College (bardic)

Fellowship organizations composed of multiple structures collectively known as campuses, offering training in the arts. A college will also act as a social and professional community for bards, usually local but potentially international. Colleges may be independent, or they may possess satellites scattered in multiple kingdoms. Some are more prestigious than others.

The most influential are those whose focus is the higher arts, related to music, painting, lyrics and poetry, or sculpture. Lesser colleges provide training in dance, physical arts like juggling, acting and drama, and many physical arts, such as art pottery or printing. Bards will often train in more than one form of art, in order to round out their desire to express unique and lasting works.

Colleges will teach any who can provide the tuition, but colleges will also support adequately proficient bards by offering them a monthly or yearly stipend. To receive this, the bard must audition.

Colleges will usually be found in cities that have upwards of 16,000 persons. Musical and dramatic colleges are often called, “conservatories.” Physical arts, such as dance, are usually practiced at “academies.”

See Also,
Player Characters
Pragmatism