Cabalists

## What is a Cabalist?

The wizards of Tanicus, called Cabalists, universally belong to the Great Cabal, a once-great organization whose thirteen towers were built on the thirteen Cabalist stones. Sadly, only seven -- possibly eight -- of those towers and their related islands remain intact, and the Cabal is neither as populous nor powerful as it once was.

The traditions remain however. In order to become a Cabalist, a prospective student must apply to a Cabalistic school, meet entrance requirements, be selected for a class, and enter the Academy. Once adequately proficient, the student graduates as a Cabalist Initiate, and is permitted to begin a career in the Art.

There are seven Cabalistic schools, each with its own defining "identity." These Cabalistic identities are: Abjurers, Conjurers, Diviners, Enchanters, Illusionists, Invokers, and Transmuters. The Cabal once included schools for the four elements as well, but those towers and their traditions were destroyed during the ancient war with the Githyanki.

Illusionists are also rare now, as the school of Illusion withdrew from the Cabal after the Great Schism which expelled all Necromancers from the Cabal and destroyed their tower. The tower of illusion, indeed their entire island, disappeared from the Cabalist Stones when they withdrew from the Cabal. The school, however, has never formally removed itself from membership in the Cabal.

Each Cabalistic identity has a Master, and the seven Masters form the Council of the Great Cabal. The council meet in the ninth tower, the Tower of the Cabal, which can be entered only through teleportation, dimensional walking, or some other magical means. Apprentices train on the individual island for their associated school.

Non-barbarian humans, the sidh races, gnomes, and the sidhborne are all magically-adept enough to become cabalists. That said, it is almost unheard of for sidh to specialize in conjuration because of the sundering of the Faerie Isle by demons and devils during the second incursion of chaos, nor will sidh willingly become necromancers.

## The Cabal of the High Art

Because of the nature of magic and the lawful nature of the goddess of the Art, Faylinn, magic is heavily regulated on Tanicus. All sanctioned wizards are specialist members of the Cabal of the High Art, though they prefer the word Cabalist to wizard. “Wizards” are non-sanction, non-specialist, and are hunted down to be re-educated or, if they refust to learn the proper way, to have them stripped of the powers of the Art. The only exception to this rule are the new “Sorcerers,” who possess innate powers of magic. The Cabal has sanctioned sorcery as an external practice, though the are keeping a close eye on it.

The Cabal is organized into eight circles. In order to progress from one circle to the next, a Cabalist must achieve a certain experience level, seek out a Cabalist from the same specialty of the next circle, and undertake a test assigned by that Cabalist. Entry requirements into each circle are identified below:

* Seventh Circle: Level 1+ (achieved upon graduation from the college)
* Sixth Circle: Level 3+; Int 12+
* Fifth Circle: Level 5+; Int 14+
* Fourth Circle: Level 7+; Int 16+
* Third Circle: Level 10+; Int 17+
* Second Circle: Level 13+; Int 18+; Archmage
* First Circle: Level 16+; Int 19+
* Inner Circle: Level 18+; Int 20+; Master of the Order; there is only one Inner Circle member per Specialization)

The schools (a.k.a. "The Towers") of the Cabal are located on an archipelago off the coast of Wilder called the Cabalist Stones, consisting of nine islands, one each for the eight schools of magic and one as a central headquarters for the order and meeting place for the Inner Circle.

All Cabalists learn the *find familiar* spell, which does not count against their initial complement. This spell is cast upon graduation to the Seventh Circle. Each school is associated with a color of robe and associated “power” crystal, as defined below.

* Abjuration (Abjurer): Human, Lwnasidh, Sidhborne, Color – White (Opal)
* Alteration (Transmuter): Human, Lwnasidh, Sidhborne, Color – Blue (Sapphire)
* Conjuration (Conjurer): Human, Lwnasidh, Sidhborne, Color – Red (Ruby)
* Divination (Diviner): Human, Lwnasidh, Sidhborne, Color – Green (Emerald)
* Enchantment (Enchanter): Human, Lwnasidh, Sidhborne, Color – Yellow (Topaz)
* Evocation (Evoker): Human, Lwnasidh, Sidhborne, Color – Gray (Hematite)
* Illusion (Illusionist): Human, Lwnasidh, Sidhborne, Color – Purple (Aquamarine); after the Great Schism, the school of illusion separated itself from the Cabal but did not divorce itself entirely, as their Master still attends meetings of the Inner Circle
* Necromancy (Necromancer): Human, Color – Black (Onyx); the school of necromancy was exiled from the Cabal after the Great Schism; and necromancers are actively hunted by the Cabal.

