Guilds
I like the idea of multiple guilds. Many times though I have hand waved and said "Fighter's Guild" or "Wizard's Guild" and let it fly like that - as if there was a 1 size fits all guild repository of information doling it out for anyone with a pocket full of nobles and crowns.
So for this campaign I made sure to map out some guilds and give them a framework and reason behind them so that the group can have some choices. Also, it does help out since certain guilds would have issues with other ones. This meeting had some fleshing out forthe characters about the fighter's guilds open to them in this area.
Write up follows:
The next morning after eating in the House Illytch Barracks, we wandered over to the Grim Gauntlet’s Fighter’s guild and waited along with a half dozen or so other applicants to the guild. Eventually we were all welcomed in, friends and family as well, and sat in the stands of the coliseum along with a number of other members of the Sifian Order. The fighting floor was 70’ diameter packed sand, and the stands could seat 1,500 if need be. At the 4 cardinal points at the edge of the theatre were 4 towers where which a member of the guild was perched with a light crossbow.
In accordance with our agreement, Negan, Darius, Connal, and Einar were going to apply to the guild, and at some point, the pact with Loki with adjust some of the weapons from practice and wood to edged and dangerous.
Optio Strugi, a dwarven female, spoke with the gathered 60 or so people about what the Grim Gauntlets fighter’s guild was in relation to the other 2 guilds. The Grim Gauntlets is the smallest and most exacting of the fighter’s guilds here in Sorton and other places. Unlike the League of Odin who has a tremendous budget, support of the Church of Odin, Thor, Baldur, and Heimdall or the Storm Ravens who is sponsored by the Church of Odin and Heimdall, the Grim Gauntlets has only the Sifian Temple and Tyr as its benefactors.
The League is big on showy contest and tournaments. Their members are taught the spear and sword, hammer and bow, relying on armor and shield and take comfort in the fact that a quick and brutal assault is often all that is needed to ensure victory in combat. One of their biggest selling points is that, “anyone can be a member of the League.”
The Storm Ravens was originally the special combat division of the League but there was a conflict between the Order of Thor and Heimdall so the progenitor (Molvag Stormcloud) of the division broke away from the League and established a separate guild called the Storm Ravens in honor of Odin who still supported the guild leader. The Storm Ravens have a larger universe of weapons that they teach their students, and replaces caution and defense against the League’s more brutal front facing assaults.
The Grim Gauntlets believes the besides the body, it is the mind and skill that defines a decent fighter. Not everyone is blessed with the strength of Thor or the size of Heimdall. A skilled fighter can be he or she who fights with knives and kicks, or someone who can thread a noose at 100 paces, or someone who spends months or years trying to perfect their skill with the bearded axe. Armor counts, weapons count – but it is the person who helps define their path towards excellence. The guild is just the covering over the person to help ward and define them – the guild is the grim gauntlet encasing the hand of the warrior in whatever guise he or she may be.
The gathered 10 applicants all sounded happy at this and we were allowed to put on a set of padded armor, take a practice shield if we wanted, and were entitled to take 1 practice weapon that mirrored something we were familiar with. So we had Negan’s wooden two handed sword and Einar’s practice broad sword, and everyone else was taking a weapon and or shield from the rack and giving them a few practice swings.
We were also informed that during the combat the towers would fire random bolts into the melee to reflect the chaos then surrounds most battles. The bolts were blunted and light, but could still knock someone off their feet if given a direct hit.
Which then led us to scoring. We would be scored on intent, impact, and incapacitance – anyone who was knocked down would be considered out of the fight – they might still have enough points to make it into the guild, but not enough to continuing competing. Top 6 out of 10 would be given admittance.
The 10 of us were randomly split up into 3 matches where the theatre was divided up for the combat into thirds. Group 1 was a half-orc bruiser with a sword named Vult, a human female with a couple of wooden knives named Phrenna, and finally a middle aged stout dwarven fighter with a flatbow and practice bolts named Ducat. Group 2 was Einar, Darius, Connal, and a young dwarven fighter with a warhammer named Norag. And finally Group 3 was Negan, a teenaged human with 2 light spears named Felton, and young dwarven fighter also armed with a couple of spears named Golarin.
The horn was blown and the groups all jumped to the assault. Norag ran closer to try and take of Darius and Ducat ran backwards in an attempt to shoot Vult down, successfully hitting the half orc who missed a step and slipped, falling. Negan decided that Golarin was the more serious threat and positioned himself with Felton on his shielded side.
Crossbows twanged from above slapping into the combat and ringing off. Einer was struck twice, enraging the barbarian who charged across the battlefield – and into the 2nd ring! Strugi called out for the tower’s to “drop him!” as Einar wasn’t listening, Golarin and Negan taking and treading blows as the druid ran by, Felton was down.
