By Michael J. V By Michael J. V By Michael J. V By Michael J. V By Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group By Michael J. V By Michael J. V By Michael J. V By Michael J. V By Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, arhola, Jim Clunie, and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group and the Skirmisher Game Development Group P P P ROFES ROFES ROFES ROFES ROFESSIONAL SIONAL SIONAL SIONAL SIONAL P P P L L LA A ACES CES CES CES CES P P P ROFES ROFES ROFES ROFES ROFESSIONAL SIONAL SIONAL SIONAL SIONAL P P P L L LA A ACES CES CES CES CES City Builder V City Builder V City Builder V City Builder V City Builder Volume 4: olume 4: olume 4: olume 4: olume 4: City Builder V City Builder V City Builder V City Builder V City Builder Volume 4: olume 4: olume 4: olume 4: olume 4: City Builder V City Builder V City Builder V City Builder V City Builder Volume 4: olume 4: olume 4: olume 4: olume 4: P P P ROFES ROFES ROFES ROFES ROFESSIONAL SIONAL SIONAL SIONAL SIONAL P P P L L LA A ACES CES CES CES CES
Transcript
By Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,
and the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Group
By Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,
and the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Group
By Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,
and the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Group
All images in this book are either from Skirmisher Pub-lishing LLC’s Vintage Clipart series (pages 14 and 21),from the Dover Pictorial Archive Series (pages 1, 2, 5,6, 8, 12, 15, 16, 17, 23, and 24) and used by permissionof Dover Publications Inc., or in the public domain.
All contents of this book, regardless of other desig-nation, are Copyright 2008 Skirmisher Publishing. Allrights reserved. Reproduction of material contained inthis work by any means without written permissionfrom the publisher is expressly forbidden except forpurposes of review.
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Authors:Authors:Authors:Authors:Authors: Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie, and the Skirmisher Game Development Group
Publishers:Publishers:Publishers:Publishers:Publishers: Robert “Mac” McLaughlin, Michael J. Varhola,and Geoff Weber
EditorEditorEditorEditorEditor-in-Chief/Layout and Design:-in-Chief/Layout and Design:-in-Chief/Layout and Design:-in-Chief/Layout and Design:-in-Chief/Layout and Design: Michael J. Varhola
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblanceof its contents to actual people, organizations, places,or events is purely coincidental.
First publication:First publication:First publication:First publication:First publication: May 2008; SKP E 0812.Cover Images:Cover Images:Cover Images:Cover Images:Cover Images: Front, The Night Watch (1642), by
Rembrandt van Rijn. Back, The Sick Doctor (1892), byJehan Georges Vibert.
VVVVViewing This Bookiewing This Bookiewing This Bookiewing This Bookiewing This BookThis book has been designed to be asuser-friendly as possible from both theperspectives of printing out for use inhard copy and viewing on a comput-er screen. It has been laid out like atraditional print book with the ideathat each even-numbered page com-plements the odd-numbered page thatit should face (e.g., Rembrandt vanRijn’s Night Watch on page 4 is meantto face and illustrate the Introductionon page 5).
With the above in mind, the optimalway to view and enjoy this book wouldbe to print it out and organize it in abinder so that the pages are arrangedas described above. This is by nomeans necessary, however, for usingand fully benefiting from City BuilderVolume 4: Professional Places and itscontents.
TTTTTable of Contentsable of Contentsable of Contentsable of Contentsable of Contents
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction 55555About This Series..............................................................................................................................................5Using This Book................................................................................................................................................5
Guildhouses, hospitals, mages’ lodges, and traininghalls are four sorts of professional places pertinent toadventurers that are described in the following pages.Other sorts of professional places that might come intoplay in some campaigns — especially if they involveoccupations in which characters hope to advance orprofessionals with which they must consult — are theworkplaces of architects, lawyers, cartographers, engi-neers, and navigators.
Professional places are sometimes established inresidential-type buildings of various sorts; a lawyer orcartographer, for example, might run their operationsout of a townhouse of the sort described under “Build-ings” in City Builder Volume 1: Communities. Manyprofessional places will be more institutional in form,however, and located in purpose-built structures. Inany event, professional places are almost always foundin or around urban areas — where the greatest numberof people can avail themselves of their services — al-though if large enough, such places might be built inmore isolated areas and even have communities of upto village size grow up around them. A historic exam-ple of this is the Asclepion, an ancient Greek hospitalcomplex located in what is now Turkey.
Features of professional places might include, asappropriate, training areas, workshops, halls for eventsand for regular dining, trophy rooms, meeting rooms,offices, vaults for safekeeping of valuables, rooms forstoring institutional records, and libraries of professionalmaterials. Larger places might also include amenitiesfor their members or staffs (e.g., private dining rooms,residential apartments).
