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Get your own Free Home PageThe guilds of Kron have histories, training dues, sets of rules, and relationships with the aristocracy and ruling classes of Kron. Details on each guild, how the various professionals are trained and other information can be found below.
(Clerics are by religion - see Religions)
The Strong Arm guild is the largest fighters guild in Kron. It is run by a highly respected and extremely powerful human named Dwervish Fraxlam. It is rumored that Dwervish used to work for King Bertrenand, but no-one seems to know for sure. He certainly does not have the fame that Able Drishdram or Tristan D'ablo have. Yet both Able and Tristan, who are guild officers, look up to Dwervish, so he must be a great and noble fighter.
Usually a person who wants to be a fighter simply applies to the guild for instruction. The guild will accept any zero-level no matter how small and no matter what race and give them a bunk. They will not feed them until they have been formally accepted into the program. In the first week a series of tests are given to the newcomer. These test strength, dexterity, mental toughness and even alignment. The guild tests for fidelity by commanding the newcomer to do something either disgusting or dangerous. It is a test of loyalty. After the week is up the overseer decides if the person can make the grade as a fighter.
Needless to say, usually they cannot, and the overseer tells the person to enlist in the regular army if they want to see combat. However, people who seem promising are admitted into training.
The person who is lucky enough to be admitted is made to sign a paper which states that the guild will train the person for 50gp. This fee is usually put on the books until the person in question can pay it. Also in the paper are the provisions that as long as the person works as a fighter for the city, the guild requires a quarterly tax, based on salary. If not in the employ of the city, guild members must pay a 15% tax on all treasure brought into the city. There are also quarterly dues, which work the same as the training fee - if the member in question cannot pay, the debt goes on the books and all privileges of guild membership are susspended until it is paid. The terms of the above agreement are in effect until the fighter has achieved the sixth circle of achievement. In return, the signee will be on good terms with the guild and can get information and solicit help from the guild. Any further training can be conducted by the guild for a fee to be worked out at the time of training.
As a guild member, the signee is entitled to the services of the clerics who work for the guild as follows: Any first level spells may be cast for the signee once per week. Any spells above first level must be handled privately with the clerics. If the person willfully breaks the contract, the guild has the right to hire assassins to end the contract. The guild does not look kindly upon traitors, as it is against discipline and against the city of Kron.
The guild itself consists of a large but barren keep which has a large number of rooms downstairs and nicer rooms upstairs for the guild members who have the privilege of living there. However, the guild also maintains a number of other areas throughout the city, including a large jousting field. At this jousting field shows are given on the weekends. The peasants are charged 5 cp to see the show from the stands and betting tables are run by independent entrepreneurs. The field doubles for sword practice and close fighting during the week. There are large stables nearby wherein 100 horses can be put up. There are usually about 75 horses present, and they serve as training mounts or as jousting mounts.
Non-guild members are allowed to enter the jousting competition for a fee of 50gp. If they pay the fee they can stable the horses for a week at a mere 5 sp per day (This is an outrageously expensive price). None of these horses are for sale.
A small temple of Ryt is under the protection of the guild. The clerics are supported by the guild and do not train other clerics, devoting themselves to the study of their deity. In fact, they have the best library and museum of Ryt artifacts on the planet of Dreadl. Sages who wish information on the subject of Ryt often pay the guild for the use of the manuscripts. Hence the clerics bring in a small amount of revenue for the guild.
Benefits of Guild membership:
There are many competing thieves guilds in Kron. The guilds are often named for the street they consider to be central territory, such as "Fourth Street," or "Houston Lane." Despite the supposedly subversive nature of these guilds, they are all registered and represented for in the cabinet of guildleaders. In fact, if some new thieves guild should spring up, other guilds would make it very difficult for them to operate without applying to the city. No guild wants another guild to operate untaxed, for fear that the balance of power may shift.
The guilds of the city often have disputes amongst themselves. Alliances are formed and enemies created. Territorial rights of one guild over another are disputed. Reports of a Fourth Street member getting caught in an area controlled by Tunis Street could have serious repercussions. The enemy of the enemy may be a friend, but is probably not. Back stabbing (politically) is the norm. The powers of Kron like it like that, because it means that no one guild will ever gain too much power. Despite all these differences between guilds, the way each guild operates is basically the same.
To enter a guild, a person must be sponsored. This is not extremely hard, because members are always trying to recruit new members, as they get a certain amount of money off their dues if one of their nominees makes it into the guild. The guild then trains the recruit, putting them through tougher and tougher tests along the way. If someone fails any one of these tests three times, he is removed from training. Note that a watch is kept on this guy for quite some time after that to make sure that he does not reveal any secrets to other guilds, though recruits are often told misinformation and are not shown the most important guild buildings.
During the training period anything that is stolen by the trainee is considered property of the guild, and usually goes directly to the trainee's trainer. Once the training is complete, the person entering the guild must swear an oath of allegiance.
Guild buildings are located throughout the city of Kron. Each building is well guarded, and has secret passwords and signals necessary to gain admittance. Often these buildings are fronts, such as taverns or shipping and receiving warehouses, but others are located in abandoned cellars or even old crypts. A guild member knows how to attain access to the guild section of any building that is known to be a guild building, but not all guild members know where all the guild buildings are!
