The Hunters' Guild

For the Freelancers in the Drachen Confederacy, the most well recognized is that of the Hunters' Guild. To think that the Guild is a well organized and contained system to manage the vast number of sell swords, treasure hunters, and other kith within their ranks would be a fallacy; the Guild offers no real governmental structure and only nominal control over their members. The Guild is actually more of a reflection of its members rather than the other way around, and influential parties of freelancers can often determine the overall, general policy of the Guild. Because of the often wild and volatile nature of the Guild, it is widely despised by the nobility and aristocrats of the Confederacy, but the uses for the Guild are often inarguably effective.

Structure

There is no formal structure that is recognized within the Hunters' Guild, rather, it is an informal hierarchy of whichever freelancer party is most notable. Given the massive size of the Drachen Confederacy, this recognition is often decentralized and localized around areas of operation; a notable freelancer party in the Tiergötten Principality may have no recognition in the Kingdom of Preußens until they managed to prove themselves in their new area. It is generally understood that might makes right within the Guild, the most influential parties can usually expect widespread support, or perhaps more accurately stated as obedience, from its lesser parties within their area of operations, making de facto, sub-divisions within the Guild.

Culture

As the Hunters' Guild has come to reflect the majority of its members, there are a few principles that have managed to unite the Guild into following basic guidelines. This is known as the Freelancers' Code: No freelancer may kill another, if a contract would make it so, no freelancer party may try too hard to collect. No freelancer will steal the contract of another. And finally, no freelancer will speak of their work; a freelancer is expected to forget all details of their clients and actions taken for them. However, there is no way to enforce this, and equally, no precedent for punishing those who break the Code. There is only a basic understanding, a vague sense of comradery, that can easily shift and be ignored at whomever's pleasure.

History

Freelancing is often a profession that operates in a grey area, both legally and morally, and the Hunters' Guild was a response to create a sense of legitimacy and professionalism to the practice. The Guild is commonly recognized to have been formed in 893 of the 4th Age, but by whom and exactly when will most likely never be determined. It has been hesitantly accepted by the wider states within what would form the Drachen Confederacy, but usually kept at arm's length. The freelancers employed are a cheaper, if far more chaotic, alternative to the other options to resolve a problem, dispute, or infestation of property which has allowed the Guild and its freelancers to remain, but often at odds with, the various factions that employ them. The Hunters' Guild has operated thusly, with waxing and waning membership and contracts, as time has continued, but it has continued to operate nonetheless.

Founding Date

893 of the 4th Age

Type

Guild, Adventuring

Alternative Names

The Freelancers' Guild

Demonym

Hunter