Been reading the Dalelands by Rich Baker. He says Archendale has the largest army in the Dales. I'm wondering if Warmages can be trained in Archendale (it's not as detailed as Shadowdale, though). Thoughts?
I don't know much about the Dales. I have read the 3rd edition campaign setting and Volo's guide to the Dales. There didn't seem to be any big reason they couldn't.
Archendale was described as very militaristic, so I think they have the right temperament to accept a military force of mages in their society. They have come into conflict with Sembian and Thayian forces in the past, so I think that gives them a motive to bolster their army with magic users.
The main obstacle I see is the dale's relatively small population, but that depends on how you handle "the Gift" in your world. Homegrown mages might be hard to come by if you follow Ed Greenwood's ratios. Archendale is described as wealthy, so they might be able to recruit foreign mages.
I don't see why not. The "traditional" story on warmages is that it started as an elven tradition, and they're right on the border of the elven court. I wouldn't be surprised to see some elf or half-elf that didn't go to Evermeet living there and training people in the art. I in fact wouldn't say that there's much of anywhere in the realms for the most part that couldn't easily shoehorn in the idea that there's someone there that isn't a traditional wizard and is training warmages. It doesn't need to be a university and could just be warmage and apprentice(s).
Warmages in Archendale?
Posted - 13 May 2025 : 20:33:03
