Arcane Magic in Savage Dragonlance

 Arcane Magic in Krynn
Most arcane magic on the continent of Ansalon is regulated by the Orders of High Sorcery, headquartered at the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth since the Lost Battles and the destruction (or cursing) of the other towers. The Conclave of Wizards is made up of the heads of the three orders, and each order is dedicated to one of the three gods of magic, and to the philosophy of magic they espouse.

The Orders of High Sorcery rigorously control the practice of arcane magic on Ansalon. In order to cast spells that exceed the Novice level, a mage must pass the Test of High Sorcery, administered by the Conclave. Without passing that test (or being en route to doing so), use of the more advanced magic is deemed illegal by the laws of the Order, and such "renegades" are hunted down. Within the Orders, there are three primary rules:

All wizards were brothers and sisters in their order and all orders were brothers and sisters in magic
The Towers belonged to all mages of all orders and no magic was to be used in anger against another member in the Towers
Outside the Towers, fate often made enemies of mages of the Orders, but this was considered a natural part of the world

There are additional laws within the Order, such as a prohibition on counterfeiting currency, but those are mostly written with the purpose of avoiding conflict with civil authorities. Mages had few other restrictions, though they are discouraged from practicing magics heavily associated with the other Orders.

Gods and Moons
Each of the three gods of magic are associated with one of the three moons of Krynn. Solinari is the God of the White Robed Wizards; his followers use magic for knowledge, wisdom, and protection. Lunitari is the Goddess of the Red Robed Wizards; her followers are fond of illusions, but also seek knowledge of knowledge's sake. Nuitari is the God of the Black Robed Wizards; his followers seek power.

High Sorcery does not enable one to cast all spells, and learn all powers; the powers allowed to Wizards of High Sorcery are listed below. While the gods have favored magics, their main concern is with the philosophy followed by their Wizards. A White Robe who consistently pursues power for power's sake, or undertakes potentially dangerous research just to know is going to find that she is no longer welcome in Solinari's Order, and will be forced to leave her own (though she may join another). Solinari particularly objects to the spells Zombie and Puppet; the others have no such restrictions.

The association with the moons has a profound impact on the practice of magic. Wizards of High Sorcery find their magic influenced by their patron satellite, and their power waxes and wanes with the moon's cycle. Each of the moons has 4 main phases, in a magical sense; High Sanction, when the moon's magic is highest, followed by Waning, as the magic decreases down to Low Sanction, and followed by Waxing, as the magic rises.
When the moon is waxing, all that god's followers receive a +1 on their arcane skill rolls. When the moon is at High Sanction, this is increased to +1 to the arcane skill rolls, and 1 bonus power point per hour, both in recovery and in maximum; a wizard who normally has 10 point points, and recovers 5 power points per hour of rest, will instead have a maximum of 11 power points, recovering 6 per hour of rest, and 1 per hour, even without rest. The waning moon sees the wizard's magic at "normal" levels; no bonus, no penalty. When magic is at Low Sanction, then those wizards suffer a 1 point penalty to all skill rolls, and recover only 3 power points per hour of rest, instead of the normal 5.

When the moons are in alignment, and in High Sanction, all followers of those gods gain the advantages allotted to each of the members; an alignment of two provides those wizards with +2 to their arcane skill rolls, and 2 bonus power points per hour. An alignment of all three moons, known as the Night of the Eye, affords all wizards a +3 on all skill rolls, and 3 bonus power points per hour.

Solinari, the white moon is furthest from Krynn, and has a 36 day cycle. His quarters are nine days long. Lunitari is the middle moon, with a 28 day cycle and 7 day quarters. Nuitari, the black moon, is visible only to those who worship him (and those who see his blackness cross the stars, or other moons). Nuitari circles the world in only 8 days; he will go through an entire lunar cycle in the time that it takes Solinari to complete a quarter.

Dabblers and Renegades
Many people on Krynn dabble in magic, especially among the elves and Irda. Though they do not commit to magic full-time, they nonetheless have some small magical skill and know a few powers; these may be a diverse as a hedge witch or an elven prince. So long as they confine their magics to lesser things, to Novice powers, they do not fall under the control of the Orders, though they may still be monitored for compliance. Should they begin to use more advanced magics, the Orders will step in, demanding they either take the Test, or be declared renegade.

Renegades have chosen not to join the Orders, or have been kicked out and not accepted to another. They are both Wanted (Major) and Outsiders (Major), without gaining any benefit from these hindrances. According to the laws of the Order, they may be killed at will, and have no rights, but White Robes and Red Robes will frequently try to enlist them into the Order. Some who are technically renegades may escape persecution; if their use of greater magics is minor and unnoticed, if they have powerful enough friends outside the Orders, or if, like Raistlin Majere, they are personally powerful enough that none dare challenge them. But most renegades lack these advantages, and so must be very careful if Wizards are around.
---
Arcane Background: Mage
ARCANE SKILL: Spellcasting (Smarts)
„STARTING POWERS: 3
„POWER POINTS: 10

A Mage has learned the magic of the Gods of Magic. Without passing the Test, they may freely use Novice powers. If they wish to use Seasoned or Veteran powers, they must either pass the Test of High Sorcery or be declared a renegade.

Wizard of High Sorcery (Edge)
Requirements: Arcane Background (Mage), pass the Test of High Sorcery
To be a Wizard of High Sorcery, one must have passed a Test overseen by the Orders of Magic; this test must be passed before or as soon as possible after passing into Seasoned. To be a Wizard, one must swear a Vow (as the minor hindrance) to the Order, and suffers a degree of the Outsider Hindrance (-2 to Persuasion rolls, as the minor hindrance).
Being a member does have its advantages, however. As all Wizards are brothers and sisters in magic, they receive a +2 bonus to Persuasion and Intimidation to Network with other Wizards, and a +2 bonus to Common Knowledge rolls pertaining to the society of wizards; it doesn't make them a better spellcaster, but they will know (or, at least, know of) famous wizards and spells. This can also provide a chance to intervene with other wizards, even when they are opposed, but that is entirely up to the other wizard when not at a Tower.
A Wizard has access to such Towers of High Sorcery as are open, and to other businesses associated with the Orders as may exist (such as the mageware shop of Palanthas). This also allows them to easily acquire variations on known powers with different trappings; if you know the Magic Missile power (Bolt with a Force trapping), you can easily learn Acid Arrow (bolt, but with an acid trapping). If they have access, they may acquire one such variation for free with each advance.

Spells of High Sorcery:
Novice (available to all, including those who do not take the test):
Arcane Protection, Beast Friend, Blind, Boost/Lower Trait, Burrow, Burst, Confusion, Darksight, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Aura, Elemental Manipulation, Empathy, Entangle, Environmental Protection, Fear, Havoc, Illusion, Light/Darkness, Mind Link, Mind Reading, Protection, Shape Change, Sound/Silence, Speak Language, Stun, Summon Ally, Wall Walker
Seasoned (only to Wizards of High Sorcery and Renegades)
Barrier, Blast, Damage Field, Disguise, Dispel, Farsight, Growth/Shrink, Invisibility, Object Reading, Sloth/Speed, Slumber, Telekinesis, Teleport
Veteran (only to Wizards of High Sorcery and Renegades)
Bansh, Drain Power Points, Fly, Mind Wipe, Puppet, Zombie

If using the Fantasy Companion, Wizards of High Sorcery can, instead of the Mage edge above, make use of the Elementalist, Illusionist, Necromancer, Summoner, or Wizard edges.