Guilds

Within the many nations and cities of The Sphere, there are smaller sub-groups beneath whose banner folk of like mind gather. Guilds are collectives of people who assemble with common interests or goals in mind. There are Guilds dedicated to banking, forestry, war, and various special interests both illicit and legitimate. Some Guilds belong exclusively to a specific city, nation, or race while others are more expansive in their reach with influence across the Sphere. Just as there are Guilds dedicated to common goals, there are institutions devoted to certain schools of thought.  Religious institutions and academic establishments teach their philosophies to those willing to listen, spreading the seeds of important ideas wherever they are allowed to grow. There are far too many bastions of civilization to list each in all its vivid detail, for each is a world unto itself full of intrigue and interest.  However, the largest, wealthiest, and most interesting of the Guilds deserve a special place of note.

The 99th Legion

Victory Over All
A battalion of legendary prowess consisting of a mere 99 men, the 99th Legion was once the most elite military organization on Thera, each of its warriors worth a hundred soldiers. These elite operatives were sent on missions no ordinary battalion could handle. After the split of the Alvian Empire, with all other battalions destroyed or disbanded, the 99th Legion endured. Today, they are a mercenary company that accepts the contracts no other company will touch. Members of the 99th Legion fight for any lord or individual who can afford to hire them, owing allegiance to none but their own.

Goals & Beliefs
Make money and win glory by taking the most difficult fights
Be known as the toughest, strongest, meanest warriors alive
Honor is a lie, virtue is a joke; victory is all that matters
Weakness is intolerable; grow strong or be culled
Never run, never lose

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Legionnaire.

The Legion will admit any warrior who can defeat a member in single combat. Age, race, and gender are irrelevant; all that matters is skill (though the Legion does not look favorably on use of The Mystery). On occasion, the Legion may induct into their order orphans no older than 12 who show promise, raising them to become incredible, ruthless warriors.

The Alcurist's College

Heal the World
Clad in thick leather coats, gloves, and a beaked mask with goggles to protect from infectious disease, an Alcurist is a strange but welcome sight in villages afflicted by blight and pestilence. Their ranks consist of physicians, alchemists, and healers well educated in the art of medicine who have either chosen or been forced into the life of a healer for hire. Though Alcurists collect coin for their services in order to make a living, their true purpose is to study disease of all sorts, chronicling their discoveries and sharing them with other doctors to advance humanity’s understanding of medicine.

Goals & Beliefs
Understand The Sphere’s many illnesses and their treatments
Heal the sick and injured to advance medical knowledge
There is nothing science and reason cannot explain
Every patient should pay for treatment in some way

Membership
A member of this Guild is called an Alcurist.

Skilled physicians may join the College by completing a grueling entrance exam or by apprenticing under a member for several years. Alcurists travel constantly in their bid to understand disease by treating it and are expected to submit regular reports to the College.

Alos tela

A Secret Kept
For as long as the world has existed there have been secrets. Alos Tella exists to seek out and destroy or conceal secrets that could be harmful in some way to the existence of Mankind such as dark tomes of magic and dangerous Artifacts. Few know the organization exists and those who believe the rumors are easily dismissed as fringe conspiracy theorists. The Guild spreads lies, dissent, and misinformation among seekers, keeps watch over caches of mystical power, and even goes so far as to assassinate those who come too close to figuring out the secrets that lay hidden just out of sight. 

Goals & Beliefs
Keep hidden or destroy the most dangerous secrets at any and all costs
Thwart discovery that leads to destruction
There is a limit to what Mankind should know and achieve
Knowledge without understanding is dangerous
Alos Tela’s anonymity is paramount to its mission

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Telastrix.

The Guild recruits from proven assassins, spies, and sabateurs and only approaches those whose ideals are sure to align with its own. Telastrix infiltrate the orders of explorers, scientists, and others who delve into the unknown, insuring that discovery remain in check.

