Guilds

A guild is an organization formed to protect the interests and pursuits of people involved in the same general trade or activity. Within that broad defi nition, a guild can appear in countless different forms: large or small, weak or powerful, public or secretive. From the tailors who band together to battle import tariffs, to the religious malcontents who form their own united front against the oppression of the government, to the thieves’ organization that operates in the heart of the poor quarter, guilds are everywhere in a fantasy city. Even two guilds of the same type might differ wildly in appearance and behavior, depending on the people who join and the city in which they dwell.

Small, weak guilds often do little more than provide members a place to belong (and perhaps a bit of financial support), but powerful guilds control entire economic markets, and might even guide the course of their local government. Consider, for instance, a guild that controls the shipping and sale of lumber in a city far from any source of wood, or a powerful mercenary guild that protects a city with an otherwise weak militia. In both cases, the municipal government cannot afford to alienate the guild, giving it substantial leverage to make demands. A guild that becomes this powerful often fixes prices, drafts legislation favorable to it, or dominates markets otherwise unrelated to its pursuits.