Guilds for All Professions

In the towns and cities Tarien, at least in those are enough to boast more than one tradesman of a particular skills, guilds are the norm. Be it the blacksmiths' guild or the fruit sellers' guild, these local merchants and craftsmen band together to set prices and ruthlessly limit the competition. No self respecting craftsman would ply his trade or teach it to another unless both he and the apprentice were members of guild. And lift they dared to do so, they would face threats, vandalism, or worse.

A particular guild's influence depends upon both its size and services. The more members, the more powerful. As such, a large guild such as the Porters' Guild of Phelandria exerts influences through its sheer size - no one wants to trudge the hills of Phelandria if they can avoid it. Similarly the Imperial Forgers have gained power in Karradone by virtue of their contract to supply arms and armor to the Imperial Legion. Indeed, leaders of both organizations could exert influence in the courts or even demand audience with city leaders while the sole member of a chandler's guild in Drei-Kopf obviously could not.

Few guilds are more powerful than those who's have have expanded their influence across the breadth of Tarien, either by deliberate expansion (as was the case with the Brotherhood of Thieves or by the travelling nature of their business (as was the case with both of the Mercenaries' and Merchant's Guilds. Centuries ago other guilds may have talked about expanding their membership beyond a single settlement, but after the Miracle of Rebirth, the inability to travel magically hampered these lofty plans. As such, most other guilds remain local with little or no coordination between similar guilds in different cities and towns.