Guard Coalition

Knights

Guards

The Guard Coalition is a guild of trained and organized knights that seek to defend Duilintinn and her people. It is one of the three major guilds of House Jackie.

This guild is sometimes referred to as “the Guard” or “The Coalition,” sometimes capitalized and sometimes not.

## Guild Hubs

Technically, the Guard Coalitions’ main guild hub is located in the Professional District of Mulladún, House Jackie.  However, the Guard Coalition uses their hub in the city as a status symbol more than anything else, conducting most of their operations from a facility called the Whetstone, located over half a day’s ride to the east, just off the main road to Cordoire.

The Whetstone is the center of practical operations for the Guard Coalition. Knights of the Guard Coalition have been trained and deployed from this training camp for decades, possibly even centuries. As long as the Guard Coalition has existed, so too have the well-worn fields of The Whetstone been trampled under the feet of knights and knights-to-be throughout history.

Finally, like all of Duilintinn’s officially recognized guilds, the Guard Coalition has a hub representing itself on Guild Row in Cordoire’s Administrator’s District. Here, the guild can advocate for its members in the political sphere of Duilintinn’s national capital.

## History

Prior to the Waldren Occupation, guards throughout Duilintinn were simply hired mercenaries. Then, at some point during the Occupation Era, a training program got started in House Jackie, and people started only hiring people who got certified. That’s how the Guard Coalition was born.

The Guard Coalition had held a major role in the Feadhainn Valley’s socio economic landscape for centuries before Duilintinn was founded. Local towns have been hiring knights of the Guard Coalition to help enforce the laws of their community for as long as they can remember. The Guard Coalition would also play a vital part of The Quest for Duilintinn. After the kingdom was founded, roads were built and word spread about the Guard’s role in the quest and their useful services to local towns, especially when the king’s government began hiring members of the Guard to aid with law enforcement on a kingdom-wide level, causing the guild’s popularity to soar. In the years since Duilintinn’s founding, there are very few towns of any size that do not hire at least a handful of knights each year.

Since Duilintinn is protected on all sides by natural boundaries, with mountains to the north and south, an ocean to the east, and a vast, dangerous forest to the west, the kingdom has no need for a standing army capable of fighting the army of another land; only people willing and able to prevent internal violence within the kingdom, to enforce the law, and to protect against the occasional wild animal attack.

When The Enemy became a threat, there was an attempt to adapt the Guard system into an army, but it became clear very quickly that this wasn’t gonna work. the Guard system was simply too spread out. Being based in House Jackie at the center of the kingdom is great when you need to be accessible everywhere at once, but really really bad if you want to defend your borders from an outside threat. When the king was attacked a second time, it became clear that another solution needed to be found, and thus, The Watch was born.

In the three years between the announcement of The Watch in 1599 and its eventual implementation in 1603, many renovations were made to Fort Stiofán and Fort Conchúr, the two future garrisons of The Watch. Since the initial plan was to build barracks-style living spaces, the Guard Coalition were also consulted on how to safely, efficiently, and practically house as many Watchers as possible into the limited space they had in each garrison. The Guard Coalition’s advice would lead to the distinct living quarters between the two garrisons, each designed to better fit the needs of those who would likely be working there.

As the Watch began to grow in its influence, the Coalition began to resent the group for overstepping its bounds over what the Guard believed was their jurisdiction.

In modern-day, the Guard Coalition has a bit of revisionist history regarding Lord Jackie. In his youth, a young Jackie actually deserted the Guard Coalition to become a vigilante once he realized that the life of a knight was more about keeping order than what he perceived as attacking the problems head-on. While he eventually made up with the Coalition during the quest to found Duilintinn, Lord Jackie never rejoined their ranks except in name and as brothers in arms, refusing to take orders or assignments as a member of the Guard. While the Guard Coalition doesn’t necessarily lie about this element of their shared history, they treat Lord Jackie as an aspect of their legacy as if he was always a true member of the Guard and omitting certain technicalities. In all likelihood, the Guard Coalition feels that the reputation of having a Noble Lord as one of their “alumni” (so to speak) outweighs any benefits of or petty desires to nitpick Lord Jackie’s claim to knighthood.

