From the physical appearance and voice, Christophoros would probably assume that Dositheos is an eunuch. He has seen quite a few of those during his years in Constantinople.
"Of course, of course. Please be seated. Would you like some refreshments, wine perhaps?" After the initial pleasantries are dealt with, the schoolmaster proceeds with the interview.
"Our school is indeed located outside of Patras itself, on Mount Vodias. It is a relatively isolated location, a few hours away, where the students will be able to concentrate on their schooling without the distractions of the city. I don't know if I would call it 'experimental', although we will be unusual in that we will cather to both male and female students from diverse backgrounds. At this time I expect about forty to fifty students to attend school in the fall. We will offer a mixed curriculum that will cater to the various levels of schooling one can expect from youths from different backgrounds. We will concentrate mostly on the liberals arts, philosophiae, classical Greek and theology, although I would like to also include medicine and law to the mix."
"At this time, I am looking for three additional teachers. I myself will teach some of the more advanced students, as well as those teachers who wish to improve themselves."
"But tell me more of yourself, your schooling and your experience as a teacher." As with Niketas, Christophoros will check for the depth and extend of Dositheos' knowledge of the classics and any other miscellaneous knowledge he might possess. Also, what drives him to seek a position at the school.
OOC: presumably we acknowledge that there are some private "scholars" at the school who are doing research into things like natural philosophy. That seems the best way to explain the magi and the need for laboratory supplies.
OOC: Indeed. Though that will increase the likelihood of the teachers wanting to interact with the magi. After all, as academics themselves they will be interested in the kind of research that thos "private scholars" are doing. Christophoros was planning on saying that the magi were the "patrons of the school" who provided space for the teachers and students in their manor house while pursuing their own interest. But that is not a subject he would broach at an initial interview, unless special circumstances warranted it.
I have made some money while I was studying my bachelaureat by tutoring some of the younger students who were struggling, one teacher in particular had a disproportionate number of 'problem' students, I was able to teach a group of 15 of them, and they wound up in the top of their annual reviews, including against some students from other classes."
"What of your own studies?" Along with some specific question testing Dositheos' level of advancement on the various academic abilities. Including interests in history, theology, etc. Perhaps some hints of more esoteric knowledge.
"And what makes you seek a position at our school?"
OOC: How many interviews are we going to go through in details? The questions would almost always be the same -- knowledge of the various abilities, experience as a teacher, why they are interested in a position at the school, etc. The only variations would come from unusual stuff from a candidate. For example, Niketas' lisp made him unsuited for a teacher's position but his potential as an author (highlighted by his mentor and potentially indicate the Good Teacher virtue) made him of interest for a support position. Likewise, a female teacher might be appropriate considering this will be a mixed school. Having one of the teacher be a priest or a monk might be of some interest, as would be a teacher with some interest in more esoteric subjects.
Christophoros' base criteria baseline for a teacher would be Teaching 2 or 3, Artes Liberales and Philosophiae at 3 or more, Classical Greek or Latin at 4, and having one academic ability (excluding the languages) at 5 or better. He's also trying to get a good mix of higher stats amongst the academic abilities, so that overall coverage for the school is acceptable. I think he has enough knowledge to be able to gauge the candidates' scores in Artes Liberales, Philosophiae, Classical Greek, Latin and Teaching (all of which he has a score of 5 or more). He's got only the basics in law and theology, but enough to know whether a candidate is good enough to teach it.
My point is, going through the interview process in-character just to get the basic information seems needlessly tedious, particularly if we have to go through 10+ candidates when he only has the capacity to hire a maximum of perhaps 5 (if he includes some support positions).
There are 3 levels of education- Baccalaureat, Magister in Artibus, and Doctor in (field). Given the current situation of the school you will only be attracting baccalaureats, which means anyone you find with a background in law or theology is likely to be fairly limited unless they have a focus in these areas (for example, a priest will have a decent score in theology). What you are currently competing with are schools like parish schools, urban schools, or other religious schools (Jewish schools, for example). The process of discovering the personalities, quirks, and possible secrets of various applicants is a part of the interview process, and despite having a game system that theoretically allows it, consider how you would go about having an interview today where you want to confirm that someone has craft:computer systems at 5. Roleplaying is about more than the mechanics, and I started off by asking how many you planned to interview...
