Flowerland Session #2 coming up, but I also told my friend I’d run a Magic Academy Gone Wrong one-shot for her online. Started as “Lord of the Flies set in Hogwarts”, but morphed into this:
Centuries ago, a forgotten mystic founded the Scholomance, a college built to train fledgling witches and sorcerers, lest solitude and caprice drive them to make mischief out of magic. It flourished over the years, attracting the best and most ambitious magi, but its final headmaster, the Wizard Loshe, trafficked with what mortals ought not and invited a spirit of foul knowledge and dark power into his mind. It subjugated his will, seized his body, and began remaking the school in its own wicked image. His former friends and colleagues fled, taking their students with them, and sealed the Scholomance away behind wards and walls and unaging guardians. But all did not escape. You did not escape. An abandoned student of the Scholomance, you are trapped in the castle with a mad wizard, his lieutenants, a few wily faculty, and your own desperate fellows.
But you have a chance. When the professors left, the Scholomance awakened. The Founder imparted it with a keen intelligence and power over the castle’s servitors and mechanisms. It retains its full power and purpose only in the Tower of Repose, which houses Scholomance’s dormitories, bathrooms, and storerooms. Here, it can shield the remaining students from the predations of Headmaster Loshe and the demon coiled tight around his heart. In other wings, it is weakened, slumbering, or insane.
Character generation is the same as Flowerland, only backgrounds indicate who your parent(s) are, there is no need for a Sorcery or Shamanism skill, and you get equipment by rolling d6 three times on the following table.
All characters begin with 1 white button down shirt, 1 pair of black slacks, 1 black robe, 1 wand (required for magic), and 6 of the following.
You deal d6 damage unarmed, d6+3 damage with a weapon, 2d6 damage with a particularly appropriate weapon (using a hammer against a skeleton, for example). Each piece of armor reduces damage taken by 1, but you can’t stack pieces of the same kind on top of each other (so you can’t wear two helmets at once).
1-1-1: Spell: Summon Salamander
1-1-2: Spell: Summon Sylph
1-1-3: Spell: Summon Undine
1-1-4: Spell: Summon Gnome
1-1-5: Spell: Summon Phantom
1-1-6: Spell: Bind Spirit
1-2-1: Spell: Unlock
1-2-2: Spell: Lock
1-2-3: Spell: Repair
1-2-4: Spell: Sabotage
1-2-5: Spell: Assemble
1-2-6: Spell: Deconstruct
1-3-2: Spell: Diminution
1-3-3: Spell: Beasting
1-3-4: Spell: Glamor
1-3-5: Spell: Hex
1-3-6: Spell: Obfuscate
1-4-1: Spell: Obliviate
1-4-1: Spell: Illuminate
1-4-2: Spell: Ignite
1-4-3: Spell: Flourish
1-4-4: Spell: Gust
1-4-5: Spell: Rain
1-4-6: Spell: Spark
1-5-1: Spell: Darken
1-5-2: Spell: Snuff
1-5-3: Spell: Freeze
1-5-4: Spell: Vacuum
1-5-5: Spell: Fog
1-5-6: Spell: Magnetize
1-6-1: Spell: Push
1-6-2: Spell: Pull
1-6-3: Spell: Ascension
1-6-4: Spell: Gravitation
1-6-5: Spell: Barrier
1-6-6: Spell: Manipulate
2-1-1: Weapon: Pitchfork
2-1-2: Weapon: Shepherd’s crook
2-1-3: Weapon: Scythe
2-1-4: Weapon: Sickle
2-1-5: Weapon: Hatchet
2-1-6: Weapon: Mallet
2-2-1: Weapon: Chef’s knife
2-2-2: Weapon: Cleaver
2-2-3: Weapon: Straight razor
2-2-4: Weapon: Table leg with bent nail
2-2-5: Weapon: Broom (sharpened handle)
2-2-6: Weapon: Cane
2-3-1: Weapon: Fencing foil
2-3-2: Weapon: Oar
2-3-3: Weapon: Bat
2-3-4: Ranged Weapon: Lawn darts (12)
2-3-5: Ranged Weapon: Bow and arrows (12)
2-3-6: Weapon: Anchor
2-4-1: Weapon: Decorative sword
2-4-2: Weapon: Serving fork
2-4-3: Weapon: Brazier
2-4-4: Weapon: Curtain rod
2-4-5: Weapon: Poker
2-4-6: Weapon: Roasting spit
2-5-1: Ranged Weapon: Tomahawk
2-5-2: Ranged Weapon: Boomerang
2-5-3: Ranged Weapon: Blowgun (12 darts)
2-5-4: Ranged Weapon: Blunderbuss
2-5-5: Weapon: katana
2-5-6: Weapon: Military saber
2-6-1: Pack of cigarettes
2-6-2: Pack of Goetia trading cards
2-6-3: Bottle caps (100)
2-6-4: Box of snack cakes
2-6-5: Pornographic chapbook
2-6-6: Hall pass
3-1-1: Armor: Pot with eyeholes
3-1-2: Armor: Mascot head
3-1-3: Armor: Rugby helmet
3-1-4: Armor: Hockey mask
3-1-5: Armor: Antique helm
3-1-6: Armor: Large skull
3-2-1: Armor: Hammered tin breastplate
3-2-2: Armor: Shin guards
3-2-3: Armor: Heavy poncho
3-2-4: Armor: Shoulder pads
3-2-5: Armor: Fencing jacket
3-2-6: Armor: Parka
3-3-1: Armor: Antique gauntlets