## Membership

### Training and Certification

In order to be a certified knight and assigned member of the Guard, you have to attend a few years of boot camp at The Whetstone and then return at some point every summer for one week to get recertified. Certified guards are then given their assignments for the new year based on annual reports from each house telling House Jackie how many guards they require and where to send them. After giving them any new equipment they might need and patting them on the back, House Jackie sends the Guards off to do their thing and gets ready to re-certify the group coming in next week.

To ensure that everyone gets properly recertified, there is a record of every guard that has ever completed the first multi-year round of training and where they have been stationed since then. Rather than call in every member of the Guard at once, groups of guards are called in at specific intervals throughout the summer to ensure that nowhere is left completely unguarded.

The Guard takes pride in ensuring that everyone at their post has been properly certified each year, and they won’t let anyone slip under the radar. They even send horse-drawn carts to the further-flung regions of the kingdom to ensure that everyone gets to training on time with as few hiccups as possible. If you do not arrive during your assigned time without sending ahead a message explaining why you were delayed or otherwise occupied, you get a warning. Do it again and you get put on probation.

### Ranks

The Guard Coalition has a very strict internal rank that determines one’s responsibilities and authority within the guild. While some are tied to age, others require a specific milestone to be reached before promotion.

Children who join the Guard at a young age start out at the rank of a Page. These members mostly run errands around the Whetstone and receive basic weapons training; nothing intensive, just the early basics of combat. In return, they would be given food and shelter. This made joining the Guard as a page a tempting proposition for young orphans or impoverished families, though the practice lessened significantly as socioeconomic conditions improved in the wake of Duilintinn’s founding.

At 15 years of age, members of the Guard are automatically promoted to the rank of a Squire. This rank indicates that you are undergoing the intense years of boot camp required by the Coalition before you are officially knighted and able to receive assignments. In addition to the grueling training, squires are expected to help out around the Whetstone in return for room and board. In the last year of this training, squires are paired up with a fully certified knight to shadow them during their assignment for the year. If the squire properly proves themself during that time, they are eligible to be knighted upon their return. If not, they undergo another year of training, then try again the following year.

Since guard assignments always start and end in the summer, this means that the vast majority of squires are officially knighted in the summer months and then immediately given an official assignment. Since several squires might be eligible for knighthood at the same time, this often results in a “Mass Knighting” ceremony, hilariously described by tumblr user @theshapeshifter100 and paraphrased by me as:

> With a general wide sweep of a sword, the officer declares, “You’re all Knights, now piss off!”
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At this point, all a member of the Guard needs to do to retain their knighthood is to keep their noses clean and show up to recertification every summer.

Higher rankings, such as “Knight Captain,” are optional career paths taken by some knights. Instead of going on assignment, these knights would remain at the Whetstone for further training, probably in a tiny group of 3 to 5 under a single high-ranking instructor. Unlike pages or squires, however, knights seeking additional training for higher ranks must be able to afford their own keep. This is supposed to force a knight to save up their income earned on assignment for several years before seeking a higher rank, allowing them to get some experience first. However, it also creates a class barrier, especially for members of the Coalition with families or other responsibilities to worry about. That being said, the Guard will sometimes require a group in training for higher ranks to take a temporary paid assignment, but not often enough that trainees can rely on temp jobs as their sole source of income. Those who do earn a higher rank can take a variety of roles within the Coalition, such as leading teams of knights on important assignments, overseeing training, handling complaints, punishments, and probations, or taking other administrative roles at the Whetstone. They are also asked to take temporary assignments from time to time, but are not required to take a year-long assignment unless they wish to do so.

### Honorary Knighthood

There is one exception to the process of becoming a knight. The ruling monarch of Duilintinn has the authority to bestow upon someone the title of knight for deeds of great merit or service to the kingdom. This title is kept for life, without any training or recertification required.

However, this honor does not automatically grant the recipient membership within the Guard Coalition. The Coalition considers people knighted this was to be knights in name only, rather than the real thing. If one of these “honorary knights” tried to walk into The Whetstone and ask for an assignment like everyone else who had spent years of consistent training to keep their title, they’d be rejected outright with scorn and prejudice.

That being said, if an honorary knight wishes, they can humbly ask to join the guild just like everyone else. They still have to go through the training process, but by merit of their deeds and prior experience, they are usually fast-tracked through the program and highly respected once they earn their official certification as a true knight of the Coalition.

