The Test of Character is an individual task assigned by the Elder Mentor after the student reaches guild portal 15. The Elder Mentor will assist the apprentice as needed, and the resulting event will be noticed and admired by all in the guild (i.e. posted on the mages' public boards). Here follows a bag of tricks to help Elder Mentors come up with the right task for the specific student (Ooc note: this is a roleplay assignment).
The purpose of the Test of Character is fer the apprentice to demonstrate growth of character. So the key to assigning a fitting Test of Character is to know yer apprentice well. Iffen she be already completely at ease in a crowd, shouting her every action or thought to all and sundry, then I prolly would assign summat that required calm forethought rather than spontaneous reaction. I would nae assign the teaching of a class if I thought that me apprentice might jest wing it on the spur of the moment, but would ponder carefully what sort of thing would challenge her to think carefully and plan before acting. Perhaps I would assign her the care of some magical object whose purpose was to be revealed to her gradually.
Most important be that ye tailor the task to the student, so that he has a chance to show strength in an area that he mayhaps has struggled with in the past. Then tis a reason fer all to celebrate! Oooh, and speaking of celebrating... please do make sure yer student posts the log or a summary of his Test of Character on the public mages' board fer yer fellow mages to admire and rejoice in. Also, after it be posted, be sure to message the HM so she dun miss the fact that it be passed.
1) Have your student heal or cure an illness. This could include curing a demonic possession, helping with childbirth, curing an illness whose cause is unknown, and so on.
2) Your apprentice could find something or do something that brings him or her more power and knowledge. This could include finding an ancient tome filled with knowledge, finding a special object, making a pact with a demon, hero, or god, and so on.
3) Have your student kidnapped by another character, a group, or a creature... Does someone pay ransom? Does he or she escape?
4) Your student undergoes a shapechange or shapeshift, becoming a different race or creature for awhile. He or she will experience the actual change, and use the characteristics of the new race or creature to determine actions, thoughts, feelings. Think also about how the change occurred. Did an Immortal wreak the change? Was it a demonic possession type change? Was it an accident brought on by eating or drinking something magical?
5) Your apprentice accidentally loses control of part of his or her magic... For example, fireflames goes awry and sets all surroundings alight, or heal backfires and causes injuries instead. How does the young mage deal with such a quandary?
6) Focus on the aspect of your student's personality that stands out the most, and tailor-make a test of character to suit it. For example, say your student bounces all the time. Come up with a curse that causes an undesirable affect every time she bounces, and have her react to that... or ask her to perform some task in order to solve the curse.
7) Assign your student to teach a class on something that he or she might learn much from delving into further. Examples that have been used by Elder Mentors include teaching classes on respect, remaining calm under pressure, speaking one's mind.
8) Use your knowledge of your apprentice to come up with your own test, to fit the character of your student and his or her situation.
Alley back to the library foyer.
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