History Main / MagicalSociety

* In ''TheBlackMagicianTrilogy'', there's a Magicians' Guild that all magic-users are required to join, since untrained magic-users are a danger to themselves and those around them. The plot of the first book has the protagonist (who doesn't really understand the danger, and just wants to be left alone) being hunted by the Guild for this reason.

* In ''{{Discworld}}'', one of the unspoken functions of Unseen University is to keep wizards tangled up in bureaucracy and academic politics, and to ensure that they can live comfortably without having to actually do very much. That way, they're not turning their magic on everyone else, and over the years since the university was founded, wizardry in general has become more sedate and inward-looking. Which makes the world a considerably safer place: it's noted that "there were still quite deep scars in old buildings that showed what happened when you had the other kind of wizard", and that in the old days, "the plural of 'wizard' was 'war'".

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

* RobertHeinlein's "Magic Inc." involves an attempt to create a non-profit association that would test and license magicians. It turns out to be a diabolical (literally) plot to take over control of all magic use in the U.S.

** That said, witches always keep an eye on one another to ensure they don't start cackling.

* ''{{Shadowrun}}'' products have had a variety of small magical societies, usually informal groupings of like minded magic users. Some were more formal, such as groups set up and run by {{megacorp}}s.
* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' features the Council of Nine, the ruling body of the nine major magical Traditions, which themselves range from mentalist martial artists to Hermetics to enlightened scientists to pagans to reality hackers to shamans. And then there are the many other Crafts that exist beyond them...
** It also has the Technocratic Union and its five Conventions - Iteration X (engineers and inventors), the Progenitors (biologists and geneticists), the Syndicate (financiers and economists), Void Engineers (explorers), and the New World Order (masters of information and its control). However, many members of the Union see what they do as Enlightened Science, not magic.

* Likewise, ''WraithTheOblivion'' has several Guilds, each of which shows a proclivity towards one of the [[FunctionalMagic Arcanoi]]. Some are ill-favored but looked upon as a necessity (the Pardoners, whose knowledge of Castigate helps keep [[EnemyWithin Shadows]] in check), some are looked upon with scorn (the Haunters, who use the art of Pandemonium to fuck with reality), and some are outlawed entirely (the Mnemoi, whose knowledge of Mnemonysis allowed them to control memory and resulted in the entire Guild being smashed for hideous crimes).

* {{Warcraft}} has the Kirin Tor. Not the only magical group as there used to be a rival group in Stormwind and the trolls have their own arcane traditions but definitely the most prominent. When they became an independent faction in the second expansion of {{World of Warcraft}} mage player characters (regardless of race) start out with a slightly higher reputation than non-mage characters.

** There were also the Blood elves, but that was pretty much their MagicalSociety in of itself. The Night Elves also had a MagicalSociety, the Highbourne. It's likely that they are returning as an explanation for the Night Elf Mage class in the third expansion pack. (Some evidence has hinted this)

* [[HarryPotter THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.]] That is all.
** Please, that's just a small group in the Wizarding World as a whole. They are organized in a bureaucratic government known as the Ministry of Magic, and the have an extensive schooling system, of which Hogwarts is a part.

* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' features the Council of Nine, the ruling body of the nine major magical Traditions, which themselves range from mental martial artists to Hermetics to enlightened scientists to pagans to reality hackers to shamans. And then there are the many other Crafts that exist beyond them...

** The background features the Psijic Order, a more reclusive and restrictive society that the Guild of Mages and the Necromancers (the loose organisation, not the class of mages) sprung from. They are still around, though less important than in their glory days (way back in the 1st and early 2nd Eras), but none of the games have actually featured them directly.

* ''TheWitcher'' has the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, which fell apart, and the Lodge of Sorceresses, an organisation created afterwards by a group of women who had belonged to it. Their membership is not particularly large, but they can have a considerable impact on politics, and have reputations as untrustworthy schemers.

* The Orders of High Sorcery in ''{{Dragonlance}}''. Created directly by the three gods of magic, they have almost total authority in all magical matters, and being a practicing wizard of substantial power without joining (and thereby being subject to the Orders' regulations) is a crime punishable by death. There are three Orders, White, Red, and Black, each with their own distinct philosophy in magic; representatives of all three sit on the Conclave, which governs all magical matters on Krynn.
** Later in the timeline, other magical organizations (such as the Grey Knights of the Thorn, a subgroup of the Dark Knights of Takhisis/Neraka) start springing up which are powerful enough to exist independantly of the Orders, as do other forms of magic-users such as mystics and primal sorcerers whose magic doesn't come from the moon gods and therefore lies outside the Orders' jurisdiction.

* ''MageTheAscension'' features the Council of Nine, the ruling body of the nine major magical Traditions, which themselves range from mental martial artists to Hermetics to enlightened scientists to pagans to reality hackers to shamans. And then there are the many other Crafts that exist beyond them...

* Likewise, ''WraithTheOblivion'' has several Guilds, each of which shows a proclivity towards one of the [[FunctionalMagic Arcanoi]]. Some are ill-favored but looked upon as a necessity (the Pardoners, whose knowledge of Castigate helps keep [[EnemyWithin Shadows]] in check), some are looked upon with scorn (the Haunters, who use the art of Pandemonium to fuck with reality), and some are outlawed entirely (the Mnemoi, whose knowledge of Mnemonysis allowed them to control memory and resulted in the entire Guild being smashed for a hideous crime).

* The HeroesOfMightAndMagic games have several magic based factions with each game: ''I'' had the Sorceress and Warlock, ''II'' added the Wizard and Necromancer, ''III'' updated the system by having a magic type hero with each faction, some factions are dedicated to magic more than others (the most prominent being the Tower with the Wizards and Alchemists), ''IV'' had each faction with their own specialty magic (save for [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Might]]), ''V'' went back to how ''I'' and ''II'' did the heroes, with the Academy, Dungeon, and Necropolis for the Wizards, Warlocks, and Necromancers, respectively.

Some magical societies are politically powerful (perhaps even [[TheMagocracy running the country]]), while others are persecuted. In either case, they might keep their existence a secret. There can be conflict between a magical society and other powers (the government, the church...), between the society and people who are trying to practice magic outside it, and between members of the society itself (the issue of whether to allow BlackMagic is a popular subject).

An order, club, alliance, union, or other organisation comprised of people who can do magic. Names vary: it may be called the Mages' Guild, the Circle of Mages, the Conclave of Sorcerors, the Arcane Brotherhood, or whatever. A given setting may have one magical society, several, or none.

Sometimes, a magical society exists for the benefit of its members, while other times, it is a structure created to control them (whether for benign purposes or otherwise). It could be both at once - by creating rules for themselves, mages may decrease the extent to which [[BewareTheSuperman people consider them dangerous]]. It might be a loose support network which only comes together for specific issues, or it might be a rigid hierarchy that demands unity and obedience. A magical society may be responsible for [[SuperRegistrationAct keeping track of magic users]], which might involve genealogy or even breeding programs if it's dealing with a WitchSpecies. It may also act as the Magic Police. Joining a magical society may be [[MutantDraftBoard an obligation]], a rare honour, or anything in between.

** Later in the timeline, other magical organizations (such as the Grey Knights of the Thorn, a subgroup of the Dark Knights of Takhisis/Neraka) start springing up which are powerful enough to exist independantly of the Orders, as do other forms of magic-users such as mystics and primal sorcerers whose magic doesn't come from the moon gods and therefore lies outside the Orders' jurisdiction.