Additionally, if a member of the guild who was in the process of training to become a knight was knighted by the king, the guild would honor that title by fast-tracking the knight through the remainder of the program so they can join the ranks of their fellows knights in the guild as soon as possible. However, knights who received honorary knighthood and also joined the guild, either before or after the fact, still must attend the yearly recertification training alongside everyone else to retain their status as an official knight of the Guard Coalition.

### Leaving the Coalition

Unlike organizations such as The Watch, the Guard Coalition looks down on people who leave to pursue other careers. Retirement and temporary leave from assignments is fine, but you’re still considered one of their own. To forsake your duty to the Guard permanently is seen as a direct insult to every knight in the Coalition.

This is in part due to the deep undercurrent of tradition and history that heavily defines the Guard Coalition’s culture. The Coalition has been around for centuries, long predating the shift in cultural values brought on by Duilintinn’s founding. Therefore, the traditions of honor and pride that define the organization have continued in spite of the heavy emphasis on finding one’s place in the world in Duilintinn’s modern culture.

That being said, many who leave the Guard will retain the title of Knight if they pursue other fighting-based careers. While the Guard strongly dislikes this course of action, there’s very little they can do about it. Most people don’t think to question the career title you’ve given yourself, and those who do need to inquire about the accuracy of the title (such as potential employers) are more than happy to accept an outdated Coalition certification as proof enough.

## Assignments

### Knight’s Preference

At the end of the annual recertification training, knights complete an application where they indicate their preferences on where and what type of work they wish to be assigned to.

Most knights, especially those of the younger generations, generally wish to be posted in their Noble House. Out of respect for the Noble Houses members are pledged to, knights who ask to be stationed in their Noble House are almost always guaranteed to receive an assignment in the region. The exception is House Jackie; since a disproportionate amount of the Guard is pledged to this Noble House, it’s not always possible to allow everyone who asks to remain in the region.

In addition, for no more than five years, knights can return to the same assignment they held in the previous year if they received a favorable report from their employer. However, after five years, the knight will have to be assigned elsewhere, lest their loyalties begin to shift in favor of their employer over their duty to the Coalition.

Once those first two categories are sorted, the rest of the knights are given their assignments. While the Coalition tries its best to place everyone in a job or location of their preference, knights are not guaranteed to be stationed at the top choice they indicated on their application.

### Contract and Limitations

People or groups who wish to hire members of the Guard will submit an application listing the nature of the job, including size of the area they wish to be guarded and times at which they want guards on duty. These applications also contain a space for potential employers to indicate how many knights they believe would be necessary for this assignment.

First-time employers will often underestimate how many knights are needed for a job, either unintentionally out of ignorance or intentionally to try to save money and pressure the knights to work longer hours than the Coalition denotes on the contract, so the Coalition has its own team that runs the numbers on each of these applications. After assessing how many knights the assignment would actually require, the Coalition responds to the applicant with their recommendation and a price quote.

If the employer cannot hire more guards than they initially indicated on their application, they must edit the job description to something less intensive that can be handled by a team of that size. The Coalition would then review the application again, and the process would repeat until both parties come to an agreement or the applicant backs out. Once terms are finally agreed upon, a contract will be drawn up, the Coalition will be paid, and knights will be assigned to the job.

It’s important to note that, when you hire a member of the Guard Coalition, you’re paying for specific tasks. Once the contract is signed, the knight you’ve hired is only obligated to perform the role described in that agreement. For example, if you hired a member of the Guard to enforce local law, you can’t suddenly demand that they accompany you on a quest across the land, despite the fact that you’re the one who’s paying them. Of course, if the quest doesn’t conflict with the existing terms of their contract, the knight in question could accompany you if they wanted to, but they aren’t obliged to. Moreover, knights are heavily discouraged from accepting such proposals, since they can be a slippery slope towards Contract Breaking or Employed Wrongdoing. As a general rule, if you’d like to hire someone who will support you in whatever you do for the period in which they’re being paid, you’d hire someone from the Mercenary Syndicate instead.

