Game Info and House Rules.

[dna1]

House Rules: Finalized.

•Starting level:6th, ecl 7. this extra level is meant for one of two options. 1) a martial class. representing what your PC was before becoming a caster. 2) template or ecl 1 monster race. Monsters and non humanoids are fairly common.
•Negative Racial Mods arent being used. Use just the positive ones.(this isnt for optimization really, its more to encurage fun/interesting builds. this with the addition of the free level should open up options you wouldnt normally play. such as maybe a half-minotaur or water orc etc etc. If used for only min/max purposes I may still apply the negative mods.)
•Character wealth: Standard for 6th level
•Sources allowed: All official D&D 3.5 and unupdated 3.0, including web enhancements. Other sources allowed on case by case basis. All specifically allowed sources need to still be run through me or SirPercival for possible adjustments.
•Ability score generation: 32pt buy
•Cross-class skills are bought at the same rate as regular skills. The cap on ranks still remains.
•There are no multiclassing penalties, even though none of you would have used them anyway  
•Everyone receives Infernal, and any 1 monster language as a bonus language
•Nightsticks stack
•No evil characters
•Medium Optimization.
•All dice rolls made using Primes roller, or the Invisiblecastle.
•Use a text color for character speach. (( OOC chatting ))

A Primer on Magic in Gratis

1) Every spell cast within Gratis (and other lands under the sway of the Imperium) requires an additional focus component, which is handed out under licensing by the Magi.  Each focus is attuned to a particular individual, so there's no black market for these things (it's done in a ritual by one of the Elder Magi).

2) It is possible to cast a spell without using the focus, by channeling the raw spell energy.  However, to do so you have to make a caster level check at a DC of 10 + 3 * spell level.  If you fail the check, you still cast the spell, but at -2 CL; you also take 2d4 points of damage per spell level.

3) Whether or not you use the focus, you can try to channel MORE spell energy into a spell than the minimum.  This works sort of like the Overchannel feat in psionics.  You can voluntarily take Xd8 of damage, to gain one of the following effects:
   a) +X DC for the spell
   b) +Xd6 damage of the appropriate type for the spell (this is independent of caps)
   c) +2X to the spell penetration roll to defeat SR
This damage is not reduced by DR or energy resistance.  X can be any positive integer up to 1/2 your HD.

Note that for the purposes of the 'High Arcana games', you will be granted temporary foci.

[dna1]

World info: Finalized

Imperium Capital City  Gratis

• Humans are by far the most common
race in the city. But monsters and other races are allowed.
• The Gratis year has 364 days, with
twelve months and a seven-day week.
• The Gratis climate is cool, with many
overcast or rainy days.
• The typical commoner earns 1 to 3 sp per day.
• There are no banks, as such, but you can rent out a small personal vault to store your
valuables at places such as Hammersong Vaults in Oldtown.
• Buildings have glass windows that hinge open.
• Most buildings, but not all of them, have indoor plumbing, including privies that pump water
in via hand pumps and drain it away into the city sewers.
• You can hire a messenger to carry notes and packages anywhere in the city. This typically
costs 1 sp per delivery. There is also a magical messenger service.
• Carriages are widely available for hire to take you wherever you want to go. This service costs
about 1 sp per trip.
• While no stranger to magic or monsters, the typical Gratisite fears the undead rumored to stir
in the Necropolis. Even more real, however, are fears of thieves, fire, and plague.
• The Gratis City Watch is extremely competent. Despite this fact, the city has a terrible crime
problem.
• Ratmen live in the sewers.
• Rumors speak of Cults of Chaos finding new members about the city these days.
• Imperial law requires that everyone carries identification papers. Written law favors citizens
over noncitizens, but practical law favors the upper classes over the lower.
• Spells that make people do things they normally wouldn’t, like charm person, are illegal in
Gratis. So are spells that create undead or spread plague. So are spells that do damage.
• Most shops and places of business stay open as long as the sun is up, which means that business
hours are longer in the summer than in the winter. Many are open seven days a week.
• The city is huge.  Huge. The caves/ruines/tunnels etc below the city are also huge. It contains lost civilizations and abunch of other unknown stuff. People from all over the world come here to try and make it rich. There is one main guild that controls most of the exploring, called The Delvers. By there own estimates over 18,000 people have went into the underground but never returned. This still doesnt stop people.


