10 Stupid yet Robust Games for Video Calls

2020 is a weird year. A lot of people are relying on video calls for holiday gatherings.

This is fine, but it does limit the type of holiday games that can be played. For some participants, setting up a video call might push their technical skills to the limit. Asking them to also download an application, share a screen, learn a video game, or install something would lead to disaster.

I've come up with (or, more accurately, adapted, stolen, or lightly improved) 10 stupid robust games for video calls. They've all been tested.

Criteria

• Will work over video chat.
• Cannot require special items, applications, or elaborate preparation.
• Cannot rely on the physical fitness of any participants.
• Are not intellectually challenging.
• Are sufficiently ridiculous that anyone who gets overly competitive will feel a bit silly, yet still retain a degree of competition.
  

Items
Each Participant Will Need: Several sheets of paper, a marker, and a pen.
Each Household Will Need: A ruler or tape measure, and an umbrella, rolling pin, or walking stick.

A marker is easier to see when held  up to a camera. Pencils will not work; they're too hard to see. The ruler/tape measure and umbrella/rolling pin/walking stick keeps people guessing and promotes interest in the game. Ooh, what have they got planned?

Participants
The games work with up to 20 people, though anything past 10 results in moderate chaos from time to time.

The person organizing the games should commit to them knowing full well they'll look like a damn fool. The organizer can participate in most of the games.

If you've got one uncle who flipped a card table when they lost a particularly close card game, or an aunt who hasn't had fun since 1952 and has no intention of starting now, these games simply won't work. Arguments should be fun, self-aware and performative, not actual fights. As with any game, you need a certain type of relaxed group.

1. The Category Challenge

Using your pen, on one sheet of paper, write down:
5 Animals larger than a golf ball.
5 Machines
5 Foods
5 Musical Instruments

Do not let anyone else see your sheet of paper.

If the thing you write down is unique, you get 1 point.
If exactly one other person writes down the same thing as you, you get 2 points.
If two or more people write down the same thing as you, you get 0 points.

So you want to be clever, but not too clever. Animals should be general: "Spider" not "Black Widow Spider".
 
You have 2 minutes starting now.
 
Notes
You can adjust the number of items required. Use 3 if you actually intend to cross-reference and mark the results. 5 is a decent middle-of-the-road value. 10 keeps everyone very busy.

The scoring system for this task is a bluff; it's a bit painful to actually mark it. The idea is to promote some animals that aren't just "dog, cat" etc, and get categories for other games without having to email out a secret list of animals. It's very cunning.

If you do want to assign points, after you have played all the other games here and no longer need the secret list, have one person list their animals, then see if anyone has the same one, then have them write down the points next to it.
 

2. The Noise Game

Holding the umbrella/rolling pin/walking stick in both hands, one person will make the noise of the first animal listed on their sheet of paper. They may only make noises. They cannot use actions or gestures, or make any noise that sounds like a word.

They will make the noise for 10 seconds, then everyone will get a chance to guess.

If your animal doesn't make a noise, make the noise of a person seeing your animal, or a noise associated with your animal.

The person who correctly guesses the animal gets 1 point. If no one guesses your noise, you get -2 points.

[You can repeat this game, immediately or later, with machines, foods, and musical instruments. In a large group, it might be a good idea to have the first few people do one category, then switch it up.]

Notes
Taskmaster task for reference (UK S10E07). Any attempt at controlled sequential guessing usually (OK, immediately) devolves into everyone shouting guesses as the poor person valiantly struggles to make noises, so there's no point in trying to structure it.
 

3. The Third Largest Duck Game

Using a marker and a piece of paper, draw the third largest duck. There must be 2 ducks larger than your duck. You have 30 seconds to draw your duck. Then, hand your duck to someone else to measure.

Winner gets 5 points.

Notes
Taskmaster task for reference (UK S04E08). Duck measurements are controversial. Some people measure beak to tail, some people scalp to foot, some people insisted the duck they were asked to measure wasn't a duck but a sort of mutant potato and therefore should be disqualified, etc. It's all great fun. Though yes, it is a blatant duck measuring contest, and you may need to keep a straight face when discussing it.

You can't use "the average duck" because that requires math and you can't use "the median duck" because you might have an even number of participants.
 

4. The Portrait Game

Using a marker and a piece of paper, draw a portrait of one person you can see on this video call. You cannot use your dominant hand. You cannot write letters.

You get 1 point for each person who correctly identifies the subject of your drawing.

You have 30 seconds starting now.

[Ask people to write down their guesses as each drawing is held up to the camera... or just let everyone shout answers and award maximum points all 'round.]

Notes
In theory, very competitive people will deliberately fail to recognize the subject of any drawing. In practice, everyone gets caught up in the hilarity (or tragedy) of the results.
 

5. The Ten Word Fact Game

Using a pen and a piece of paper, write down a ten word fact. There is a bonus point for the best fact. You have 1 minute starting now.

