TEXT: An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS
  ®
  STEVE JACKSON GAMES
  Stock #37-1414
  Version 1.0 – September 2012
  ®
  Written by WILLIAM H. STODDARD
  Edited by NIKOLA VRTIS
  Illustrated by LAURA K. JENNINGS and JOYCE MAUREIRA
  Cartography by SAMUEL MITSCHKE
  Locations:
  Worminghall
  TM
  
  INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
  Campaign Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  Inspirational Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  1. ARCANE LEARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  A MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  First Day at School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  Masters and Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  The Hours of the Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  Daily Routine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  The Studentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  Officers of the University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Student Income and Wealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  THE FACULTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Curriculum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  The Elements of Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  Census Eruditorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
  LEARNING LESSONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
  Lecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
  Disputation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Practicum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  2. TOWN AND GOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Annals of Worminghall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Local Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Daily Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Worminghall (1300 A.D.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Folk Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
  Civil Disorder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
  3. PLACES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  SITE AND STRUCTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Construction Standards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  The Tail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  THE VISIBLE COLLEGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  Monasteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  Monastic Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
  Residences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
  The Enigma Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
  Godwin’s Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
  Itinerants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
  The Price of Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  ABOUT THE TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  The Tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
  Military Strength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
  Taverns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
  Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Other Businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Street Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  HIDDEN PLACES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  The Beggars’ Shrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  The Mithraeum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  The Raven’s Nest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  The Secret Grove. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  A DEEPER MYSTERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  DETAILED MAP OF WORMINGHALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  TERRAIN MAP OF WORMINGHALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
  4. NOTABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  SCHOLARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  Alanus Montefortis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  Christianus Parvus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  Mauritius Theophilus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  Magic Licit and Illicit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  Olaus Vermensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  Roger Bacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  Thomas le Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
  Esoteric Coteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
  TOWNSFOLK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
  Hannah Molesworth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
  Isengrim St. John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Ralph le Normand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Red John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  5. ADVENTURES AND CAMPAIGNS . . . . . . . 35
  Just Visiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  Genres and Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  Study Rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  Sample Encounters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  The Hermit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  APPENDIX: IMAGE MAGIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  Elemental Affinities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  Multiple or Divided Affinities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  Reassigned Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  Modified Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  Uninvented Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
  Other Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
  Learning and Using Image Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
  INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
  CONTENTS
  2
  CONTENTS
  Gaudeamus igitur
  juvenes dum sumus.
  [Therefore let us be joyful
  while we are young.]
  – Gaudeamus igitur
  (traditional)
  
  Adam followed the serving maid through the Salamander. He
  struggled not to be intimidated by his surroundings; he seldom
  had enough coin for taverns, after paying for parchment and a
  little food, and his clothes were visibly shabby next to those of the
  young mages he walked past. He reminded himself that poverty
  was holy, and no cause for shame.
  The older man waiting in the private
  room wasn’t shabby, but neither had he
  dressed to prove his worldly standing. He
  looked like a quiet scholar, but some-
  thing more than a scholar’s dispassion
  was in those eyes.
  The older man thanked the young
  woman, and shut the door as she left.
  “Be seated,” he said, gesturing at the
  bench that ran around the walls of the
  room. “They call me Master Alanus. I see
  you’ve heard the name,” he added, in a
  wry tone. “Will you have wine?”
  Adam thanked him, and took a cup,
  from which he sipped cautiously.
  “You’re
  Adam,
  nicknamed
  the
  Gargoyle by some of the Goliards. It’s
  said that you got the name because
  you’re silent as a stone image. Before I
  may say more, I must ask for that
  silence.” Master Alanus held out a cru-
  cifix and made a slight gesture with the
  other hand. “As a servant of King
  Edward, I bid you to hold what we say
  here secret, as the King’s business. You
  may tell it to your confessor, if you
  think there is any sin in it, but to none
  else. Will you swear, in God’s name?”
  Adam gave the oath he was asked for.
  Then Master Alanus spoke of Adam’s life,
  like a lawyer presenting a case: his childhood in Sussex, the dis-
  covery of his talent, his journey to Worminghall to study, his beg-
  ging in the streets to support himself while he learned.
  “At Merlin Hall,” Master Alanus said, “we train young men
  for the King’s service. Most come from noble houses, as I did.
  But the house has discretion to admit any young man fit for serv-
  ice, whether high or low born. I have had you watched, as all stu-
  dents here are watched, and I believe you may be fit. I have
  secured the consent of Master Carolus to take you as a student,
  if you will. Will you essay it?
  “Consider well before you speak. I do not offer you fame or
  honors. You will not want,
  within reason, and you will be
  taught as much as you can
  learn, not only to cast spells, but
  to fight and more secret arts.
  Your reward will be to serve,
  and sometimes to do evil, so
  that England may be saved
  from greater evil, and perhaps
  to suffer and die in that cause.
  And to prepare you, you will
  work harder than you have ever
  worked yet.
  “Think well, and then speak:
  Yea or nay?”
  Adam drank more of the
  wine while he gathered his
  thoughts – and wrestled with his
  doubts. At last, he found voice.
  “In God’s name, Master, I
  will undertake it, if you deem
  me fit for the work.”
  Schools for mages are a
  common theme in fantasy.
  Worminghall is such a school:
  a medieval university with a
  large faculty of magic, located
  in
  western
  England,
  near
  Wales. It’s ready to use as a set-
  ting for a fantasy campaign.
  Students at medieval universities were very young men –
  14 was a common age to start attending. They were often
  far from their parents, and not closely supervised by their
  teachers, giving them a lot of freedom to get into trouble.
  INTRODUCTION
  Reviewers: Michele Armellini, Roger Burton West, David Chart, and Phil Masters
  GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Pyramid, Worminghall, e23, and the names of all products
  published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license.
  GURPS Locations: Worminghall is copyright © 2012 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved.
  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal,
  and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage
  the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
  INTRODUCTION
  3
  GURPS System Design T STEVE JACKSON
  GURPS Line Editor T SEAN PUNCH
  Managing Editor T PHILIP REED
  Assistant GURPS Line Editor T –––
  JASON “PK” LEVINE
  Art Director T SAMUEL MITSCHKE
  Assistant Art Director T BRIDGET WESTERMAN
  Production Artist & Indexer T NIKOLA VRTIS
  Prepress Checker T MONICA STEPHENS
  Page Design T PHIL REED and JUSTIN DE WITT
  e23 Manager T STEVEN MARSH
  Marketing Director T MONICA VALENTINELLI
  Director of Sales T ROSS JEPSON
  GURPS FAQ Maintainer T –––––––
  VICKY “MOLOKH” KOLENKO
  
  Worminghall itself offers a variety of perils, both physical
  and magical, to test the skills and daring of mages in training.
  It’s also a complex society, where students can seek mentors
  and friends and take sides in ongoing conflicts. It brings
  together young men from every background, from great wealth
  and desperate poverty – including hundreds of foreigners
  whose only common language is (often halting) Latin. Finally,
  it’s a place where students can gain knowledge of magic itself,
  and test their newly learned spells.
  As their learning advances, they can have adventures out-
  side the city. The Welsh Marches are a wild, often lawless
  place. The last independent prince of Wales is dead, but rebel-
  lious nobles – not all Welsh! – and robber bands stage raids.
  Furthermore, not all mages learn their skills at the university;
  wizards and witches trained in older traditions roam the land.
  CAMPAIGN USES
  Worminghall can fit into an invented fantasy world as eas-
  ily as into the real Middle Ages. For example, in a campaign
  based in Yrth (see GURPS Banestorm), a good place for it
  would be the River Smoke, by the Caithness border of Megalos
  – conveniently on the normal-mana side, but with a compara-
  tively wild country not far away.
  It could be on Earth, but in a later era: in the Restoration,
  with a young Isaac Newton revolutionizing the Faculty of
  Alchemy; in the age of steam, as magic confronts science and
  women seek access to education; or even in the present day, as
  a setting for urban fantasy.
  For the GM using the Infinite Worlds structure, Worming-
  hall might be on “Bacon-1” – named for Roger Bacon, one of
  the university’s founders. This appears to be a close parallel
  with minor geographic divergences. Infinity analysts find it a
  puzzle that the timeline remains so close to Homeline history,
  despite the presence of high-powered magic and alchemy.
  However, that may explain how Bacon, an alchemist, comes to
  be alive in 1300, rather than having died in 1294, as he did in
  Homeline. The founding of the university in 1256, which
  Bacon supported, was the first clear historical divergence,
  though it was followed after less than a year by Alfonso X (“the
  Wise”) endowing a Faculty of Magic at Salamanca.
  INSPIRATIONAL SOURCES
  GURPS Locations: Worminghall is an original setting;
  none of its content comes from previously published books.
  Some of its ideas were inspired by GURPS Fantasy, GURPS
  Magic, GURPS Thaumatology, and GURPS Thaumatology:
  Urban Magics. GURPS Magic: Spell Charts was indispensa-
  ble in writing it and is highly recommend for planning stu-
  dents’ courses of study. The city description format comes
  from GURPS City Stats; the treatment of military forces
  comes from GURPS Mass Combat.
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  William H. Stoddard is the author of GURPS Fantasy,
  GURPS City Stats, and GURPS Thaumatology: Urban
  Magics. He also has written or contributed to many other
  GURPS books. GURPS Locations: Worminghall is his first
  setting book. He lives in San Diego, California, with his girl-
  friend, two cats, two computers, and more books than most
  medieval scholars ever dreamed of.
  INTRODUCTION
  4
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  Resources include:
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  gamers, visit our forums at forums.sjgames.com. The
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  found at gurps.sjgames.com/worminghall.
  Bibliographies. Many of our books have extensive bib-
  liographies, and we’re putting them online – with links to
  let you buy the resources that interest you! Go to each
  book’s web page and look for the “Bibliography” link.
  Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us – but we
  do our best to fix our errors. Up-to-date errata pages for all
  GURPS releases, including this book, are available on our
  website – see above.
  Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the
  GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that begin
  with B refer to that book, not this one.
  About GURPS
  There are more things in
  heaven and earth, Horatio,
  Than are dreamt of in your
  philosophy.
  – William Shakespeare, Hamlet
  
  Universities appeared in Europe during the later Middle
  Ages; the University of Bologna, the oldest, was established in
  1088 A.D. England has three universities: Oxford, established
  no later than 1096; Cambridge, established in 1209 by scholars
  who left Oxford after a “town and gown” dispute; and Worm-
  inghall, established in 1256 after Oxford prohibited the study
  of magical arts.
  Universities in this era are professional guilds, with a large
  measure of self-government. In English universities,
  the guild members are teachers. The teachers are all
  legally defined as clergy, “those who pray” (ora-
  tores). They fall under the jurisdiction of the
  Church, not secular courts. Students who are
  accepted at a university acquire the same exemption
  from secular law, with few of the duties of clergy.
  (Treat this as 10-point Legal Immunity, whereas
  actual clergy have 5-point Legal Immunity.)
  The university isn’t a separate building or com-
  plex of buildings. Wherever a master chooses to
  teach is part of the university. These locations are
  scattered through the city (see the map on p. 29).
  TERMS
  Instruction at Worminghall, as at other British
  universities, is divided into terms. Breaks in instruc-
  tion take place at the great holidays of Christmas and
  Easter. Many English students are called home for the
  harvest in summer, and most masters do no teaching
  then. Terms are named for the holidays that come just
  before: Michaelmas begins the first Monday after the
  Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29),
  Epiphany the first Monday after Epiphany (January
  6), and Easter the first Tuesday after Easter (varied
  dates between April 4 and May 8). Michaelmas term
  lasts 11 weeks; Epiphany and Easter terms together last 21
  weeks. Their separate lengths change from year to year with the
  date of Easter. The current year’s dates are as follows:
  Michaelmas: Monday, October 3, 1300, to Saturday, Decem-
  ber 17, 1300.
  Epiphany: Monday, January 9, 1301, to Saturday, March 25,
  1301.
  Easter: Tuesday, April 4, 1301, to Saturday, June 10, 1301.
  ARCANE LEARNING
  5
  Where do wizards learn their mystic arts? In England in
  1300 A.D., most of them study at Worminghall. Located in the
  English part of the Welsh Marches, the frontier region between
  the two countries, the town is dominated by the university, its
  students, and the businesses that serve them – especially tav-
  erns where they drink and debate thaumatological questions
  late into the night. Nonmagical learning can also be found in
  Worminghall, but it’s definitely in second place to magic.
  The name of the city is pronounced “Wummel.” Students
  and faculty are called “Vermians,” from the Latin vermensis,
  “of the worm.” A small group of houses and businesses across
  the River Severn is nicknamed “the Tail” (pp. 14-15).
  CHAPTER ONE
  ARCANE
  LEARNING
  First Day at School
  The new student must first find a master who’s willing to teach
  him (Masters and Students, p. 6). The master will take him to meet
  the abbot of St. Mary’s (Thomas le Blank, p. 33). This can take
  some time, with nearly 150 new students arriving in the weeks
  before and after Michaelmas (Terms, above). Students with higher
  Status go first.
  The abbot asks a few questions in Latin: what are you called,
  where is your native land, what do you wish to study, and so on. A
  prospective student who speaks only Broken Latin must roll vs. IQ
  to get through this; if he knows no Latin at all, he fails automatically.
  If the youth is accepted, his name is added to the registry
  (matricula). This grants him official standing as a student.
  Later that day, a pair of older students visits the new student for
  an unofficial ceremony, the jocund advent. This starts with their
  claiming that he’s a “yellowbeak” (bejaunus), a hideous and savage
  monster that needs to be purified through hazing. How serious the
  hazing is depends on a general reaction roll for the older students
  or a suitable Influence roll by the new student. Afterward, he’s wel-
  comed into the community in a feast for his master’s other stu-
  dents – which he has to pay for!
  A MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITY
  
  ARCANE LEARNING
  6
  MASTERS AND STUDENTS
  Becoming a student requires being accepted by a master.
  The relationship with a master is the focus of an academic
  career. There are about 100 masters in the various faculties
  (see Census Eruditorum, p. 9).
  Finding a master normally takes a search roll, like that for
  a hireling (pp. B517-518). Aspiring students can make one
  attempt a week at +2 (see the city stats on p. 12). If the attempt
  fails, additional attempts the same week are at a cumulative -2
  per previous failure.
  A successful search gets the student an interview with the
  master. Masters normally want to take on students, though
  they dislike untalented or ill-mannered students. Make a loy-
  alty roll (p. B562) to find out what the master thinks of the stu-
  dent, with the normal reaction modifiers, both for general
  reactions and specifically for loyalty. If the reaction is Very Bad
  (1-3) or Disastrous (0 or less), the master dismisses the student
  out of hand. Keep track of the loyalty score, and roll against it
  if a student gets into trouble, or requests special instruction.
  To determine loyalty modifiers for offering high or low fees,
  assume a typical instructional fee of $150 a month per student.
  The student need not study under the first master he finds;
  he can look for a better one. However, each master he rejects
  gives him a permanent -1 to further search rolls, as word of his
  high expectations gets around.
  In the Faculty of Magic, masters customarily determine a
  prospective student’s elemental affinity (The Elements of Magic,
  p. 8) and refer him to a master for that element. Treat a suc-
  cessful search as leading to such a referral. A student with no
  special affinity may be asked about his personal interests and
  referred accordingly – or taken as a student by a master from
  some random element.
  A student can bypass the search roll if he has a letter of
  introduction to a specific master. Such a letter may also give
  him a bonus on the loyalty roll, typically +2. Treat having such
  a letter as a Favor worth 1 point.
  Students get their main instruction from their masters,
  but they may be sent to other masters for special subjects.
  It’s common for masters of magic to send students to the
  Faculty of Arts (p. 9) to gain background knowledge. As stu-
  dents learn more, they may change masters.
  DAILY ROUTINE
  For students at Worminghall, daily life is organized around
  study. Students may rise at Matins or sleep until nearly Prime
  (The Hours of the Day, below), but by Prime, they are expected
  to be at morning lectures. At Tierce, classes shift to disputa-
  tions. The day’s first substantial meal is at Sext, followed by a
  rest period. Diligent students then attend one or more shorter
  lectures at Nones. At Vespers, they eat another meal and then
  either return to their rooms to study, or go to taverns to drink,
  flirt with barmaids, brawl, or engage in less formal disputa-
  tions. Officially, they should be in bed at Compline, but many
  stay up and sleep late the next day.
  A student who attends to his studies gains an average of 100
  hours of training a month (see Study Rolls, p. 36). Other stu-
  dents may gain practical experience, of magic or less arcane
  matters, by roaming about the town and getting into trouble.
  University rules require all students to speak Latin.
  However, many students break the rules, in emergencies or
  for convenience.
  THE STUDENTRY
  Students at the university number about 1,200 (Census
  Eruditorum, p. 9), roughly 60% English. The Faculty of Magic
  has many foreign students, as few other universities teach
  magic (the nearest is Salamanca, in Spain). English and for-
  eign students often quarrel.
  Students are also divided between secular students, known
  as Goliards, and monastic students who prefer religious devo-
  tion and scholarship to careers. Secular students are the great
  majority here. Religiously motivated students usually favor
  theology (taught mainly in Paris) or arts (taught here as prepa-
  ration for advanced subjects other than magic).
  Students come from every economic level of society. A few
  are very poor or very rich. To assign a student’s Wealth level
  at random, roll 3d on the following table.
  Roll
  Description
  3-4
  Dead Broke: lives by begging in the streets,
  effectively a poorly paid freelance job.
  5-8
  Poor or Struggling: dependent on a monastery or
  other charity; may be put to work as a part-time
  servant or in a scriptorium; may have limited
  help from family.
  9-12
  Average or Comfortable: supported by parents
  or other family; must work during summer
  months.
  13-16
  Wealthy or Very Wealthy: merchant or gentry;
  well-funded; need not work.
  17-18
  Filthy Rich or better: from an aristocratic family;
  has a house and private tutoring.
  Student life is often wild. Universities don’t attempt
  close supervision of collegians. If they spend more time in
  taverns than at lectures, fight duels, or join gangs and
  intimidate other students, it’s nobody’s job to stop them.
  Some poorer students even turn to crime for extra income.
  The Hours of the Day
  England has no mechanical clocks, and doesn’t number
  hours from one to 12. Instead, the English use the canonical
  hours, developed in monasteries to schedule daily prayers.
  Eight hours are usually recognized.
  Matins is said before daybreak, ending with sunrise.*
  Lauds comes just at the end of Matins, after a short break.
  Prime is about an hour later.
  Tierce is midmorning (about 9:00 a.m.).
  Sext is midday.
  Nones is midafternoon (about 3:00 p.m.).
  Vespers is said at sunset. The evening meal follows it.
  Compline is said later during the evening, just before
  bedtime (between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.).
  * In strict observance – for example, by cloistered monks
  and nuns – Matins may come as early as midnight, and not
  later than 2:00-3:00 a.m.
  
  A student who falls into heresy or prohib-
  ited magic (Magic Licit and Illicit, p. 32)
  will be called up before university authori-
  ties, but there are few other restrictions.
  The positive side of this is that students are
  free to have adventures; the negative side is
  that new and friendless students can face
  serious abuse from other students, with no
  one to protect them. Student excesses also
  provoke hostility from the townspeople,
  which can go as far as open rioting – and
  rioters don’t necessarily distinguish quiet
  scholars from disreputable brawlers (Civil
  Disorder, p. 13).
  OFFICERS OF
  THE UNIVERSITY
  The titular head of the university is the
  abbot of St. Mary’s (Thomas Le Blank, p. 33).
  In practice, the chancellor of the abbey
  (Brother Rudipertus, p. 17) makes most
  administrative decisions. He now spends
  nearly all his time on university business.
  Meeting as a body, the syndics of the fac-
  ulties make academic decisions. The Faculty of Magic has four
  syndics (see below); the other faculties have one each. The chan-
  cellor presides over these meetings, and casts tie-breaking votes
  if needed. The chancellor judges most legal cases involving a
  master or a student; serious cases are taken before the abbot.
  The university is allowed to regulate any aspect of the town’s
  economy that impacts the scholars, including rented housing
  and the price of food and drink. This duty is performed by the
  proctor, a senior student elected by his fellow students for one
  academic term. Each term starts with the proctor paying for a
  banquet, which limits the post to students from wealthy fam-
  ilies. The proctor appoints the monitors, students licensed to
  visit any lodging house or tavern where a student lives, inspect
  its housekeeping, and sample its food and drink (see Local
  Politics, p. 12, for further information). Since the meal is free,
  there’s a lot of competition for this office.
  ARCANE LEARNING
  7
  Student Income and Wealth
  Most students at Worminghall have no jobs and aren’t self-supporting.
  The usual rules on economic matters – for example, income and starting
  wealth – are an awkward fit. A different interpretation works better for
  those who are economically dependent.
  A dependent person’s Wealth level (The Studentry, pp. 6-7) represents the
  resources of his family, not personal wealth. He shares in his family’s home,
  clothing budget, and similar assets, rather than having his own. He has
  access to 20% of the usual starting wealth as discretionary funds, for such
  things as grimoires or nights at the tavern.
  However, he doesn’t have to earn his own income; his parents or
  guardians support his living expenses and his studies. If he spends sum-
  mers at home working, they can contribute 1/2 of typical monthly pay for
  their Wealth level. If he doesn’t, they can contribute 1/5 of typical monthly
  pay for their Wealth level. If the student spends the summer with his fam-
  ily, he doesn’t get money for living expenses during the summer; he shares
  in their lifestyle and is included in their cost of living.
  If a student’s family owns a house in Worminghall where he lives year-
  round, he neither pays living expenses nor gets money for them. He gets 1/6
  of typical monthly pay if he works during the summer, or 1/15 if not, to be
  spent on instruction and incidental expenses.
  The university has five faculties: Alchemy, Arts, Canon Law,
  Magic, and Medicine. Within the university, the Faculty of
  Magic predominates. Magical spells are apportioned among
  four traditional Elements (p. 8), each represented by its own
  syndic (Officers of the University, above). There’s a longstanding
  rivalry between the Faculty of Alchemy and the Faculty of
  Magic, in which the Faculty of Medicine usually sides with the
  Faculty of Alchemy. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Canon Law has
  close ties with the Faculty of Magic – its nickname among stu-
  dents is “the fifth Element.” As a rule, the nonmagical faculties
  only get their way if the Faculty of Magic is split.
  The syndics of the four Elements are Jacobus Calvus, for
  Earth; Brother Laurentius, for Water; Odo Castrensis, for Air;
  and Father Mauritius Theophilus (pp. 31-32), for Fire, the sen-
  ior syndic in the faculty.
  CURRICULUM
  Students pass through several stages.
  • Basic education typically takes four years, after which
  the student is classed as a bachelor.
  • Advanced basic education takes three more years.
  • After advanced basic education, a student spends two
  years teaching, at the end of which he is titled master. He then
  receives the ius ubique docendi, the right to teach at any uni-
  versity anywhere. This is a version of License from GURPS
  Power-Ups 2: Perks.
  • A student may go on to higher studies, at the end of which
  he is titled doctor. Advanced students are counted as members of
  the university (the guild of teachers), and share in its privileges.
  Basic education normally begins with the seven liberal arts
  (see below). After four years, a student can work as a grammar-
  school teacher for boys preparing to attend the university.
  A student who completes seven years is ready for alchemy, law,
  medicine, or theology – or higher studies in arts. The course in
  arts can also lead to the priesthood.
  The magical arts are an exception to this pattern. Magic has
  the prestige of the higher faculties, but is taught alongside the
  liberal arts, rather than building on them, to avoid letting a
  mage’s gifts lie fallow too long. Rarely, a student with a late-
  awakened or late-discovered gift will enroll with the Faculty of
  Magic after completing his studies in the Faculty of Arts.
  THE FACULTIES
  
