Dragon Rock is an asteroid city that lies in the Tears of Selûne. It is very similar to the Rock of Bral in this regard though it is an entirely separate and independent entity. Dragon Rock is a cosmopolitan trade center that is home numerous beings of many races. Among the other organizations of the city have developed five distinct academies of magic that compete with local individual teachers for students and apprentices (students pay and are thus usually from or sponsored by wealthy families or groups while apprentices work for their keep).
Format of Entries:
School Name: Overview
Things of Note: Anything that makes the school unique beyond its functioning as a magical academy. This includes any special purposes or agendas it pursues, allies and enemies, and the like.
Head of School: The official headmaster/headmistress of the school is given along with any important personal notes. If they are merely a figurehead the true power in charge of the school will be noted.
Specialty: If the school has any special areas of expertise such as elemental or wild magic. This may also include kits.
New Mages: Discusses some of the basics of what a 1st level mage trained at the school will have in the way of spells, proficiencies, etc.
Spells of Note: If the school has any particular spells of note that it teaches or have originated here.
This school is commonly known by the name of the tower it inhabits though the Shapers Guild, which runs it, refers to it as the Academy of Evoked Magical Studies. The tower is a tall structure that is built to look like a single wavy candle flame. The tower has at least 12 above ground stories though it is tall enough to house 15 standard human stories (no one outside the Seekers really knows and there may be additional extra-dimensional space added). Inside it is filled with libraries, storage rooms, vaults, spell casting chambers, apartments, dormitories, and similar areas. In addition to the above ground areas of the tower the guild has dug two levels down (the legal limit on Dragon Rock) to gain additional space. Students are not required to live in the tower and most choose not to if they have a home to go to elsewhere on Dragon Rock (locals refer to Dragon Rock as "the Rock" and Rock of Bral as "the other Rock" but most people call it "the Dragon" for short, it is also know to some as the Dragon's Tear which refers to its location in the Tears of Selûne). Apprentices, however, must live in the tower so as to be constantly available to perform whatever tasks the resident and visiting wizards need to have done.
As a school run by the Shapers the Tower of Living Flame has all the enemies and allies that organization does. Locally they are contracted with the Dragon Rock authorities to train the city's mages and so get along well with the local officials. Because of this contract local guard and watch forces and ships of the city's navy have an unusually high percentage of mages in their ranks (especially invokers). However they are also required to break with their usual traditions and train generalist mages and a few diviners also. A highly lawful streak has slowly grown among the local Shapers as a result of so many of their members serving in the government forces and several have gone on to high stations in local law enforcement, the military, and government which gives the Shapers an unusual amount of influence on Dragon Rock. This influence has not allowed them to avoid local law, however, so they are registered as a guild on Dragon Rock. This has arguably given them even more power. As the clergy of Helm provide the clerical arm of local law enforcement they work continually with Shapers and Shaper trained mages and a close alliance has developed between the two organizations. When the local church of Helm sponsors a voyage or one of its members is looking for a crew there is no question that at least one Shaper will be along to provide magical support. At the same time the Shapers and the local temple of Tyr have developed a lasting rivalry, partially due to the Tyrrans' belief that city is not as interested in justice as it should be. This belief has led them many times to push for placing priests of the god of justice in the law enforcement system, both on the streets (where the Helmites are) and in the magistrates' level. They have been blocked every time, especially by the church of Helm who wish to keep the position in support of the watch and guard to themselves which has led to a political feud that includes both the Tormites (who are based out of a chapel in the temple of Tyr) and the Shapers, among others. Head of School: The headmaster of the Tower of Living Flame is Ardan Sunfever (LN hm W(I)14 I17 Cn18), a strict man who performs his job well. He is generally left to run the school freely by his superior, the local head of the Shaper's Guild, Guildmaster Kilathax "Firebolts" (N hm W(I)16 I18 W15 Cn17, uses war mage kit). Kilathax is best known for his pronouncement one day during a political debate that all wizards trained to 5th level or higher by the Tower of Living Flame would be given the flame arrow spell if they did not yet know it and could learn it. This was a highly unusual move as flame arrow is a conjuration/summoning spell and thus lies in an opposition school to invocation but it was done to rebut arguments that contracting with a school that taught only invocation/evocation spells was bad for the city since it mages would then lack other sorts of spells, even ones useful in battle. So far he's been as good as his word. Specialty: Invocation; As befits a school run by the Shapers, invocation is strongly supported here. Due to its contract with the local government, however, they also train generalist mages and a few diviners. Two generalist mages (levels 10 and 13) and a diviner (level 12) are kept on staff as the primary instructors that round out the training of any non-invokers. The war mage (from CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook) and militant mage (from the CWHB) kits are taught here and some patricians (from the CWHB) also graduate. Note that the school will not train non-invokers unless they are working for the city (and fall under the city's contract with the Shapers) and invokers that are not Shapers will pay double the usual fees for training.