Silently mouth your ten word fact to the judge. You get 1 point for each word the judge gets correct. The judge gets the average of all points assigned.

Notes
Taskmaster task for reference (UK S07E03). Ideally, you'll want to select a fairly competitive and confident person to be the judge. Averaging points does require math, but there's no easy way around it. In testing, it's much easier to mouth facts when the judge is physically in the same room, so you may need to rotate or swap judges. You can also rotate judges for each fact (the judge and the fact-mouther getting the same points).
   

6. The Straight Line Game

Using a marker and a piece of paper, one person will draw the second animal listed on their sheet of paper. They can only three straight lines at a time.

After drawing three lines, everyone will get a chance to guess.

The person who correctly guesses the animal gets 1 point. If someone correctly identifies your animal after 3 lines, you get 5 points. After 6 lines, 4 points. 9 lines, 3 points, etc.

[You can repeat this game, immediately or later, with machines, foods, and musical instruments, though they're much harder than animals.]

Notes
Taskmaster task for reference (UK S10E06). All the notes from the Noise Game apply here.
 

7. The National Pride Game

Using a marker and a piece of paper, draw a map of this country/region/continent/etc.

The most accurate drawing, by popular vote, will get 5 points. You cannot vote for yourself.

You have 30 seconds starting now.

Notes
You could also have a judge (the person with the worst drawing) pick a first, second, and third place drawing. 30 seconds isn't a lot of time, particularly if you're looking for complex internal borders or geographical features.
 

8. The Hand Drawing Game

Using a marker and a piece of paper, draw the outline of your dominant hand. You cannot use your dominant hand to draw, and you cannot trace your hand or touch the paper with anything other than the marker.

You get 1 point for each finger that has an outline all the way around it, but where the outline is not more than 1cm away at any point from the finger. Someone else will judge your drawing.

You have 30 seconds starting now.

Notes
People tried using the shadows of their hands, or drawing a huge circle and arguing that the fingers were all inside it, etc. It was very fun.
 

9. The 45 Second Game

Close your eyes. Put your hand on your head closest to 45 seconds from when I start the timer. The person who puts their hand on their head closest to 30 seconds, but without going over 45 seconds, will get 5 points. Do not open your eyes or make any noise until the game is over.

I am starting the timer now.

Notes
Taskmaster task reference (NZ S01E06). The organizer can't participate in this game and should be fairly vigilant, but it's a fun one. You can use a toaster instead of a timer, but that requires effort. The longer the time, the greater the spread of results, but the more bored everyone will be.
  

10. The Monster Drawing Game

Using a marker and a piece of paper, draw the monster I am going to describe. You have 2 minutes to draw your monster, starting from when I start describing the monster. I will not stop or repeat myself.

The happy monster has two arms and three legs. Two of its legs are spiky.

It has two wings on the top of its head. The wings are like bat wings.

It has three eyes and two more eyes. And sharp fangs. And two more eyes.

It has scales on its arms and it has claws on one hand. Its tongue is very long and it has a tooth on the end of it. It is holding a curvy sword in one hand.

It has big round dots all over its body, but none on its face. And it has two more legs. And it is riding a bicycle. And it has one more withered arm. And it has chains around two of its ankles.

And it has a scarf made of fur. And one more very big eye. And it has a ring shaped like a skull. And it is drunk and cross-eyed and very sleepy.

Hand your monster to someone else to mark. You get 1 point for each criteria your monster meets. Arguing is permitted. Maximum of 20 points.

Criteria (1 point each):
[Read out loud and get people to put a checkmark for each criteria met, then collate the totals.]

• Arms: 3
• Legs: 5
• Eyes: 8
• Two spiky legs?
• Bat wings on head?
• Fangs?
• Scales on arms?
• Claw on one hand?
• Very long tongue?
• Tooth on tongue?
• Holding a curvy sword?
• Dots on body but not on face?
• Riding bicycle?
• One withered arm?
• Scarf made of fur?
• One very big eye?
• Ring shaped like a skull?
• Drunk?
• Cross-eyed?
• Very sleepy?
  

Notes
Taskmaster task reference (UK S10E09). Feel free to write your own monsters (and/or post them in the comments). The description should be convoluted, but each individual element should be clear, brief, and distinct. Most of them should be easy to draw (the bicycle is just pure evil). Pause while describing the monster to let people catch up. Really relish each word.

This game leads to some truly hilarious mock-arguments over the number of legs, what constitutes a fang, etc. It's good fun.
 

Final Notes

 A lot of old game books have truly terrible party games in them. Classics like charades, impressions, Who Am I?, Pictionary, etc. can work over video calls, but it's good to try new games or introduce arbitrary twists. Programmed party games, like Jackbox Games, are great but feel really sterile and soulless to me. It's like enforced, optimized, normalized fun. Everyone is looking at a screen instead of at each other.

If you try these games, let me know how they go. I will not accept responsibility for any disasters that might result.

Goodbye 2020. You won't be missed.

