Icons Guilds

The Guilds

"Prosperity is security. Those who have are those who protect, and it is fallen to us to see to the continuation of our people now."

Allies

The Great Clans • The Thanes

Enemies

The Slumbering Inferno • The Sea Lords

Token Benefits

Artisan Training (3 tokens) • Finewrought Works (1 token per 25gp) • Guild Troubleshooter (1-4 tokens per year) • Runethanes' Aid (2 tokens + quest)

Though they were once considered upstarts, now most of dwarven society is accustomed to the rule of the Guildsmoot. The quintessential dwarven trait is craft-skill, they claim, so those with the most such ability ought to rule. The Guildsmasters sit on the moot, and they balance and check all of dwarven society like a business. So far, they have brought prosperity and with it, safety – which is more than the old warlike Great Clans could claim.

Usual Location

The Guilds are largely found as an entity within the dwarven citadels of the Vale, although many human craftsfolk in the Vale proper are members of the Guilds as well.

Allies

• Technically, the Great Clans of the dwarven people are allies of the Guilds. Over the years, though, this affinity has faded as the Clans have grown bitter over their loss of power, and the Guilds have grown jealous of maintaining it. Still, there are many individuals among both orders who maintain fast friendships with members of the other faction.
• When the Guilds first came to shift ruling power over to themselves, the Thanes were their staunch allies almost from the very start. And no wonder – although human masters rarely achieve the years needed to sit on the Guildsmoot, humans can at least be part of the Guilds, unlike the Great Clans. So the Thanes have worked extra hard to support the Guilds ever since.

Enemies

• There is no doubt to the Guilds that when the Slumbering Inferno awakens, the responsibility for protecting and rebuilding will fall squarely on their shoulders, and they'd very much like to prevent that situation from ever cropping up to begin with.
• Since their ascension to power, the Guilds have discovered a great deal of contempt from the Sea Lords who treat them as upjumped money-grubbers unworthy of the power of rule. Indeed, where once the Guilds had begun inroads into the Sea Domains, when the Guilds took control of the Vale from the Great Clans, the Sea Lords immediately responded by throwing all Guilded merchants and craftsmen out of their cities. Now, the Sea Lords work their cunning perfidy, acquiring influence and secrets about the goings-on in the Vale, and the Guilds don't like that one bit.

Guilds Token Benefits

• Artisan Training (3 tokens): If the Guilds do nothing else well, it is train up crafts- and service-folk quickly and readily. Those with strong allegiances to the Guilds find it cheaper and faster to learn how to use various tools and crafts. Those who purchase this benefit may complete tool or language training in half the time, and need not pay for the training for three of those weeks. The character must still spend the downtime actions to accomplish it.
• Finewrought Works (1 token per 25gp): The Guilds frequently take the best of their members' highest quality works and distribute them to those who aid the Guilds in their efforts. Everyone knows that serving the Guilds is one of the finest and quickest means of getting quality arms, armor, and other goods. Gain a discount of 25gp per token spent, although this can only reduce the cost of half its normal cost, at most. This includes all mundane equipment and common magical items (which usually cost 100gp, or half that for consumables).
• Guild Troubleshooter (1-4 tokens per year): The Guilds can always use talented individuals with skill and dedication. Those who put forth the extra effort on their behalf are often hired on as troubleshooters and agents, offering ongoing salaries and comfortable living situations. Poor lifestyle costs 1 token, Moderate lifestyle costs 2 tokens, and Comfortable lifestyle costs 4 tokens.
• Runethanes' Aid (2 tokens + quest): The Guild of Runethanes are the dwarven wizards who threw their lot in with the Guilds, and now are one of its most influential such orders. A good alliance with the Guilds can frequently mean getting access to spell or spellcasters willing to help train and perform works of magic.
  • Once completed, this allows the character to spend tokens to gain wizardly spellcasting for himself and his group. Cantrips and 1st level spells cost 1 token, 2nd and 3rd level spells cost 2 tokens, and 4th and 5th level spells cost 3 tokens. Expensive material components must be provided, or may be covered by the runethanes by spending one additional token.

The Guilds

The Guilds The Guilds of the Hammer and Anvil are a dwarven innovation, although they quickly learned to value the skill and ingenuity of other folk and invited them into their organizations, working to improve the general skill level of all crafts under their baliwick. While the Guilds have existed for many dwarven generations, they did so as simple fraternal brotherhoods. With the advent of the Guildrule, however, now all crafts-folk who wish to engage in the craft and trade they oversee, they must not only join the Guild in question, but adhere to the pricing and production requirements set out by the Guild.

It is notable that the guilds do not take it upon themselves to produce or refine the raw materials they use to make their goods: there are no miners, lumberfolk, or farmers guilds, nor are those jobs that work to produce such materials a part of any of the guilds, by deliberate design. Such work is considered "unskilled labor" by the defining charter of the Guildsmoot, and have come to earn a sort of "lower class" attribution in dwarven and Valefolk culture.

• Guild of Alchemists: The guild associated with alchemists and similar distillers of non-alcoholic brews and mixtures. Easily one of the smallest guilds, but also very wealthy.
• Guild of Brewers: The guild that oversees the brewing and distilling of liquors. As yet, however, it does not include the crafts of vintners in its ranks, largely because the dwarves who run the guild do not see wine-making as "real" brewing.
• Guild of Coinwrights: The guild that oversees banking and minting of coinage, as well as those who engage in non-production mercantilism – that is, the buying and selling of goods, and sometimes their transportation as well.
• Guild of Claywrights: The guild that oversees crafts involving the use of clay, largely pottery and other practical wares.
• Guild of Clothwrights: The guild that oversees the production of things from cloth, from clothing to banners to household goods.
• Guild of Finesmiths: The guild that oversees the cutting of gemstones, and the making of goods from the so-called "fine metals" such as gold, silver, and the like.
• Guild of Glasswrights: The guild that oversees the production of glass goods, from practical to medical to arcane applications.
• Guild of Hallkeeps: The guild that governs the careers wherein a businessfolk makes strangers welcome in their establishment. This includes tavernkeeps, innkeeps, brothelkeeps and the like.
• Guild of Hidewrights: The guild that oversees the making of goods from leather and hides.
• Guild of Ironwrights: The guild that oversees the making of goods from iron and steel, as well as other metals of general utility, such as brass, bronze, pewter, and tin.
• Guild of Mapwrights: The guild that oversees the making of both land maps for travel and architectural designs for buildings.
• Guild of Musicwrights: The guild that oversees the making of musical instruments. They explicitly exclude musicians from their charter (that is, this is a guild of those who make musical instruments, not those who make music).
• Guild of Runethanes: The guild that oversees the arts of the runethane, a dwarven tradition of wizardry. This guild can only require membership of runethanes, not wizards in general (although they're rumored to be trying to expand the definition), and even then only those who sell their spells or magic items as craftsmen.
• Guild of Stonewrights: The guild that oversees both the making of items from stone, including art and statuary, as well as the building of buildings.
• Guild of Woodwrights: The guild that oversees the making of items from wood, encompassing woodworking and carpentry.
• Guild of Wordwrights: The guild that oversees the crafting of calligraphical works of art, as well as scribes, clerks, and others who receive their coin for their writing.