HARP: The World of Tarn

The Organizations of Tarn: The Foundation

The Magi of the Tower of the Shifting Sands ("The Magi") is the organization composed of the elite mages of Tarn, responsible for seeing to the protection of the Web and mages across the land. Many of Tarn's NPC guildmasters are Magi members, and the Magi is responsible for worldwide coordination of each mage guild. That said, the Broad Foundation Upon Which Rests All of the Magi Towers ("The Foundation"), is the organization which serious mages join to pursue their arcane educations.

Foundation membership can be considered formal registration and entrance into the community of mages. It entitles a mage access to various resources and opportunities in exchange for dedication and for acting as a liaison between undeclared mages and the Magi. Most Foundation members remain in the Foundation for their entire lives, lacking the singleminded devotion to the Web, mages, and knowledge, almost to the total exclusion of all else, that the Magi requires. Tarn's guildmasters who are not Magi are elder Foundation members. No one will be welcomed among the Magi who was not first an involved Foundation member.

The Foundation hosts a number of events across Tarn for the improvement of mages, with the guidance and sponsorship of the Magi. These activities follow a seasonal schedule and cover everything from independent research and study to discussions about the Planes to combat training as an arcane unit and as a force mixed with mundane soldiers. The Foundation is truly broad, not just by its membership numbers, but by the varied interests and skills that its members bring to the table, outside of their magical pursuits.

The Foundation schedule was created with the intent to provide consistent and continual roleplaying opportunities at specific times and locations to its members and the rest of the population of Tarn.

No one is online all the time, so you will miss some of these activities (since the schedule never stops), but you can roleplay that you were there regardless or doing individual research and study at a different location instead of the scheduled discussions.

For instance, your character may be working on a special project for a Magi member (either a Magi PC, an NPC guildmaster, or another Magi NPC) during the time of the scheduled events, and those can be used as In Character (IC) reasoning for your absence. You can also come up with a myriad of plausible excuses/reasons for not attending a specific day's activites that relate directly to your character's history and personality. Hopefully, you get the idea.

Do not let the daily schedule and volume of discussions be daunting; it is a tool to help stimulate roleplaying among the Magi, the Foundation, and interested others.