Collegia Magia

Johannes
Institute
of Science

T
he following is the second
part of Collegia Magia, a series writing Josh Gentry
focusing on magical academies color art Victoria Oliveira
that can be dropped into a campaign with editing James J. Haeck
minimal preparation. Each article presents layout Eric Life-Putnam
detailed NPCs, points of interest, and loose
plot hooks that can be developed during
play. Also included are lore and options for
enrolled PCs! This installment of the series
details the Johannes Institute, which uses
science to decipher the multiverses secrets.

EN World EN5IDER | Johannes Institute of Science

Introduction Rumors and Plot Hooks
At the base of a mountain range, in a sprawling 1. You need a spell, alchemical formula, or the like?
castle of curious architecture, is the Johannes The librarys got a little bit of everything. (True)
Institute of Science. Nearly an hours jaunt from 2. We at the Institute have set the new standard on
the nearby town of Johannes, the Institute is magical research Admittedly, the President
comfortably isolated enough to practice their says our limited metallurgy and glass working
myriad projects and daring experiments. On hold us back. (True)
wide rooftops, mages in training practice their 3. I bet if you grab old Two-Coins by the ear, hell
ancient arts without fear of starting a forest fire. tell you where he stashes his treasure. (False)
In spacious courtyards, aspiring engineers create 4. You know, the Fairmane family still has the deed
devices the like never before seen in this world. to this land. (False)
Though cozy and rural, the Institute is 5. My friend tells me the townsfolk dont like us
renowned throughout the region for academic that much. I think theyre jealous. (False)
rigor. Through the power of science, the Johannes 6. They say the President has a whole book of new
Institute hopes to differentiate magic from inventions that we cant even imagine! (True)
mundane, and develop each to their extremes. 7. Did you know? The President came here from
Like a spring pulled apart, the better the natural another country after he invented science.
and magical laws are understood individually, all (False)
the more powerful their recombination. 8. Did you know? The President was born on
another plane! (True)

Class Relationships polytheism and multiverse theory.

Members of any spellcasting class can gain Druid. The Institute always welcomes druids
something from associating with the Johannes insights into the natural world. When nearby
Institute. enclaves collaborate with the Institute, they
Alchemist*. The Institutes dedication to produce druids specialized in biology and the
science has revolutionized the field of alchemy. classical elements.
The Institutes Alchemy Club hosts a fair every Sorcerer. The Institute finds sorcerers and their
spring to exhibit daring experiments and amuse chaotic powers fascinating But sorcerers rarely
the locals. appreciate the attention that comes with poking,
Bard. While not particularly drawn to the prodding, and signing consent forms.
academic extremes, bards find the spirit of
discovery at the Institute absolutely palpable. To * C . Richard Davies, The Alchemist: Where Madness Meets
broaden their horizons, some indulge in auditing Magic, EN World EN5ider, https://www.patreon.com/posts/
classes here. alchemist-where-5739275
Cleric. Clerics dedicated to the classical  . Richard Davies, Priests of Elemental Power, EN World EN5ider,
C
elements or to healing may advance their path https://www.patreon.com/posts/priests-of-power-4785677
at the Institute. Most consider differentiating Mark Kernow, Circles of Power: Three New Druid Circles, EN

magic from mundane boringly consistent with World EN5ider, https://www.patreon.com/posts/1973600

Open Game Content

The game rule information in this article is designated Open Game Content. All of the other material in this article,
including maps and illustrations (including illustrations in the public domain), narrative and descriptive
text, character and place names, trade dress, EN Publishing, ENWorld, EN5ider, EN Publishing EN
product and article titles, and ENWorld and EN Publishing logos, are designated Product Identity. Publishing

