Следопыт‘s hardcover release Rival Academies is an excellent contribution to Paizo’s Lost Omens line. This sourcebook is part region gazeteer, part event guide, written in-character by representatives of multiple schools of adventuring and magic drawn together for a convocation of mutual cooperation and learning. A guide in the back includes tips on how to incorporate plots and characters from the book into home games and campaigns, and every page is bursting with incredible art and flavorful rules for a variety of gameplay styles.
Rival Academies is framed as a gathering of schools from across the planet of Golarion, with six major sponsor schools hosting thirteen invitees from additional educational institutions. In the inevitable questions of comparative prestige and power that such a gathering would inspire, it isn’t truly a fair fight — sponsor schools get 12-page spreads detailing major NPCs, impressive exhibitions, and playable game options, while most invitees get little more than a page to describe their school, an NPC and a minor contribution to display. Even with such a lopsided playing field, there are clear winners and also-rans at the Grand Convocation.
10 The Arcanarium Makes A Solid Showing
This Absalom Crafting Consortium Can’t Help But Impress
The Arcanarium is a storied location in Следопыт, относящийся к Следопыт 1Е. The wizarding school is the oldest in Absalom, Pathfinder’s central megacity, making it one of the most prestigious magical institutions on the planet. The Arcanarium is renowned in all sorts of magic but has a particular reputation for producing world-class magical crafters and innovators. However, the Arcanarium is invitation only to the Convocation by choice. The school was asked but declined to be a sponsor for the event, and the delegation treats the event as an unfortunate chore, frequently swapping themselves back to their obligations in Absalom through powerful teleportation magic. The Archdean isn’t even in attendance, likely due to the additional political and military obligations of her titles.
From a design perspective, the Arcanarium has received plenty of previous attention in books like Absalom, City Of Lost Omens, so the school’s standoffish participation is likely to give other schools more time in the spotlight. In terms of Rival Academies, this means the Arcanarium’s default delegate by elimination is Venorium Blorm, a mere student at the school who is mired in the hub city’s politics by his talent. The talented student shares a harrowing account of the perils of academic intrigue and a powerful teleportation spell that disorients nearby enemies, perfect for the spellcaster who needs to make a quick getaway. This spell is sure to be a fan-favorite for martial spellcasters. While it’s impressive that even the accidental afterthought of the Arcanarium’s contribution is so good, the Arcanarium holds themselves back from being the best at the Convocation by not participating in full good faith, securing its spot as the 10th best school in Rival Academies.
9 The Dacilane Academy Brings The Fun
Pathfinder Society’s Organized Play Campaign Feature Location Delivers a Magic Prank
Pathfinder Society Organized Play is a series of adventures published monthly that constitute a living world campaign where players serve as agents of the titular Pathfinder Society, a quasi-political global organization of scholars and adventurers. The Dacilane Academy is a legacy of those adventures going back years — the school founder was saved as a child from a ruined school and its haunted spirits by Pathfinder Society agents and later repaid the Society by restoring the school and creating a permanent academy for the children of Pathfinders. The Dacilane Academy has a reputation for misadventure, as its students tend to take after their adventurous parents and sponsors in the Society.
The school’s founder J Dacilane brings a mischievous item to the Convocation, an enchanted pie plate that magically replenishes itself when emptied — and capable of flinging pies at nearby targets. While possessing no combat effects, the flavorful magic item is rife for roleplaying potential and is a good example of Следопыт‘s permissive and creative game design. While not every table will want a magic pie, those that do want a madcap way to play pranks will likely find ample use for this magic item. The callbacks to Pathfinder Society scenarios are fun easter eggs for diehard Paizo fans, and the light-hearted tone of the item is a gift to creative and comedic players.
8 The Acadamae Wants To Fight Demons With Something Worse
This Summoning School Wants to Fight Demons With Their Older, Nastier Rivals
The Acadamae of Korvosa is a school with a bloody reputation and an impressive history. The Acadamae has a yearly festival where students and adventurers attempt to breach the school’s legendary wards, as portrayed in the Следопыт 1e игре Academy Of Secrets. While the school previously had a problem with devils manipulating the administration, the current Dean of Summoning Messida Vost has openly bound an even stranger being — a qlippoth, one of the chaotic primal beings that infested the Outer Rifts before demons took over. These eldritch abominations hate demons and are willing to ally with mortals if it gets them closer to destroying all of demonkind.
