Open Legend: The Magician's Gambit

Campaign Overview

This is the campaign Wiki for a modern day Open Legend adventure set in the world of Lev Grossman's The Magicians.

Campaign Premise

Magic is dying. Or at least, that's what some whisper. Each year, fewer candidates are found. Fewer young adults show even a flicker of magical potential. The world grows quieter.

Dean Solomon Hopper believes he has the answer. For the first time in decades, Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy has expanded its admissions criteria, seeking out not just the naturally gifted, but also those with faint, fragile sparks that might grow under careful training.

This year's entrance exam will draw the largest pool of applicants in living memory. And if enough of them pass, Brakebills will welcome its largest incoming class in half a century. Some call it Hopper's grand experiment. Others call it a dangerous gamble.

Not everyone is happy. Rumors circulate of dissent among the Five Families who make up the school's Board of Directors. Visionary? Or madman? Those are the two views about Hopper that has put the Families at such odds with one another. It is most certainly a case of time shall tell.

Thus, this is the world you find yourself stepping into. Whether you come from an established magical background, or have no clue about the existence of real magic, you've been chosen. Perhaps your family groomed you for this moment. Perhaps you stumbled into it by accident. Perhaps you still don't quite believe it's real. It doesn't matter. Brakebills has found you, and the gates are opening.

Relevant Links

• In Character Thread
• Out of Character Thread
• Recruitment Thread
• Open Legend Core Rules

Characters

• Anne Greydon (played by Stormraven)
• Benjamin Pierce (played by PaulK)
• Brendan Beirne (played by Potted Plant)
• Jake Mitchell (played by The Watcher)
• Cecily Elizabeth Harrington (played by Elfwine )
• Aiden LaVey (played by Talisman)
• Charlotte Brown (played by Ravensdance)

Notable NPCs

Brakebills Faculty/Staff

• Solomon Hopper, Dean of Brakebills
• Keshawn Warren, Hedge Witch/Professor (The Hidden Paths: Folk Traditions and Everyday Magic)
• Maxine Banks, Professor (Fundamentals of Thaumaturgic Theory)
• Oskar Vestergaard, Professor (Language and Gesture of Magic)
• Satcher Forbes, Professor (Principles of Alchemy and Practical Distillations)
• Stanislav Pavlenko, Professor (Mental Discipline and Visualization)
• Józef Dąbrowski, Professor (History and Literature of Magic)
• Cyril Zhan, Professor (Elementary Transformations)
• Gareth Whittemore, Librarian

Brakebills Students

First Years

Group A

• Adisa Temitope
• Jaden Bunnag
• Mackenzie Rijnders

Group B

• Rebecca "Becca" Wyatt
• Kestrel Kroon
• Anthony Ravenscroft

Group C

• Elijah Grant
• Camellia Duvalier
• Rhett McAllistair
• Mimi Whitney-Langdon
• Shaun Mercado
• Edwina "Ed" Platt
• Verity St. John
• Faysal Qadir

Group D

• Alejandro Etxebarria
• Serena Norman

Group E

• Conrad Baines
• Megan Lawrence

Second Years

• Murphy "Murph" Bowers
• Esme Montagne

Third Years

• Cassandra "Cassie" Fosse
• Lawson Faulkner
• Summer Flowers
• Duncan McAllistair

Brakebills Alumni

• Corwin McAllistair, Class of 1993
• Killian McAllistair, Class of 1997
• Josephine Duvalier, Class of 1999
• Tripp Archer, Class of 2011

The Five Families of North American Magic

Brakebills is overseen by a Board of Directors, composed of representatives from five magical dynasties. Each family has its own traditions, strengths, and rivalries.

The McAllistairs

Cold, calculating, and relentless in their pursuit of control. The McAllistairs are political animals, weaving their influence through mundane governments as well as magical tribunals. They believe in strict hierarchy, seeing magic as a resource to be hoarded and weaponized. Many Brakebills students come to dread the McAllistair name, but few deny their power.

Reputation: Tradition-bound, ruthless, aristocratic.

The Ravenscrofts

Masters of illusion, charm, and manipulation. The Ravenscrofts hold court in salons, theaters, and secret societies, turning social power into magical dominance. They are known for producing dazzling performers, charismatic leaders, and subtle liars. With them, appearances are never what they seem. Even their allies wonder if they're being played.

Reputation: Glamorous, cunning, duplicitous.

The Duvaliers

Steeped in the traditions of Haiti and the deep South, the Duvaliers' magic is rooted in ancestry, spirit-work, and blood ties. They carry themselves with gravitas, invoking the strength of their forebears and honoring the dead as living allies. Their power is feared and respected, but their rivals whisper about "dark bargains."

Reputation: Spiritual, formidable, feared.

The Karras

Industrialists, alchemists, and pragmatists. The Karras family built their fortune on magical innovation, refining potions, devices, and materials that quietly fuel the hidden magical economy. They see magic as an engine to be harnessed, and they do not shy away from monetizing it. Some call them revolutionaries; others call them profiteers.

Reputation: Practical, wealthy, opportunistic.

The Ashworths

Proud elementalists, heirs to a legacy of raw magical force. The Ashworths are known for their dramatic displays of fire, storm, and stone, often flaunting their superiority with little regard for subtlety. They raise their children to embody strength and dominance, producing magicians as arrogant as they are powerful.

Reputation: Bold, reckless, arrogant.

Sorcerers of Sherman Oaks

The hit Disney show that Jake Mitchell starred in.