Regardless of their sizes or locations, professionalplaces are almost always intended to project a sense of
IIIIIn the course of their adventures or in pursuit of advancement in their vocations, player characters may findit necessary to visit a variety of places devoted to the development of various professions. While some groupsmight simply haze over the events and interactions that occur at such places in a few minutes of discussion
between players and the Game Master, others might find it more satisfying and realistic to have their charactersperiodically — or always — role-play activities like dealing with vocational guilds and seeking trainers to helpthem improve their class abilities, skills, or combat techniques.
substance, sobriety, and seriousness commensuratewith the gravity of the vocations that are pursued with-in them.
The material on guilds that appears on pages 19-22of this book has been adapted from text in the Skir-misher Publishing LLC d20 sourcebook Experts v.3.5,but all game-specific terms and references have beenremoved from it. This material is provided completelyas a bonus and this book has been priced without con-sideration for it.
About This SeriesAbout This SeriesAbout This SeriesAbout This SeriesAbout This SeriesThis is the fourth volume in a series of 11 books de-signed not just to provide Game Masters with concreteinformation about how to create places essential to theirown fantasy role-playing campaigns, but also to inspirethem to develop ones that are believable, colorful, andexciting for their players’ characters to visit. City BuilderVolume 4: Professional Places discusses institutions thatsome characters might need to visit in order to advancein their vocations, or to which others might need to gofor information or various services. And, while it is ageneric resource not keyed to a particular system ofrules, it has also been written so as to be fully compat-ible with the Skirmisher Publishing LLC d20 books Testsof Skill, Experts v.3.5, and Warriors.
Using This BookUsing This BookUsing This BookUsing This BookUsing This BookEach section in this book contains a description of theplace to which it is devoted. It includes such things asthe kinds of communities in which the place might befound, the kinds of proprietors and staff associated withit, and the sorts of goods, services, or other things thatcharacters might visit the place to obtain.
Following the description are two adventure hooksthat are designed to describe interactions beyond thenormal operations of the place that might concern play-er characters and turn any particular one into a venuefor adventure.
GGGGGuildhouses are the headquarters and seats ofactivity for the organizations that regulate businesses, crafts, trades, and professions of all
sorts. As the physical manifestations of groups that areoften very rich and powerful — and frequently want tobe seen as such — structures of this sort are often largeand well-constructed (but typically not overly ostenta-tious or garish). Guildhouses are frequently also usedfor other municipal purposes (e.g., the mayor of a citywhere a prerequisite for his position is to be master ina guild might have his offices in the city’s main guildhouse).
Most communities of town size or larger in cam-paign settings with typical medieval- or Renaissance-era economic systems will have at least one house rep-resenting all of the guilds active in the city or region (ifthere are many guilds) or all of the guild-regulated ac-tivities in such an area (if there is only one guild). Small-er communities with business interests, such as largevillages, might have a guild representative who con-ducts guild business out of his usual place of work.Larger ones, such as cities, will typically have one large,central guildhall used as a meeting place for the mas-ters of individual vocational guilds (or the representa-tives of specific chapters, if the guild is constituted thatway) and numerous lesser houses devoted to specificguilds or chapters.
Facilities at a guildhouse of any size typically in-clude a hall for large gatherings, one or more smallermeeting areas, offices for guild officials and their ad-ministrative staffs, storage areas for guild records, anda vault for guild monies and valuables. Larger guild-houses might also include kitchens and dining areaswhere guild staff can take their meals and memberscan purchase them at a nominal cost, living areas forthe staff that include an apartment and private officesfor the guildmaster, guest rooms for visiting dignitar-ies, and inexpensive lodgings where members travel-ing from other areas can stay (e.g., for half the prevail-ing local rate). Guildhouses might also include work-shops where out-of-town members, those who havetemporarily lost use of their own work areas, or thosewho cannot afford expensive or specialized facilitiescan work for a reasonable fee.
Furnishings throughout a guildhouse are typicallysober, although generally also very comfortable, andoften showcase the specialty of the guild (e.g., woodenwall paneling carved by local craftsmen that depict anidealized history of the local community). Decorations
generally include examples of goods produced by guildbusinesses and awards or other honors that have beenbestowed upon the guild or its members.
Functions practiced at a guildhouse typically includecollecting dues from members; inspecting and levyingfees on goods being produced, sold, or transportedthrough the area; maintaining guild records; and pro-viding services for both local and visiting members (e.g.,issuing temporary permits to newcomers to pursue theirvocations in the surrounding area).
Chief official at a guildhouse is typically a master ofan appropriate craft or vocation who has worked hisway up through the political structure of the guild andperhaps even the community as a whole. Such an offi-cial is likely very influential, and his favor or dislikecan go a long way toward reflecting how his friends orenemies are treated in the community. Other person-nel typically include an appropriate number of clerksand however many servants are needed to clean theguildhouse, cook for the staff and guests, and performother necessary chores.