Patrons of the Coalition are also expected to provide food and board for the knights under their employ. Additionally, if the contract expects a specific uniform, the employer must pay an additional fee so that the Coalition can acquire the necessary equipment. As a result, most assignments allow the knights to use their own armor and weapons, with the exception of knights hired by the Noble Houses or Duilintinn’s national government to enforce regional or national law, which always pay to have their knights in full uniform emblazoned with the relevant insignia and coloration.

### Year-Long Assignments

The Guard Coalition handles its full-year contracts like a subscription service.

Once the terms have been agreed upon and the Coalition has been paid, knights are assigned to the job and sent to their employer for the year, usually beginning in the summer. Contracts that begin mid-year are also a thing, but since this usually requires knights slated for temporary jobs or of higher rank to change their plans for the rest of the year, the rates are usually higher until the “guard year” resets in the summer.

After the year has ended, the employer can opt to renew their previous contract with the Coalition ad infinitum. They can also add additional jobs to the contract, which will still have to go through the same review process, but these addendums are never nearly the same amount of hassle as trying to settle a contract with a first-time guard employer. This is also one of the reasons why the Guard puts all the time and energy into advocating for their knights before accepting an application; the resulting contract could last for years, if not decades.

### Temporary Assignments

There are often more knights enrolled in the Guard Coalition than can be assigned to year-long stations. Those that don’t get an assignment remain at The Whetstone to help with training and take on temporary assignments. Colloquially called “Temp Assignments,” these jobs are one-and-done requests for escorts, event security, monster hunting, etc.

Temporary assignments are more dangerous on average than standing at attention to scare off troublemakers, and due to the short term nature of these assignments, the pay is far less consistent than that of a year-long contract.

On the other hand, temporary jobs allow you to travel, get more time off to train or be with family, and avoid the risk of being stuck with a bad boss or crappy guard mates for a whole year. Some knights actively volunteer to be slated for temporary assignments for these benefits alone. The Guard also further incentivizes this option by offering free room and board at The Whetstone to those who remain at The Whetstone for this purpose.

### Law Enforcement Assignments

> See more Duil Legal System
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In addition, members of the Guard Coalition might also be hired by local, regional, national governments as law enforcement. As mentioned above, these knights are always outfitted with a specific uniform and equipment with the color and insignia of the governing body they are employed by.

For the most part, these jobs are almost identical to working for a private entity like a landowner or organization. Knights are expected to learn the legal code of that community before they arrive and do whatever is asked of them by their patron. They have to abide by the same rules as other knights on duty and face the same consequences for misbehavior.

In practice, the main difference is size and scale. This not only differs heavily from working for a private entity, but also shifts considerably depending on the level of government the knights are employed by.

For example, a local town government might only hire a handful of guards, which usually get their orders directly from local leadership and coordinate these tasks between each other. On the flip side, the major cities will usually hire a small army, making communication completely different as guards have to report to an internal hierarchy, led by several higher-ranking members of the Coalition who were sent with the group and report to the regional authorities on behalf of the entire outfit.

In addition, the major cities aren’t just the seats of the regional/national governments, but also have a local government for the people living in the city itself. As a result, members of the Guard assigned to these cities often have to balance the difference between an assignment for the local government of the city, versus an assignment on behalf of the regional government. This adds a different layer of complexity as knights need to be aware of what jurisdiction they are supposed to be representing at any given time and how much authority that grants them.

Regardless of where they are stationed, it is a knight’s job to uphold the local laws as the enforcer of the law, not the creator of it. This sometimes includes carrying out the punishments doled out by the local legal system. As a part of this role, a knight may supervise the house arrest of a criminal who is a clear danger to themselves or others. If they are under the employment of the regional or national governments, they might also be assigned to guard the prison facilities in the major city (Monacoil, Fionport, Aghaboy, Mulladún, Noefrach, and Cordoire) of the Noble House they are serving.

However, it is not the responsibility of members of the Guard Coalition to chase down criminals who fled the town where they are stationed. Members of the Guard Coalition who are contracted to preserve the peace and enforce the law in a specific area cannot perform that duty if they are pursuing a criminal who fled that location. Moreover, knights have no authority outside of the town that hired them; a knight stationed in Loburn for the year cannot arrest a criminal in Begdor, even if that criminal had originally fled from Loburn. This rule prevents abuses of power by both the knights and the authorities who hire them. If a town wishes to have a criminal extradited, they would most likely hire the services of the Mercenary Syndicate instead.

