Apprentice Orientation - Day 3
A short geography and history lesson
I’m glad that all of you survived the sewers yesterday and put a little gold into your vault account. Today’s a rest day for you, so I’m going to take you on a tour of our operating environment and give you a short history lesson.
Our world, Darya, is primarily a water world. There are 3 continents:
Stormhold - a continent that is primarily ice and mountain. It has very few inhabitants.
Sylvanara - a temperate continent which is the primary population center of Darya. We are located here in the capital, Windgrest City, the largest seaport on Darya.
Phantazar - a massive archipelago in tropical clime.
Windgrest City Governmental Structure
Up until 87 years ago, Windgrest City was run democratically, electing a mayor, town council, guild masters, and head of the City Watch. Then there was a period of great unrest, about which histories differ and which resulted in a change in governance. Windgrest City is now an oligarchy run by a group of 5 noble families who consolidated power by sabotaging their rivals.
The Economics of Windgrest's Populace
Aristocratic: 15%
Wealthy: 5%
Comfortable: 35%
Modest 5%
Poor 5%
Squalid 15%
Wretched 20%
Taxes are 25% on all goods purchased within the city, 30% on all imported goods (paid on entry to the city), and 40% of all earned income. Bags of holding are illegal within the city limits without a permit. All bags of holding are searched upon entry to the city and taxes assessed.
At this time, we want our apprentices to keep their focus on their training assignments without concern for the political and economic climate. The Guild will provide you with the economic stability you need to survive and allow you to put money aside for the future. Once you are a member, you may participate in higher level operations on a need-to-know basis.
Guild History
Our first paying client was the small settlement of Riverside, thanks to home town hero Faelina Sablefoot. We dispatched Atlene and Hamish to deal with a small trible of goblin terrorizing the town and stealing their produce shipments. When the Guild takes on out-of-town jobs, the client pays for travel expenses and rations, as well as other needs, in addition to a daily stipend. The Guild keeps all monster treasure, and we collect bounties on every monster killed. Atlene and Hamish successfully routed the tribe and came back covered in gold and glory.
In the next orientation bulletin, I’ll share more Guild history. Now, as promised, here is the next section of our guild charter.
Article II: Membership
1. Classes of Membership
Owner: Founding members with full voting rights and profit sharing.
Member: Active participants with voting rights on all but ownership matters, profit sharing, and access to Guild resources.
Apprentice: Trainees under the Guild’s tutelage, eligible for promotion to member. Access to Guild Resources as necessary for training purposes. Encouraged to attend the membership portion of Guild Council meetings.
Freelancer: Contracted adventurers with limited access and no voting rights. If a freelancer is considering membership, they may request the right to attend the membership portion of the Guild Council meetings.
2. Admission
Prospective apprentices may apply to the steward for admission to the training program. Their skills will be evaluated by one or more owners before they are admitted. Once they apply for full membership, they must be sponsored by one of the owners or members who has mentored them.
Experienced adventurers who decide they would like to become prospective members must be sponsored by an existing owner or member and complete a short evaluation period. During the evaluation period, they will be treated as if they are a Guild apprentice.
Admission is subject to a simple majority vote by the Guild Council.
3. Rights and Responsibilities
All members and apprentices must uphold the Guild’s values and contribute to its mission.
All members, prospective members, and apprentices will complete assignments, jobs, and training activities as assigned by the steward. Freelancers may request assignments from the steward, or they can take a job off the job board and negotiate their own contract with the client.
Owners and members form the Guild Council and may vote on Guild decisions, propose initiatives, and access all facilities.
Freelancers and apprentices may access designated areas and resources as approved.
[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]