Johannes
JohannesInstitute Science||EN
InstituteofofScience ENWorld EN5IDER
World EN5IDER
 Warlock. To differentiate supernatural entities Background Expansion
from alchemical metaphors, the Alchemy Club If you are affiliated with the Johannes Institute,
indexes occult entities suitable for pactmaking you can take the following trait options, replacing
and jealously guards these tomes. the normal trait from your background. You can
Wizard. The librarians are tasked with the also replace one your backgrounds proficiencies
mission of collecting and copying arcane tomes. with the optional proficiencies below.
The librarys chief curator allows students to copy Optional Proficiencies: Arcana, alchemists
from library spellbooks for free, and visitors for tools, artisans tools
a fee. There is at least a 75% chance the library
possesses any given spell within the core rules. Optional Bonds and Flaws
d6 Bonds
New Spell 1 My way with books and card catalogues is enough to
Characters affiliated with the Johannes Institute make a librarian swoon.
of Science are familiar with the true substances of 2 Someone sabotaged my science fair demonstration!
being. The following cantrip is added to their classs Damn you, Alchemy Club!
spell list, if they have one. 3 Whenever I make an important discovery I record it
in the notebook of my late classmate, who I acciden-
Transfiguration tally incinerated freshman year.
Transmutation cantrip 4 As Huxleys assistant, I learned to appreciate savants
Casting Time: 1 action like him. There are lot of students who share his so-
Range: Touch cial difficulties, but they are incredible wizards. Best
Components: V, S not to judge their differences too quickly.
Duration: Instantaneous 5 Since I met President Hughes, I keep having strange
By understanding the alchemical composition dreams about a world without magic...
of objects, you can transmute them into different 6 I secretly collect data on the Institution to share with
forms. You transfigure two cubic feet of raw materi- my co-conspirators.
als you touch into a new form made of the same
substance, conserving mass. For example, you can d6 Flaw
transfigure clothing into rope, electrum coins into 1 My coughing fits come
gold and silver bars, bricks into a clay jar, or scrap from the caustic fumes I
metal into a weapon. breathed in an alchemy
The quality of objects made by the spell is com- experiment gone wrong.
mensurate with the quality of the raw materials. 2 I brook no rivals. I only fight
Living matter and magic items cant be created fair if Ive already won.
or transmuted by this spell. 3 When asked a question, I
You also cant use it to cant so much as move until
create items that ordinar- I arrive at an answer.
ily require a high degree 4 I prefer the days before sci-
of craftsmanship, such as ence, back when we knew
jewelry, weapons, glass, everything.
or armor, unless you have 5 No peril is too immediate to
proficiency with the type of prohibit academic analysis!
artisans tools used to craft 6 O, the joy of belittling scien-
such objects. tifically illiterate idiots.

EN World EN5IDER | Johannes Institute of Science

Significant NPCs Trait: He compulsively casts illusions to trick
others, even when these rouses are obvious. Hes
Christopher Hughes, Physicist & President infamous at the canteen for paying with two
of the Board (lawful neutral) coinsone real, one figmentary.
This middle-aged human with dark complexion, Ideal: Acquisition. I need this. Ask Fred. Hell
blue eyes, and voluminous back hair. He wears tell you I need this.
pants and tunic under his crimson robes. He has Bond: His parents good standing at the
a magnificent scientific mind, but is a very poor Institute landed Fil his short-lived scholarship.
wizard. Flaw: Filips powers originate from his troubled
Trait: He talks like hes from another plane, mind. He sees ownership and truth as
using strange words like molecule and illusions for him to manipulate.
gravity.
Ideal: Discernment. I follow your reasoning,
but how rigorously have you tested this A Brief History
hypothesis? The Johannes Institute of Science did not begin as
Bond: His mother gave him a holy symbol of such. A century or two ago, outside the frontier
their faith, which he wears under his shirt. town of Johannes, a second-son noble from a
Flaw: He is unaware of basic facts about the nearby province determined to set up a castle
world that most wizards take for granted. and expand their familys legacy. An unfortunate
outbreak of plague took the nobles life, leaving
Just Huxley, Cosmologist (lawful neutral) the castle to the court wizard and her faculty.
A balding elderly human wizard of fair Within a generation the castle turned into a local
complexion and a long white beard. He spends school of magic. Even with little funding, the far-
most his time at Institutes observatory, nightly seeing mages made frugal choices to maintain and
gazing into the telescope and scribbling expand their resources. Word spread through the
painstaking notes. frontier of the school in Johannes, a haven for
Trait: A note on his door reads, Sleeping. Do the magically gifted.
not disturb until dinner. Thirty years ago, the schools elders performed
Ideal: Knowledge. The globe turns. Kingdoms an arcane experiment which changed the school
fall. I discover. forever. The experiment coincided with a planar
Bond: Though midnight chats with the young alignment, and created an arcane disturbance
Christopher, Huxley personally renovated the swept Christopher Hughes from his home plane
field of astronomy. to this one. In his homeworld it was Earth year
Flaw: He is soft-spoken but curt. Speaking CE1986, and Christopher was a sophomore
interferes with his thoughts, and he gesticulates physics student at a globally renowned
silently where others may think out loud. university. An extracurricular science experiment
coincided with the elders arcane experiment.
Filip Two-Coins, Menace Illusionist The result brought Christopher face-to-face
(chaotic neutral) with the wizarding enclave outside Johannes.
This gnome with coiffed black hair wears entirely In the days to come, they discovered the planar
too many layers of clothing. His raven familiar alignment had passed, and they could not return
Fred follows him everywhere, often disguised by Christopher whence he came.
illusion as an orc. Though outcast for his antics, As he grew accustomed to his new home,
Fils illusions keep the groundskeepers from Christopher and the wizards shared the most
ousting him. profound secrets of each worlds workings. They