Security at a guildhouse will be commensurate withthe prevailing level of threat and the value of anythingkept on the premises (e.g., coining dies at a guild en-trusted with producing a city’s money). It might be pro-vided by guards hired directly by the guild, by thoseprovided through affiliation with a fighters’ guild, bycity watchmen who are themselves guild members, orby city guardsmen who are either moonlighting or pro-vided through some arrangement with their superiors.
Adventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure Hooks* Adventurers who wish to pursue a particular craft,trade, or profession for purposes of gain will likely needto join an appropriate guild in order to practice it legal-ly and avoid being fined or suffering other censures.This could lead to adventures for both those wishing toobtain guild membership and those striving to avoid it.
* A particular guildhouse might strike certain bold andindependent-minded thieves as a tempting target, withcoffers full of accumulated dues and little more thanfat, plodding businessmen to protect them. Such per-ceptions might prompt the guild — or more traditionalthieves who prefer orderly relations with local busi-nessmen and the town council — to swiftly find suchtransgressors and wreak awful retribution upon them.
HospitalHospitalHospitalHospitalHospital
99999
HHHHHospitals are establishments where sick, injured,or otherwise unwell patients can rest, heal,and receive medical care and the attention of
trained and qualified physicians and other medicalpersonnel in appropriate surroundings. Such placescan vary widely from one society or time period to an-other, and what is described here represents an idealthat might exist in a particular ancient, medieval, Re-naissance, or fantasy milieu.
Specific sorts of such places might variously pro-vide less radical treatments that permit patients to stayonly briefly (outpatient care), act as centers of medicaltraining or research, or disseminate advice on behalfof public health. Places related to hospitals includehealers’ consulting rooms, apothecaries, dispensaries,hospices, asylums, colonies for the diseased, quaran-tine stations, and temples dedicated to gods of heal-ing. (See City Builder Volume 5: Tradesman Places forapothecaries and Volume 9: Religious Places for tem-ples and shrines.)
Note that a number of circumstances could lead tothe development and establishment of hospitals evenin societies where magical healing exists. Such condi-tions might include such miraculous medicine beingrare or costly enough that it cannot be bestowed uponthe majority of the population; the longstanding preva-lence of certain magic-resistant types of illness orwounds; or a desire to most effectively combat injury,disease, and other maladies through a synthesis ofmundane and magical techniques.
A hospital might be established in a large town orcity, perhaps as an adjunct to a temple whose priestssupport it, or in a country site chosen for its healthyclimate or isolation. It might have been founded by areligious group — whether it is one with general reli-gious beliefs that emphasize caring for others or heal-ing, or a special order organized for the purpose — aruler or civic government, or some beneficent organi-zation (e.g., a guild whose members perform danger-ous work that often leads to them to require care, awealthy group of merchants concerned for the state oftheir souls or their reputations). The armies of morecivilized states — or navies, in the case of hospital ships— may support temporary or mobile hospitals near theplaces where their troops are operating (e.g., the dis-pensaries that followed conquering Muslim armies), toprovide aid to the distressed civil population followinga disaster, or both.
In settings where significant non-human societiesexist, Elves may have individual healers of legendaryskill but favor a tradition of individual care; Dwarves,though hardy and resistant to disease, might suffermany mine accidents and have developed techniquesfor dealing with disasters of this sort; and the varioussorts of more brutish humanoids might despise publicprovision for the weak and see no reason not to attacka hospital, provoking particularly grim incidents in raidsby such savage creatures.
Like other public structures, hospitals are generallylarge, solidly built, and often ornately-decorated com-plexes of brick or stone. Ideally, their founders providethem with the best possible access to light, fresh air,greenery, and other influences felt to be uplifting andhealthful. Such ideals, however, often conflict with thescarcity and expense of land in a suitable central loca-tion for all who need the services of the hospital toreach it easily or with medical philosophies not en-lightened enough to incorporate them.
Most of a hospital’s area is usually devoted to pa-tient wards of a dozen or more beds in rows (or, lesscommonly, private rooms for particularly wealthy pa-tients); physicians often find it helpful to segregate pa-tients with particular ailments into separate wards inorder to reduce infection and provide skilled care andtreatment to them. Other areas typically include exam-ining rooms, surgeries, dispensaries, lecture rooms,chapels, offices and record-keeping areas, storerooms,central heating mechanisms such as hypocausts, anddiscreet but thorough means of disinfecting cloths andtools and disposing of all kinds of waste matter. Interi-or surfaces in hospitals generally allow for easy clean-ing though extensive use of tiles, smoothly plasteredand painted walls, and close-jointed hardwood floors.
A hospital needs large stores of cheap linen; itemsfor enfeebled patients like stretchers, bath-sponges, andbedpans; abundant supplies of water and firewood; anda variety of exotic vegetable, animal and mineral prod-ucts for compounding of various medicines.
