Guild Master

"For the next general meeting, I’d like Zigmund and Greta to jointly present a seminar on realising productivity targets through actionable cost-containment initiatives. Oh, and guild fees are due on 23 Jahrdrung."

## Advanced

(Core) Guild Masters are some of the most influential people in the Old World, quietly dictating how commerce is to work in various areas and facilitating the flow of trade. Among their ranks are master Merchants and calculating thieves, all of whom play a subtle game with the Nobles for power and control. Guild Masters are seldom great warriors, as they have many others at their beck and call to handle such things for them. Rather they are quasi-statesmen who deal with the Politicians of the Empire on their own terms. Depending on what guild they control, Guild Masters may be treated with the utmost respect or grudging civility.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Academic Knowledge (History), Charm, Command, Common Knowledge (the Empire), Evaluate, Gossip, Haggle, Perception, Secret Language (Guild Tongue), Speak Language (Breton, Estalian, Kislevian, or Norse), Speak Language (Reikspiel), Trade (any two)

**Talents:** Dealmaker, Etiquette, Linguistics

**Trappings:** Writing Kit, 100 gc, Guild

### **Career Entries**

Artisan, Engineer, Merchant, Physician, Wizard Lord

## Common Affiliations

**Crafters’ and Builders’ Guilds:** Most guilds represent the interests of their tradesmen and enforce quality standards. Guild jurisdictions in large cities are very specific, so for example, jewellers might be represented by two separate guilds – one for gemcutters and another for goldsmiths.

A Guild Master typically has at least +10 Mastery in the Trade Skill of the guild he represents. For a complete list of Trades, see Old World Armoury pg. 93-95.

**Labour Guilds:** Services are more difficult to monitor than products, and therefore a labour guild master must often use thuggery to enforce the guild bylaws. Labour guilds may represent stevedores, teamsters, entertainers, beggars, pilots, rivermen and sea captains.

**Commerce Guilds:** Commerce guilds wield a great deal of political power and often enjoy special privileges that other guilds don’t. Peddlars’ guilds oversee local trading, merchants’ guilds monitor trading between towns, and moneylenders’ guilds (or banks) provide loans to the upper class – primarily nobles.

Guild Masters typically have at least +10 Mastery in Trade (Merchant) Skill. Academic Guilds: Academic guilds may be attached to colleges and universities. Guild masters often require official accreditation from a famous school like the Colleges of Magic or the Imperial College of Engineers. Academic guilds exist for wizards, lawyers, physicians, engineers and explorers.

## Guild Law

Guild masters are the sanctioned authorities, responsible for enforcing their guild charter. Gray areas of legal jurisdiction are elevated to town courts, where guild masters often serve as jurors. Guild masters may call upon the town’s watchmen if necessary, or employ thugs and protagonists to handle uncooperative transgressors. Guild masters with a diverse array of skills may belong to several different guilds, but few guild masters are given judicial authority in more than one guild.

**Guild Charters:** Because each vocation has unique requirements, guild charters differ significantly between guilds. Academic Knowledge (Law) provides a conceptual understanding of guild charters, but related Trade or Knowledge Skills are required to understand the myriad sub-clauses found within each guild’s charter.

**Guild Tongue:** Characters without Secret Language (Guild Tongue) must hire an interpreter to represent them at guild court proceedings (see Sigmar’s Heirs, page 30). Guild Tongue represents a complex jargon of acronyms and buzzwords spoken in the local language . Although the fundamentals of Guild Tongue are universal across guilds, each guild has several specialised terms that only its members can understand.