The Guild

Founded in 589 AD, the Wasteland Management Guild, later summarized to just 'The Guild', was created to control all aspects of life related to the Wastelands and its remnants. The Wastelands' strong inherent magic led to the creation of both strong monsters and powerful magic resources. After the War of 584 and numerous other skirmishes over these materials, the Treaty of Masinià̃ created the Guild as a neutral third party to manage them.   The Guild acts as a governing body over the Wasteland and any Dungeon Towns that pop up. All pre-existing regimes can have a say in the rule of the area, and laws will generally be the same as the rest of the country. The Guild takes over in any circumstances involving harvested resources, regulation of monster populations, and administration of adventurer forces. As such, the Guild has a tight hold on the trade of magical components of all sorts. Those dealing in medicine, alchemy, or enchanted weaponry at some point all have to deal with the Guild.   Despite this, its still not too hard to get a share as so long as no one has broken a deal with the Guild in the past.

Structure

The hierarchy of the Guild is divided into two halves, adventurers and employees. Adventurers is a coverall term for those who take requests from the Guild. Adventurers are given more benefits based on rank and contributions to the Guild. Employees are internal workers and cover rolls from management to bookkeeping. Internal workers are more heavily vetted to prevent bias and spies in the management. Sensitive information frequently goes through the hands of the Guild, and above all the Guild must remain neutral in continental politics.

Adventurer Ranks

Initial 'entry' rank:
Consisting of entry level adventurers, this is a vetting stage for any new people who sign up. Making it to the next rank is absurdly easy. People stay at this rank for an average of a month as managers build up references on the consistency of an adventurers work. If any inconsistencies are noted, the adventurer is given a summary of the reasons s/he did not pass inspection and basically told to shape up for next month's review.

D-Rank:
First official rank, D-Rank adventurers are given basic privileges and request access. The requests available at this stage are given better payment than previously, and aren't all fetch quests. Reaching the next rank has several differing requirements, depending on the worker's job focus. The most common advancement is from completing a set request from management to prove one's skill.

C-Rank:
After a few years, most adventurers of any ability will end up here. C-Ranked adventurers are the most common and at this rank adventurers have access to all basic jobs and requests. A C-Ranked adventurer has a pass into most dungeons licensed by the Guild, with only dangerous or out of control dungeons still locked. Its expected for an adventurer to have a group at this point, and many of the bonuses and privileges are built with this expectation.

B-Rank:
B-Ranks are the highest rank found in most normal branches of the Guild. A B-Ranker has proven to be greater than the average adventurer, and at this rank the higher difficulty tasks are their responsibility. However, B-Rank authority grants lower restrictions than C-Ranked and below. For example, most southern countries and city-states will take a B-Rank badge as a passport to gain access to these countries. Some countries have higher requirements, however.

A-Rank:
A-Ranks are the strongest normal rank. Almost all of them, however, are on the front lines of the Wastelands. Most are border patrols, but some groups fight actively against the monsters within. As a reward, their badge is applicable as a passport to all countries and receive VIP treatment.

S-Rank:
S-Ranker's are the rarest of the different ranks. Only a few dozen are in their employ at any given time, and all primarily work in high risk areas. They are, for better or worse, the last line of defense.

Employee Ranks

Apprentice:
Intermidiate state, training for several years.

Employee:
Standard employee, works spans from manning the counters, working the information network to verify news and jobs, and just filling out paperwork. There's a lot of paperwork, such as incoming requests, fufilled requests, and material stocks.

Master:
Leader of an individual town's Guild. Coordinates adventurer teams, and acts as a go between for important local jobs.

Branch Leader:
A Guild branch exists to represent the interests of different areas. Roughly 10-20 major guildhouses will be under a single branch leader, which alone is quite a great deal. Large scale jobs are generally handled at this level, and S-Rank adventurers generally are coordinated by the branch heads.

Guildmaster:
Ultimate leader. Knows all and has to sign off on so very much, mastermind behind all of the Guild's projects.

