Details

Ruler: The Grand Master
Seat: Usually a local guildhall

Tropes

Perception

Origin and History

Locations

Imperia

Minor Trade Guilds

Minor guilds appear in most large cities, and serve only the host city

• Alchemists' Guild
• Horse Breeders' Guild
• Masons' Guild
• Blacksmiths' Guild
• Swordsmiths' Guild

Major Trade Guilds

Major guilds are large enough, or "travel" enough, that the Guild branches to multiple cities. Some of these guilds grow quite powerful, almost a nation to themselves.

• Stonemasons' Guild
• Bankers' League
• Merchants' League

Dwarfmount

• Enchanters' Guild

Elfwood

Ranks and forms of address

Practices

The guilds are organizations of traders who seek to regulate trade in their town, and ensure that local traders receive preferential treatment over outsiders. For example, where the wool trade forms the basis of the local economy, the guild rules that only guildsmen can buy and sell wool wholesale to whom they please. They can not sell retail to “strangers” (traders from other towns), and strangers who bring wool can sell only to guildsmen. Guildsmen are exempt from certain taxes and tolls, and ancillary workers in the town, such as wool washers and packers, can work only for guild members. In exchange for their privileges, guildsmen pay a membership fee, and subject themselves to the guild laws and customs. The guild has its own court where complaints and disputes are heard, and it is at meetings of the guild – commonly accompanied by formal feasts – that elections to guild positions are held. As well as organizing and regulating their own particular trade, guilds offer mutual support for their members – burial costs, pensions for widows and orphans, and so on. In theory, the king’s consent is required before any guild can lawfully be established. Each guild pays the king an annual fee in exchange for the right to meet. In practice, many guilds overlook this formality. Some guilds also dabble in politics. The guild is often recognized as a town’s ruling body, since every townsman of any consequence is almost certain to be a member.

Some "major" trade guilds are not tied to a specific town. For example, the Masons' Guild: A major reason for this is that no town, however large, is likely to provide permanent employment for stonemasons, so they tend to travel from one great building project – cathedral, castle, palace – to another as they are needed.

Rumor Has It…

Behind the Scenes