Guilds

Overview

Historically, the guilds of Impiltur date from the re-formation of the kingdom in 1097 DR and the ascension of King Imphras the Great. They arose from the fractious nature of the city-state alliance that Imphras had brought together when he united the realm again. Used to being autonomous in trade, the ruling strata of the cities of the region demanded and were granted regional concessions and left to "sort out" their own trade structure.

For many years this was a poor and badly run system, with age-old rivalries and prejudices defeating any attempts to get a cohesive, robust and competitive trade system operating within the kingdom. It was only with the crowning of Lashilmbrar that the trade guilds of Impiltur were brought into line beginning with his "Crown and Cart" decree in 1228 DR and culimnating in the Coin Conclave of 1233 DR where the presence of the king saw a system of guild law put into place that stressed cooperation, fair competition and harnessing of regional strengths and advantages.

The Coin Conclave saw the formalisation of trade guilds in the cities of Lyrabar, Sarshel, Hlammach and Dilpur with a clear geographic demarcation regarding areas of control. In a nod to the city-states of the Kingless Years, the guilds (called "laern" [singular and plural] in Impiltur) were named for the symbol of the city-state that they were based in and around. Hence the realm currently has the Two Moons laern (Dilpur), Redhorn laern (Hlammach), Blue Unicorn laern (Lyrabar) and the Threespires laern (Sarshel). The Uplands region also has its own laern (as of 1340DR by decree of Queen Sambryl) but this is the most fractious of the guilds and riven by internal turmoil with no strong leader and significant competing interests due to the nature of the large geographic area it encompasses and the very different trades that it brings under its aegis. It is known as the Stonehand laern.

Each guild is organised into "narnath" (singular: "narnoth") which are the various trades which have voting status within each guild. The different types of narnath vary from guild to guild throughout Impiltur although the 'standard' ones such as woodworkers, carters, fishers, masons, smiths, weavers, herders, and farmers are represented in every laern. Differences in laern are usually through the composition of a narnoth with some encompassing a number of vocations while others being more specialised (i.e. shipwrights, sail makers and fishers all in one narnoth or separated into two or three etc.). It is notable that the laern of Impiltur are made up of solely agricultural, trade and animal husbandry interests. Groups devoted to the arts such as musicians, painters and even sculptors are not usually guild-affiliated nor are those devoted to the study of magic or knowledge (i.e. sages and loremasters).

Forming A Guild

Players are encouraged to start and maintain initiatives such as guilds or factions. This does not immediately result in a steady income or access to special equipment, but it's certainly possible to find a gathering place and begin to shape the world as a collective rather than an individual character.

If you'd like your guild to be something NPCs can join, please fill in the application below and PM it to Loreweaver. For practical reasons, all such guilds and factions must consist of at least 3 active PCs and have a nominal leader. If not, any NPCs assigned to it will start to lose interest.

Guild application

1.. List the faction's name, area of operations and type (noble family, temple, carpenter's guild etc.).

2. Write down the following information:

a. How did the faction come to be? (5-10 lines)

b. What is the faction's public purpose?

c. What is the faction working on? (could be multiple projects)

d. How can it be contacted or its members identified?

e. Who lead(s) the faction and what kind of members are they looking for?

f. Which other factions are its main allies and rivals (and why)?

3. Where reality differs from the public knowledge above, describe what's really going on (who are the real leaders, what's the hidden agenda, what are the real faction relationships?).

4. Who are the members (a faction needs at least 3 PCs to be viable)?

List of Guilds

There are currently no active player-initiated guilds.

List of Groups

The Stalwart Guard (8/1368 DR-Present)

The Crimson Blades of Impiltur (12/1368 DR; Disbanded)

Red Vipers (4/1369 DR-Present)

Swordhall Group (Not Established)

Arcane Council of Songhall (Not Established)