T4: Merchants' and Traders' Guildhall and Livery

This compound is a rural island amid the masses of the Old City. A large corral and even larger yard give the horses, mules. and oxen kept here ample room to stretch their legs. A large storage barn holds freight wagons owned by the guild reserved for the use of members.

Another wing of the building holds the servants' quarters and the stables, where many of the guild's 20 horses, 30 mules, and 12 oxen are found. Some of the beasts are embarked upon caravans at most times, but usually half or more of them are here.

The center wing of the building contains the guild of the merchants and traders. It's a splendid hall, worthy of a grand guild even discounting the vast spaces to each end. See Ch4 FFF for a description of the guild hall and its activities.

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T4: Merchants’ and Tradets’ Union. One of the hubs around which the economic life of the city turns, the Union of Merchants and Traders is headquartered in a broad complex of. buildings including a corral, a stable, a storage barn, and a guildhall. The smell from the horses, mules, and oxen stabled here is effectively neutralized by several minor wizards’ spells that cover the entire area. (This makes it impossible for animals to use their olfactory senses when tracking here, however.) Freight wagons are stored here as well as at the Caravan Warehouse (S1).

The guild hall itself is a huge, three-story structure between the barn and stable. No expense was spared to give this building a grand appearance reflecting the worldly nature of this great guild. The guild is dominated by merchants who buy and sell cloth and clothing, wood and metal goods, leather items, and agricultural produce of all kinds. Shrines to Zilchus, Xerbo, Fharlanghn, and a number of other gods connected with trade or travel are & present in the hall in various locations. The guildhall has meeting rooms, offices, several small libraries, an underground cargo storage area, and a barracks for hired guards.

From dawn to dusk, every day of the week, merchants throng the front courtyard showing their wares, guild representatives buy raw materials and sell manufactured items, investors add their money to speculative trading expeditions, and moneychangers and moneylenders make their rounds. Lawyers, scribes, and accountants scribble notes and phrase documents; cartographers check maps and plot courses on land and sea. At sunset, all trading ceases and accountants go to work adding total sales from the day, posting prices (used to determine taxes and tariffs for the following day) and securing profits safely away. Large cargoes are moved through the night streets to the guild to avoid crowds during the day.

Guild membership is 15 gold orbs per year for Greyhawk citizens, and 30 gp per year for foreigners who wish affiliate membership. Membership brings low-cost accounting services, guards, storage fees, and tax concessions on cargoes entering the city, as well as full use of guild facilities (including the Caravan Warehouse at SI).

The union is currently managed by guildmaster Dernan Nathane [N hm F2/T9; hp 38; Str 15, Dex 16, Int 17, Cha 16; leather armor +3, shield +3, long sword +3 frostbrand, cloak of protection +2, many magical potions], who is also on the Directing Oligarchy. Orher major figures in the union who are also in the Directing Oligarchy are Carmen Halmaster (see A11), Cariel Mansharn [LE hm W4/F6; hp 23; Int 16; cloak of displacement, girdle of protection +3, ring of the ram], and Stimtrin Cannasay [LN dm F3; hp 19; Con 15, Int 16, Wis 6, Cha 6; ring of mind shielding, ring of sustenance], Dernan Nathane is a skilled leader and manager who knows Greyhawk and its politics very well. Cariel Mansharn was brought into the Oligarchy after the death of another Director from the union, Ren o’ the Star, during the Greyhawk Wars. He is known to be unpleasant if crossed, %¢ but very able as a troubleshooter. Stimtrin was formerly the assistant guildmaster of the union. (Cannasay’s last name is actually his human nickname, given his habit of answering questions with “I canna say,” before launching into a long, complex analysis of the problem.) Stimtrin is a master of bureaucratic paperwork with pronounced compulsive tendencies; he doesn’t work well with other people, but he knows the union and its business inside and out. Despite his poor leadership, he is widely acknowledged as an organizational genius and an indispensable source of guild information.

DM's Notes: Dernan Nathane and Carmen Halmaster are both members of the Thieves’ Guild, though this is a secret closely kept. Cariel Mansham suspects the truth, but admits nothing. All three are members of the “inner circle” of Directors who make all the actual decisions in city politics.

Laup Cobrun [LN hm F3; hp 14; Con 6, Int 16, Wis 6, Cha 15; ring of protection +1, three protection scrolls], a long-time guildmember, was formerly one of the Directing Oligarchy. When his duplicity on the Oligarchy was discovered by accident in 589 cy, he ~ was quietly voted out of the government to take up new business in the Union of Merchants and Traders. This was done to avoid the messiness of revealing his treachery and having him assassinated, It also helps to keep him busy so he isn’t tempted to turn traitor and sell secrets to the city’s enemies. Cobrun suspects the truth in this matter, but he dares not complain as he knows that if he steps out of line again, he will be quickly killed and no questions will be asked. He now works exclusively on contracts and trade with Baklunish nations, and he is thankful for that. The union, meanwhile, is very suspicious of and angry with the temple of Trithereon, and priestess Janziduur in particular (see R14). Cobrun was replaced on the Directing Oligarchy by Stimtrin Cannasay.

Laup Cobrun has been considering a plot of his own to somehow make Janziduur pay for her blackmail. The nature of this plot is up to the DM, but Cobrun will not act if he thinks it will be traced to him, which would lead almost certainly to his assassination.