1st level mages trained at the Tower of Living Flame always have the spells detect magic, read magic, and cantrip (if 1st edition cantrips are used then they have a book of cantrips if they so desire that contains as many useful cantrips as they have points of intelligence along with 2-8 reversed, 2-5 legerdmain, 2-8 person-affecting, 2-8 personal, and 2-5 haunting sound cantrips as noted on page 79 of UA, note that the cantrips chill, color, dampen, salt, spice, sweeten, warm, dirty, dusty, sour, belch, blink, cough, nod, scratch, sneeze, twitch, yawn, smokepuff, creak, tap, and whistle are all evocation cantrips and thus highly appropriate). In addition they will have at least one protective and one attack spell along with another miscellaneous spell. DMs may allow them to start with even more spells if they wish. Mages trained by the Tower of Living Flame learn reading/writing (common) for free. Those mages trained for the city are required to know spacemanship, spellcraft, and spelljamming also. If they choose to devote additional slots to any of these proficiencies they gain a +2 bonus (rather than the usual +1) for each additional slot devoted to the proficiency as long as they had the extra training at the Tower of Living Flame (this includes mages that were not initially trained here but come here at higher levels).
Due to the profusion of new magic and spells that appear on Toril many Shapers try to visit their Dragon Rock division every year or two to try to get hold of any new invocations that the Shapers may have acquired. Since Spelljamming society has little contact with Realmsian society and most mages are extremely protective of their spells the local Shapers do not get that many new spells. The addition of a diviner to their ranks has aided them somewhat, however, in locating new invocations. They also frequently send members to visit Candlekeep and similar sites in hopes of gaining a copy of a new spell. The Tower of Flame's library contains all the PHB2 spells that have either the invocation or evocation schools listed on them along with any additional ones from Realms sources, the ToM, and PO:S&M that the DM desires. This does not mean any member of the Shapers will be allowed free access to these spells, however, though they may purchase a copy of any of them for 1000 gp/spell level. The Shapers do not sell to those who are not members of their organization under any circumstances, even if they were originally trained here. Due to their contract with the city the Tower of Living Flame trains mages primarily in invocation/evocation, divination, and a few enchantment/charm spells (those that are useful for disabling criminals such as sleep, hold person, feeblemind, and hold monster). They balance this selection with abjurations, especially for those mages they train under their contract with the city.
The Academy of Knowledge, or simply the Academy as it is locally known, is run by the Seekers under license from the city. They are allowed to train diviners and generalist mages only as, by an ancient technicality in the law, they are not required to be a guild or church (and are not). The center of Seeker activity on Dragon Rock is the Library, a sprawling 5 story tall structure that has an additional 4 sublevels (special permission has been granted each time the Seekers have asked to add another subterranean after exhaustive review by the government, they are only allowed to apply for such special license due to their status as a library). The building houses cells (the type where scribes work, not dungeon cells), spell casting chambers, storage rooms, vaults, libraries, and the like. Dormitories are shared with the Shrine of Savras and the Temple of Oghma that are both locate nearby.