Gratis is a major city of one-hundred seventy-five thousand people. The place was established to serve as the port for an important fortress built at the time of the Empire’s foundation, a citadel called Glast'Hiem, which later became the HQ for the City Watch. More significantly, however, it lies in the shadow of an impossibly tall (almost three thousand feet) and thin pinnacle of rock known simply as the Spire. The Spire and its surroundings seethe with mysterious legends and rumors. These tales tell of ancient battles waged and cities erected on the site, of demons and dark lords, of forgotten kings and mighty wizards. Many such stories might be at least somewhat true, for recent developments have revealed vast complexes beneath the city. Of late, Gratis has become a city of adventurers. Treasure-seekers flock there to explore and plunder the labyrinthine structures beneath the streets, which they call the “Dungeon.” If the stories are correct, these catacombs include the following:
1. The sewers of the city.
2.Vast stretches of subterranean passages and
chambers created by a Lich and his minions.
3. The remains of an even older city.
4. An abandoned underground dwarven settlement
called Dwarfhome.
5. And levels that plunge incredibly deep below
the present urban area.
Gratis lies in a cool, rainy coastal region with harsh winters. It serves as an important port on the Bay of Mortis off the Whitewall Sea and belongs to the Empire of Tarsis.

Game Pics
Elder Magi

Noctus


Protea


Ravener


Lillianna Ularis


Dusk

Commisar and Delver GM

Commisar of City Watch


Delver GuildMaster

Gratis

http://s1123.photobucket.com/albums/l548/shrilt/High%20Arcana%20-%20Imperium/

[dna1]

The High Arcana Campaign is a fantasy that some would label “dark,” although it’s as much about rising up out of the darkness as living within it. It is clearly an urban fantasy, for the campaign takes place entirely within or beneath the city of Gratis- a place with a vast history of dark secrets waiting to be discovered.

Law, Procedure & Policy

Imperium Citizenship
Most people in the Imperium are Citizens. The child of a citizen is automatically a citizen, and for 250 gp, virtually anyone can go through the process of procuring citizenship.
All citizens are issued papers proving their citizenship. These Imperium Citizenship Papers show a person’s name, age, place of birth, place of residence, family members, employment, and a general physical description. They also record past residences and major travels. These identification papers are an important tool for the Imperium to keep tabs on—and therefore control—its population. They also give City Watch guards, officials, and others an idea of how they ought to treat a given person. Typically, all humans, all dwarves, all halflings, most elves, most half-orcs, and most gnomes are citizens. Some 1/2 ogres and centaurs are citizens. Very few lizardfolk or dragonkin are citizens. Virtually no goblins, orcs, minotaurs, or similar creatures are citizens. Ratmen, demons, and truly monstrous creatures are never citizens. Imperial citizenship ends upon one’s death (although it is reinstated if the person is raised), so undead are never citizens.

Subjective Law Enforcement
It would be naive to think that, just because certain actions require permits, everyone who undertakes such actions always has them. No one building in the Warrens obtains a permit first, and there are far more illegal prostitutes and gambling dens than legal ones (to avoid both license fees and taxes).

There are crimes so serious that, although they may not carry the penalty of death, if someone killed the perpetrators while attempting to stop them, the authorities would not bat an eye. For example, say you come upon two KillRavens beating a sister of the Silent Order within an inch of her life. For this crime of assaulting an official, they should receive up to twenty years imprisonment. However, no judge in Gratis would say a word against a band of adventurers who came upon the scene and slew the assailants.
Typically, a  thief has his forehead branded to warn potential victims. Sometimes a pickpocket has a finger removed, and castration as punishment for rapists is actually standard in the city. In Gratis, if a child commits a crime, his parents are legally responsible for facing the punishment.

