The Intercontinental Guild of Commerce

The Merchants' Alliance

The Intercontinental Guild of Commerce, often shortened to the I.G.C. or simply the Commerce Guild, is a global faction on the planet Cynos. It is a unified network of merchants and vendors who sell goods all across the world, offering convenience to consumers but also sometimes threatening the livelihood of small businesses.

Structure

The Commerce Guild is run by a network of regional leaders that are strategically stationed across the globe. These directors, and their subordinates, keep a vigil eye on the ebb and flow of the economy, the shifting wealth of countries and kingdoms, and the overall demand for popular commodities worldwide. Through magical means of communication, the board of directors can adjust the buying and selling rates for IGC goods overnight. This allows them to take best advantage of the ever-fluctuating economy in order to maximize profits, both for the guild and for themselves.
These directors are rarely encountered by the average citizens of Cynos. Instead, people around the world are accustomed to finding IGC shopping outlets in most mid- to large-sized cities. These outlets vary in size from small general stores to large warehouses. In major cities, the IGC has been known to control entire districts devoted to trade, where the streets are lined with stalls and vendors. No matter the venue, the IGC is known to keep regular stock of basic commodities and sell them at uniform prices, often lower than average local traders can afford to match.
Independent business owners can choose to register with the IGC and become affiliated vendors while maintaining some amount of autonomy. Doing this grants them access to the Commerce Guild's vast inventory, but membership costs a steep percentage of their total sales.

Public Agenda

To the general public, the Commerce Guild proclaims itself to be a solution for every person's needs and wants. They market the convenience of their storefronts, the variety of their inventory, and the unbeatable prices they can offer. This is all technically true, and to the average consumer, the IGC is often an attractive choice for purchasing most goods.
There are some, though, who take issue with the Commerce Guild's corporate nature. Despite the many honest traders that work in the IGC's employ, it is no secret that the upper executives make a disproportionately large amount of money from the company's dealings. This, as well as the IGC's tendency to run smaller, local stores out of business with their franchising, causes certain Cynosians to look down on the Commerce Guild as a whole. It's also no secret that the IGC will ramp up the cost of certain goods in areas where they are otherwise scarce just to maximize on the supposedly limited supply.

Assets

The IGC is one of the wealthiest organizations on the planet, second only to the Goldscale Banking Company. The Commerce Guild moves a near-infinite supply of mundane goods and commodities daily, raking in money to procure more stock and repeat the cycle. In addition to the common items it offers, the IGC is also known to carry unique and rare artifacts, sometimes even magical ones. A member of the IGC can get their hands on nearly anything they could want or need—as long as they are able to pay for it.
Many IGC representatives are willing to trade these magical items for Requisition Requests. In order to keep their worldwide inventories stocked, the IGC relies partially on adventurers and explorers to procure goods and materials that are harder to find or dangerous to obtain. In exchange, these adventurers can request certain magic items from the IGC, depending on how many Requisition Requests they have completed, as detailed below. The adventurers do still have to pay for the item, of course—the IGC has a business to run, here.

History

The Commerce Guild's roots are in eastern Balthor, where roaming clans of merchants traversed the desert to sell wares between settlements. Physically moving the goods between buyers game these clans a great deal of control over the economy as a whole, and once sea travel became feasible, they were inspired to branch away from their home and do business with the far continents. Before long they had made connections on Intaria, and then Nelduin, and after only a few generations the IGC was established globally.

Opportunity for All

Intercontinental Guild of Commerce

Founding Date

5000 BDB

Type

Guild, Merchant

Alternative Names

The I.G.C.
The Commerce Guild