Hunter’s Guild
The Hunter's Guild stands as a vital institution within the Sky-sea, fostering a community of adventurers, mercenaries, and bounty hunters. With a network that stretches from major port cities to the most remote village, this guild provides essential services to those who brave the perilous wilds of Yrdde.
For a nominal fee and a cut of bounties, an innkeeper can register his tavern as an official guild location. From these locations guild representatives facilitate contracts between mercenaries and their prospective clients. As long as the rules are followed, there is no restriction on who may place a job request. Private citizens, overworked city guards, and even Imperial agents are common sights in the tavern halls.
Hunter's Guild taverns are more than just places to rest and do business; they also serve as hubs where retired adventurers gather. Those who survive, accumulate glory, and reach an advanced age are honored with free retirement lodging. These seasoned individuals share advice, swap stories of past conquests, and provide a wealth of knowledge to the newer generation. At every hour of the day it is common to see at least one graybeard holding down the bar, surrounded by young adventurers looking for their first job.
Hunters who perform notable feats and demonstrate exceptional skill may receive special guild marks. Marks can be traded for unique services and equipment, thus are highly sought after.
The Runefarers
The Dawnbreakers
History
The origins of the Hunter’s Guild can be traced back to a time when the world was young, when those who ventured beyond the safety of settlements faced a world teeming with monstrous creatures and unknown dangers. Legendary tales speak of a gathering of the era’s most skilled hunters – a stoic dwarf whose axe had felled beasts with hides of metal, a swift Hawk Chimera whose eyes could spot prey from impossible distances, a human tracker who could read the whispers of the wind and the tracks of a shadow in moonlight. Recognizing the need for camaraderie, shared knowledge, and a way to ensure their hard-earned skills wouldn’t be lost with the passage of time, they forged the Hunter’s Guild, a brotherhood sworn to protect the world and pass down the secrets of survival. What began as a humble fellowship around crackling campfires and in rough-hewn taverns grew into a powerful organization with branches extending throughout Yrdde. In recent decades, the Guild has established a network of outposts in nearly every city across the world. They rented space in local inns, forging partnerships with innkeepers who welcomed the constant influx of prospective adventurers seeking work. These inns serve as bustling hubs of activity, where adventurers can gather to seek employment, share stories, and form alliances.Membership
Joining the Hunter's Guild requires more than mere desire; it demands proof of potential. A hopeful Initiate must present themselves to the Guild Masters at the Hunter's Hall in Nivora. They are then tested in a variety of skills – tracking, combat, survival knowledge, and a discerning eye for the dangers lurking in every shadowed corner of the world. Those deemed worthy earn the right to wear the Hunter’s mark, a badge of honor and a sign that they've embraced the path of the hunt.Initiates
Aspiring hunters, typically those drawn to the wild, possessing an affinity for tracking or survival, and a desire for a life beyond the walls of settlements, are guided by veteran hunters. They hone their skills in wilderness survival, learn to identify and track creatures both mundane and monstrous, and are schooled in the Guild's traditions and code of ethics.Journeymen
Those initiates who prove their skills, resourcefulness, and commitment to the Guild's ideals graduate to the rank of Journeyman. They are eligible to accept contracts, work as part of larger hunting parties, and continue their education under the watchful eye of more seasoned members.Masters
The pinnacle of the Hunter’s Guild hierarchy, Masters have faced countless challenges, earned respect through their skill and courage, and often carry a reputation that precedes them throughout the lands. They lead the most dangerous expeditions, mentor new generations of hunters, and are sought after by those with particularly troublesome problems requiring both expertise and a healthy dose of daring.Operations
Operating out of the Hunter's Hall in the city of Nivora, representatives administer rigorous tests and evaluations to assess the skills and capabilities of aspiring Hunters. Those who passed these tests were awarded a Hunter's coin brooch, a symbol of their official status within the Guild. Guild operations are funded through a combination of membership fees, commissions from completed contracts, and partnerships with local authorities. In return for their services, Hunters received compensation in the form of local currency for most tasks. However, particularly important or sensitive missions often came with additional rewards, including rank increases and specialty Hunter coins that granted unique privileges and benefits. For every contract accepted by the guild, a dozen are rejected for being too minor or for skirting too close to the legal boundaries of the region. Many innkeepers handle these refused contracts themselves, often hiring failed Hunter recruits or random thugs. Retaliation by the guild is rare, unless illegal activities can be traced back to the guild itself, in which case the innkeeper in question can expect to find themselves being permanently retired from the business.Notable Groups
The RatcatchersThe Ratcatchers are a notorious mercenary band with deep connections to the Empire. Renowned for their ruthless tactics and moral ambiguity, they specialize in a range of nefarious activities, from kidnapping and assassination to hunting down and returning wayward scions of wealthy and influential families.
