So I thought to myself why not start a thread about the tests, there seems to be so much discussion about the WoHS, but not much on the lethal entry exam. I want to share ideas for the challenges, the foes. Share ideas for the tests and critique those presented. All that good stuff. The Test of High Sorcery is, at least in my eyes, one of the greatest bits of flavor, one of the greatest characteristics, and one of my favorite parts of Dragonlance. I want to do it right. I still have another week to set the specifics but here is what I have in store so far.
A bit of background on the Wizard I am designing the test for. The character is Half Elven, but was not raised amongst the elves, his human parent is long dead, but of natural causes, he just outlived them. He aims for the Red Robes.
It is my opinion that after the WoS, with the rise of primal Scorcerers and wild magic, that for the first time anyone can remember the Wizards of High Sorcery, now with their power resored, are 'actively recruiting' trying to reform their order. To get people to choose High Sorcery rather than low. So when he is ready for his test... they come looking for him.
One of the challenges I have in mind that 'cannot be solved by magic alone' I have taken from Shakespere's The Merchent of Venice, with alterations made of course, but the heart of the challenge is the same. The three caskets, one of Gold, one of Silver, one of base Lead. In one is the key to an extremely complex lock (DC 30 lockpicking). On each casket is an inscription,
on the gold "Who choosesth me gain what many men desire,"
on the silver, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves,"
and on the lead casket, "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath."
Choose correctly and you get the key, choose wrongly and he'll have to survive what he finds inside... which I wont count towards his 'foe of greater power' since this could have been averted.
A detect magic spell would show that only one casket has a magical aura, also that the lock to the next room does not, the only casket with a magical aura is the Golden one, the school, Necromancy.
If they open the Golden casket they'll find a Wight or a Ghast (haven't decided yet) or some undead capable of creating undead spawn. What 'many men desire' is eternal life, thus it is given in undeath. This goes along with the human skull found in the casket in Shakespere's play.
If they open the Silver casket, and I pray they don't, they'll find a mirror, as in Shakespere's play... only guess what's in this mirror. That's right, a Fetch. I may tone the Fetch down (especially if the Wizard chooses to take the test alone without his allies) but still it will be a harsh fight.
That leaves the Lead casket, which holds the mundane key. He 'gives' himself to magic with this choice rather then the trappings of gold and silver, and he 'hazards' because this choice leads on with the test and it's other peril.
I'm still trying to work out the other two lesser tests, but I think that's a fantastic first one.
For the battle the Wizard must take (CR = to the Wizard's own) I plan on having him face a Squire to a Knight of the Thorn, who will tie into a larger plot between the WoHS and the Grey Robes I have brewing. The squire was captured by the givers of the test after a battle with the Grey Robes, rather then execute him outright... using him as part of the test seemed better. Ftr1/Src3, or maybe just a Src4,
The personal challenge will involve an illusion of his Elven parent, deriding him, and his choice of neutrality. The illusion will tempt him to forsake this foolish test and the magic to go with him to learn of his 'true herritige', so on and so forth.
This is the test I have framed out anyway. Thoughts on it? Critism? Any ideas for other challenges? Anything to share on the tests in general?
I like the thing with the caskets. Maybe you should include someway to use magic to figure it out though, because this is a test of their devotion to magic, and, for the reason I stated above.
I like the illusion idea. That should work really well, even though that's just a pure roleplaying part of the test.
Overall, I think it looks pretty good. Good luck running it.
1. To weed out the incompetent fools.
2. To decide which of the three orders a mage is most suited to join.
3. To teach each mage a personal life lesson, to show him his main weakness and thus make him a more powerful mage.
Death does not mean failure if it has nothing to do with the first part. Dalamar for instance died in his Test, but his death was a lesson to him, to show him that he would sacrifice even his life for the magic.
The first part should be relatively easy for a PC, as they are generally 'hero material', so the Test shouldn't be about how powerful in magic they are, but rather how creative their use of magic is.
The second part should be a kind of philosophical test, to determine how the mage really views the magic. To quote Night of the Eye:
Par-Salian: 'Wizards of the White Robes embrace the cause of Good, and we use our magic to further the predominance of Good in the world. We believe that a world in which there is only good deeds and thoughts would benefit all races and end much suffering.'
