The Brotherhood of Mages

In my gameworld, there's a culture-wide mage's organization most legitimate mages are supposed to belong to, The Ancient and Just Order of the Brethren Magical. It's normally known as the Brotherhood of Mages or just "the Brotherhood" for short.The Brotherhood has official status and judicial authority over magical affairs in most nations of the West, but there are exceptions.

It's strictly limited to men, and the Brotherhood opposes the approval of female wizards in most cases. There are, of course, female mages anyway, but they usually qualify for a Social Stigma.

Members of the Brotherhood are required to wear Hat, Robe, and bear their Mystic Tool (wand, staff, or rod) at all times in public. A roll vs. Heraldry (Magical) can tell you what colleges a Brotherhood Mage knows when you see his regalia.  Their official rules are below, and it counts as a 10-point Code of Honor.  Mages fall under canon law rather than secular law in most cases, so a member in good standing can buy Legal Immunity at the 5-point level.

As far as PCs are concerned, I think about half of the mages that have been played are official members.  For all the rules and legal standing, it's not usually that difficult for a clever PC to avoid them unless he's using Necromancy, which is a big no-no in any case in the civilzed West.

The Law of the Brotherhood

1. You shall not attempt to disguise who you are. Wear the Hat and the Robe, and carry the Staff(a) that are the symbols of your office.
2. You shall not use magic to rule.
3. You shall not cast spells upon others without their assent(b) except in defense. When requested by the proper authorities, claims of defense shall be judged by the Brotherhood using spells of truth. Attempting to resist such spells shall be taken as proof of guilt.
4. You shall not attempt to cast any spell forbidden by the Brotherhood.(c)
5. You shall not attempt to cast any spell forbidden by the authorities of the land you currently occupy.(d)
6. You shall obey your superiors in the Brotherhood in all good things.
7. You shall fight Necromancy when you encounter it, or shall report it to the Brotherhood if you find yourself unable to fight it.

(a) Staff, wand, or rod as appropriate for the Wizard in question.(b) "Assent" is normally interpreted broadly. For example, anyone who steps foot into your home or place of business is considered to have assented.(c) Licenses for forbideen spells are available to members in good standing.(d) Being licensed for a spell by the Brotherhood is good enough for local law as well.