Operating with a cold and calculated efficiency, the Ratcatchers navigate the shadowy underbelly of society, exploiting the vulnerabilities of their targets for personal gain. Their services are in high demand among those who seek to settle scores, eliminate rivals, or retrieve valuable assets by any means necessary.
One of the Ratcatchers' primary areas of expertise lies in the retrieval of wayward noble offspring who have strayed from the path of propriety. In the lawless fringes of the Empire, where the trappings of civilization give way to chaos and anarchy, the younger scions of noble families often succumb to the allure of power and adventure. They often form their own gangs or bands of mercenaries, terrorizing the populace and preying upon the vulnerable with impunity.
In response to the havoc wrought by these privileged marauders, families of means turn to the Ratcatchers, entrusting them with the delicate task of reclaiming their errant progeny and restoring order to their households. Armed with a combination of cunning, brute force, and utter ruthlessness, the Ratcatchers stop at nothing to fulfill their contracts, leaving a trail of devastation and despair in their wake.
The Runefarers are led by a group of scholars from the Imperial academy who, bristling under Emperor Thorne's strict ban on artifacts, left Imperial territory behind and now specialize in artifact recovery and trading. Though they are experts in assessing and researching artifacts, they are mercenaries first. The Runefarers often conduct their own excavations of ruins, but they are not above resorting to theft and piracy to acquire valuable relics.
Runefarer Hunters have been known to ambush and plunder shipments from legitimate salvage operators, using their superior knowledge and resources to overpower their rivals. There are even rumors of airships bearing the Runefarer flag engaging in acts of piracy, holding up salvage airships and seizing their valuable cargo by force. Their membership in the Guild is a subject of fierce debate amongst senior leadership, but their practice of offering to assess and handle artifacts for their fellow Hunters without cost has managed to protect their position thus far.
The Dawnbreakers are a mystery. Rumors abound as to who they are and where they came from, but what is known is that they've gone from relative nobodies to veteran hunters in record time. There are allegedly seven members, though this number seems to fluctuate, and they operate out of a highly advanced scout airship named "The Primrose Dawn". The ship itself was once affiliated with the Explorer division of the Imperial navy, though it no longer bears empire markings.
"The Hunter's Guild. They'd probably faint if they knew I kept a journal. Sentimental nonsense, they’d call it. But there’s something to be said for camaraderie forged in fire and blood, for sharing a mug of ale with those who understand what it means to face down a storm-wraith or a rabid crag-boar. Most of them are predictable, driven by coin and glory. It’s the game, after all. Track your prey, collect your bounty, and brag about it until the next hunt. Me? I prefer my hunts a bit more… nuanced. The ones where lives hang in the balance, where the monsters are more than just teeth and claws. Those are the stories that keep you warm at night. A Hunter never shows weakness, even in the face of an Imperial Corsair and a half-dozen Arbiters. Don't ask for that story though. That one's just for me to remember." - E Dawnstrider
Type
Guild, Adventuring
Parent Organization
Location
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Comments