Schools, Academies, and Research

I'd love to get some conversations going on schools, academies, and research from the player base (and Devs if they want to join in). I'm sure I'm missing a few things, but below is a list I've compiled of things we know.

General Overview

These are organizations dedicated to the furthering of education, research, and technology. Their org structure consists of some members of the organization who pay to be members (to receive training and to gain access to the school's resources) while other members of the organization are paid to be a part of it (as trainers and researchers). Their funding comes from a combination of their paying members and grants from the Kingdom, Duchy, County, or Settlement they reside in.

The main advantage to being a part of a school is that they offer increased and rapid opportunity for learning. This comes in the form of consolidated access to skill trainers, and also access to specialized research tools. And, as new technology is discovered, all students immediately gain access to the new knowledge. Because their primary benefits come from having a larger number of members in a single location, few schools want to create multiple locations, preferring to increase in size and scope at a single site or campus.

Because knowledge is power, and people are encouraged to focus their skill development on one set of skills at a time, characters (ie. identities) are restricted to enrollment in one school at a time.

taken from CoE Discord Soul Chamber - 12/28/17 - Organizations

Skill Tiers

1. Novice (0-29%) - 100% population will achieve
2. Apprentice (30-39%) - 70% population
3. Journeyman (40-49%) - 60% population
4. Expert (50-59%) - 50% population
5. Artisan (60-69%) - 40% population
6. Renowned (70-79%) - 30% population
7. Master (80-89%) - 20% population
8. Grandmaster (90-99%) - 10% population
9. Legendary (100%) - 1% population

Ways to Learn

All skills in CoE require a minimum amount of training in order to perform. Attempting a skill with a skill rating of 0% will always result in failure. To attempt a skill for the first time it'll be necessary to first receive training. There are a number of ways and places in which to receive training.

1. Books - Can take you up to Apprentice, beyond that need rare texts.
2. Observation - Being near someone performing a skill enough times (not beyond Apprentice & requires skill above 0%)
3. Practice- Can be used as OPC but not beyond Journeyman (requires skill above 0%)
4. Teaching - This is generally an interactive process requiring both people to be online, however, sufficiently skilled characters can teach others via their OPC. In addition, they often say the best way to learn is to teach, and while that’s not 100% true here, teachers do develop their skills while teaching, in the same way they did before as the student.
5. Once Expert rank - You can choose to spend additional resources each time you craft the item to study some aspect of it in order to solve a problem. These can be things like making a blade stronger, armor lighter or more flexible, or livestock live longer. It can also be problems such as adding reflection to the surface of glass.

Researching

• Your percent chance of solving a specific problem is based on the amount of research you, and others, have contributed to solving the problem. Some problems require more research than others and you won’t know how much research is required or how far along you are. In this way, research may feel a bit random, but it’s not. The more research you pour into something, the more likely are to discover something. When first crafting a new item you’re invariably focused first and foremost on making sure you’re able to create the item at a passable quality. However, after you’ve attained the level of Expert for that specific item you’re sufficiently capable of making the item that you can instead optimize for either advanced knowledge or faster production.
• Beginning at Expert level a slider will appear on your crafting UI which begins in the middle with "Quality," and then extends to the left and right toward two different values. To the left is "Research", and to the right is "Production". Where you put the value of that slider affects many different aspects of the particular crafting or material processing you're about to do. It effects:

Whether or not you have the potential to discover something

How much fatigue you have after crafting an item

The cost of performing the crafting or processing in terms of resources.

How severe the risk of failure

• Move the slider more to the left and you’ll have a higher chance to discover something. Move the slider to the right and you’ll suffer less fatigue from the crafting process and will be able to push out more items more quickly.
• Initially, you may just be risking the loss of materials and perhaps the destruction of your tools, but by moving the slider out further you risk the loss of your building, personal injury, and maybe even death.
• Schools often have crafting stations which allow for safer research while guilds may have versions that allow for safer mass-production. As well, if you do research as part of a guild or school, your ability to discover something is based not only on the time you've spent in research, but also the time everyone else in your guild or school has spent in research. This can result in dramatically increased chance of discovery.
• There is a trade-off, however. If you perform research on the equipment of an organization, such as a Guild or School, you're implicitly agreeing to share all discoveries you make with the institution.
• There is some amount of meta-game thinking allowed. We want players who understand the relationship between certain materials, the components they make, and the final product to play a role. If I, as a player, know how to construct a telescope, I should be able to use that information when guiding what I research to eventually lead to the discovery of a telescope.