If the aesthetic of ritually binding alien chaos terrors didn’t already give the Acadamae an edge over its fellow invitees, the strange and fantastic occult contract offered by Messida’s bound companion certainly gives a competitive edge. Zarothrask’s Contract is a Faustian bargain gives the qlippoth power over the players in exchange for a malleable form and powers that can briefly warp the bodies of those around them into sickening shapes. This satisfyingly ruthless portrayal of using strange and terrible monster powers against demonic foes successfully turns heads.
7 The Academy Of the Reclamation Is the New Up-and-Comer
The Event Hosts Seek the Regrowth & Restoration of a Ravaged Nation and People
The Academy of the Reclamation are the hosts of the inaugural international Convocation, which is impressive for an institution with such a short history. The Acadamy of the Reclamation are pledged to restoring the Sarkoris Scar, the harsh and damaged land still fighting the leftover demonic infestation that was stemmed just recently during the events of adventure path and CRPG Гнев праведников. Dedicated to restoring the culture and history of the original inhabitants to the ravaged land, the Academy of the Reclamation has lots to gain from the Convocation.
This holds back the Academy of the Reclamation somewhat. As the hosts and beneficiaries of such an exchange, the grounded and sincere tone of the Academy serves as a foil for some of the more wild schools that arrive to visit. While exploring the Sarkoris Scar and the Convocation would make an incredible and rewarding campaign, their school’s focus on diplomacy, history and community are useful, wise, and practical, but not flashy. With so many other more established and fantastic schools present, The Academy of the Reclamation gets upstaged on their own turf — but that leaves them much to gain from the prestige of being the first to host the event.
6 Kitharodian Academy Is A Bardic College From A Decadent Empire
These Dramatic Intrigue Machines Meld Stagecraft And Spycraft
Kitharodian Academy is either a school full of theater kids secretly engaged in spy craft or a spy school disguised as a performance institution, depending on your perspective. Too convincing in their appearance as pompous, self-aggrandizing narcissists, the Kithatrodian Academy is precisely the school for characters that insist on referring to themselves as theatre artistes and using forks in the proper order at formal dinners. As impressive as their feats of conventional stagecraft are, they’re still a school that is limiting in their flavor, as it takes a special campaign like 1e’s War For The Throne adventure path or 2e’s Шоу должно продолжаться to be able to support an entire theater school/spy kids campaign.
What saves Kitharodian from being further down the rankings is that they admittedly pull off their niche schtick with charisma. Using illusions to supplement conventional stagecraft and stagecraft to supplement illusory magic is a stroke of genius. Fake blood packs, monster suits, a method actor archetype — each of these give adventuring potential that inspires theatrics. While not every character might want to play a sneaky actor or a dramatic spy, those who do are going to be thrilled with what they find at Kitharodian’s prestigious arts academy.
5 The Monastery Of Unbreaking Waves Teaches Magic And Martial Arts
This Elemental Monastery Draws Wisdom From Water Genies
The Monastery of Unbreaking Waves hails from Jalmeray, an island nation frequented by genies and rakshasa. Drawing from the wisdom of the faydhaan, genies from the Plane of Water, the monastery teaches martial arts and water magic. The more militant bent of their gear, spells, and feats suit adventuring, and the details about the Monastery’s students, staff, and history make a compelling tapestry of resilience, strength, and dedicated determination that itches to be explored by player characters in Jalmeray adventures.
The player options for The Monastery Of Unbreaking Waves cover a few different Pathfinder classes, including a fascinating magus that improves improvised weaponry through water-bending and an entire school of water-themed feats for monks to employ. The monastery provides some powerful flavor and options, making it comfortably the fifth best of the schools presented in Rival Academies.
