The literati

[Pan narrans]

I'm planning a campaign involving Rich Burlew's Literati, as found in the gaming section of this site. Has anyone incorporated them into their campaigns? How'd it turn out - any advice?
Basic plot summary - in my new campaign world, scrolls, spellbooks and arcane knowledge are suppressed by the Literati. Most casters belong to the Guild Illumined, a subsidiary organisation of the Literati, where they can be controlled.
One year ago, however, someone began supplying bookshops all over the continent with 'magic made easy' books. Now, despite the efforts of the Literati and their pawns in high office (and bookshops) to ban them, the books started being teleported into crowded places. Chaos ensues.
Later, having grabbed the public's attention, the shadowy organisation behind the books will release plans for a printing press...

I have no idea which side the players will choose - after all, it'll take a lot of gaming before they have any idea who the good guys are. But I have a hunch they'll support freedom of information.

[Solo]

Later, having grabbed the public's attention, the shadowy organization behind the books will release plans for a printing press...

Damn you, Gutenberg!

[goat]

(The Literati aren't Rich's)

Well, their reaction depends on what their motives are. I assume you'd be limiting arcane spellcasters to spontaneous, non-book-taught types, but offering a sorc a way into a powerful PrC they'd otherwise not know about could be enough to encourage them into going along with the Literati.

Fighters and the other non-magical types might even be happier without everyone having easy access to magic, it makes them that much more competitive.

[Pan narrans]

Oh yeah, so they're not. Thank you Amber E. Scott!

[kamikasei]

Out of curiosity, have you heard of or played the Neverwinter Nights module, the HeX Coda? It's a very similar idea: magic is controlled by a central corporation and the player is part of an underground movement releasing "open-source" scrolls and the like.

The plot is presumably quite different from yours in how it progresses and especially in the fact that the player starts out already on one side, but I'm struck by the similarity. Maybe you'll find some inspiration there.

Questions I'd have or would want answered if I was trying to put together a plot such as you describe: who is the "shadowy organization" and what are their motives? Are they subversive Literati or an outside group? How do the Literati "control" magic? Do they just hoard all spell knowledge or do they have a lock on things like spell components? In general, is it actually possible for a wizard, especially, to operate outside their control if he's secretive, or would he be unable to buy/make spellbooks, inks for scribing, etc?

What use is a "magic made easy" book to you if, assuming you have the magical knowledge to make use of it, you're probably already linked to the Literati in a way that makes it highly problematic to be seen using it?

[Donovan]

I used the Literati as one of the main foes in one of my campaign as both an antagonist and a source of information for my players. They worked out well and I really liked the concept behind the group. That being said, I would make one suggestion: change the name of the group. When my players finally found out the name of the group that had been terrorizing them for several sessions, they started cracking up. Several sessions of terror and intimidation went right out the window when one of the players asked: "so what, they're gonna write nasty reviews about us in coffeehouse newspapers?"

[Pan narrans]

'Magic made easy', in this case, means very easy. Some people are mastering cantrips in mere months, as the books somehow make the arcane language almost intuitive. They have been written by a genius who truly understands how magic works, and so can explain it.
This genius is an archmage, head of the organisation releasing the books. His underlings are mainly arcane tricksters, and they refer to themselves as the Quicksilver.

The Literati control magic by hoarding spell knowledge, allowing only spells of 3rd level or lower to unitiated members of the Guild Illumined and discouraging original research, and by adding an intelligence lowering chemical to town water supplies in particularly troublesome areas.
Although this has remained secret, it has led to a widespread belief that drinking tea enhances intelligence. In fact boiling water neutralises the chemical, resulting in the correlation between tea drinking and mental acuity.

[The_Werebear]

That's very clever, actually.

Ok, here is one thing to worry about with hidden enemies. You have to give your players plenty of chances to spot them. If you keep them too hidden, your players won't be happy at all, and might start accusing you of cheating/get frustrated to the point of stopping because they can't find their foe.

[Pan narrans]

Well, I'm planning for the campaign to last a long time, so the Literati won't need to be revealed immediately. But they will be involved in just about every adventure, and so the players' knowledge of them will grow slowly.