Day-to-day operation of a hospital requires skilledphysicians with knowledge of medicine, surgery, diet,other physical treatments, and the proper environmentto comfort patients and support healing; nurses, whomay range from members of a separate religious group-ing in themselves to hired servants or part-time volun-teers from the community; counselors and priests tominister to afflictions of the mind and spirit that may
cause or exacerbate symptoms of illness; and semi-skilled orderlies to perform menial functions and as-sist with labor-intensive tasks. The governors or trust-ees who administer a hospital might variously be mem-bers of the religious order that operates it, physicians,or specialists skilled in finance and management, andby virtue of their social position may speak for the groupthat funds the hospital (e.g., royal bureaucrats, templehierarchs, members of noble families, guildmasters).
Security threats to a hospital include deranged pa-tients, ex-patients and their relatives who may bear agrudge for unsuccessful treatment, enemies of power-ful people who may be under treatment there, andthieves seeking to abscond with medical supplies (e.g.,to sell, for those who are sick but have reason not tovisit a hospital, for their mind-altering side effects).Guards who secure the entrances to a hospital com-plex and patrol it are often well-versed in non-lethallysubduing those who deserve compassion more thanviolence, but may have to be prepared for serious in-cursions by criminal elements. As much as any physi-cal protection, however, hospitals and their staffs gen-erally benefit from the deference accorded to healersand the self-interest of those who might do them harmbut for that they one day might require their services.
Adventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure Hooks* The player characters might have to rush an injured,sick, poisoned, or pregnant person to a hospital, all thewhile attempting to overcoming obstacles both comi-cal and dramatic and trying to prevent the patient fromgetting any worse. The person at risk might be one ofthe party’s hirelings, a party member’s dependent orrelative, an aristocrat or other important person, or acommon villager, whose rescue abruptly falls into theparty’s hands through unusual circumstances or be-cause they are the only ones thought capable of com-pleting the journey.
* Player characters who visit a hospital (whether be-cause they are hurt or ill, one of them works as a heal-er or in some other capacity, at the request of a pa-tient’s relative or some other concerned individual, oras a charitable gesture) might discover that a numberof patients have died or disappeared under odd cir-cumstances. The party must proceed to investigate,perhaps uncovering illicit experiments, a cover-up ofserious neglect or sheer sadism, or kidnapping of pa-tients who are unlikely to be missed for some dire pur-pose.
MMMMMages’ lodges — sometimes also called guilds,covenants, convocations, brotherhoods,schools, or orders — perform many of the
functions traditional to other guilds: they regulate howtheir members perform their trade; organize the train-ing of apprentices; share and improve techniques; grantdegrees of recognition; assist in the supply of neces-sary materials; and, possibly, honor the gods pertinentto their members. Because the regulated trade in ques-tion is magic, however, many of these activities workin unique ways. A particular mages’ lodge may alsoperform complex rituals that require multiple casters.Historical examples include the Order of the GoldenDawn in England, the various Black Schools rumoredto exist in medieval and Renaissance Europe, and thePharaoh’s body of magicians in the book of Exodus.
Members of a mages’ lodge are often egotistical in-dividuals who are accustomed to the use of immensepersonal power, which they gain through willpower,threat, trickery, and intellectual superiority, and theyfrequently bring similar methods and attitudes to deal-ings with their colleagues. Unlike the organizations reg-ulating other vocations, the greatest threats to the in-terests of a mages’ lodge are more likely to arise fromwithin — by the uncontrolled actions of members ofthe guild — than to originate with outside forces. Inorder to impose even a modicum of discipline and civ-ilized interaction, the guild requires members to bindthemselves with oaths threatening dire consequencesto body and soul and enforced by powerful magic thatwill literally bring upon rule-breakers the curses thatsuch oaths foreshadow.
A mages’ lodge generally has an acknowledged lead-er whom all members swear to obey and follow (al-though the making and twisting of such oaths is thedaily work of wizards). The lodgemaster must be anaccomplished mage — although is sometimes not themost magically skilled of all lodge members — andholds his position generally by election but sometimesby force. Generally just below the lodgemaster, howev-er, is a council of master magicians who have consid-erable say on all major decisions. Other structures arepossible, such as shared leadership between severalsenior mages, an inner council of equally ranked wiz-ards who vote on all decisions, or, at the other end ofthe scale, subjection to the decrees of a powerful extra-planar being (or a leader who claims to transmit thecommands of such a being) or an earthly ruler power-
ful enough to overawe the mages. An over-archingmages’ lodge may also incorporate individual groupsof mages who regularly operate and carry out ritualstogether, and these are often known as circles or cov-ens.
Some mages’ lodges keep their memberships or eventheir existence secret, while others are as prominentin their societies as guilds of other prestigious craftsand might even rule over certain cities. Either way, aguild usually meets in a securely enclosed and oftenhidden location to protect its assembled members, partlybecause of suspicion — if not active suppression —from major religions or nobles who see magic as a rivalto their own power, and partly from observation or evenattack by rival magicians. The guild’s meeting placemay also be in or beneath the home of a particularlywealthy member, or may contain a comfortable resi-dence for the lodgemaster or some other well-trustedcustodian.