It’s dangerous to try to equate the City Watch with a modern police force. They are closer to an occupying military force and are more interested in order than justice, and more interested in the well-being of the city as a whole than in the needs of a particular citizen.
Since criminal investigations are rare, this means that people who take action into there own hands can break into a crime lord’s safe house, kill all the thugs and cutthroats inside, and—as long as they make good on their escape before the Watch shows up—they can get away without fear of punishment. The concept of citizens “taking the law into their own hands” is not considered a bad thing in Gratis. Local authorities, from the lowest-ranking guard to the
Commissar himself, are quite practical in this regard. In an effort to maintain order, they do what’s best for the city rather than strictly uphold all the laws of the Vast Codex. If an angry mob finds and lynches a kidnapper of children, the authorities not only don’t intervene, they don’t make arrests. They go out of their way not to get involved. In most cases, the City Watch would rather not even know about it, to avoid the bureaucratic paperwork. The guards are happy to look the other way in such instances.
Imperial lawmakers recognize the need to defend oneself against aggression. “Selfdefense,” a very common defense in murder or assault cases, often results in acquittal and complete exoneration for the accused.

Crime and “Monsters”
Nonhumanoid creatures have no rights under Imperial law. In other words, it is not murder to slay a dragon, it is not assault to attack a troll, and it is not theft to rob from a manticore’s hoard. Exceptions have been made, however, in the case of beings like Urlexus, ogre-mage Star of the City Watch, and Shrugata, minotaur cleric of the Church, who clearly have found a place in civilized society.


Monsters in the City
Unlike most cities in Campaigns, it’s not too out of the ordinary to see “monsters” in the streets. Nobles use ogre slaves to carry palanquins. Elf battle mages ride a wyvern through the streets. At least one local druid has a giant owl companion. In 712 IA, the Commissar himself offered to pay volunteers to be polymorphed into trolls to contribute to the city’s defense. (He found only a handful of takers.) It’s almost odd not to see a dragon on the grounds of House Calaspers estate. A strange ocular tyrant runs the asylum for insane arcanists. And, of course, there are the creatures redeemed by the Brotherhood of Redemption, not the least of which is the ogre-mage cleric Urlexus.

Slavery
Owning a slave is not illegal in Gratis—although it does raise eyebrows. Kidnapping people to sell as slaves is illegal, as is selling slaves. Abuse of anyone, including slaves, is also illegal. Of course, all these things still go on, more in some circles than others.
One commodity traded in the Market is fiendish slaves bound to magical amulets that compel them to obey the owner. These amulets contain the essence of the fiend or some important fraction thereof. The Calasper family forged its criminal empire by creating and selling these amulets and continues the practice. The fiends, forced to come into this world from Hell against their will, are immediately bound to the amulet, then secreted away in some secret  chamber of the Calasper estate until the amulet is sold. At that time, the new owners can call the fiends to them at will and give them whatever command they wish. The price for a fiend slave amulet is the creature’s CR squared, multiplied by 500 gp. Obviously, if an amulet’s owner ever allows it to fall into the hands of the fiend bound to it, the fiend can steal back its rightful essence and become free to act as it wishes—which usually starts with killing the amulet’s owner in some horrible, painful fashion. This also happens if the amulet is destroyed. If the fiend is slain, the amulet becomes worthless.

The Ruling Factions
The players must choose one of these organizations or guilds to be associated with. Although now being directly inducted into the 'High Arcana games' your characters still have strong ties with the group they are originally from. The rebels arent the average freedome fighters. The group is comprised of many different people/monsters of all different alignments and agenda's. Nearly everyone would benefit from the Imperium falling, so the rebellion as a result has many faces.

Sanctioned "arms" of the Imperium  

BROTHERHOOD OF REDEMPTION
An order of monks who believe that no evil is irredeemable, the Brotherhood of Redemption seeks to give any evil creature a chance to repent. Its members do not believe in “inherent evil.” Specializing in rehabilitation, they operate in the Dungeon out of the Fortress of the Redeemed but maintain a surface headquarters in the Guildsman District. They make it known that they willingly accept any prisoners who are not of the major races—in fact, they’ll pay a small bounty (5 gp per Hit Die) for evil creatures with a modicum of intelligence (in other words, an Intelligence score of 3 or above).