Obviously the Academy is based in a library and as it is run by the Seekers it has their same allies and enemies. Further, while not run by the Sages Guild, many of the local Seekers are members of the guild and the guild helps sponsor the library and school both. Additionally the churches of Savras, Oghma, and Thoth (based out of and allied with the local temple of Ptah) are all firm allies of the Seekers and often aid in training the diviners, most of whom join one of these churches. Denier, Milil, and Gond do not have churches on Dragon Rock though they do have worshippers, many of which are Seekers or work with the Seekers. Nebulun, the gnomish deity, does have clergy at the local combined temple of the Lords of the Golden Hills (the gnome pantheon) and they are closely allied with the Seekers also. Clergy of both Savras and Thoth train at the Academy, though some members of Thoth's clergy train at the Tower of the Living Flame instead due to Thoth's directive for them to gather as much new magical lore as possible.
Sage and Diviner Harnas Spellsinger (N(G) hem W(D)13 I18 W17 D15, uses academician kit, sage specialty is human and demi-human spelljamming and magical history) is not only in charge of the local Seekers but he is also the local head of Savras's church along with his duties as head of the Academy. These duties, along with his studies, keep him too busy to watch the school carefully but his easygoing manner suggests he would not even if he had the time. Instead he allows the individual instructors to oversee their students' progress. Harnas is a close friend of the elven ambassador and has family (that he keeps in touch with) in the elven fleet. As such he feeds them any information he comes across he feels they might be interested in or need to know. Given his position that is quite a bit.
Divination; In addition to specializing in divination magic the Academy also produces numerous geomancers, astonomers (both from CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook), scholars (from PO:S&M), academicians, and mystics (both from the CWHB). A few arcanists (from CGR1) also learn their trades here. Note that many of the students that graduate from the Academy are more than simple mages, they are sages.
1st level mages that graduate from the academy possess the spells detect magic, read magic, and cantrip (or a book of cantrips if 1st Edition cantrips are in use and they so desire; note that members of Thoth's clergy do not start with read southern magic as this distinction does not exist above Toril) along with one other divinatory spell (usually identify or comprehend languages) and one attack and one defensive spell (the world is a dangerous place and many go out seeking knowledge). They may begin with even more spells if the DM wishes. All graduates gain the proficiency read/write (common) for free and are highly encouraged to learn spellcraft. Any mage trained here that chooses to spend an additional slot beyond the minimum needed to acquire spellcraft, modern languages, read/write, reading lips, ancient languages, local history (if the DM determines the library has information on the area desired-otherwise the proficiency cannot be learned here at all), or ancient history (again, only if the library has information on the area of history desired) gains a +2 bonus rather than the usual +1 bonus to the proficiency for each additional slot spent on it. Note that this bonus only applies if the mage was training at the Academy when the proficiency slots were applied.
The Seekers have access to a great number of spells of all types, not just divinations, and the DM should take this into account when deciding what spells can be learned here. Rare and unusual spells would not be inappropriate. Note that the Seekers will not allow mages they don't trust absolutely (and with the SPs of Thoth's ability to detect lie at all times this should be hard to fake) to have access to certain spells the DM determines to be repugnantly and totally evil or world shattering. Likewise they will not destroy spells whose only purpose is to distort or destroy information (such as erase and forget) but neither will they allow free access to them.
The last of the official mage schools of Dragon Rock is the unique Three Stars Academy, referred to simply as the Three Stars. Three Stars is based out of an old 7-story inn that went bankrupt years ago and was bought out. Inside are believed to be storage rooms, dormitories, apartments, libraries, laboratories, spell casting chambers and the like though no one outside the Three Stars is allowed in so no one knows. It is known the old inn had an extensive cellar with a wine cellar below (the legal limit in delvings). The Three Stars is run by the local Mages Guild and is heavily fortified through magic, guards, and creatures. The Three Stars does not accept students, only apprentices, all of which must join the Mages Guild. Only members of the Mages Guild may enter the school building itself also (this doubles as the guild's headquarters). As the Mages Guild is very hard to get accepted to and very secretive little is known about either.