Ba Ha Na

Peace and Safety
The plight of a mystic is at once enviable and pitiable. On the one hand, phenomenal power over the ebb and flow of reality is at their fingertips. On the other, use of this power attracts ravenous Daemons and makes the mystic a social pariah or the pawn of powerful political forces. 

Ba Ha Na is an order of mystics dedicated to protecting one another and sharing arcane knowledge. The order actively searches for the newly Awakened, bringing them into the fold, and offering neophytes a safe place learn how to control their powers and avoid the many dangers that lie in wait for them. 

Goals & Beliefs
The Mystery is dangerous and can never be truly mastered
Test everything, never trust blindly
Never betray a fellow Wiseman
The way of The Mystery is lonely and ultimately, every mystic must walk their own path

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Wiseman.

Ba Ha Na goes to great effort to seek out newly awakened mystics and shutter them away to safety. These neophytes are assigned to a master who trains them to use The Mystery responsibly until they are ready to venture out on their own, remaining a Wiseman for life.

The Blackwater Combine

Across Land and Sea
Known only as “the syndicate” to many, The Blackwater Combine is a network of criminals, pirates, and black market traders who deal in everything from drugs to human lives. Operating out of lawless ports, their agents have a strong foothold in every city, either controlling the criminal element completely or having a large stake in the city’s turf. The Blackwater Combine regularly raids prominent shipping lanes and is widely feared across land and sea. The Combine enjoys a reputation for both thuggish ferocity and ruthless cleverness when it comes bringing their ill-gotten goods to market.

Goals & Beliefs
If you can take it, it belongs to you
If it was taken from you, you didn’t deserve to keep it
There’s always a mark
There’s always a cost
There’s always an angle

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Blackjack.

Local chapters of the Guild are self-governed and membership depends on how locals operate. Generally, any thug can join up, completing a few jobs before being trusted with more. Recruits are either killed or advance as they are entrusted with more responsibility and risk.

The Blood of Nocturne

Death Comes to All
The Blood of Nocturne is an elusive sect of assassins who trade a portion of their soul to Setharkis in exchange for the power to kill. Though each assassin has their motives for making this deal and is largely autonomous, the Caller may name any within the cult to perform a kill. As leaders of The Blood, Callers are supposedly in communion with Setharkis and her Underkings, aware of mortals who perform the dark ritual necessary to enlist their services. Each kill comes at a cost and any mortal willing to pay the price asked by death may call upon The Blood of Nocturne.

Goals & Beliefs
Death is a pathway, neither good nor evil
If ever a death is taken, an equal death must be repaid
There is no king or commoner; death comes to all Men
Kill with purpose and efficiency, leaving no trace behind
Heed the Caller, for theirs is the voice of death

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Whisper.

Those who would join the Blood of Nocturne must call out to the Setharkis offering a portion of their souls to join the cult. If the Caller deems them worthy, they will undergo training and eventually a dark rite of initiation wherein the initiate’s heart is cut out, killing them. The initiate stays dead for 6 days as their heart is embalmed. The embalmed heart is placed in the chest of the deceased and if death favors them, they will return to life as a member of the Blood of Nocturne.

The Candlekeepers

A Light for All Mankind
The Candlekeepers are group of wandering scholars, performers, and storytellers who seek to collect and retell the living history of The Sphere. With theatrical flair, they recount historical tales and legends of the lands asking only for new stories in return (and perhaps enough coin to finance the next leg of their journey). Lore collected is shared with fellow Candlekeepers, recorded and stored in a secret library whose location is known only to a trustworthy few within the Guild. Keepers are highly educated and skilled in many fields from combat to survival to etiquette and the arts.

Goals & Beliefs
In order to be safely preserved, knowledge must be shared
Today’s trivia or heresies may be valuable in the future
Story is powerful and alluring: use it as a tool to teach
Remain politically neutral so as to travel freely
Always learn, always teach; in one you’ll find the other

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Keeper.