The lodge itself — or at least its private interior cham-bers, if the guild is secret — is generally built of stonein a grand and impressive manner and contains manymarvelous enchanted objects and items of arcane sig-nificance from distant lands or even other planes ofexistence. It often includes a library (including a col-lection of major arcane tomes and many mundane butrare, books on theories of magic and the planes, natu-ral phenomena, obscure and nonhuman languages, andsimilar topics) with a scriptorium for copying books; avault for powerful magic items available for commonuse by lodge members, and another for items that theguild considers dangerous and needing to be lockedaway from the world; chambers for socializing and fordiscussions on advanced magical concepts; shrines ora chapel to the deities that govern magical practice;chambers intended for the use of ritual magic that areoften permanently inscribed with devices like summon-ing circles, thaumaturgic triangles, pentagrams, andthe like; and accommodations, ranging from monasticto palatial, for members of the guild attending meet-ings and rituals that are held at odd hours or over mul-tiple days.
Most mages’ lodges keep servitors, whether human-oids or magical beings, for purposes as diverse as pro-viding for the personal comforts to which the lodgemembers are accustomed, moving large objects neces-sary for rituals, or carrying out complex tasks like as-sassinations.
Adventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure Hooks* Membership or advancement in a mages’ lodge mightrequire a certain amount of volunteer service at its fa-cilities, perhaps as much as one month a year in total(on the other hand, if the officials of the guild demandthat members carry out field work, it will always befairly recompensed in some way). This could lead toinvolvement in any number of encounters, and thecharacters might have to respond to the demands ofimperious visitors, rescue and assist members injuredin the course of experiments that they attempt in the
lodge’s workrooms, or help suppress the results of sum-monings gone awry.
* Surreal, violent or simply bizarre incidents eruptacross the city as an established mages’ lodge tries tocrush a brash, upstart rival organization in a covertmagical war. The player characters might hire on todefend the interests of one side or the other, have todeal with the consequences of a summoned creatureor damaging spell, or come across a dead or dying magein the street with a letter or item on his person that isvital to the outcome of the lodges’ confrontation.
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TTTTTraining Hallraining Hallraining Hallraining Hallraining Hall
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TTTTTraining halls are places where warriors, athletes,and others can variously exercise, train withweapons, and associate with others of similar
inclination, both for purposes of socializing and net-working. This sort of place includes all sorts of gymna-siums, dojos, fencing clubs, martial arts schools, andthe like. Individual training halls might be associatedwith specific weapons, fighting styles, philosophies,sports, or activities. In some campaigns, access to sucha place might be required for characters to advance intheir chosen professions or to learn specific skills orfighting methods.
Clientele at training halls will often be determinedby the sorts of training or amenities they offer. Quiteoften, a significant number of their patrons will bemembers of the same vocational or racial demograph-ic (e.g., marines, mercenaries, cavalrymen, membersof the city watch, Orcish fighters, citizens from the com-munity’s aristocracy and upper crust).
Proprietors of training halls are quite often formerprofessional soldiers, adventurers, or athletes who haveretired from the hazards of their vocation and turnedthe remainder of their energies to running establish-ments where others can build their bodies or learn thearts of war. Religious organizations devoted to godsassociated with physical prowess sometimes havetraining halls associated with their temples.
Training halls can assume a wide variety of sizesand forms. At its smallest and simplest, such an estab-lishment might consist of a one-room building or per-haps only an open-sided pavilion, with space adequatefor a master and one or more pupils to train with weap-ons or at whatever other martial arts or activities inwhich they are seeking to improve their skills. At theother extreme, training halls might be multi-buildingcomplexes that include amenities such as dining ar-eas and dormitories.
The primary service provided at a training hall is, ofcourse, access to its facilities and trainers. Some mightalso provide the use of arms, armor, and specializedequipment. And, in societies where individuals selltheir abilities as professional combatants, some mayalso serve as de facto fighters’ guilds that help findwork or provide other services for their members.
Price structures are often geared toward encourag-ing or discouraging clientele from certain levels of so-ciety. Entry criteria might also be enforced in order toinclude or exclude specific types of people (e.g., en-
courage citizens, males, or Humans, and discourageforeigners, females, and non-Humans). Some traininghalls might also function as private clubs and, likeguilds, have specific membership requirements, suchas providing services to support the hall and takingpart in its social and civic activities. If access to a train-ing hall is required in order for characters to advancein their careers, however, such places should not ulti-mately be made inaccessible to them, except perhapstemporarily and as an opportunity for role-playing, aside quest, or greater expenditure of excess treasure.
Adventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure HooksAdventure Hooks* While training at a hall, one or more player charac-ters fall afoul of a particularly unpleasant and aggres-sive mercenary soldier who provokes an altercation withthem. This unarmed confrontation is broken up by theestablishment’s staff or other patrons, but leaves theantagonist enraged and itching for revenge. With thatin mind, he shadows the party and, as they head outon their next adventure, leads his cronies out after them.