The secret to all this mystery is that the school is actually the front for Dragon Rock's most successful and secret thieves' guild. Unlike most thieves' guilds (including the others present on Dragon Rock), this guild does not have a set territory and instead preys on the entire city (and more especially visiting ships). In fact the Mages Guild itself was founded by Guildmistress Shareena "Firelocks" Dresdana as a way to attain legal license to found the school (generally only the government, a temple, or a guild can establish a school of any sort by city law, though a master may take on as many apprentices and journeyman as authorized by his guild-on Dragon Rock this is 4 apprentice (0th level) mages and 2 journeyman (1st or higher level) mages). The guild has some ties to the PoTs (Shareena abhors slavery) and the IEN (see below). They are enemies of the other local thieves guilds (though they'd rather avoid them and occasionally reveal one to the authorities than go to war), the Xenos (over half of the guild is not human), and the Chainmen. The guildhall has tunnels connecting to the city's sewers with secret doors concealing the ends. The guild's members use these tunnels to leave the guildhall and return unseen when going out to commit a burglary (they specialize in burglaries and do little on the streets besides entertain while gathering information). The guild is also one of the [albeit unacknowledged] best schools of magical and nonmagical disguise and misdirection in the sphere. Shareena believes in being able to do without magic whenever possible, especially when it comes to disguise, information gathering, misdirection, and thievery. That way there is always magic held in reserve to provide an unexpected edge and one does not become lazy or reliant on it (since it will not be there at some point).
Guildmistress Shareena "Firelocks" Dresdana (CN hef W10/T12 I18 D18 Ch16, uses the imposter kit) is the head of the Mages Guild, Three Stars Academy, and the thieves guild they front for (which she also founded). Shareena is rumored to be the daughter of a captain in the IEN (she is). Some rumors even say she is the love-child of Captain Icarus, head of the IEN's Realmspace fleet, himself (she isn't). When Shareena arrived on Dragon Rock almost 40 years ago she was already determined to set up her own thieves guild. With the absence of a Mages Guild (the Shapers had, arrogantly enough, registered as a guild of invokers only) it was only natural for her to immediately see the opportunity to set up an open business and base of operations that could be legally fortified and protected while diverting all attention from her criminal activities. Becoming the 3rd [official] mage school on Dragon Rock was the perfect cover. Ever since she and her guild have taken to heavily fortifying and warding their building while ensuring none of their activities is even remotely linked to them. They have been very successful so far.
Enchanters, Illusionists, Transmuters; Shareena has long known that disguise and misdirection are the keys to remaining undetected in her business so the few mages that are actually taught here (all members of the thieves guild, most dual or multi-classed) are taught these magics especially. Of course thieves (and thief-acrobats if 1st edition is used) are also trained here along with a few bards and fighters. Two cleric/fighter/thieves of Erevan Ilesere are also part of the guild and eager to take on new acolytes. The imposter (from CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook) wizard kit is practiced heavily and the thief kits of acrobat, adventurer, burglar, smuggler (safely storing goods in the guildhall until they are safe to move is a great advantage), spy (all from the CTHB), and harlequin (from CGR1) are also trained in. For bards the harlequin (from CGR1), true bard, blade, jongleur, and thespian kits are available. Both marines (see CGR1) and myrmidons (see the CFHB) are among the guilds guards. Demi-humans of the appropriate races can also become mouseburglars, tumblers, buffoons, mercenaries, burglars, smugglers (all from the CBoG&H), locksmiths, entertainers, and axes for hire (all from the CBoD). From PO:S&P the kits of acrobat, weaponmaster, soldier and spy are available.
Members of the guild are all required to learn the tightrope walking proficiency and gain the disguise proficiency for free. Mages learn the spells cantrip (if 1st Edition cantrips are used the cantrips gather, color, tie, dirty, dusty, hairy, knot, ravel, tangle, tarnish, untie, change, distract, hide, mute, palm, bluelight, firefinger, smokepuff, unlock, creak, footfall, groan, moan, rattle, thunp, whistle, and tap are particularly appropriate), detect magic, read magic, change self, a defensive spell, and an attack spell. They may begin with even more spells if the DM wishes. Anyone trained at the guild (i.e., guild members) gains a +2 bonus for every extra NWP slot spent one of the NWPs disguise, tightrope walking, forgery, rope use, appraising, gem cutting, jumping, reading lips, tumbling, ventriloquism, running, and spellcraft. Further the spellcraft proficiency and any rogue group NWP can be learned at its base cost regardless of the class of the character (Shareena wants to make sure her people can recognize magic used against them).