  The Arts
  The basis of the arts is Aristotle, “the master of those who
  know.” The arts are divided into the language-oriented trivium,
  concerned with matters of opinion; and the mathematical
  quadrivium, where logical proof is possible. In GURPS terms,
  these are defined as follows.
  Grammar is Latin, at least to the Accented level, together
  with Linguistics. It can also include Writing.
  Rhetoric is primarily Public Speaking, but includes figures
  of speech and literary forms, represented as Literature.
  Dialectic is Philosophy (Scholastic), based on Aristotle.
  Arithmetic is Mathematics (Applied), used to solve problems
  involving calculation. It can also include Accounting.
  Geometry is Mathematics (Pure), emphasizing proofs. It can
  also include Mathematics (Surveying).
  Astronomy is of course Astronomy – observational astron-
  omy as well as astronomical calculations with the astrolabe.
  Music is actually the study of fractions, ratios, and propor-
  tions, part of Mathematics (Pure), and its application to music
  theory, defined as Musical Composition. Most students have
  some training in Singing.
  Magical Instruction
  Magic as learned at Worminghall is a variant of the stan-
  dard mana-based magic of the GURPS Basic Set and GURPS
  Magic, following a distinctive medieval approach called
  image magic (see Appendix, pp. 38-39). Spells are learned one
  at a time, as separate skills. Most spells have other spells as
  prerequisites. The casting of spells is enhanced by the skill of
  Symbol Drawing (Image Magic). A roll vs. Symbol Drawing
  before a spell is cast adds half the margin of success (rounded
  down) to effective skill with the spell. No penalty is incurred
  for failure, as spells can be cast without using symbols (see
  Folk Magic, p. 13).
  Before a student learns actual spells, he studies Symbol
  Drawing. At the same time, he attends lectures on grammar in
  the Faculty of Arts, which improve his knowledge of Latin, the
  usual language of spells. He gains a mental vocabulary of
  names, symbols, and figures, each with a long list of examples
  of what the sign means and how it can be applied in various
  situations. Courses in magic study the nature and affinities of
  the things magic might affect.
  After learning these basics, the student goes on to study
  spells, and work on casting them (Practicum, p. 10). Ambitious
  students seek out opportunities to cast spells, and even engage
  in contests of magical skill (The Salamander, p. 24). University
  rules attempt to limit such risk-taking but can’t entirely pre-
  vent it. Unofficially, many magic teachers think some risk-tak-
  ing helps develop a student’s talents, and overlook it if it does
  no lasting harm.
  This supplement provides detailed information on several
  masters in each Element:
  Air (11 masters) – Cecil (p. 17), Alanus Montefortis (p. 31),
  Edmund Younghusband (p. 20).
  Earth (8 masters) – Fredericus Saxoniensis (p. 17).
  Fire (8 masters) – Marcus Florentinus (p. 20), Renatus
  Macer (p. 17), Mauritius Theophilus (pp. 31-32).
  Water (12 masters) – Archemboldus Caledoniensis (p. 18),
  Cole Silvanus (p. 20), Olaus Vermensis (p. 32).
  The Higher Faculties
  Faculty of Alchemy: Alchemy is a specialized application of
  natural philosophy. The alchemist studies hidden virtues of nat-
  ural substances and learns to intensify them. Students of
  alchemy gain Expert Skill (Natural Philosophy), as well as
  Alchemy. They don’t study chemistry separately; alchemical and
  chemical theories of matter are quite different, so Chemistry
  defaults to Alchemy at -3 for analytical and synthetic proce-
  dures. Simple extractive procedures use unmodified Alchemy.
  ARCANE LEARNING
  8
  The Element of Air deals with the atmosphere, sound,
  and the intellect. The Element of Earth has power over
  earth, physical objects, and the body. The Element of Fire
  has power over fire, light, movement, and the nonrational
  mind. The Element of Water affects water and living things.
  For details, see Appendix (pp. 38-39).
  This grouping is mainly administrative. Teachers vote
  within their Element, and students learn advanced magic
  only from one Element, but One-Element Magery is rare
  (see Appendix).
  Students of magic believe that each Element has an
  affinity to a certain personality type, based partly on the
  theory of humors taught in the Faculty of Medicine. Fire is
  thought to suit hasty, quick-tempered people. Water is
  home for the calm and sympathetic. Earth fits the practical
  and persistent and those who like to build things. Air suits
  free spirits who love to talk and dream. A new student’s
  affinity can be identified with a roll against Esoteric Medi-
  cine-1, Fortune-Telling (Astrology or Physiognomy)-2, or
  the spell Aura. Women at Shrewsbury Hall (p. 19) have
  their own nicknames for the four types: the fiery scolds, the
  watery nurses, the down-to-earth prudes, and the airy flirts.
  At the GM’s option, these traits may be reflected in men-
  tal disadvantages and advantages.
  Element
  Disadvantages
  Advantages
  Air
  Compulsive Lying
  Fashion Sense
  Laziness
  Versatile
  Overconfidence
  Voice
  Short Attention Span
  Earth
  Greed
  Common Sense
  Hidebound
  Single-Minded
  Stubbornness
  Fire
  Bad Temper
  Combat Reflexes
  Callous
  Daredevil
  Fanaticism
  Impulsiveness
  Water
  Charitable
  Empathy
  Combat Paralysis
  Sensitive
  Compulsive Generosity
  Indecisiveness
  The Elements of Magic
  
  Faculty of Arts: Higher studies in arts focus on natural, moral,
  and mental philosophy. Treat the first as Expert Skill (Natural
  Philosophy) and the other two as Philosophy (Scholastic). Some
  students of moral philosophy also learn Meditation.
  Faculty of Canon Law: Canon law is the law of the Western
  Church; it includes the rules distinguishing licit from illicit
  magic (p. 32). The skill is Law (Catholic Canon), often with a
  further optional specialty. Students also may learn
  Administration, Public Speaking, or Writing.
  Faculty of Magic: Advanced students in magic study
  Thaumatology, working to advance the theory of
  magic. Symbol Drawing (Image Magic) defaults to
  Thaumatology-4. Advanced work also includes spells
  with many prerequisites, in such fields as enchanting
  and shapeshifting.
  Faculty of Medicine: Medicine is Galenic medicine,
  based on balancing the bodily fluids or humors. Stu-
  dents of medicine learn to observe, diagnose, and
  prescribe; they don’t perform surgery, which counts
  as working with the hands, and human dissection is
  prohibited even to surgeons. The main skills are Esoteric Med-
  icine (Galenic) and Diagnosis. Some doctors also learn Psy-
  chology, based on humoral theories of temperament (see The
  Elements of Magic, p. 8). Galenic medicine is fully effective for
  treating wounds with first aid and/or medical care (pp. B424-
  425); for other conditions, it’s better at treating symptoms than
  causes (GURPS Low-Tech, pp. 150-153).
  ARCANE LEARNING
  9
  Census Eruditorum
  Faculty
  Students
  Masters
  Basic
  Advanced
  Alchemy
  –
  15
  3
  Arts/Philosophy
  630
  15
  52
  Canon Law
  –
  30
  5
  Magic
  420
  60
  39
  Medicine
  –
  30
  6
  Total
  1,050
  150
  105
  Ordinarily teaching takes place “off camera,” as part of a
  student’s daily routine. Dramatic scenes of instruction take
  three forms: lecture, disputation, and practicum.
  LECTURE
  The instructor reads aloud from a grimoire or other text to a
  group of students, line by line. After each line, he pauses to dis-
  cuss what the line actually means, what proves it’s right, and
  how it follows from what has gone before. This is particularly
  suited to magic, because spells are short formulae – but each for-
  mula sums up a vast amount of background information.
  For each lecture, roll against the lower of the instructor’s
  Teaching or skill in the subject, at +5. Success gets the material
  across; critical success gets it across memorably. Failure
  means the students need to hit their books (if they own any –
  see The Price of Books, p. 21) and puzzle it out. Critical failure
  means the explanation is seriously misleading, requiring an IQ
  roll at -2 to clear up, with one attempt allowed per day. The
  misunderstanding may be roleplayed as the equivalent of a
  quirk-level Delusion (p. B164).
  The number of students modifies the instructor’s effective
  skill. In the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. B550), look up the
  class size in the “Linear Measurement” column, reading
  “yards” as “students”; the modifier is the corresponding num-
  ber in the “Speed/Range” column.
  At a successful lecture, students can try to copy down the
  text as the instructor reads it, with an IQ or Writing roll, at +5
  for Eidetic Memory, or +10 for Photographic Memory. If the
  instructor achieved a critical success, this roll automatically
  succeeds. Students who can afford parchment will gradually
  accumulate a personal grimoire; poorer students copy the text
  onto wax tablets and review them in the evening.
  LEARNING LESSONS
  The teacher reads aloud from a text – in this case a grimoire.
  Often this is in a dead language that the student hasn’t fully
  mastered. The students memorize what the teacher reads, and they
  recite it back. The teacher corrects their recitals, answers questions
  about the text, and explains what it means.
  – GURPS Thaumatology: Urban Magics
  
  DISPUTATION
  The instructor asks a stu-
  dent to argue for a conclusion
  on some topic. In basic classes,
  this will be a topic the instruc-
  tor
  has
  lectured
  on;
  more
  advanced students will be sent
  to research new knowledge. In
  the first case, Research can give
  bonuses or penalties to the
  presentation (see below). In the
  second, no presentation is pos-
  sible if Research fails.
  Disputation takes the form
  of a debate between the stu-
  dent and instructor. This is an
  instructive
  exercise
  rather
  than an actual debate, though
  real debates are also called
  disputations.
  A disputation involves two
  Quick Contests. First is a Quick
  Contest of Public Speaking
  between the student and the
  instructor. Penalties apply for
  Broken or Accented Latin. A
  Research roll can also modify
  the roll: -2 for critical failure, -1 for failure, +1 for success, +2
  for critical success. Good roleplaying of the student (in the
  form of a clever and plausible argument) gives a bonus of +1
  to +3; a tongue-tied player gets no bonus but isn’t penalized.
  For the debater who wins, use the same Public Speaking roll
  in a Quick Contest vs. the average Will of the audience. Nor-
  mally this equals their average IQ, typically 11-13 for students.
  If he wins again, he impresses the audience; his arguments will
  be quoted to other people. If he loses, the debate was only a
  dry, formal exercise.
  The instructor may use less than his actual skill: perhaps
  Public Speaking-12 for an introductory class or Public Speak-
  ing-15 for an advanced one. Alternatively, he may ask two stu-
  dents to debate each other; the same rules apply, with the
  second student substituted for the instructor. Both students
  use their actual skill!
  PRACTICUM
  For students learning spells, actual practice in casting takes
  the place of disputations. Each new spell requires long hours
  of further study. It’s not enough to memorize a few hand
  passes and a Latin phrase. Rather, the mage has to review the
  concepts that make up the spell, and the symbols that repre-
  sent those concepts. He then must integrate the words and ges-
  tures with that knowledge.
  Casting a spell may take as little as one second. Symbol
  Drawing takes a minimum of one extra second to call up a
  relevant mental image, or trace it in the air with gestures.
  Taking extra time (p. B346) to draw symbols physically – for
  example, on a wax tablet with a stylus – gives bonuses to
  Symbol Drawing, which often result in larger bonuses to cast-
  ing. Bonuses from Magery do not add to effective skill in
  Symbol Drawing.
  Magic is an art, not a science.
  Just as a musician might spend
  hours of rehearsal to get a single
  phrase right in a song, magic is
  equally demanding. Magic classes
  are filled with students trying to
  assume the right stance, make the
  right
  gestures,
  say
  the
  right
  phrases, and keep their eyes on the
  target of the spell, all at the same
  time – and getting some of them
  wrong.
  Spell
  practice
  largely
  replaces both lectures and disputa-
  tions in the Faculty of Magic.
  Finally, mages need to cast
  spells under less-than-ideal condi-
  tions, especially if they have adven-
  tures, engage in arcane duels, or
  join armies. Being able to cast a
  spell in a quiet classroom, with no
  time pressure, isn’t enough to count
  as knowing it. Once a student has
  the basics down, a competent
  magic teacher will challenge him –
  for example, picking students at
  random, without warning, and
  demanding that they cast a spell on
  an unexpected object. A worse ordeal
  for many students is being called up to demonstrate a spell
  before the other students. The master may expect them to
  learn from the caster’s success, or from the master’s critique of
  his failure!
  To roleplay such training, use the following rule: Once a
  student has put in enough study for familiarity (p. B169) – two
  weeks of practice in class, or one week of intense effort, with a
  Will roll – he can cast the spell at IQ-6 (IQ-7 for Very Hard
  spells). Initially his teacher will provide easy tasks and favor-
  able conditions, worth +4 to +6 to skill, plus any bonuses from
  Symbol Drawing. Under typical conditions, his skill is much
  lower, and his chance of critical failure much higher. After 200
  hours, he is fully trained (1 point in the spell).
  ARCANE LEARNING
  10
  On Mondays, Wednesdays
  and Fridays it was Court Hand and
  Summulae Logicales, while the rest
  of the week it was the Organon,
  Repetition and Astrology. The governess
  was always getting muddled with her
  astrolabe, and when she got specially
  muddled she would take it out of the
  Wart by rapping his knuckles.
  – T.H. White,
  The Sword in the Stone
  
  Legend says Worminghall was founded with the wealth
  from a dragon’s hoard, which gave it its name. The hall
  became a Benedictine abbey in Anglo-Saxon times. The Nor-
  mans granted the abbot feudal rights over the surrounding
  lands, and later made him a Marcher lord charged with
  resisting Welsh invasions. Between the abbey school and sev-
  eral smaller monastic foundations, Worminghall was a natu-
  ral choice for dissident Oxford scholars seeking a place to
  teach and study the magical arts.
  ANNALS OF WORMINGHALL
  The
  following
  historical
  dates
  are
  important
  for
  Worminghall.
  410 A.D. – The Roman emperor Honorius advises the British
  that he cannot provide troops to defend them against
  invaders.
  428 – The Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa settle in Kent.
  489 – The legendary Welsh hero Ercwlff spends the hoard of a
  dragon to build a hall overlooking the River Severn.
  584 – Crioda becomes first king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom
  of Mercia.
  757 – Offa inherits rule of Mercia.
  779 – Offa extends boundaries of Mercia west over the Severn.
  780-800 – First Anglo-Saxon settlers move in, give village the
  name “Worminghall.”
  785 – Start of construction of Offa’s Dyke for protection
  against the Welsh.
  795 – Offa grants Ercwlff’s hall to Benedictines as site
  of St. Mary’s Abbey.
  1006 – Village included in shire of Scrobbesbury (later
  Shrewsbury, later Shropshire or Salop).
  1066 – William the Bastard of Normandy conquers Eng-
  land; recognizes abbot of St. Mary’s as feudal lord.
  1102 – Earl of Shrewsbury forfeits his title after sup-
  porting Robert Curthose against Henry I; abbot of
  St. Mary’s recognized as a Marcher lord with
  quasi-royal local prerogatives.
  1103-1108 – Construction of the Tower to house a gar-
  rison for defense of the border.
  1180-1195 – Worminghall enclosed by King’s Wall in
  response to Welsh raids.
  1215-1234 – Invasions of western England by Llywelyn
  the Great of Wales, ended by the Peace of Middle,
  which is maintained until Llywelyn’s death in 1240.
  1256 – A party of wizards and scholars from Oxford gain the
  abbot’s permission to settle and teach in Worminghall.
  1261 – Student riots after several students face criminal
  charges; abbot proclaims all students to fall under canon law.
  1265-1283 – St. John the Baptist’s, Worminghall’s principal
  church, is rebuilt in the Gothic style.
  1266 – Henry III charters Worminghall as England’s third
  university.
  1272 – Edward I becomes king.
  1275-1278 – Construction of New Wall extends the boundaries
  of the city.
  1277 – “Town and gown” riots.
  1282 – Llywelyn’s grandson Dafydd ap Gruffudd raises a
  Welsh army to attack England.
  1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffudd is taken captive; he is hanged,
  drawn, and quartered for treason at Worminghall.
  1285 – Edward I organizes the Royal Wizardry to provide mag-
  ical services to the Crown.
  1286 – Violent “town and gown” riots; Brother Thomas le
  Blank, a monk at St. Mary’s, succeeds in making peace.
  1288 – Lieutenant Walter Bigod assassinated by Welsh
  archers; Lieutenant Isengrim St. John replaces him.
  1290 – Edward I expels all Jews from England.
  1293 – Abbot Gervas dies; Brother Thomas elected his
  successor.
  1300 – The current year.
  TOWN AND GOWN
  11
  CHAPTER TWO
  TOWN
  AND GOWN
  
  LOCAL POLITICS
  The biggest division in Worminghall’s internal politics is
  “town and gown”: opposition between the local citizenry and
  the university, whose students come from all over Europe and
  have little respect for local customs. The townsfolk outnumber
  the scholars, but many townsfolk are women and children. The
  students are legally clergymen, and thus exempt from ordinary
  criminal justice, and many of them are mages. Also, the abbot
  of St. Mary’s (Thomas Le Blank, p. 33) is the head of the uni-
  versity ex officio, and tends to decide in its favor. Therefore, the
  balance of power lies with the scholars.
  Worminghall’s townsfolk don’t include any nobles; the city’s
  feudal overlord is the abbot, not a secular duke, earl, or baron.
  The important people are wealthy merchants and a few royal
  officers. Most people are tradesmen, servants, laborers, or
  petty criminals. Under a charter from the abbot, the city’s
  property owners elect a mayor and other officials.
  Worminghall’s charter includes a standard provision of
  medieval law: Anyone who lives within its walls for a year and
  a day is absolved of feudal obligations. A saying of the time
  was “City air makes free.” Immigrants seeking refuge from
  serfdom or grasping landlords keep the city growing, despite
  the unhealthy environment.
  The townsfolk have limited political bargaining power; usu-
  ally their best bet is to appeal to the Church or the Crown, which
  can get expensive. As a rule, they settle for marginal gains. For
  example, five years ago, they persuaded the royal chancellor to
  write to the university, saying that no more than six monitors
  should “inspect” any establishment and that no establishment
  should be inspected more than once in six months. This ruling
  wasn’t popular with the students, who claim that many houses’
  food suddenly becomes edible when six months are up and
  reverts to swill after the next inspection.
  The position of the townsfolk might improve in a few years,
  if Father Ralph le Normand’s aspirations are fulfilled (p. 34).
  However, these decisions could lead to more “town and gown”
  conflict. The townspeople would almost all support him, but the
  students would mostly detest the idea, so there could be riots in
  the streets again.
  DAILY LIFE
  Townspeople mostly spend their days hard at work.
  Earning enough to live on takes 10 hours a day, six days a
  week. Most of this is physical labor, usually as a craftsman or
  servant. Sundays and frequent religious holidays are given over
  to church services.
  Residents who are better off include officials, merchants,
  and successful craftsmen. They can work shorter hours, and
  their work is often less physically demanding. They can also
  afford servants to do the heavy, tedious work in their house-
  holds. Hiring a servant is one of the first marks of gaining
  Status 0 or better.
  The citizens are keenly aware of social standing. Minor
  offices in a guild, a congregation, or the city government are
  often contested bitterly, if quietly. People who get a little
  extra money buy land inside the city walls, or improve their
  own houses. The wealthiest residents own enough to live off
  the rents.
  TOWN AND GOWN
  12
  And see ye not you bonnie road
  That winds about the ferny brae?
  That is the road to fair Elphame,
  Where thou and I this night
  maun gae.
  – “Thomas the Rhymer”
  (traditional)
  Population: 9,600 (Search 0)
  Physical and Magical Environment
  Terrain: Woodlands
  Appearance: Attractive (+1)
  Hygiene: -1
  Normal Mana (Rare Enchantment)
  Culture and Economy
  Languages: Latin, Norman French, Middle English
  Literacy: Broken
  TL: 3
  Wealth: Average (¥1)
  Status: -2 to 5
  Political Environment
  Government: Theocracy/Municipality
  CR: 3 (Corruption -1)
  Military Resources: $0.1M
  Defense Bonus: +8
  Notes
  Worminghall grew up around St. Mary’s Abbey; the
  abbot is also the titular head of the university and the head
  of government. The city has several monastic communities
  that have high sanctity; the rest of the city has normal sanc-
  tity (see Clerical Magic, p. B242). Search rolls for any aca-
  demic purpose (seeking information, buying a book,
  finding a teacher) are at +2. Rolls connected with the wool
  trade are at +1. See Military Strength (p. 22) for details on
  military resources.
  The Tail (pp. 14-15) isn’t actually a city, or even a vil-
  lage. However, a few of its characteristics can be treated as
  stats: population 600 (Search -2); +3 to find illegal activi-
  ties; CR2 (Corruption -1). Its “government” might be
  described as Anarchy/Oligarchy/Subjugated – such organi-
  zation as it has is mostly self-help, unless the abbot finds it
  necessary to send in forces from the Tower (p. 22).
  Worminghall (1300 A.D.)
  
