GUILDS

The official trade organizations collectively known as guilds are by nature specific to a trade or a group of (usually closely related) trades, and are almost always found in cities. Over time, many of them tend to sit in unofficial opposition to the local rulers and nobility.
Shelves of books could be written detailing the deeds, internal intrigues, and unfolding histories of the guilds of Faerun. The guilds of the city of Waterdeep are infamous across the Realms for their abundance, their ongoing squabbles, and their investments and sideline dealings outside the City of Splendors. Over the centuries, guilds have had a lot of influence over trade customs, other guilds, local laws and regulations, and the way things are done all over the Heartlands.
Most guilds have heraldry, badges, and col¬ored wax seals of inspection they stamp on goods. These change with bewildering rapidity, often to denote dating and therefore old goods, or to try to foil fraudsters who have gained or duplicated a seal stamp. Suzail, the capital of Cormyr, is home to a smaller number of guilds than Waterdeep and in that respect is more typical of cities across the Realms. These guilds should prove a good model that can be modified for other cities.
Guilds in Cormyr have far less power and wealth than in Waterdeep, and are far friendlier to authorities. They operate only in Suzail and the lands immediately around the city (on the south¬ern or Suzail side of the Starwater River, plus Hilp but minus Marsember). Thanks to the re¬bellious histories of Arabel and Marsember, most guilds have trade agents and observers in both of those cities, but no real power or organization. This is reinforced by the traditional resistance of nobles to anyone, even the Crown, meddling unnecessarily in life, customs, and matters befall¬ing on “their” lands—which covers much of the countryside. Guilds in Cormyr perform the following func¬tions, for the benefit of themselves and their members. 1. They publicize rosters of their members in good standing, intimating that all do work of the best standard, and agreeing that members shall not hesitate to repair or maintain any item that is the work of another member. This means a guild member will never tell a would-be customer: “Pooh! I can’t fix that! Utter trash; hurl it away and buy one of mine!” Most guilds secretly try to fix prices by agreeing on a going rate for cer¬tain goods or services that members aren’t bound to, but which they will refer to when negotiating with clients. They do not have the legal right to set prices or even standards. They do have almost complete control over who qualifies for member¬ship, dues, and the local conduct of the trades they represent. 2. They agree on approved glues, finishes, and other materials. Sometimes, guilds also approve of suppliers for their materials, as well as—when members desire-—procuring supplies in bulk to get discounted prices for members. Nonmembers who buy raw supplies from guild members are charged a markup over standard street prices. 3. They provide warehousing or materials stor¬age facilities for members. Most guild charters provide for immediate emergency storage for members who have been burned out of their own facilities or otherwise prevented from using them. In addition, most guilds secretly provide one or more hidden locations not officially owned by or linked to the guild for members to temporarily stash goods, themselves, or apprentices who are wanted by the law or who are being hunted by personal foes. 4. They maintain, with the agreement of the royal court, precise and public definitions of ob¬jects, sizes, and amounts used by guild members in their trade. This ensures that one member’s “firkin” or “ell” is the same as another’s.  5. They support indigent retired guild mem¬bers, usually by a monthly measure of grain, ale, and meat or fish, or a few coins in lieu of such supplies. For instance, 12 gp is the monthly mu¬nificence wage paid by the Guild of Coachlars, Carriers, Waymen, and Locksters, but the Sea¬farers Guild doles out only 8 gp. Some guilds maintain an “old bones lodge” for retired guild members, which sometimes take in nonmembers for stiff fees to support the care of the retired guild members, who are charged little or nothing. 6. They offer money changing and money¬lending services to members in need at set rates (always lower than market) agreed upon at guild meetings. Most guilds also provide secure money storage for members, who often prefer such si¬lent storage to banking their coins with the royal court, enabling tax collectors to take note of the amounts of funds specific individuals handle. 7. They provide guild members as observers when caravans arrive for fairs at Jester’s Green, elsewhere around Hilp, or south of the Starwater, as well as when ships unload at the docks in Su- zail. In fact, they insist on guild members being present in order to see what cargoes are arriving, in which containers, where they are intended to be sold, and to whom. This supervision allows the guilds to see if everything adheres to regulations as well as gives them a day or so of warning on price fluctuations. Guilds in Cormyr also unofficially perform a lot of other functions, from investing members’ profits to engaging in (or hiring others to per¬form) arson, vandalism, or theft against rivals. All guilds lobby against competing outlander peddlers and ship captains who don’t adhere to court-approved guild measures. Additionally, guilds quite openly gather information about who is trading in what sort of goods, and they argue before the royal court as to which guild should have a say over a newly introduced product or ser¬vice. For example, the