Some notes on races: Barbarians of the Broken Tribes (Human) cannot be Cabalists; While Lwnasidh can become Conjurers, they are outcasts banned from the Faerie Isles, so few ever do; and Quasidh-Borne Evokers tend to focus on Water and Ice spells.

A Note on Multi-classed Cabalists: The Cabal is very strict about its dedication to "the Art." If a character who is not a Cabalist decides to join the Order, that character can only gain levels as a Cabalist from that point forward unless the character leaves the Order. If a Cabalist leaves the Order, the character may never gain any more levels as a Cabalist and will not be accepted back into the Order without undertaking a quest assigned by the head of the character’s specialization to prove devotion to the Art. The only exception to this rule is the Cabalist/Cleric of Faylinn multiclass combination, which is allowed to progress in any manner under the multi-classing rules.

The identities of the Masters of the Cabal (the Inner Circle) are public knowledge to all Cabalists and assumed knowledge (in other words, no roll is required) of all Cabalists with proficiency in the Arcana skill.

## The Masters of the Cabal

### Master of Abjuration, Trevelian Evenmoor (human male, LN)

The current Master of Abjuration and Headmaster of the Cabal Academy is a master of defensive military strategy, and he brings that experience to his teachings. Trevelian is a practical man of middle age but still remarkably fit of body, of medium height and build with graying brown hair and weathered gray eyes. His dress is functional and informal.

### Master of Alteration, Gavin mac Cradh (mak-KRAY) (human male, CG)

A middle-aged man whose height and weight seem to change with the clothing he wears, Gavin's hair and eye color change on at least a daily basis. His personality is unpredictable but generally amiable, though he does tend to get a bit defensive when addressed as "strange" or "odd."

### Master of Conjuration, Darrien Garmist (human male, N)

Darrien is a stable individual capable of controlling his curiosity, though still dedicated to discovery and investigation into the very nature of Magic. He's a tall, handsome man just entering middle age. He radiates power, but there is also a calm patience about him that demands attention, with steel-blue eyes and light brown hair that is beginning to show some gray. Much like under its previous Master, the school of conjuration is known as a bit of a "party school," and is looked down on by some of the more serious-minded schools... especially divination.

### Master of Enchantment, Siandellorian mac Undwryallan (shan DAH lor ee ahn MAC un door ee AHL an, lwnasidh male, NG)

Siandellorian is a beautiful and charismatic figure with glistening golden eyes and silver-streaked black hair usually pulled back into a long ponytail. Like most Masters of Enchantment before him, he controls his order through the loyalty of his students rather than fear or power.

### Master of Divination, Tegan Wintersong (TEE-guhn WIN-ter-song) (human female, LN)

The goddess Faylinn herself spoke through her first priestess of Tegan's appointment. Tegan appears to be approaching middle-age and is known for her almost prescient intelligence. Short, slender, and mousey, she would be unassuming to most if not for her incredibly powerful magical aura.

### Master of Illusion, Grey Mistcaller (human? female, LE)

Grey Mistcaller, though no one really believes that's her true name, seems to have been the recipient of eternal youth, since she looks the same today as she did during the Godswar. Of course, such a "gift" is not uncommon amongst Illusionist, and Grey is their greatest. She is short and slim, lovely and graceful, with flowing auburn hair and violet eyes. She possesses an unmatched gift for misdirection and often arrives for meetings and engagements in a different guise before revealing herself to those expecting her.

### Master of Invocation, Ahdji (AH jhee) Korlin (lwna-sidhborne female, N)

The first sidhborne to rise to a School Master position within the schools of the Cabal, Ahdji was born of a lwnasidh woman and a Kæri man. She is a striking beauty with sparkling blue eyes and auburn hair that falls in long ringlets to her shoulders. She won her position through challenge, unseating the previous mistress who had held the position for a quarter of a century, cementing her position through demonstration of unmatched magical power.

## Other Wizards

In addition to the subclasses of the Cabal and the War Wizard in *Xanathar's Guide to Everything*, Tanicus also offers the Elementalist wizards of Thyrin and the Theurgist Cabalists that combine the arcane and divine.