* The player characters might hear that a new traininghall (whether nearby or isolated) teaches techniques ofunparalleled effectiveness. One or more party mem-bers may be able to incorporate the training hall’s teach-ings into their adventuring repertoire. The masters ofthe training hall do not accept just anyone, however,and the player characters may have to prove their worthby fighting a representative of the training hall’s stu-dents or performing a significant quest. Alternatively,the prevailing ethos of the training hall may conflictwith the party’s beliefs or those of their superiors, goad-ing them to destroy the place to prevent advanced fight-ing skills falling into the possession of evildoers.
MMMMMany sorts of guilds can be found in the townsand cities of the game world. A small townwith an economy based on a single craft or
commodity might have but one guild, while a largecity might be ruled by a council consisting of the mas-ters of scores of craft, trade, and professional guilds.
The primary purpose of guilds is to foster a stablebusiness environment, thereby furthering the econom-ic interests of their members. Guilds also provide a pow-erful and united political voice for the guildmembers;in some towns only guildmembers may vote, while inothers they are merely a strong voting bloc. Some im-portant guilds are actually organized on a regional ba-sis, with the guildmasters of various towns and citiesmeeting as a grand council to establish broader rulesand regulations.
In a traditional fantasy milieu, guilds tend to be ei-ther greater (professional) guilds or minor (craft) guilds.Greater guilds are typically made up of the wealthiestand most powerful professionals and scholars. Minorguilds are generally made up of skilled craftsmen,tradesmen, and entertainers.
Guild OrGuild OrGuild OrGuild OrGuild OrganizationganizationganizationganizationganizationIn areas where guilds exist, membership is usually man-datory for anyone who wants to earn a living practic-ing a craft, trade, or other vocation. Advancement in aguild tends to be based on a number of factors, includ-ing a prerequisite period of time at each stage of ad-vancement, demonstrated ability (as defined by classlevel and creation of a masterwork item or completionof some commensurate test), and payment of a fee.
Guilds have a hierarchical organization. Greatly over-worked and largely unpaid apprentices form the baseof the pyramid. After a number of years of hard work(e.g., seven), study, and summary beatings, appren-ticeship ends and the newly-graduated journeyman isfree to pursue his trade, typically through employmentat a shop or factory. Once the journeyman is skilledenough to create a masterwork item (or similar accom-plishment), he achieves the rank of master. For some,this happens at the same time they have accumulatedsufficient capital to start their own businesses, but manyjourneymen are successful independent businessmenfor years before they become acknowledged as masters.
Time required to complete this process varies fromcraft to craft, and in areas where there are already manymasters, journeymen may have to wait until the Guild
determines there is a vacancy.In smaller towns, the guild’s masters meet periodi-
cally as a council of masters, or guild council, to de-cide trade matters, issue decrees related to their pro-fessions, plan social events, and, when necessary, electa guildmaster to lead them. In larger towns, these mas-ters elect syndics to a great council, which is typicallymade up of the seven most experienced masters. Justas the collective masters do in smaller towns, this greatcouncil chooses the figurehead and leader of the guild—the guildmaster. Typically the wealthiest and most ex-perienced member of the guild, the guildmaster is nor-mally elected for a specific term (e.g., one year, 10 years).A guildmaster has the power to veto any actions of thegreat council or guild council and may issue decreesthat can remain in force for up to a month.
When a specific guild is organized nationally or re-gionally, guildmasters from each of the area’s commu-nities typically meet annually as a grand council in thelargest city. This grand council elects a grandmasterwhen necessary (typically for life), negotiates privilegeand policy with the leadership of various countries andprovinces, and establishes broad decrees for the guildas a whole. A grandmaster can no longer serve as aguildmaster, but members of a grand council may prac-tice their vocations without geographical restrictions,as they are considered members of every branch of the guild.
A council of masters is 25% likely to be organizedwith a leadership council of master syndics (e.g., sixor seven of them). This great council elects a guild-master, typically for an extended period (e.g., 10 years).Depending on the influence of the guilds, guildmas-ters may organize locally into a weak guild board or astrong master’s council composed of all the local guild-masters. Guildmasters of a particular guild generallyorganize regionally into a grand council of guildmas-ters for that guild and elect a grandmaster-for-life.
Random Guild GenerationRandom Guild GenerationRandom Guild GenerationRandom Guild GenerationRandom Guild GenerationWork through the following tables to randomly deter-mine local guilds. After determining the sort of com-munity in question, roll on Table I: Guild Presence,using the modifiers that follow. Then, roll on the ap-propriate table to determine guild structure.
If a community has standard guild structure, deter-mine the number of individual guilds within it (one ofwhich will always be a Blacksmiths Guild) by rolling1d4-1 for thorps, 1d4-2 for hamlets, 1d4-3 for villages,
1d4 for small towns, 1d4+3 for large towns, 2d4+6 forsmall cities, 3d4+9 for large cities, and 4d4+12 for me-tropolises (all of which are described in greater detailin City Builder Volume 1: Communities).
