Adventurer's Guild

The Adventurer's Guilds of Eramon are semi-formal organizations spread across Eramon wherever adventurers gather. Most recruit and find work via notice board and word-of-mouth; some have such a dominating presence in a town or city that they drive out competitive guilds and unaligned adventuring bands from seeking such work, whilst others are tolerant or even welcoming of healthy competition. Their relationships with other Guilds and with unaligned adventurers can range from professional camaraderie to rivalry to outright hostility and, as with much about the Guilds, vary dramatically from Guild to Guild. The authorities of some kingdoms and towns openly collaborate with Guilds to defend against specialized threats such as monsters or hostile magic-wielders, to protect merchant caravans or guard persons of importance. Others treat the Guilds as dangerous upstart organizations and threats to their power; there are some cities in which Guild membership is outlawed entirely. Nonetheless, many significant Guilds have accrued considerable power and influence that knows no borders and kneels to no crown.

Structure

All Guilds have a leadership structure of some form and a hierarchy of membership. Recruits must past certain tests or prove themselves worthy by undertaking a low-tier job or two before being accepted by the Guild. Fully-fledged members are often given ranks and titles, though these are more likely to be colourfully descriptive and based on some past deed or famous job ("Carver", "Reaver, Second Rank", "Third Star Battler") than to mimic traditional military or aristocratic ranks.

Public Agenda

Some Guilds have strong moral tenets or connections to religious and secular orders; others are entirely indistinguishable from mercenary companies, but almost all Guilds have some form of code of conduct or set of rules that members must follow. Failure to uphold the laws of the Guild may lead to consequences ranging from reprimand, withheld payment and demotion through to summary execution or a bounty being posted for other Guild members to collect. Guilds generally have a focus of some type on the kind of work their membership will accept; for example, Scarlet Smile (Guild) are infamous assassins, Exile Candle (Guild) are called in to quell outbreaks of contagion and pestilence and Sentinel Arm (Guild) are often summoned to protect threatened travelers and communities. Other guilds, like Striking Gull (Guild) in Estegarde, are generalists who will accept almost any work; but the most successful guilds know where their strengths lie, and play to them.

Assets

A Guild will typically have a base of operations, usually a Guild Hall of some kind. Guild members generally wear some insignia of allegiance; tattoos, badgets, pendants and banners are common, as are magical sigils and secret code-languages.

History

The Age of Terror wreaked havoc across the world of Eramon, ravaging civilizations and communities into tatters of their former state. In response, individuals of courage, strength, unusual abilities and uncanny luck began to appear across the world. Some rose in defense of their homes and loved ones, others realized their power in defiant survival of a tragedy, or discovered abilities within themselves manifesting from the wild magics spilling across the world. Others sought to embrace their destined greatness whilst others still were nobodies who found a grit and determination within themselves to wrest control of their path and defy the odds. Whatever their origins, the lawless and violently struggling world of Eramon made many opportunities for such people to rise to the challenge and become the heroes and villains of a volatile new age. Where fate or chance guided such individuals to congregate, usually into small groups with complimentary skills, co-operation often ensured their survival where others failed and died. These small bands of roving adventurers became the unlikely movers and shakers of the destiny of Eramon. In modern times, the sight of such a band is a common one throughout most of the rougher edges of the known world. Infestations of bandits and monsters, discoveries of rare and deadly beasts, lost dungeons and mysterious artifacts, as well as the ever-shifting fortunes of war and politics mean a steady tide of work for adventurers of all kinds. In post-Terror times, however, the adventuring life has become less of a desperate act of survival and more of a profession, and in the wake of such a change have come the Guilds.

Type

Guild, Adventuring