## Internal Oversight

Despite its intense internal hierarchy, the Guard has very little accountability to anyone but themselves.

Once members of the Guard receive their certification and assignment for the year, they’re more or less on their own until the following summer unless they reach out to the Coalition for support themselves. There’s very little interference or oversight on the part of the Coalition unless the employer complains directly to the guild or if the knight intentionally reaches out to them for support. It’s just not possible. Too many knights all spread out and not enough Coalition leaders.

All oversight instead comes from the employers, who write up reports on them and send them to the guild, which does enact consequences for poor behavior. Punishment usually takes the form of a probationary period, in which knights are stripped of their rank and forbidden to get recertified for a set period of time. However, after the Guard completes their probation time and gets recertified, there are no further consequences for their poor behavior. They will receive the same assignments they would have without the strike on their record, and employers will not be informed about their past misdeeds. However, if a guard commits the same offense for a second time within ten years of the first offense, the probation time is doubled.

There are three types of ways a knight could get in trouble as a member of the Guard Coalition; independent wrongdoing, employed wrongdoing, and lawful wrongdoing.

### Independent Wrongdoing

Independent wrongdoing is bad behavior done by a knight or group of knights on their own time, of their own volition. The two most common examples of this are abuse of power and contract breaking.

Abusing one’s authority and/or causing trouble for the local population are considered the worst offenses that a member of the Guard can commit because it is the exact opposite of a guard’s job. Guards are meant to keep the peace, but if you cause a bar fight, you are disturbing the peace instead. As such, abuse of one’s post and/or excessive rowdiness will earn you on five year probation.

By contrast, breaking their contract through negligence, deserting their post, or otherwise flagrantly disregarding their obligations as a knight on duty, a guard might be committing an omission of their duty, but they aren’t necessarily guaranteeing that anything violent will happen. Thus, contract breaking only results in a one-year probation.

### Employed Wrongdoing

Employed wrongdoing is when a knight or group of knights does something illegal at their employer’s request.

Knights are obligated to follow all orders given by their employer except for those in violation of their contract, and are expressly forbidden to follow orders that directly contradict the laws of the kingdom and/or the Guard Coalition.

Obviously, there are a lot of ways this can be subverted, usually resulting with knights being pressured into Employed Wrongdoing by their employers or agreeing to the deed of their own volition and getting away with it. The Coalition has done their best to mitigate these factors, with varying levels of success.

To pressure a knight to participate in an illegal act, an employer might threaten a knight with a damning report to the Coalition. To counteract this, these reports can be contested with the support of other knights who can attest to the character of the accused. As a general rule, most knights of the Coalition will jump at the chance to defend one of their own against an outsider, especially if they are falsely accused.

On the other hand, if the majority of knights in question do wish to participate in the illegal acts, they can get away with a lot. Obviously, the employer won’t report their wrongdoing, nor will the knights be inclined to incriminate themselves by testifying against the others. Those who do not want to participate in the wrongdoing might be pressured to stay silent or participate themselves, since the larger group of knights would speak up in support of any false report the employer might submit to the Guard.

As a general rule, therefore, teams of knights on assignment are always a mixture of friends and strangers. Ideally, this way everyone will have at least one companion loyal enough to back them up if everyone else tries to throw them under the bus, but no one trusts each other intimately enough to risk trying to hatch a plot to lie as a group.  It doesn’t always work, especially for smaller assignments where only one to three guards are requested in the first place, but it’s the best solution they’ve got.

### Lawful Wrongdoing

Lawful Wrongdoing is a brand of misconduct that only applies to Knights who are hired as law enforcement bodies by local or regional governments. This oxymoron refers to a situation where a knight is ordered to uphold a local or regional law that directly contradicts the higher legal codes that superseded them, be that regional or national law, respectively. This is very similar to Employed Wrongdoing, but far less black-and-white.

Fortunately, most knights will never find themselves in such an ordeal. Most of the local laws that contradict the higher legal codes are forgotten, antiquated policies that no one bothered to remove from the law books.

However, if the knight has the particular misfortune of being caught up in the middle of a situation where they are being asked to uphold a law that goes against the higher authorities of the kingdom, they are obligated to uphold the higher law.