Only craftsmen, tradesmen, entertainers, or profes-sionals for whom a guild has been established (or onethat is closely related) will be guildmembers; otherswill operate independently. Roll on Table II: CommonGuilds (and then on Table III: Rare Guilds, if neces-sary) for each guild, re-rolling duplicate results, orchoose guilds as appropriate (e.g., a port is more likelyto have a Shipbuilders Guild than a Smelters Guild).
Then, roll on either Table IV: Single Guild StructureTable V: Dual Guild Structure for each guild to deter-mine its organization.
Finally, roll on Table VI: Local Guild Organization todetermine how the various guilds co-exist.
TTTTTable I: Guild Pable I: Guild Pable I: Guild Pable I: Guild Pable I: Guild Presenceresenceresenceresenceresenced100d100d100d100d100 Guild StructureGuild StructureGuild StructureGuild StructureGuild Structure0-10 No guild structure11-30 Single guild structure (go to Table IV)31-50 Dual guild structure (go to Table V)51-100 Standard guild structure (see text and
go to Tables II, III, IV, and VI)
–70 Thorp–60 Hamlet–50 Village+/–0 Small town+30 Large town+40 Small city+50 Large city, metropolis
TTTTTable II: Common Guildsable II: Common Guildsable II: Common Guildsable II: Common Guildsable II: Common Guildsd100d100d100d100d100 GuildGuildGuildGuildGuild1-3 Animal Trainers (M)4-5 Armorers (M)6-8 Bakers (M)9 Bards and Entertainers (M)10 Barristers (G)11-12 Beggars (M)13-16 Blacksmiths (M)17-18 Brewers and Vintners (M)19-21 Brickmakers (M)22-24 Butchers (M)25-26 Carpenters (M)27-29 Chefs (M)30-32 Cobblers (M)33-34 Courtesans (M)35-36 Dyers and Tanners (M)37 Exterminators (M)38 Foresters (M)39-40 Glassblowers (M)41 Goldsmiths (M)42-44 Grocers (M)45 Guides (M)46-47 Innkeepers and Taverners (M)48-50 Stonemasons (M)51 Mechanic-Artificers (G)52-54 Mercenaries and Guardians (G)55-56 Merchants and Traders (G)
57-59 Millers (M)60 Miners (M)61-62 Moneylenders (M)63-65 Ostlers (M)66 Paper Makers and Ink Makers (M)67-68 Peddlers (M)69 Physicians (G)70-72 Potters (M)73 Ropemakers (M)74 Sailmaker (M) (re-roll if not a coastal area)75-77 Sailors (M) (re-roll if not a coastal area)78 Scribes (M)79-81 Servants (M)82 Shipbuilders (M) (re-roll if not a coastal area)83 Shipwrights (G) (re-roll if not a coastal area)84-86 Tailors and Weavers (M)87-89 Teamsters (M)90-91 Thieves (G) (90% likely to be a secret Guild)92 Undertakers (M)93 Weaponmakers (M)94-100 Roll on Table III: Rare Guilds
–5 Large Town (or smaller)
(M) = Minor Guild (G) = Greater Guild
2121212121
TTTTTable VI: Lable VI: Lable VI: Lable VI: Lable VI: Local Guild Orocal Guild Orocal Guild Orocal Guild Orocal Guild OrganizationganizationganizationganizationganizationRoll on this chart to determine how various guildswith standard guild structure within a particulararea are organized. Add +20 to the results of thispercentile roll if there are more than five guildsin the community.
TTTTTable Vable Vable Vable Vable V: Dual Guild Str: Dual Guild Str: Dual Guild Str: Dual Guild Str: Dual Guild StructureuctureuctureuctureuctureThere are two guilds — one a minor (craft) guildand the other a greater (professional) guild — andall craftsmen and professionals must be membersof one of them. Roll on the following table to de-termine their structure.
d100d100d100d100d100 StructureStructureStructureStructureStructure0-10 No ruling structure11-40 Both guilds share power equally in
a joint council of masters andelect one guildmaster
41-50 Minor guild holds majority ofcouncil seats and elects oneguildmaster
51-100 Greater guild holds majority ofcouncil seats and elects oneguildmaster
A council of masters is 25% likely to have a greator leadership council of syndics (e.g., seven) whothemselves elect the guildmaster.
TTTTTable IVable IVable IVable IVable IV: Single Guild Str: Single Guild Str: Single Guild Str: Single Guild Str: Single Guild StructureuctureuctureuctureuctureThere is but a single all-inclusive guild for allcraftsmen and professionals, and all such char-acters must be members of it. Roll on the follow-ing table to determine structure.
d100d100d100d100d100 StructureStructureStructureStructureStructure0-25 No ruling structure26-50 Guildmaster elected by all guildmembers51-75 Council of masters elect guildmaster76-100 Council of masters rule by majority
A council of masters is 25% likely to have a greator leadership council of elected syndics (e.g., sev-en) who themselves elect the guildmaster.
d100d100d100d100d100 RegulationRegulationRegulationRegulationRegulation0-5 No competing goods related to that
Guild may be imported into theGuild’s sphere of influence.