The thieves specialize in illusions, enchantments like charms, sleeps, and holds that will allow them to access areas unimpeded, and a few alterations that will give them access to areas or allow them to disguise themselves (such as by altering their form). They have also access to all other types of magic (divinations, abjurations, invocations, conjurations, etc.), except wild magic.
The Pragmatic Order of Thought cell on Dragon Rock runs their own unofficial school of wizardry. This school is secret from all but members of the PoTs and certain of their allies. Here they train mages to help them in their cause and to earn money (some hire out as helmsman and ship's mages-which also helps spread their influence and information resources). The PoTs have located their school in their secret headquarters on Dragon Rock (they aren't outlawed but have been denied the right to form a guild three times). Their headquarters is a mid-sized boarding house with only 2 above ground stories. In violation of city law, however, it has three subterranean levels also. The PoTs use the boarding house (which the original owners of the building actually used it as) as a cover for moving and housing freed slaves, visitors, and students. The upper two floors are very usual (though the occupants aren't necessarily-the PoTs have had minotaurs, thri-kreen, a gargoyle, and even a giant eagle stay here before) with the laboratories, spell casting chambers, libraries, storage rooms, vaults, and the like all concealed behind a secret door that opens on a stairwell that is the only entrance to the basement levels. The PoTs only train members of their organization though they have taken on a few other students from time to time at the request of a trusted ally.
The PoTs have the usual array of allies they do everywhere however they have several allies. The IEN and the Company of the Chalice are both allies of the PoTs and the IEN ambassador to Dragon Rock knows of the PoTs' school. Only a couple individuals in the Company of the Chalice know of it and they don't tell other members of their order out of respect for the PoTs' requests for secrecy. The Seekers are also on friendly terms with the PoTs as many Seekers do not approve of slavery but there are some who view the random acts of violence and disruption the PoTs cause as a problem to gathering information and refuse to aid the PoTs. Most of the local good temples, including those of Tyr and Torm are also PoTs allies and the shrine to Ilmater (tended by a nameless 5th level painbearer (SP of Ilmater) whose eyes and tongue have been torn out yet he still seems to see everything clearly) acts as one of the primary safehouses for freed slaves. The temple of Helm, however, has no use for the PoTs as they take the law into their own hands and often disrupt legal activities while trying to aid others. This has also made them enemies of the Shapers (ho never had much regard for the PoTs in general anyway). Since slavery is not actually illegal on Dragon Rock (selling or purchasing a slave and enslaving someone-except to the state through legal means-are illegal but owning a slave bought elsewhere is not, also a slave's children are slaves unless freed by their master) the PoTs activities in this regard are looked on especially poorly. Even without legal aid, however, the PoTs have been so successful that except for the government (whose slaves are also convicted criminals and prisoners) only a few ambassadors and the occasional visitor even has any slaves on Dragon Rock. The PoTs' secret headquarters is located next to the Small Folk Quarter (an area of the city mainly inhabited by gnomes and halfling along with some dwarves, the area is formally known as the Golden Hill District after the Lords of the Golden Hills, the name of the gnomish pantheon) and has many allies among the small folk, most of which have been persecuted at some time and have no love of slavery or slavers. In fact most of the PoTs' safehouses on Dragon Rock are located in the Small Folk Quarter as it is easy to spot anyone out of place who might be trying to locate escaped slaves. As the only place on Dragon Rock where wild magic can be learned (it is illegal to teach and to use wild magic on Dragon Rock though it is not illegal to be a wild mage) the few wild mages in the area are all allies of the PoTs and most have received training from them.