OSR: Magical Industrial Revolution - Loxdon College Pt. 1: Courses and Halls

Magical Industrial Revolution is designed to support many different game types. The most obvious, and the most playtested, is dropping Endon into a generic fantasy setting and letting generic fantasy PCs interact with its moving (and exploding) parts.

Since most of my usual players were involved in test games, I'll need to run a different sort of game to make use of MIR. I'd also like to use bits from other books and blogs (Electric Bastionland's background/item tables, Goodberry Monthly's Wizard City material).

Nothing in this post is canonical, just as nothing in MIR is canonical. Everything changes.

Jan Matejko

Academic Magic

You are students at Loxdon College. You're not nessesarily a Wizard; more politicians in Endon can handle a broadsword than one might expect. You could be the paid bodyguard or servant of a student.

Loxdon College grudgingly allows women to attend, provided they fill out additional paperwork and follow obscure restrictions. Interestingly, the ancient College Charters make no provision for slug-people, phase-shifted entities, obligate polymorphs, or anyone else that might wish to check off [other] on a form. The general standard is the "beard test"; if it can grow a beard, it counts as male. This famously lead to Hamish Philostratus enrolling a mossy boulder as a student while shouting "Behold, a Man!". Some women carry false beards on campus to deter sticklers. Others carry wands of disintegrate, which tends to be a better deterrent.

You level up every Season, provided you pass your exams and survive the term.

You pass classes by completing  and Extra Credit Projects.

Each Season, students select a Major. For Wizards, this determines spells. For other classes, this might just be helpful background information.

Students also roll 2 Courses off the d100 table of Courses. (Optional: A PC can elect to take a Course another PC is taking or roll.) Lecturers offer courses at their discretion. PCs cannot take the same Course twice (unless they failed the first time).

At the start of the Season, students roll to see if they are currently passing their Major and their 2 Courses. Passing requires a grade of 51%. Passing with Distinction requires a grade of 80% or higher.

A grade is determined by: [The PC's Intelligence score] + [the Course's Difficulty score] + [some listed dice].

A student's Major is Int+35+1d4! (1d4 exploding, on a 4 roll an additional 1d4).

E.g. "Lyric Poetry in Ancient Gronk", which everyone agrees is a dead easy Course, is Int+40+1d20. You'd have to be as thick as two short planks not to pass. 

E.g. "Higher Thaumic Field Theory", which nobody fully understands except the lecturer, and even then only when they've had their special medicine, is Int+20+2d8.

If a PC is currently passing their Major or a Course, they don't need to worry.

If they are failing, there always extra credits available for dangerous activities, dungeon delves, looted treasure, and experimental work. Test new innovations. Track down escaped monsters, addled undergraduates, absent-minded professors, and students in arrears. Loxdon College wants to produce competent students... just not necessarily very many of them.

At the end of the Season, students roll grades for their Major and 2 Courses again (adding any bonuses for extra credit work). They can choose to take the new grade or keep the old one.

Once each Season, a PC can say "They Really Really Tried" for a +10 bonus to a Course or their Major.

If a PC fails one or more Courses, they don't level up that Season.

If a PC fails all their courses, they are put on Academic Probation, and must pass all their Courses next season or be expelled. Expelled students are forever barred from calling themselves wizards (or lawyers, etc.). Ancient law also says the Chancellor can lop two fingers off an expelled student. It's rare for students to be expelled; they either die while trying to improve their grades or quit.

Tuition at Loxdon College is 15gp per Season. Membership in a Hall or Academy (mandatory) is another 15-30gp per Season. Education is expensive.

This system is still in playtesting, and may be altered.

Month	Month (Real)	Month (Fictional)	Activity
1	January	Portia	Off-Season
2	February	Malbrogia	Roll Grades
3	March	Stump
4	April	Fillia
5	May	Omnia
6	June	Lestia
7	July	Hadria	Roll Grades Again
8	August	Clept	Off-Season
9	September	Paislia	Off-Season
10	October	Bastia	Off-Season
11	November	Doria	Off-Season
12	December	Destros	Off-Season

