Low'verok is a country that has a widespread Guild system.  The Guilds set standards for goods and services, train the next generation of craftsmen-and-women, and provide for their members in their dotage.  While there are those who chose not to join the Guilds, one can never be entirely certain if that person's goods or service will be up to snuff if you choose to use them.

The central Guildhalls are in the trade city of Albon, on the southern coast of the Sea of Song, due to the attitude of Duchess Vallen, the Duchess of the Sea of Song.  A lover of prosperity, she makes the guilds particularly welcome.

While many countries have guild systems, Low'verok takes it a step further in some aspects with the Adventurer's Guild.  Adventurers in other lands can be anything: roving bands of monster hunters, mercenaries, glory-hounds, treasure-seekers, tomb-raiders, noble questers.  In Low'verok, a distant King saw the value in adventurers, and also their danger, and formed the Adventurer's Guild by royal decree.

Adventurers in Low'verok are roving bands of trouble-shooters, those who are dedicated, skilled, barmy, or desperate enough to want to roam the land, looking for a piece of trouble to make their own... and get paid for it.  Because of the mobility and skill of small bands of adventurers, it is often easier for a small village to gain the attention of an adventuring party to deal with a rogue bulette, rather than trying to get the local baron's militia away from their road-guarding duties to deal with it.

While the militia maintains and guards the roads, bridges, and larger villages from bandits and other "mundane" problems, when a band of goblins goes from "nuisance" to "menace," when there's something lurking in those old ruins, when an ankheg bursts out from beneath a farmer's field, you find some adventurers to help!

While they get a great deal of glory, their work is dangerous and not always consistent.

But many feel that's worth it.

Those who wish to join the Adventurer's Guild may present themselves at any Guildhall and purchase a badge for a single gold piece.  They both show and tell the Guildsmen what they can do, and that, along with their name and description is recorded in the Guild Archives.  The dues are one gold piece a month, which can be paid in advance, if you have the scratch.

As you grow and learn and take on different jobs, it behooves you to keep the Guild updated on what you've done.  If you don't let them know, they might find out from traveling bards or traders... whether you want to or not.

An Adventurer's Guild badge is a wand and sword crossed over a golden sun.  Those who are starting out in the Guild get red badges.  As the Guild watches you and sees what you can do, as your reputation grows and words of your deeds spread, you can be granted badges of different colors, indicating the Guild's greater trust in you.  Your dues to the Guild remain the same, though many adventurers make a point of donating some extra to the guild in order to get access to certain amenities.  (It's very common for members to essentially "tithe" to the Guild a portion of their spoils, in order to keep good standing.)

The ranks are as follows, from lowest to highest:

Red - Redbadge
Black - Blackwarden
Iron - Ironguard
Blue - Blueguard
White - Whiteguard

The higher the rank, the more difficult of jobs (in theory) they can called upon to take, and the greater fees they can command.  "Whiteguards," the highest rank (so called because they can handle adversaries without getting dirty, or so the story goes) are very rare.  There haven't been any for about ten years.

Benefits of Guild Membership - You can always claim a place to sleep and a basic meal at any Guildhall for a night, provided you're up to date on your dues.  It's nothing fancy, but it's a roof over your head.  If you're going to stay more than an evening, the Guild will only charge you three silver a night, for up to a week.  You can look over the notice boards for jobs in the area, find comrades to form temporary or more long-term adventuring parties, swap lore about different threats or road conditions, swap gear, or buy basic supplies at a slight discount.  Most Guildhalls have a healer and a magician on staff, often either retired adventurers or hopeful prospects, who can provide basic healing, lore, or magical identification services for a reasonable price.

The other main benefit is respectability.  The Guild polices its own carefully.  If a Guild member were to abuse the trust given to him by a village who hired him - stealing, property damage, inappropriate advances, not doing the job he was paid for, the villagers can complain to the Guild.  If a stern warning doesn't make the miscreant mend his ways, eventually he might be the subject of a Guild job himself...

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Each Guild has their own seal. Inns and other establishments with the guild seal on the door offer discounts or additional services to members of that guild. Here's a few descriptions of some of the various guild seals:

Adventurer's Guild: A crossed sword and bone, with a starburst behind.
Brotherhood of Alchemy: A circle, split in two horizontally. The bottom half is dark, the top light with a mortar and pestle.
Cartwright's Guild: A wagon.
Cobbler's Guild: A boot.
Cooper's Guild: A barrel.
Diver's Guild: Open clamshell with pearl in it (see only around the Sea of Song).
Goldsmith's Guild: Gold coin.
Gravecrawler's Guild: (morticians) Skull and stone
Healer's Guild: A hand, palm forward, behind a mortar and pestle.
Horse Trainer's Guild: Horse head.
Jeweler's Guild: Faceted gem.
Locksmith's Guild: Keyhole and key.
Mage's Guild: Starburst.
Messenger's Guild: A winged foot.
Miner's Guild: Pickaxe.
Moneychanger's Guild: Three different sized coins.
Shipwright's Guild: Simple ship with billowing sail.
Silversmith's Guild: A silver ewer.
Tailor's Guild: Spool and threaded needle.
Tanner's Guild: A hide.
Trader's Guild: A coin above a wagon wheel.
Wayfarer's Guild: A door with footprints leading up to it.  (Professional guides along with teleportation services)
Weaver's Guild: Six by six crosshatch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:25, Thu 18 May 2017.