Mercenaries' Guild of Westgate

The Guild is a group of recruiters led by three men and two women, all of whom sometimes take the field. For troops, the Guild recruits mostly warriors, levels 2-4. The Guild also locates duelists for private quarrels. In a city full of mercenaries, the Mercenaries' Guild thrives by recruiting primarily from the proud merchant families. Locally famous as a group of ne'er-dowells and wastrels, the Guild is also known for its brave and skillful recruits. Though the company has a core of veteran recruits, new members are added with every job. The Guild operates exclusively in the Heartlands of the Realms. It began by rooting out pirates along the coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Later, it fought orcish bandits in the Hullack Forest between Highmoon and Arabel. Later, they fought with the Dalefolk when Lashan made his bid for hegemony. The guild leader and founder, Palla the Light, is a 14th-level enchantress who began the operation as a way to cajole bored and disaffected members of the Guldar merchant family out of the city so they could make a name for themselves. Detractors claim she uses magic to recruit her troops so quickly, but, in fact, the Guild's lieutenants and their skillful propaganda deserve the credit (or blame) for filling the ranks. Varen Malavhan, a 9th-level bard, is the guild's chief recruiting and propaganda officer and its treasurer; he makes offers and distributes shares from the payroll. His flair for selling the glory of the company (and his shameless compositions extolling its triumphs) are largely responsible for the company's reputation. He is a slender, blond fellow who carries a long rapier, and he sports a very neat small beard. His family has long since given up apologizing for his unmerchantlike behavior. Varen always joins the recruits in the field; his songs and exhortations have helped the Guild carry the day more than once. His saga of "The Battle of the Yellow Eye Orcs" was a triumph of propaganda in the taverns and made the company's name, but it also annoyed the Urdo family, whose symbol is a yellow eye; they took his song as a personal slight. Varen rarely sings publicly in Westgate anymore; he uses a network of bards, fighters, and priests to help him recruit, in exchange for a bounty on each person they enlist. Sehlmari "the Lucky" Ssemm, a 5th level priestess of Tymora, is the morale officer and quartermaster. She generally travels a day ahead of the troops with a platoon to buy, gather, or commandeer food, drink, and other necessities. Her ability to haggle-and her knack for scrounging up enough to get by-are legendary among the troops, as is her sense of humor and her talent with loaded dice. She is always with the recruits, but rarely leads them. Mannin the Stout and Losifan Urdo are the field commanders, both 7th-level fighters specialized in their weapons and scarred from their days as duelists. They started as Guild recruits, but impressed Palla enough to be taken on permanently. Mannin has craggy, clean-shaven features and carries a huge double-bitted axe. He is very muscular, with short black hair. Mannin is a pragmatic and harsh commander. Losifan is a bit of a dandy, with his small goatee, long blond hair, loose, flowing clothes, and his tastefully decorated longsword, a family heirloom. He is a member of the Urdo trading family. Mannin and Losifan are responsible for discipline and training. Duelling among the troops is discouraged and punished, but is linked to the rivalries between the merchant families that many of the Guild's recruits come from. The Mercenaries Guild of Westgate is very proud of its independence from any particular merchant's interests. They are active against bandits who loot caravans, but, for reasons of professional pride and propaganda, they refuse to raise troops for caravan guard contracts. This drives their families to distraction. The Guild prefers to lead cavalry attacks, riding to the fore where danger and glory abound. Their charges are generally carried by their élan and prowess. When a charge collapses, it is usually due to poor discipline, high spirits, and insufficient coordination; many Guild charges have been premature. Given enough time to train their recruits, the Guild curbs this tendency to charge first and think later. The Guild recruiters provide light warhorses, swords, and light lances for the recruits. Armor varies from plate mail to studded leather; the Guild requires volunteers to bring their own. The Guild uniform is a dark gray cloak, generally worn off the shoulder, a violet shirt with open collar, and dark blue trousers. Fashion counts, since recruits are often younger sons and daughters of the merchant nobility. Veteran recruits, male and female alike, soon affect a long braid of hair hanging from their left temples. A troop of 100 2nd level dragoons costs 250 gp a week; costs go up from there, and if Palla's help is needed, the cost doubles.