Sokolov the Axiomancer
Good and evil? I see neither, I only see law and order opposing chaos and anarchy. Anarchy means blood, death, and poverty. I'll take order and riches over that.
Sokolov the Axiomancer
Appearance
Ever clad in grey robes of expensive material and good tailoring, Sokolov the Axiomancer strikes an impressive figure. Most of this is a matter of personal posture and presentation as the judicator of lawful magic is a short man with a balding head.
History/Background
Born to the ranks of the middle class in the noble infested city of Tekne, Sokolov was seemingly destined for an unremarkable life toiling away as a clerk in the city of duels. It was a duel that drew the youth to the persuit of the law and the realm of axiomancy, law magic. The noblity were all to keen to strike contracts and bargains, and once their end was gained, they would break the contract. What grounds did a mealy mouthed commoner have to make greivance against one of the blood? As he delved into the lore behind sworn oaths, geases, and other tenets of law, he discovered quite by accident the Axionomicon, from which he learned of common and noble law, magical law and the laws of the planes.
Within a decade, he had made a name for himself, not only as a competent magic user, but also as a man whose contracts could not be broken, no matter how rogue the lord who signed it was. He had also made a name for himself by being a very greedy man, with his rates for contract spells being borderline excessive. It was not long after he established himself not as just another law mage, but as The Law Mage, that he began expanding his practice.
The Axiomantic Cabal
Founded as a subchapter of the greater Mage's Guild of Tekne, itself subsidiary to The Upright Society of Civic Wizards, arbiters of Orthodox Sorcery, the Axiomantic Cabal was devoted to the study and legal applications of law magics. With Sokolov at it's head, the cabal grew to compose of nine axiomancers and three score consors, servants and scribes.
Special Equipment
Robes of the Arbiter - these robes are made of a fine blend of linen and imported silk and are generally a powder grey or pearl grey in color. Thin pen stripes of blue and white are traced through the weave of the fabric. Anyone wearing the robes of the Arbiter recieve a standard +2 bonus to their charisma scores when dealing with matters of the law, juries, or arguing before a judge or magistrate.
The Axionomicon - Many consider this 10,000 page tome to be one of the most soul destroying works ever penned. It is a book of every law ever written, and it has an ancient enchantment on it that updates the book as the laws are changed and amended. Once in a very great while, the book will shed pages when a body of law is completely removed from circulation or usage. The last time this happened for more than a single page was nearly 600 years ago when the laws of the Stratian Hegemony were struck down, more than 200 years after the fall of the Hegemony. At that time, the Axionomicon shed almost 700 pages of laws.
The Staff of the Well-Dressed Servant
There have been a great variety of staves created with the power to create unseen servants, menial spirits to perform menial tasks. Each of these invariably increases the power of the servant and their designated function. This particular stave conjured the standard non-combative spirit servant, but instead of being invisible, these spirits appear as young pages clad in grey robes and white undershirts. Polite in the extreme, they cart about evidence, reshelf books, and scribe tedious law procedings for the Axiomancer to review later. Banishing one of the Well-Dressed servants is as simple as pointing out a flaw in their appearance, at which point the spirit is instantly unsummoned.
Roleplaying Notes
Sokolov is a very proper and dry older man, the head of a large Advocates and Law Mage guild. He is a constantly busy man as he is always having meetings with heads of other guilds. When he isn't orchestrating business deals with the guilds, Sokolov is toe to toe with the nobles. His growing power supports the rising middle class and the guilds and is an increasing threat to the status quo of the nobility. At the moment his guild has been stymied and limited to one city as no noble in their right mind will charter a Law Mage guild at a level higher than a city guild.
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? Responses (13)
Updated: Blah, out with you.
Sokolov is the kind of NPC that could help define the character of an entire region. His fame could draw aspiring magi and lawyers seeking to learn from the ultimate source of law and justice.
On the other hand, rebels and freedom-fighters could see him as a symbol of oppressive, inflexible law, even if Sokolov would prefer those laws be changed.
The nobleman's face was drawn, his voice hoarse as he explained his dilemma. "The contract of alliance was written up by the mage Sokolov, but we never could have expected that the entire noble house of Sanderport would die and their rule be replaced by that of the Pirate Lords! Now we are magically bound to defend the Pirate Lords against our own trading partners!
"I cannot break the contract, or hire others to do so, but if someone were to act independently..." Lord Shackleston muttered softly.
I like him. Nice addition to the gameworld, and the conflict with the nobles can lead to very interesting outcome. Nice sub!
I really like the idea of law magic too.
Scras, would it be alright if I used the Axiomanomicon in another sub?4337
Feel free to use it Dark Dragon, but I notice you spell your version differently than I've spelled mine, Axiomanomicon vs. Axionomicon (seven syllabyls compared to six)
Well, it turned out to be more of an origin tale than the item itself. Thanks a lot though!
Not that particularly liking the NPC, I am intrigued by the Axionomicon (now there's a nice legendary book with an interesting power). Just thinking, what if a seemingly valid law was shed from its pages, indicating that it is fully replaced by various newer statutes, laws and rules? It might not be a very 'important' law, but it would be a serious symptom, that the legal system of a country grows beyond control.
Oh, and yes: the region-defining potential, and the plot hooks are very real. (Aside: will we see a bit more detail on those magics?)
The Axionomicon only sheds pages of dead laws when said laws are struck from use, not if they are replaced by newer or better laws. My idea there was analagous to the fact that as times change, old laws aren't discarded or removed, once they become irrelevant they are no longer enforced and become ignored. There are many places where laws pertaining to horses have not been removed, such as laws requiring certain government buildings to have proper hitching posts for horses. These laws were passed when the horse was the main mode of transportation, and now that horses have been replaced by automobiles, the laws were not officially stricken from the books.
Aside: No. Sokolov is a one shot deal but if someone else wants to take a swing at it they certainly can.
I second all of the above.
I just love the idea of law magic (a whole culture defining concept in itself) and I can just see a character like this existing, as well as a magical guild devoted enforcing the law by magical means.
Whether or not this is oppressive is of course largely dependant on the nature of the laws. Lots of potential scenarios there.
Nicely done Scras - 4½ / 5
BTW: I like Wulfhere's plot suggestion - you really ought to write that up properly Wulf
wow, excellent. The npc is absolutely intriguing, and the Axionomicon is fascinating. Great one, Scras!
Good! And I like Wulf's suggested scenerio as well...
"Did you hear, that when a lawmage is killed, all the binding oaths and geases that he sealed will slowly be unbound?"
"I am the Law!"