Tanners and Leatherers Guild and the Guild of Coachlars, Carriers, Way- men, and Locksters might argue over who has purview over clip-in harnesses made for attaching additional draft animals to a coach or a wagon. Almost every guild charges membership fees—and its apprentices or would-be members even higher fees. The royal court must be kept fully informed of fee changes and of member¬ship requirements, and court officers aggressively investigate all complaints regarding apprentices or probationary members facing unusual difficulties in acquiring full membership. The Crown prohib¬its any non-Cormyreans and any Cormyreans of noble or royal blood from being guildmasters. In addition, most guilds withhold membership from persons who don’t own land in Cormyr. Crown law prevents race or gender from having any part in guild membership rules. Almost every guild tries to control the profes¬sional behavior of its members in some way, either through formal rules or through informal secret edicts and temporary boycotts. For example, “No member of the Vintners and Falconers Guild is to trade with any member of the Brewers and Cheesemakers Guild until further notice from the Grand Hooded Vintner” (the guildmaster). To form a guild, its proponents must first suc¬cessfully petition the Crown. A royal charter is granted that sets forth membership requirements, a founding roster of members, a rota of officers, and the guild rules. It also includes the grant of a badge or a device (a physical object, such as the miniature helms mounted on scepters and shop signs by members of the Armorers) for guild use. This is not a heraldic grant of arms, though the Heralds keep records of these badges as well. Heralds can, of course, separately grant arms to guilds who desire and pay for a grant. All guilds are required to keep up-to-date rolls at court and in their headquarters, recording all changes in membership, rules, and fees. In this case “up-to- date” means “must reflect all changes fully and accurately within a tenday, or face stiff fines and a mark of censure.” Two marks of censure against any guild means an automatic War Wizard investigation of all guild activities, taxes, and finances. Six marks means the guild charter is forfeit. Marks are of¬ficially rescinded after an investigation is passed, but are never automatically removed after passage of time. Illegal Guilds Every civilized realm has so-called or self-styled guilds everyone knows about that are actually ille¬gal organizations regulated only by themselves. In the case of Cormyr, these outlaw guilds in¬clude the infamous Fire Knives and an endless succession of small, local thieves’ guilds that are  inevitably crushed by the War Wizards and the Highknights but often re-founded. Such illicit or¬ganizations have traditionally held little power in Cormyr, except in Marsember and in small but frequent Dragon Coast smuggling operations. In fact, at any one time, Marsember usually has a Guild of Marsember rebel organization and three or four small Guilds of Goodsrunners that adopt various fanciful names and try to import goods from Sembia, Westgate, or the Vilhon Reach without paying taxes or enduring government inspections. The Crown usually infiltrates and shatters these false guilds, sometimes hiring ad¬venturers to assist when fighting is expected. Craft Guilds Apart from the grand, official high guilds of Cor¬myr, small, local craft guilds are found in every town and city in Cormyr. Some villages have fledgling, disorganized craft guilds, and those in cities are often little more than powerless com-plaining societies. A craft guild is a collective of all the various crafters and shopkeepers in a particular place (as opposed to just those engaged in a specific profes¬sion), who band together to try to buy materials in bulk for the sake of lower prices and shipping costs. The guild also tries to argue taxes down to a minimum and seeks to establish common work¬ing conditions for its members. The goal of a craft guild is to eliminate what the weaver Lurdruth Thaloane of Waymoot recently called “unfair ad¬vantages gained by merchants who work family members, children they’ve taken in, and debtors they have holds over to death in near slavery!” Craft guilds tend to have high-sounding names such as the Benevolent Muster of Merchants of Eveningstar, and the Loyal Council of Coinfel¬lows of Espar. The chief benefits of both the craft guilds and the high guilds are social. Members can swiftly spread word among fellow members of prices, practices, swindles, and other news. This quick communication aids in cutting down on impos-tures, false rumors of shortages designed to drive up prices of materials, and confidence tricks. In addition, guild members more easily hear which journeymen are seeking new employment and which masters are seeking new hires, as well as which apprentices have acquired real skills. Information of this last sort opens up alternative employment opportunities for skilled apprentices, should their current masters prove unscrupulous enough to avoid granting them recognition. In turn, novices can learn who is best at this or that specialty of guildcraft (the best knife polisher, the best toolmaker, the crafter whose work is most fashionable among lavishly spending nobles, and so on). These true Cormyrean craft fraternities—that is, organizations of workers largely engaged in the same specific profession—have been some¬what curbed in powers, hauteur, and fripperies since their excesses during the time of the Tu- igan Horde. These excesses included uniforms, secret handshakes, arcane festivals and rituals, passing internal laws, advising their members on which Crown laws to obey and