Phrenna hurled a knife at Einar’s face and he was struck again, falling on Phrenna and disqualifying her. Some of the blows being delivered to and against the party were actually full damaging blows as the perversion of Loki flowed around the arena. The combatants were withering as the groups began falling away. Darius was wrestling with Norag, Negan was hitting Golarin, Connal was holding his own, Ducat was keeping himself out of the mess.
Eventually the last of the combats ended and the scores ran down from highest to lowest with Negan, Ducat, Connal, Golarin, Vult, Darius as the top 6 – Darius pulled himself out, thankful for just to opportunity, Einar was dragged to the lot and dumped in the alley, and even those who didn’t get in were ok with the findings. We drank and partied, the Grim Gauntlets supplying the food and drink.
Darius went his way to the Storm Ravens guild later and made his introductions there. Trying out, he showed his skill with the sling, even firing multiple times and at distance – always hitting the center or bullseye of the targets. He was given a green light to come back when it was time to go up and would be welcomed then.
The next day was a bit rainy on Firemonth the 3rd as we left House Illytch and Sorton to head our way up the Enderlyn River and make it to the Base Camp some 2-3 days away. The Teamster leader Trentis along with 7 other teamsters and stablehands, our group of 10, a hayswain, carpenter, mason, tinsmith, and 2 giantslayers with pikes made up our caravan of 6 carts and ponies.
We offered our help when and where able to, guiding the carts up and over the steeper parts of the not quite there trail, keeping the river in sight and on our left. We did notice that the party was being shadowed at great distance by 2 or three wolves but none of them dared get closer and they only watched for now. The trees were tall, the scent of pine was heady, and we threaded our way through the valleys of the mountains that made up the Morat range, heading ever west, northwest. A group of timberers asked for news of Sorton and after exchanging with them, let us know that Rock Drakes were getting busy in the area and we should be on the lookout.
Trentis had a problem with Dizzy, thinking the dwarf was not holding his own during the march – always slacking off. So he had him dig the two slit trenches with which Dizzy did a poor and ineffective job – earning a rebuke. Some of the teamsters were fascinated with Avulstein and when it was noted he was a necromancer, Trentis didn’t care but a few of the followers gave the wolverine a wider berth and sideways glance.
We rested during the night – at which time a bobcat had come to the edge of our camp and was rotting in the trash. Darius woke up Avulstein and with the wizard’s help, quickly slayed the bobcat. Then he performed a ritual and raised the animal from the dead and brought it back to camp.
The next day Einar and Avulstein had some glances about the reanimated bobcat, flat out asking why HE wasn’t woken up, but the matter was left to die. Dizzy voiced his dislike of Einar to Avulstein which was funny because Dizzy had also made known of his dislike of Avulstein to Einar not 2 days earlier.
While pushing the carts past Welthan’s Falls, one of the cart’s wheels snapped off 3 of the spokes and had to wait a bit for the repair to happen. We lost only a little time but Trentis wanted us to make it up so we double timed it for a while. The country was beautiful and the peaks majestic around us. There was a lake here referred to as Broken Tower Lake. 4 miles by 1, some 200 yards or so off the eastern shore was a 70’ stone tower sitting quietly in the lake, stretching up to the broken crown.
Stories were that this entire land was part of the Himaya of Rand – the great orcish empire that was destroyed some 150 years or so ago. Might have been an outpost, astrologer’s tower, shaman’s tower – who knows.
We moved on a bit longer until we were called to rest at the north end of the lake. Trentis let us know we would make base camp by midday tomorrow, had once more set of falls we had to lift the carts over so to eat well and get some rest. Again, Dizzy was singled out to do some grunt work, given a 1 gallon bucket and told to go back and forth to the lake and fill the water casks on the 4th cart – each of which was 20 gallons alone.
While he was going back and forth, he did spot a disturbed outline in the wood line – 30’ long, 6’ at the shoulder, and watching the group. Rock Drake – and camouflaged. He came back and informed Trentis and the group was paying so much attention to the Drake that it went back into the woods and faded from sight.
Still being eagle eyed, Dizzy went back to loading up the casks with water, seeing the drake was hiding on the river bank now and inching closer. We were all once again made away and Dizzy made believe to fall as the drake launched itself into the air to attack. Throughout the group and the camp, missile weapons fired – all of them hitting the hide and bouncing away. The hide was just as tough as suspected.
Magic missiles fired and the giant slayed raised pikes as the drake made to dive the group and was hit enough that it was deterred, winging over and flying further up mountain and away from the party. We waited to make sure it was driven away and then set off to finish making camp for tonight.
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