4 The University Of Lepidstadt Is Full Of Gothic Mad Science
Get Involved In Alchemical Reanimation & Eldritch Gadgetry
The University of Lepidstadt is a school in Ustalav, a country that closely resembles Magic: The Gathering‘s Innistrad setting in its use of gothic and eldritch horror tropes. Ustalav is a place haunted by strange monsters and undead threats, leaving common folk to invest in science to study and hopefully overcome their plague of horrors. The University of Lepidstadt has a reputation for engineering and medicine, though both disciplines are clearly influenced by the nature of the surrounding country.
The occult engineering of Lepidstadt gives players a number of consumable objects of varying spiritual power. Additionally, an archetype for a Lepidstadt surgeon lets players create their very own Doctor Frankenstein, assembling a construct out of flesh and alchemy to accompany them on adventures. This school represents some of what Paizo does best: bringing disparate genres to bear in a single setting with absolute commitment and sincerity, establishing a world where a flesh-stitched gothic horror can show up at the same academic convocation as fairy time-scholars and water-bending martial artists.
3 Sihedron Spires Steals The Show From Some Sponsors
This Convocation Invitee Finally Gives Players the Keys to Runelord Magic
In Следопыт, Thassilon was an ancient civilization that collapsed when underwater abominations dropped a swarm of meteors on the planet because they felt their vassal human empire had become too uppity. Recent adventure paths included the return and machinations of several Runelords, the ancient wizard rulers of Thassilon who used a unique brand of rune magic tied to mortal sins. The Sihedron Spires is a new college that specializes in teaching a new generation of wizards the fundamentals and mastery of magic through said sin runes.
In the meta-story of the book, Sihedron Spires shows up late and makes an oversized splash compared to the other invitees, getting an 8-page spread about the Runelord archetype, rune magic and Thassilonian spells. This is an extra treat due to the history of Runelords being so intertwined with Pathfinder, epic villains who prominently feature in three adventure paths and countless solo adventures. Giving players the archetype to finally play their own Runelords is a deep cut and a dream come true for longtime Pathfinder fans.
2 Cobyslarni Is A Fairy School Built Atop Its Elephantine Founder
The Traveling Academy Takes Field Trips Across Time and Space
Cobyslarni is both the name of the school and its founder, the three-eyed elephantine behemoth that carries this school on its back through the fairy plane of the First World. Also known as the Traveling Academy, this institution makes sojourns across the breadth of existence and regularly stops to visit Ng, the mysterious fey lord of secrets and travel. Students from Cobyslarni are used to nonlinear time and mutable reality, so they might come across as a little loopy to mortal students from other schools.
Cobyslarni students get access to a new witch patron in their Founder, Headmaster Emeritus, and school driver Cobyslarni, plus they get two new fey familiar options, a whole slew of new fairy pacts for players using the Pactbinder Archetype from Темный архив, and new spells and items to recall information and shape reality. If that wasn’t enough, Cobyslarni brings some wonderful whimsical energy that shows Следопыт is willing to be weirder than other roleplaying games — as cool as many of the other schools are, they don’t have a talking emu student in a suit. While it’s not quite enough to topple the best school in Rival Acadamies, Cobyslarni makes an elephant-sized impression.
1 There’s No Beating The Magaambya
The Oldest School of Magic On the Planet Remains At the Top for Good Reason
The Magaambya is a magic school founded thousands of years in the past and continuously operational until the present day. Следопыт players may have gotten familiar with the school during the Strength Of Thousands adventure path, but their appearance in Rival Academies is stand-alone and provides details on the school’s history and philosophies. The school follows the teachings of Old-Mage Jatembe and his Ten Magic Warriors, legendary warriors from the ancient past who uplifted humanity after the Age of Anguish, and is packed with vibrant Afro-centric fantasy that continues to expand upon Следопыт‘s critically-acclaimed Mwangi Expanse установка.
Current-day Magaambya keeps the legend of its founders alive. From demon-hunting armor talismans to spells that call down living spirits of legend to smite foes, players get militant options to bring the fight to their enemies. Most exciting might be the Storytelling Spells, where players can heighten the effects by recounting more details of the story, making these options unique, flavorful, and useful. With its perfect blend of vibrant lore and player options, the Magaambya shows that it’s the best school showcased in Rival Acadamies, no matter how great the entire book is.
