Allied Adventurers' Guild

"What do we stand for? We stand for the right of adventurers to be recognized as a legitimate choice of profession. It's not an easy job, and many who choose it die out there. They don't even get graves. So have a care, show some respect."

— Ledaara Brimstone, Guildmaster

Adventurers are a common fixture in Erisdaire, and many nations have a variety of ways to respond to their presence. Inside the Rhyliss Empire, adventurers are regulated and need to apply for licenses to operate inside their borders. Myrisia requires a Sage to sponsor adventuring groups, also making that Sage responsible for the actions of adventurers. Then there is the broad expanse which was called 'Helenic' which has no central authority, nor do the cities have a single set of laws to impose on others. Because of this, adventuring in Helenic can be a very lucrative occupation... and also a very deadly one. In recent years, a few veteran adventurers decided to do something about it rather than accept things could not change.

The Allied Adventurers' Guild is based out of the northern section of the Broken Spine Mountains, specifically out of the town of Breakwater Crossing. Members are known to travel through the region and take work contracts posted by local authorities, but at the same time they are not dissuaded from looking for things to intervene in at their own discretion. The only major rules are to avoid directly causing problems for settlements in the region, and obeying the laws of towns and cities when inside their walls. Minor rules involve paying modest fees to the guild leadership every so often, though the nature of adventuring leaves the members out of civilization for long periods of time. Thus this is a flexible and negotiable matter, as opposed to the previous two points.

Recently, the Allied Adventurers' Guild has found the ruined city of Parseil and established a foothold on the fringes of the city. This act has stirred up the Children of Ash and instigated retributive actions against nearby villages which lack the same defenses of cities and towns. This, in addition to adventurers having stirred up larger problems when acting without a contract, has made their existence a very divisive one. Proponents of their continued existence have suggested it would be more advantageous to allow them latitude to operate as they choose to, so long as potential problems are being solved. Opponents claim the guild's actions are stoking up resentment in nonhuman locals, priming a powder keg which could go off at any time - and the guild seems uninterested in this potential danger.

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Culture

There are a broad selection of people who wind up being members of the Allied Adventurers' Guild, coming from a number of backgrounds and having a variety of reasons for seeking adventure. Among the membership are thrill-seekers, noble scions with noting better to do, or young adults seeking to make a name for themselves in the world. Managing all the motivations would consume a great amount of time from the leadership, and so they set a number of guidelines for members to follow.

Be Mindful of Local Authorities

Adventurers mostly tend to have an adverse reaction to authority, believing themselves to be outside the local ordinances. The Allied Adventurers' Guild has been trying to shift this mentality to only being subject to guild operating guidelines, and the more diplomatic members of the leadership smooth over misunderstandings and transgressions with promises. (And sometimes a judicious amount of reparations to the injured party.) A serious enough infraction leads to adventurers having their membership revoked and intervention from local authorities removed. Sometimes a contract is even issued to take care of adventurers who stray too far into lawlessness. This has led to an internal culture of general disinterest in obeying local authority when it comes to minor issues, but taking major problems seriously.

Respect Other Members

Since the major strength of the guild is their unity, it is quietly forbidden to threaten that unity by doing anything to harm other members. Carver has chosen to do his best to nurture the idea of mutual respect within the Guildhall, and Ledaara has been known to come down hard on guild members who interfere in other members' contracts for negative reasons. Generally it is accepted if one group of guild members winds up in opposition to another, they should come to an agreement together. If necessary, the guild's leadership would step in to arbitrate - but only if it is clear both parties cannot come to an agreement together. The arbitration usually is composed of a harsh penalty imposed on both parties, in addition to smaller penalties imposed with regard to the situation's circumstances. The intent of this is clear: to avoid bringing it to arbitration and to settle it "amongst yourselves". The intent, as cited by Ledaara and Carver, is to drive these individuals to "remember they're adults and have to handle this professionally". The intent as seen by the rank-and-file, however, seems to be "please don't bother us with trivial matters or we'll make you regret it". Overall, the pattern of behavior on this has driven adventuring parties to avoid any direct competition for contracts or territory, so as to avoid any incidents which might require such matters. Most guild members consider this a "smaller price to pay than arbitration", and note there are likely plenty of opportunities waiting for guild members which are not in competition.

Never Work For Free

It's a long-standing ideal of adventurers never needing to do work for free, and this has led to a system painstakingly designed to be fair to both the local authorities and adventurers who belong to the guild. Contracts are written up with the aid of scribes and clerks, and certified by the guild once a payment has been deposited at the various guild branch locations. Only once payment has been received are the contracts posted for members to take, and non-guild members are forbidden from claiming the reward. Ledaara and Carver have made several deals with local cities and towns to ensure finished contracts taken by guild members will be properly paid out. The city of Northrun handles a great deal of currency exchanging, with a major bank backing many ventures in the region. Thus, many contracts have a note of credit attached for a certain value backed by Northrun's banks; this is so the guild members can be paid accordingly without needing to take charge of several containers of physical coins. Despite this arrangement, some contracts are paid out in hard currency such as coins or precious stones. Imperial standards of value are applied to coins, figuring out the approximate value based on the silver and gold content in them. Myrisic methods of appraisal are used to grade and set values on jewels and precious stones used as alternatives to coins.

History

"Adventurers seem to see ruins as a challenge to overcome, when they should possibly be preserved and studied. It is a shame we didn't get there first, or we would have had a good record of what was present. Do you know they even pried the torch sconces out of the wall? Who does that?!"
Armon Tilender, Scholar

Five years ago, the seasoned adventurer Carver Cladwell had become mostly retired following his group splintering apart. He found himself in Breakwater Crossing, offering advice to new adventurers who were just starting out in the region. Eventually he simply purchased the tavern which he frequented, and changed it into a semi-private club for adventurers. Shortly after this happened, an old adventuring associate named Ledaara Brimstone arrived to discuss an idea with Carver. She pointed out the region offered no support, no regulation, and no camaraderie for their kind here. Yet he was building something which could serve as a focal point for adventurers. Together they came up with a plan to solve these problems, though it would take considerable effort. Carver believed it could be done in a very simple manner, but insisted she be the leader of such a venture.

It took one week for Carver to put his plan in motion, renaming his venue as "The Guildhall" and telling adventurers he had bought into a new venture led by an experienced colleague. He presented the idea of a guild to those who were curious, insisting Ledaara was the leader and only requesting a paltry sum in order to apply for membership. The sum truly was paltry, but as soon as money changed hands the decision became real instead of simply being a theory. Ledaara began setting rules of conduct, which were relatively loose, and developing connections in the towns around Breakwater Crossing. It took a great deal of diplomatic finesse to achieve, but eventually the "Allied Adventurers' Guild" took shape and began to operate out of the trading post and nearby settlements.

Thus began an increased presence of adventurers into the region, all answering to the loose authority of Ledaara and a few handpicked individuals who proved responsible enough to make the venture work. While there are plenty of people in the region who have stories about the good things which came of this development, many who have a longer view tend to be nervous about the future. Though it can certainly be said their presence has reduced the frequency of attacks on settlements, detractors note the frequency is down, but the severity has increased. Many smaller villages have been wiped out seemingly in retaliation for things members of the Guild have done.

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To the Ends of the Earth

Type

Guild, Professional

Currency

Notes of Credit (Northrun)
Service Vouchers (Various Towns)
Minted coins (Imperial Standards)
Gemstones (Myrisic Standards)

Location

Breakwater Crossing