OOC: I don't mind roleplaying the interviews, but it seems like I'm pulling teeth to get just the basic informations on the candidates so far.
For example, with Dositheos I asked him a number of questions (about his schooling, his personal background, and his teaching experience) but got answers about only half (that he's doing his baccalaureate and has some teaching experience).
As for being able to gauge the experience of the candidate in the various abilities, well it is similar to modern interview process. Having gone through it quite a few times in real life, it becomes generic and boring pretty quickly. And yes, I would be able to gauge whether someone is a competent computer application designer, since I work in the field. I would ask them to tell me about their past accomplishments in the field, the projects they have worked on, the development environment they have used, and so on.
My point is that Christophoros is exactly the same position in his field as I am in computer sciences. He can gauge their level of expertise pretty well. I'm not trying to make a decision based simply on the game mechanics -- quite the opposite. I'd like to get the mechanics out of the way so that we can roleplay only the parts that are of interest. Right now, as a player I am left trying to gauge how competent each candidate is by asking repetitive question (which is boring for both of us). Can we get that out of the way of the narrative somehow? That way I can concentrate the questions on personalit. That is why I have mentioned (none than once) the standard questions he would ask. Once I have answers to those from each candidate then Christophoros could ask more personalized questions.
Yes, and I'll go ahead and shortcut to some degree the middle part:
Dositheus has a SQ between 12 and 16, very well spoken (com 2+) and can handle 15 students (teaching 3+), can read but not write ancient Greek (ability 4), and is fairly accomplished at mathematics and philosophae (3+ in artes liberals and philosophae). Dositheus does have a more extensive background in Orthodox theology (3 or higher) than you would expect considering there has never been any interest in becoming clergy.
There is no background in law or medicine.
Niketas has a teaching SQ between 6 and 8, including his speech impediment, and can also handle 15 students. He can read both Classical Greek and Latin,(ability 4) has worked for some time as a scribe (ability 2-4), and is a fairly good musician- preferably instrumental (music 3 or higher)
Zacharius Read Ancient Greek Avidly (ability 4) and is quite familiar with the classics (artes liberals 3-5), is quite polite (etiquette Academic 2+), and has a teaching SQ between 8 and 10- though we haven't actually started his interview yet...
Thanks, that is indeed the kind of information that I can work with while avoiding the clutter of numerous in-character questions that really bring little to the roleplaying experience of the saga.
I am assuming that the SQ you mention are for groups? So composed of Com + Teaching + 3 + virtue only?
Interesting, from his teacher's letter I kind of expected him to be a bit better than that, since he was described as having the potential to be a very skilled author. To me that sounded like the Good Teacher virtue, being conterbalanced by the Afllicted Tongue flaw's penalty (-2), and perhaps the Disfigured flaw penalizing him somewhat as well, when doing face-to-face teaching. How well written were his letters?
Looks like a strong candidate at this point. Some further questions Christophoros would ask:
"What of your own studies? Are there any specific subjects that you are interested in studying further"
"And what makes you seek a position at our school?"
I'll wait until we are done with Dositheos' interview before moving on to Zacharius. Thanks!
SQ is total SQ, from whatever combination of sources.
Nicketas letters were of above average quality, if it were a tractus you would guess SQ between 8 and 10- the letters weren't a lot to go on.
"I tend to dabble, I have been accused of lacking focus, In fact part of what I was looking forward to with this position is getting your advice, once you get to know me a bit, as to whether to go on to university or not."
(What I meant was that SQ can be boosted by 6 if teaching a single student, or by 3 if teaching only 2 students at the same time. I am assuming that the SQ you indicated did not include that.)
"Of course," Christophoros nods, "I consider it an important part of my position as schoolmaster to help and encourage my teachers in their own pursuit of knowledge. But I hope that you realize that, in order to be able to teach the more advanced student, at some point you will need to concentrate on a few specialties."
"One more question: What, in your opinion, would make you a better choice than any of the other candidates, that sets you apart from them?"