Members of the Guard are expected to make themselves aware ahead of time of the potential conflicts that may arise between local laws and the higher legal codes (regional and/or national) of Duilintinn. the Guard Coalition keeps detailed notes on their clients, especially with information that might lead to trouble, so it isn’t difficult for knights to inform themselves of these conflicts. Thus, a guard cannot expect to be pardoned for Lawful Wrongdoing by pleading ignorance of the higher laws that contradicted their orders.

However, the Guard Coalition does understand that it’s not easy to address the awkward situation of pointing out legal discrepancies without being accused of insubordination by the client. In fact, given how quickly these situations can turn ugly, knights who find themselves caught in such ordeals are encouraged to request support from the Coalition and, if necessary, the regional or national government. Usually, the conflict is resolved in the higher courts of the kingdom, at which point the matter is out of the individual knight’s hands.

Punishment for Lawful Wrongdoing varies heavily depending on the situation. If a knight demonstrates flagrant ignorance of the conflicting laws, they’ll generally get one year of probation, the same punishment given to knights convicted of Independent Wrongdoing via neglecting their duties. On the other hand, if the knight can show that they were attempting to handle the situation correctly, but wasn’t sure of the correct course of action and made some mistakes before they were able to reach out to the Coalition for advice, they’re generally let off with a warning. Finally, if a knight was aware of the conflicting laws, yet decided to obey the unlawful orders anyway, they’d be charged the same way as a knight convicted of Employed Wrongdoing.

## Culture

### Free Time

Members of the Guard are guaranteed a certain amount of free time while on duty. Their contracts generally indicate that, except in emergency circumstances specifically put into writing ahead of time, knights cannot be forced to work for more than eight hours a day. This allows knights 16 hours of free time that they can use as they please to rejuvenate and enjoy themselves.

Depending on where they are assigned, knights will spend their free time off duty in different ways. While some members request assignments near their homes so they can spend their off time with family or friends, those who don’t have any connections at their place of assignment will usually spend their free time socializing at the nearest tavern.

### Magic

The Guard Coalition views magic as another form of a weapon, and don’t forbid its use during assignments among journeymen mages as long as they have a focus that lets them control their powers.

However, the Guard is not there to teach you how to use magic, nor should you be reliant on it during training. In order to be certified each year, you must prove that you can rely on yourself and your own strength without magic if necessary. In addition, you’re expected to be able to wield a physical weapon, because while your magic might change over time into something less combat-oriented later in life, a weapon is forever.

### Uniform and Equipment

As a general rule, members of the Guard are all trained to use the same basic armor, shield, and at least one short range and one long range weapon of the knight’s choice. Even knights who forgo the shield in favor of two-handed weapons are taught how to use one, although they never have to use it.

After being knighted, each member of the Coalition is given a standard-issue version of this equipment and one dress uniform. These items are theirs for life, though they have to pay for repairs and replacements as needed. The standard issue armor consists of an inner padding layer and an outer layer of thin plate or chainmail protecting the most vital parts of the body. This also came with a tabard emblazoned with the insignia of the Coalition, which could be worn as a surcoat over the armor, but was mainly meant to be paired with the tunic provided as part of their dress uniform.

Additionally, some assignments may require a specific uniform for knights under their employ. However, the hefty additional cost this adds to the contract generally means that this option is only used by governing bodies who hire members of the Guard for regional or national law enforcement and/or security. So long as it doesn’t upset the balance, weight, usage, or maneuverability of the item, these governing bodies are allowed to customize the aesthetic of their standard issue weapons and armor in almost any way they wish. Though these designs often change over time, they are always emblazoned with the colors and insignia of the governing body they serve.

Whenever a batch of official uniforms begins to wear out, the Coalition will reach out to inform the governing body, who will in turn commission a lucky blacksmith or artisan to create new designs for the official uniform. The design and a hefty fee is then sent to the Coalition, which uses it to commission craftsmen trusted by the Guard to produce these uniforms in bulk. These new uniforms would then be kept at The Whetstone and used for several years until their efficacy begins to decrease with use, at which point the process begins all over again.