which to flout, and closely allying with certain noble families who had their own treasonous agendas for financial gain. The hitherto-flourishing Bricklayers Guild, for instance, no longer exists because it became a front for several noble families plotting to over¬throw the Dragon Throne. Those nobles used the guild to enrich themselves by smuggling stolen goods and small valuables, evading taxes, and hiding valuables inside hollow bricks. Cormyr’s guilds traditionally held little po¬litical power, but were “feeling their brawn” (as the Cormyrean expression has it) just before the arrival of the Tuigan Horde, led by the aforemen¬tioned Bricklayers, the Sculptors and Masons Guild, and the Guild of Carpenters and Joiners. The surviving two construction guilds are now carefully law-abiding. However, flush with the coin from those aspiring to live in ever-grander residences and erect ever-fancier follies, they have learned the value of their work, and they con¬tinue to be locally politically active, pursuing and guarding their own interests with passion and manipulative skill. The Guilds of Cormyr currently recognized in the Forest Kingdom are detailed below, presented in roughly descending order of influence. Sculptors and Masons Guild: Controls stonework, statuary, quarrying, plastering, mud- daub, and waterproofing. This guild knows its true power more than any other. However,  it is also steadfastly loyal to the Obarskyrs for their striving to maintain a fair and prosperous Cormyr. Guild of Carpenters and Joiners: Controls wood cutting, curing, staining, furniture making, fitted carpentry, and joinery. This is a wealthy, energetic, “into everything” (such as new styles of coffers, chairs, and stools) guild. It’s also frac¬tious; the guildmaster faces almost constant challenges to his authority from what he calls “pompous fat little trumpet-mouths” who think they can do a better job of running the guild. Armorers Guild: Controls armor- and weapon-making, plus the making of tempered tools from sewing needles to tiny gears and cogs. This guild is watched by the War Wizards to pre¬vent any noble from equipping a private army without the Crown’s knowledge. Members resent this scrutiny even as they accept its necessity. Guild of Coachlars, Carriers, Waymen, and Locksters: Controls wagon makers and wagon owners, locksmiths, coachlars (coach drovers), carters (those who operate local delivery wagons), and draymen (deliverers and loaders of ships at the docks, on wagons everywhere, and in warehouses). “Locksters” is the Dragon Reach term for owners and guardians of warehouses. Rampant ambition within the Coachcowls, as most of Cormyr calls this guild, was curbed by the War Wizards and the Highknights in the wake of the battles against the Tuigan Horde. Truebreeds Guild: Controls trade in horses, oxen, sheep, cattle, guard dogs, and sheepdogs, as well as the breeding, care, and sale of all kept beasts. This guild is an often fractious group of ranchers. Due to offers from Sembia, Westgate, and certain Cormyrean nobles wanting exotic guardians or pets, the guildmaster is privately considering breaking the guild rule that Van- gerdahast forced on his now-dead predecessor Belivaerus Daethul: Members of the Truebreeds would never attempt to crossbreed species nor make any use of magic enabling features of one  beast to be added to another. Or, more simply, they’d never try to “make monsters.” Seafarers Guild: Includes sailors, captains, fleet owners, navigators, mapmakers, ropers (the local name for rope makers), sail makers, ship¬wrights, and ship repairers. Interests in Sembia and Westgate frequently try to bribe these guild members to aid and abet smuggling and even slave running. Under the guildmaster’s firm, dili¬gent hand, this guild is courteous, abides by both guild and Crown laws, and cultivates a trustwor¬thy, stolid, reliable, “no changes, please” image. Vintners and Falconers Guild: Controls fal¬conry, raptor breeding and trading, wine making, vineyard owning and tending, wine blendings, and sales. Many guild members are flamboyant revelers and hedonists who consider a fun-loving lifestyle the proper aim and achievement of a suc¬cessful life. Because the falconers and the vintners of Suzail aspired to serve the same noble clientele, they were the first to join ranks and form a guild. Their success led to the other “anvil-and-flower” (the Realms term for “chalk-and-cheese”) com¬bined disparate-trades guilds. Brewers and Cheesemakers Guild: Made up of brewers, spirits blenders and importers, and cheesemakers. The guild’s headquarters, called the Caskhouse, often hosts days-long drinking revels for members (and one guest each). Roofers, Thatchers, and Glaziers Guild: Made up of roofers, slate masons, shingle cutters, thatchers and thatch cutters, glaziers, “sandglass” makers, and glass Stainers. Tanners and Leatherers Guild: Composed of tanners, leather dyers, glovers, corvisers (boot- and shoemakers), cobblers, harness makers, battle leatherers (makers of leather armor and under armor), trimmers (who sew leather trim to gar¬ments), weatherdarrs (makers of leather caps, hats, “deep-snows” leggings, and weather-cloaks), and leatherwork repairers and alterers. Guild of Weavers and Coopers: Made up of coopers, weavers, textile dyers, garment cutters, embroiderers, clothiers, and drapers (sellers of draperies and tapestries) Guild of Naturalists: Controls medicinal, edible, lubricant, dye-source, and craft-worthy uses for plant and animal matter, either as dis¬tillates or as solids (and all who work with such substances, and associated research and vending). The current Naturalists Guild is more of a debating society than anything else.