Johannes
JohannesInstitute Science||EN
InstituteofofScience ENWorld EN5IDER
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immediately investigated whether his worlds d12 Innovation
natural laws applied to this plane. The years to 5 Potato-powered radio receiver with metal dish an-
come completely innovated the schools practices, tenna. Must face direction of signal to receive.
including an absolute dedication to the scientific 6 Treatise on hypothetical periodic table of ele-
process. Even with Christophers incomplete ments, with notes on many more elements than
knowledge of his homeworlds technology, he the four you know. It takes 42 hours to read, which
and his new associates began to reverse-engineer can include 2 hours of a long rest. After reading it
many innovations. all, make a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check. On a
By selling the fruits of their labor, the school success, you permanently gain advantage on Intel-
finally had a means of income. They acquired new ligence (alchemists tools) checks.
resources and expanded their facilities. By this 7 Theorems on the structure of light. Note reads,
time, students began to realize that the Johannes Ask dwarves about optic glass formulae. It takes
Institute of Science had something that even 4 hours to read, which can be done as part of a long
Granspire Seminary could not offer. Attendance rest. After reading it all, make a DC 15 Intelligence
spiked, and Christopher implemented the (Arcana) check. On a success, whenever you deal
application processes and academic competition radiant damage, treat any damage die showing 1 as
he knew from his homeworld. showing 2.
8 Treatise on the principles of electricity. It takes 42
Hughesian Innovations hours to read, which can include 2 hours of any long
With Christopher Hughess insights on science, rest. After reading it all, make a DC 15 Intelligence
he is an indispensable resource to the academy; (Arcana) check. On a success, you permanently
any traditional student of magic can renovate ignore resistance to lightning damage.
their field with just a few short conversations. The 9 Heliocentric planetary chart, with notes on celestial
following are just a few possible fruits of such bodies whose movements remain unexplained.
collaborations. Each radically changes how the A creature casting teleport can use this chart to
characters see the cosmos; some even enhance increase description and viewed once destina-
capabilities through scientific knowledge. The tions to seen casually. A creature using this chart
GM can use the following innovations as rewards casts teleportation circle for half the material com-
related to the Institute. ponent cost.
10 Essay validating both the periodic table of ele-
Random Innovations ments and the classical elements of magic. It takes
d12 Innovation 4 hours to read, which can be done as part of a long
1 Hypothetical evolutionary chart linking lizards, rest. A creature who reads this makes a DC 15 Intel-
dinosaurs, birds, and dragons. Scribble marks. ligence (Arcana) check. On a success, the spellcaster
Inconclusive. permanently gains a +2 bonus on spellcasting ability
2 Hypothetical evolutionary chart linking humans, checks performed when casting counterspell or
dwarves, halflings, and elves. Scorch marks. Incon- dispel magic.
clusive. 11 Bestiary stuffed with notes on new explanations
3 Theorems on momentum, air friction, and accelera- and mysteries for various monsters life functions.
tion due to gravity. Using this, a creature proficient A creature reading this book has advantage on
with artisan tools can spend 100 gp of supplies over Intelligence (Arcana) or Intelligence (Nature) checks
an hour to permanently improve a siege weapons related to non-humanoid physiology.
attack by +1 and increase its damage dice by one 12 Sketch journal of possible future inventions, and
step (d6 to d8, etc.). notes on the technical limitations at this time.
4 Potato-powered radio transmitter. Range 500 feet. Inconclusive. e

EN World EN5IDER | Johannes Institute of Science