The Silverwater Wizard’s Guild is an organization representing the collective interests of the magic-using population of the Duchy of Silverwater. It works to set prices for magical services, including enchantments and alchemy. The yearly membership fee is used to provide facilities, protection, education, and political power. Since internal politics is rampant, much of the potential power of the Guild is not realized, though the Guild is still very powerful. The only requirement for membership is Magery 1+. Membership is not required, but strongly encouraged. Nonmembers are likely to be looked down upon by the Guild membership, and they will pay more for or could be denied tutoring services. One stipulation to membership is that if one develops a new spell, one must present it to the guild for admission to the library within one year of it being fully developed. The penalty for nondisclosure is forfeiture of membership privileges for a varying length of time.
The Guild has the authority to collect fees, discipline members, pass judgment, issue edicts, and anything else to control magic and magicians. The Wizard’s Guild provides access to a large, well organized library and research facilities, operates the only official magical college in the Duchy, and can provide assistance to members who require additional participants in major spells. It sets minimum requirements for the training of apprentices. The Wizard’s Guild also provides magical services to the civil authorities when requested, such as Mind spells for interrogation and trials, or battle mages during times of conflict.
Finally, the Silverwater Wizard’s Guild serves as a primary meeting place for the Western Highland Tribunal, a Wizard’s Council covering Silverwater, Highspire, and several smaller mountain territories as part of the Atoros Accords. These annual meetings are considered a very important event by the local community, as they bring the most powerful mages together in one place.
Fees
Membership fees for the Wizard's Guild are $600 per year. Dues for the upcoming year are collected on the first of the year.. If a magic user owes back dues when services are needed, the magic user will owe at the monthly (not annual) rate. Of course, back dues must be paid before services will be rendered. Members can count on a 10%-25% discount on magical goods and services, so long as they are currently paid in full.
Tutoring
The organizations will teach spells up to and including skill level 18. If you need a higher skill level, teachers may be available and hired on a individual contract basis. No improvisational spells are taught by the guild, although again, if a magic user can find someone within the guild who knows an improvised spell and has memorized it, it can be taught to the magic user on an individual contract basis. Some spells, although taught by the Wizard's Guild, are illegal in Silverwater, and, depending on the spell and how it was used, severe penalties can be inflicted on the caster of such by civil authorities. New spells cannot be learned by practicing old spells, only by being taught the new spell by someone of higher skill in the spell or by memorizing an improvised spell you improvised yourself. Practice with a spell can improve the skill level in the spell without study, if the spell is used often enough (GM's decision), although skill levels above 19 are difficult to get in this manner.
Many mages send their chosen apprentices to a "basic training" session at the Wizard’s Guild. Not all mages do, but because it produces a uniformly high quality apprentice, it has become a popular program. This allows the mages to concentrate on the more advanced portions of their apprentices' training, while the apprentices themselves are guaranteed a solid foundation to build from. The Wizard’s Guild uses this to foster a sense of community among the magic users of Silverwater, as well as engendering a sense of obligation to the Guild itself. For the most part, the system works well. The basic training costs $2000 per apprentice, and lasts roughly one year. If an apprentice is not already literate, they will be given basic education in literacy, often magically augmented with variants of the "Lend Skill" spell. The apprentices will graduate with 1pt each in the following skills;
Savoir Fair (Magic User), so that the apprentice will know the rules, customs, laws, and expectations of being a mage.
Thaumatology, to give grounding in the basics of systematic magic.
Research, to assist in the future learning process.
Alchemy, but with no expertise in any particular potions.
Staff, customarily taught to learn discipline, focus, and a means of useful self-defense.
Facilities
The Wizard’s Guild has a large compound located in the city of Silverwater itself, a walled off section near the East Gate of the old town. Inside the compound is the guild hall itself, where the Guild has its meetings. There are also numerous apartments for mages, servants, and guests of the guild. A heavily reinforced structure is used for magical experimentation and enchantment work, and within the "Guild Tower" is the library. The library has dozens of grimoires and tomes devoted to all sorts of magical knowledge, including many spells not listed in the standard GURPS rulebooks. Underneath the tower is a heavily guarded vault used to store magic items and reserves of currency.