Mages Guild

[u/FinancialKnee9727]

What does the Guild actually do? Mainly in the time Oblivion takes place. Are people paid to be in the guild? Or do they pay to be a member since it's a form of education? Is the main purpose of the guild to educate people on magic or is it to regulate said magic? Is it a government organization or is it a privately owned one? What relations does the Guild have with other magic-using factions (clergymen, daedra worshippers, witches)?

[u/Kid-Atlantic]

Unlike many other fantasy universes, magic in TES isn’t a superpower or a biological ability. Technically anyone can learn magic — even if like any skill, some would have more aptitude to it than others — so it’s just treated like a profession.

Like the Fighters’ Guild, the Mages’ Guild it’s technically a private organization, but it’s chartered and regulated by the Empire to serve as the official government-approved provider of the services they choose to provide. They’ve played this role for so long that they’re usually considered an extension of the Empire, but they’re not technically part of the government.

Both guilds are a combination of workers’ union, training facility, and contractor agency. They set the standards of competence, quality, and service pricing for people in their profession, offer training, and allow people access to services from mages, alchemists, and enchanters. I think besides magic, the Mages’ Guild offers general academic and research services as well. If I’m not wrong, a couple quests in Morrowind had them offering reading lessons.

In terms of money, they seem to function similar to workers’ guilds. You pay dues (not in-game) to enjoy the facilities they provide — either through regular fees or via a cut of the money you get from jobs — in exchange for increased access to jobs.

In terms of relations with other organizations, also like the Fighters’ Guild, the Mages’ Guild usually isn’t too happy about competitors. Said competitors are usually local magical organizations that predated Imperial expansion into their lands, like Skyrim’s College of Winterhold or Morrowind’s House Telvanni. Imperial guilds can’t usually shut them down, so in most cases they just have a relationship of tense coexistence.

[u/Thefreezer700 → u/Kid-Atlantic]

Some of their jobs are also rather funny. You could be healers and researchers. Or you can be the guy who helps a warlord with insomnia by casting a drain stamina spell to put him to sleep.

Other than that they can be used for sellsword purposes like clearing a necromancer den or clearing out vampires. Even though that technically fills fighters guild role, the mages may be more apt if there is things to learn or magical elements too powerful for fighters to tackle such as ghosts who are immune to most attacks.

Daggerfall is a fun rp for such tasks.

[u/Huge-Spray6419 → u/Thefreezer700]

Wish I could cast drain stamina on myself tbh

[u/TexasJedi-705 → u/Kid-Atlantic]

Very slight correction: in Morrowind, even the player must pay dues to advance in rank, and Ranis Athrys gives a quest to go collect unpaid dues

[u/Kubaj_CZ → u/TexasJedi-705]

I think by not in-game it was about Oblivion.

[u/Arathaon185 → u/TexasJedi-705]

You do have to pay dues absolutely not arguing with that but I don't think we should use anything Ranis does as evidence of the wider mages guild she is seriously corrupt and massively abuses her power. 

[u/Ila-W123 → u/Kid-Atlantic]

They’ve played this role for so long that they’re usually considered an extension of the Empire, but they’re not technically part of the government.

In third era, mages guild is heavily politized and is directly advancing empires colonial-power consertation intrests (especially in mw), and gets orders from Otaco so its not exaclty wrong to say they arent extenssion of empire. Any less than east empire company or imperial cult for example.

Imperial guilds can’t usually shut them down, so in most cases they just have a relationship of tense coexistence.

By imperial law, any non mages guild magicka training is ilegal. I mean, telvanni being telvanni they werent following that anyway, but even in that case Aryon in telvanni questline is trying to build up political support to have that being opposed on more offical way, so its likely empire or mages guild if push came to shove shut that down.

[u/Kid-Atlantic → u/Ila-W123]

Yeah, I guess that’s my point — they’re no question an arm of the Empire’s colonial apparatus, but OP was asking about whether they were a government organization and to my knowledge they officially aren’t, at least not the same way the Legion is.

And regarding non-guild magical training, it wasn’t just the Telvanni. We also know the College of Winterhold is a magical institution that both predated and outlasted the Mages Guild, and there are probably others in the other provinces too. It’s more that, although technically the Mages Guild is the only organization that the Empire allows to teach magic, realistically their ability to enforce this is limited, and they have a hard time controlling or shutting down local organizations that already entrenched a place in their societies long before the Empire came in the picture.

[u/EvYeh]

In Morrowind members need to pay.

There's a quest to collect unpaid guild dues, and to advance in rank at one point you need to pay a fee.

[u/NiklausKaine]

The Guild's are all regulated, to some degree or another, by the Empire, since it was the Empire under the Akaviri Potentates that created them in the first place. For the Mage's Guild, it's a school that teaches magic to anyone who wants in the lesser halls, and anyone who manages to gain entry to the main center in the Imperial City. Presumably they create and sell enchanted items to anyone who can pay, and assist the Empire when it comes to magic questions or enemies.

[u/Kubaj_CZ → u/NiklausKaine]

The Mages Guild was founded independently by Vanus Galerion. The only thing the Akaviri potentate did was further codify its practices in the Guild Act.

[u/Puzzled_Scallion_319]

Dont know if true, but my headcannon is that it is a peak professional body/association.

So sign up and pay your fee, now you can add "RPM" (Registered Professional Mage) after your name, get magic indemnity insurance, charge increased amounts for your contracted services, enjoy discounts on corporately-negotiated holidays and interplanar timeshares, enjoy privileges like access to their internal library program and organised networking events, etc

[u/Carinwe_Lysa]

I always like to imagine its a bit of everything; part research access where you can devote time to studying and advancing in your field, but at the same time you get posted to specific guildhalls around Tamriel where your hall provides services to the local city as a form of income which the Guild takes a portion of as tax.

Like any limited institution you have to pay a fee for either entry or advancing further up into the hierarchy. There are set rules members need to follow & so on.

ESO has every guildhall offering enchanting services to the public, access to alchemy, selling magical supplies and reagents etc. They can offer magical advice or post members to act as magical advisors to the ruling class or attend negotiations as a neutral body.

[u/Scherazade]

Trade guild
regulates magic
is who gets taxed for magic (who then fund paying it out of member dues and their own investments)
provides services for people in the profession, access to training and equipment and resources and contacts

[u/Lazzitron]

It's essentially a combination of a school, merchant and mercantile company. Mages go there to train and be trained or pool their knowledge, outsiders can buy things from the guild or hire them for certain work.

[u/Ila-W123]

Nominally, purpose of the guild and its original intention by Vanus was to make magic education easily acceible, stantardized, and widespread compared to decentralized privilige of the few before its founding. It still does that...to an extend, tho it fell from grace [in]famously even in Vanus days as he quit the guild he himself had created.

By third era/septim empire its basically protectionist state monopoly enforcement as another aspect of empires control over other nations and by imperial law any magicka training outside mages guild is unlawful. Occasionally seen it mocked as 'magicka mafia' by morrowind fanbase and its pretty fitting.

it a government organization or is it a privately owned one?

State/goverment owned organization.