Merchants' and Traders' Guildhall

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 S1).
The union is currently managed by guildmaster Dernan Nathane [human male], who is also on the Directing Oligarchy. Dernan Nathane is a skilled leader and manager who knows Greyhawk and its politics very well.
Other major figures in the union who are also in the Directing Oligarchy are Carmen Halmaster, Cariel Mansharn [human male], and Stimtrin Cannasay [dwarf male]. 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.

Type

Guildhall