1d100	Courses at Loxdon College	Difficulty	Lecturer
1	Potion Miscibility Studies	Int+30+1d20	Prof. Barns
2	Nonessential Salts	Int+40+1d6
3	Phlogiston Distillation	Int+35+2d6
4	Principal Underground Rivers	Int+40+3d6	Prof. Wosgrab
5	Lost Islands and Continents	Int+25+3d10
6	Disagreeable Masonry and Columns	Int+40+1d10
7	Pendulum Harmonics	Int+25+3d8	Prof. Ziler
8	Tension in Unmoderated Solids	Int+30+3d6
9	Compression of Unusual Liquids	Int+35+2d6
10	Uses of Sieves and Filters	Int+30+2d20
11	Foundations of Endon	Int+30+3d6	Prof. Runcible (MIR pg. 12)
12	History of the Fifty-Six Years' War	Int+30+3d6
13	Dynasties of the Upper Rogat River	Int+40+1d20
14	Architecture Through The Ages	Int+30+2d20
15	Nomads and their Uncouth Ways	Int+25+3d10
16	Failed Parliamentary Reforms	Int+30+2d10
17	A History of Endonian Statuary	Int+40+1d10	Prof. Optott
18	Existential Countermeasures	Int+30+3d6
19	Sites of Ancient Magic	Int+25+3d8
20	Standing and Recumbent Stones	Int+30+3d6
21	The Intelligence of Enchantments	Int+30+3d6	Prof. Carmot (MIR pg. 90)
22	Practical Golem Logic	Int+25+3d10
23	Nebulous Mathematical Analysis	Int+35+2d6
24	Recent Runes	Int+30+3d6	Prof. Turnspit
25	Things That Should and Should Not Be	Int+30+1d10
26	Heretical Geometry	Int+35+2d6
27	Bibliomantic Analysis	Int+25+3d8
28	Meditations on Immortality	Int+35+2d6
29	Notable Prophecies	Int+40+2d6
30	Translating Inhuman Utterances	Int+35+3d6
31	History of Embalming	Int+40+1d10	Prof. Esilibum
32	So-Called "Ghosts" and Other Frauds	Int+40+1d6
33	Origin of Textiles	Int+40+3d6
34	Practical Haruspexy and Taxidermy	Int+40+1d10
35	Curse Mitigation	Int+25+3d8
36	Selected Fish Studies	Int+40+2d6	Prof. Theric
37	Corpuscular Theory	Int+40+1d6
38	Scapular Flow	Int+30+2d10
39	Truly Disgusting Anatomy	Int+30+2d8
40	Dredging and Dissection	Int+30+1d20
41	Lesser Ferns and Greater Ferns	Int+40+2d6	Prof. Chamberstoat
42	Advanced Horticulture	Int+30+2d6
43	Properties of Various Hardwoods	Int+40+1d20
44	Fundamentals of Alchemical Assays	Int+30+3d6	Prof. Glass
45	The Properties of Obscure Crystals	Int+30+2d6
46	Unusual Noises	Int+40+1d20
47	Overview of Approved Alchemical Theories	Int+20+2d10
48	Recursive Introduction to Philosophy	Int+40+2d6	Prof. Scalimoss
49	Introductory Recursive Philosophy	Int+20+1d20
50	Proof by Lightning Induction	Int+30+4d6
51	The Migration of Ley Lines	Int+30+2d20	Prof. Gortz
52	Phenomena of the Upper Air	Int+30+3d6
53	Lodestones and Ferric Properties	Int+30+2d10
54	Extraplanar Geometry	Int+20+2d10
55	Moderate Meteorology	Int+40+2d6
56	A Sanitized History of Necromancy	Int+40+1d20	Prof. Horton
57	Neo-osteoarchaeology	Int+30+2d6
58	Advanced Indices	Int+30+1d10	Prof. Nostrocalcine
59	Applied Illiteracy	Int+40+1d10
60	Relentless Logic	Int+30+2d10
61	Higher Thaumic Field Theory	Int+20+2d8	Prof. Revelston
62	Advanced Paradoxes	Int+20+2d10
63	Repairing Thaumic Manifolds	Int+35+3d6
64	Frictionless Metaphysics	Int+30+2d6
65	Unusual Cartography	Int+40+1d10	Prof. Fogel
66	The Lives of Beetles	Int+35+3d6
67	Induction and Interpretation of Dreams	Int+40+2d8	Prof. Scrute
68	Rangement of the Senses	Int+30+2d6
69	Applied Astrology	Int+40+1d20
70	Conjunctions of Celestial Bodies	Int+25+3d8
71	Inks and Unguents	Int+40+2d6	Prof. Ganderblast
72	Filtered Telepathy	Int+30+2d6
73	Improvisational Countermagic	Int+40+1d6
74	Speculative Herbology	Int+35+2d6	Prof. Morlund
75	Tinctures and Extracts	Int+40+1d20
76	Retrograde Inheritance Studies	Int+30+1d10
77	Approved Culinary Dark Arts	Int+30+1d20
78	Error Correction and Documentation	Int+30+3d6	Prof. Hextangle
79	Residual Thaumic Trace Theory	Int+30+1d10
80	Synthesis and Countersynthesis	Int+30+1d20
81	Dissecting Humourous References	Int+40+1d20	Prof. Nudgon
82	Contemptible Modern Literature	Int+40+1d10
83	Lyric Poetry in Ancient Gronk	Int+40+1d20
84	Tragic Poets of Early Endon	Int+40+2d8
85	Undirected Reading	Int+40+2d6
86	Boundaries and Wards	Int+30+3d6	Prof. Aster
87	Detection of Undetectable Signals	Int+20+3d6
88	Intermediate Rift Stabilization	Int+30+1d10
89	Musical Theory of the Spheres	Int+30+3d6
90	Counterharmonic Alloys	Int+30+2d20
91	People Who Have Wronged Me	Int+40+2d6	Prof. Loam
92	Unorthodox Debating	Int+30+1d20
93	Introductory Cipher Theory	Int+20+1d20
94	Metasystemic Analysis	Int+30+3d6
95	The Acts of the Eleven Tyrants	Int+35+2d6	Prof. Hark
96	Military History of Endon	Int+40+1d6
97	Gunpowder Improvement Studies	Int+30+2d6
98	Emotional Control of Small Animals	Int+40+1d10	Prof. Jariclave
99	Training Through Moderate Torture	Int+30+2d20
100	History of Poisons	Int+30+3d6

