Thursday, January 9, 2014

The Bards Guild, the Goldsmiths Guild

When I started this last some months back, I saw this as a great way to keep myself motivated to write, and that has been a success. I haven't written a book or anything, but I keep pushing out something. I need the push. I just didn't consider that I have seven races and nine guilds, so I'm here with two loose ends. Derp. So, today I'm just gonna throw these up on their own and call it complete. I still want to put illustrations and layout into new player brochures, illustrations that I have permissions for and not just the great work that I've found online, but that's for later. The writing, the hard part, is complete!

Anywhoo, I give you the Bards Guild and the Goldsmiths Guild.


The Bards Guild


You are a bard, an entertainer, a comic, a musician, a dancer, a cook, a barkeeper, a therapist. You're the social lubricant that keeps the night's festivities going and the patrons happily forgetting their troubled lives. You manage the social hub of the entire town, where tradesmen and blacksmiths, magisters and merchants can converse freely. Without your work and efforts people would probably be murdering each other in the streets. Your guild hall, or local tavern, is the church for forlorn souls before they stumble into the Church of Saints. Just don't say that out loud. That's heresy.
The Bards Guild has a tenuous relationship with the Church of Saints. It is common for clerics to stop anyone appearing to perform for tips to confirm that they're good standing guild members. They often use this reason to harass troubadours and ask further incriminating questions. Being arrested by zealous clerics is not an uncommon occurrence requiring the guildmaster of bards to bail members out.
Brawls and fights are not unusual among revelers and patrons, so it's good to have a strong arm in your employ, but that doesn't mean the Military College is a welcome sight. Half the time they're the problem, and the other half their the guard breathing down your neck. Whether or not there's illicit business in your tavern, and there probably is, guards make people nervous and disrupt business.


The Goldsmiths Guild

You are a Goldsmiths, providing secure management for the wealth of the Noble Court and anyone who has great treasure they need protecting. Goldsmiths lend from those accounts at a fee from which they take their commission. New members of the Guild seek to ingratiate themselves to a lower noble, a successful merchant, to earn their confidence in opening a new account. Usually they offer to find and make purchases on behalf of the person who might not have the time or interest in dealing with the common market of traders. After an account is awarded, the Goldsmith commonly becomes their benefactor's personal shopper. It is good to know all the local tradesmen and what they offer. 
Not only do guild members manage secure accounts for the wealthy, the Goldsmiths Guild is also responsible for minting the currency for the whole city. Because they hold minting rights, the Goldsmiths hold to an ethical standard beyond reproach. The value of the currency the guild makes hinges on the city's trust in the honesty of your guild and its members. If there was fear that the Guild might flood the city with coin, the value would plummet, and accounts would become worthless. Any implication of theft is punished severely by the Guild and the Noble Court, including years of imprisonment or execution.
Since the day to day tasks of a Goldsmith can be fairly simple, you may also study of jewelry making. Working precious metals and quality gems into artistic pieces can be a good business all of its own. Gems set in rings and broaches are often sought out by nobles, merchants and magisters alike.