DELVER’S GUILD
For the last five years, the Delver’s Guild has grown in influence, becoming both popular to join and wealthy. The Delver’s Guild offers its members information about job opportunities and events pertaining to the exploration of regions below Gratis. The guild also maintains the city’s most extensive collection of maps of the underground realm and an impressive library for research. Members receive passwords that allow them to access secret chambers within the underground regions. These secret chambers, called waystations, are stocked with food and simple supplies. Highranking members gain retrieval insurance, which guarantees that, if they should die while exploring, guild members will retrieve their bodies and have them raised if possible (retrieval and raising paid for out of a special guild account funded by the insured). The guild’s membership hovers around eight thousand. In addition, there are said to exist at least four thousand delvers not affiliated with the guild. At any given time, about one-fifth of this total is exploring the Dungeon. It is estimated that for every ten delvers who go down each day, one does not come back. About one hundred new adventurers come to Gratis and some twenty-five are raised from the dead every week. Since the Delver’s Guild began keeping records three years ago, about eight-teen thousand adventurers have died permanently while exploring the Dungeon. Another two hundred thirty have permanently retired, either in the city or elsewhere.

INVERTED PYRAMID
The Inverted Pyramid is a mysterious and ancient guild of arcanists. Their membership roll remains shrouded in mystery, but it most likely includes the most powerful mages in Gratis—and probably the world. For years they have wielded considerable influence in the city. Their headquarters is said to lie somewhere hidden from normal sight by powerful spells. In days past, the Inverted Pyramid was a great foe of the Church. Within the Inverted Pyramid, the members of this guild meet, store their valuable books and supplies, and craft magic items and other creations. The Inverted Pyramid concerns itself with preserving magical lore and all things arcane from those it believes would eradicate such knowledge.

CITY WATCH
To police the streets, the Commissar of the city commands a force of more than ten thousand troops and City Watch guards, including a few hundred elite individuals (captains, mages, clerics, etc.). While the constables in many of the Empire’s cities are considered glorified street-sweepers with little competence or desire to actually enforce the law, this is not true of the experienced and wellequipped guards of Gratis, particularly those known as the Commissar’s Men. Nevertheless, this well-trained and well-paid force has its hands full maintaining order in the city. Helping to enforce the law is a special order of monks called the Sisterhood of Silence. These nonspeaking female monks patrol the streets and apprehend criminals, even though they are not—strictly speaking—sanctioned to do so officially. A male eunuch always accompanies a small unit of the Sisters of Silence to speak on their
behalf. However, neither the city guard nor the Sisterhood of Silence is willing to go down into the Dungeon and fight monsters. Nor are they likely to help against such well-known and influential noble families as House Calasper, or such powerful groups as the Church or the Forsaken and the Fallen. Of course, those groups would never break any laws, so there’s surely nothing to worry about. . . .

SISTERHOOD OF SILENCE
Founded in Gratis more than two hundred years ago, an all-female order calling itself the Sisterhood of Silence established itself as a major force for law and defense. While the order has since spread to other cities, the Priory of Introspection in Gratis remains the central headquarters of the entire Sisterhood. As their name suggests, the Sisters of Silence do not speak. Instead, they employ a cadre of devout eunuchs to speak for them. Among themselves, they use a complex set of signs, postures, and expressions to convey vast amounts of information quickly.

THE CHURCH
The Church of the Dark God is the most powerful religion in the Imperium, and thus in Gratis. So closely tied are the Imperium and the Church that the head of the religion’s hierarchy is known as the Emperor of the Church. Alongside the traditional ElderMagi of Gratis, he rules over all Imperial lands and citizens. The Emperor of the Church normally lives in a far-off city in the Tarsis empire but of late has been in Gratis staying with his son, the Prince of the Church. A knighthood called the Order of the Dawn serves the Church oas elite defenders of the faith. While low-ranking members are warriors and fighters, the higher ranks include paladins and a few martial clerics. In general, the Church seeks to convert the heathen and protect and nurture the faithful. Far more than typical organized religions, the Church remains involved in day-to-day government administration and the making (and sometimes enforcing) of laws. The priests serve as judges and officials in the government of the Empire.