Laurent Gapaillard

Loxdon College

Loxdon College is not, when the game starts, the chaotic heap of history and magic that you might expect. It's not Goodberry Monthly's Wizard City, The Unseen Unversity, Hogwarts, Castle Heterodyne, etc. It doesn't have basements full of secrets, floating buildings, hallways that lead into the past... or if it does, it doesn't have too many of them. It is a fairly normal and down-to-earth place... at first.

As the game's Tempo increases, Loxdon College will change, but it will also change because of the PCs. The PCs are the ones who will found the Order of the Ebony Chalice, open a portal to the moon in a broom closet, fund a new building, destroy and old one, and alter the very fabric of academic reality. They're the founders of a new tradition! They're the ones who future generations of students will name cautiously and with reverence.

Or maybe not. We'll see how it goes.
 

History of Loxdon College

When Endon was just a trading post on a river ... boiled him alive, but not before ... the First Founders ... a group of itinerant turnip-sellers ... believed in education by proximity to knowledge .... the Eightfold Duel and Cogfallow Night ... full of spiders ... and then the Great Reform ... first woman to successfully assassinate a Warden ... the Alchemists were, as usual, terribly sorry ...

Loxdon College has 1,000 students and, at present, 4 areas of study.
-History / Literature / Politics
-Law
-Medicine
-Magic

Given the popularity of Wizardry in Endon, assume half (500) of the students are studying Magic. In a four-year degree, assume 40% (200) are first-year students. Magical education is very dangerous and magical industry is very lucrative. Assume just over half survive to the second year (125), that leaves 75 third year, 50 fourth year students, and 50 post-graduates.

Each of the 10 Academies and Halls (see below) boasts around 100 students, unevenly distributed. Some contain as few as 10, some as many as 200.

Magical education is a dubious art. Shaping a student's brain to accumulate magical energy and store spells is not an exact science; the general theory is that proximity to other wizards and magical books will eventually produce the correct thaumic soul adjustments, turning a spotty and indolent student into a proper wizard. Some students (and some professors) seek an easier path, using powerful equipment, ancient rituals, or sheer terror to rapidly create wizards or instantly transfer knowledge. It rarely works.

Lada Da

Ranks and Roles

Chancellor
The head of Loxdon College. In most hierarchical organizations, power accumulates at the top. At Loxdon College, no one is entirely sure where power accumulates, but it's not in the Chancellor. Their job is to hold dinners, perform ceremonies, assist the Monarch when they encounter a headache-inducing problem, and placate various factions. Since no faction can ever (it seems) accumulate more than a 10% stake in Loxdon College, the Chancellor's job is both tedious and simple.
 
Bursar
The person in charge of money. Students (in theory) pay tuition, sometimes ruinously calculated. Staff (in theory) draw salaries, petition for grants, demand new buildings, and pay for equipment. Endon (in theory) throws handfuls of tax revenue at Loxdon College. In practice, nobody is entirely sure how Loxdon College's finances operate, least of all the Bursar.
 
Deans
Deans oversee a Field of Study. Traditionally, this included History, Law, Literature, Medicine, and Magic, though Magic's proliferation has lead to a nebulous assortment of Deans, as each Chancellor attempts to impose some sort of order on Loxdon College.

Each time a Dean of Magic is required, roll 1d4 for the number of Deans, then assign each Dean a school of magic (MIR pp. 75-76).
 
Warden
Each Hall and Academy is overseen by a Warden. The name was not chosen idly. Wardens have enormous powers within their building and very little outside of it.
 
Lecturers
Those who take up the difficult task of educating the ignorant, the indifferent, and the willfully obtuse. Lecturers have very little power, but are also immune to most consequences. They straddle the boundary between the Middle and Upper class. They are held to a certain standard of behavior, yet everyone accepts a degree of eccentricity. Lecturers in magic can call themselves Mage, Archmage, Magos, Interrogator, etc. Powerful wizards title themselves.
 
Postgraduates
Academic wizards too lowly to earn a position as a Lecturer, too blighted or dedicated to seek a lucrative position in Magical Industry, or too foolish to leave. Every serious researcher has a gaggle of Postgraduates willing to do their bidding. Ignore the patched robes, haunted eyes, and inkstained fingers; your average Postgraduate Wizard totes enough spellpower to knock a building off its foundations. Vaporizing a few undergraduates only results in paperwork. Postgraduates serve as Proctors during examinations.