  The nonuniversity economy is based prima-
  rily on the wool trade; Shropshire wool is of
  exceptional quality and in high demand. River
  barges ship wool and other goods. A market for
  sheep, poultry, and other local livestock is held
  every Wednesday.
  The university itself is an important source of
  revenues. Without the students, some of Worm-
  inghall’s taverns would go out of business, and
  many would become smaller and poorer. Lodg-
  ings for students aren’t especially profitable to
  run, between legal limits on rent and property
  damage. Nonetheless, townspeople’s competition
  for the remaining housing first drove up rents,
  and then encouraged extensive construction
  inside the New Wall (p. 14), enriching many prop-
  erty owners. Student and faculty custom supports
  a variety of specialized businesses (The Enigma
  Shop, p. 20; Godwin’s Books, pp. 20-21; Gib the
  Tailor, p. 25). Many townspeople have picked up a
  bit of Latin from dealing with students.
  Students who don’t complete their educa-
  tion often turn to educating younger boys
  (Curriculum, pp. 7-9). Townsfolk can easily
  find teachers for their sons, if they think
  instruction would be profitable, from charity
  schools
  taught
  by
  friars
  (Poor
  Friars
  of
  Worminghall, p. 16) to private tutors living in
  their own houses. An unusual number of
  Worminghall families have sons who go into
  literate professions or become clergymen.
  CIVIL DISORDER
  The worst thing about living in Worminghall is the stu-
  dents. Their legal immunity means they can generally do as
  they please, up to the point where city officials can talk the
  abbot into expelling them. Every decade or two, a student does
  something bad enough to stir up riots. Most students are
  decent, but even a decent young man can run wild. “Goliards”
  (secular students) are viewed stereotypically as
  rich, privileged, and hedonistic – sometimes
  perfectly true, though many secular students
  are as serious as monastic ones.
  Not that the city is perfectly law-abiding!
  Everyday life is violent, with a lot of brawls
  and an occasional knifing. Going about the
  streets armed with more than a knife or a
  staff will attract questions from the authori-
  ties. Even so, workingmen and servants may
  use these basic weapons if a fight starts.
  Young men from respectable families are
  more likely to meet outside the city for a duel.
  Several of these have taken place behind the
  Sting (pp. 24-25).
  The southern part of the riverbank is a
  rough part of town. Bargemen come on shore
  to visit taverns. They may brawl with each
  other, but their sense of honor requires them
  to
  gang
  up
  on
  townsfolk
  or
  students
  (Rivermen, p. 27).
  Two watchmen guard each outer gate at
  night, under the supervision of the city con-
  stable. They can call on the citizenry to pur-
  sue lawbreakers – a custom known as “hue
  and cry.”
  TOWN AND GOWN
  13
  Folk Magic
  The laity in Worminghall include people who use various forms of
  magic, without having studied them formally. Nearly all the women who
  use magic are in this position. This folk magic encompasses several dif-
  ferent approaches, though practitioners mostly aren’t interested in
  scholastic classification – they will learn anything that works. (For the
  Church’s views of these sorts of magic, see Magic Licit and Illicit, p. 32.)
  Natural magic is based on inherent supernatural qualities of cer-
  tain substances. Herb Lore skill brings out these innate powers. Sev-
  eral families have old plant-based recipes passed on from mother to
  daughter (or a favored daughter-in-law or niece). The same skill can
  be used with substances of animal origin, such as honey or bezoars
  (“stones” formed from compacted hair in the stomachs of goats, able
  to be made into antidotes giving +3 HT versus poisons).
  Folk practitioners know a few spells of the type included in image
  magic (pp. 38-39). In general, these are limited to spells that don’t have
  other spells as prerequisites. Folk spellcasters don’t learn Symbol
  Drawing and can’t benefit from its bonuses.
  A third approach is ritual magic, which calls up demons, angels, or
  spirits to serve the mage. Folk practitioners who pursue this keep it quiet,
  as the Church classifies it as necromancy and forbids it even to scholarly
  wizards. The Church insists all spirits are demons seeking to corrupt
  mortal souls; other traditions say mortals can make friends with the Fair
  Folk or other spirits of the land. Some practitioners have secret books of
  Necromantic spells; others have advantages such as Medium or Channel-
  ing. Either type may acquire spirit Contacts who can cast specific spells
  for them, often spells the practitioners themselves don’t know.
  
  Worminghall stands on the west bank of the River Severn in
  Shropshire. It’s not far from Wales, and in less civilized times,
  Welsh warbands raided it. A well-made stone bridge crosses
  the river, high enough above the water for barges and small
  boats to pass under.
  Geographically, Worminghall is divided into a “low town”
  (a narrow strip along the bank of the river) and a “high town”
  (the hilly terrain that looks down on the river from further
  west). The low town is mainly populated by townsfolk, includ-
  ing dock and warehouse workers and fishermen. Students and
  scholars favor the old high town along the upper plateau over-
  looking the river. A small garrison occupies the Tower of
  Worminghall at the south end of the plateau. On the lower
  slopes to the southwest, scholars and townsfolk intermingle.
  The city has three sets of walls. First built were the Abbey
  Walls around St. Mary’s Abbey (p. 17). The King’s Wall
  encloses the low town and the plateau, which includes the site
  of the abbey. The highest ground looks down on the Severn
  from 200’ above. The New Wall protects the newer habitations
  to the south and southwest.
  The town’s principal church, the Church of St. John the
  Baptist (p. 22), stands south of the gates of St. Mary’s. It was
  built not long after the King’s Wall, but has been enlarged
  recently, as an expression of civic pride. St. Mary’s Abbey has
  a large chapel, now reserved for those in clerical orders. Five
  smaller religious communities are within the town wall, each
  with its own chapel. Some wealthy households have small
  chapels of their own as well.
  Despite being the site of a university, Worminghall has few
  buildings dedicated specifically to scholarly functions. Students
  mostly live in private lodging houses, typically holding from half
  a dozen up to two dozen, mostly two or three to a room. Houses
  are licensed by the university and subject to inspection. Teach-
  ers may also live in lodging houses, or in the monasteries; suc-
  cessful masters may own their own houses. Some teachers use
  their own living quarters as classrooms; others rent rooms wher-
  ever they can find them, or walk about the streets.
  Worminghall’s main source of revenue, other than the uni-
  versity, is the wool trade; the quality of Shropshire wool is
  widely admired. A weekly livestock market occupies ground
  near the South Gate. A smaller general market just outside the
  old West Gate is open three days a week. The fish market near
  the river on the north side of town is open six days a week, but
  does most of its business on Fridays.
  THE TAIL
  The growing student population has
  left the town crowded and short of hous-
  ing. Some of the townsfolk have moved
  across the river and built dwellings around
  the other end of the bridge. Most of the
  houses are small and cheap, occupied by
  laborers and petty criminals. This area
  doesn’t attract established tradesmen, who
  would lose their remaining municipal
  rights by living outside the walls.
  The suburb, nicknamed the Tail, has a
  small church, the Church of the Good
  Shepherd (p. 21), and two taverns: the
  Hammer and Sickle (used mainly by work-
  ing men; p. 23) and the Sting (favored
  by thieves, rowdy students from over
  the bridge, and prostitutes; pp. 24-25).
  A visitor or new student to Worminghall will need time to
  learn his way around. The city has hundreds of buildings of var-
  ied sizes, on streets that wind up and down hill (see the map on
  p. 30). After a year’s residence, a student has Area Knowledge
  (Worminghall) at the default of IQ-4. If he hasn’t spent all his
  time in the classroom, he can acquire the skill. Area Knowledge
  covers the various places described in this chapter, and most of
  the people named.
  PLACES
  14
  Construction Standards
  Building construction in Worminghall uses a variety of materials.
  Half-timbered with plaster is favored in the poorer areas. Treat as cover
  DR 1 or 2.
  Full-timbered is the general standard of construction for houses and modest
  taverns. Treat as cover DR 1-6.
  Half-timbered with brick is found in inns and larger houses, such as the
  House of the Alchemists (p. 18). Treat as cover DR 3-12.
  Brick is used for monasteries (except for the Poor Friars, p. 16, whose friary
  is half-timbered with plaster) and some churches. Treat as cover DR 10-20.
  Stone is the material of the Church of St. John the Baptist (p. 22), the Tower
  (p. 22), and a couple of other major structures. Treat as cover DR 100-300,
  except for the Tower, which has cover DR 450, as do its walls. The city’s walls
  are two layers of stone, with packed earth in between, and have DR 375.
  CHAPTER THREE
  PLACES
  SITE AND STRUCTURES
  
  Two mills – the Old Mill (p. 25) and the Abbot’s Mill (p. 25) –
  stand on the east bank of the Severn; though technically out-
  side of town, both pay annual fees to St. Mary’s Abbey.
  Area Knowledge (The Tail) is a distinct skill, defaulting to
  Area Knowledge (Worminghall)-2, and vice versa.
  PLACES
  15
  The scholarly life of Worminghall is distributed throughout
  the city: in monasteries; in private buildings that house mas-
  ters, students, and classrooms; and in businesses that deal in
  magical or scholarly materials.
  MONASTERIES
  Worminghall has half a dozen religious communities of var-
  ied types. Residents may be active, with a ministry of service to
  the people around them (such as friars and religious sisters); or
  contemplative, spending their time in prayer and study (such as
  monks and cloistered nuns). The same community may have
  both active and contemplative members. Those who lead con-
  templative lives often have Disciplines of Faith (Monasticism);
  active lives may reflect a Sense of Duty. The enclosed space in
  any of the communities is a high-sanctity area (see Clerical
  Magic, p. B242).
  The contemplative life is compatible with study and teach-
  ing, and many contemplatives belong to one of the faculties
  (pp. 8-9). Study with such a teacher normally requires resi-
  dence in his community.
  Search rolls for religious communities are at +2.
  Augustinian Priory
  Austin Canons; founded 1116. A house of priests living com-
  munally, following the Rule of St. Augustine, it has never
  grown large. It currently has only nine in residence, in a small
  house off the south end of the High Street. It enjoys close ties
  with the Norbertines (p. 16). Daily services open to the public
  are the focus of the priors’ activities.
  Hospital of the Franciscan Sisters
  Franciscan; founded 1235. The second-largest religious
  community in Worminghall, and the only one for women. Its
  first prioress, Mother Claudia (born Gwladys ferch Llywelyn),
  was inspired by the efforts of Agnellus of Pisa to make peace
  on the Welsh border. She brought together a group of
  women, both English and Welsh, to pray for peace. As the
  community grew, its members turned their efforts to works
  of charity, especially caring for the sick. Time spent in the
  hospital counts as “under a physician’s care” for purposes of
  healing (Medical Care, p. B424).
  THE VISIBLE COLLEGE
  Cities offer opportunities to search for more kinds of
  things than teachers (Masters and Students, p. 6), jobs
  (p. B518), or hirelings (pp. B517-518). One important cat-
  egory is organizations at fixed addresses.
  Knowing the name of the establishment you want lets
  you bypass the search roll. Instead, you can ask residents,
  “Where stands the shop of Gib the Needle?” or use your
  own Area Knowledge. Search rolls find any establishment
  of a specified kind.
  This kind of search, like most, is ordinarily an IQ roll.
  One search is allowed per day. It’s possible to substitute a
  suitable skill: Administration to locate a government or
  Church office, Savoir-Faire (High Society) to find an estab-
  lishment that serves the upper classes, Streetwise to track
  down a criminal enterprise, or various professional skills to
  locate an organization that serves a particular trade. Some
  establishments actively seek visibility, such as taverns with
  prominent signs, or churches: roll at +5 – or the GM may
  make success automatic. The same applies to city land-
  marks: St. Mary’s Abbey (p. 17), St. John’s Church (p. 22),
  the Tower (p. 22), the Severn Bridge, the bathhouse
  (p. 25), and the mills (p. 25). For secretive organizations,
  such as many criminal enterprises, roll at -5 (or substitute
  an unmodified roll vs. a suitable skill, such as Streetwise).
  Searches in the Tail are at an extra -2, and some kinds
  of establishment can’t be found there at all.
  If your search doesn’t succeed, you can try again, at a
  cumulative -2 per previous failure. New organizations
  don’t move in quickly, and eventually you run out of places
  to look! An effective skill of less than 3 indicates that
  Worminghall doesn’t have what you seek. Don’t apply this
  penalty to searches for establishments described in this
  chapter – Worminghall has at least one of each.
  Searches of this kind have the same modifiers as
  searches for hirelings. Rolls are also modified for the typi-
  cal size of the sort of organization sought.
  Size
  Modifier
  One-man shop
  -1
  2-5 staff
  0
  6-20 staff
  +1
  21-100 staff
  +2
  More than 100 staff
  +3
  Searching
  We are about to open a school
  for God’s service.
  – The Rule of St. Benedict
  
  This is not a convent of cloistered nuns, but a beguinage, a
  religious sisterhood devoted to charitable works – one of the few
  in England. A few women come to it on temporary or permanent
  retreat, seeking the contemplative life, but this sets them apart
  from the community. Following the teachings of St. Clare of
  Assisi, the sisterhood holds no property other than its own
  walled enclosure; it depends for support on voluntary gifts.
  Mistress Hannah (pp. 33-34) is a regular donor. Spital Street
  takes its name from the hospital, which is at its north end.
  Two of the 47 sisters are notable.
  Mother Hilda: The current prioress is young for her office,
  to which she was elected a year ago, at 33. Born into a prosper-
  ous mercantile family, she sought out a life of voluntary
  poverty, in the spirit of the Poor Clares. She strives to follow
  the example of visible joy set by St. Francis and his followers,
  and to encourage others to do likewise – with some success,
  given her Charisma 1.
  Sister Patience: At 58, she is the oldest of the sisters who
  care for the sick. Her official duties are mainly administra-
  tive, but she has a strong Sense of Duty to people in her care.
  She believes in the healing virtues of herbs and natural
  forces, and encourages their use (Magic Licit and Illicit,
  p. 32); her studies have made her skilled in Diagnosis, Herb
  Lore, and Pharmacy (Herbal).
  Mt. Carmel Abbey
  Carmelite; founded 1262. A recently founded order, the
  Carmelites came to England in 1242. The tradition is marked
  by special devotion to the Blessed Virgin; religious visions are
  common. They’re a mendicant order, devoted to service in the
  world, and in particular to teaching and scholarship. They own
  no property except the abbey. Of the 22 friars, 14 hold posi-
  tions in the faculties of magic, medicine, and arts. The abbey
  provides housing for 84 students in a large complex on
  Whitehall Street. Several members of the order are influential.
  Father Henricius: Prior of the abbey, Father Henricius
  emphasizes a life of service for its friars. He himself has never
  experienced visions or mystical revelations. He’s not a skeptic,
  but considers praying for them an act of vanity, and asks only
  for help in serving others. In crises, his prayers are sometimes
  followed by an inexplicable inner certainty of the right action
  to take; treat this as a high Meditation skill.
  Brother Marianus: As a teaching friar, Brother Marianus
  serves in the Faculty of Arts, where he lectures mainly on
  dialectic and in higher courses on moral philosophy. After
  exposure to Roger Bacon’s diatribes against “scholars” who
  know Aristotle only in translation, he is undertaking to learn
  Greek, a slow, painful task for a man in his 40s. He also lec-
  tures on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, the standard text-
  book on theological questions.
  Brother Simplicius: A well-regarded teacher in the Faculty
  of Medicine. His advice is often sought by practicing physi-
  cians faced with difficult cases. He’s equally ready to gain
  knowledge from others – not only from books and scholars, but
  from practical healers such as Mistress Hannah (pp. 33-34) or
  Jenkyn the Apothecary (pp. 25-26). He periodi-
  cally gives short series of lectures at the Hospital
  of the Franciscan Sisters, focused on how to cre-
  ate a healthy environment for the sick and
  wounded to recover.
  Norbertine House and
  School of the Annunciation
  Norbertine; founded 1242. This relatively
  large house of 35 canons (ordained priests living
  communally) follows the Augustinian rite. In
  addition to holding religious services for the sur-
  rounding community, they provide shelter for
  pilgrims and other travelers. Of the current
  canons, 15 teach in the Faculties of Arts, Canon
  Law, and Medicine – the prior hasn’t forbidden
  the study of magic, but adherents of the order
  are still debating its legitimacy. The house is on
  a side street off Market Street. There are 72 stu-
  dents currently in residence.
  Father Georgius: The third prior of the com-
  munity, now in his 60s, is an exceptionally
  devout man, whose leadership has seen it grow
  rapidly. He has Charisma 1 and a Reputation for
  piety: +3 (Among priests and religious in Worm-
  inghall; All the time). He’s personally more con-
  cerned with religious observance than with
  theology or canon law; he has Religious Ritual
  (Augustinian Rite)-18. However, he encourages
  the pursuit of knowledge by the other canons, so
  long as it doesn’t interfere with their religious duties.
  Poor Friars of Worminghall
  Franciscan; founded 1261. A small house of mendicant fri-
  ars or “little brothers,” they own no property except their
  enclosure at the end of Friars Way (which is named for it).
  PLACES
  16
  Monastic Officers
  A large religious community, such as St. Mary’s or the Hospital of
  the Franciscan Sisters, may have many specialized officers subordi-
  nate to its abbot or prior.
  Almoner: Distributes surplus food and clothing, or monetary aid, to
  the poor; supervises schooling for children of the laity.
  Armarius: Directs the copying of manuscripts.
  Bailiff: In a community that owns property elsewhere, the bailiff
  goes out to supervise its management and collect revenues. Often done
  by a layman; a bailiff who has taken vows is called a monk-bailiff.
  Cellarer: Procures food and fuel for the community.
  Chamberlain: Purchases clothing and arranges laundry, bathing,
  and tonsuring.
  Chancellor: In a large community, oversees internal administrative
  matters on behalf of the abbot or prior.
  Guestmaster: Manages the guesthouse and entertainment of guests.
  Infirmarian: Supervises care of the sick and aged.
  Kitchener: Supervises preparation of meals.
  Precentor: Organizes and schedules religious services and directs
  performance of chants.
  Refectorian: Cares for the dining area and maintains its utensils and
  table linen.
  Sacristan: Maintains the church or chapel and its vestments and
  other properties.
  
  They have 14 members in residence. Their duties focus on
  service to the community, primarily by preaching, though they
  also operate a grammar school to prepare poor boys for the
  university. One of its teachers is well-known.
  Brother Pius: A man approaching old age, he found his
  vocation as a teacher early in life, and has pursued it for the
  past 35 years. Many local boys remember learning their Latin
  verbs from him.
  St. Mary’s Abbey
  Benedictine; founded 795. St. Mary’s is the oldest and largest
  religious community in Worminghall, with 133 monks in resi-
  dence. The abbey is a landmark and can be found without a
  search roll. Its walls and its oldest buildings date to Anglo-
  Saxon times. The architecture is Romanesque, with massive
  walls, semicircular arches, and relatively simple ornamenta-
  tion. The grounds are divided into an inner court (dedicated to
  religious life and scholarship) and an outer court (for practical
  and worldly matters). The abbot’s personal residence stands at
  the rear of the outer court, facing the main gate. Here, he can
  meet with town officials, university faculty, and others without
  disturbing the community.
  The outer court has guest quarters for travelers, most simply
  furnished; two suites are suited to bishops, officials, or noble-
  men. The inner court provides space for 180 students. Of the
  monks, 47 serve primarily as teachers, including 15 competent
  mages. The abbot has decreed that students who live in town
  may study at the abbey, if they are serious about their work.
  The abbey has few lay brothers; its established custom is to
  spend part of its feudal dues on hiring servants to free the
  monks for prayer. Town gossip sometimes suggests that the
  monks are overly fond of their comforts and their good food,
  and an invitation to the abbot’s table is almost never turned
  down. The inner dining hall has three long tables, with a high
  table at right angles to them at one end, for the abbey’s senior
  officers – including the abbot, if he dines with the monks.
  St. Mary’s has several notable people.
  Abbot Thomas: See p. 33.
  Brother Cecil: A teacher in the Element of Air, he also lec-
  tures on music in the Faculty of Arts, including musical com-
  position and mathematical theory (The Arts, p. 8). He is
  credited with several excellent hymns. Mother Hilda (p. 16) is
  currently negotiating with Abbot Thomas to have him com-
  pose for a women’s choir. He has both Musical Talent 3 and
  Magery 3 (Song). He practices an unusual variant of ceremo-
  nial magic in which spectators support the casting of a spell by
  singing a choral version of it.
  Brother Owain: The abbey’s bailiff, a monk, spends most of
  his time outside the walls, riding between the many properties it
  has accumulated over five centuries. Being fluent in both
  English and Welsh helps with his duties. Though not a mage, he
  benefits from a magical item made for him by one of the abbey’s
  enchanters, a hood with Truthsayer-16. Contrary to popular
  stereotypes about bailiffs, he’s scrupulously honest and not self-
  indulgent. He expects equal honesty of others, and will spend
  long hours resolving any discrepancy in a property’s accounts.
  Brother Rudipertus: The highest-ranking of the abbey’s lay
  brothers, he serves as its chancellor, a position he has held
  for 16 years. He is also as the abbot’s personal scribe, draft-
  ing letters and proclamations for his signature. Gaining
  Rudipertus’ favor opens the door to many benefits from the
  abbey and the university.
  Brother Timothy: The abbey’s armarius, who spends much
  of his time teaching penmanship and illumination. His own
  skills include Artist (Calligraphy) and Artist (Illumination). He
  also has Administration, Research, and Teaching. As a
  Contact, he can provide Research-18 and is Completely
  Reliable. Poor students supported by the abbey’s funds are
  expected to work two to three hours a day, and many end up
  in the scriptorium.
  Father Mauritius Theophilus: See pp. 31-32.
  RESIDENCES
  The great majority of students don’t live in religious com-
  munities, but in private rooms. Room and board average $300
  a month for students who share rooms; for twice as much, a
  student can get a private room and better meals. (These
  amounts are included in cost of living for the student’s Status.)
  Search rolls to find a residence are at +1. The following are
  notable among the many such places in Worminghall.
  The Cliff House
  A relatively large structure looking down over the Cliffside
  Road toward the low town, divided internally into multiple
  rooms. Most of these are usually rented to students; 20 students
  can be housed at two to a room. Larger common rooms provide
  space for lectures by the two masters who rent unshared rooms.
  Master Fredericus Saxoniensis: A German immigrant who
  came to Worminghall in 1264 to study magic, he’s now a sen-
  ior member of the Element of Earth, in line to become its next
  syndic. He is knowledgeable about Earth spells, spells of
  Making and Breaking, and enchantments. Quarrymen and
  lead and silver miners in the county value his advice. He occa-
  sionally recruits some of them for quiet journeys in search of
  buried treasure. Although not quite prohibited, many canon
  lawyers think seeking things hidden by God is dubious (Magic
  Licit and Illicit, p. 32). He might take a trusted student along
  on such a trip. He encourages his students to learn from min-
  ers, metalworkers, and alchemists.
  Master Renatus Macer: A tall, lean, somewhat excitable
  man, just turned 30, Master Renatus teaches in the Element of
  Fire. He is of mixed English and Welsh ancestry. He’s regarded
  as a master of Movement spells. His other interest is Protection
  spells, which fall under the Element of Earth, and he’s actively
  debating whether to change Elements. His repertoire makes
  him well-equipped as a battle wizard. Word of his abilities has
  gotten out, and he attracts a number of young aristocratic stu-
  dents who think combat magic sounds more exciting than
  most of the curriculum.
  PLACES
  17
  An invitation to the
  abbot’s table is almost
  never turned down.
  
