Warrior Guilds
At the very heart of most communities, the art of the warrior as defender has always been held in high esteem. Skill in and prowess in battle is one of the oldest crafts in the world; men have always needed to protect themselves against predators of nature and against others of their race.
As a reflection of this, warrior guilds have existed in Arthea since the first civilisations emerged after The Great Disaster. They had always been there to help the new, growing communities and supported those in power. In later years their role has changed. As Kingdoms merged and grew larger and stronger, the warrior guilds became pawns of those powers, providing the training and manpower for the wars which have been fought.
This role of providing military service to the monarch or power in the land as well as supporting warriors everywhere has continued through to recent times. It was not until the lands were unified under a single King that the roles of the organisations begain to change. With no more power struggles between nations, feudal masters have no need for large armies. Now the armed force that is maintained is smaller, and has been able to specialise and improve the art of the warrior. Smaller numbers of higher quality troops are now prepared, and the training standards have improved along with this rise of technique. There are fewer people stretching the resources of these guilds.
While there has recently been a marked rise in quality and ability of warriors, the guild network beneath that had not changed substantially for hundreds of years. Shortly after unification, as warrior numbers fell, so the number of facilities available fell, but the guild network continued. In modern day Arthea the training continues in the fundamental skills of weapon use, but the guild nework is undergoing something of a revolution. Some guilds ahve suffered big upheaval. In the 60 years since unification, more new warrior guilds have been started than in the whole of the previous 500. Whether the guild network slimmed down too far as the fighting ended is unclear. But modern guilds give an emphasis to be on training for combat as individuals rather than the style of the previous coupld of centuries where military units prepared and trained for large pitched battles.
The warrior guilds are mostly local institutions, often based in a single city or region, and supporting a small warrior base nearby. There are some large national and imperial guilds, which are popular because they carry a status with being a member, but local guilds can handle local needs far more easily. While local guilds are more popular, the model provides little protection from financial hardship, and can cause the guilds to struggle and occasionally to close down. There is very little money to be made in running guilds of this nature, and most of the smaller ones seem to be owned and run by a single patriarchal warrior, often these guilds are sold or traded to others when that patriarch retires of moves on. The larger warrior guilds are generally those sponsored by the major religious sects (provided for the use of their own worshippers) or by those who were once sponsored by a national monarch, and were large enough to survive the unification. The smaller guilds have taken to banding together for mutual protection into loose associations and larger groupings.
Although the guilds network is poorly organised and are do not act cohesively, the individual guilds are, for the most part, the complete opposite. Tight margins and expensive trainers mean that they have to run on a sound economic basis. If the guild cannot organise its affairs efficiently, then it will not survive.
Fees and Memberships
As the training available in guilds is not a cheap thing to buy, there are costs in maintaining a membership of such an organisation. It was not always so, during the years of strife leading up to unification, guilds that provided troops for an army were paid directly by the crown hiring them. This is no longer the case, and the prices charged for membership mean that ordinary peasants are unlikely to join.
Most guilds have more than one tier of membership which allows prestige to be bestowed upon their members and allows the raising of extra income. The additional ranks are both more expensive and normally they must be earned, separating the experienced from the inexperienced or from those who have barely learned to lift a sword. This also provides attainable aspirations for guild members, and provides an incentive to achieve more as a warrior. Ordinary memberships are open to all, provided the individual can afford the fees, and in general even this is not cheap. Higher ranked memberships are usually available to third or fourth level warriors and above (although individual guilds differ), and most have insist on a minimum time spent as a member, often at least a year. Higher levels of membership tend to be significantly more expensive, but to many of the warrior classes (fighter, rangers, paladins and barbarians) their own ego drives them, and these memberships become a status symbol or an indisputable attestation of their prowess. In times of strife, where the crown (or the feudal masters raising forces in the name of the crown) needs troops, such higher level memberships provide a direct route into becoming an officer.
Although membership is costly at any level, it always comes with advantages. If a warrior requires training, then their own guilds will charge substantially less to their members. For higher level fighters, this can save more than the membership fee alone. There are no limitations to joining multiple guilds if one can afford it, but most guilds require a probationary period, so warriors cannot just join guilds on the fly to avoid paying the full price for training.
The guilds outlined here cover the main campaign regions. There are, of course, hundreds of other such guilds spread through the whole of Arthea.
The National Warrior Guilds
These guilds reach across all the boundaries of Arthea.
The Warrior Guilds of Ticetia
Central and North Ticetia
Warrior Guilds of the Former Empire
The large guilds span whole countries of the former Empire, but are not national guilds of Arthea
Berrecha, North Antaurus
Western Cerlain
East Jorlinum/Freifeld of Malberina
Back to TheGuilds.
CategoryGuilds
CategoryOrganisations