Orzhov Syndicate
Representing the Orzhov was a tall, well-dressed noblewoman Jace didn’t recognize. The identities of the Orzhov knights around her were concealed by full helmets; instead of faces they bore only the Orzhov’s black sunburst symbol. Small, ugly, grey-skinned servant creatures attended to their black capes.Wealth is power, and you absolutely can take it with you if you’re an undying spirit living in decadent luxury on the ruling council of the Orzhov Syndicate. Built on the crushed dreams and broken bodies of citizens deeply indebted to the syndicate’s banks and loan sharks, Orzhov’s elaborate hierarchy of syndics, priests, and oligarchs exists for the single purpose of funnelling wealth to the top. Beneath the twin facades of religious hierarchy and banking operation, Orzhov is an organized crime syndicate with its fingers in businesses across the city. The Orzhov’s original function was both religious and financial, with the two functions closely related. As Ravnica’s dominant church, the Orzhov continues to preach an oppressive message that equates sin with debt and promises forgiveness to those who make tithes and donations. As Ravnica’s principal bank, it stores and secures the riches of the city, collecting interest at high rates to expand its own wealth. Its members truly believe that their work is necessary to the proper functioning of Ravnica. Although most other Ravnicans see the Orzhov for the corrupt organization it is, many people are still dazzled by the syndicate’s promises of wealth, prestige, and longevity. The Ghost Council, also called the Obzedat, that leads the Orzhov founded the guild and signed the Guildpact, but it isn’t clear which members of the original Obzedat might have faded from existence since then and which current members have joined since.
Inside the Syndicate
The Orzhov are ruled by the iron-fisted Obzedat, a council consisting of the oldest and most powerful undead oligarchs. A vast hierarchy stretches out beneath them, so most of your interactions with the leadership of the guild are with people (or spirits) who occupy the rank just above yours. This hierarchy has corruption in it at every level, and at any time your superiors might be passing instructions down from on high or just using you to pursue their own agendas of greed and ambition.
Orzhov churches and basilicas are scattered across the city, each one led by a ministrant with a staff of knights and syndics. These sites are centers of commerce clothed in the trappings of religion, where lowly borrowers come to seek atonement for their sins — atonement that is given in the form of debt and obligation. Orzhov attorneys and advokists maintain offices near New Prahv and other Azorius courts. Despite their proximity to law enforcement, these offices are centers of operation for Orzhov protection rackets and other criminal activities.
Goals of the Orzhov
The Orzhov Syndicate is dedicated to the quest for power. It sees the value in an organized, structured, law-abiding community, because it is adept at exploiting laws and structures for its own gain. It sees itself, in a perfect world, as the arbiter and enforcer of a social order that keeps everyone in their place and the Orzhov in the highest place.
Increasing tensions in Ravnica have led to an atmosphere of instability, and to counter this, the Orzhov Syndicate promises the trappings of a stable, ordered life amid the chaos — for a price. The Orzhov believe that adherence to hierarchy is the key to success, and they find great comfort in the rigid structure of their guild.
To boost their declining profits in a vacillating economy, the Orzhov have begun offering protection services, promising to shield their “customers” from both physical harm and fiscal disaster. These operations amount to racketeering, bringing with them the underlying threat that those who refuse to pay for protection become targets of the Orzhov’s thugs and enforcers.
The Azorius Senate are the greatest threat to Orzhov’s operations. In times past, the Orzhov danced along the edges of the law and presented an appearance of legality, but the combination of an ever-expanding legal code and the guild’s move into racketeering and other explicitly illegal activities has made it vulnerable to Azorius Senate enforcement. So far, the Azorius Senate have demonstrated more interest in cracking down on the chaotic activity of the Gruul Clans and the Cult of Rakdos , but Azorius Senate arresters also routinely shut down Orzhov protection rackets and take enforcers into custody. To make matters worse, the Azorius Senate increasing use of precognitive magic is proving difficult for the Orzhov to work around.
So far, the syndicate’s most effective tactic has been to increase the layers of separation between the day-to-day criminal operations of the guild and the leadership, ensuring that no matter how many street-level thugs and syndics are apprehended to fill the Azorius prisons, the guild’s leadership remains intact. Contact between the oligarchs and lower-ranking members of the guild is increasingly rare in this situation, and even the pontiffs find it ever more difficult to arrange a hearing with their superiors.
Comments