Setting - The Guilds

Guilds are organisations that give your character special training in exchange for that character agreeing to follow certain rules. OOC, this may change the cost of skills and give you special bonuses or penalties. The specific details of each guild can be found in Player Rules → Kingdom → Guilds, but we have prepared beginner guides to give you a flavour for what each is like and possible character ideas.

A character does not have to join a guild, but if you want to play a guildless character we suggest chatting to an experienced member first, as your character won’t get any bonuses and may find it hard to learn skills.

• The Defenders are the Kingdom military. They are split into four branches:
  • The Guards are fighters.
  • The Wardens are casters (priests and mages).
  • The Pathfinders are scouts and rangers.
  • The Archers use bows.
• The Towers teach you how to specialise in one particular school of magic.
• The Circle teaches you how to use many different schools of magic.
• The Temples are religious organisations that teach priests of their Path:
  • The Temple of Freedom believes in gathering knowledge and learning new things.
  • The Temple of Life preserves the sanctity of life and living things and destroys undead.
  • The Temple of Justice mediates disputes and upholds the law.
  • The Temple of Order rules on matters of law.
  • The Temple of Might believes in power and strength.
  • The Temple of Balance teaches give and take.
• Druids are devotees of Nature.
• The Gladiators are powerful warriors who rely only on their own skill and training.
• The Paladins protect the weak through strength of arm.
• The Humacti hunt down undead and necromancers.

There are several smaller guilds. We recommend talking to an experienced member if you want to play a member of one of these for your first character.

• The Illuminati practice Light magic and work to destroy all drow.
• The Bladesingers are dedicated to protecting elvenkind and practice a unique school of magic that turns mages into warriors.
• The Artificers are specialists at making enchanted and consecrated items.
• The Artisans are experts at making weapons and armour.
• The Bounty Hunters round up fugitives from Kingdom law.
• The Foresters act as liaisons between the wilderness and civilisation.

It is possible to change guild, but there may be consequences for leaving, and other guilds may not take you on without proof of your dedication. Details on leaving and entering requirements are found on the guild pages in the Player Rules.

Some groups of people are a human-based ‘race’ and have their own specific ‘Guilds’. These Guilds cannot be left except by death.

• Amazons are nomads from tribes outside the Kingdom.
• Barbarians are highlanders from the lands north of the Kingdom.

Unguilded characters

Not every character is a ‘fit’ for a system guild for various reasons. These characters are generally referred to as guildless or unguilded.

This has a positive and a negative side. The positive is that your character can do whatever they like without restrictions as long as it’s legal (or at very least as long as they don’t get caught). They can choose to learn whatever combination of skills and castings they like (as long as the basic rules of miracles and magic are followed).

The negative side is that a large number of skills and castings are restricted as advanced training – available through the Guilds, but much harder to access from outside of them. You also don’t have the backing of a Guild if something happens to your character on a game.

It’s not impossible to learn advanced training skills as an unguilded character, but it does require a mix of roleplay and luck. The commonest routes are:

• Learn the skill off another player character – but the teaching character should be aware that they might be breaking their Guild oaths in the process. Note that learning skills between your own characters is very much frowned upon.
• Learn off an NPC. This may involve paying a fee or otherwise doing something on the NPC’s behalf.
• Persuade a Guild to teach you. The character needs to have a good reputation with the Guild or someone willing to speak on their behalf.
• Use Kingdom Favour to be taught in exchange for consistent heroic deeds.

Any of the above must still be approved by the Character Ref as with any other Restricted skill.

Some unguilded characters may instead belong to a player-created Guild that provides ‘flavour’ and a place for the character to belong without any bonuses or training.