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Fantasy Campaign Plan

Campaign Name :
The Shard - The Castle of Hope revisited

Starting Year :
537 by the local human Calender.

Known nonhuman races :
"Friendly" - Humans & Half Elves. Elves are rare (almost non-existant). The Elves ceded the lands of the Shard to the race of men in the past. They had labelled men as their "heirs" for several centuries beforehand.

"Unfriendly" - Orcs, Goblins, Ogres, Trolls, Bugbears & Hobgoblins are known as the "Base Races" or "Base Creatures". They proliferate throughout the northern region known as the Orclands.

Daemons, various Undead are also known, but much more rarely appear than the "base races". Daemon "Princes" - more powerful Daemons of various sorts - occasionally lead the base races against civillisation. These are often referred to as "The Scourge".

Magic Rules

General mana level :
Normal

Areas of other mana levels? :
Dead and low can be found. These are usually the sites of Daemonic effects or intervention, or some form of magical cataclysm.

Are there "aspected mana" areas? :
Some very rare sites. Elves have aspected some places to Healing/Life. Other areas are aspected towards the four elemental colleges, usually at natural centres ie. volcanos, whirlpools, rivers, caverns & tornados.

Any optional Magic rules in use? :
Once there were Mages with extended Magery ( Magery 4+ ) in existance, but that seems to have ended. Knacks are available to purchase, no others

How common are Magic & Mages :
Magic is uncommon, but most people have seen a spell in effect. There are many people with Magery 1 and 1 or 2 spells, such as local "wise women" and perhaps a local sage.
Magery level 1 would be found in 1 person per 5,000 or thereabouts.
Magery level 2 would be found in 1 person per 25 - 30, 000.
Magery level 3 would be found in 1 person per 50,000+

Are Magic Users well distributed? :
Yes. There is no centralised or centrally dominant area of magical "congregation". The Guild ( see below ) encourage members to spread out amongst the cities and towns of the Shard, partially to discourage competition and partly to extend Guild influence throughout the Shard.

Is there a Guild structure for mages? :
Yes, it counts as a Patron (20 point background) or as a contact (4 points modified by reliability/frequency) and can provide training and equipment for additional points as per normal GURPS creation rules. The exact nature of the equipment would have to be discussed on a per - character basis, but at very least alchemical equipment, writing tools etc would be available at a cheaper price to guild members.

How common are magic items? :
Rare and expensive. Double cost for anything, using the base cost of the item figured from GURPS Magic.

Does Quick-and-Dirty enchantment work? :
No. The setting doesn't allow for it.

Are teleportation and telepathy common enough to affect communication? :
No. Magery itself is rare and those classes of spells would be under-studied and under-used. The Elven folk did use various methods of long-distance communications, but humanity have disregarded this method.
There is one exception. During times of war, communication Mages suddenly find themselves very much in demand, particularly as the settings general TL begins to increase.

How common is healing magic & who benefits from it? :
Also uncommon, those who can afford it benefit from it. There is no system of "clerical healing magic" or other fantasy staples. Life/Healing college study is quite a common course for Mages, though, especially amongst the half-elf population of the Shard. Serious ailments and outbreaks of disease are usually treated as quickly as possible.

What magical/fantastic creatures are common? :
Not common, but known are Undead and few others (see above under known fantasy races). Fantastic creatures belong to the stuff of legend. Some Great Eagles and Unicorns have been rumoured of, but a Troll is about the most unusual creature even the widest ranging adventurer will encounter.