CHORRUN CHAR
The Chorrun Char is secret organization in the Imperium.
"Officialy" called the Conciliators, which consists of inquisitors dedicated to converting infidels, destroying unsanctioned magic, and stamping out evil. The group is headquartered in the Temple District. A highly selective group of all Dragon-Kin within the Imperium. The Conciliators are a specialized strike team usually reserved only for mass blood shed. Officially known to be a sanctioned branch of the Church
This however is just a clever front.
An ancient order, the Chorrun Char has remained alive through the extreme devotion of its members and their descendants. They secretly oppose the Imperium in all its forms, although they have a particular hatred for the wicked House Calasper. They revere the mysterious Dragon pantheon and serve as a focal point in the re-introduction of those gods into society. The order has dedicated itself to combating supernatural threats of the Imperium, particularly demons and spellcasters. To be accepted into the guild, one must be a half-blood at least. A select few are the full-bloods, only dragon-kin are allowed into this group, and only spellcasting ones at that. Most of this group are old dragonwrought kobolds, and lesser true dragons. The full-bloods have all been branded with a scalding claw of Chorrun, to mark them as full-bloods. The guild believes that one day, a draconic apocalypse will come, and turn the full-bloods into the overlords, the Half-Bloods into their servants and citizens, and the Non-Bloods into slaves.
Although in theory the guild is ruled by Chorrun, Chorrun is an old and senile dragon, numbering around the 6000 years, although legends acclaim that he fought alongside the elder Magi when they took power, and his group was founded in the anger of him not becoming a member of high council, he can scarcely remember much but eating and sleeping. Thus the guild is ruled by the 11 true ones, which are compromised of 5 Dragons (atm a Silver dragon leader, a Brass Dragon, two red dragons and a Green dragon), and 6 Fullbloods. a Seat among the true ones is for life, assassinations within the guild to get such a seat is not uncommon, but few dare attempt it on the dragons, meaning a kobolds life among the true ones is often short.
Very few, even guild members, know that the leader is a black dragon, even when the full-bloods are branded with his mark are blindfolded, there are many discussions whether "the old one" is still alive, but even if he is, he seems to have lost the ability to speak.
At the moment the group is in an almost open war with the Calasper syndicate, some say the Chorrun Char are losing this war. They are at a peaceful standing with the KillRavens, often have dealings with the Fallen, the Delvers and the Brotherhood of redemption. The order has enjoyed a long tradition in the city, but many say its day has passed in light of the growing power of other, broader criminal organizations. Its true headquarters lie deep below the city.

Noble Houses and Organizations  

KILLRAVEN CRIME LEAGUE
Kevris Killraven arrived in the city only recently, but in that short time this mysterious woman has created the second most powerful criminal organization in Gratis. The league deals in extortion, prostitution, and illegal drugs. A number of nonhumans work for Killraven—troglodytes, ogres, and many other creatures. Although early on Killraven was rumored to have ties with the Praesario Arcanum, most now dismiss such tales as nonsense

CALASPER CRIME FAMILY
Probably the most powerful crime family in the city, the Calaspers are certainly the oldest. Agrethonn Calasper is the aging head of the organization, with his son, Mesven, serving as his second in command. The family funds a number of criminal endeavors, gaining profit from theft, extortion, smuggling, illegal gambling, assassination, and trade in slaves, drugs, and evil magic items.

THE FORSAKEN
Those who value death and undeath more than life are called the Forsaken. Necrophiles, necrophages, and necrophiliacs, these disgusting people worship dark god and consort openly with undead and the Fallen. They base their activities in the Necropolis.  Some of the Forsaken are living people who consort with the undead, while others are actually undead themselves. They particularly revere ancient undead called the Silversouled, who reportedly built the Dark Reliquary. If any of the Silversouled still exist, no one in the city knows about it.

THE FALLEN
The Fallen are fiends also known as the “young demons,” though few people care to dwell long on the question of who the “old” demons might be. The Fallen live in the Dark Reliquary of the Necropolis with their allies, the Forsaken, and follow the leadership of two demons whose names are only whispered: Daelyon and Lusilith. Most people wish the Fallen were not in Gratis but, for demons who dwell within the city’s walls, they actually cause
surprisingly little trouble. Few speak of them, but when they do, they often claim these demons are either waiting for something or quietly looking for something.

DREAMING APOTHECARY
The Dreaming Apothecary may be more legend than fact. Those in the know claim that a secretive group of spellcasters crafts magic items for people, making transactions with them magically in their dreams. Darker rumors accuse these powerful mages of keeping others in the city from making magic items for profit by coercion, backed up by their formidable magical might. Potential customers can reach the group in Delver’s Square.