Research Triggers

• Event-Driven: You may have the option to research new technology based on changing world state such as the advancement of the story or going to war with another kingdom.
• Skill & Mastery-Driven: If you get specific skills to a certain mastery, the synergy between the different skills may provide you with additional research opportunities. For example, achieving mastery in certain carpentry and tailoring skills may provide you the opportunity to research interesting new technologies.
• Resource-Driven: Having multiple resources in your inventory that can be combined together in new and unique ways can often provide you the ability to do research. For example, if you’ve got copper and tin ore in your inventory and attempt to make a copper bar, you may be able to research bronze.
• Location-Driven: Some technologies require characters to be in specific locations in order to unlock specific technologies. This makes sense intuitively. After all, it doesn't really make sense for someone who's land-locked to be researching boat-making.

Tribes

Brudvir

• No education writeup provided

Hrothi

• The Hrothi, as a people, value the preservation and transmission of knowledge as one of their highest ideals. They believe that our memories as individuals and as a society are one of the few things that can last forever. As a result, the Hrothi train talented scribes who use bright, beautiful inks containing pigmentation made from minerals dug from deep within the ground. These scrolls and manuscripts appear brightly illuminated and serve as a record for both their own people and the rest of the Tribes of Mann. These illuminated manuscripts are then stored in countless libraries and vaults built beneath the ground, designed to preserve the manuscripts in their original state so they can withstand the passage of time.
• Members of the Hrothi who are looking to further their education can either seek an apprenticeship with one of their local guilds, or can seek out one of the many schools that train people in the ways and crafts of the Hrothi. If one is lucky enough, they may even join a school or university that has access to one of the Great Libraries.

Kypiq

• The Kypiq prize a great mind and are encouraged from a young age to experiment and observe. They take the practical approach to education and would likely faint if presented with a dusty, Hrothi tome from which to learn.
• For those with alchemical interests, they are sent to learn among the Kypiq's greatest alchemists at the Kinothian: a school within the North's great forest of giant mushrooms. This establishment has stood for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Closer to home, near the transition point between the forest and the grasslands, lies the Arkyn. It is an institution where both the Neran and Kypiq have gone in order to learn from the greatest Tinkerers and Mechanists. The Arkyn leaves a very distinct impression, built almost like clockwork, with various gears, levers, and cogs. It represents the height of engineering on Elyria.
• Not all Kypiq find themselves with a career in the science and technology sector, though most could probably talk with confidence on the finer points of either. Those that don't may pursue crafts that aren't overly time consuming or provide a great deal of excitement in a day, such as weaving, trap making, or weapon crafting. These skills may be passed down among any member in the community (not often a family member) or picked up from passing travelers or nearby Neran settlements.

Neran

• Neran looking to enter a craft or trade have several different routes in which they can do so, often dependent on where they live. Those living in smaller settlements will either learn the family trade through their elders or seek out one of the local tradesmen in hopes of gaining an apprenticeship. Those wishing to join a guild for training can journey to a nearby town to find what they're looking for. Some guilds will only accept already-skilled and/or established members of their craft, while others will accept newcomers and train them from nothing. For those seeking the fastest advancement, larger towns and cities often hold schools or universities to join. This provides not only the opportunity for faster learning, but also an opportunity for further research.
• All Neran are expected to have at least a passing knowledge of the Virtues, and part of the duty of the Song-priests is to spread this knowledge.

Waerd

• Knowledge is shared freely among the Waerd, with schools existing in each settlement and made available without charge to the others. The schools themselves range in subjects from infiltration, subterfuge, and disguise, to serviceable trades such as mining, smithing, masonry, and cartography. As a result, The Waerd are considered to have a broad range of knowledge by outsiders and are often hired as tutors or trainers, which they use as an opportunity to gain additional information. Jacks of all trades, masters of none, their breadth of knowledge can make The Waerd useful in almost all capacities.

Dras

• The Dras, being communal in nature, have large areas dedicated to teaching. Alchemy, philosophy, theology, bardic skills, and crafting schools are among the most common but a Dras settlement will often set aside freely-usable space in the center of town for anyone who wants to speak or engage in scholarly pursuits.
• There is an importance placed upon the learning of their history. This is considered important, both for the understanding and appreciation of where they are now, and for acquiring the wisdom necessary to prevent history from repeating itself.

