Organizing my Mages Guild notes so they don't get lost on discord. This page will be more encompassing and hopefully more comprehensive than the existing faction planning documents for the MG, which are mostly TR-focused and outdated. This post is for collating the known lore on the pan-Tamrielic Mages Guild from all three early TES games and Redguard, and organizing the various collaborative content from discord discussions + my work on the institution in our shared canon.

What does the Guild of Mages do?

When Vanus Galerion, a Psijic of Artaeum and student of the famed Iachesis, began collecting magic-users from around Summerset Isle, he attracted the animosity of all. He was operating out of the urban center of Firsthold, and there was a common (and not entirely unfounded) attitude that magical experiments should be conducted only in unpopulated areas. Even more shocking, Galerion proposed to make magical items, potions, and even spells available to any member of the general public who could afford to pay. No longer was magic to be limited either to the aristocracy or intelligentsia.

• "...provides benefits to scholars of magic and established laws regarding the proper use of magic. The Guild is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and distribution of magical knowledge with an emphasis on ensuring that all citizens of Tamriel benefit from this knowledge."
  • In Morrowind, the Armistice gives the Mages Guild a further loosely-enforced monopoly on the magic trade.
• Operates public guildhalls in all the Provinces
  • Some guildhalls are owned by the Guild, while others are leased from local authorities, as per the attachment in the Mages Guild Charter
• Provides various services for the public, including enchanting, spellmaking, alchemy, and transit between guildhalls (though the latter appears rarely used by non-guildmembers)
• Provides training in magical skills to guildmembers, for a fee
• Teaches literacy classes to locals, apparently free of charge

TR/PT lore further establishes that the Mages Guild:

• Liaisons with the Imperial Archaeological Society to excavate ruins and recover rare artifacts of interest.
  • These expeditions are authorized by Imperial Commission, as described in vanilla dialogue re: Arkngthand.
• Occasionally operates small outposts for guild members in areas where Imperial control on the ground is too weak to justify full guildhalls, but where the Guild has a strong interest in maintaining a presence (example: Nivalis)
• Teaches magical disciplines at the Arcane University in the Imperial City and in regional educational institutions in the Provinces (example: College of Firewatch)
• Operates small research outposts in areas of academic interest to the Guild (such as Lake Andaram).
  • These and the former "relays" have been folded into the new "outpost" category

Where does the Guild of Mages operate?

[Map temporarily removed]

Key

• MG Eye - Provincial HQ
  • These are the largest, most important guildhalls in the Provinces. They have multiple interior cells, are always led by an Arch-Mage, and host pan-provincial Guild quests in addition to their local questlines. These guildhalls should be notable locations in their own right, featuring expansive libraries, laboratories, alchemy gardens, classrooms, etc. (Almalexia)
• I - Large guildhall
  • These guildhalls have multiple interior cells, full questlines, and a guildmaster of either Arch-Mage or Master Wizard rank. They should host one or more unique features (libraries, laboratories, alchemy gardens, classrooms, etc.)  Outside of Cyrodiil and Summerset, they are somewhat uncommon. (Old Ebonheart)
• II - Standard guildhall
  • These are the most common guildhalls, with a single interior cell, a full questline, and a guildmaster of mid-to-high rank. While they can host unique features (libraries, laboratories, alchemy gardens, classrooms, etc.), they don't need to. (Firewatch)
• III - Small guildhall
  • These guildhalls are smaller than average, with a single interior cell and a guildmaster of mid-to-high rank, but only misc quests or single faction quests. (Helnim)
• O - Outpost
  • These locations are not true guildhalls, and as such don't have guildmasters. Outposts are small facilities located in places of academic or political interest to the Guild. They may offer some quests relating to the subject of their research, but they are more likely to simply feature in a supporting narrative role in the nearest large guildhall's questline. (Nivalis)