6-10 Guildmembers must own weapons andarmor and serve in a local militia (80%)or are prohibited to own such items (20%).
11-15 Guildmembers may only workbetween sunrise and sunset.
16-20 Only family members of Guildmembersmay join the Guild.
21-25 Family of Guildmembers may not jointhe Guild.
26-35 Masters may only have at any giventime one Apprentice (50%) or up to1d6+1 Apprentices (50%).
36-40 Apprentices must serve at least 1d6+1years, regardless of other qualifications.
41-45 Apprentices must complete a masterwork item to advance to Journeyman.
46-50 Journeymen must complete 1d4+1masterwork items instead of just oneto advance to Master level.
51-60 Guildmembers must wear a certain styleof clothing at all times.
61-75 Guildmembers are subject to frequentonerous social events and charitable duties.
76-80 Masters may only hire Guildmembers(Apprentices or Journeymen). Unskilledlaborers may not be hired.
81-85 All Journeymen are guaranteed employment1d6 days per week. Journeymen withoutwork are randomly assigned to masterswhether needed or not.
86-90 Guild denies membership to a specific raceor nationality. Roll d8 to determine on thesubtable below. If a specific non-Humanrace is precluded in a Guild of the samerace, substitute Humans instead. 1: Demi-Humans (e.g., Gnomes, Elves, Dwarves);2: Dwarves; 3: Elves; 4: Humanoids;5: Specific or foreign Human nationalityor culture (e.g., Germans); 6: Halflings;7: Gnomes; 8: Mixed Race Individuals(e.g., Half-Elves, Half-Orcs).
91-95 Guild requires adherence to a specificalignment, religion, or diety.
96-98 Guild operates a school or academy for thechildren of its members.
99-100 GM’s choice or imagination.
Common Guild RegulationsCommon Guild RegulationsCommon Guild RegulationsCommon Guild RegulationsCommon Guild RegulationsGuilds regulate the business and social activities of theirmembers. Specific rules vary, but typically include:• No artisan may work within the town’s sphere ofinfluence unless he or she is a Guildmember (associ-ate memberships are sometimes available to travelingartisans).• New methods and techniques must be approved bythe Guild Council before they may be implemented andmust then be shared among all the Masters.• No Guildmember may advertise his or her servicesin a competitive manner.• Specific guidelines governing the quality of goodsand services must be followed.• Specific guidelines governing the acceptable rang-es of the price of goods and services must be followed.• Masters may not take their own children as Apprentices.• Masters must tithe 10% of their earnings to the Guild.These funds are managed by either the Guildmaster
(25%) or the Great Council (75%). If a Grand Councilexists, 10% of each local Guild’s tithe is donated to theGrandmaster (25%) or the Grand Council (75%).
Guilds are headquartered in Guildhouses. These varyin size and grandeur but typically include a meetingarea, administrative offices, lodgings, a tavern, a library,and a workshop. The workshop may be used for a smallfee, plus expenses. It may not be used more than oneweek out of a month by any given individual. Membersof a Guild may lodge and dine in the Guildhouse for anominal fee, typically half that charged at a local inn.Traveling Guildmembers may use the Guildhouses ofthe same or closely related Guild. They may not, how-ever, practice their trade unless they acquire an asso-ciate Journeyman membership. In very small towns,multiple Guilds may share a single house. Each specif-ic Guild may have from 0-5 (1d6–1) additional regula-tions, as indicated on Table VII: Specific Guild Regula-tions.
TTTTTable VII: Specific Guild Regulationsable VII: Specific Guild Regulationsable VII: Specific Guild Regulationsable VII: Specific Guild Regulationsable VII: Specific Guild Regulations
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CCCCCity Builder Vity Builder Vity Builder Vity Builder Vity Builder Volume 4: Professional Placesolume 4: Professional Placesolume 4: Professional Placesolume 4: Professional Placesolume 4: Professional Places is the fourth in a series of some 11complementary books designed to help guide Game Masters through theprocess of creating exciting and compelling urban areas and places within them
for their campaigns. It is a universal resource that is not specific to any particulargame system and is intended to be compatible with the needs of almost anyancient, Dark Ages, Middle Ages, Renaissance, or fantasy milieu.
Its contents include:
* An Introduction that describes the scope of the series and how to use thematerial in this volume;
* Individual sections devoted to descriptions of Guildhouses, Hospitals, Mage’sLodges, and Training Halls;
* One or more Adventure Hooks tying in with each described sort of place; and
* An appendix on Guilds that describes such institutions and includes a series oftables for randomly generating their characteristics and specific regulations.
