The Ostlers' and Brewers' Guild

Membership in the Ostlers' and Brewers' Guild is open to all innkeepers, tavernkeepers, brewers and distillers in the Free City. Although ostensibly created to maintain a standard of quality and service throughout the Free City's hostelries, the guild now performs more of a social function, hosting regular banquets and allowing the membership to swap tales and eat and drink far too much.

A fair proportion of the membership are retired adventurers or mercenaries who have invested their accumulated wealth in the innkeeping business. The incumbent Guildmaster, Dougal McBain, landlord of the Brazen Hippogriff, is a former fighter who has adventured extensively in the lands south of the city.

Few mdependent breweries and distilleries exist within the Free City; the majority of brewing is done on the premises by the landlords of the respective establishments. Imported wines, liquors, and ales are obtained from the Merchants' and Traders' Union, and the guild will occasionally finance trading ventures to obtain bulk supplies of assorted alcoholic preparations.

With the exception of the brewers and distillers, apprenticeships are rare within the guild, and qualification for guild membership involves little more than operating an inn or tavern within the city walls for a year to accepted guild standards, being accepted by a majority of the guild membership (this involves entertaining as many guild members as possible at the candidate's expense), and paying the membership fee of 10 gp.

Less salubrious establishments fail to meet the criteria for membership, and many of their proprietors don't think highly of the guild. Visitors are advised to stay in guild-accredited hostelries.