Guilds, Imorea

In the cities, market towns, and trade-halls of Imorea, guilds are an omnipresent aspect of daily life. They are more than just associations of craftsmen or merchants - they are institutions of power, respected and feared bodies that guard their trades, pass down secret techniques, and represent their members in matters of coin, law, and reputation.

To work a trade without a guild’s blessing is to invite ruin. Guilds determine who may sell, who may build, who may brew, and who may heal. They train apprentices, enforce standards, and often hold sway in councils and courts. Some have existed for centuries, tracing their roots back to the golden days of the Imorean Empire. Others are newer, less reputable, and occasionally short-lived. Many guilds have unified into organized trade unions over the years, with smaller guilds making up the body of a larger overarching guild, often one that oversees the development, operation, and trade of multiple aligned fields.

Though some smaller towns may allow unlicensed work, in most of the Mornlands and the greater Imorea region, guild membership is expected, and rapidly becoming required.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of many important guilds in Imorea:

Craft Guilds

These are the makers—the builders, shapers, and smiths who give form to the world.

• Stonebinders: Masons, architects, and quarrymen.
• Emberhand: Blacksmiths, weapon crafters, and armorers.
• Woodwrighters: Carpenters, coopers, wheelwrights, and cabinetmakers.
• Threadbearers: Weavers, dyers, and tailors.
• Tanners: Tanners, skinners, and leatherworkers.
• Cordwainers: Shoemakers and cobblers.
• Claymarkers: Potters and kilnmasters.
• Glasswrights: Glaziers and bottleblowers.
• Pigmenters: Painters, pigment-makers, iconographers, and muralists.
• Bellcasters: Makers of bells, pipes, and ceremonial castings.
• Adorners: Jewelers, gold and silversmiths, and engravers.
• Inkwrights: Scribes, illuminators, and record-keepers.
• Pointers: Fletchers and bow-makers.

Trade & Mercantile Guilds

These are the movers—the sellers, shippers, and organizers of wealth.

• Goldweighers: Bankers, moneylenders, and assayers.
• Tideriders: Merchants, sea traders, and caravan leaders.
• Barrelmark: Brewers, vintners, and distillers.
• Saltshepards: Fishermen, net-makers, and fishmongers.
• Grainbinders: Millers, bakers, and granary keepers.
• Drovers: Herdsmen, butchers, and livestock handlers.
• Seamenders: Ropemakers, sailmakers, caulkers.
• Tollers: Innkeepers, taverners, and tollhouse operators.
• Trade Peddlers: Wandering sellers, hawkers, and tinkers.
• Wainswrights: Wagon-builders, axlewrights, cartwrights, and coachmakers.
• Luminers: Candlemakers and lamplighters.
• Skymenders: Porters, warehousemen, and crane-runners.

Miscellaneous, Fringe, and Free Guilds

These are the strange ones—the dangerous, the overlooked, or the barely legal.

• Apothecarion: Herbalists, perfumers, and charm-makers.
• Leeches: Barber-surgeons and healers.
• Wyrdcartel: Alchemists and sanctioned hedge-wizards.
• Bellgrave: Undertakers, embalmers, and crypt-keepers.
• Gilded Pike: Mercenaries, sellswords, and bounty hunters.
• Diving Rooks: Adventurers and ruin-scavengers.
• Horncallers: Heralds, criers, and professional announcers.
• Dramaturges: – Mummers, puppetmasters, and actors.
• Inkfangs: Illegal forger’s circle and black-market scribes.

Joining a Guild

Most guilds require years of apprenticeship under a sworn master. A member must:

• Prove their skill
• Swear binding oaths
• Pay dues and uphold guild law

Guilds offer protection, support, and access—but also restrictions and obligations. Failure to follow their rules can lead to fines, blacklisting, or worse.

Adventurers and the Guilds

While most adventurers are not part of a formal guild, some cities (like Crodeux) have begun issuing charters for recognized groups, allowing them to sell salvage, carry arms within city walls, or hire themselves out legally, the Diving Rooks being one primary example of this. These arrangements are often temporary, and some guilds view adventurers as a threat to their monopoly on risk and reward.

If your trade touches coin, craft, or contract - someone, somewhere, thinks you owe them dues.

Type

Guild, Professional