Any with a passion for knowledge, a good memory, and a talent for the arts may join the Candlekeepers. The Guild assigns new Keepers to apprentice under more experienced members in order to become well versed in The Sphere’s known histories and to refine their skills before venturing out on their own.

The Greywatch

By Day, the Watch. By Night, the Hunt.
The Greywatch are an order of monster hunters recruited from the best and brightest warriors, mystics, and servicemen the world has ever seen. A rare collaboration between the greatest nations on The Sphere led to the founding of the Guild. Armed with pacts and treaties that afford them unique rights, social standing, and land holdings, the Greywatch is sworn to the defense of Mankind against the horrors that seek to destroy it. Watchmen pay a heavy price for their service and are obligated to the Greywatch for life with no hope of owning lands, holding titles, or bearing children.

Goals & Beliefs
The Greywatch exists solely to eradicate monsters
The watch is for life and the hunt is everything
Avoid involvement in anything that distracts from the hunt
To join the Greywatch is to join the company of Mankind’s greatest champions; honor this calling

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Watchman.

Any with the talent and instinct may join. The Watch only discriminates based on skill. The Greywatch may invoke the Right of Conscription over anyone, releasing them from all crimes, debts, and other oaths in order to join the Guild. Membership is costly; no Watchman may own lands, hold titles, or have children. Membership is for life and Watchmen are notoriously short-lived.

The Hectors

​From the Mind, By the Hand, Into Eternity
Every craftsman, merchant, builder, and artisan labors with the dream of joining the prestigious ranks of The Hectors. Known far and wide as the greatest artisans of their age, the Hectors are an ancient order dating back to the earliest days of the Fourth Era. On the surface, the fraternity labors day and night to usher The Sphere into a new Golden Age, crafting and trading goods, designing cities, and constructing wonders unseen since the last age. Their cities are built in strange, arcane patterns which draw power into a central manse controlled by the Hectors; such is their true motive.

Goals & Beliefs
Perfection is attainable; seek it in all you do
Obey the law and work with all your heart
Chaos is the natural state, order is revolutionary, and beauty is the highest calling of Man
To create, something must be destroyed: all creation is sacrifice

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Hector.

In order to join the Hectors, a member of the Guild must vouch for a craftsman. Hectors will only vouch for artisans at the top of their field who exhibit the highest levels of skill, creativity, and professionalism. Members are expected to perform at the peak of their fields and are reviewed annually to ensure the level of quality for which the Guild is famed remains undiminished.

The Lodestar League

Over the Next Horizon
Ever since the Apocalypse, travel across the Sphere has been a dangerous ambition. Bandits lie in wait along every bend in the road while horrid monsters with implacable hunger stalk the wildness. The Lodestar League seeks to create a safe and interconnected Sphere through exploration and map-making. Theirs is to walk the vast and dangerous wilderness between cities, mapping each hill and dale in order to encourage commerce and travel. They are pathfinders, mapmakers, and explorers of the highest caliber, eager to expand Man’s influence beyond the next horizon.

Goals & Beliefs
Explore unknown or ill-traveled regions with an open mind
Document the unknown with detailed maps and notes
There is always more to see
Borders are a nuisance; avoid political entanglements
Curiosity is Man’s greatest asset, cunning his best tool

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Pathfinder.

Those with a curious mind and basic survival skills may apprentice with a master Pathfinder, accompanying them on their journeys to learn the ways of the League. Full-fledged Pathfinders are completely autonomous but may request support from the League in gathering an expeditionary crew and supplies. If the League deems an expedition worthwhile, they will finance it. If not, the Pathfinder must raise their own support.