HOUSE OF BLACK & WHITE
These master illusionists are a small group of scholars and seers who have the ability to alter people’s fortunes.  The fortunes of its own members most often. The House of Black & White was originally a Library for an order of holy knights dedicated to the destruction of evil magic items, specifically free-willed items that gained sentience.  The Holy Knights were extreme in there anhiliation, they spread far and wide in search of there goal. Eventually it wasen't practical to use the House of Black and white as a home, and so they left to distant lands. Those that remainded at the house were mainly book keepers. From then the legend is steeped in mystery, known only to the head masters who reside at the 'school' currently. Now this quasi-legal spellcaster organization has grown over the years into a powerful force attempting to restore the prominence of illusion and shadow magic. Known for its vast information network the house is also rumored to have ties to one of the Elder Magi.

[dna1]

Finished       

Also added the names of the Elder Magi/NPC's to corrisponding pictures

[sirpercival]

The Imperium has ruled Gratis for more than 4,000 years, and the Magi are the rulers of the Imperium.  Legend says that the current Elder Magi are the same five who founded the Imperium, that their dark master granted them immortality, and certainly there has been no change of regime in living memory to disprove it.

Many times in the history of the Imperium, rebellion has sprung up like weeds among the tamed grass of the populace of Gratis.  Each time, it has been quelled quickly and viciously by the Imperium's Praesidio Arcanum, the Magi's secret brotherhood of enforcers who operate independently of the City Watch.  The P.A. is also responsible for ferreting out rogue spellcasters who are operating without the licensure of the Imperium, and their reputation is one of fear and efficient brutality.  The only marks on the P.A.'s otherwise unblemished record are the recurrent rebellions, which they have never been able to suppress entirely despite the fact that the rebels do more damage to themselves by channeling magic raw, without sanction from the Magi.

To cement their stranglehold monopoly on the powers of creation, every year the Elder Magi hold the "High Arcana", a series of games in which the winners are inducted into the Magi.  These "games" are magical contests between groups of fledgling spellcasters of various talents and specialties, and the losers of each contest are carted away to the cemeteries (if there's anything left of them at all).  In this way the Magic cull the weaker talents from the populace and recruit the stronger into their doctrines.

Where we begin our story of magic and mayhem, a new rebellion is brewing, this one more cunning and secret than any past.  The leaders have concocted a plan to take their brightest pupils of rebel wizardry and enter them into the High Arcana games.  Will our heroes be up to the challenge of surviving the games, infiltrating the Magi, and tearing apart the Imperium from the inside?  We shall see... we shall see.

[sirpercival]

Licensing

Channeling small amounts of spell energy without a focus is not terribly difficult, and so the Magi only give out licenses to casters who reach a certain degree of proficiency.  (They keep very strict watch on those who seem close to reaching such a degree, though they will often ignore less able arcanists.)  They induct the most skilled and talented into their own ranks, and rumor says that members of the Magi can use their talismans to achieve greater effects with their spells than those with a lesser license.

It is theoretically possible (though extremely dangerous) to disguise one's spellcasting ability so as to evade the notice of the Magi.  Legend says that the bones of those who have tried and been caught are on display in a museum somewhere in the city.

Past and Present Rebellion

While the Imperium's rule is effective and efficient, it is also oppressive and corrupt, and there have always been those who strove to throw off its shackles.  The various factions have attempted schemes subtle and overt, nefarious and high-minded; they have been comprised of folk from all walks of life and all ideologies.  Sometimes several unconnected groups have operated concurrently, with or without knowledge of each other.

Each of the PCs has joined the current rebellion (there may be more than one, but you don't know), whether through your own machinations and inclinations or because you were recruited by one of the other members.  You received training in magical arts from Sung Lo, an elderly human wu jen who it seems has been dodging the Magi successfully for some time.

Because of this training, you get a +2 circumstance bonus to any CL check to cast a spell of 2nd level or lower without a focus.  You also learned a series of signs and countersigns to identify other members of the Rebellion.

It was Master Lo who explained the plan to infiltrate the Magi, and introduced you to the other members of your team.