Janoa

• Primarily, Janoan youth receive training and tutelage from their parents. Perceiving children as a reflection of an individual's prowess, at least until adulthood, there exist steep expectations for the next of kin. Parents put in effort to pass on techniques and knowledge through practical lessons, by bringing their children on training hunts or sending them to the local hunting academy. While incredibly rare, there are times in which a child is born not bearing the marks of their parents. These individuals are shunned from engaging in The Hunt and, many times, become gatherers or alchemists.
• As part of their learning process, many Janoa will find a rival with whom they can practice their skills. Valuing individual prowess and domination, schools or institutions pit student against student for nearly every subject taught, be it herbalism or mathematics. There are some slightly less competitive organizations that exist and operate on an economic level, primarily being the alchemists and merchants who make much of their living off of the excess of hunted materials not used for trophies or adornment.

To'resk

• Education among the To'resk tends to prioritize diplomacy, trade, and mercantilism above all else, with the lower classes additionally studying farming and aquaculture. As individual and family advancement is valued higher than community development, the To'resk tend to to keep family recipes and knowledge on how to fish, farm, find gold, or even climb the social ladder as closely guarded secrets. As a result, there are few, if any, schools within the wetlands Instead, parents teach their children, passing on recipes that would not be readily shared among the To'resk. To gain skills outside of your current family, your fastest route to success is to marry into a family that does possess the skills you're interested in learning, as information is generously shared through marital families.
• Consequently, divorce - the breaking of a marriage contract - is extremely frowned upon in To'reshian society and is treated as a sort of social bankruptcy. The breaking of a marriage contract results in a brand by the person who violated the contract. This marks the person as being untrustworthy and less suitable to be married again in the future.

In-game Schools

If your school/academy is not listed, please let me know and I'll get it added. All I ask is that you have a post that can be linked.

• Arkyn - Kypiq Kingdom (Tinkerers and Mechanists)
• Kinothian - Kypiq Kingdom (Alchemists)
• Unseen University - Unknown location (Talents & Magic)

Angelica Server

• Agravaine Academy (Tyria)
• Asbrekka School of Arts (Tyria)
• Briva School of Arts (Riftwood)
• Chamberlains (Ashland)
• The Citadel (Aranor)
• Drescuri Academy (Riftwood)
• Fennec Academy (Blackheart)
• Military Academy of Delghast (Riftwood)
• Moonbow Academy (Valyria)
• Regnean Naval Academy & Shipyard (Ashland)
• Solaire Academy of Art (Valyria)
• Ranger Academy of Hawkridge (Riftwood)
• Royal College of Darkholm (Blackheart)
• School of Bardic Arts (Blackheart)
• Valycian Naval Academy (Ashland)

Luna Server

• Arenthian College of Military Technology (Bordweall)
• Ashla School of Bardic Arts and Bards (Alesia)
• Bulwark Corps School (Kairos)
• Mineral Institute of Technology (Vornair)
• Sui' Fu Dojo (Bordweall)
• Talqamar (Alesia)
• Tyto Academy (Alesia)
• University of Knowledge Theory and Science (Vornair)
• Vornair School of Medicine (Vornair)
• Wena Il'G'hanira Samani (Bordweall)

Selene Server

• Atheneum (Nirath)
• College of Utdannelse (Tryggr)
• Scholars of Gladal (Demalion Empire)
• The Scribe Academy of Midgard
• University of Wenport (Nirath)

Oceanus Server

• Academy of Life (Lor Voskara)

Dev Journals

• DJ 8 - Character Roles and Skill Advancement
• DJ 9 - Crafting Professions
• DJ 13 - Technology & Research
• Professions Skills

Questions

1. Can one school receive multiple grants?
2. Can one domain give multiple grants to different schools?
3. Can restrictions be placed on the grants? (i.e. to push the agenda of those giving the grants)
4. How are schools effected by Tribes, specifically those that are family oriented?
5. Can a school create tiers of its members, thus restricting access as desired?
6. How are discoveries shared within the school? Recipes are likely needed to be created. Is it shared because they have access to it, or does everyone learn it upon discovery?