• The color of a marker indicates its primary network (for example, Ald-Ruhn-Balmora-Caldera-Sadrith Mora-Vivec). Anyone can use these networks, for a fee. However, there is no indication in TESIII that these networks are used by non-guildmembers, so our writing should never assume that this occurs!
• The outer ring color (if present) indicates the presence of a second guild guide who provides teleportation along a secondary "hub" network (for example, Almalexia-Baan Malur-Firewatch-Narsis-Vivec-Old Ebonheart-Tear). Only guild members can use these networks!
• All Provincial hub guildhalls (Almalexia, Emperor's Run, Firsthold, Haafingar, Lilmoth, Taneth, Torval, and Wayrest) have a "portico" providing teleportation to one of eight dedicated pads at the Arcane University in the Imperial City. These devices do not provide teleportation services directly between Provincial hubs - i.e., you can go from Almalexia to the Imperial City, but you can't go from Almalexia directly to Haafingar. Only high-ranking members of the Mages Guild can use this service.
• The Arcane University in the Imperial City is the headquarters of the Mages Guild. Besides the Portico Hall (which connects all the Provincial hub guildhalls), the Arcane University hosts the typical local/hub pair of guild guides, serving the Heartlands and major Cyrod cities, respectively.

Notes

• Infragris' lore on Celaudine teleportation in Guide to the Guild Guides is the basis for all of this.

The issue of distance and the expenditure of magic is not difficult to explain. When transporting someone, the magicka and level of concentration required rise sharply beyond a certain threshold in the Lucevarius Curve.

This means that, while teleportation in a range of several miles is fairly simple, the same spell across large distances requires exponentially more magicka. To teleport from Daggerfall to Wayrest is somewhat draining for a standard practitioner. But to teleport from High Rock to Yokuda would require more magicka than a thousand mages in concert could harness.

• The guild guide networks are drawn with the hardcoded limitations of the game in mind (four destinations per guide). They can consist of no more than five nodes.
  • This limitation has been overcome! We are now able to include more than five nodes on a network.
  • For ease of gameplay and to avoid player confusion, we should still limit the number of nodes on a regional/local network to no more than 6-7 max and arrange the networks in ways that make sense (i.e., by District, and not covering huge expanses of territory).
  • Hub networks can push this cap a little further, in order to facilitate player travel in places like Skyrim and Summerset with more "capitals" than local networks.
• Relays are used only in places where the Guild has either a limited presence (Telvannis, Black Marsh) or many locations of interest in a dense area (Nibennium, Moridunon).
  • The relays have been deprecated. We should plan full guildhalls in places where the Guild belongs, and rarely place outposts where it makes narrative sense (Nivalis, Port Thonica)
• Bosmora will not have MG presence in post-redo TR, since the town likely won't exist. Mervayan (formerly Lan Murha) will have a standard guildhall, rather than a relay like Bosmora, because it will be a mid-sized town.
• The Tear guildhall is operated by the Morrowind Mages Guild, but it is connected to the northern Black Marsh network. This is both because of the node limitations mentioned above and to emphasize the Tear guildhall's physical and narrative isolation from the rest of Morrowind.
  • This is no longer necessary - Tear and OE will be able to join the hub network now that the 5-node limit has been overcome.
  • For practical reasons of administration, the Tear chapter of the Guild operates under the authority of the Arch-Mage of Almalexia.
• The Dragonstar West guildhall is operated by the Hammerfell Guild, and attached to no guild guide network at the beginning of the game. As part of the Karthwasten Guild of Mages questline, the player can strong-arm the DSW guildmaster into connecting her guildhall to the Skyrim guild guide network.
  • It should be noted that even if the DSW Guild does become connected to the western Skyrim regional network, the actual guild chapter and its members remain formally part of the Hammerfell Mages Guild.
• Before the War of the Bend'r Makh, Hammerfell's northern network included Dragonstar and Karthwasten as hubs, and Skyrim's networks were arrayed differently.
• The Falkreath and Gideon guildhalls sit on Cyrodiilic primary networks for historical, cultural, and political reasons. They are connected to other guildhalls in their respective provinces by secondary networks.
  • No longer the case following discord discussions. For ease of implementation and intuitive gameplay, all guildhalls will formally belong to the province they legally lie within. (see Dragonstar West example above)
• Because the Guild of Mages was founded in Firsthold, Summerset has a rather dense concentration of Guild presence, and many old, proud Tier I guildhalls. Non-active provinces' guildhall planning suspended for now.
• Unlike in Cyrodiil and Summerset, where the Guild grew around large central guildhalls, small guildhalls in High Rock sprung up in a more dispersed fashion due to the fragmented political state of the province until the Warp and the widespread appeal of magic in Breton society. Consequently, there is a very high density of MG halls in High Rock, but no Tier I halls outside of Wayrest and Daggerfall. By 3E427, the larger guildhalls are likely grappling with the challenge of affirming their leadership in such a fractious environment.
• The Padomaic Ocean network is not connected to any Tamrielic networks or to the Arcane University because of the vast distances involved and the low priority of the Guild's interests there.
  • This has been amended partially. Guild guide travel will be possible from Firewatch to Port Mare (only one-way) taking advantage of the limitless teleport range of Thazlorakis, the daedroth guild guide.
  • Guild guide travel between the Padomaic territories is not possible at game start due to distances involved. During the Port Mare MG questline, the player will have the opportunity to bind a daedric counterpart to Thazlorakis to send travelers to Firewatch, Raio, and Black Harbor, and during the Raio or Black Harbor questline, the player will have the opportunity to recover a trio of Gaurong artifacts that allow for instantaneous teleportation across vast distances (much like the porticos) when placed in different locations.

