Brainstorming Course Names for an Adventuring School

[PhoenixPhyre]

All the PCs for my school games start as accredited graduates of the Windwalker Academy for Applied Knowledge (WAAK). This school, run mostly by goblins and hobgoblins, is for people with potential who already have the basics down (that is, they're all level 1 and are not taught their class skills there). It's a year-long, full-time crash course in surviving as an adventurer.

Adventurers play the role of international troubleshooter/explorer/hired investigator in a 4 nation alliance.

What classes would they take? So far, I've thought of the following curriculum:

Q1
* Cultural Awareness: This core class teaches the taboos and other social norms of the peoples of the four nations so that they can go places without horribly offending people (at least not unintentionally.
* Legal Procedure: This core class teaches the legal systems and basic laws of the four nations
* Introduction to Teamwork (practical): This class teaches each character about the capabilities of the other "classes", solving the "so what can you do again?" meta-game issue.

Q2
* Current Affairs: The politics and social hierarchies of the various nations, as well as known threats and dissident groups (internal and external).
* Religious Appreciation: Covers the religious rituals of the nations in more detail.
* Introduction to Small-Unit Tactics (practical): skirmishes against other teams and against teachers.
* An introductory elective.

Q3/Q4
* Two or three electives. Advanced electives can be taken after the prerequisite introductory class.

Now I need ideas for what those electives might be and what they might cover. The names can be a bit silly--the founders of this school had a strange sense of humor. I'm trying to gently poke fun at the modern US education system (since I'm playing in a school setting), so pompous or 4th-wall leaning names are just fine.

Ideas?

Spoiler: An idea for an associated meta-currency mechanic

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I was thinking that at character generation I'd ask the players which class they payed the most attention in and in which they payed the least attention. Then they could, during play, say "I remember this from WAAK" about something related to their best class and convert a failure into a partial success or a success into a critical success. Once they use it the DM could then turn around and use it to cause a complication on something about their worst class--turn a success into a partial success (yes, but) or a failure into a botch. If they accept that complication, they recharge the ability. If they don't, it doesn't happen but they don't get the ability back until they do.

I haven't really figured out all the details on that part yet, though, and it's not an essential part.

[Cespenar]

Eh, lots of stuff to cover, actually.

Intro to Investigation
Intro to Magic
Intro to Psych -> Monster Psychology -> Pacifist Theory

Logistics and Travel: Teaches everything from what basic equipment an adventurer should have nearby, to the methods of traveling within the country.

Traveling Adventurer Theory (req. Logistics and Travel): Teaches advanced decision making techniques to optimize your way through the countries while taking on the highest amount of quests.

Lootonomics: Teaches the basic cycle of wealth between monsters, heroes, and vendors.

This could go all day.

[Vhaidara]

A full course dedicated to running. Mostly for use in the "away" variety, though pursuit can be a viable option. But mostly make sure that when you see the dragon on the horizon, you don't get outrun by the hobbit he's chasing.

[Goaty14]

"Pointy End That Way" taught by Urduk the Angry
""That speck shot me!" Long Range Archery for Experts" taught by Silversheen the Hawk-eyed

[Chad Hooper]

Etiquette of Lost and Found: taught by a Halfling (or if your world has them, a Kender!:D)

To heal or not to heal?: (a class on Herbalism that teaches poisons alongside cures)

Roll the Bones: How not to Bet Your Life on Beating Necromancy without Magic

Dragon bait 101: (all students are "lab partners" for students in 202 or higher level courses)

[KillianHawkeye]

You'd probably want some courses on Monsterology, so adventurers can get the basic run-downs (with strengths and weaknesses) of famous monsters such as dragons, beholders, mind flayers, vampires, trolls, hydras, chimeras, mummies, giants, were-wolves (and otherkin), skeletons, zombies, rust monsters, mimics, and gelatinous cubes. Advanced courses could include monsters of the planes, or perhaps less common monsters such as liches, krakens, purple worms, aboleths, bodaks, various fey creatures, golems and other constructs, and a comparative look at ghosts/shadows/spectres/wraiths.

[MintyNinja]

Quest Like a Quartermaster: An in-depth exploration of all the mundane items commonly found in the PHB, including various classes like The Oiled Rope Trap, How to Use Ball Bearings to Move Big Blocks, and Rope Tricks for Fun and Profit.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Applied Trapfinding: Teaches the proper 14-step procedure for finding and disarming traps. Traps must be pit traps not exceeding 5' in depth, and must be in perfectly level ten-foot-wide rubber-tiled corridors exactly ten feet high. During the course, for safety reasons, traps are not allowed to be present in the classroom.