Each guild has a different relationship to the city. The city does not like to admit that it recognizes the thieves guilds, but it is absolutely necessary for the city to maintain some form of control on the underground activity, so they compromise here. In the Cabinet of Guildleaders the representatives of the thirty three recognized businessmen's guilds are often given different titles like "Rep. of taxation adjustment" or "Rep. of seventh district security"
Furthermore, the city often hires guilds to find information, or to spy on other cities. (Think of the CIA and FBI and IRS as being thieves guilds today). Assassinations are set up through guilds, and the Black Ambassadors (a body of people who report to the Council of Dukes) often use guild information to further their investigations. However, the city also understands that no one guild should become too powerful or certain balances will be lost. Hence, if one guild appears to be getting too powerful, the city will fund another guild to check this growth. The guilds don't trust the city, and the city does not trust the guilds.
Dues are ten percent of known income. The main business of any guild is to keep a watch on it's own subjects, and catalogue the probable income. Most of the thieves in any guild spend their time spying on other thieves of the guild and supplying the various bookkeepers of the guild with information on other members. This behavior causes many thieves to hide their wealth, and many succeed in this practice, but if caught, immediate seizure of all known wealth is the result (though guild membership remains in tact!)
Furthermore, whenever entering the city, the guild is immediately notified and ten percent of what is brought into the city must be paid to the guild immediately. Though these dues are high, they are accompanied by some benefits.
There is no mage guild in Kron. A character who wishes to be trained in the art of magic must advertise his or her desire in any local square or in the area taverns. Mages do not like to work together and certainly do not approve of any organized attempt to 'harness their power' by means of extortion and taxation. (This is how most mages view the idea of 'dues.') The use of magic seems to have the side effect of making the user of the power filled with notions of grandeur. Also, most mages wish to keep their powers hidden, for they feel that surprise is the key element of strength. If you can surprise your opponent with your offensive capabilities, you will usually win the battle.
There is, however, a registry. Any person who has demonstrated some knowledge of magical energies and who maintains a residence in Kron must put their name and address in the registry. Once in the registry, mailings will arrive periodically concerning the status of the registry entry. This registry is kept in the Kronian archives, and the people who run the archives want to ensure that their records do not get out of date. There are a couple of wizardly societies, but these are often no more than a couple of wizards who know each other or who have worked with each other. These societies are disbanded as frequently as they are created.
However, mages also realize that power comes from the propagation of certain knowledge and so mages who live within the city often take on an apprentice. This apprentice is given a free apprenticeship, but the work that they are forced to do is not much more than the duties of a servant. It has been known to happen that the mage soon becomes enraged with the slow progress of an apprentice and kicks him out of his house unceremoniously. It has also happened that an apprentice has run away from his master because of the cruel treatment.
The mages reasoning behind this treatment is that physical hardships create an atmosphere in which mental activity can be stimulated. (This idea is unwise - the happier a person is the faster he learns things). Besides, the mage always tends to believe that he is treating his apprentice better than he had been treated during his own apprenticeship.
Furthermore, the mage figures that as long as he is putting the cash out for the apprentices first level spell book, the apprentice might as well work for it. The first thing the mage will begin to teach the student, after about a month or two of hard labor is the ability to make his mind 'escape.' This is the technique mages have of configuring their thoughts so that it corresponds with the positive and negative material planes of energy. Needless to say untrained minds cannot take much of this energy flowing through their bodies. Indeed, the idea of a mages 'level' corresponds with the amount of this energy the mind can take at once.
Once minimal connections have been made with the energy planes (various cantrips), the mage begins to teach the student the theory behind the memorization of spells. Previously the energy of the planes had simply flowed through, unchecked and mostly uncontrolled. (The student, attempting to make a distant tinkling of bells sound causes a faint breeze to rustle the curtains). Now the mage teaches that through intense study the power of the planes can be strangely stored in the mind as potential energy. This energy can then be released by a certain gate in the mind, called a spell. However, once this gate is opened, the energy passes immediately through the body and is forgotten.
The first spell an apprentice learns to use in this fashion is "Read Magic". When this spell has been mastered (this takes a long time usually, and it is during this period that the apprentice usually runs away or is thrown out) learning the other spells comes quickly. Detect magic is usually taught next, as it is one of the easier and more useful spells.
After these two spells are mastered the mage allows the apprentice to transcribe spells from his first level spell book (always using read magic to comprehend the spells) into another volume. Once a spell is transcribed it is always understandable to the caster. Read magic is only necessary for magical writing not written by the caster.
Despite a wizards best intentions he or she may become fond of an apprentice. Hence, near the end of the apprenticeship the wizard usually becomes unbearable, throwing temper tantrums and threatening the student with magical retribution. This treatment is because the wizard knows that the apprentice will soon be leaving for a life of his or her own. Often the wizard cannot stand it anymore and one night the apprentice finds him or herself on the street with nothing but his or hers clothes, his or hers spell book and the few coins in his or hers purse.
The location of training, as should be clear from the above discussion is the mages study, his keep, his apartment in the city or wherever the mage does his stuff. This arrangement means that finding spell casters in a city is very difficult. Spellcasters that do not live in cities are easier to find because they often build themselves towers or forts and are old standby's in the local gossip of the town.
Because mages do not have an organized guild the relations between mages and the city of Kron are on a personal basis. There are some mages who like to work for the city (they city pays well) and there are some who never work for the city. Most of them work for the city when they need money.
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