As a beginner in worldbuilding, how could I go about creating a kingdom where much like many real-life things, magic has become a symbol of the rich, despite it being widely used by everyone in the past?

Spell components would have heavily inflated prices and wizard colleges would be nepotism central (either students come from rich families, are rich themselves, or have by some miracle acquired a scholarship). Most students of the college wouldn’t even be that good at magic but are still studying there because their parents paid for the library extension or whatever.

I am asking because I don’t fully know how NPCs from here would react to the party, and I also want to add some kind of corruption but don’t know how to implement that.

Some advice regarding what kind of history this kingdom should have would also be nice.

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  • Endless-Conquest@fediverser.communick.devBEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    My favorite way to do this is via war and economic unrest. People are much more open to having their rights taken away if it means they will be safe and secure from a looming threat. I can send you my take on this war later.

    I imagine several regulations are in place. Magic item shops are only available to nobles, the wealthy, the military, and mage students who made the dean’s list. Peasants and those of low birth must attend the university or join the military if they ever wish to learn magic. There is a regional registry of those who purchase magic items, spell components, and spellbooks. Those who practice magic and are not from the kingdom must take an Aptitude Test and will be given a special permit to use magic if they succeed. Applying for this test will take several weeks, but once it is time, a foreign mage must take the test immediately or risk being arrested. Should they fail, they will be barred from the use of magic outside of the direct supervision of a skilled mage.

    Over the last few years, there are whispers among the populace of new magic attacks happening. A home being burnt to the ground with no apparent cause, babies floating out of their cradles, and people disappearing without a trace. The public relations department writes these strange incidents off as having mundane causes or denies their existence entirely depending on the allegation at hand. All of these incidents are true. Strangely enough, there has been an increase in the number of Sorcerers that are born in one particular region within the kingdom. And rumor has it that among the nobles who’re denied the privilege to use magic, these people make sacrifices to otherworldly entities in exchange for great magical power. Becoming Warlocks who do the bidding of their twisted Masters, threatening the illusion of safety the kingdom has been so desperately trying go keep.

    NPC’s would react to spellcasting PC’s as though they have the plague. Shopkeepers may order them to leave their stores, taverns may insist they have no rooms available to them, and people may ignore them on the streets. Others may mistake them for being servants of the regional governors, and treat them with high degrees of fear and respect. PC’s who attain a license to cast spells are treated with suspicion, but aren’t immediately ignored or turned away by the masses like they were before. Some especially poor or desperate people may seek these PC’s out. Asking if they can heal the wounded, cure the sick, or fix something with a spell or two. If these NPC’s ask an unlicensed PC’s to help, I would have the PC’s succeed in their task, but have that NPC disappear a few days later without a trace. That is the power of secret police, and it’ll definitely make your PC’s very nervous if they get it.