  Cyprian House
  Endowed by the enchanter Jacopus Nigellus, whose magi-
  cal arts raised him from poverty, Cyprian House shelters young
  men from poor families who have magical gifts, enabling them
  to study magic. The house stands midway up Carter Street. It’s
  named for St. Cyprian of Antioch, a pagan sorcerer who con-
  verted to Christianity. The bequest provides for three students
  in each Element to receive aid at a time; students are required
  to acquire a broad knowledge of magic by cross-training in all
  four Elements. The students are supervised by an older mage.
  Archemboldus Caledoniensis: A tall young man in his early
  20s whose Latin still carries a hint of his native Scots, he has
  just completed his study of the magical arts. He is now serving
  as a teacher for two years to qualify for admission as a master
  of magic. His own Element is Water; he particularly empha-
  sizes Healing magic and Plant magic. He fits the pattern of a
  watery personality in having Empathy, which both comple-
  ments his Healing magic and makes it hard for his charges to
  deceive him.
  House of the Alchemists
  Located on the riverbank not far south of the bridge, the
  Alchemists’ House currently stands empty. During one of Roger
  Bacon’s experiments with an alchemical preparation of sulfur,
  saltpeter, and charcoal, a laboratory accident seemingly opened
  a gate to Hell, producing a thunderous noise and setting the
  house on fire. Work on reconstructing it has not begun. The city
  officials have asked Abbot Thomas to order the alchemists to
  conduct experiments safely outside the walls, and the abbot has
  forbidden any repairs until he reaches a decision.
  In the interim, the house’s usual residents have found tem-
  porary quarters elsewhere in the city, but the rooms are often
  too cramped for setting up alchemical laboratories. Moreover,
  many landlords prohibit such work, fearing further disasters.
  Alchemical instruction is largely theoretical at this point.
  House of Doctor Christianus
  Rented by Christianus Parvus (p. 31), this large, attractive
  house stands near the Tower. It has space to accommodate 10
  students, and enough servants to keep them comfortable.
  Christianus charges twice the usual amount for room and
  board – $600 a month for a shared room, or $1,200 for an
  unshared one (treat as cost of living). Normally, his canon-law
  students board with him. He’s been known to sponsor a suffi-
  ciently talented student who can’t afford his prices.
  Living in Christianus’ house is said to be an education in
  itself. Conversation over the supper table is wide-ranging and
  often argumentative. Students are expected to support their
  beliefs by reason and evidence. Clarity of presentation, elo-
  quent persuasion, or subtle undermining of another student’s
  position is even more admired. Mariot Delisle (p. 19), Chris-
  tianus’ remote cousin, is an occasional dinner guest who can
  hold her own in sophisticated conversation. Resident students
  can gain skill in Diplomacy, Public Speaking, or Savoir-Faire
  (High Society).
  King Henry’s Inn
  So named after Henry III stayed there during one of his
  Welsh campaigns, it was a natural place for the Oxford scholars
  to lodge during their initial arrival, conveniently down the High
  Street from St. Mary’s. This didn’t work out to the
  landlord’s advantage, though: Pleading the prece-
  dent of Oxford custom, the scholars persuaded the
  abbot to rule that any room once used for teaching
  must not be converted back to common use. This
  left an increasing number of inn rooms unavail-
  able to the general public. Finally, the landlord
  bowed to the inevitable, and made a policy of rent-
  ing first to scholars and students.
  Today, the building is still called an “inn,” but
  its space has been divided up into small class-
  rooms, bedrooms for masters or students, and a
  modest common dining area. Roger Bacon moved
  in not long after the fire in the House of the
  Alchemists (above). He likely will stay until a deci-
  sion about rebuilding it is reached.
  Manticore House
  Manticore House was so named by its
  founders, two young men from noble families
  who came to Worminghall in 1280. Not liking the
  available lodgings, they pooled their money to rent a moder-
  ately large house on Mercer Street, and hired a small staff from
  local residents. Having more rooms than they needed, they
  began inviting other young men to take shares. After an inter-
  nal dispute in 1285, Manticore House adopted formal rules as
  a continuing association. Consequently, it continued to oper-
  ate after the founders left. A wing added in 1289-1291 gave it
  space for 11 residents and their personal servants, as well as
  continuing staff.
  Unusually, Manticore House has no masters in residence;
  it’s a self-governing association of students. However, there are
  two small lecture rooms, and the students regularly invite mas-
  ters to lecture on various subjects, usually either arts or magic.
  They pay enough to have their pick of the best instructors. A
  small room in the house has been set up as a private chapel. Its
  priest, Father Bernard, has a private room adjacent to it, out of
  the way of most of the students.
  Word has gotten around, and young men from good
  families seek places in the house – enough so that its head
  students can be selective, though an applicant is likelier
  to be turned away for crude manners than weak intellect.
  PLACES
  18
  
  Gaining acceptance can be treated as an Influence roll: Savoir-
  Faire (High Society) vs. effective Will 12. A student or former
  student in good standing has Claim to Hospitality with others,
  worth 3 points.
  Merlin Hall
  Merlin Hall has an unusual source of funding – an endow-
  ment directly from the Crown. During the Welsh border wars,
  Edward I repeatedly saw the military usefulness of magic, espe-
  cially when the Welsh turned it against him. In 1277, he began
  paying for suitable young men to study magic; even with incom-
  plete training, some of them provided valuable service in 1282-
  1283. The Royal Wizardry was formally established not long
  after. Their duties are varied, ranging from law enforcement,
  especially in Wales, to covert investigations on the continent.
  The terms of Merlin Hall’s endowment provide for the
  study of magic by young men fit for royal service and pre-
  pared to swear oaths to the crown. Most are aristocrats or
  gentry, the sort who would normally become Goliards (secu-
  lar students). The Goliardic lifestyle isn’t prohibited – useful
  experiences can be had from it, and a reputation for frivolity
  doesn’t make a bad cover – but the young Merlinite had bet-
  ter be able to keep up his schoolwork. A sufficiently talented
  poor boy could be eligible for study at Merlin Hall, though he
  might face social barriers there.
  Merlin Hall is on the High Street not far from the Tower.
  Merlinites are expected to report to the Tower for training in
  weapons and unarmed combat. The emphasis is mostly practi-
  cal. Students learn the use of arms before they study spells of
  protection, to make them take combat training seriously.
  Weapons practice is also considered helpful in developing con-
  centration for casting spells under stress.
  Most students are sent to Merlin Hall at the start of their
  studies. There are two regular places each year, and student
  candidates’ qualifications for them are compared rigorously;
  some years one or both places may go unfilled. Nonetheless, a
  sufficiently gifted youth may qualify for an extraordinary
  placement. Other students of the Faculty of Magic who display
  the right qualities during their early years at Worminghall may
  be offered places. The master of the house, Alanus Montefortis
  (see p. 31), closely supervises the whole process.
  Shrewsbury Hall
  One of the most controversial developments at Worming-
  hall in recent years was the founding of a house for studious
  women. A quarter-century ago, Sister Fidelia, at the Hospital
  of the Franciscan Sisters, became sufficiently respected for
  knowledge of natural history and medicine to be invited to lec-
  ture at the university. A young noblewoman, Margaret Bigod,
  persuaded her father to let her study privately under Sister
  Fidelia. Eighteen years later, after the death of her husband,
  Hugh Pantulf, the king’s bailiff in the royal town of Shrews-
  bury, Margaret used some of her considerable wealth to pro-
  vide a place for other women scholars to live, study, and teach.
  Shrewsbury Hall is not officially part of the university.
  However, it follows many of the same customs, including
  requiring residents to become fluent in Latin. Its 24 residents
  include both religious sisters with scholarly vocations and
  young noblewomen whose parents are willing to educate them.
  Women do most of the teaching, but a few male scholars offer
  lectures, carefully chaperoned. The most notable is Roger
  Bacon of the Faculty of Alchemy, who considers a man and
  woman working as partners to be the most productive
  approach to his art.
  Dame Alys Bracton: A close friend of Lady Margaret, the
  widow Dame Alys is entrusted with the supervision of Shrews-
  bury Hall. She has a strong Sense of Duty to her charges. She
  considers it her role both to safeguard the reputations of the
  young women, and to see that they make profitable use of their
  time there. She won’t hesitate to report to Lady Margaret if one
  of the residents is slacking off. Dame Alys is a woman of refined
  manners, but she can use her Savoir-Faire (High Society) to
  good effect in place of Fast-Talk or Intimidation.
  Dolores de Montoya: The stepdaughter of Roger Fitzjohn,
  who met her widowed mother while on pilgrimage to Santi-
  ago, de Montoya persuaded him that Shrewsbury Hall was a
  good place for a young woman with scholarly interests. She
  hasn’t told him of her studies of alchemy and natural philoso-
  phy with Roger Bacon. He finds her a gifted student and is con-
  sidering proposing her for a teaching position in the Faculty of
  Alchemy. This is likely to be explosively controversial, but
  Bacon has never minded setting off explosions.
  Mariot Delisle: As the orphaned niece of a nobleman, Mariot’s
  main social role is to be married off advantageously. Ironically,
  her uncle sent her to Shrewsbury to avoid her making too good
  a match, after noticing that she attracted more attention from
  possible suitors than his own daughters. Mariot’s studies origi-
  nally focused on literature and music, but she quickly became
  interested in the magical arts, especially spells of Communica-
  tion and Empathy and of Knowledge, which she sees as likely to
  improve her chances of marrying well – and of making sure her
  husband suits her ambitions. Should this interest get her in trou-
  ble, she may turn to her distant relative Christianus Parvus
  (p. 31), who acts as her Patron on a 9 or less, to plead her case.
  Tully Hall
  Named for the Roman orator Cicero (Marcus Tullius
  Cicero, often called “Tully”) on the suggestion of Brother Pius
  (p. 17), Tully Hall was planned to make money off the univer-
  sity by renting meeting places to its masters. The building
  stands on the High Street not far south of St. Mary’s. Its
  ground floor is mainly taken up with one large room suited to
  lectures or debates; the upper floor holds eight small rooms,
  each a comfortable fit for a teacher and a dozen students. The
  smaller rooms have actually paid off better for the owner,
  Michael Leclerc, as they’re in nearly constant use. Students
  might attend lectures or disputations in one of these upper
  rooms, or come to the large hall for a public debate.
  Leclerc has recently made an investment that he hopes will
  increase the popularity of the large hall: having the speaker’s
  stand enchanted with a specially commissioned variant of
  Great Voice (GURPS Magic, p. 173), to ensure that any
  speaker can be heard clearly throughout the hall. He hopes
  that as word gets around, more scholars will want to use the
  hall for their speeches.
  PLACES
  19
  Weapons practice is helpful
  in developing concentration.
  
  The Widow’s House
  Mistress Alisoun is the widow of William Caldwell, a prosper-
  ous wool merchant. Unfortunately, after his death, his son
  Richard wasn’t able to keep the business going, and the widow
  ended up with only a large, expensive house on Westgate Street.
  Rather than sell it, she began taking in lodgers. She doesn’t want
  crowds of students in her house, considering them rowdy and
  destructive. However, she was willing to rent to a faculty mem-
  ber who assured her he wouldn’t be teaching in the house:
  Master Edmund Younghusband: Focusing on the Element of
  Air, secretly he’s also one of three masters of necromancy (see
  Esoteric Coteries, p. 33). His main interest is in spirits as sources
  of knowledge, particularly through crystallomancy (using mir-
  rors rather than a more conspicuous crystal ball). The last thing
  he wants is curious students with some knowledge of magic vis-
  iting his rooms regularly. Mistress Alisoun’s dislike of students
  exactly suited his needs, and he has cheerfully paid her high rent
  for several years. Since he still has to teach, he meets his stu-
  dents in a private room at the Pilgrim (p. 24).
  THE ENIGMA SHOP
  One of the Enigma Shop’s greatest enigmas is the shop-
  keeper. Gregory Matthias is a small, quiet man who seems to
  know the location of every item in his shop, without lists or
  charts. These fall into three groups: ordinary natural objects
  such as semi-precious stones, rare naturally magical substances
  such as an ingot of orichalcum, and magical creations such as a
  potion of Foresight. His main emphasis is on selling materials
  that mages and enchanters can use in their work, and that can’t
  be duplicated in ordinary shops such as the local apothecary
  (pp. 25-26). He has three 1-point Manastones (cost $55) and one
  exceptionally large 5-point one (cost $455), imported from
  Salamanca, where the enchantment was discovered two years
  ago; his asking price is roughly triple the cost.
  Searches to find “a magical shop” or “a dealer in enchant-
  ments” are at -6 vs. IQ or -1 vs. Occultism. The shop is on Ple-
  nilune Street, off the main streets, but his customers know
  where to find him. They don’t know about the slanting tunnel
  from his cellar to a concealed opening downhill from the
  King’s Wall (camouflaged with effective skill 14). The door in
  the cellar is concealed (effective skill 12) and is normally cam-
  ouflaged behind stacked barrels (effective skill 14).
  Gregory has studied the ancient art of artificial memory,
  which gives him Eidetic Memory. With its aid, he has also
  studied many languages, and can be treated as having
  Language Talent. He corresponds extensively with merchants
  in foreign lands. In particular, he has business associates
  among the Jews who were driven out of England a decade ago,
  for whom he sometimes retrieves abandoned mystical cre-
  ations – or hires trustworthy agents to do so.
  His personal collection includes a few enchanted items that
  anyone can use, mostly either aids to knowledge or protections
  from danger. He might become a Patron for an employee who
  established a history of reliability with him. For a sufficiently
  urgent mission, he might lend out a reusable item. As a
  Contact, he provides Occultism-18 and is Usually Reliable.
  GODWIN’S BOOKS
  Robin Godwin is Worminghall’s most successful dealer
  in books. This often means renting them out for copying,
  rather than selling them. His shelves hold over 100 different
  books, in separately bound sections that can be copied in a
  day, with extra copies of some that are in high demand.
  PLACES
  20
  Several faculty members prefer not to teach in class-
  rooms, but to walk about while lecturing, in the style
  attributed to Aristotle, founder of the Peripatetic School.
  Master Cole Silvanus: Of the Element of Water, he goes
  farther afield than any other teacher. His instruction on
  Water spells often takes place on the banks of the Severn.
  For Animal and Plant spells, he leads his students out the
  gates into the fields and woodlands. Anyone who studies
  with him will learn Naturalist and Navigation (Land) as well
  as spells – and quite possibly Hiking! He has ties to the Fac-
  ulties of Medicine and Alchemy, including Brother Simpli-
  cius (p. 16), though he personally knows only the most basic
  Healing spells. Master Cole does not know about the Secret
  Grove (p. 28) – but he or one of his students might chance
  to discover it, with interesting consequences.
  Master Renatus: Nicknamed “the Beggar Master,” Mas-
  ter Renatus teaches arts and moral philosophy. He doesn’t
  just teach in the streets – he lives there. Most of his stu-
  dents are equally poor, but he won’t drive away a student
  with money, so long as he isn’t offered payment for teach-
  ing; he lives entirely on alms. His lectures often mention
  Diogenes the Cynic, whom he likes to praise as the first
  philosopher to anticipate the Christian virtues of poverty
  and simplicity. A few students speculate that he’s secretly
  the Hermit (p. 37).
  Doctor Marcus Florentinus: An emigrant from Italy,
  Marcus Florentinus came to Worminghall seeking stu-
  dents who would share his interest in esoteric thaumato-
  logical questions. Each year, he finds one or two more,
  mostly older students who have completed their seven
  years of preparatory study. However, he’ll take a suffi-
  ciently insightful student who’s had only the first year’s
  course. Nominally in the Element of Fire, he has yet to
  offer lectures on its spells. Master Florentinus likes to
  spend the morning strolling along the High Street or down
  Westgate Street, lecturing on thaumatology or meta-spells,
  and then repair to a table at the Salamander for disputa-
  tion. Roughly every other year he lectures on Symbol
  Drawing in the late afternoon, also out on the streets. His
  Latin is exceptionally fluent, but sometimes hard to follow
  because of his fondness for elaborate metaphors; students
  of his often imitate his style of speech. His obscure literary
  allusions have earned him the nickname “Doctor Crypti-
  cus.” He may nominate a student to participate in meet-
  ings of the Arcanists (see Esoteric Coteries, p. 33).
  Itinerants
  
  About 1/3 are grimoires and other magical
  works; Godwin isn’t a mage, but he’s a
  shrewd judge of the marketability of such
  works. He also has books for sale to estab-
  lished scholars or occasional wealthy con-
  noisseurs – two or three dozen finely made
  volumes and a handful that are works of art
  (see The Price of Books). His inventory
  makes up most of his substantial wealth.
  His shop has an ideal location on Abbey
  Road, not far from the gates of St. Mary’s,
  where new students all have to pass his
  doors. Searches to find “a dealer in books”
  are at +5.
  Godwin offers work to copyists, both in
  preparing the separately bound sections and
  in producing bound books to order. Those
  who have proven their skill and courtesy can
  be hired to visit places with interesting
  books, copy them out, and bring the copies
  back. Godwin himself sometimes makes the
  initial visit, to judge which books are worth
  copying; he also buys books from the heirs
  of dead collectors. He has Research-15 for
  finding a book with specific information, if
  anyone takes him as a Contact.
  PLACES
  21
  The Price of Books
  Books at Worminghall are hand-copied; therefore, they’re heavy and
  expensive. The standard material for pages is parchment, which makes
  them even heavier. Finely made books copied onto vellum in an elegant
  hand weigh less but cost more.
  Books come in a variety of sizes and materials, and their prices vary not
  only with materials but also with quality of workmanship and sheer scarcity.
  As a general rule, a book copied legibly but not elegantly onto parchment
  weighs 2.5 lbs. and costs $70; the same book with superior materials (includ-
  ing vellum pages) and copying weighs 1 lb. and costs $140. This is a short
  text, about the length of one of the Gospels (about 20,000 words). Beauti-
  fully illustrated books with fine leather binding can cost 5¥ or 20¥ the base
  price, or even more if rare or extraordinarily well-made.
  Ordinarily, this is the price of having a book copied to order – a luxury
  for wealthy students. Godwin also sells materials less well-off students can
  use to make their own copies:
  Ordinary bound book (parchment pages): $14
  Superior bound book (vellum pages): $28
  Twelve ordinary quill pens (good for 20 pages each): $3
  Twelve superior quill pens (resharpenable; good for 100 pages each): $9
  One pint of black or brown ink: $2.50
  Wax tablet and stylus for notes: $10
  Even students don’t spend all their time in classrooms, or
  shopping for magical supplies. An entire city thrives around
  them, full of diversions, from churches to taverns. That city’s
  life is the main concern of the ordinary people who live along-
  side the students, scholars, and monks.
  CHURCHES
  Officially, Worminghall is divided into parishes, and its res-
  idents are supposed to attend services in their own parish. In
  practice, they often cross the boundaries, whether in search of
  more prestige for an important event, or simply to avoid climb-
  ing up or down hill. To make things more complicated, the
  Augustinian Priory and the Norbertine House both hold elabo-
  rate daily masses open to the public, which attract people who
  prefer ceremony. The priests mostly take this anarchy in stride,
  though they periodically meet with Abbot Thomas to discuss
  shifting the parish boundaries. Currently, St. Brendan’s
  Church is seeking extension of its parish along the entire
  length of the riverside. The pastor has the support of Father
  Ralph of St. John’s, who knows that the low town’s tithes add
  little to his revenues – and who would find it a relief not to
  travel up and down hill. Search rolls to find a church are at +5.
  Most students worship in the chapel of St. Mary’s Abbey, or
  at the smaller abbeys of the town. Of course, some collegians
  seldom appear at divine services.
  The Church of the Good Shepherd
  A modest church located in the Tail, it’s less well-funded
  than it might be, because the more prosperous residents turn
  to St. John’s (p. 22) for major ceremonies such as confirma-
  tions and weddings. Standing on high ground to the east, it has
  a good view of the river valley. Its priest, Father Harold, is of
  an older style: His Latin is Broken, other than memorized
  prayers, and he has little training in Law or Theology. Even so,
  he takes his duties seriously, and will perform them to the limit
  of his strength and his finances. He can serve as a minor
  Patron for poor parishioners he finds deserving. At the GM’s
  option, he might turn out to have True Faith – if confronted
  with, for example, a demon that escaped from a careless necro-
  mancer.
  The Church of the Trinity
  Worminghall’s newest church, completed 17 years ago,
  stands near the Welsh Gate, serving most of the western slopes
  where many townsfolk moved after the founding of the univer-
  sity. Its priest, Father Vincent, is now in his early 40s, and has
  been remarkably successful in encouraging generous dona-
  tions from his parishioners, which support architectural
  improvements and elaborate ritual. These pay for themselves
  by fostering more regular churchgoing. Father Vincent’s high-
  est skill is in Religious Ritual; he’s also very good in Savoir-
  Faire (High Society), not least in hinting that support for the
  church will enhance a man’s standing in the community.
  However, some of Father Vincent’s funds go in a less rep-
  utable direction – to support Margaret Davies, the daughter
  of one of his parishioners, and their children (twin sons and
  a younger daughter). Father Vincent began noticing her eight
  years ago, when she was 16. A year later, he began to pay
  court to her. Six months after that, she became his mistress.
  ABOUT THE TOWN
  
