Prentice Magery: Order No. 710
"Less welcome did the Lord Denethor show me then than of old, and grudgingly he permitted me to search among his hoarded scrolls and books." (I)
Of all four character classes available to players, it is generally agreed the Mages get the short end of the wand, so to speak. Many players will not recruit new mages, ever. Some will even retire the ones they have to open slots for army commanders, agents, and emissaries. Yet clearly, Mages provide a valuable asset to the war in Middle Earth. Just analyze how much more effective an army is with a single Defensive magic spell available to it. Or look at how impossible it is to track the artifacts that enhance to a true 'killer' status those commander, emissaries and agents. Even look at resource poor nations, and how much money they can make by use of merely a few conjure spells each turn. Sadly, for the shrewd player who wants to utilize Mages, GSI cuts very few breaks. This is obvious from the rulebook as there is one, and only one, order to issue that improves Mage skill (Issue Personal Challenge notwithstanding).
Prentice Magery is the order Mages need to use to increase their ability. Each use of this order increases a Mage's rank by 1-5 points. This order can ONLY be given in a population center belonging to the Mage's nation. It is a Mage skill, and an automatic one at that. If it is successfully issued, the Order will work. At first glance, one might think there is not much more to say about this order. That would be the same error players make who don't use Mages effectively.
First, the Prentice Magery Order can be given in conjunction with ANY OTHER Mage order. (However, any given Mage can only issue Prentice Magery once each turn). No other character can do this. This means that as long as a Mage is in a friendly population center by the time order 710 comes around, the Mage can cast any other spells desired; say, Defense and Offense spells... A Mage can EVEN Name a New Character as Mage and Prentice Magery at the same time. This is a unique advantage no othe character has.
Second, while the order to Prentice Magery can only be issued to a Mage in a population center belonging to that Mage's nation, it must be remembered exactly how the rules work. Possession of a population center can change at least four times during a game turn: it can be Captured, Threatened, Influenced and Transfered. Of these exchange methods, only Transfer Population Center takes place AFTER Prentice Magery. This means that a mage in an army can cast a combat spell, then prentice magery in the newly captured population center. An emissary mage in a company of emissarys can help influence away the enemy population center then prentice magery again. In short, as long as the Mage is in an active group, (army or company) the Mage can easily issue the Prentice Magery order each turn.
Now clearly, if there were any orders that don't make a lot of sense, this is one of them. Why can Mages ONLY Prentice Magery in their OWN population centers? Why not ANY population center? In Tolkien's books, Gandalf and Saruman were ALWAYS going to other places to learn new wisdoms. I personally would like to see the order changed so that a Mage could Prentice Magery in any friendly population center. But I don't write the rules to this game, I just write the commentary...
Return to Firebrand's Order Analysis
Text Copyright 1999 by Jeffery A. Dobberpuhl. All game mechanics and terms are Copyright 1993 by Tolkien Enterprises, as produced, designed and distributed by Game Systems, Inc.