Ladonna: 'Wizards of the Black Robes believe the darker side that all creatures possess is their most productive. Therefore, we believe that magic should be pursued without ethical or moral restraints. It is beyond such considerations.'
Justarius: 'Both Good and Evil exist in all creatures. We believe that to try to eliminate one or the other is not only futile, but an undesirable goal. It is when these two opposing elements are balanced in an individual-or in a society-that life has the richness we all seek. Wizards of the Red Robes use their magic to encourage and maintain that balance.'
The third part I think is the hardest to implement. It should be a very personal lesson. To teach the indifferent not to ignore others, to teach reason to the cruel, to teach alertness to the naive.
when my players wizard reaches the tim for the test, one room will involve entry into a room sloped oh-so-slighty toward the player. near the end is a 15-foot wall of ice, it's top five feet away from the ceiling. when he stepes on a concealed button (DC30 spot) a 15foot cube of ice falls out of the ceiling and slides toward the pc. they have 10 minutes (timed by me) befor they go splat againt the wall., of course the door locks behind them.
this will probably go first.
probably followed up by the cascet idea.
a few starving animals, thaen some sort of illusion.
The way I did it was a private adventure with the wizard who wanted to take the test (I wouldn't allow them to bring "help").
The test itself, was fairly simple. He stood on platform which floated in a stary expance, three bridges went off into different directions, each ended in a shadowy chamber.
You have a number of options to handle this and I based it after very careful research into the character, most of which has been lost.
But the idea was this. The paths actually didn't represent the three orders of high sorcery. Each path led to the same place, but the offering of choice usually led to some internal dialogue due to the player. If his wizard debated the merits of evil and good, and tried to figure out how that was metaphysically being represented by the three paths, I would assume a lawful alingment. If he just chose one, chaotic.
after going throw the shadowy portals you enter a stone hallway, here a number of random encounters are done, but they do not necessarily have to be handled with spells (actually I did have one wizard character take his test and not cast a single spell.. he became a Red Robe). As you handle the encounters it is weighed against your alingment. For example, ignoring the gully dwarves or killing them with a good alingment would be a mark against you, etc
As you go your responces to the encoutners determine the final "lesson" what they can teach you. if a white robe character spends his time killing gully dwarves, I'd make the final lesson that he be aged and stripped of powers, then told to defend himself from a bully of a Knight. Thus he learns to repsect the helpless.
I think that would be a good test.
Rosisha
One thing that I always believed was that the test always took place in the wizards mind, as if by giant illusion, and that like an illusion, it could be fatal if believed to much, or if the wizards controling the test were truly bent on killing you.
I disagree, while many of the tests shown in the novels have included illusion, they're not always, or totally illusion. Raistlin's test for instance his battle with the Dark Elf that left him with golden skin was very much real.
Rosisha
Palins Test is in The Legacy in The Second Generation.
Dalamars Test is in Dalamar the Dark.
Loracs Test is in Dalamar the Dark.
Guerrands Test is in The Medusa Plague.
I decided to make her an Irda NPC from a remote location where there is still a small gathering of Irda clans(Those that were left after Chaos broke most of the race off.).
~~~
Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn
Did she pass? What color robes did she win?
Dara ManySpells passed the Test of High Sorcery with flying colors and now wears the red robes of Lunitari. :D
~~~
Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn
Arent Irda supposed to wear the white robes?
Not this one.
Dara prides herself on being an individual. In part a mage's personality that comes out in the tests decides which color they wear. At least it does in my campaign. ;)
~~~
Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn
But she is an NPC?
Yes she is. In my campaigns the NPCs are JUST as important as the PCs. Each and every one of the characters in my campaigns, whether controlled by a player or not, has a detailed background, etc.
Unless they are just passing by(Not part of the integral plot I am writing out.) or one shot wonders(Such as a quick encounter, etc.).
~~~
That test turned out rather nicely, I ripped off Indana Jones and the Last Crusade a bit for the other challenges in his test but he managed alright, I managed to drain him of all his spells. Worked real well actually.
Though the challenge I mentioned in my first post almost garnered a TPK, the others decided to face the dangers of the test with their friend, I toned down the fetch by letting everyone (not just the one it was attacking) see it. Still nearly killed them all.
Details are a little fuzzy and unfortunatly the guy running that wizard is no longer with my group and none of my other players ever want to play arcane casters so that's been the only test I've run thus far.