3-3-2: Armor: Plywood Shield
3-3-3: Armor: Platter Shield
3-3-4: Armor: Work gloves
3-3-5: Armor: Boxing gloves
3-3-6: Armor: Garbage lid shield
3-4-1: High heels
3-4-2: Red silk robe
3-4-3: Ragged black scarf
3-4-4: Tuxedo
3-4-5: Evening gown
3-4-6: Furs
3-5-1: DIY tattoo kit
3-5-2: DIY piercing kit
3-5-3: Makeup kit
3-5-4: Pomade
3-5-5: Hair dye
3-5-6: Cat ear headband
3-6-1: Switchblade
3-6-2: Brass knuckles
3-6-3: Bag of rocks
3-6-4: Shiv
3-6-5: Bicycle chain
3-6-6: Slingshot
4-1-1: Cat
4-1-2: Dog
4-1-3: Crow
4-1-4: Serpent
4-1-5: Bat
4-1-6: Weasel
4-2-1: Spyglass
4-2-2: Magnifying glass
4-2-3: Rope, 50’
4-2-4: Bear trap
4-2-5: Compact mirror
4-2-6: Rucksack
4-3-1: Straw hat
4-3-2: Heavy cloak
4-3-3: Umbrella
4-3-4: Tent
4-3-5: Sleeping bag
4-3-6: Box of matches
4-4-1: Wound kit
4-4-2: Curse kit
4-4-3: Vermifuge kit
4-4-4: Fever kit
4-4-5: Cough kit
4-4-6: Venom Kit
4-5-1: Phylactery (full)
4-5-2: Phylactery (empty)
4-5-3: Bottled rest
4-5-4: Bottled dream
4-5-5: Silver hoop
4-5-6: Red paint
4-6-1: Homunculus
4-6-2: Dog skeleton
4-6-3: Chalk
4-6-4: Vial of blood
4-6-5: Vial of blessed water
4-6-6: Sticks of incense (6)
5-1-1: Pouch of golden lotus powder
5-1-2: Bottle of laudanum
5-1-3: Bottle of wine
5-1-4: Bottle of fine liquor
5-1-5: Bottle of loathsome liquor
5-1-6: Bottle of cough syrup
5-2-1: Keg of gunpowder
5-2-2: Magnesium flares (3)
5-2-3: Firecrackers (6)
5-2-4: box of matches
5-2-5: flask of kerosene
5-2-6: Candles (12)
5-3-1: String of garlic
5-3-2: Blue glass eye
5-3-3: jar of salt
5-3-4: wooden stakes (24)
5-3-5: Weapon: silver-plated knife
5-3-6: Silver bell
5-4-1: Goggles
5-4-2: Armor: Leather apron
5-4-3: box of glass eyes
5-4-4: Box of pins
5-4-5: Jar of formaldehyde
5-4-6: Mannequin
5-5-1: Atlas of the Scholomance
5-5-2: Location of 1 secret passage
5-5-3: Demonological treatise
5-5-4: Botanical treatise
5-5-5: Bestiary
5-5-6: Necrology
5-6-1: Flute
5-6-2: Violin
5-6-3: Harp
5-6-4: Pound of clay
5-6-5: watercolors
5-6-6: hammer and chisel
6-1-1: compass
6-1-2: pound of lard
6-1-3: sack of marbles
6-1-4: Copper wire, 20’
6-1-5: dark glasses
6-1-6: camera
6-2-1: tin of fish
6-2-2: name of lesser demon
6-2-3: bicycle
6-2-4: roller skates
6-2-5: pot of glue
6-2-6: bolt cutters
6-3-1: manacles
6-3-2: flask of acid
6-3-3: padlock and key
6-3-4: notebook and pen
6-3-5: goldfish in bow
6-3-6: needle and thread
6-4-1: bushel of apples
6-4-2: human skull
6-4-3: diamond ring
6-4-4: pearl necklace
6-4-5: Sublimated Darkness
6-4-6: Hardened Flame
6-5-1: Clarified water
6-5-2: Rare Earth
6-5-3: Reified Aether
6-5-4: Immortal Blood
6-5-5: Chloroplasm
6-5-6: sack of sandwiches
6-6-1: Malodorous cheese
6-6-2: choice cut of meat
6-6-3: Dead chicken
6-6-4: itching powder
6-6-5: stink bomb
6-6-6: whoopee cushion
Some common enemies/creatures/allies/victims:
- Baglings: monsters of cloth and ivory Wizard Loshe stitches together with magic and spider silk.
- The Servants: shadow-fleshed dogmen with tools for hands that maintain the castle at night. In places where the Scholomance is asleep or damaged, they attack or act erratically.
- Bocklin: goat people that populated a village that was sealed away with the rest of the Scholomance. Loshe likes to tangle cursed thread in their horns to compel their obedience.
- Sophia’s Eidolons: Sophia, the Prime Warlock of the Summoning School, could not escape the Scholomance in time. She has taken up residence in the Library Wing and defends herself from Loshe and his servants with a combination of summoned servants and the forbidden magic contained in the deepest reaches of the Library. Unfortunately, she is stretched a bit thin, so she doesn’t have enough control over her eidolons to keep them from attacking innocents, too.
- Gyges: a vampire and former Headmaster freed from his prison in the Crypts by Wizard Loshe. He is thoroughly evil and has animated most of the interred, but he has no interest in the Scholomance anymore and loathes Loshe for placing him in servitude.
- Dame Balustrade and the Inquisition: a group of knights who claim to have entered the Scholomance by means of divine intervention. They hate magic and all its practitioners, and though the seek to kill the Wizard Loshe for his black magic, they wouldn’t mind snagging a few students along the way.
This draws on: Harry Potter, Seclusium of Orphone, Paolo Greco’s Mysteries and Mystagogues, Scrap Princess’ post post apocalypse