The local head of the PoTs is Windlass Smallhelm (NG(C) hem F5 D16, uses merchant kit from PO:S&P), an amiable shopkeeper who has no love for slavery or its practitioners. Were his long thick hair to be shaved one would discover the tattoo of his former neogi owner. Windlass is especially active and sees magic as a way to help his cause while keeping activities safe and secret from the local government. He has chosen Two-Toes Harry (NG hm W7 I17 W18) to run the school and the boarding house. Two-Toes is fat, jolly, balding, and spectacled but he also possess a fine mind and excellent managerial skills. He oversees daily things like logistics while allowing Trillif "Wildfire" Silverstar (CG (half-moon, half-aquatic)em W(WM)9 I18 D16) to actually oversee the magical progress of the students. Trillif has steadily progressed in magic, even while a Chainmen slave (he was captured while 7th level, reached 8th before he was freed, and is now 9th), and is extremely adept at it. His unique lineage gives him a distinct appearance (however he has all the abilities of a moon elf except he can also swim at 12" for twice the usual time without tiring). When he was freed by PoTs agents (one dispelled his charm) he offered to aid the PoTs in instructing in magic, noting that nowhere else on Dragon Rock could one go to seek instruction as a wild mage. The PoTs agreed and have not been displeased with the results. Trillif is well aware of the disadvantages of wild magic and explains them thoroughly and freely to any interested (especially students who are trying to decide whether or not to be a wild mage). He prefers it himself as he believes unpredictability in battle is the key to success and what can be more unpredictable than the caster not even knowing what his spells are going to do?
Transmuters, Illusionists, Wild Mages; The school has a high number of transmuters for unknown reasons though the number of gnomish students is the primary reason they graduate so many illusionists. Necromancers (white necromancers only), elementalists (especially earth, air, and fire), abjurers, conjurers, diviners, and enchanters can all receive training here also, however the PoTs have been unable to locate an invoker they trust enough to inform the school even exists, let alone ask to teach. An especially high number of multi- and dual classed mages are trained here and instructors include half-elves, humans, gnomes, an elf (other than Trillif), and two xixchil (who are also willing to perform nonmagical alterations for any who desire it). The arcanist, astronomer, imposter (all from CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook), peasant wizard, mystic (both from the CWHB), imagemaker, vanisher, buffoon (all from the CBoG&H), acrobat, merchant, mystic, peasant hero, smuggler, and spy (all from PO:S&P) kits are all available to PoTs students.
PoTs trained 1st level mages all possess cantrip (if 1st Edition cantrips are used the hairy and color cantrips are especially appropriate), detect magic, read magic, one attack spell, one defensive spell, and one miscellaneous spell. Wild mages have the spell Nahal's reckless dweomer as their miscellaneous spell. All PoTs mages start with read/write (common) for free. Additionally if they choose to learn disguise or spellcraft they gain a +2 bonus rather than the usual +1 for every extra slot spent on these NWPs when the training was received at the school.
Partially due to their secrecy the PoTs have a much more limited selection of spells available to them than the other schools on Dragon Rock. Gnomish support has allowed them to build up a good library of illusions and they are well stocked on alteration spells but their greatest weakness is wild magic spells, which are limited by those Trillif knows. He only has access to the following wild magic spells and thus can teach only these, he desires more, however, and would be willing to trade well for additional wild magic spells: Hornung's Guess, Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, Nahal's nonsensical nullifier, fireflow, fool's speech, and there/not there.
The final mage school present on Dragon Rock is also a secret though this one is official. It is run by the elven embassy and only open to elves and half-elves that are members of the IEN or certain allied organizations. The embassy occupies a fortified woods much like it does on the Rock of Bral, though it does not occupy as large an area locally. The embassy is surrounded by a 12' high wall of solid red stone (it looks like brick only it is all one piece, not separate pieces put together with mortar) pierced only by 3 gates. The gates will only open to a hadozee, half-elf (not of drow descent), or elf (again, not a drow) and are of undamagable brass. Each gate is filled with loops and curls in the bars that make no obvious pattern but are quite pretty. The canopy of the trees reaches down to the wall tops, forming a roof for the area when viewed by any vessel passing overhead. Elves can see well enough out of the canopy to note all passersby and their activities but those outside cannot look in. The entire area is covered in a mythical-like ward that has protected it from several attempts by local Xenos youths to damage the forest through the use of flaming oil (these youths all disappeared within days of their attempted arson and no sign has been found of them, questions to the elven embassy have met with stony silence and suggestions that local officials should worry about preventing crimes rather than tracking down missing criminals they don't intend to punish). The other effects of this protection are unknown to those who are not part of the embassy but detect magic reveals the entire area (including wall and gates-which never seem to show age or damage) to be covered by a highly magical field of indeterminate sort.