Most 4th level wizards I've played know well over 50 spells.
That would take at least 4 days worth of "cast spells, rest, memorize, repeat". I don't know any DM who's ran a 4 day game time test.
Maybe "cast all the spells you have memorized that day" or something.
-TRRW
Originally posted by TheRedRobedWizard
Most 4th level wizards I've played know well over 50 spells.
Interesting. Most of the ones I know have very little and are scraping together the money and the time to get more. In my campaign, the party wizard (who just passed his Test) has 29 spells in his spellbook, 17 of which are cantrips. If you do have lucky wizards, it's perhaps best to interpret the requirement as casting all of the spells they have prepared, making their choices very important. And regardless, I wouldn't count 0-level spells at all.
Cheers,
Cam
For example: the wealth chart shows that a 4th level character should have 5400 gp.
"Free" Starting Spells: 21 Cantrips, 6 First Level (3 + Int Mod)
"Free" Level Up Spells: 6 (2 per level)
That brings us up to 12 non-cantrips.
1st level spell scrolls cost 25 stl each. Lets buy 15 of them.
25 x 15 = 275 stl
Then, since each is a 1st level spell, it'll cost 100 gp to scribe each in.
15 x 100 = 1500 stl
Now, we'll buy some 2nd level spells. We'll go with 10, which cost 150 stl each.
10 x 150 = 1500 stl
Now, scribing time. They take up two pages each, for a total cost of 200 stl per spell.
10 x 200 = 2000 stl.
This brings us up to a total spent of:
275 stl + 1500 stl + 1500 stl + 2000 stl = 5,275 stl
Which leaves enough for a familar, spellbook, quarterstaff, robes, and a spell component pouch; and you'll still have 8 stl left.
12 "free" spells + 15 1st level + 10 2nd level = 37 non-cantrips.
Again, this is how most of my Wizards are played. YMMV.
-TRRW
Originally posted by TheRedRobedWizard
To be fair, most Wizards I play spend every spare copper on spells.
I think it's also valid for me to point out that my party's wizard hasn't exactly had a lot of spare time to copy spells into his spellbook, either. The longest period of downtime he's had since the campaign started is 4 days, some of which was spent actually casting spells and creating spell scrolls.
And, when nobody's selling spell scrolls to you, it makes a big dent in acquiring the spells in the first place.
Cheers,
Cam
And, when nobody's selling spell scrolls to you, it makes a big dent in acquiring the spells in the first place.
Touche! Riposte!
I have no idea what brought that on.
I guess I'm just lucky I get the downtime. *shrug*
I blame Daniel Webster for all my problems.
-TRRW
Originally posted by TheRedRobedWizard
I blame Daniel Webster for all my problems.
The Federalist secretary of state or the college in New Hampshire named after him?
Would this also be a good time to ask you if the word "effect" in your signature's quote should be "affect"?
Cheers,
Cam
Originally posted by TheRedRobedWizard
Touche! Riposte!
I have no idea what brought that on.
I guess I'm just lucky I get the downtime. *shrug*
I blame Daniel Webster for all my problems.
-TRRW
and you have the nerve to complain about some of MY posts. Hello pot this is kettle.
Do you guys have your wizards do this? It might help control the # of spells they can have in their book and from which they can potentially cast from.
No matter which one I have in, affect or effect, I get personal messages saying "no, it's the other one".
Affect:
- To have an influence on or effect a change in.
- To act on the emotions of; touch or move.
- To attack or infect, as a disease.
Effect:
- Something brought about by a cause or agent; a result.
- The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result; influence: The drug had an immediate effect on the pain. The government's action had no effect on the trade imbalance.
- Advantage.
So realistically, both or either is correct.
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As I've said before, Cam, the Federalists were the start of all the problems in society.
That, or I got Daniel Webster confused with the dictionary guy.
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Amaron Blackthorn: Have you met LordOfIllusions? I think you guys would get along great.
Oh, and the reason I've complained about your posts is because of things like this.
Yes it is difficult to be a mage
Now, if that was just a section of one of your posts, I wouldn't have any reason behind what I've said. However, when that is the entirety of your post, something is wrong. Expand on what you say.
If, instead of saying "Yes it is difficult to be a mage" you said, "Yes, in my experience, it is difficult to be a mage. There was this one time back in Northern Ergoth..." Relate your statement to the discussion. If you don't have time to post more than a phrase, hold off on posting until you do.