The Ocularium

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Knowledge is power. Those who vie for dominance in the games of court cannot afford any lapse in knowing what their enemies are planning, what their weak points are, and most importantly, keeping this same information from the minds of their opponents. The Ocularium is an infamous network of spies and information-brokers. Many in the courtly realms have heard of the Ocularium, but few believe they actually exist. Make no mistake; the network is real and their eyes are everywhere. It is said that there is no secret to which they are not privy, no mystery they cannot unveil.

Goals & Beliefs
No secret is off-limits, no means of collecting data is forbidden
Truth will always reveal itself if you know how and where to look
Never part with a secret freely. The Guild deals not in information, but victory itself, and victory must always bear a high cost

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Specter.

Membership in the Ocularium is for life. The Guild’s network consists of informants from all walks of life who report to low-ranking Specters who pass the information up through the chain of command. The Ocularium uses layers of deception and misdirection to avoid suspicion and protect the identities of their clients and members.

The Redcloaks

I Bear the Red
The Redcloaks are widespread guild of infamous thieves. Once, all members wore garish red cloaks to identify one another. Though that practice has long been abandoned in favor of less conspicuous attire, the name and legend remain. As Men rebuilt the social order in the early days of the Fourth Era, oppression and tyranny grew commonplace. The Redcloaks emerged to balance the scales in favor of the common man, assassinating cruel lords, burning the granaries of the greedy, and stealing from the vaults of the rich to feed the poor. Though many cells have devolved into petty thievery, some among the order still hold to high ideals.

Goals & Beliefs
Helping the oppressed is the call of all who bear the Red
No one is beyond the reach of justice
Cunning is better than strength
Preparation is better than cunning
There is no such thing as a fair fight
​
Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Redcloak.

Members are recruited from the poor and powerless. Beggars and servants act as spies. Merchants secretly supply the Guild. For their protection, these individuals are rarely more than periphery members, entrusted with little information. The Guild’s elite operatives are recruited from orphans and trained from a young age in stealth and secrecy to become master thieves.

The Scions of Hjalmar

For Honor, For Glory
Hjalmar was an epic figure in Argyan folklore, part man, part god. The Guild that bears his name is a collection of great warriors and brave adventurers dedicated to solving problems no one else can. The Scions post notice boards in towns and along highways wherever their influence is felt. Anyone can post a need to these boards, to which the Guild assigns its members. Truthfully, any adventurer who comes across such a board and thinks themselves worthy may take on a job – if the Guild is impressed, they may seek the hero out for membership. 

Goals & Beliefs
Solve the problems that no one else can or will
Become better with each test, never give up
Follow your own code but obey the law when you must
Do not sully the reputation of the Scions

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Scion.

Any adventurer can ask for permission to join the Guild. After completing a series of tests, full membership with all its perks and privileges is granted. The Scions also seek out adventurers of note and those who complete quests posted on their notice boards, offering them an opportunity to join the Guild. Members are given room and board along with first pick of jobs the Guild accepts.

The Trade Imperium

Order, Commerce, Profit
While almost every nation has its own unique money, most merchants are willing to trade in a standard currency known as Crowns. This near-universal currency was established through much cost and effort by a powerful guild of craftsmen, merchants, businessmen, and politicians known as the Trade Imperium. As a result of the Guild’s efforts to establish itself as The Sphere’s dominant economic power, the Trade Imperium wields an unprecedented level of power in all civilized lands where its influence is felt. The monolithic organization holds sway over the wealth of the most powerful nations and can bring ruin or blessing to whomever it chooses.

Goals & Beliefs
The Imperium exists to serve a singular goal: profit at any cost
Nothing is free
He who has the gold makes the rules
Chaos is bad for business
There’s always a way to profit

Membership
A member of this Guild is called a Tourner.

The Trade Imperium is a network of thousands of traders, merchants, craftsmen, and bankers and most of their members are bought or coerced into joining the fold. Membership comes with the Guild’s protection and the promise of profit (a percentage of which goes into the coffers of the Imperium). Tourners are expected to make plenty of coin for the Imperium...how this is achieved is of little concern to the Guild.