"Well, of course I don't know the other candidates so, I'd have to say I get along well with children, and well a lot of ther people as well. I just tend not to get involved in the competitive aspect of a lot of relationships."
OOC: It's not so much a question to evaluate your skill or competence vs that of the other candidates, but an opportunity to see what you consider to be his distinguishing feature. It's a though one to answer, and it's better to think about it beforehand.
Also OOC: I seem to remember that there are no formal universities in Thebes at that point. See the last paragraph of the Education in TSE p.43.
"Very well. Thank you for meeting me. I will contact you soon to let you know what my decision is."
BTW, I didn't broach the subject of renumeration but Christiphoros would certainly have. It would be nothing out of the ordinary for now. Although working for a school provides some advantages over being a private tutor, as you don't have to find your own students nor rent a room. Also, the fact that the school would offer room and board year-long, as well as access to a library (small at first, but growing) and an environment where they can continue their own studies. Plus, having Christophoros as their mentor should be considered a very positive factor. So it would be lower, at face value, than what a private tutor would charge, but overall it would be comparable and perhaps slightly more advantageous.
Before Zacharius arrives you receive another unplanned visitor. This one is a woman, wearing a veil, not in the Muslim style, and very well dressed. Despite the fact you cannot see her face you get a sense of unease in her presence, and she immediately strikes you as arrogant and untrustworthy. If you were not so familiar with magi you would have a hard time placing your finger on why.
"Christopheros, I have come to make you an offer, and indirectly an offer to your covenant. We at the Lyceum would be interested in providing some limited sponsorship to your school, if you were able to commit to teaching a more modern form of philosophy than what the Collegium favors." She places a small purse full of coins on the table of your rented room "We would also be willing to lend you instructors for a season each year, though it would not be a permanent position."
((What does Christophoros know about the "Lyceum" she mentioned? It seems like the name of a covenant, but I can't find anything in TSE about it. Also, what it this "Collegium" that she mentions? At first I thought this might be about covenants of the Order, so I did an Order of Hermes Lore check, so Int 2 + OoO Lore 4 (+1 if it is indeed a covenant) + stress die 2, so a mere result of 8 or 9. But then, it occured to me that this could be something mentions in Art & Academe, but that's a sourcebook I don't have. Don't know what I should roll for knowledge there...))
They are both Leagues, which spread beyond Greece but are centered there. The Lyceum embraces in New Aristotilian logic while the Collegium embraces Boetheus and favors hermetic experimentation in philosophae to logic. Generally this would have stayed an academic debate amongst bonisagus magi except that passions run high enough that a lot of money and resources are committed both to promoting each point of view and disparaging the other side.
If you have artes and academe it is described on p. 11, or you can decide that Christophoros has never heard of them either. They aren't exactly a mystery cult, they are an obscure intersection of magic and academics that he may or may not heard of.
"I see," says Christophoros with a pinched smile. "And who would you be, to present yourself before me and suggest ways that I, a Magister of University of Arezzo, should teach the philosophiae? I must admit that I missed your name and credentials."
"I am a representative of the Lyceum, I had assumed you had heard of us given your... background." She shrugs, "Nevertheless, it is still an offer more than a suggestion, if you do not wish our assistance I can easily withdraw it."
(Playing this as if he had heard a little bit about them, but not much beyond the basics.)
Christophoros gestures in exasparation, "'A representative' who seems unwilling to so much as give her name. Have you so little confidence in the 'modern form of philosophy' espoused by your league that you don't wish to identify yourself, mag..." He interrupts himself, smiles, and correct the word deliberately to, "madam?"
(He pauses here to see whether the maga will react and finally give her name, or if she will choose to keep hiding her identity.)
"You say that you suggest, yet you seem to offer a bribe rather than rational arguments." He shakes his head sadly, "That does disservice to your academic position. Personally, I think it may have some merit, but that is something that should be debated and analyzed, rather than forced."
"Should you wish to lend teachers, I will consider it. But should the Collegium offer the same, I will consider them equally. It might benefit my students to see both sides of the argument." He looks at her to see what her reaction is to that possibility.