[sirpercival]

The Imperium

The Imperium was founded as an alliance between the Church of the Dark God and the Magi.  The Magi were a group of powerful spellcasters, led by the Elders (or Elder Magi), who agreed to aid the Church in banishing the rest of the pantheon from the lands that would become Gratis and the rest of the Empire (note that while other gods are still worshipped in secret, they have very little power within the bounds of the Empire).  In return for their aid, the Elder Magi received power, control, and immortality.  The success of this alliance resulted in the Imperium, the structure of which reflects the interplay between the two dominant factions of the Magi and the Church.

Due to the machinations of the Church and the Dark God, the Imperium controls the safe use of magic within the bounds of the Empire, and he who controls the magic controls reality.  It is much easier for a highly-skilled spellcaster to join the Magi and receive a license and a talisman than it is to try and channel raw spell energy on his own, and so the Imperium holds the reins on the learning and use of the most powerful magics.

Division of Power and the Grand Council

Politics in the Imperium is mostly a state of uneasy truce and cease-fire between the Church and the Magi.  The two factions ignore each other as much as possible, leaving respective jurisdictions alone.

The ultimate power in the Imperium is the Grand Council, which is comprised of the Emperor of the Church and the Elder Magi, and advised by a number of high dignitaries such as the Commissar of the City Watch and various other officials.  The Grand Council rarely meets, as the Emperor and the Elder Magi dislike each other and prefer to operate independently; they also prefer to minimize the scrutiny from their dark master, as the secretary of the Grand Council is a bound Chronotyryn supplied by the Dark God, who also reports directly to him on the workings of the Grand Council. 

To the Church is given dominion over divine magic, as well as the general legal and justice system. The Church is the official religion of the Imperium, and worship of other deities is officially outlawed, though as long as the Dark God is given lip service this law is not strictly enforced in most cases.  The Church also oversees the day-to-day workings of the Empire, and thus works closely with the City Watch.

To the Magi is given dominion over arcane magic and scholarship, and regulation thereof.  The Magi make the laws governing the legal use of arcane magic and give out licenses to those who prove both worthy and loyal to the Magi (and the Imperium, of course...). 

An interesting consequence of this segregation of power is that Magi are remanded to the justice of their own faction, which is extremely lenient to its members.  Thus, Magi are often smugly superior in their actions of questionable legality, secure in the knowledge that if arrested the City Watch will have to turn them over to the Magister, usually for a slap on the wrist and nothing more.  This increases the fear and resentment the common folk have for Magi, as any legal rulings will almost certainly go in favor of the Magus in question.  This judicial leniency is another draw of membership in the Magi, and cements their stranglehold on the use of arcane magic.

The Magi

The Magi are a loosely-organized brotherhood of skilled arcanists, founded on a sense of entitlement, privelege, and vice.  Ranks in the organization are handed down somewhat arbitrarily by the upper echelon, and the system of titles is based on age (though actual physical age rarely plays a part), with the highest ranks called Venerable and the newest members called Younglings.

Magi live lives of luxury and excess, cushioned by extremely benevolent treatment due to the quirks of the Imperium's legal system.  They have the run of Gratis, and are feared, respected, and resented by the normal populace.  Members are encouraged to pursue their own studies and agendas; while infighting is officially discouraged, the culture embraces the mentality of "survival of the fittest" to its fullest extent.

The High Arcana games are the highlight of the year, as the Venerable Magi each attempts to gain reputation and power through the success of the team they sponsor.  It is the winning team's sponsor who distributes the new Younglings to his or her proteges as apprentices and assistants.  Occasionally the Elder Magi will participate as sponsors instead of the Venerables, when the crop of new talent is especially strong.

The Five Elder Magi

The Elder Magi stand over all as imposing overlords, spiders in the shadows, and terrifying virtual demigods.  Their attention is both craved and feared, as they have been known to both elevate those that please them and utterly destroy any that displease them on a whim, often with a simple wave of the hand.  Much information about the individuals themselves has been lost to the vagaries of time (and, perhaps, by conscious action on the part of the Five), but some rudimentary knowledge and reputation exists.

First among them is the man known only as Noctus, Who Walks in Shadow.  It is said that during the founding of the Imperium, he personally slew the goddess Nera by imprisoning her and consuming her life essence.  He is constantly surrounded by a nearly impenetrable cloud of darkness.  It is also rumored that he is a dark elf, though no one living, not even the other Elder Magi, has ever seen his face.  He is the most mysterious of the Five.