Who leads the Guild of Mages?

To the esteemed Arch-Mage Trebonius Artorius, Guildmaster of Vvardenfell,

Upon receiving this letter, you will step down from your post and grant the title of Arch-Mage to %PCName. From this day forward, %PCName will handle all Guild matters in Vvardenfell. You may keep the title of Arch-Mage, but you will retire from active participation in the affairs of the Guild.

In the Emperor's Name,

Ocato

"Well, I'm glad that mystery is solved at last. Next time the Arch-Mage of Almalexia visits, I'll really have something to brag about."

First, Arch-Mages are not Archmagisters. Origin of the Mages Guild states that the Guild is governed by a "supreme council" of six Archmagisters. The highest rank in the vanilla Mages Guild is Arch-Mage, but given what we know of the position based on the in-game lines quoted above, if the positions were coterminous, three of Tamriel's six Archmagisters would be based in Morrowind once the PC attains that title. This is obviously silly. Rather than try to find some way to divide up six Archmagisters throughout nine provinces, a better approach is to have six Archmagisters unrestrained by territory, and to firmly distinguish these Archmagisters from the "Arch-Mage" role held by Trebonius, his unnamed counterpart in Almalexia, and (eventually) the player.

• It might be a nice nod to make one of the six Archmagisters Corim Ashlen, the (former?) Loremaster of the Lillandril Mages Guild, who assisted the Eternal Champion in their quest for the Staff of Chaos during the Simulacrum.
• We are also given the names of three more "Magisters" in The Black Arts on Trial: Ulliceta gra-Kogg of Orsinium, Voth Karlyss of Corinthe, and Hannibal Traven. This book takes place some years after the events of Morrowind, so we have flexibility in how to approach these characters. Here are my suggestions:
  • Hannibal Traven is currently a Magician in the Anvil guild chapter. His "seat" on the council of six should be occupied by someone old and "replaceable"
  • Ulliceta gra-Kogg should be guildmaster of the Orsinium guildhall, chafing under whoever the Arch-Mage is at Wayrest.
  • We should put Voth Karlyss on the council of six already. Since Elsweyr is unlikely to ever see the light of day in a province mod, perhaps he could be shown visiting Morrowind or Cyrodiil?

Arch-Mage appears to be a position responsible for a designated set of guildhalls. In Trebonius' case, this is explicitly stated by Ocato to be the five guildhalls of Vvardenfell District. It follows that Morrowind's other districts - aside from Deshaan - have their own Arch-Mages, also appointed by the Archmagisters of the supreme council. In other provinces, the division is largely practical above all, and probably corresponds more or less with the guild guide networks and political geography. It also seems reasonable that "Arch-Mage", being a rank title, could overlap with other non-rank titles.

