Caelum Academy is a lore-compliant school RP setting within the world of Final Fantasy XIV. At the center of it are students, who are inexperienced people wanting to improve their skills and make better lives for themselves. They're taught by passionate teachers and lecturers led by the academy's IC administration, the Assembly of Regents. Caelum also has personnel, ranging from chefs to gardeners, who keep the academy running.But it doesn't end there. Characters can also become involved in adventuring and plot-focused content during their time at Caelum, balancing it with slice-of-life events.At Caelum, your character's class attendance becomes part of their permanent record, where they accrue points that can be used to graduate and become a knight, scholar, scientist, or engineer.The setting follows a major overarching story involving a political conflict between four noble houses of Ishgard, which we call the Caelum MSQ (or main story quest), giving people the sense that they are in a living, breathing world that is in constant flux. People's actions matter, and they can have deep consequences on the story.From the school calendar and the student council to houses and progression, when we created this setting, we sought to create an RP environment that felt immersive, alive, and rewarding.Caelum means heaven in Latin. The community's name alludes to the setting's Ishgardian roots and focus on the Heavensward story of Final Fantasy XIV.Location: Balmung, Ward 5, Plot 22, Empyreum(We have players from all servers of the Crystal DC. There is no need to be in the FC or be a Balmung native. In addition, we welcome visitors, but please stay OOC and be respectful to on-going RP scenes.)Note: Entering our Discord server is necessary for participation in the community, as that is where we run all our systems.Invitation link: http://discord.gg/caelumacademy
At Caelum, your character can join one of four schools:
• School of Combat •
• School of Magic •
• School of Arts and Sciences •
• School of Medicine •
Each is a collection of facilities, administrators, faculty, classes, and students all centered on a specific area of study.The School of Combat and School of Magic prepare students to become knights.The School of Arts and Sciences produces scholars, scientists, and engineers.The School of Medicine instructs future battlefield medics, general doctors, and medical researchers.
At Caelum, every class your character attends becomes part of their permanent record, which lets them accrue points towards graduation. These are used to advance through student classifications:
• Freshman •
• Sophomore •
• Junior •
• Senior •
Don't worry; you can progress multiple characters at the same time!
Upon graduation, characters can join high-level missions. They also obtain school-specific uniforms.
New students at Caelum are assigned to one of our houses, which are constantly engaged in friendly competition:
• House Phoenix •
• House Leviathan •
• House Garuda •
• House Titan •
Houses have specific themes and grant access to house-specific dorms and Discord channels. A house's members can be easily identified by the color of their uniforms.
Caelum functions on a semester system:
• Spring Semester •
• Summer Semester •
• Fall Semester •
Each ends with Exam Week, where students get to sign up for exams, apply their knowledge, and advance to the next classification. You as the player can postpone your characters' exam sign-ups if you feel it makes sense narratively.
The Caelum Student Council is the academy's student leadership. They're in charge of directing different student-led initiatives for policy changes, enforcing rules, promoting school spirit, approving student clubs, overseeing large-scale events (such as All Saints' Wake [Halloween]), allocating school funds for different activities, and resolving disputes between students. The Student Council's agenda can shape many aspects of student life.At the end of every term, Caelum Academy holds elections for characters to join the Student Council. The Student Council can have only seven members. The person with the highest number of votes becomes Student Council president and joins the Assembly of Regents as a student representative.
Running all the systems at Caelum by hand could easily become overwhelming. That's why we employ Ceres, a program created by Seraphine (@bluesanctuary) specifically for Caelum, to keep track of everything: characters, progression, events, attendance, faculty requirements, monthly rankings, and more. Ceres is the engine that keeps it all running.
When you join Caelum, you can choose between four different roles:• Student •
• Personnel •
• Lecturer •
• Teacher •
a standard role without any DMing responsibilities suitable for both new and veteran RPers. They have no minimum attendance requirements either.Their main purpose is to attend events.They also have the option to open a student club.
non-instructional employees of Caelum such as chefs, janitors, gardeners, and guards.They host slice-of-life events that serve as a break from the more academic-oriented classes and lectures, at least once a month.
instructional Caelum staff who host lectures at least once a month.Lectures can be held on a different date every month and can change their topics (though they must still all be related to the school the lecturer belongs to). In this way, lectures can be considered shorter classes or one-offs.The lecturer position is perfect for DMs who cannot commit to a specific schedule.
the main instructional staff of Caelum.At least twice a month, they have to host classes. They are regularly-scheduled RP events based on a specific and consistent topic. In some cases, classes may be hosted weekly.
The calendar automatically adjusts to your time zone.
— Campus location: Balmung, Plot 22, Ward 5, Empyreum —
Caelum Academy is led by the Assembly of Regents, which includes leaders from different sections of the academy. Regents oversee Caelum's teachers, lecturers, personnel, and students, under the direction of Headmistress Adelaine de Caelumont.In recent times, it was the regents who made the decision to open Caelum, long an educational institution for Ishgardian nobles, to foreigners for the first time in its history. They are in constant search of individuals from all over the star to train as knights, scholars, scientists, and engineers, all to tip the scales in a broader conflict involving Caelum and its parent entity, House Caelumont.