Second is Protea, the Warper of Reality.  She wears many faces, and stories of her lurking behind every smile are told to naughty children at bedtime.  She has been known to call impossible creatures into existence, transform even her most powerful enemies into harmless animals, and bend traditional spells in impossible ways.  She is traditionally the most feared of all the Elder Magi.

Third is the Ravener, who is the most unpredictable and erratic of the Five, and also the most well-known, as he cares little for secrecy.  He is a deep orc who revels in physical combat and slaughter, unlike most of the other Elder Magi, and has been known to call demons from Hell, set them free, and hunt them for sport.  He is able to wield powerful magic both arcane and divine, but usually chooses not to do so, instead tearing apart his enemies in personal melee.

Fourth is Lillianna Ularis, who wields energy in its most primal form.  She is an Illumian, and very secretive.  She is the least known of the Elder Magi, and spends most of her time in the Inverted Pyramid (so it is rumored).

Fifth among them is Dusk, an androgynous human vampire.  Like the Ravener, Dusk has almost legendary martial prowess, and carries an enormous sword.  However, Dusk uses magic much more readily than the Ravener, and to deadly effect.  Legend holds that a group of powerful Sun Clerics attempted to destroy Dusk shortly after the founding of the Imperium, and were themselves annihilated  singled-handedly in a matter of seconds.  Dusk is the most reclusive of the Five, appearing for a few weeks every decade or so.

The Church of the Dark God

The structure of the Church is hierarchical, with absolute power residing in the personage of the Emperor, who is both high priest and hereditary liege to the clergy.  The Emperor is feared and revered nearly as much as the Elder Magi (though the Five have achieved legendary status over the lifetimes of a hundred Emperors), and wields as much if not more power over the day-to-day workings of the Imperium. 

The current Emperor is a very old, very powerful, and very ruthless human man named Ruric Eldredge, said to be a direct descendant of the first Emperor and founder of the Imperium.  Emperor Eldredge normally lives in Tarsis, but is at the moment on an extended stay in Gratis.

Second in command and heir is the Prince of the Church, who currently is Eldredge's son Aldric.  He personally commands the Knights of the Dawn, and has had public disagreements with his father on several integral items of Church doctrine.  Rumor has it that these disagreements are the reason for the Emperor's presence in Gratis, watching over his son's shoulder and attempting to turn him into a suitable replacement in the eyes of the Dark God.

Unlike the Magi, the Church is founded less on a sense of entitlement and more on practicality and military efficiency.  Priest-judges earn and keep their posts through rigorous and constant evaluations of ability and merit, and the Church will not hesitate to reassign a priest or priestess to a distant and unpleasant post if he or she shows the slightest lapse in judgement or loyalty.

The City Watch

The third major faction of the Imperium in Gratis is the City Watch, which occupies the unenviable position of having to answer to two conflicting and often contradictory sets of orders.  The position of Commissar is a thankless job, and has a very high turnover rate, as often one faction will decide that the current Commissar is guilty of treason (often by virtue of following orders given by the other faction) and will have him executed.

Technically, members of the City Watch are subordinate to members of the Magi or the Church of equal rank.  Practically, however, the Watch tends to treat all members of the Magi and Church as superiors, as the Watch has to answer to both factions in matters of protocol and rulings almost never go in their favor.  Constables of the Watch are reluctant to arrest members of either faction, no matter what their actions.

The current Commissar, a Goliath named Nagak Othuigakea, gained his position by distinguished service in supressing the Eastgate Rebellion 15 years ago (his ascension was also aided by his predecessor's activities in organizing said rebellion).  He has held it for an unusually long time through a combination of brutal efficiency, unusual tactics, and an uncanny knack for navigating the treacherous landscape of Imperium politics.  He has even earned a measure of respect from both the Church and the Magi, though of course either faction would not hesitate to remove his head from his shoulders should it prove inconvenient to leave it there.

Under the leadership of Commissar Nagak's iron fist, the effectiveness of the City Watch has increased dramatically, though corruption still runs rampant (as through the rest of the Imperium).  He also founded and personally trained the Commissar's Men, a truly elite strike force under the umbrella of the Watch that all new Watchmen aspire to and very few achieve.