Halls and Academies

In theory, Halls offer rooms and meals, while Academies offer rooms, meals, and some level of academic support, from tutors to dedicated lecturers. Loxdon College itself hosts most lecturers, workshops, laboritories, and examination halls.
 
1. The Academy Chronometric
Open To: All
Casual Uniform: White clock dial worn above the heart.
Formal Uniform: All white robes, sundial hat.
 
All students must swear, on a lump of primordial rock, to study "Tyme and Alle Its Workes", though the diligence or nature of this study is left unstated. Some see it as a quaint and meaningless ritual and treat the Academy Chronometric as any other hall. Others, openly or in secret, follow the Academy's original purpose. Paradoxes, time-copies, and casual madness are rife. Students are encouraged to keep lead-sealed journals.
 
2. Academy of Reformed Witchcraft
Open To: Women
Casual Uniform: Black conical hat.
Formal Uniform: Black conical hat, reinforced bodice with pockets, cloak, heels.
 
Several decades ago, a small number of magically-inclined women threatened to create a rival magic university in Endon. Loxdon College hastily absorbed the school, initiating the College's decline or signalling the start of a new era, depending on who you ask. Some citizens think the "Reformed" in the Academy's name is a joke made in poor taste. Rumours of Dread Necromancy, Moral Perversion, and other crimes with capital letters abound, assisted in no small measure by the Academy's younger scholars. Secret investigations and surprise audits have uncovered nothing of any real importance.
 

3. Delmott Academy
Open To: All
Casual Uniform: Brown tie, curled brown shoes.
Formal Unifrom: Brown tie, black cloak with red lining, curled brown boots with bows.

Originally founded as an Academy for law students, Delmott boasts quiet rooms, a profundal wine cellar, and the second-largest library of non-magical books on campus. Spellcasting within the Academy is forbidden, so it is only popular with academic wizards, those seeking a safe and insulated haven, and wizards who prefer stealth to spectacle.
 
4. Foster Hall
Open To: Women
Casual Uniform: Lace cravat.
Formal Uniform: White conical hat, lace shawl.

Initially advertised a hall for women studying medicine, Foster Hall adapted to the rising tide of magical interest by building a splendid new pentangle. It hasn't worked; most of the rooms are empty. Rumours of cursed stones, invasive scrying enchantments, and comically strict rules keep most prospective students away.
 

5. Goldplate Academy
Open To: All
Casual Uniform: Black scarf with silver stars, worn around the neck or as a sash.
Formal Uniform: Black cloak with silver stars.
 
A den of alchemists and dreamers. Goldplate's most celebrated tradition is the Admissions Rant, where prospective students try to convince current members to permit their enrollment. Bribery, catering, and magical displays are encouraged, but if all else fails, the student body looks for a solid five minutes of frothing and gesticulation. Rotten fruit, fake rules, and (in an emergency),  the Warden's disintegration ray are used to dissuade casual applicants. Women are permitted to join, but typically face a more hostile crowd during the Admissions Rant.
 
6. Longaxe Hall
Open To: Men
Casual Uniform: Red feather in hat. (Informally, a black eye and some scorch marks).
Formal Uniform: Blunt silver polearm, iron torc, red plumes.
 
A dueling club given legitimacy by age and real estate, Longaxe Hall has a dreadful reputation. By ancient decree of the Monarch, a member of Longaxe Hall cannot be charged with Murder or Violence against another member, provided the act takes place within the Hall. The stones are scorched and pitted. Students fortify dormitories, launch raids on academic rivals, and test the limits of Endon's laws. There is no place to gain better training in practical battle-magic. Women are not permitted to openly join, but anyone crazy enough to wear a false beard is acceptable.
 
7. Nedalward Hall
Open To: All
Casual Uniform: Red and yellow tie, cuffs.
Formal Uniform: Red and yellow checkered cloak, rowan staff.
 
Inclined towards radicalism, experimentalism, and drinking, Nedalward Hall is fertile ground for secret societies and student plots. Nedalward holds a monthly memorial service for students lost to mishaps, accidents, or duels. The Hall's main building is perpetually under construction. Legend says if it is ever completed, Endon College will vanish into the fog.
 
8. Mamseltrough Academy
Open To: All
Casual Uniform: Gold and red lozenge brooch.
Formal Uniform: Gold and red cloak, blue leather shoes.

The cheapest Academy at the College, Mamseltrough takes pride in its cold running water, its sturdy beds (no lice, some termites), and its sporting tradition. Students are expected to take up boxing, Whackit, rowing, full-contact chess, or any other sport to maintain their position at the Academy.
 
9. Scrutcher Hall
Open To: Men
Casual Uniform: Purple tie, usually thin and with a family's crest on a silver pin.
Formal Uniform: Purple silk robe, white circular fur hat.