It was possible to take magic items with you in 1st and 2nd edition, and you could even take items you'd made with you. Although you'd have to be a renegade who was joining the orders at around 13th level to do so. Scrolls, wands, staves, swords, and all kinds of other non-artifact magical goodies were able to be crafted in older editions; just not that frequently.
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frostdawn: Yes, I've had to make the spellcraft checks. It's not all that hard to make when you have a +10 Spellcraft Modifier at 4th level. Like I said, my wizards are built to learn spells. It's what they do.
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tl;dr - I get Federalists confused with dictionary authors.
-TRRW
What if one were to gain access to the spells from the Towers of High Sorcery.
Originally posted by miclops77
What if one were to gain access to the spells from the Towers of High Sorcery.
Not sure what you mean by the above.
Originally posted by miclops77
I suppose this would prevent the player from having all known spells of their levels barring forbidden schools.
What if one were to gain access to the spells from the Towers of High Sorcery.
Also, at your discretion, you can declare some spells to be common, easy to find copies of, and others would be more rare, harder to come by, or cost quite a bit more monetarily. Silence, or fireball might be more common than say something like Agannazar's Scorcher as an example.
Alternatively, make sure your wizards have actually gathered the spell components they need. There's a good number of spells above 2nd level that require special components, so frequent casting of those spells should be discouraged to a certain extent.
As for the spells from the Tower of High Sorcery, if they did that without permission from the Conclave and weren't part of the Order of High Sorcery, I think there would be some serious repercussions, as is mentioned in the newest preview for the Towers of High Sorcery. If the character in question is already a wizard that passed their tests, then maybe the character needs to spend time researching the spell. The time they take could take a week or more, since they aren't copying a scroll into their book. This could offset the cost of buying the spell outright, since they have to invest a lot of downtime in learning a new spell.
Dunno, just a suggestion, particularly if you have some "twinkie" spell casters. ;)
One important influancing factor is you HAVE to know that wizard's spellbook and you need to tailor the test to their magical talents. I'd run the test as opening of a game session, meaning the session previous I ask for that wizard's spelllist and prepared spells as they plan on using them for the test. Then over the next week tweak it from there.
There is no way to run the test properly without that information, one cannot run the test blind like that.
The objective from there on in is, mechanically anyway, to drain them of their spells.
Roleplaying wise you need to know the character and the character background well. I'd hate to run a test on a bland characer because it'd be impossible for there to be any inner conflict over anything.
Remember a moral quandry is essential for a good Test.
Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn
Hmm, that is interesting. But what about renegades? If you remeber from the Legend of Huma they had access to spells that none of the orders did. Would that change if they took the Test?
IMO, you can have access to the spells, but the source or where you get the spell could be far away, or maybe someone who will want something in exchange, which may not always be money.
The renegades during Huma's time worked together, and under Takhisis' tutelage to a certain extent, especially being that they were led by Galen Dracos. They might have gotten alot of the spells and magic they had due to her influence, much to the chagrin of the Orders of High Sorcery.
A renegade switching to a Wizard of HS is an interesting situation. If they (the character) already learned the spells that the OoHS didn't know about, they would most likely be encouraged by the Council to present the 'new' spells so they (the Council) could add it to their repertoire as well.
Renegades in the 5th age may not have as easy a go at getting their grubby paws on various spells. Especially since former wizards and the Dragon Overlords themselves were hoarding magic items for magic leeching, or finding alternative ways to cast spells when the undead were leeching magic for Tak, so the odd scroll or book might be a little harder to come by in the 5th age. This should in theory drive up costs of spells, and make getting them a little more difficult at least until the Order gets some of it's old power base back since the return of the gods.
This will also make an interesting argument for wizard PCs to go after the scribe scroll feat. They might be able to make some mulah that way.
Again, just some suggestions. ;)
To the Wizards of High Sorcery primal sorcery is blasphemy. Yes many of them used it when the gods were gone, but now that the gods are back they 'see the mistake they made'. This isn't to say that sorcerers are evil, or wrong, that's just the way the Orders see them.
Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn
It is very important especially since socererers are renegades and they may want to take the TEST.