  The Church currently frowns on such priestly liaisons, com-
  pelling him to keep his visits secret.
  St. Brendan’s Church
  Standing on the west side of the Severn Road, St. Brendan’s
  Church is favored by most people who live in the low town.
  This includes riverfolk such as bargemen and fishermen, on
  whose account it was named for the patron saint of boatmen.
  Its priest, Father Peter, took his religious name in honor of his
  own birth among fishermen. He owes his early education to
  Brother Pius (p. 17) and holds the Franciscans in high regard.
  The Church of St. John the Baptist
  Worminghall’s largest church mainly serves the townspeo-
  ple. The congregation of St. John’s includes many of the
  town’s wealthier citizens; between them, they own over half
  the lots inside its walls. The church has received some gener-
  ous donations.
  The townspeople are proud of their church. It was rebuilt
  on its Norman foundations in the new Gothic style from 1265
  to 1283, with the help of a grant from Henry III and some aid
  from mages in the Element of Earth. St. John’s is admired for
  its stained glass windows, including a scene of Christ’s baptism
  and a dramatic rendering of the head of John the Baptist being
  presented to Herod. The bell tower is the tallest structure in
  Worminghall, just over 100’ high. The church gives its name to
  Church Street, which branches off from the High Street. The
  building is a landmark and can be found without a search roll.
  Three priests serve the congregation, the senior being Ralph
  le Normand (p. 34). John Ludlow and David Price assist him.
  Ludlow is actually the oldest and is quietly unhappy that he was
  passed over for the younger and more aristocratic le Normand.
  Price is not yet 30, and very gratified to have been chosen for his
  first pastoral duty by such a well-regarded church.
  THE TOWER
  By virtue of holding land in the Welsh marches, St. Mary’s
  has the obligation to provide soldiers to defend against inva-
  sions. During the early 12th century, the abbots invested their
  rents in a fortified watchtower at the south end of the high
  town. For most of the next two centuries, it offered slightly
  cramped quarters to a company of 50 men-at-arms; Abbot
  Thomas has negotiated a reduction of its garrison to three
  dozen, now that the border is largely pacified. The soldiers’
  powers and duties within Worminghall are limited, but out-
  lawry beyond its walls would get them called out.
  The Tower rises to a height of 40’ above the plateau, giving
  it a horizon of 18 miles on a clear day. The 12 men-at-arms on
  watch, a squad whose leader has the standing of an esquire,
  occupy the tower; each squad has a barracks space inside the
  walls. Other outbuildings accommodate horses, stores, and a
  kitchen. The armory is on the second floor of the tower, for
  security. The walled grounds occupy just under two acres. The
  Tower is a landmark and can be found without a search roll.
  One of the outbuildings contains a courtroom, with an
  apartment behind it for royal judges whose circuits bring them
  to Worminghall. The floor above has locked rooms for prison-
  ers awaiting trial.
  The Tower was the site of Dafydd ap Gruffudd’s death by
  torture (p. 11). Some people claim to have seen his angry
  ghost stalking its grounds. The Welsh claim that his blood
  places Worminghall under a curse, not to be lifted while the
  Tower stands.
  Key people at the Tower include the following.
  Lieutenant Isengrim St. John: See p. 34.
  Master Ranulf: The Tower’s armorer, charged with keeping
  weapons and armor in good condition. Ranulf is a moder-
  ately tall man with massive arms (Arm ST 14; overall ST 12)
  and the red hair of his Scandinavian ancestry. On market-day
  evenings, he likes to look for a wrestling opponent. He wins
  most of his bouts, but is ready to praise anyone who bests his
  Wrestling-15, and to buy the victor a drink.
  Squad Leader Samuel Deacon: Samuel is the esquire in
  command of one of the squads in the Tower. When not on
  duty there, he serves as the martial-arts instructor for the sol-
  diers and for the young men from Merlin Hall (p. 19).
  Soldiers are mainly trained in sword-and-shield fighting
  (GURPS Martial Arts, pp. 199-200), but Samuel is also
  skilled at brawling, knife fighting, and staff fighting – and
  teaches all of them. “Deacon” is a nickname, based on his
  unsmiling manner and carefully measured speech. As a
  squad leader, he’s Military Rank 2, but effectively he’s sec-
  ond-in-command, with Leadership-13.
  PLACES
  22
  In terms of GURPS Mass Combat, the Tower houses
  three elements of Medium Infantry, of Good quality,
  thanks to good leadership and service in the still unsettled
  Welsh Marches. Their equipment quality is also Good. TS
  18, WT 3, Foot, $225K to raise, $30.6K to maintain.
  The Tower also houses one element of Mounts, of Good
  quality and with Good equipment: TS 0, T1, WT 1, Mtd,
  $150K to raise, $20.4K to maintain. The squads perform
  mounted patrols in rotation and are cross-trained as Light
  Cavalry, though not up to professional military standards
  (Basic equipment but Inferior quality): TS 1, Cv, Rec, WT
  2, Mtd. Lieutenant St. John can be treated as a single Light
  Cavalryman with Good skill and Fine equipment, paid for
  out of his $3,500 monthly salary: TS 1, Cv, Rec, WT negli-
  gible, Mtd.
  Logistic support for these forces costs $272.5K to raise
  and $40.375K to maintain. This includes the ability to sup-
  port troops operating in woodlands.
  In a siege, the civilian population can act as Average
  Medium Infantry with Poor equipment. Edward I’s laws
  encourage archery practice, but the English in Worminghall
  haven’t yet taken to the longbow, regarding it as a weapon
  for Welsh assassins. TS 432, WT 192, Foot, no cost to raise,
  $864K to maintain after two months’ unpaid service.
  Military Strength
  
  TAVERNS
  Taverns are an important part of any university scene, the
  site of debates and flirtations, quarrels and new friendships.
  Worminghall is well-provided with them, each with its own
  distinctive sign. People of different sorts favor different tav-
  erns, but it’s a Goliardic tradition to take a new student who
  can afford it on a tour of every tavern inside the walls. Search
  rolls to find a tavern are at +5.
  The Gate House
  Sign: An arched gateway in a wall, framed by towers on
  both sides.
  The Gate House is the oldest tavern still operating in Worm-
  inghall, founded before the Norman Conquest. Its location just
  next to the High Gate makes it a natural stopping point for visi-
  tors. It’s known as an excellent place to look for information on
  travel conditions. The current landlord, Hugh Woods, has good
  Area Knowledge and Current Affairs skill for Shropshire gener-
  ally. He gives short answers if asked a direct question, but can’t
  resist being drawn into a general conversation.
  The Green Dragon
  Sign: A coiled, serpentine green dragon with batlike wings,
  breathing yellow flames.
  The Green Dragon stands on the river side of the Severn
  Road, close to the docks and warehouses that serve the barge
  trade. It’s an inn as well as a tavern, with bunk spaces lining the
  walls of the common room and four smaller rooms upstairs,
  each with bed space for one to three. Founded a century ago,
  it has grown with the river trade. The bargemen are a rough
  crowd; wrestling bouts and exchanges of insults are common
  entertainments – Master Ranulf (p. 22) sometimes shows up.
  Robert Fisher, the landlord, keeps a light club in reach for
  emergencies – but he can usually stop trouble by looming over
  the troublemaker. The Green Dragon is a good place to look for
  news of river traffic.
  The Halberd
  Sign: A halberd at the diagonal, with the exaggeratedly large
  head at the upper left.
  When Timothy of Lincoln ended his service at the Tower six
  years ago, he decided to retire in Worminghall. He put his sav-
  ings into a new tavern at the south end of the High Road, not
  far from the Tower. The Halberd can count on the patronage
  of soldiers and town watchmen. That’s enough to keep it going,
  though Timothy isn’t getting rich.
  The Half Moon
  Sign: A circle painted half light, half dark.
  The Half Moon stands by the waterside, near the north end
  of Underhill Road. It’s the main tavern for the low town, and
  especially the fishermen who work the Severn’s waters. The
  owner, Jacob Samuels, is training Isaac, the son of his wife’s
  younger brother, in brewing and in handling money.
  The Hammer and Sickle
  Sign: A vertical hammer, its head encircled by the blade of
  a sickle with handle slanted to the left.
  This unpretentious workingmen’s tavern is on the Bridge
  Road, east of the Severn in the Tail. Students rarely venture
  there; it’s a long walk upslope, there are no barmaids, and the
  regulars aren’t a good audience. But the beer is sound. Daniel
  Throckmorton, the landlord, is considered a master brewer,
  despite being only in his late 20s.
  The Holly and Ivy
  Sign: Vines of ivy entwined around branches of holly, each
  with the distinctive leaves, which anyone local will recognize.
  A large tavern and inn adjacent to the general market, just
  downhill from the West Gate. Another building contains stalls
  for 14 yoke of oxen. Most traders leave at the end of market
  day, but there are five upstairs rooms with space for one to
  three. The landlord, Roger the Black (from his thick hair), has
  Administration and Professional Skill (Bartender). He man-
  ages a staff of 10: two tapmen, three barmaids, an assistant
  cook to help his wife (Berthe), three general servants, and a sta-
  ble hand. He’s often asked questions about Worminghall and
  has Area Knowledge for it.
  The Hunter’s Horn
  Sign: A man dressed in green holding a coiled hunting horn
  to his lips.
  The Horn is a small tavern on Spital Road, off the main
  streets; it gets most of its custom from local residents. Allan
  o’the Dell, its landlord, favors wealthier patrons. He tries to
  encourage them, with hangings of hunting scenes and a choice
  of imported wines to drink. (Currently, he gets his wine from
  Nicholas Mannering, p. 26, but he’s inquiring into other
  sources.) His best skill is Savoir-Faire (Servant). Among other
  characteristics, he’s amazingly good at reminding the odd
  band of Goliards to act like gentlemen, even if they’re drunk.
  An IQ-based search for a tavern must succeed by 5 points to
  find the Horn (success with a smaller margin finds some other
  tavern); any success vs. Savoir-Faire (High Society) can locate
  it.
  The Owl
  Sign: An owl with exaggeratedly large eyes, holding a rat
  clutched in one talon.
  The Owl stands just outside the gates of St. Mary’s (p. 17).
  It’s a favorite place for students to drink and argue. Some
  townsfolk come there also, especially professional men such as
  lawyers and physicians. New students are often taken there for
  the feast part of their jocund advent (First Day at School, p. 5).
  PLACES
  23
  The gypsie Snap and Pedro
  Are none of Tom’s comradoes.
  The punk I scorn, and the cutpurse
  sworn,
  And the roaring boy’s bravadoes.
  – “Tom o’Bedlam’s Song” (anonymous)
  
  The proprietors are two brothers, John and James
  Langland. Usually they take turns as host; on busy days, both
  are at work. Their faces are similar, but John is shorter and
  solidly built, while James is tall and leaner, with the start of a
  beer belly. Both of them speak just enough Latin to take orders
  for drinks or meals.
  The Owl is a respectable place; it has a lot of drunkenness
  but not much brawling. Clever conversation earns the applause
  of the patrons. For the past two years, it has had a regular con-
  test: the Wednesday Quodlibet. Held just after supper, last
  week’s winner formally debates one or more challengers in a
  mock disputation (p. 10) on questions posed by randomly cho-
  sen members of the audience. The contests are judged by audi-
  ence acclamation, but for the past year, they have had a formal
  magister ludi (“master of the game”).
  Joseph Prudhomme: A student in the house of Doctor
  Christianus (p. 18), he began attending the Quodlibet not long
  after his arrival from Paris. He quickly became a leading con-
  tender. After five months of uninterrupted victories, he
  announced his retirement, only to have the other contenders
  ask him to formally preside over future contests. Joseph has a
  very high skill in Public Speaking. He is also knowledgeable in
  Law (Catholic Canon), especially the canon law of magic, a
  newly emerging field that he came to Worminghall to study.
  The Pilgrim
  Sign: A lean man in profile, with a broad hat and a long
  cloak, leaning on a staff nearly as tall as he is.
  The Pilgrim is one of Worminghall’s largest taverns, with a
  good location at the crossing of Westgate Street and the High
  Street, not far from St. John’s Church (p. 22). Students and their
  masters heavily favor it. It also has several rooms upstairs, often
  used by families of wealthy students, or by trusted servants of
  such families. The proprietor, Henry Palmer, is one of the
  wealthiest townsmen, on a level with many successful mer-
  chants. He employs several barmaids, one of whom may stand
  out in visitors’ eyes.
  Kate Foxe
  A slender young woman with red hair, she can not only take
  orders in Latin (the language in which students are required to
  give them), but also exchange polite phrases and even converse
  a little. However, her pronunciation is awkward and her
  speech hesitant (treat her as having Broken fluency). The more
  fluent students sometimes use Latin to joke or flirt with her.
  She habitually turns flirtation aside with jokes of her own, but
  she still charms a little extra coin out of many of them. If she
  occasionally pauses to listen to a witty conversation, customers
  think that’s only natural. In fact, Kate has secrets.
  She pays Henry a monthly rental for a small room just
  under the eaves, where she keeps her possessions in a locked
  chest under the window. The chest is 7” high, 18” wide, and 11”
  deep, and weighs 12 lbs. empty, with solid construction that
  gives it 10 HP and DR 1. It has both a warded rotary lock (+4
  to Lockpicking) and an external padlock (+5 to Lockpicking;
  DR 2). Anyone who picked the locks, or opened the chest by
  force, might be surprised to find that it contains books, written
  in Latin, on a variety of subjects – whose rightful owners would
  like them back (see The Thief, p. 37)! Kate’s Latin is better than
  she lets on.
  The other barmaids, Jane and Emma, think the rent for her
  garret comes from prostitution. This actually isn’t one of Kate’s
  secrets – but she can hardly tell them it comes from fencing
  stolen goods. They’ve tried to follow her once or twice, but
  Kate is surprisingly good at losing untrained shadows.
  Someone who met both of them might discern a likeness
  between Kate and Red John (p. 34). If they know of each other,
  neither has ever spoken of it.
  The Rose Bush
  Sign: A green, leafy bush with four rose blossoms and a
  wealth of sharp thorns.
  Located on the southern part of the High Street, the Rose
  Bush attracts many students, especially Goliards. The tradition
  of the tavern is for patrons to offer entertainment, usually by
  singing, though sometimes it’s juggling, storytelling, or even
  casting spells. The Rose Bush is owned by Mistress Pippa, who
  inherited it from her husband, Robert Thornbush. She is oper-
  ating it until her son grows up. She’s hired a succession of bar-
  men, but none has lasted out his first year.
  The Salamander
  Sign: A bright red salamander, shaped much like the real
  amphibian, but wreathed in flames.
  A modest tavern located at the end of Holly Street, favored by
  students of the magical arts – and often by their masters, who
  are likely to use the two private rooms. The landlord, Jonathan
  le Strange (so called because no one knows his background), has
  invested in a Scrywall (GURPS Magic, p. 122) enchantment on
  one of the rooms. He is saving up for the other. Jonathan isn’t a
  mage, but has learned a fair bit about magic; treat him as hav-
  ing Occultism-15 if anyone has questions on the subject.
  The Salamander sees numerous magical challenges, rang-
  ing from “three tasks” to outright duels. An elaborate code
  defined as Games (Magical) governs such challenges, and
  mostly prevents their causing permanent harm. Major viola-
  tions may result in expulsion or even trial for black magic.
  The Stallion
  Sign: A rearing horse without saddle or bridle.
  The Stallion stands not far from the Welsh Gate, convenient
  for soldiers, merchants, and other travelers. As the sign suggests,
  it has an attached stable; travelers can stall their horses there.
  Hugh Squires, the landlord, has two available for rent with a
  deposit. He’s also modestly skilled at Veterinary (Equines) and is
  willing to give advice.
  The Sting
  Sign: A looped reptilian tail with a sharp stinger like a scor-
  pion’s at the end, dripping a greenish fluid.
  Owned by Red John (see p. 34), the Sting is one of
  Worminghall’s least-reputable taverns. It occupies an old
  house in the Tail, outside the city limits and not subject to
  city laws. It’s a place for bravoes, thieves, usurers, and other
  lawbreakers to meet and make deals. This include students
  who take advantage of their Legal Immunity, and others
  who just like the disreputable atmosphere. Nonetheless, the
  Sting isn’t entirely lawless; it’s subject to Red John’s rules.
  PLACES
  24
  
  He’s ruthless with anyone who damages his property, drives
  away customers, or risks getting him in trouble with the king’s
  officers. No one in the Sting is in danger of having his purse
  strings cut.
  Most of the patrons sit at tables on the
  ground floor. Red John has three private
  rooms on the upper floor that he will
  rent out, $25 for three hours and no
  questions asked. The Sting is not a
  brothel, but if a woman allows a man to
  entertain her in a private room, they
  won’t be disturbed. At other times,
  thieves meet in the private rooms to
  plan future crimes or divide loot. A vari-
  ety of dubious but useful people can be
  encountered there.
  Dickon the Mate: Second in com-
  mand on a river barge, he has a prof-
  itable side business in buying stolen
  goods to resell downriver. His captain
  isn’t involved but chooses to wink at the
  mate’s dealings. Dickon is skilled at
  Merchant, Streetwise, and Smuggling.
  As a Contact, he’s Usually Reliable.
  Master Clement: A student of magic
  who got in trouble with the law, he
  adopted a new focus for his studies –
  spells he could apply to crime, espe-
  cially Body Control, Movement, Protec-
  tion, and Warning. Now his services
  are available for a fee, if he thinks the
  job can be done safely; he’s Careful
  (p. B163). Clement was a student at Mer-
  lin Hall when he was younger, until forced to resign. He’s
  Somewhat Reliable to those he works for.
  Imogen Goldsmith: The widow of a goldsmith, she carries
  on her husband’s trade. She also lends money at interest, vio-
  lating the Church’s prohibition of usury. Such contracts
  aren’t legally enforceable, but she’s willing to take a pledge,
  such as a sword or harp – or the borrower’s own person. She
  keeps a pair of enforcers on retainer, with bonuses for actual
  jobs. Her second trade has made her Callous, and has taught
  her Detect Lies and Finance. It has also left her with more
  money than she can publicly admit. As a Contact, she can
  provide Finance-15 and is Somewhat Reliable; her aid typi-
  cally takes the form of small loans.
  MILLS
  Two mills on the east bank of the Severn provide the city
  with flour. The mills are landmarks and can be found without
  a search roll.
  The Old Mill
  Formerly just “the mill,” it stands just north of the Severn
  Bridge. A quarter-mile watercourse paralleling the river pro-
  vides it with power; the fall of 3’ is just enough to power an
  undershot wheel. In normal operation, it can grind 16 tons
  of grain a week. However, it only sees full operation now
  when a feast day is near and extra bread is wanted.
  The Abbot’s Mill
  As the population grew, it became clear that the Old Mill
  couldn’t grind grain for all of them. In 1270, the abbot of
  St. Mary’s decided to accept a proposal to build a new mill
  upriver, rather than simply
  extending the watercourse.
  The Abbot’s Mill stands at
  the north end of the Mill
  Road, fed by a 3/4-mile
  watercourse that powers a 7’
  overshot wheel. Its discharge
  is directed into the water-
  course for the Old Mill. In
  normal operation, it can
  grind 36 tons of grain a week.
  OTHER
  BUSINESSES
  Worminghall has literally
  hundreds of artisans, retail-
  ers, and service workers.
  Every man’s ambition is to
  have his own shop. A few of
  these will be of special inter-
  est to students.
  The Baths
  Like most large towns of
  the era, Worminghall has a
  public bathhouse, between
  Underhill Road and Weaver Street, not far north of the bridge.
  Visitors can sit and soak in large wooden tubs that hold up to
  half a dozen adults. Ten tubs provide space for 60 bathers. The
  baths are a landmark and can be found without a search roll.
  Bathhouses, or “stews,” have a shady reputation in this era,
  as places where men and women meet to flirt or have affairs.
  Abbot Thomas has made it a rule that the Worminghall baths
  must be open for men and women at different times, to keep
  them from “commingling.” The owners comply with this
  decree . . . but a tip to the attendant (the going rate is $12) will
  buy a convenient attack of blindness. It’s rumored that the
  owners know this is going on and collect their share.
  Gib the Tailor
  Master Gib (short for Gilbert) owns a small tailor shop on
  Westgate Street, just uphill from the old West Gate. He’s a
  gaunt man, a bit stooped from years of hunching over his
  work. The students nickname him “the Needle” both for his
  occupation and for his appearance. He’s a quick, skilled work-
  man, who never lacks for custom. Jobs come partly from lesser
  merchant families, but mostly from well-off students wanting
  good clothes. As a Contact, he has Sewing-18 and is Com-
  pletely Reliable.
  Jenkyn the Apothecary
  An “apothecary” in this era is anyone who deals in herbs
  and spices, including but not limited to medicinal substances.
  PLACES
  25
  
  Jenkyn has the best stock to be found in Worminghall, whether
  the buyer is looking for pepper to flavor a roast, or mandrake
  root to brew a potion. His shop occupies the front of a house on
  a side street off the High Street, with a cellar for storage and with
  living quarters over the shop. Alchemists, herbalists, and mages
  all know the way there, as do many kitchen servants in wealthy
  houses. Search rolls to find an apothecary are unmodified.
  Jenkyn can be a helpful Contact for anyone looking for rare
  herbs, providing Merchant (Apothecary)-18. He also knows
  many medicinal uses of his merchandise, giving him
  Pharmacy (Herbal)-15 for this purpose. Jenkyn is a quiet man,
  but one who knows his own mind (Will 14) and isn’t easily got-
  ten the better of. This has earned him a Reputation for sound
  judgment (+2; Worminghall merchants; All the time). He has
  been buying herbals for many years, and paying to have them
  copied onto vellum at St. Mary’s (p. 17), to which he donates
  the originals. His shelves amount to a small collection allowing
  a Research roll at -2.
  Now in his early 40s, Jenkyn is concerned with finding suit-
  able husbands for his three daughters. He would like to see one
  of them marry a prospective junior partner. His second daugh-
  ter, Isabel, has read extensively in his herbals, which she hopes
  to inherit. She recently asked Mistress Hannah (pp. 33-34) to
  train her in midwifery.
  Mannering’s Wineshop
  Not much wine is produced in England; it’s imported from
  the continent, mainly from France, though some comes from
  lands that are more distant. Nicholas Mannering is the main
  wine dealer in Worminghall, with a substantial shop just at the
  top of Carter Street. He sells both wholesale (by the cask) and
  retail (by the bottle – at substantially higher prices). Students
  wanting to indulge in wine drinking can buy an ordinary-qual-
  ity bottle for $6, but Master Nicholas has more costly vintages
  for those who can afford them. He also has the contract to sup-
  ply wine to St. Mary’s Abbey, for a fairly modest handling fee –
  the volume the Abbey buys makes it pay. Abbot Thomas
  (p. 33) and Father Ralph (p. 34) are both connoisseurs of his
  best imports. He can provide the skill of Merchant (Wine)-18
  and is Completely Reliable.
  STREET SCENES
  Some important places in Worminghall aren’t buildings,
  but places in the open air.
  Beggars
  The town has two areas with distinct populations of beggars.
  Low-Town Beggars
  The low town, along the Severn Road and the Underhill
  Road, is a domain of traditional street beggars: men and a few
  women unable to work and without families to provide for
  them. There’s nothing so formal as a “beggars’ guild,” but they
  have established conventions, including customary rights to
  specific corners or stretches of road. Begging without such a
  customary right invites loud protests that drive away potential
  donors, or even beatings, if the interloper is caught without wit-
  nesses. Despite their rough appearance, though, street beggars
  almost never threaten respectable people. Doing so seldom pays
  off and adds to the risk of a beating or worse. The low-town
  beggars can be a Contact Group (an Unreliable one!) for anyone
  interested in the word on the street.
  For women, begging shades into the roughest and least
  secure form of prostitution.
  High-Town Beggars
  In the high town, some of the poorest students beg in the
  streets, unmolested by any sort of law enforcement, because of
  their status as clergy. Imitating mendicant friars such as the
  Franciscans, they often promise to pray for donors’ salvation,
  and sometimes they actually do so. Student beggars don’t have
  individual territories, but wander freely along the High Street
  and outside St. John’s Church. They have a strong sense of
  group identity, which gives rise to running jokes about “motley
  friars” (from their often mismatched clothes) or the “mendi-
  cants’ guild,” and a shared devotion to the Beggars’ Shrine
  (p. 27), but no formal organization. There are enough of them
  to keep low-town beggars off the High Street – especially since
  some of them know useful spells.
  High-town beggars have a complex relationship with
  Goliards. Goliards often like the imagery of begging for their
  supper with a song, and may show up on corners or in tav-
  erns to do so. However, many Goliards are actually well-off
  and only play at being beggars, which students who need to
  beg resent. Some of these real beggars are genuinely pious,
  and disapprove of Goliardic frivolity. However, occasionally,
  some Goliards decide it’s amusing to share with “fellow beg-
  gars,” which can mean a good meal for poor students –
  though one at which they may be teased or encouraged to
  drink too much.
  The High Street has a kind of annual Saturnalia on Epiphany
  (January 6), when Goliards and real beggars exchange clothes
  and purses, and the beggars enjoy the chance to feast. Three of
  them are ritually crowned as the Magi at Vespers and sent to
  take gifts to a poor family.
  The Marketplace
  A longstanding custom in Worminghall is the holding of a
  regular market outside the West Gate. Originally open only
  once a week, on Tuesdays, with the growth in trade, it now
  operates Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The building of
  the New Wall placed it inside the boundaries of the city. Some
  members of the city government favor establishing a new mar-
  ket outside the walls, and inviting bids for the right to build
  over the current grounds. An official proposal would cause
  public controversy, as it would make shopping less convenient
  for many people, especially in the low town.
  Most of what’s sold in the marketplace is food from nearby
  farms. On any given day, two or three tinkers, cobblers, or
  other small crafts workers may have set up booths. Occasional
  entertainers make appearances.
  Robkin: A dwarf – not a member of a legendary race, but a
  man with Dwarfism. Like many dwarfs, he earns his bread as
  an entertainer. However, at least for the past six years, he
  hasn’t followed the usual course of living as a nobleman’s pet.
  Instead, he shows up once or twice a week at the market-
  place, displaying his skill at tumbling, rope walking, or jug-
  gling. He also sometimes tells stories or recites poetry. In
  between market days, he entertains at local inns. Most of his
  performance skills are quite high, and he has Charisma 2 to
  back them up.
  PLACES
  26
  
