There are several organisations all over the world, some of them working for peace and some of them the opposite. Some are good and others are evil. The only thing you can be sure of is, if there is an organisation working for a goal, there will probably be an organisation somewhere that acts as a counterweight to it. Best example is the thieves’ guild against law enforcement. Sometimes the opposite side is not known until you encounter them; others reveal themselves when they are created.
The Guilds
There are several different guilds everywhere, the best known are showed below. You do not have to be a member of a guild, but it can prevent you from getting certain things. This is entirely up to GM to decide.
The Bards Guild
The Bards Guild is a guild with a representation in almost all major cities on the continent. The guild is the only known organisation that functions as a single entity. The guild headquarter are located in Eloisan, the capital of the Eloisan Empire. All bards must visit the headquarter and attend college at least once in their bard career. The college is where all the songs, tales and spells are gathered, and the place where bards are taught by master bards in the more advanced arts. The Bards Guild is not as protective of their art as many of the other guilds. They welcome anyone who wants to spread culture in any way to any part of the world. They only require you to live up to their code of conduct.
The Bard Code of Conduct
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- You must attend college in Eloisan at least once in your career as a bard
- You must pay a membership fee of 1000 pieces of silver once every five years
- Unless you are a master, you are not allowed to teach bardic art to others
- Try as much as possible to remain neutral in fights involving countries or fiefdoms, as a bad choice from one bard can affect another bards chances of appearing in a given country
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The Rogues Guild
Everyone knows they probably exist, but no one knows anything about the various rogue guilds. The law enforcement has an idea that every major city has a rogues guild, maybe even two, and perhaps the very big cities also have an assassins guild. Others say it’s nonsense and it’s something the bureaucrats have come up with to keep the population in frightened and tight rein.
The Wizards Guild (applies to wizard, sorcerer and warlock)
There is no one-size-fits-all wizards guild. On the other hand, many big cities each have their guilds, which from time to time besiege each other.
Magic performed by wizards is not looked down upon, but the sacred magic of the gods is regarded slightly higher among the population, as it is seen as being a help to the local farmer, fisherman, etc., where as the magic of wizards is more being considered a destructive thing. Probably because there have been examples of wizards fighting openly on the streets around the smaller towns and villages.
Mentionable wizard guilds
The Celestial Wizards
A guild dedicated to the study of the celestial bodies. Founded about 100 years ago, by a group of wizards who believed, that the moon and other visible celestial bodies have the possibility to sustain alien life, and have types of magic never seen before. So far no life have been discovered.
The War Wizards of Eloisan
The War Wizards of Eloisan is the official wizard guild of the Eloisan Empire. Only wizards who are citizen of the empire are allowed to be a member of the guild. All wizards residing with the borders of the empire, are required by law to register with the guild. All sorcerers and warlocks are frowned upon, but are not illegal.
The steel blue robes of the guild are easy to recognize, due to the fact that the guild are the only ones allowed to wear that colour. The guild is headed by the Master War Wizard Kidarin, he is one of the emperors closest advisors and his service to the empire is second to none.
Other guilds
The other guilds that are known, are the various merchant guilds. As with the Wizards Guild, there is not just one, but each major city has its own and they each try by an economic force, and to expand their influence around the kingdom.
In addition to the merchants, there are various artisan guilds. These are also characterized by the fact that there is one in every major city. They do not, like the merchants, have to fight to expand their influence, they only require you as an artisan to register with the local guild if you come to a new town. If you do not do that, strange things can happen with your tools during the night, etc. Although an artisan guild can set the price of their craft as they please, it is actually to the “pleasure” of those who employ them. If you are to perform a job and be a member of the guild, the piece of work you perform must have a certain quality as a kind of stamp that you are a guild member.
To be trained as an artisan, one must first be an apprentice. An apprentice is usually a young person where the parents have paid a master to take him or her in apprenticeship. They live on site and receive no salary. The master makes sure they are trained and fed. They are not allowed to marry while they are apprentices. An apprenticeship lasts between 2 and 7 years, depending on the craft.
When your apprenticeship is over, you become a journeyman. You now get paid and can work freely as long as you are a member of the guild. If a position as master becomes vacant, the journeymen who are interested can apply for this position by making a bid on the previous masters business. This can be hard, as they, normally, only have the wages they are paid and many times they have to support a family as well. If they try to become a master by starting a new business without the blessing of the guild, it will lead to a disaster for the new master. Only when you are a master are you initiated into all the ways of doing things in the guild.
Rumors
There are many rumors about various organisations such as rebel movements, cultists, etc.
How much faith one should be put into these rumors no one knows. People just know that they have heard of someone in the next town who is in a rebel movement or is a cultist who worships demons who want to destroy the kingdom etc.