The IEN naturally has all the same allies and enemies here on Dragon Rock that they do elsewhere. Additionally they have formed close ties with almost all of the local churches (even the feuding churches of Helm and Tyr). Several of the merchant and noble houses of the city are elven or half-elven and have close ties with the IEN as does the Shou embassy. The IEN is also allied with Dragon Rock itself, similar to their agreement with the Rock of Bral. Dragon Rock has city on both sides rather than having one side dedicated to farming but it does have an area of the docks at the rear of the asteroid designated only for military and diplomatic vessels. Only vessels of foreign powers here on official business with Dragon Rock or their embassy, vessels of the Dragon Rock navy, and IEN vessels have permission to use these docks. The elven embassy keeps at least two flitters here at all times guarded by a contingent of at least 5 troops (elves, half-elves, or hadozee). Dragon Rock lacks the jettisons of the Rock of Bral (instead they have allowed some tinkers gnomes to contract to remove garbage, the gnomes salvage what they can to use, sell what they can such as selling compostable material as fertilizer to nearby farming asteroids, and drop the little that's left on useless or abandoned asteroids) but do have a few towers with catapults and ballistae mounted on them for defense. Instead the city relies on its navy almost completely for defense against outside threats and forces so they also maintain a large contingent of guards that protect the entire docks at all times. The elves on duty here will usually aid the local troops in case of a serious problem. As might be expected of an elven school of magic, bladesingers, infiltrators, minstrels, war wizards, and collectors are trained here along with other types of elven spellcasters. Additionally many spellfilchers are sent here for part of their training due to the unique opportunities an open city provides. The school is not actually just for mages as elves and half-elves of all classes are trained here (though here we focus only on the magical portions of the school). Most of the students here are multi-classed though a few single classed generalist and specialist wizards are also present. The exact composition of the instructors varies often due to normal rotations of elven personnel but bladesinging in longsword is always available and shortsword bladesinging is frequently available also. All the elven mage kits can be learned here at all times. It is rumored (by those who even know of their existence) that at least one elven high mage is resident at the embassy. This suggests that the weave is not as damaged this far from Toril itself and that High Magic may function better here.
The elven ambassador to Dragon Rock is Yulanda Greensprig (CG (moon)ef F12/W12 I18 W16 D18 Ch18 (due to ring of human influence, actual Ch unknown but high), uses bladesinger kit-longsword) and her husband and chief negotiator is the diplomat Kiiran Greensprig (CG (moon)em SP10 of Corellon Larethian I16 W18 Ch16, uses diplomat kit from CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook). They are in charge of everything that goes on with the embassy but aren't involved much with the actual training of students other than to oversee it as on eof their areas of responsibility. Training of students is left up to individual instructors which varies often due to operations shifts, troop rotations, and the like. Thus most students will have more than one instructor before they graduate. The elves see this as a good thing since the student can learn from more than one individual and thus gain more overall knowledge.
Diviners, Enchanters, Air Elementalists, Wild Mages; In addition to these magical specialties (which are available to elves and half-elves, half-elves can learn to be transmuters and conjurers also and these options are open to them at the embassy) the elven kits listed in the CboE are also available as are any kits the DM deems appropriate from other sources (military kits are especially appropriate). The church of Aerdrie Faenya has several air elementalists among its clergy which is why so many air elementalists are trained here (not to mention their general usefulness to spelljamming vessels).