  Rivermen
  With the growth of the wool trade, river traffic has
  increased, and Worminghall is an important port. Low docks
  extend out into the river, providing places to tie up and load
  and unload cargo. Through much of the year, bargemen are
  common along the Severn Road, between the Water Gate and
  the South Gate. They’re a rough crowd, with their own Code
  of Honor (similar to Pirate’s). The townsfolk tolerate their
  behavior, so long as they stay east of the Severn Road and
  don’t cause permanent damage. Boat captains or mates may
  be willing to deal in smuggled goods, or to buy stolen prop-
  erty and smuggle it out of town (Dickon the Mate, p. 25).
  North of the bridge, fishermen and their families mainly
  inhabit the west bank of the Severn. Commonly taken fish
  include salmon and eels. Smaller eels are favored for a local
  delicacy nicknamed “worm pie,” which new students are often
  invited to dine on.
  PLACES
  27
  Worminghall has significant places that can’t be found with
  an ordinary IQ-based search roll. Finding them requires unusual
  skills, such as forms of Hidden Lore. Some can only be uncov-
  ered through careful exploration or magical divination.
  THE BEGGARS’ SHRINE
  Between Holly Street and Northgate Row, at the north end
  of the high town, there’s a small area of open ground between
  the backs of several buildings. It’s not easily seen from any van-
  tage point, and reaching it requires traversing a series of twisty
  alleyways. Hardly anyone visits it except some of the high-town
  beggars. One of the surrounding buildings is the Enigma Shop
  (p. 20), whose proprietor may well be aware of the place.
  At the center of the space is a large cross, made of rough-
  hewn stone. Through the year, other objects are placed there:
  candles, goblets of wine, wreaths of wildflowers, anything that
  might plausibly be taken as an offering and that a poor man
  can afford. There are usually a few pennies, ha’pennies, and
  farthings at the base. (Silver is scarce at this time; a penny –
  0.05 troy ounces of silver – is worth about $8.)
  Though never consecrated by any priest or abbot, this is an
  area of high sanctity (see Clerical Magic, p. B242), and may be
  perceived as such by anyone sensitive to God’s presence. The
  beggars who visit it keep it a secret from anyone who isn’t gen-
  uinely pious and reverent. At any one time, about 20 poor stu-
  dents are occasional visitors. Even the poorest won’t touch the
  small pile of money for food, wine, or books. From time to
  time, someone will take it to buy food or medicine for a poor
  family, or to donate toward construction of a church or shrine.
  It’s said that the very first pile of coins was contributed to the
  Poor Friars (p. 16) when they established their community.
  If a visitor to the shrine offers sincere prayers, under urgent
  need, he may receive some supernatural benefit, such as one-
  time use of a suitable advantage. Blessed and Oracle are com-
  mon, but Healing, Rapier Wit (with Words of Power; see
  GURPS Powers, p. 70), and True Faith are possible. Make a
  reaction roll, with a Very Good reaction granting the benefit.
  On an Excellent reaction, with GM permission, the visitor may
  save up character points to gain the benefit permanently. God’s
  reaction reflects the petitioner’s moral character (apply modi-
  fiers based on mental disadvantages, especially those with self-
  control rolls) but not his appearance, voice, or social position
  (Reputation, Social Regard, Social Stigma, Status, etc.).
  Finding the Beggars’ Shrine requires Hidden Lore (Urban
  Secrets). A searcher with impious motives is at a penalty: -1 for
  simple curiosity, -3 for worldly gain, -5 for hostile intent.
  THE MITHRAEUM
  A thousand years ago, the land that’s now Shropshire was
  part of Roman Britannia Secunda, and Roman troops were sta-
  tioned there. Many among them were worshipers of Mithras.
  When Rome became Christian, many of their underground
  shrines were deconsecrated, but some were abandoned and for-
  gotten. One such place lies west of the High Street, just inside
  the High Gate, under the Gate House. An excavation in the right
  place, or a casting of Earth Vision, could find the buried
  entranceway, with steps descending deeper into the earth.
  Unusually, the site is high sanctity – to Mithras. This makes
  it low sanctity to the Christian God, whom Mithras regards as
  a usurper. The ground above the shrine is normal sanctity, but
  resists consecration; any use of a Christian specialty of
  Religious Ritual is at -5. A Christian with Blessed or Oracle
  could be directed to the hidden source of the trouble. Normal
  search rolls won’t find it at all.
  If the mithraeum is explored, an Astronomy roll reveals the
  signs of planets and constellations; a critical success shows
  that they have something to do with the precession of the
  equinoxes. Occultism also helps identify the signs, and success
  by 5 or more will tie them to Mithraism. A Christian with
  Power Investiture can roll vs. Per + Power Investiture to sense
  the low sanctity of the shrine. Depending on his individual the-
  ological beliefs, he may take it as an occasion for Exorcism
  (casting out the “demon” Mithras) or for Religious Ritual (for
  example, by celebrating mass in the temple). A failed skill roll
  could lead to supernatural manifestations expressing the wrath
  of Mithras; it should certainly require a Fright Check.
  A mage who knows the spell Banish might try it on the
  spirit of Mithras, especially if he suffers from Curious, Over-
  confidence, or Megalomania. For such an attempt, treat even
  this faded divine remnant as having Will 20 and being built on
  1,000 points.
  HIDDEN PLACES
  Smaller eels are favored
  for a local delicacy
  nicknamed “worm pie.”
  
  THE RAVEN’S NEST
  The English won a decisive victory over the Welsh with the
  capture of Dafydd ap Gruffudd in 1283, and the English king
  Edward I plans to grant his son the title “Prince of Wales.”
  However, not all of the Welsh are ready to accept defeat. The
  Raven’s Nest is a base of Welsh resistance to the English.
  The Nest is an unpretentious house located along Shep-
  herd’s Way. Some shepherds have Welsh ancestry and can
  carry messages out; Welsh warriors and leaders can disguise
  themselves as shepherds if they need to visit the Nest. Most of
  these leaders are now more brigands than generals, but the
  Nest still provides them with useful intelligence about mer-
  chants and other travelers, and about military actions from
  the Tower. Some Welsh leaders hope to accomplish more.
  Tunnels lead from under the Nest back into the hillside, pro-
  viding hiding places for fugitives and storage for weapons.
  The Tower’s previous lieutenant died at the hands of two
  Welshmen, and the current lieutenant (Isengrim St. John,
  p. 34) is a potential target now.
  The Welsh still have mages on their side, and at least one is
  always in residence, casting spells of concealment and other-
  wise aiding covert ventures. Alanus Montefortis (p. 31) has
  begun to suspect the presence of a Welsh spellcaster in Worm-
  inghall, and to consider methods of tracking him down.
  The Raven’s Nest can’t be found by any ordinary search.
  Locating it will take potent magic, Intelligence Analysis at a
  substantial penalty, or a house-to-house search rigorous
  enough to uncover its secrets.
  THE SECRET GROVE
  Three-quarters of a mile past the Welsh Gate, in one of the
  stands of trees that have been preserved as sources of berries,
  fallen wood, and other products, a small clearing is hidden
  from view of the city. Its presence isn’t common knowledge,
  but Hidden Lore (Faerie Lore) can be used to find it.
  The grove is a meeting place for women, and a few men,
  who practice folk magic (p. 13). Customarily, they stay out on
  the eves of the cross-quarter days (Candlemas, February 2;
  May Day, May 1; Lammas, August 1; and All Hallows’ Day,
  November 1). Despite the fears of churchmen, this isn’t devil
  worship, or out-and-out paganism; the celebrants consider
  themselves Christian men and women who pay prudent
  respect to the Fair Folk and the spirits of the land. Neverthe-
  less, at best these spirits are “young and gay and heartless,” and
  they can be mischievous or spiteful.
  These rituals are especially favored by folk mages, who feel
  that they need to make some return for their use of natural
  magic; even careful ones such as Mistress Hannah (pp. 33-34)
  leave out small offerings. The herbs and fruits of the grove are
  especially potent magically (+1 to Herb Lore, or +2 if taken on
  one of the cross-quarter days), and worth harvesting. More reck-
  less mages may bargain with the Fair Folk for services, and often
  pay a higher price than they reckoned on. An intruder who
  doesn’t know how to show respect, and isn’t coached, likely faces
  a Fright Check – or, if the spirit is Handsome/Beautiful or better,
  an Awe and Confusion Check (see the table on p. 85 of GURPS
  Powers). Even so, the spirits of the grove are not demons. If they
  decide a mortal has learned respect, they’ll let him go.
  PLACES
  28
  Worminghall has another possible hidden place: the under-
  ground lair of the dragon that Ercwlff defeated (p. 11). At the
  GM’s option, this may be a folk legend or urban myth; a secret
  alluded to by ancient manuscripts; or a real place whose mem-
  ory has faded over centuries. If it does really exist, it can be the
  setting for a classic dungeon-fantasy scenario or campaign, or
  one of supernatural horror (Genres and Themes, p. 35). To
  keep the GM’s options open, it’s not mapped out or assigned a
  location. No search roll can find it!
  Here are some possible truths about the lost lair. Many are
  also possible folk stories, tavern rumors, or minor Delusions of
  eccentric scholars or townspeople. If one of them is actually
  true, don’t include it among these legends or rumors – some-
  one would have investigated it if it were so commonly spoken
  of! Nevertheless, a rumor that’s a creative distortion of the hid-
  den truth might give adventurers just the right hint.
  • The dragon’s actual lair was somewhere far away, but
  baseless rumors have students or townsfolk trying to find it
  anyway. This could lead them to mundane finds from chests of
  gold to dead bodies – or secrets such as the Mithraeum (p. 27)
  or the Welsh conspirators’ base (p. 28) – or even to undermine
  the low town, threatening it with collapse and flooding.
  • The Welsh are deliberately undermining the low town as
  a scheme against the English.
  • The lair is real and empty, and the Welsh conspirators in
  the Raven’s Nest (p. 28) are using it! The Raven’s Nest’s tunnels
  may lead into a vast underground realm. Perhaps Ercwlff left
  a fuller description of the lair in Welsh.
  • Someone else is using the empty lair: the “invisible col-
  lege” of necromancers (p. 33), as a meeting place; a cult of
  Mithras worshipers, carried on in secret for centuries, as an
  entry to the Mithraeum (p. 27); or the Hermit (p. 37), as a hid-
  den base.
  • No one has found the empty lair. Hidden in it are rem-
  nants of Ercwlff’s hoard, and the sword he wielded against the
  dragon. If found, it would have potent enchantments granted
  by age, famous deeds, or immersion in the lifeblood of the
  dragon (see GURPS Thaumatology, pp. 110-113).
  • The lair is occupied by a young dragon hatched recently.
  Other dangerous creatures could be there as well – even an
  entire ecosystem.
  • The lair is occupied by the original dragon. Ercwlff didn’t
  actually slay it; he made a bargain with it, taking a share of its
  hoard and using it to build a stronghold to keep away other
  intruders – in effect, serving as a watchdog, though Ercwlff
  didn’t think of himself that way!
  • The lair is haunted by the ghost of the original dragon, or
  permeated with his spirit and vitality. It may be a high mana
  or even a very high mana location, where spells have unex-
  pected consequences. Those who spend too much time there,
  or take gold and other treasures, may become possessed by
  draconic traits: Bloodlust, Compulsive Lying, Miserliness, or
  Selfish.
  A DEEPER MYSTERY
  
  PLACES
  29
  DETAILED MAP OF WORMINGHALL
  The Abbot seated himself, drew off his ring, dropped it, that all might hear the tinkle, into
  an empty silver cup, stretched his feet towards the hearth, and looked at the great gilt and
  carved rose in the barrel-roof.
  – Rudyard Kipling, “The Eye of Allah”
  
  PLACES
  30
  TERRAIN MAP OF WORMINGHALL
  . . . according to certain popular beliefs, magicians were wandering students who learned
  magic from books by great intellectual effort in special schools.
  – Benedek Láng, Unlocked Books: Manuscripts of Learned Magic
  in the Medieval Libraries of Central Europe
  
  The influence of some Worminghall residents goes beyond
  their own houses or places of business, being felt throughout
  the community or even more widely. An encounter with one of
  them may have a big impact on an adventurer’s life.
  NOTABLES
  31
  CHAPTER FOUR
  NOTABLES
  Many of the influential or interesting people that students
  at Worminghall may encounter are scholars.
  ALANUS MONTEFORTIS
  Alanus Montefortis took a winding road to his present
  position as master of Merlin Hall (p. 19). At 18, he volun-
  teered as a scout on the Welsh Marches during the campaign
  against Dafydd ap Gruffudd, interrupting his studies of
  magic. The spells he had learned served him well. At the war’s
  end, he completed his studies in the Element of Air and
  joined the recently formed Royal Wizardry. Six years ago,
  King Edward sent him back to Worminghall to earn the ius
  ubique docendi by two years’ teaching (Curriculum, pp. 7-9)
  and then appointed him master of Merlin Hall.
  Master Alanus’ teaching is rigorous. He favors spells of Com-
  munication and Empathy, Knowledge, and Warning, but
  requires students to cross-train in other Elements. He also
  emphasizes nonmagical memory training, both for quick recall
  of spells, and to retain observations that can’t be written down
  safely. He likes to set puzzles to challenge his students, and reg-
  ularly visits the Enigma Shop (p. 20) to look for new mysteries
  for them. Many new students think of him as mainly a scholar
  and administrator – but the alert ones sense his graver concerns.
  Alanus’ service in the Royal Wizardry is a Secret worth -20
  points: exposure would make him a target not only for Welsh
  rebels, but for English lords who dislike Edward’s increasing
  power in the Marches now that Wales is mostly pacified. Alanus
  has a (carefully cultivated) Reputation -2 for dabbling in necro-
  mancy and crystal-gazing (Students and faculty; 10 or less).
  Using seeing-stones to find hidden treasure provides a cover
  story for his access to Crown funds! He lives comparatively mod-
  estly, at Status 1, but secretly holds Administrative Rank 4,
  which pays his cost of living. Treat him as having Acting-18,
  Teaching-15, and Leadership-12. He won’t become anyone’s
  Contact or Patron; any appeal for his help must be roleplayed.
  CHRISTIANUS PARVUS
  Born into a knightly Norman family, Chrétien de l’Isle was
  more attracted to debate than to physical combat. His ambi-
  tions led him to study law, especially canon law. He took his
  Latin name from his family nickname – “Le Petit,” from his
  small stature – in an ironic spirit, not a humble one; Doctor
  Christianus likes being underestimated.
  Though he has no magical gifts, Christianus found the
  canon law of magic fascinating, not least because so much of
  it is still being developed. He has made himself one of Europe’s
  greatest scholars in this field, and is considered certain to be
  the next syndic from his faculty. He periodically gets called
  away to advise ecclesiastical courts trying magical cases.
  Behind the scenes, Christianus is involved in a little quiet
  politics: He’s gotten hints of Ralph le Normand’s aspiration to
  a deanship (see p. 34) and is building support for the university
  to petition for a papal charter, granting it the right of self-gov-
  ernment within the Church. The argument for keeping the
  scholars free of outside inquiries has sold many teachers of
  magic on the plan. Getting Abbot Thomas and Chancellor
  Rudipertus to support it could be tricky; Christianus is pre-
  pared to hint that a charter would make Thomas’ authority
  more secure by allowing the scholars to elect their old friend as
  its head.
  At 45, Christianus has his choice of students; his fees pro-
  vide a good income that supports Status 2. He lectures twice
  daily – a full law course in the morning, and short lectures on
  law for mages in the afternoon. He has Reputation +3 for
  legal knowledge and debating skill (Canon lawyers and law
  students; All the time). As a Contact, he provides either Law
  (Catholic Canon; Legal Regulation of Magic)-18 or Public
  Speaking-18, and is Usually Reliable. He acts as a Patron for
  his current students (House of Doctor Christianus, p. 18). He’s
  also an occasional Patron for Mariot Delisle (p. 19), whose
  father was his second cousin.
  MAURITIUS THEOPHILUS
  Father Mauritius is a monk at St. Mary’s (p. 17), who has
  gone on to ordination as a priest. He is also a scholar of
  magic in the Element of Fire. Now approaching 50, he’s the
  senior syndic for the Faculty of Magic, and takes the lead in
  setting policy.
  He continues to teach, but he no longer works with begin-
  ning students. Rather, he alternates teaching advanced Fire
  and Light spells, and offering courses on thaumatology. Some
  students find him a difficult lecturer, because of his habit of
  making quick intuitive leaps and expecting others to follow.
  SCHOLARS
  
  This is partly simple unawareness that other people’s magical
  gifts are less acute than his, but also reflects his belief that solv-
  ing puzzles for oneself is the best way to learn. He and Marcus
  Florentinus (p. 20) enjoy meeting for occasional discussions,
  and respect each other’s magical insights, though they present
  their ideas in different styles – Marcus favors the pyrotechnics
  of elaborate figures of speech, where Mauritius offers brief
  glints of illumination amid obscurity.
  Father Mauritius took his vows late in life. His wife, Barbara,
  died not long after giving birth to his daughter. Two years later,
  he became a monk, giving his children into the care of his
  wife’s brother, and making provisions for their support. His
  superiors didn’t encourage, but tolerated his intermittent con-
  tact with them, and his being consulted in emergencies. His
  son, Antoninus, is a student at Cambridge, interested primarily
  in astronomy. He inherited his father’s Magery, but isn’t eager
  to pursue magic. His daughter, Miranda, at 16, has both talent
  and interest, particularly in Symbol Drawing, and has read
  some of his books, but has few options for serious training. She
  might be able to fit in at Shrewsbury Hall, if she thought of
  approaching so aristocratic a community.
  Father Mauritius can provide Thaumatology-18 as a Con-
  tact, and is Completely Reliable. He has Reputation +3 for his
  magical knowledge (Magical scholars; All the time) and +1 for
  his abilities as a spellcaster (Worminghall residents; 10 or
  less), but -1 for having worldly concerns – mainly his children
  (Worminghall residents; 7 or less). His Religious
  Rank 3 as a priest contributes to his Status 2
  (enhanced by his being a syndic); as a monk, he
  lives modestly, supported by the abbey, at a level
  equivalent to Status 0.
  OLAUS VERMENSIS
  Born Olaf Nilsson in Jutland, Master Olaus
  Vermensis is now one of Worminghall’s most
  brilliant
  wizards.
  Just
  turned
  30,
  he’s
  a
  respected teacher in the Element of Water. His
  mastery of Healing spells has brought him calls
  to several noble houses.
  Olaus leads a double life. Rumors tell of an
  ultimate healing spell, Resurrection, which can
  only be cast by a mage familiar with spirit
  magic. The quest has drawn Olaus to the study
  of unlicensed books, as one of a small group of
  necromancers (p. 33). He’s also active in the
  Arcanists (p. 33).
  Master Olaus has Status 1; Reputation +1 as
  a healer and learned man (Worminghall resi-
  dents; 10 or less); and Reputation +2 as a bril-
  liant theorist of magic (Magical scholars; All the
  time). As a Contact, Master Olaus provides the
  skill of Thaumatology-18 and is Somewhat Reli-
  able. He is not likely to become a Patron. His
  study of necromancy is a -10-point Secret: He
  might be blackmailed by the threat of exposure,
  or driven to commit greater crimes to avoid it.
  His being an Arcanist is only a -5-point Secret.
  ROGER BACON
  Roger Bacon is the syndic of Worminghall’s
  Faculty of Alchemy, which he himself founded in 1256, after
  quarreling with Henry of Lexington, who replaced Bacon’s
  close friend Robert Grossetete as Bishop of Lincoln (a diocese
  that then included Oxford). Now in his mid-80s, he retains
  much of his vigor. Worminghall rumor suggests that he has
  discovered alchemical methods of prolonging life.
  Originally trained in the Faculty of Arts, Bacon has come to
  hold high-flown philosophies in contempt. He believes in
  observing nature. He has spent many years compiling a list of
  alchemical formulations and testing whether they really work.
  In this pursuit, he has learned Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic, and
  he often condemns scholars who talk about books they can’t
  read in the original language. He’s also an advocate of prohibit-
  ing and burning books, including grimoires, that are shown to
  be forgeries of ancient texts. His talent for sarcasm makes him
  feared, but not liked, though many Worminghall scholars are
  perversely proud of his tirades.
  Bacon has little concern for wealth and is Status 0, but has
  Reputation +4 as a philosopher and alchemist (Scholars; All
  the time), which somewhat offsets his Odious Personal Habit
  of ferocious debate (-2 to reactions). As a Contact, Bacon pro-
  vides Alchemy-21 and is Usually Reliable. He may become a
  Patron for a gifted scholar, granting few material resources but
  a wide range of alchemical support – as he has for Dolores de
  Montoya (p. 19).
  NOTABLES
  32
  Magic Licit and Illicit
  Under canon law, the Church regulates or prohibits certain forms of
  magic on theological grounds (see also Folk Magic, p. 13).
  • Calling on spirits risks falling into worship of false gods. This
  applies to necromancy in general; to elemental spirit spells; to spells for
  visiting other planes; and to Divination by crystal balls or reflecting sur-
  faces (crystallomancy; using mirrors or pools is also called catoptro-
  mancy), examining a sacrificed animal’s entrails (extispicy), or
  consulting a medium (gastromancy). The advantages Channeling and
  Medium raise the same issues. LC0.
  • Divination of future events denies free will and trespasses on divine
  foreknowledge; this applies to Death Vision and Summon Shade. It
  would also apply to Timeport and spells for which it’s a prerequisite, if
  those had been discovered (see Uninvented Spells, p. 39). LC0.
  • Pretended divination, using Fortune-Telling, is criminal fraud; the
  fake diviner will be handed over to the secular authorities. LC0.
  • Divination of present or past events is questionable, as it reveals
  what God has concealed, but is not always prohibited. This applies to
  spells that reveal past events, remote present events, present events hid-
  den behind walls or under the earth – and present thoughts hidden in
  another’s mind. LC1.
  • Divination by interpretation of dreams (oneiromancy) is subject
  to fewer restrictions, because God can choose to reveal hidden truths
  through dreams. LC2 if the spell Divination is used; LC3 if the dream is
  interpreted without magic.
  • Other forms of spellcasting are permitted to mages trained within
  the Church. LC2.
  • Making use of natural magical qualities is lawful for anyone, sub-
  ject to Church inspection. This includes Herb Lore and Alchemy. LC3.
  • Praying for God’s help is always allowed. LC4.
  