The oldest hall, and the most reactionary. Relatively few members are Wizards. Most are destined for careers in politics, and spend their time gambling, participating in team sports, smoking, and eating enormous dinners. They have the best buildings, the finest wine, and the most secrets. No one is admitted without society connections, a good name, and a substantial donation.
 
10. Some Saints Hall
Open To: All
Casual Uniform: Blue tie with narrow white stripes.
Formal Uniform: White wig, blue and white zig-zag robes.
 
Endon is not particularly religious. As Loxdon College expanded, a small temple was deconsecrated and converted into a student residence. The irreverent nickname "Some Saints" stuck. The Hall's most notable feature, aside from its excellent dinners, is its Warden. The exiled Lamassu Gilgath II, cursed to only tread on deconsecrated ground, has seen generations of students pass through the Hall. Gilgath II cannot distinguish individual students, but can detect lies with frightening specificity and deliver immediate punishment.

W. Cade Gall

Clubs and Societies

Loxdon College doesn't have a Students' Union, a Student Newspaper, or even a half-decent secret society. The PCs can invent them.

The Ergot Club
Gambling, drinking, and knife-fighting. Prospective members have to pass three challenges, usually involving theft or mischief.

The Hidden Arena
Monster fights in a buried amphitheater. The faculty know about it and sometimes place bets, but submitting their own monsters is considered unfair to the students.

The Most Worshipful Shudderers
A fake religion (or so they claim) with fake rituals, fake robes, fake secret meetings, and fake prophecies. A good excuse to dress up and denounce people.

The Young Gumperts & The Young Bogs
The Gumperts stand for Endon Values, Harsh Penalties, and The Good Old Days. Their colour is green. The Bogs stand for Lower Taxes, Endon Prosperity, and More Wars. Their colour is blue.

Members of prosperous old familes are expected to toe the party line, associate with their future allies in Parliament, and politely shun the incomprehensible politics of the other side. The two clubs tend to attract stuffy and boring students who enjoy the company of other stuffy and boring students. Both have plenty of memmbers, but almost no one turns up to meetings unless food is provided.

OSR: Magical Industrial Weaponry

I put 1d20 Minor Magic Weapons and 1d100 Magic Weapons (mostly designed for melee) in Magical Industrial Revolution, not counting wands and spells. Magical industrial weaponry is the first thing players tend to invent. And the second thing. And, usually, the third through fourth things, though there might be a brief break for magic armour or healing equipment. I didn't want to close that avenue to the PCs by making a canonical Innovation track; if they want to participate in magical industry, magical weapons are a incentive. They have a built-in apocalyptic mechanism. No need to add extra mechanics.

Here are a few ideas for extra weapons, just in case.

Sean Andrew Murray

Bzotw

A magical focus (a crystal; traditionally ruby) attached to a magical battery (traditionally, a staff of rowan or ash, but these days a cylinder of iron and copper containing mercury and occultum). Fires blasts of raw magic. Since the dawn of time, Wizards have made Bzotws. You can make them by accident, improvise them from household magical equipment, and hide them in innocuous items. Bwzots have a 10' range and deal 1d6 damage per charge expended. A Bzotwka is a very large Bzotw.

Downsides
Aiming beyond 10' is difficult. Raw magic is, well, raw. Fire it at a wizard, someone wearing a magic accumulator, or someone wearing a copper helmet, and you might be surprised at the total lack of efficacy. Some enemies might even appreciate a light dose of raw magic; it helps recharge wands and boost enchantments.

Kinetic Launcher

Gunpowder is inconvenient. Why not launch a bullet with magic instead of fire and air? Enchantments for movable rods are common. With some adjustment, they can fling a stone or a lead ball.

Downsides

Recoil. The force required to propel a projectile at any decent speed will also, thanks to the intensity of the enchantment required, propel the weapon backwards at a disproportionate rate. Alignment is crucial. If the enchantment is misaligned by half a degree, the weapon can tear itself apart. The enchantment also has to be powerful enough to rapidly accelerate a projectile; a 10' barrel is not feasible.
 

Magic Bullets

Why enchant the gun when you can enchant the bullet? On impact, cast fireball or lightning bolt or something even more exciting.

Downsides
Expense. It's easy to miss your target, misfire, or hit something accidentally. An enchanted bullet packs a lot of magic into a small volume, then smashes that volume with fire and hot gas.
 

Orbital Stones

Basically a low-speed reusable magic projectile. A rock or dagger orbiting a wizard's head. With a gesture, it flies off, hits something and returns.

Downsides
Retrieval enchantments reduce cost, but you're still basically throwing a stone at your own head, and hoping it will miss and return to its orbit. If you're standing still, the enchantment will probably work. If you're running, dodging, or fighting, you might smack yourself in the face with your own weapon. Very undignified. They're also difficult to conceal, take time to spin up to a useful speed, and clearly mark the bearer as someone looking for a fight.

Doug Williams

Meatgun

A living gun that shoots teeth. Properly horrible. Biomancers say they're the future of warfare, but Biomancers say a lot of things. Most weapon detection spells ignore meat guns, but non-magical weapon detection (i.e. sight) spots them fairly easily.