Click on an image to learn a bit more about each location
One of the first places new students, personnel, and faculty see when they first join Caelum.It is here that the regents conduct interviews with prospective members to learn more about them and their backgrounds. Its purpose is to serve as an entry point for new characters to join the community.Each character's journey begins here.
The headquarters for the School of Combat, serving as a base of operations for its faculty, personnel, and students.Its objective is teaching combatants techniques employing physical force, through weapons such as blades, lances, or projectiles.The armor and weapons adorning its walls hold a storied history of brave knights of ages past.The dean of the School of Combat has their office here, on the second floor.
The headquarters for the School of Magic, serving as a base of operations for its faculty, personnel, and students.Its objective is training magic-focused combatants in the art of destructive spellcasting, through subjects such as arcanima or thaumaturgy, and in the art of curative spellcasting, through conjury and healing-focused arcanima, among other topics.Its myriad books and artifacts, paired with its dark atmosphere, evoke a sense of mystery through the arcane.The dean of the School of Magic has their office here.
The headquarters for the School of Arts and Sciences, serving as a base of operations for its faculty, personnel, and students.Its objective is training non-combatants focused on liberal arts subjects such as history, languages, social studies, music, math, and philosophy. It also covers scientific disciplines such as alchemy, cosmology, geology, and biology, as well as engineering topics including magitek, airships, civil infrastructure, and equipment forging, among others.Its busy appearance, featuring contrasting styles, is a testament to this school's multidisciplinary nature.The dean of the School of Arts and Sciences has their office here, on the second floor.
The dormitory belonging to students of House Phoenix.Its aesthetic exemplifies the theme of House Phoenix: fire and vitality.Torches surround the room, firelight ever-present. Fixtures such as its billiard table and Steppe kitchen display the house's lively atmosphere.Its burning candles represent the finiteness of life
and its eventual rebirth through the flames of Phoenix.In many cultures, red is associated with life and energy. The color chosen to represent the house, Dalamud red, alludes to A Realm Reborn and its background story, where Dalamud's descent symbolized the rebirth of FFXIV itself.
The dormitory belonging to students of House Leviathan.Its aesthetic exemplifies the theme of House Leviathan: water and insight.House Leviathan evokes the feeling of being deep underwater. Bridges connect different areas of the flooded dorm.House Leviathan's dark blue symbolizes the ability to see the truth that lies deep underneath the surface.Its astroscope represents identifying the grand scheme of things beyond our immediate surroundings and limited senses.
The dormitory belonging to students of House Garuda.Its aesthetic exemplifies the theme of House Garuda: wind and freedom.The central idea behind this dorm is a bird's nest in a jungle. Foliage confines its first floor, evoking a sense of freedom through wilderness.Its three-story floor plan, which progressively increases in radiance as the visitor ascends, represents a bird rising towards the sky.Its couch suspended in the air, held by metal pillars, symbolizes a bird perched on the branch of a tree.
The dormitory belonging to students of House Titan.Its aesthetic exemplifies the theme of House Titan: earth and endurance.The rough, rocky surfaces of this dorm evoke a feeling of being deep underground. Beige carpet creates the illusion of a desert's sands.The central pillar supporting the second floor displays the central theme of endurance: the strength to withstand the test of time and never crumble under pressure.It is also the only dorm to include individual rooms for students, representing the formation of a fortress inside of oneself.
The meeting room for the Caelum leadership.It is here that the Caelum leadership meets regularly to discuss the state and direction of the academy.The table is an allusion to the Round Table of Arthurian legend, where King Arthur and his knights gathered.The checkerboard design represents the strategic purpose of the room.
A safe haven for Caelum members to recover from injury or illness.Its woody, cozy theme means to evoke a sense of warmth in patients.The clinic is jointly owned by the School of Magic and the School of Arts and Sciences, a result of the multidisciplinary nature of medicine.
The repository for Caelum's vast archives, storing tomes passed down through generations of Caelumont nobles.Its forbidden section is inaccessible to anyone without a librarian's key.
The hub for Caelum Academy's weekly Fight Night event.Caelum fighters gather here to train and test their mettle. Fights are overseen by an official referee from the central podium.The spectator area spirals around the room, symbolizing a snake, an animal associated with shrewdness and speed, both factors important to victory. The lion inside the arena stands in contrast, symbolizing bravery and strength, a different but equally powerful approach to battle.The central location of the arena directs the audience's focus toward the fighters. The overall theme is reminiscent of the Coliseum in Ul'dah.The academy holds tournaments with different prizes here.
The center of Caelum Academy.The banners of House Garuda, Phoenix, Titan, and Leviathan are displayed on one side, a symbol of both their alliance and friendly competition.Students, faculty, and personnel all have plenty of options when it comes to choosing a location to spend their time.The influence of Ishgardian architecture permeates its design.
The place where Caelum students have their meals thrice a day.The items on its menu are free of charge, a result of the investment the academy makes in each student.
A location where students spend a considerable amount of time.It is Caelum's largest classroom, whose concentration of seats is second only to the auditorium.Here, students get to attend classes and lectures, each one a step closer to graduation.
Caelum Academy's largest congregation area.It is the location of monthly assemblies, where Headmistress Adelaine addresses the student body, faculty, and personnel to make important announcements.It is also a great opportunity for new members to introduce themselves, optionally.