[eru001]

College Level Adventuring courses, Broken down by discipline


ADV 101: Adventuring on a basic budget
ADV 102: Its a Trap with Professor Akbar
ADV 104: The ten foot pole and you
ADV 212: The Extended Rest When and Where
ADV 309: Another Castle, an in Depth Study of the Geographic Locations of Princesses

MONS 101: Kobold Punting for Beginners
MONS 202: Goblins, Crafty, Devious, Squishy
MONS 303: Hordes, Halfs, and the Hunting therof, an Introduction to Orcs
MONS 409: RUN AWAY, a guide to Dragons

NATU 101: Bear, Deer, or Train Know the Difference, an Introduction To Tracking
NATU 102: Dont Piss Off Druids
NATU 201: Fuzzy or Furocious a Guide to Choosing Your Animal Companion

MAG 104: The Fighters and How to Stand Behind them
MAG 106: Buff Spells and Who To Give Them To
MAG 201: Fireball Is Your Friend
MAG 203: Familiars, How to Minimize Annoyance While Maximizing Efficiency
MAG 302: Quadratic Equations

FIG 101: Standing in Front of the Wizard
FIG 102: Standing in Front of the Archer
FIG 103: Punching the Bard
FIG 204: An Introduction to Wizard Related Moral Dillemmas
FIG 302: Linear Algebra

[Nifft]

This seems like a great place to drop campaign-specific mysteries -- like maybe there's a course in Applied Necrotheology, and the professor is planning to exhume and poke a dead god. That could be a major arc, or even a decent campaign.

Or a seminar course in Transvalent Arcanarithmetic, and the professor has a way to merge spell slots, but all the resultant spells are so far unimpressive. Maybe one of the PCs figures out how to get value out of the extra arcane energy -- and becomes the setting's first Ultimate Magus.

[RazorChain]

Halflings: What to do with them after they have eaten all your supplies

[GungHo]

NEC 201: What just killed me? - Ethical Necromancy

[Honest Tiefling]

A full course dedicated to running. Mostly for use in the "away" variety, though pursuit can be a viable option. But mostly make sure that when you see the dragon on the horizon, you don't get outrun by the hobbit he's chasing.

Taught by a barbarian who chases you with a great axe. Work on your constitution, folks!

Perhaps call it survival skills. You survive the barbarian, you pass.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I'd start with a bootcamp style course really. Finding your way using map and compass, not dying of hypothermia and general exposure, basic first aid, staying in condition where you can walk, maybe some food gathering, avoiding (or trapping) wild animals. Sure, these people live in a medieval society, so some skills are assumed, but this still seems important.

Basics of survival? Applied life skills?

(Unless these are exactly the basics all of them already have down.)

[PhoenixPhyre]

I'd start with a bootcamp style course really. Finding your way using map and compass, not dying of hypothermia and general exposure, basic first aid, staying in condition where you can walk, maybe some food gathering, avoiding (or trapping) wild animals. Sure, these people live in a medieval society, so some skills are assumed, but this still seems important.

Basics of survival? Applied life skills?

(Unless these are exactly the basics all of them already have down.)

The "basics" are the class and background features. Basic survival tips (what you'd teach in Boy Scouts) I've just assumed are a given--anyone can use a Healer's kit, and we assume the characters are competent. That's from being in a situation where no one can live as sheltered a life as we do here.

Map reading is something else (there aren't compasses--no magnetic field on this planet). And few good maps.

Edit: Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Keep them coming!

[Nifft]

Map reading is something else (there aren't compasses--no magnetic field on this planet). And few good maps.

Without a magnetic field, the idea of North-South-East-West might have less prominence, and Cartesian coordinates might not be considered as natural.

Polar coordinate math might be a popular class, since you can calculate distances by using magic to find well-known landmarks (e.g. find temple), then triangulate your position and/or the position of your target.

[Jama7301]

Civics 401 - Civil Conflict Prerequisites - Civics 221 - Modern History and Current Affairs. Adventuring 121 - Introduction to Diplomacy

Civics 511 - Building an Empire Prerequisites - Civics 401 - Civil Conflict, Leadership 201 - Morale Studies, Civics 331 - Fallen Kingdoms Through the Ages

Civics 521 - Government Installation Prerequisites - Civics 401 - Civil Conflict, Diplomacy 201 Diplomatic Relationships, Diplomacy 311 - Mediation, Trade, and Common Law

[PhoenixPhyre]

Without a magnetic field, the idea of North-South-East-West might have less prominence, and Cartesian coordinates might not be considered as natural.

Polar coordinate math might be a popular class, since you can calculate distances by using magic to find well-known landmarks (e.g. find temple), then triangulate your position and/or the position of your target.

Oooh that's a good point. I hadn't thought about that. I mostly play with kids and Humanities teachers, so I'll probably stick with NESW directions for their sake , but in-universe it may be different.

[Grog Logs]

It's a year-long, full-time crash course in surviving as an adventurer...What classes would they take? So far, I've thought of the following curriculum:

Back in Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men, the back of the comic included courses taught at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Here is their class list from issue # 1, I believe. Logan's syllabus for Advanced Field Survival 505 is located here.

[Nifft]

Oooh that's a good point. I hadn't thought about that. I mostly play with kids and Humanities teachers, so I'll probably stick with NESW directions for their sake , but in-universe it may be different.

You could do the polar-coordinate thing without too much math.

Just give directions in terms of distance from landmarks, and talk about maintaining a rough distance from landmarks. "You should see Deathspire Mountain when you leave the Valley of Bloodbunnies. Keep the spire on your left, at least 3 miles away, and continue around it until you're in front of Lichmist Marsh. After that, ..."


Think in terms of:
- Landmark visibility radius
- Landmark danger zone -- which is hopefully smaller than visibility radius

Each landmark could have a "safe donut" where it's visible but not yet dangerous, and all safe(-ish) paths are donut traversals.