Assets

The Guild regulates the sale of all magical materials, and thus has access to a large portion of what is harvested. This has allowed them to amass a vast selection of base reagents and weapons crafted from said selection.   The Guild also has one of the largest militaries on the continent, if only by technicality. All adventurers that sign up for their services can be given 'Guild requests,' which can be used as deployment orders in a war. However, adventurers are given freedom in what requests they take, so despite their large numbers, usage in war would be limited. Furthermore, most high ranking adventurers are unavailable as, if the Guild has access to that strong a warrior, they are most likely working on the borders of the Wastelands. Despite the fact that they have been working for centuries, the borders remain unstable and the Guild has no free hands, so to speak.

History

In 586, the Treaty of Masinià̃ created the Guild as a neutral third party to manage trade and distribution of harvested materials.

After its founding, the Guild was immediately struck with troubles from all sides. The treaty had, in name at least, placed their organization in charge of all resources and monster attacks. However, even with the forces relinquished to Guild employment by other countries the first Guildmaster, Seu Yàfoàpà, found that they had nowhere near enough power to enforce it across the board. This in itself wasn't a terrible news, it was understandable that some leaks of materials would happen.

However, the decades long wars over resources had weakened the Wasteland borders. Almost all of the combat ready forces they had were needed maintain control of the border. Normal dungeons only had a nominal representation at best. The only solution would be to get recruits, but most countries resented the intrusion of the Guild.

Thus, Seu had to fight three wars: war for the border, a diplomatic war, and a propaganda war to earn the favor of the masses. It was these constraints that led to the establishment of the adventurer class and all the benefits that go along with it. Most people didn't have the strength to fight on the front lines, but if the Guild could lure in enough of the fortune seekers, the mercenaries, or even a few truly talented magicians the Guild would no longer need to worry about the countries behind them. All of their focus could be on the defenses they were now contracted to maintain.

It took years of hard work, but by 622 AD, business was booming, and the borders stable. Now, Yàfoàpà had only the issue of trying to enforce the limited trade of materials. Over the last 3 decades, a certain amount black market trading or simply loose regulations had allowed a fair percentage of their earnings to go anywhere. However, now that Seu had time to deal with the issue, confront it he must. Over the last decade of his life, Guildmaster Seu created an enormous financial division that worked to track the percentage of goods going to each country. Once all the paperwork was laid out, the Guild began systematically limiting trade based on population ratios. Even after the Guildmaster's death in 635 AD from overwork, the process of regulating trade continued.

Most countries protested these trade limits but between the still standing treaty and the fact that the population was starting to see the Guild as an organization of heroes, there was nothing to stop the complete establishment of the Guild. Of course, multiple times over the next few centuries, people tested these waters to try and regain control of the market in some form. Nevertheless, the Guild had solidified both their financial and martial power. Those that raided their holdings were rebuffed, and their associates would find a decrease in trade in the next few years.

Nowadays, the trade wars between these forces have grown increasingly covert and the tricks involved more and more devious.

Territories

The headquarters of the Guild are in Yiavasepà̃ Town, built beside the Lajñoj River. Construction started in 593 and finished the first building in 602. It was built there while the border to the Wastelands lay only a short distance across the river. While the border has moved a huge distance over the centuries, both the headquarters and the town around it have grown immensely since then. Today the town now relies upon the Guild's presence and the trade that it brings.   The headquarters itself is a two story complex near the center of town. The building is primarily constructed of stone, with several watchtowers surrounding it. Built during the border expansion, the site is made to resist anything and everything. As the the battles moved further west, wood expansions were made along with more aesthetic details. Today the building is a mix of form and function, and its roots in being a fortress can still be seen.

"Riash vesh belas yiàkus"
Keepers of the Western Line

Type
Guild, Professional
Alternative Names
Wasteland Management Guild
Related Ranks & Titles
Related Professions

Articles under The Guild


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