Downsides
You have to feed it, wash it, and wait for the teeth to regrow.
 

Magic Cannons 

See this post.
 

Illusionary Weapons

Convinces the target they have been harmed via an illusion or a mind-altering effect, usually with an accompanying burst of smoke and fire.

Downsides

Mind-altering effects are illegal in Endon, but so is shooting someone. Also, the weapon doesn't actually do anything.
 

Alchemical Explosives

Gunpowder is like candy to fire elementals, or maybe like a drug. Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse and burst eardrums. Stray magic can tunnel through leather and metal. Lead projectiles help, but sensible wizards earth their powder horns with copper wires and dust their gunpowder with lead.

Industrial wizards think gunpowder is a special form of stone and acid, which, combined with fire, turns into air. Cutting-edge alchemists think this theory is laughabl; the eightfold elemental model cannot resolve the Riddle of Phosphorous or the Cursed Glowing Rocks of Nurash.

Experimental explosive alchemists, a term which should make every sensible wizard shudder with horror, typically add very strong acid to another pure substance, then dry the results and see what happens. Their sucess is indisputable; burning fragments, shattered windows, and the distributed remains of alchemists all attest to the possibilities of alchemical explosives.

Academic wizards pursue the Thaumic Bomb, a weapon created by splitting the Thaum that collapses all nearby elements into raw magic. Some say they were used in the Sorcerer Wars of old.

Dominik Derow

1d6 Unique Ranged Weapons

Despite their reputation, wizards don't like leaving magic weapons lying around, for the same reason that your house isn't heated by a small nuclear reactor. Magic is not always shelf-stable. Leave a wand of explosive decompression in your cellar for a few decades and you might be in for a nasty surprise when you decide to do some housework.

Still, even in a peaceful city like Endon, wizards create deadly marvels.

1. Sphere of Annihilation Launcher Number 5.

A steel tube with a shoulder brace, folding sight, and a backpack-sized magical battery. Fires a fist-sized sphere of annihilation. The sphere drops and rolls after 50', then sinks into the earth after 30'. Requires 24 hours and 100gp in occultum to recharge. Every time the weapon is fired, there is a 1-in-10 chance it annihilates itself, the wielder, and anything else in a 30' sphere.

Launchers 1-4 were, needless to say, destroyed during testing.
 

2. The Cursed Contraption of Doctor Zorius Scorp

An elegant wood and brass pistol. 100' range. Fires a coruscating beam of energy that unerringly strikes the worst possible thing within range, excluding the target and the wielder. The beam deals 2d6 damage on a hit, and can adjust its damage type (fire, lighting, etc) if it makes the result more disastrous. 6 charges.

3. Hasselway's Hostage Gun

A bulky box with a trigger, an iron sight, and a clip of 5 complicated enchanted bombs. 100' range, target-seeking. The bomb attaches to a target, cheerfully broadcasts a prerecorded message, and threatens to explode if approached or touched. Hasselway was sentenced to Particularly Horrible Death by Sorcery.

 

4. Maxon's Musket of Vengeance

A trumpet-like musket with an ivory stock. Wizards in Endon, as a rule, avoid meddling with religion. How Maxon managed to trap an Angel of Vengeance in a weapon is unknown, but the weapon certainly exists, and Maxon had a surprising number of grievances to air.

Before firing the weapon, the bearer must explain why the target deserves to die. Personal wrongs are rated more highly than nebulous societal harm. The musket can detect lies but cannot speak. The musket deals no damage to innocent targets, 2d6 to annoyances, 3d10 to legitimate rivals, and 4d20 to nemeses. It never misses. One shot per day.

5. Chernekov's First Pistol

Always stored a locked wooden case with a lead lining and strong anti-scrying enchantment. The weapon is an unremarkable enchanted pistol. It does not require reloading.

When the pistol is revealed, it will be fired within 10 minutes. Even if it is put back in its case and the case is closed, circumstances will - inevitably - lead to the case being open again or the pistol blasting through the side. The pistol does normal damage (typically 1d8). If it is not in its shielded case, it will fire (deliberately or not), every 10x1d6 minutes after the first 10 minutes.

(Damn, Goodberry Monthly got there first).

6. Chernekov's Second Pistol

Always stored in a locked wooden case with a lead lining and a pair of lead-lined gloves. The weapon is a pistol-shaped lump of blue metal.

The weapon has a 50' range and only affects living targets. When fired, the wielder loses half their remaining lifespan, but the target dies. No Save. If the wielder's remaining lifespan would drop below 1 year, they die instead. The weapon is silent and undetectable.

A 30-year-old who expects to live to 80 has a 50 year remaining lifespan. The first shot drops that to 25, the next to 12.5, then 6.25, 3.1, 1.5, then dead.



Edit: forgot to link to Richard's Cheese Guns method which is a very elegant way of dealing with weapon varieties.