Below is how I'd suggest arraying the Arch-Mages, with a couple of potential plot hooks. I think it would be nice for the player to be able to attain the rank of Arch-Mage in several provinces in different ways, and thereby consolidating their power in the faction continent-wide. I've marked the ones I think could be player-earned in blue.

Morrowind Arch-Mages

• Arch-Mage of Almalexia - Dralsa Karethys, Dunmer Mage
  • Oversees all Mournhold District and Deshaan District guildhalls
  • Karethys was the court mage of Wayrest during the events of Daggerfall. She came to Morrowind with King Helseth, and quickly leveraged her political and magical skill to gain control over the Almalexia Guild.
• Arch-Mage of Baan Malur - TBD
  • Oversees all Velothis District guildhalls
• Arch-Mage of Firewatch - Gindaman, Altmer Sorcerer
  • Oversees all Telvannis District guildhalls
• Arch-Mage of Narsis - TBD
  • Oversees all Narsis District guildhalls
• Arch-Mage of Vivec - Trebonius Artorius , Imperial Battlemage
  •  Oversees all Vvardenfell District guildhalls
  • The player can rise to this rank in the vanilla questline. Notably, Trebonius does not have to lose this title for the PC to gain it.

Cyrodiil Arch-Mages

• [WIP]

Skyrim Arch-Mages

• Arch-Mage of Winterhold - Thelen Kaarn, Altmer Enchanter
  • Oversees all guildhalls in the Old Holds
  • Thelen Kaarn was driven insane by the fragment of an Elder Scroll he acquired during the events of Arena. He is living in the wilderness as a hermit, but the Guild has not replaced him out of hope he may return.
• Arch-Mage of Haafingar - Hesta Swift-Seer, Nord Sorcerer
  • Oversees all guildhalls in Haafinheim and the Reach
  • Hesta is sponsoring a joint IAS/MG research outpost on Roscrea.
• Arch-Mage of Whiterun - Vacant
  • Oversees all guildhalls in Falkreath, Hrothgar, and White Hold
  • With the collapse of Whiterun and the death of the last Arch-Mage, the southwest guildhalls are operating more or less autonomously.
  • If the player rises high enough in the Skyrim MG, the position should be restored and awarded to the player.

High Rock Arch-Mages

• Arch-Mage of Wayrest
  • Oversees all guildhalls in the Kingdom of the Boulland (Wayrest) and Orsinium
• Arch-Mage of Daggerfall - Delvarard Popudax, Breton Mage
  • Oversees all guildhalls in the Kingdom of Daggerfall and Kingdom of Camlorn
• [Other Arch-Mages WIP]

Padomaic Arch-Mages

• Arch-Mage of Port Mare - TBD Nord
  • De jure oversees all guildhalls in Cathnoquey, Yneslea, and Black Harbor, but only exerts actual control over Cathnoquey.
  • The player could usurp this title after completing the questlines for each spiraling guild chapter and reuniting the Padomaic Guild.

Inactive provinces' Arch-Mages (suggested)

• Arch-Mage of Lilmoth
• Arch-Mage of Taneth
• Arch-Mage of Firsthold
  • The Summerset MG's governance being the oldest - and most consolidated - of all the provincial Guilds, this person is likely the most politically powerful individual Arch-Mage.
• Arch-Mage of Emperor's Run
  • (PV lore) Oversight of Valenwood's MG halls was consolidated following the War of the Usurper, during which the Guild was paraylzed by infighting and inaction. This centralization allowed the MG to survive the Simulacrum in Valenwood while the Fighters Guild did not.
• Arch-Mage of Rimmen
• Arch-Mage of Torval

[Archmages map temporarily removed]

One need not be a member of the Mages Guild to know that this carefully contrived hierarchy is often nothing more than a chimera. As Vanus Galerion himself said bitterly, leaving Tamriel to travel to other lands, "The Guild has become nothing more than an intricate morass of political infighting."

