates even the licensed ones.

As for wizard families, in most of the Orders, it's not terribly likely. However, it isn't completely uncommon for Bright Wizards to fall in love and have a family (they do have a tendency towards passion, after all), but this probably wouldn't be any sort of dynasty of magic users; only in the Jade Order could that truly be called commonplace.


Yep he nailed it on the head.