Mages trained at the embassy are part of the elven fleet or some other elven organization (such as a bladesinger or spellfilcher guild) and so receive several benefits beyond what they would normally have access to. First they begin with the spells cantrip (or a book of cantrips if 1st Edition cantrip rules are used and they so desire), detect magic, read magic, sleep, one [more] attack spell, 2 defensive spells, and 1 miscellaneous spell. They may begin with even more spells if the DM so decides or it is appropriate to their mission. They can all speak elvish and common and read/write common and Espruar for free. Spelljamming, spacemanship, and spellcraft are heavily stressed and those students that choose to spend additional slots on these proficiencies gain a +2 bonus per additional slot spent with that proficiency (instead of the usual +1 bonus).
Elven spells along with an extremely varied array of usual and all spelljamming spells can be taught here. Elven spells can be found in the CBoE, Wizard's Spell Compendiums, Elves of Evermeet, and various Realms sources. Of particular note however, is the 3rd level moonglow spell found in VGttN which is taught to many spellfilchers (among others). Its ability to copy runes without activating them can be essential to elven thieves that are trying to determine the purpose and/or powers of a rune or glyph so they can return later to deal with it.
The church of the Path and the Way does not run a mage school but due to their large numbers of wu-jen (whether using the kit from the CWHB or the class from OA) they have been considered establishing a school for wu-jen. There are large numbers of Dragon Rock citizens of Shou and Kozakuran and some of Waan descent and Shou vessels put in at Dragon rock regularly. Most of these folk patronize the Path and the Way's local temple. The church is also seen as being heavily supported by the dwarves (due to the presence of numerous korobukuru) and they have wu-jen among their numbers (this is recommended only if the class from OA is used and not if a kit is used instead). The government of Dragon Rock does not want to anger the dwarves, especially with a powerful dwarven citadel so close by (see Dungeon Adventures #28, "Visitors from Above"). It is thus highly likely that if the church decided to establish a school they would be given permission to by the government.
All these schools can be easily converted for use in other cities on magical worlds such as Toril and Oerth. They would not be appropriate for Ansalon on Krynn but Taladas is perfect for their incorporation. A few specific ideas geared towards the Realms follow for each of the schools presented.
This school is perfect for placement in any city that has mages in its guard, watch, and military forces. It is also perfect for conversion to a military training academy. Calimshan or Tethyr (newly united or still suffering from the division brought on by its civil war) are particularly suited to its placement as they are highly magical areas where magic is not dominant (such as Halruaa). Of course the Shapers Guild would simply be a local organization of mages rather than a Realms-spanning organization of affiliated invokers like the Shapers are in the Spelljammer setting (unless the DM decided otherwise, naturally).
The Academy lends itself well to placement in Nimbral where it would be run by the church of Gond rather than the Seekers. It could also be incorporated into a site like Candlekeep where a center of learning and knowledge already exists. Similarly it could be run by the clergy of Thoth in Mulhorand.
The Three Stars is perfect for placement in any highly magical Realm. Nimbral and Halruaa both come to mind though the racial make-up of the guild may have to be altered to account for this. It would not fit well in Thay due to the existing school structure in that realm that would require it to declare affiliation with some school (and thus be overseen by it).
The PoTs are perfect for establishment in Thay, Zhentil Keep, the Old Empires, and any other realm where slavery is allowed. It could also exist in nearby areas and perform equally well just as Dragon Rock doesn't truly support slaving.
Any embassy of Evermeet or Evereska would be appropriate for inclusion of this guild or any elven school out side an elven realm such as in Silverymoon or any of several cities in the area of the Elven Forest (Cormanthyr) could be based on this model if the overt political portions (those parts based on it being an embassy) are removed.
Any church that wishes to establish a school of magic in a foreign culture where it has some presence could be in this position. For instance Thoth's church in Chessenta or Unther might face these trials. If they were overcome and the school made a success Thoth's influence would grow in the region. As its influence grew it would face increasing resistance from other faiths and groups (while Mystra's followers would not oppose the spread of magical training Azuth's have been know to show open enmity to any group they consider rivals). They could also try to further expand, possibly even establishing a contract with the local government like the Shapers have on Dragon Rock to train mages for them.
