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Worldbuilding for Masochists

Episode 144: What Do You Do with a B.A. in Magic?

Dec 18, 2024
01:10:59

How do the people in your world learn things? Lessons learned might come from formalized institutions, but knowledge might also get passed down through families, through guilds and trade organizations, or through the wisdom whispered in a character's ear by the trees. A world's literacy rate will define a lot about how information gets transmitted, preserved, or altered over time. So who controls the access to information, and how do they enforce it?

We also poke at the perennially persistent trope of the magical school. How is magical education similar to or different from other forms of education in your society? Is it mandatory, to help control the danger that magic might present to society, or is it a privilege reserved for a very few? How about magical R&D -- How do people discover or develop new magic?

[Transcript TK]

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