Alright, then: room to the right.

Another one of those magic circular slabs in the floor, but this one has a large stone cauldron with enormous inset yellow teardrop gems standing on it. A young adult with a respectable beard is standing idly next to it, and there's a strange green-blue rune floating above his head—one of the three largest runes that repeats everywhere, actually. Bookshelves line the wall to the right (being examined by an adult, this one without any runes floating above their head), the wall directly in front of him has stained glass windows looking out, and there are stairs leading up along the wall to his left.

Person with a floating rune above their head! That looks like some video game's quest marker or something, it's probably important.

"Excuse me," he says, walking up to that person.

He turns around and nods to Peter. "Good morning."

"Good morning. I'm Peter, I'm, uh, new here."

"Welcome to the Realm of Magic, Peter. I'm Beckett Delgado, Sage of Mundane Magic."

Something about this guy's face is really turning Peter off but he can't quite put his finger on it. Also, what the hell is "mundane" magic?

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Delgado. What, uh—is there a 101 guide of magic or something like that you could run me through?"

"Hmm, I'll try. Spellcasters generate magical charge, which they can use to cast spells. There are a myriad spells, each with its own effect and cost. Having more charge means you can cast more and more powerful spells, but it also means that they have a higher chance of failure. If you accumulate too much magical charge, that can have very dangerous consequences, up to and including death; having too little of it can also be a problem, though. You can also create magical potions by following a recipe and imbuing it with magical charge."

Okay that sounds really promising, actually.

"What kinds of things can spellcasters do?"

"There are a myriad different spells and potions available to spellcasters."

Right.

"Can you give me a few examples? Give me a few of each power level, maybe?"

"There are spells that can clean or repair things, instantly transport you somewhere else, alter someone else's mood, set things on fire..."

"Okay, more to the point, are there ways to cheat death with spells?"

"There is a spell that can bring a Sim back to life."

"Promising! Is there a spell that can make you just not die in the first place?"

"No."

"Is it possible to develop new spells?"

"Yes."

He's not gonna go down that rabbit hole, actually.

"What are the drawbacks of being a spellcaster?"

"You may accumulate too much magic charge, explode, and die. You may fail a spell too many times and get cursed. Other spellcasters may wish to fight you."

"Wait hold on 'cursed'?"

"Yes."

rrrrrr

"What does 'cursed' mean?"

"It means you are under a magical affliction that may affect your spellcasting or other parts of your life."

"How do you get cursed?"