  THOMAS LE BLANK
  If any one man gets credit for the uneasy truce between stu-
  dents and townsfolk of Worminghall, it’s the abbot of St.
  Mary’s. Thomas le Blank has a legitimate claim to respect from
  both sides: The Abbey is the town’s feudal overlord, and the
  residence of many of the university’s most renowned scholars
  and mages, and Thomas is the titular head of the university.
  This also gives him obligations to both sides, which he has
  managed to meet, by methods that sometimes stretch the lim-
  its of canon law. Before his election, he was St. Mary’s cellarer,
  which brought him into frequent contact with Worminghall
  merchants and enabled him to win their trust.
  Thomas is a large, hearty man. He often finds it necessary
  to entertain guests and join them at their food and wine. He
  can outdrink most of his guests, which helps make his argu-
  ments sound persuasive to them. He’s able to secure extra
  donations from a variety of sources, some of which go to fund
  his personal wine cellar.
  His position as abbot gives Thomas Religious Rank 4. This
  contributes to his Status 5. As a Contact, Abbot Thomas pro-
  vides Administration-21 and is Somewhat Reliable (he won’t
  lie outright, but may tell only part of the truth to give a mis-
  leading impression). Acting on his own behalf, he has Carous-
  ing-15. The abbey is a Patron worth 10 points.
  NOTABLES
  33
  Several people about the town have their own sorts of
  influence.
  HANNAH MOLESWORTH
  Hannah Molesworth is a widow in her mid-30s, with three
  children. She makes enough as a midwife to support them.
  One of three midwives in Worminghall, she is the most skilled,
  which lets her charge up to twice the customary fees. She also
  advises other midwives faced with difficult births, for 1/3 of the
  other midwife’s fee. Consequently, she’s seen a variety of
  obstetric problems.
  No one thinks it surprising that she gives her patients
  herbal preparations to ease their labor. Fewer people are
  aware of her broader knowledge of herbs, which can dupli-
  cate the effects of most of the common potions (GURPS
  Magic, pp. 211 and 213-219). She knows a few spells useful
  in her work: Far-Feeling, Lend Energy, Seek Plant, and Sense
  Life – and the generally convenient Ignite Fire. She avoids
  dealing with spirits, not only because the Church forbids it,
  but also because she’s seen less cautious witches make bad
  bargains. She collects some of her herbs in the Secret Grove
  (p. 28), and leaves small offerings, but doesn’t attend the
  quarterly gatherings held there.
  TOWNSFOLK
  Worminghall’s Faculty of Magic is devoted to the open
  practice of magic, regulated by canon law (see Magic Licit
  and Illicit, p. 32). However, some groups with distinctive
  approaches to magic aren’t so open. Membership in such a
  group is a Secret; it often grants access to some form of
  Hidden Lore, and some groups teach Cryptography.
  The GM has no obligation to let players create members
  of such groups. Esoteric groups are primarily story ele-
  ments – hidden adversaries to be opposed, secret forces to
  be discovered, or elites to be courted. If players are allowed
  to create esoteric mages, it’s fair to treat this as an Unusual
  Background: 5 points for a merely private organization; 10
  points for a secretive one.
  Arcanists
  Canon law forbids not only casting certain spells, but
  even reading certain books – because they contain forbid-
  den spells, because they discuss such spells in too much
  detail, because they preserve ancient pagan sorceries, or
  even because they’re falsely attributed to ancient authors
  (see Roger Bacon, p. 32). Not all mages accept such
  restrictions. Some believe it possible to devise Christian
  versions of potent pagan spells, or dream of finding uni-
  versal laws of thaumatology by comparing spells from
  diverse traditions. Whatever their motives, they believe
  that the study of all magical books should be permitted –
  not to ordinary people, but to responsible scholars. Some
  of these mages meet, very quietly, to exchange books and
  relics, and to discuss obscure texts and the approaches to
  magic they suggest. Invitation to join requires approval
  from 2/3 of the members. As a Secret, membership is
  worth -5 points.
  Necromancers
  Ritual magic, which calls on spirits, is prohibited as
  black magic (Magic Licit and Illicit, p. 32). However, a
  gray penumbra surrounds it. Some mages argue that even
  if invoking spirits is forbidden, knowing spells that do so
  – for example, as prerequisites to other spells – may be
  justifiable. Others believe that sufficient care in their rit-
  uals will keep them safe. Pursuit of such knowledge is a
  Secret worth -10 points.
  Edmund Younghusband (p. 20) and Olaus Vermensis
  (p. 32) are both members of the “invisible college.” The
  third member, Jacobus Calvus, a teacher of protective
  spells from the Element of Earth, seeks knowledge to
  ensure his own safety from malignant spirits; treat him as
  suffering from Paranoia.
  Esoteric Coteries
  
  Hannah’s earnings support her at Status 1, which includes
  generous gifts to the Church. She particularly favors the Hos-
  pital of the Franciscan Sisters. As a woman, she has Social
  Stigma (Second-Class Citizen). Her Reputation +2 as a skilled
  and discrete midwife (Worminghall women; All the time) gets
  her respectful treatment from many who are theoretically her
  betters. As a Contact, she can provide Herb Lore-18 and is
  Completely Reliable. She might be a teacher or a Patron to a
  woman honestly desiring to become a midwife; someone who
  wants to learn Herb Lore for its own sake, or any man, would
  find her harder to persuade.
  ISENGRIM ST. JOHN
  As a lord of the Welsh Marches, Abbot Thomas holds the
  right to command the garrison in the Tower (p. 22), on King
  Edward’s behalf. However, abbots aren’t chosen for military
  experience. Actual command is exercised by a lieutenant – in
  this era, a French phrase meaning “place holder” rather than a
  specific military rank. Thomas’ current lieutenant is Isengrim
  St. John.
  St. John is the third son of a minor noble family in Here-
  fordshire. He was trained as a squire, and saw service in the
  Welsh border struggle, during which he passed through
  Worminghall and met Thomas’ predecessor. Twelve years ago,
  after the murder of his own predecessor (The Raven’s Nest,
  p. 28), he offered his services to command the Tower garrison,
  and was accepted. He settled in Worminghall, and eight
  months later, he married Eleanor de Warin, the sister of a fel-
  low squire. They now have two sons, Robert and Lysander.
  St. John was initially cautious about Abbot Thomas, fearing
  that he might lose his place under the new abbot, but the two
  have learned to work together. Thomas trusts St. John’s judg-
  ment as to what issues require his attention and what should
  be dealt with through routine. St. John prefers actual warfare
  to military ceremony, and chooses his subordinates accord-
  ingly (see Samuel Deacon, p. 22). He calls his soldiers “the
  worst rogues that ever scaped hanging,” but he keeps them
  ready for active service. This includes personally leading some
  mounted patrols outside Worminghall and providing cross
  training in basic cavalry tactics.
  St. John has Military Rank 3 as a garrison commander, and
  his pay and savings make him Wealthy; both contribute to his
  Status 3. He also has Reputation +1 as a fair commander (His
  men; All the time) and as a competent soldier (Other English
  military leaders; 10 or less). If taken as a Contact, he can pro-
  vide Tactics-18 and is Usually Reliable; he provides this to
  Abbot Thomas, for example. He acts as a Patron to his men but
  isn’t normally available to anyone else. He and Master Alanus
  (p. 31) met during the border war and now get together “to tell
  old war stories.” In fact, St. John finds Alanus’ political intelli-
  gence useful – and carefully avoids asking how he learned it.
  RALPH LE NORMAND
  The younger son of a prosperous local family, Ralph le
  Normand went into the Church after studying at Oxford. In his
  mid-30s, family connections got him a position at the Church
  of St. John the Baptist in Worminghall. Two years ago, he was
  promoted to the senior priesthood when Father Edward Clive
  died of a fever.
  Father Ralph is a tall man with aristocratic looks inherited
  from his ancestor John, a mercenary soldier nicknamed “le
  Normand” because other soldiers thought he was a nobleman’s
  bastard. He can afford to dress well, spending most of his
  clothing budget on priestly vestments. He’s not a brilliant the-
  ologian, but he is good at Politics, Public Speaking, Religious
  Ritual, and Savoir-Faire, helped by a resonant, well-trained
  voice. He sets a good table, where Abbot Thomas is a regular
  guest. His sermons tend to address the wealthier citizens,
  whose views he mostly shares.
  Father Ralph has been quietly working to persuade the
  Bishop of Hereford (the diocese where Worminghall lies) to
  proclaim him a dean, with the power to inspect churches and
  religious communities in his area and to judge canon law
  cases. This could be a touchy subject with Abbot Thomas; he
  would still be the lord of Worminghall, but his religious auton-
  omy would be lessened, and he would lose his judicial rights
  over students and faculty. If Father Ralph handles the proposal
  badly, he could end up in a feud within the Church, or even set
  off riots in the streets (Local Politics, p. 12).
  Father Ralph has Religious Rank 4 and Status 2, along with
  Reputation +1 for preaching well (Upper-class townsfolk; All
  the time). As a Contact, Father Ralph provides Savoir-Faire
  (High Society)-18 and is Usually Reliable.
  RED JOHN
  In spite of the disreputable clientele at the Sting (pp. 24-25),
  its owner, Red John, is an important man in Worminghall. His
  tavern brings enough wealth to buy the mask of respectability.
  If that wealth comes from selling watered ale, providing
  thieves a private place to meet, and, according to rumor, fenc-
  ing stolen goods – that’s only business.
  It helps that Red John has an understanding with Abbot
  Thomas. He donates regularly to the abbey, in substantial
  amounts. The townspeople joke that he needs to pay a lot for sal-
  vation from his sins. The abbot is willing to have an outlet for
  human frailties, so long as Red John keeps them under control.
  Red John’s wealth lets him afford Status 2, but he also has
  Reputation -1 for dishonest practices (Worminghall citizens;
  All the time). The keepers of taverns inside the city have as lit-
  tle to do with him as possible, partly out of resentment at his
  being exempt from guild regulations, partly from simple envy
  of his wealth. As a Contact, Red John provides Streetwise-18
  and is Unreliable. He can be a Patron but will demand a lot of
  service in return. He can also be a dangerous Enemy. The
  details of his extra-legal dealings are a -20-point Secret, which
  he will defend ruthlessly if necessary.
  NOTABLES
  34
  Oh, do not tell the Priest our plight,
  Or he would call it a sin;
  But – we have been out in the
  woods all night,
  A-conjuring Summer in!
  – Rudyard Kipling,
  “A Tree Song”
  
  Worminghall can play varied roles in a campaign, from the
  briefly sketched scene of a single encounter, to a complete
  environment to be explored at length.
  JUST VISITING
  Adventurers might visit or pass through Worminghall for a
  variety of reasons.
  • It’s on their way from someplace to someplace else. They
  could be taking the road west from England to Wales, or boat-
  ing up or down the Severn. Reasons for travel could be war,
  trade, a pilgrimage, or escorting a bride to her wedding.
  • They could be friends or family of a student.
  • They could need information on some arcane topic, mag-
  ical or otherwise.
  • They could need actual magical serv-
  ices: an enchantment, the brewing of a
  potion, or the breaking of a curse. Worm-
  inghall has one of the highest concentra-
  tions of mages in Europe, and some of the
  most skilled.
  • They could have magical valuables to
  sell, perhaps acquired in an adventure: gri-
  moires, enchanted objects, or body parts of
  rare and dangerous beasts.
  • They could be sent to investigate
  some crime or other problem, either by the
  king or by the Church. Getting the local fac-
  tions to play along would be one of the big
  challenges of such an inquiry.
  A related option is to have adventurers
  come from Worminghall, but not stay there.
  The first session or two could show their
  last days in town before their actual adven-
  tures begin.
  CAMPAIGNS
  An ongoing campaign set in Worming-
  hall will likely be about students of magic. A
  major choice for such a campaign is how
  much emphasis to give to studying and
  learning. On one hand, classroom activities
  can be kept in the background, like a regu-
  lar nonadventuring job that pays the bills.
  The GM could even have players make monthly “study rolls”
  (p. 36) and keep track of learning accordingly. On the other
  hand, classroom scenes can be dramatic: clashes with teach-
  ers, rivalries with other students, debates over magical lore,
  first attempts to cast spells (Magical Instruction, p. 8), even
  martial-arts-like “training montages.”
  Life outside the classroom can easily become exciting. A
  student who gets involved in heresy or prohibited magic will be
  called before the university authorities, but few other restric-
  tions exist. Students can have rivalries, and test newly learned
  spells in magical contests. They can acquire friends and ene-
  mies, and get drawn into factions. They can spend their nights
  at taverns, or get into fights with townsfolk. If they get into
  trouble – or if trouble comes looking for them – they’ll be
  mostly on their own.
  ADVENTURES AND CAMPAIGNS
  35
  CHAPTER FIVE
  ADVENTURES
  AND CAMPAIGNS
  Genres and Themes
  GURPS Fantasy (pp. 6-7) discusses the various genres of fantasy. Worm-
  inghall can be adapted to different styles, to suit the GM’s preferences.
  Sword and Sorcery: With most protagonists being mages, this works best
  as dungeon fantasy. Discovering and exploring the legendary dragon’s lair
  (A Deeper Mystery, p. 28) can be the focus in this kind of campaign. This theme
  is most appropriate for older students who’ve learned spells suited to combat.
  High Fantasy: To gain the proper sense of myth, tie the ongoing struggle
  between England and Wales to supernatural forces, with angels or pagan
  spirits supporting the cause of one or the other land. Students at Merlin Hall
  (p. 19) could be drawn into this – but so could young, naïve students, if they
  have a suitable Destiny. The actual Merlin (or Morgana) might be somewhere
  in the background.
  Low Fantasy: Classwork, university politics, and daily life in a medieval
  city are a natural starting point for stories of real life in a fantastic setting. Fol-
  low a group of students through apprenticeships in sorcery, and encounters
  with university and city politics.
  Light Fantasy: Young people’s misadventures are a classic theme for com-
  edy! Miscast spells give them an entire new set of ways to get into trouble.
  This kind of campaign is perfect for a band of Goliards who don’t take their
  studies too seriously.
  Dark Fantasy: Necromancy is a readymade theme for exploring the bor-
  ders between fantasy and horror. To make it more personal, have a necro-
  mancer’s students realize that their master has been bargaining with evil
  spirits, and that some of what he’s taught them has been forbidden arts. Can
  they extricate themselves from entanglement with dark powers?
  
  An important issue for a student-focused campaign is how
  far along in their studies the students are. First- and second-
  year students seldom know any magic when they enter, and
  don’t learn any until they’ve mastered Symbol Drawing and
  started on the liberal arts (The Arts, p. 8). Players may find this
  dull – but this is also when students form relationships. Third-
  and fourth-year students will know several basic spells (Study
  Rolls, below). More advanced students will know spells with
  prerequisites in their chosen Element (Appendix, pp. 38-39) –
  and a campaign can emphasize making good use of a limited
  repertoire. Advanced students are often asked to give short lec-
  tures to beginning students as well. Masters of Magic, with
  seven or more years, may stay around to study Thaumatology
  and research arcane magics. They might be recruited for fac-
  ulty projects such as enchantment or magical investigation;
  some of these assignments may send them on long journeys,
  turning Worminghall into a base.
  The GM may want to run a prologue, a few sessions long,
  starting with matriculation (First Day at School, p. 5) and cov-
  ering early class sessions and exploring the town. After this,
  campaign time can jump ahead a few years, to show the same
  students after they learn some real magic.
  For a more action-focused campaign, have the PCs be
  young recruits of Merlin Hall (p. 19), trained in combat and
  covert action as well as magic. They’ll help keep watch on the
  streets of Worminghall, and be sent out into the countryside
  for practical training. In an emergency, they may be thrown
  into a secret mission.
  The protagonists could be masters rather than students.
  Enchanters could gather resources for major new projects.
  Thaumatologists could invent new spells, or recover forgotten
  ones. There could be more than one “invisible college”
  (Esoteric Coteries, p. 33). Alternatively, masters could focus on
  academic politics and advancement within their faculties.
  Students of different years, or even students and masters,
  could come together in a campaign. Give them all the same
  character points; the masters and older students can put theirs
  into spells, while the new students have Wealth, social posi-
  tion, or social or combat skills.
  A different variant could focus on the Faculty of Canon
  Law. Scholars from this area may be called on to resolve ques-
  tions of the legality of magic (see Christianus Parvus, p. 31). An
  inquisitor appointed by the Church could serve as Patron to a
  mixed team of scholars, street-smart Goliards, and sorcerers,
  both forensic and combat-oriented, in a sort of “police proce-
  dural” campaign.
  SAMPLE ENCOUNTERS
  This section provides a number of potential encounters on
  the streets of Worminghall. Some are just “local color”; others
  could blossom into adventures.
  Goliards
  Of all the students at the university, Goliards are often the
  least studious. Many spend their time drinking, pursuing
  women, fighting, and writing songs about the pleasures of stu-
  dent life. They may not attend lectures, and any books they
  own may be in the pawnshop. But if one of them hurts some-
  body in a fight, or is accused of some other form of lawbreak-
  ing, he’ll point to his standing as a cleric to turn away legal
  punishment – and he’ll know the proper Latin legal phrases to
  justify the claim.
  In fact, most Goliards know a fair bit of Latin. They
  work Latin sayings into conversation, and they write
  songs in Latin, or in English words with Latin end-
  ings added, a style called “macaronic.”
  Young men newly admitted as students are likely
  to encounter a Goliard band. Traditionally, a new
  student takes his fellow students to dinner (First Day
  at School, p. 5). Goliards are quick to spot such new
  students and demand to join their feasts, even if
  they’re much richer than the bejaunus. Older stu-
  dents may face satirical rhymes and other harass-
  ment
  from
  Goliards
  who
  think
  they’re
  “too
  studious.” The practical jokes get worse if the
  Goliards have actually learned a few spells.
  In serious “town and gown” conflicts, Goliards
  are likely to turn out in force – and some are actu-
  ally trained to fight. They may be a little too eager
  for a fight, and get the university into unnecessary
  conflicts. Older scholars would quietly appreciate
  someone calming them down.
  Monitors
  Dinner is being served at the lodging house
  where a group of adventurers live when a group of
  students walk in, display a piece of parchment, and
  demand to sample the food and wine. This is a surprise inspec-
  tion; the lodging house doesn’t normally take in students, but
  at least one of the adventurers will be a mage or otherwise fall
  under the university’s jurisdiction. The owner will protest, but
  then share out as much food as the cook has prepared, while
  frantically sending out for more. The food will run short. The
  monitors will make up for this with wine, and may grow bel-
  ligerent or threaten to have the owner fined.
  ADVENTURES AND CAMPAIGNS
  36
  Study Rolls
  Being a student isn’t a job: You don’t make any money from it.
  However, it does grant nonfinancial benefits! It can be treated like
  a job, with monthly rolls. A normal year’s work allows eight study
  rolls: three for Michaelmas term, and five divided between
  Epiphany and Easter terms (Terms, p. 5). (Making study rolls
  exactly for a full academic year grants 4 points of skills; see below.)
  Prerequisites: Broken or better Latin; acceptance by a master.
  Job Roll: Will+Magery. Treat critical failure as magical critical
  failure on any spell you know (chosen by the GM). If you don’t
  know any spells yet, become ill from stress and lose 1d/2 months of
  study (round up, and include the current month). On a natural 18,
  roll vs. your master’s loyalty to see if he lets you go.
  Monthly Benefits: 100 hours of training. Add or subtract 10
  hours per point of success or failure. Critical success is an intellec-
  tual leap of insight that grants 300 hours of training in that month.
  Wealth Level: Any, from Dead Broke to Filthy Rich (wealthier
  families can hire tutors).
  