What era of play are you guys working with? If anything but Age of Mortals, I'd say the sorcerer probably wouldn't get very far before a Wizard of HS would approach them and encourage them to take the tests. If the character kept ducking the Order, especially if they were making a name for themselves one way or the other, the WoHS would have probably intervened at some point.
If on the other hand your playing in the Age of Mortals, then it's really kind of up to you. Even the most respected wizards resorted to Sorcery during the absense of the gods, so it might not be as frowned upon as it was in ages past, so I could see the argument for a sorcerer to get away with not being a WoHS at least for a time. The other thing is, the world has been without the gods for about what, 40 years or so? Chances are, any practicing wizards before the Summer of Chaos that weren't elven are pretty darn old now, so even if they got their magic back, they are probably at or around retirement age. Point being is the WoHS are trying to rebuild their order, so they might not persue sorcerers as closely as they used to, since they probably don't have as many enforcers.
As for the WoHS accepting sorcerers into their order, I would think it would be welcomed and encouraged for 2 reasons. One, it helps increase the membership of wizards in the order, and 2 it reduces the number of practitioners of "wild" or "untamed" magic in the form of sorcerers.
As for game mechanics, they would have to change class of course...
The Wizards of High Sorcery were originally founded to 'tame' magic and stamp out wild magic. They did it once, given time they'll try and do it again.
This time there are, however, organizations of sorcerers that are likely to fight back against the Orders. The Knights of Neraka for one, and the Legion of Steel and its sorcerers will likely fight against this 'oppression'.
To the Wizards of High Sorcery primal sorcery is blasphemy. Yes many of them used it when the gods were gone, but now that the gods are back they 'see the mistake they made'. This isn't to say that sorcerers are evil, or wrong, that's just the way the Orders see them.
Some wizards who practiced sorcery during the early 5th age did so only out of necessity. Many felt a certain loss (withdrawal?) during the absence of the moon gods.
It is really important to note that Wizards' Conclave is setting up the wizard perspective. It isn't that sorcerers are naturally "evil". Far from it. Many have proven themselves to be champions of light.
However, the WoHS know full well why the orders were created in the first place. It was wild magic, after all, that created the magical storm that ravaged Ansalon in its distant past. The gods of magic understand that wild sorcery is touched by the power of Chaos.
I think this also adds a very human factor to the conflict as well. This touches upon pride, prejudice, and fear. I like the idea that one of the most (if not THE most) powerful organizations is afraid of what wild magic could do.
Campaigns are going to be quite interesting in the future. Those who are heavy into role-playing will undoubtedly find enjoyment not only in the WoHS, but also playing sorcerers.
Originally posted by Nived
This time there are, however, organizations of sorcerers that are likely to fight back against the Orders. The Knights of Neraka for one, and the Legion of Steel and its sorcerers will likely fight against this 'oppression'.
I can definitely see conflict here. The Thorn Knights are the largest organized group standing in opposition to the Orders of High Sorcery.
As for the Legion of Steel, I just have this vision in my mind of a sorcerer who goes to the Legion seeking protection against the WoHS. If the Legion decide to protect the sorcerer, then the Legion may come face-to-face with the WoHS. Also consider that the Legion consists partially of sorcerers as well. The Legion may consider this an oppression and stand against it.
Again, perspective is coming into play here, giving us the foundation for some epic stories.
Think of the possibilites.
You could be a sorcerer, dodging the WoHS, and trying to keep out of the public eye as much as possible so as not to draw attention to yourself. Or not caring, and being brazen about it. (bit more risky)
The other side of the fence, you could become a WoHS, then petition the order to become an enforcer, and hunt down sorcerers. You could be either the recruiter/warner, or the type that goes out when rogue wizards and sorcerers have been approached/warned by the Order before.
Yet more reasons to look forward to the new ToHS book, as I'm sure some if not all this has got to be covered.
After all he:
1) Was a former WoHS (Head of the White Robes, no less)
2) Has passed the Test
3) Has chosen to given up primal sorcery.
I assume he's ok with them?
Originally posted by QuentinGeorge
What's the Conclave's position post-WoS on Palin?
After all he:
1) Was a former WoHS (Head of the White Robes, no less)
2) Has passed the Test
3) Has chosen to given up primal sorcery.
I assume he's ok with them?