The Guild of Mages also contains a number of subfactions, according to Daggerfall:

• the Academics, a subfaction of spell merchants
• the Cabal, a subfaction of summoners who consort with Daedric princes
• the Crafters, a subfaction of enchanters
• the Isolationists, a subfaction of spellmakers
• the Mercenary Mages, a subfaction of... well, mercenary mages
• the Odylic Mages, a subfaction of mages who will provide item identification services
• the Order of the Lamp, a knightly order associated with the Guild who use enchanted weapons and armor
• the Patricians, a subfaction of magical tutors and academics
• the Travelers League, a subfaction for guild guides
• and the Utility Mages, a subfaction of merchants who buy and sell magical items

In TESII, these subfactions are represented in every guildhall. Additionally, Origin of the Mages Guild describes a per-Guildhall leadership structure that is simply impossible at TR/PT scale (or even vanilla scale, for that matter):

Each Guildhall is run by a Guildmagister, assisted by a twofold counsel, the Master of Incunabula and the Master at Arms. The Master of Incunabula presides over an additional counsel of two mages, the Master of Academia and the Master of the Scrye. The Master at Arms also has a counsel of two, the Master of Initiates and the Palatinus, the leader of the local chapter of the Order of the Lamp.

Obviously, it's not especially feasible to replicate any of this, nor is it necessarily even worthwhile. Several - if not most - of the Daggerfall subfactions are pretty much just a cipher for service providers, and Morrowind already handles that pretty cleanly. Additionally, some of the names are a little weird; academics aren't part of the Academics faction (they're Patricians), and the Isolationists' work has nothing to do with their name. As for the Guildhall "leadership structure", since it comes from a canon book, I think it's best to leave it unmentioned (as vanilla did), with a couple exceptions. The ideal way to handle Daggerfall Mages Guild subfactions, I think, would be to retain only those interesting enough to warrant a class-based subfaction (i.e., the guild guides), while reskinning the rest as political factions within the guild or unique non-class-based roles for highly specialized and valuable work.

Here's my proposal for them:

The Academics, the Isolationists, and the Patricians become three political forces within the guild, with members of all classes. They each represent a driving force in the Guild's politics, and the bulk of the "morass of political infighting" described in Origin of the Mages Guild.

• The Academics are the newest political group, having come into existence sometime around the campaigns of Uriel V. They are dedicated to expanding the guild's reach and conducting mass recruitment and outreach efforts to the general public. The Academics are the ones pushing for a surge into Telvannis and Black Marsh, and the force behind the Guild's endeavors in the Padomaic. They are on friendly terms with the Tricho subfaction of the Imperial Curia, and have a standing arrangement to share discoveries of mutual interest with the Exarch of the Concordian Archives. The Academics are the most diverse of the three "parties" pushing on Guild politics, but their most prominent advocates are currently in High Rock, Morrowind, and the newly powerful Arch-Mage of Haafingar. Traditionally, the Academics are led by the Provincial Guilds' Masters of Academia, but the title is mainly ceremonial.
  • Arch-Mages associated with the Academics: Gindaman, Hesta Swift-Seer, Delvarard Popudax
• The Isolationists are a political group who oppose the Academics in their efforts to expand the Guild into new territories, and chafe at the idea that the Guild should share its discoveries as a rule with any other faction. The Isolationists remind guildmembers that the Guild of Mages existed long before the Empire was born, and that only wise policy will ensure that the organization survives past its (imminent) death. They are led by Altmer, as one might expect from a subfaction with such a long view, but the Isolationists are by no means an exclusive Summerset club. Isolationists are the staunchest advocates for the interests of guildmembers of all races across Tamriel, and prioritize their well-being above the Guild's ability to provide services to the general public or to solicit artifacts for the Empire.
  • Arch-Mages associated with the Isolationists: Dralsa Karethys, Thelen Kaarn
• Finally, the Patricians are the "new establishment", the powerful core of the modern Guild, dominated by the powerful and politically connected Cyrodiil elite. They aren't opposed to expanding the guild, but are generally concerned foremost with making the MG as politically powerful as possible, and are reluctant to support dead-end money sinks like the outpost boom in Black Marsh or the nascent Padomaic chapters. Unlike the Academics, the Patricians see the Tarquin Tricho as a fierce political rival, and are known to have contacts with the Exarch of the Palatial Estates. Numerically, the Patricians have far less support than the other two political groups, but their leading members are disproportionately powerful in Guild politics.
  • Arch-Mages associated with the Patricians: Trebonius Artorius, [Unnamed Arch-Mage of Kvatch]

These three subfactions become the overarching political division of the Guild. The following subfactions remain "in play", but generally align with one of the above to ensure their interests. Additionally, smaller subfactions sometimes overlap with the larger ones; it's common, for example, to find members of the Travelers League who are also Academics.