  If the adventurers can cajole the monitors
  into accepting the meal, or help the owner pro-
  vide more food, he’ll be very grateful. If they
  throw the monitors out, he’ll be almost equally
  grateful, but feel obliged to rebuke them, to
  avoid looking as if he instigated the quarrel. The
  monitors aren’t trained warriors, but some are
  experienced brawlers, or know a few spells; few
  householders want trouble with them.
  The Nightmare
  Students in the house of one of the masters –
  the PCs, or their friends – begin waking up in the
  night from disturbing dreams. All of these have
  similar imagery: anguished faces, bleeding
  wounds, laughing inhuman figures, and hints of
  some sort of ritual. The effects are the same as
  for a failed self-control roll for the Nightmares
  disadvantage (pp. B144-145)
  To interpret the dreams, roll vs. Fortune-
  Telling (Dream Interpretation) or IQ-5; roll vs.
  IQ to remember them well enough to tell them
  to a Contact or some other scholar with that
  skill. Any success suggests that the dreams
  might be a portrayal of some sacrificial ritual –
  that is, of black magic! A margin of success of 4
  or better indicates that the point of view is that
  of the victims, who are angry that their deaths
  are unavenged. The spell Divination (Oneiro-
  mancy) – should any dreamer know it – yields no
  meaningful information.
  However, neither city nor Church officials
  have any knowledge of murdered bodies, nor of
  recent disappearances. A search of the house, if
  one is made, won’t find human remains buried
  there, either.
  The dreams are actually fictions, sent into the minds of the
  sleepers by Master Davidus, a young and not very successful
  master in the Element of Air. He accomplishes this by casting
  Dream Sending-18, his most effective spell. Davidus resents
  the success of the dreamers’ master, and hopes to drive away
  his students. A dreamer who can remember his own dreams
  in specific detail, and apply Fortune-Telling (Dream Interpre-
  tation) to them, will perceive a blurring of details suggesting
  that they have been deliberately made obscure and threaten-
  ing – as they have, with Davidus’ Artist (Illusion)-16 skill.
  Figuring this out, whether by dream interpretation or some
  other method, doesn’t end the visions. It does enable the
  inquisitors to take more effective countermeasures, or to try to
  figure out who’s sending the nightmares their way, and why.
  The Thief
  Students who have visited the Pilgrim (p. 24) in the past
  few sessions – if they’re visibly well-off, and especially if they
  were ill-mannered or cheap – may discover that their rooms
  have been visited while they were out. Any coin they hid has
  been found and taken, along with small valuables such as sil-
  ver cups. More unusually, their books are gone. What kind of
  thief steals books?
  The answer might surprise them: The thief is Kate, the red-
  headed barmaid at the Pilgrim. Though young, she’s skilled at
  Search, Stealth, Climbing, and Forced Entry. Passing
  Appearance (Androgyny) lets her look like a boy, with her hair
  under a hood to make her less recognizable. The mate on a
  river barge is a Contact who buys her valuables (Dickon the
  Mate, p. 25) – but she keeps the books for herself.
  ADVENTURES AND CAMPAIGNS
  37
  The Hermit
  Both townspeople and students in Worminghall tell stories of the
  Hermit, a mysterious figure clad in monastic robes, with a cowl that
  covers his face. Supposedly, he’s seen only at night, usually on back
  streets. If a student goes beyond simple pranks and carousing to actu-
  ally harming others, taking advantage of his near-immunity to the law,
  it’s said the Hermit will stop him and chastise him with a beating.
  The Hermit carries a staff and is skilled in using it. He’s never been
  seen to cast a spell, but spells don’t affect him, either. He moves so
  silently and mysteriously that many think he’s using spells to cover his
  tracks. No one has ever heard him speak.
  Does he really exist? If so, who is he, and what’s the purpose of his
  actions? That’s a perennial debate, in taverns all over Worminghall. If
  the GM decides he’s real, not just an urban legend, here are a few pos-
  sible answers. Whatever the GM picks, the players should be kept
  guessing as long as possible.
  • He’s an actual friar, offended by students who don’t act like the
  clergy the law declares them to be, visiting righteous wrath upon them.
  • He’s an agent of some powerful clergyman such as Father Ralph
  (p. 34) or Abbot Thomas (p. 33).
  • He’s one of the townspeople, striking a blow for the rights of the
  laity and trying to misdirect suspicion.
  • He’s a madman with incomprehensible motives.
  • He’s a spirit, probably evil, called up by a spell that went wrong,
  and free to stalk the earth.
  • He’s the spirit of Worminghall itself, brought into being by the
  collective belief of the townspeople acting on the local supernatural
  forces (see The Tulpa in GURPS Horror, p. 81).
  • He’s an avenging angel, sent by God to punish the sinful.
  One wall of the room was lined with bookshelves, and on them you could
  find titles such as Six Centuries of English Spells, Nameless Horrors and
  What to Do about Them, An Answer for Night-Hags, and, of course,
  the dreaded Krankenhammer of Stefan Schimpf, the mad cobbler of Mainz.
  – John Bellairs, The Face in the Frost
  
  The magic taught at Worminghall, image magic, is basically
  standard (mana-based) GURPS magic (pp. B234-253). How-
  ever, it has some differences in game mechanics, along the
  lines discussed in GURPS Thaumatology (pp. 19-63).
  Image mages don’t group the spells they do know into the
  standard colleges. Rather, most of them are assigned to the
  Elements of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire (The Elements of
  Magic, p. 8), with some being taught in more than one
  Element, or even in all four. This changes some aspects of
  magical practice (Learning and Using Magic, p. 39).
  A number of spells aren’t found in image magic grimoires:
  They haven’t been invented yet, their inventors haven’t chosen
  to reveal them, or they aren’t part of the image magic tradition.
  (Some of the last are illegal; see Magic Licit and Illicit, p. 32.)
  ELEMENTAL AFFINITIES
  In image magic, 19 of the standard 24 colleges of spells in
  GURPS Magic are divided among the Elements as follows.
  The Element of Air includes Air, Communication and
  Empathy, Knowledge, Sound, and Weather spells.
  The Element of Earth includes Body Control, Earth, Food,
  Making and Breaking, and Protection and Warning spells.
  The Element of Fire includes Fire, Illusion and Creation,
  Light and Darkness, Mind Control, and Movement spells.
  The Element of Water includes Animal, Healing, Plant, and
  Water spells.
  The currently known spells in each college are assigned to
  its Element, with a few exceptions (Reassigned Spells, below).
  Some spells have not yet been discovered and are not currently
  known (Uninvented Spells, p. 39).
  MULTIPLE OR
  DIVIDED AFFINITIES
  The remaining colleges aren’t so straightforward. Some
  belong equally to all the Elements; a mage from any Element
  can use them. Some are divided into subgroups assigned to
  different elements. Some subgroups, and one entire college,
  aren’t included in image magic at all (Other Traditions, p. 39).
  A few individual spells are assigned differently (Reassigned
  Spells, below).
  Enchantment spells belong equally to all the Elements.
  Gate spells are divided into subgroups. Some aren’t part of
  image magic; some haven’t been invented yet; some are
  assigned to the Element of Fire.
  Meta-spells belong equally to all the Elements.
  Necromantic spells aren’t included in image magic.
  Technological spells are split into subgroups. Most of these
  spells haven’t been invented yet.
  REASSIGNED SPELLS
  Some individual spells are reassigned to the following
  Elements.
  Air: Death Vision, Detect Poison, Nightingale, Sense
  Danger, Sense Observation, and Watchdog.
  Earth: Body of Metal, Identify Metal, Magnetic Vision,
  Metal Vision, and Shape Metal.
  Fire: Accelerate Time, Blink, Blink Other, Create Door, Hide
  Object, Sanctuary, Slow Time, Suspend Time, Teleport,
  Teleport Other, and Time Out; plus Beacon, Create Gate,
  Divert Teleport, Rapid Journey, and Trace Teleport (only the
  versions used with Teleport).
  Water: Create Fuel, Preserve Fuel, Purify Fuel, Seek Fuel,
  and Test Fuel.
  All four Elements: Aura, Banish, Control Gate, Detect Magic,
  Lend Energy, Recover Energy, Scry Gate, Seek Gate, and
  Share Energy.
  MODIFIED SPELLS
  A number of spells are applied in distinctive ways, reflect-
  ing the culture and tech level.
  Bless: In a campaign set in Worminghall, the requirement
  for “holy” or “good” standing to cast this spell should apply.
  The conduct that maintains this standing can be represented
  as Disciplines of Faith, Fanaticism (in a righteous cause),
  Sense of Duty (Coreligionists), or an appropriate Vow.
  Create Fuel, Preserve Fuel, Purify Fuel, Seek Fuel, and Test
  Fuel: The primary fuel, even in England, is wood; these spells
  belong to the Element of Water, along with Plant spells.
  Curse: Similar to Bless, but either a very holy person (in
  righteous wrath) or a very unholy one (in plain malevolence)
  can cast it. The conduct required of an unholy caster can take
  the form of Fanaticism (in an evil cause), Intolerance, or an
  appropriate Vow (such as making sacrificial offerings or taking
  cruel vengeance on a foe).
  IMAGE MAGIC
  38
  APPENDIX
  IMAGE MAGIC
  ’Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish’d
  me.
  – Christopher Marlowe,
  The Tragical History
  of Dr. Faustus
  
  Find Direction: Available in the Elements of Earth and
  Water in addition to the Element of Air.
  Measurement: The things that can be measured in this era
  are length, area, and volume; weight; and musical pitch. This
  spell works for any of them.
  Sense Life: Available in the Element of Water in addition to
  the Element of Air.
  UNINVENTED SPELLS
  The following spells have not yet been discovered, but future
  image mages may do so. If that happens, they can be assigned to
  the following Elements. Spells marked with a † would be good
  projects in a campaign focused on magical research.
  Air: Body of Air,† Body of Lightning,† Body of Wind, Essen-
  tial Air,† and Radio Hearing.
  Earth: All Machine spells; Body of Metal,† Body of Stone,†
  Essential Earth,† and Essential Food.†
  Fire: All Radiation spells; Body of Flames,† Body of Shadow,†
  Conduct Power, Draw Power, Essential Flame,† Lend Power,
  Propel, Seek Power, Spectrum Vision, Steal Power, Stop Power,
  Timeport, Timeport Other, Timeslip, and Timeslip Other; and
  Beacon, Create Gate, Divert Teleport, Rapid Journey, and Trace
  Teleport (the versions used with Timeport).
  Water: All Plastic spells; Acid Ball, Acid Jet, Body of Ice, Body
  of Slime,† Body of Water,† Body of Wood,† Create Acid,† Essen-
  tial Acid, Essential Fuel,† Essential Water,† Essential Wood,†
  Homunculus, Rain of Acid,† Resist Acid, and Spit Acid.
  All four Elements: Charge Powerstone, Powerstone,† and
  Sanctuary. (Manastone was recently discovered; see The Enigma
  Shop, p. 20.)
  OTHER TRADITIONS
  Some spells only exist in traditions outside image magic.
  These follow the usual rules for prerequisites, and image
  mages can learn them with suitable training, but anyone with
  One Element Only is out of luck! Two such traditions are dis-
  cussed in Folk Magic (p. 20) – natural magic, which does not
  use spells; and ritual magic. Gaining access to ritual magic
  spells is no easy task for image mages.
  Ritual magic spells involve dealing with or calling on
  spirits (Magic Licit and Illicit, p. 32). Image magic uses sym-
  bols in its spells to represent natural things; it does not call on
  spirits or affect them. Spells not known in image magic
  include the following:
  All Necromantic spells (except Banish and Death Vision).
  All versions of Control, Create, and Summon Elemental.
  Astral Block, Doppelgänger, Golem, Lich, Phase, Phase Other,
  Planar Summons, Planar Visit, Plane Shift, Plane Shift
  Other, Repel Spirits, Resurrection, Simulacrum, Soul
  Stone, and Wraith.
  Beacon, Create Gate, Divert Teleport, Rapid Journey, and
  Trace Teleport (the versions used with Plane Shift).
  Divination (the Crystal-Gazing, Extispicy, and Gastromancy
  versions) and Crystal Ball.
  IMAGE MAGIC
  39
  As discussed in GURPS Fantasy (pp. 129, 160), hav-
  ing four Elements rather than 24 colleges alters both the
  handling of prerequisite counts, and the cost of One Col-
  lege Only.
  Prerequisite Counts
  The reclassification of spells means prerequisite counts
  have to work differently. If a spell’s prerequisite is a specific
  other spell, that doesn’t change. If it’s some number of
  other spells of any type, that usually doesn’t change either.
  However, two other types of prerequisite have to change.
  If the prerequisite is some number of spells from a sin-
  gle college, the new requirement is that same number of
  spells from the Element that college is assigned to.
  Example: The prerequisite for Lightning, 6 Air spells,
  changes to “6 spells from the Element of Air.”
  If the prerequisite is, for example, “one or more spells
  from each of seven different colleges,” the requirement
  usually changes to some number of spells from each of the
  four Elements. Divide the number of prerequisites listed in
  GURPS Magic by four, and round to the nearest whole
  number, to find the number of prerequisites per Element
  (round halves up!).
  Example: Magic Resistance requires “Magery 1 and one
  or more spells from each of seven different colleges.” Seven
  divided by four is 1.75, which rounds to 2. So in image
  magic, Magic Resistance’s prerequisite is “Magery 1 and
  two or more spells from each Element.”
  This affects the following spells: Accelerate Time, Banish,
  Enchantment, Find Weakness, Lend Spell, Magic Resist-
  ance, Remove Curse, Slow Time, Suspend Curse, Suspend
  Magery, Suspend Mana, Telecast, Teleport, Weather Dome,
  and Wish.
  Two spells are special cases:
  Body of Wind: Magery 3; Body of Air and Windstorm
  at 16+ each; and two spells from each of the three other
  Elements.
  Freedom: Three spells from each of Air, Earth, and Fire.
  One-Element Magery
  One College Only (p. B67) is a limitation on Magery
  worth -40%. However, the Elements are much broader
  than the standard colleges. Therefore, the corresponding
  limitation is worth less:
  One Element Only: Your Magery is restricted to spells
  belonging to a single Element. This includes a few of the
  spells shared by all the Elements: Aura, Counterspell,
  Detect Magic, Great Ward, Lend Energy, Recover Energy,
  Reflect, Scroll, Scryguard, Scrywall, Share Energy, Sus-
  pend Spell, and Ward. The restriction’s effects on spells
  from other Elements are the same as for One College
  Only. -20%.
  Learning and Using Image Magic
  
  Abbey, see St. Mary’s Abbey.
  Abbot, 7, 12, 33.
  Abbot’s Mill, 25.
  Adventures, 35; example, 36-37;
  see also Campaigns.
  Alchemy, census, 9; Faculty of,
  8, 32; house, 18; master, 18,
  19, 32.
  Alisoun, Mistress, 20.
  Allan o’the Dell, 23.
  Almoner, 16.
  Apothecary, 25-26.
  Arcanists, 33; known, 20, 32.
  Area Knowledge skill, 14, 15.
  Arithmetic, 8.
  Arts, 7, 8; census, 9; Faculty of,
  9; notable masters, 16, 17,
  20.
  Astronomy, 8.
  Augustinian Priory, 15.
  Bachelor designation, 7.
  Bacon, Roger, 18, 19, 32.
  Bailiff, 16.
  Bargemen, 13, 22, 23, 27.
  Baths, 25.
  Beggar Master, 20.
  Beggars, 26.
  Beggars’ Shrine, 27.
  Bernard, Father, 18.
  Bezoars, 13.
  Bigod, Margaret, 19.
  Books, price of, 21.
  Bracton, Alys, 19.
  Buildings, materials, 14.
  Caledoniensis, Archemboldus,
  8, 18.
  Calvus, Jacobus, 7, 33.
  Campaigns, 35-36; genres and
  themes, 35; sample
  encounters, 36-37;
  uses in, 4.
  Canon Law, campaigns, 36;
  census, 9; Faculty of, 9;
  notable masters, 31.
  Canonical hours, 6.
  Castrensis, Odo, 7.
  Cecil, Brother, 8, 17.
  Celebrations, 5, 26.
  Cellarer, 16.
  Census eruditorum, 9.
  Chancellor, 7, 16.
  Churches, 21-22.
  City stats, 12.
  Civil disorder, 13.
  Classrooms, 14.
  Clement, Master, 25.
  Cliff House, 17.
  Crime, 6-7, 12, 13; magic, 7, 32;
  taverns, 24, 25.
  Cross-quarter days, 28.
  Curriculum, 7-9; see also
  Lessons.
  Cyprian House, 18.
  Davies, Margaret, 21.
  de Montoya, Dolores, 19.
  Deacon, Samuel, 22.
  Delisle, Mariot, 19.
  Dialectic, 8.
  Dickon the Mate, 25.
  Disputations, 10, 24.
  Divination spells, 32.
  Doctor designation, 7.
  Dragon’s lair, 28.
  Easter, 5.
  Economy, 13, 14.
  Elements, notable masters, 8;
  spells, 38-39; syndics, 7; see
  also Magic, specific masters.
  Enigma Shop, 20.
  Epiphany, 5, 26.
  Equipment, writing, 21.
  Esoteric coteries, 33.
  Faculties, 7-9; census, 9;
  Element masters, 8; syndics,
  7.
  Favor advantage, 6.
  Fisher, Robert, 23.
  Florentinus, Marcus, 8, 20.
  Foxe, Kate, 24, 37.
  Gate House, 23.
  Geometry, 8.
  Georgius, 16.
  Gib the Tailor, 25.
  Godwin, Robin, 20-21.
  Godwin’s Books, 20-21.
  Goldsmith, Imogen, 25.
  Goliards, 6, 13; beggars and, 26;
  encounters, 36.
  Good Shepherd’s Church, 21.
  Grammar, 8.
  Green Dragon, 23.
  Guestmaster, 16.
  GURPS, 8, 38; Banestorm, 4;
  Basic Set, 8; City Stats, 4;
  Fantasy, 4, 35, 39; Horror,
  37; Low-Tech, 9; Magic, 4,
  8, 19, 24, 33, 38, 39; Magic:
  Spell Charts, 4; Martial
  Arts, 22; Mass Combat, 4,
  22; Powers, 27, 28; Power-
  Ups 2: Perks, 7;
  Thaumatology, 4, 28, 38;
  Thaumatology: Urban
  Magics, 4.
  Halberd (tavern), 23.
  Half Moon, 23.
  Hammer and Sickle, 23.
  Harold, Father, 21.
  Henricius, Father, 16.
  Herb Lore skill, 13.
  Heresy, 7, 32.
  Hermit, the, 20, 37.
  Hidden places, 27.
  Hilda, Mother, 16.
  History, 11.
  Holly and Ivy, 23.
  Hospital of the Franciscan
  Sisters, 15.
  Hours of the day, 6.
  House of Doctor Christianus,
  18.
  House of the Alchemists, 18.
  Hunter’s Horn, 23.
  Infirmarian, 16.
  Invisible college, 33; see also
  Necromancy.
  Ius ubique docendi, 7.
  Jenkyn the Apothecary,
  25-26.
  Jocund advent, 5.
  King Henry’s Inn, 18.
  Kitchener, 16.
  Langland, James, 24; John, 24.
  Latin, Goliards and, 36;
  students and, 5, 6, 8, 19;
  townsfolk, 13.
  Laurentius, Brother, 7.
  Law, Canon, see Canon Law.
  le Blank, Thomas, 7, 12, 33.
  le Normand, Ralph, 21, 22, 34.
  Leclerc, Michael, 19.
  Lectures, 9.
  Lessons, basic, 6, 9-10;
  curriculum, 7-9; magic, 8,
  10, 36, 39; study rolls, 36.
  Liberal arts instruction, 7-8.
  Ludlow, John, 22.
  Macer, Renatus, 8, 17.
  Magery (One Element)
  advantage, 39.
  Magic, census, 9; esoteric
  groups, 33; Faculty of, 9;
  folk, 13, 28, 39; image, 13,
  38-39; learning, 8, 10, 36,
  39; licit and illicit, 7, 32;
  natural, 13, 32, 39; notable
  masters and teachers, 8, 16,
  17, 20, 31-33; ritual, 13, 39;
  women and, 13; see also
  Spells.
  Mannering, Nicholas, 26.
  Mannering’s Wineshop, 26.
  Manticore House, 18-19.
  Maps, 29-30.
  Marianus, Brother, 16.
  Markets, 14, 26.
  Martial-arts instructor, 22.
  Master designation, 7.
  Masters, 5; finding, 6;
  residences, 14; specific, 8,
  16, 17, 20, 31-33.
  Matthias, Gregory, 20.
  Medicine, census, 9; Faculty of,
  9; notable masters, 16.
  Merlin Hall, 19.
  Michaelmas, 5.
  Military, Tower, 14, 22; using
  Mass Combat, 22.
  Mills, 25.
  Mithraeum, 27.
  Mithras, 27.
  Molesworth, Hannah, 33-34.
  Monasteries, 15-17; officers, 16;
  overview, 15.
  Monitors, 7, 12, 36-37.
  Montefortis, Alanus, 8, 19, 28,
  31.
  Mt. Carmel Abbey, 16.
  Music, 8.
  Necromancy, 13, 32, 38, 39;
  campaigns, 35; notable
  masters, 20, 32, 33.
  Norbertine House and School
  of the Annunciation, 16.
  Officers, monastic, 16;
  university, 7.
  Old Mill, 25.
  Owain, Brother, 17.
  Owl (tavern), 23-24.
  Palmer, Henry, 24.
  Parvus, Christianus, 18, 31.
  Patience, Sister, 16.
  Peter, Father, 22.
  Philosophy, see Arts.
  Pilgrim (tavern), 24.
  Pius, Brother, 17.
  Politics, local, 12.
  Poor Friars of Worminghall,
  16.
  Practicums, 10.
  Precentor, 16.
  Price, David, 22.
  Proctor, 7.
  Prudhomme, Joseph, 24.
  Quadrivium curriculum, 8.
  Quodlibet, 24.
  Ranulf, Master, 22, 23.
  Raven’s Nest, 28.
  Red John, 24-25, 34.
  Refectorian, 16.
  Renatus, Master, 20.
  Residences, 14, 17-20.
  Rhetoric, 8.
  Rivermen, 13, 22, 23, 27.
  Robkin the Dwarf, 26.
  Roger the Black, 23.
  INDEX
  40
  INDEX
  
  Rose Bush, 24.
  Rudipertus, Brother, 7, 17.
  Sacristan, 16.
  Salamander (tavern), 24.
  Samuels, Jacob, 23.
  Saxoniensis, Fredericus, 8, 17.
  Scholars, notable, 31-33; see
  also Faculties, Masters.
  Search rolls, 15.
  Secret disadvantage, 33.
  Secret Grove, 28.
  Shrewsbury Hall, 19.
  Silvanus, Cole, 8, 20.
  Simplicius, Brother, 16.
  Skills, learned in curriculum,
  8-9.
  Spells, Elements and, 38-39;
  illegal, 32; image magic, 38-
  39; not in image magic, 39;
  prerequisite counts, 39;
  uninvented, 39; see also
  Magic.
  Spirits, 28; campaigns and, 35,
  37; magic and, 13, 28, 32,
  33, 39.
  Squires, Hugh, 24.
  St. Brendan’s Church, 22.
  St. John the Baptist’s Church,
  14, 22.
  St. John, Isengrim, 34.
  St. Mary’s Abbey, 11, 17;
  abbot, 7, 12, 33.
  Stallion (tavern), 24.
  Sting (tavern), 24-25.
  Students, as beggars, 26;
  census, 9; civil disorder, 6,
  13; daily routine, 6-7;
  finding a master, 6; first
  day, 5; foreign, 6; in each
  faculty, 9; income and
  wealth, 7; language
  required, 6; monastic, 6;
  nickname, 5; residences, 14,
  17-20; secular, 6; Wealth, 6,
  7; women, 19.
  Study rolls, 36.
  Symbol Drawing skill, 8, 10,
  13.
  Syndics, 7; see also Faculties,
  Masters.
  Tables, magic elements and
  character traits, 8; Wealth
  level, 8.
  Tail (location), 12, 14-15;
  notable places in, 21, 23,
  24; searching, 15.
  Tailor’s shop, 25.
  Taverns, 23-25.
  Teachers, 5; see also Faculties,
  Masters.
  Terms, first day, 5; school year,
  5.
  Theophilus, Mauritius, 7, 8,
  31-32.
  Thomas, Abbot, 17.
  Thornbush, Pippa, 24.
  Throckmorton, Daniel, 23.
  Timothy of Lincoln, 23.
  Timothy, Brother, 17.
  Tower (military outpost), 14,
  22.
  Townsfolk, daily life, 12-13;
  magic and, 13; notable,
  33-34.
  Trinity Church, 21-22.
  Trivium curriculum, 8.
  Tully Hall, 19.
  Universities, officers, 7;
  overview, 5; see also
  Students.
  Vermensis, Olaus, 8, 32, 33.
  Vermians, 5.
  Vincent, Father, 21-22.
  Walls, 14.
  Wealth level, 6, 7.
  Welsh, 11, 22, 28.
  Widow’s House, 20.
  Wineshop, 16.
  Women, begging and, 26;
  education and, 19; magic
  and, 13, 28; religious
  community, 15-16.
  Woods, Hugh, 23.
  Worm pies, 27.
  Worminghall, pronunciation,
  5.
  Writing tools, 21.
  Younghusband, Edmund, 8,
  20, 33.
  INDEX
  41
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