That would be my guess as well. If he isn't practicing sorcery, I don't see what the WoHS would have against him. The only thing I could see them being irate about is if the gods of magic felt that Palin snubbed them when he turned down their offer to be a wizard again. The gods of magic have proven to be rather fickle by and large, so I don't think this is an issue, so Palin shouldn't have any problems.
Quick question, is Chaos still out there somewhere? What happened to the Greygem of Gargath, since he decided to leave Krynn alone as long as the gods stayed away, which seems was a lie. Is he still out there looking for his children?
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=213507
I loved a lot of the ideas I saw here, especially the one taken from the Merchant of Venice and will use it myself, except in my own, the party is led deep down into the bowels of the Tower of Wayreth and at the beginning of the test, they are presented with 3 doors of stone. With much the same choice as was above presented with the caskets. Passing the right door will lead on without incident, choosing the wrong will result in nasty consequinces but should the party prevail they can still continue on. One door though leads through a portal to a underground crypt where necromancy will be highly useful as the party encounters wights, the next will lead to a forest setting where the encounters will involve good and evil in forms not so apparent at first glance, hence they will be faced with a maiden who desires freedom from her captors, a band of minotaurs. In truth the minotaurs are guarding a evil witch. This will test whether the mage and her party can stop and look at all sides of the situation thus testing from the stance of neutrality. The third door which has no initial encounter will take the party to battlesite where a dark elf lies wounded as the sole survivor of the battle. It is clear that he is a dark elf as the mage will know him. Will she aid him though? This will test whether she should wear the white robes.
The personal decision factor comes in at the end as all roads lead to a chamber where they meet a faceless figure in grey robes who offers the party a chance to glimpse the future. In this vision they will see the desolation to come in the form of a great future war (They will not recognize it as the coming of the Dragonlords) but to fight this threat they are offered one of three items to bring back to the world a crown, a lance , or a small bag of seeds. The Crown is a dangerous and powerful object which gives one powers of domination, the lance is the Dragonlance of Huma and the seeds are enchanted to grow a enchanted grove such as would shelter a Tower of High Sorcery.
Picking either the Crown or the Lance will cause the mage to fail as they indicate that the mage is more concerned with personal power or the peoples themselves as opposed to the furthering of the institutions of High Sorcery. Of course both the crown and the lance are illusions that will disappear. The seeds however are quite real.
There is much I need to still come up with as I flesh out the adventure and I would love some ideas.
Cheers!
The test decides the color of robe to be won by the test taker. The different colored robes have their own prohibited schools. What if a mage is specialyed and cannot use say, necromancy yet in the end earns the black robes? How does that work?
Originally posted by RedWizard
The personal decision factor comes in at the end as all roads lead to a chamber where they meet a faceless figure in grey robes who offers the party a chance to glimpse the future. In this vision they will see the desolation to come in the form of a great future war (They will not recognize it as the coming of the Dragonlords) but to fight this threat they are offered one of three items to bring back to the world a crown, a lance , or a small bag of seeds. The Crown is a dangerous and powerful object which gives one powers of domination, the lance is the Dragonlance of Huma and the seeds are enchanted to grow a enchanted grove such as would shelter a Tower of High Sorcery.
Picking either the Crown or the Lance will cause the mage to fail as they indicate that the mage is more concerned with personal power or the peoples themselves as opposed to the furthering of the institutions of High Sorcery. Of course both the crown and the lance are illusions that will disappear. The seeds however are quite real.
There is much I need to still come up with as I flesh out the adventure and I would love some ideas.
Cheers! [/b]
It seems to me that a character might choose any of these three items with intentions for the greater good of wizardry on Krynn. Surely the deprivations of a great war would also drain the Wizards of High Sorcery of resources and hinder the growth of magic. Might not a character chose to take up the crown or lance seeing these items as the path which will allow for the greatest defense of magic? Should a character fail the Test because his choice for defending High Sorcery is one of confrontation and violence?
Originally posted by RedWizard
Question,
The test decides the color of robe to be won by the test taker. The different colored robes have their own prohibited schools. What if a mage is specialyed and cannot use say, necromancy yet in the end earns the black robes? How does that work?
As long as the school that the wizard has specialized in does not fall under those schools prohibited by their order then there shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps specializing in a school that is not supported by their order will result in the loss of the improved spellcasting levels much like those penalites suffered by an unspecialized wizard.