• The Cabal are still recovering from decades of Imperial investigation of Tharnite complicity during the Simulacrum, and today exert little political power. However, their remaining members (no more than two dozen or so across the whole Empire) are individually very powerful summoners and conjurers, and are still sometimes called to guildhalls across the Empire to provide their expertise on Daedric matters. When represented ingame, they should be presented as fearsome, high-level NPCs with unique dialogue. They are known to oppose the Travelers League and support the Isolationists, though their reasoning is unknown.
• The Order of the Lamp knights sworn to the Mages Guild who make use of enchanted gear. Though most are stationed in Cyrodiil and Summerset, every Province's main guildhall has at least one, and many more operate undercover. The Order is often dispatched to trouble spots to protect the Guild's physical infrastructure or to offer supporting muscle for difficult missions. In principle, members of the Order are expected to remain uninvolved with intra-Guild political struggles. The Order of the Lamp is led in each Province by an NPC with the title of Palatinus.
  • In order to be more faithful to TESII characterization, the members of the Order will not themselves be mainly spellcasters, but rather skilled knights who make extensive use of enchanted weapons/armor and alchemy.
• The Travelers League, a free association of guild guides, is dedicated to ensuring that the Guild continues to train, deploy, and supply mages educated in the highly specialized science of Celaudine teleportation magic. They also lobby the Guild for their preferred teleport network configurations, and often push for expansion into areas without guild presence. While not all guild guides are members of the Travelers League, most are, especially in the Eastern Provinces and High Rock.

Lastly, the following Daggerfall subfactions should be presented as unique "classes" (though obviously not true classes) for special, quest-relevant NPCs. They should not be referred to as factions because frankly, they're not especially interesting as factions, and are much more interesting with unique roles.

• Guild mages especially skilled in enchanted item forging are known as Crafters. Though many mages in the Guild can enchant mundane items, only the Crafters have the skill of creating new artifacts that are already magical. Every item created by a Crafter is unique (ie, a named artifact), and their services are retained at the most prestigious guildhalls in Tamriel. Crafters do not offer their services to the general public.
  • Crafters concept needs further workshopping.
• Occasionally, the allied Guild of Fighters requests the assistance of the Guild of Mages. In these instances, the Guild deploys its Mercenary Mages. These are generally (but not always) battlemages, and often have a closer relationship with their FG comrades-in-arms than with the rest of the MG. Mercenary Mages should be depicted as rough-and-tumble spellswords rather unlike the somewhat stuffy standard MG types.
• The Odylic Mages are the master scholar-mages of the Guild, called upon to provide insights on mysteries the guildhalls cannot solve. The Odylics are mega-savants; because of the sheer number of fields they must have unparalleled expertise in, there are no more than a handful in the entire Guild. Odylic Mages - when they appear in quests - should convey an air of academic mastery, and their unique dialogue should be laconic and definitive.
• Finally, the Utility Mages are those few mages trusted by the Archmagisters with the highest secrets of the Guild. Utility Mages may be of any rank or class, and many of them operate secretly. Their primary task: to secure, transport, and store extremely valuable magical artifacts discovered by the Guild anywhere in the Empire, and to ensure that such items do not fall into the hands of others. Utility Mages often appear unannounced at the close of an expedition to pluck some highly-esteemed item out of its tomb and spirit it back to Cyrodiil. In general, Utility Mages are individually loyal to one Archmagister or another, but occasionally, powerful Arch-Mages will attempt to secure a valuable prize for themselves. The IAS does not like the Utility Mages.
  • Utility Mages concept to be reworked. WIP.

All of this gives the Guild of Mages three primary political forces, an additional three minor political forces, and four "specialty mage" character foundations that can be used in quests throughout TR/PT.