While knights who are given special equipment have to return most of it to the Coalition after their assignment has ended, if they serve in the same assignment under a governing body for the full five year maximum, they are allowed to keep one piece of the official uniform or equipment in recognition. This is a huge incentive for many knights, especially because the Noble Houses have turned the tradition into a friendly, unspoken competition to attract the best guards by providing the best gear.

Equipment and uniforms are delivered to knights as soon as the Coalition knows where they will be assigned, allowing them as much time as possible to get them adjusted for a good fit. Sometimes, a knight will receive their equipment before the official assignments have been announced, giving them a big hint as to the nature of their assignment for the year. Of course, since most knights will be using the same standard-issue Coalition armor or their own equipment, only those who were recently knighted or employed somewhere with a specific uniform will be receiving new equipment at all.

### Attitudes and Traditions

The Coalition has a bit of a reputation for being extremely conservative, insular, and close-minded about their traditions. Some blame this fact on the lack of vetting process for who can join the Coalition as a trainee. Of course, one must pass the training program to become a knight, but that’s the only milestone they must pass. Motivations and character aren’t taken into account so long as one can do their job and represent the Guard well.

However, if this were the only factor, then why is this an issue that seemingly pervades the entire culture of the Guard Coalition, rather than the isolated perspective of a few knights of poor character among thousands? The more complicated answer lies in the culture fostered by the Guard itself, not that of those who join. After all, many join the guild out of a desire to do good and help others, without any underlying agenda.

Unfortunately, the culture of the Coalition actively encourages an intense, unquestioning loyalty and pride in the establishment of the Guard as a whole. Loyal to a fault, with a defensive streak that automatically prioritizes their own traditions and knights above all else, the Guard has an extremely high opinion of itself and will do everything it can to preserve their good name. Any challenges to that authority or perception are usually met with hostility, a tendency that has only continued to worsen with the rise of The Watch. As a result, the Coalition could be uncharitably described as an echo-chamber of entitlement, savoir complexes, and power fantasies.

Even among those who join the guild with good intentions, the culture of the Coalition tends to develop this attitude in all of its members over time. Those who try to better the system or break that mold are often bullied out of the program, while the rest either turn a blind eye or actively lean into the Guard’s more negative, self-aggrandizing aspects. Even those who retain their good intentions often have a philistine-level legalist streak that refuses to break guard tradition or question their authorities, while the ones that abuse their power are often completely overlooked if they play their cards right. And because guard tradition hasn’t changed in decades…. well, they are very, very good at playing their cards right.

## Inter-Guild Dynamics

### Relationship with The Watch

Thematically, I’ve been developing the Guard Coalition and The Watch as direct foils for each other. Each organization has the same goal- defending the kingdom- but their methods, organization, legacy, ideals, and just about everything else are completely different.

The Watch was formed after Duilintinn’s founding, while the Guard predates the kingdom by centuries. Therefore, The Watch abides by Duilintinn’s cultural emphasis on finding one’s place in the world, while the traditions of the Guard Coalition predate this shift in cultural values. These differences in perspective, culture, and structure cause a fair amount of tensions between the two organizations.

The strict ranking system, certification process, and internal hierarchy of the Guard Coalition is one of the biggest differences between itself and The Watch. The Guard tends to look down on The Watch because of its looser structure and organization, lack of internal hierarchy, and flexibility for individual members.

Additionally, many among the Guard resent The Watch for their rise in influence, believing that the organization has usurped the Coalition’s jurisdiction as the protectors of Duilintinn. Others don’t exactly resent The Watch for their designated role in fighting The Enemy, but distrust how The Watch has gained a powerful hand in other unrelated elements of Duilintinns’ socioeconomic landscape.

On the other hand, the Watch sometimes resents the Guard Coalition because they are the only guild in Duilintinn that does not allow for dual enrollment as both a guild member and a Watcher. The Guard considers dual enrollment impossible, since most knights are employed full time through the Coalition, while some Watchers believe that the Guard should adjust its formula to reflect Duilintinn’s evolving cultural and economic landscape.

Frankly, however, the true root of the tensions lies in the strong sense of identity that both organizations inspire among their members. Many Watchers have their identity wrapped up in The Watch just as much, if not more, than Knights have their identities wrapped up in the Guard Coalition. When these institutions are challenged, those members feel like their entire sense of being is being attacked, and respond accordingly.

In short, the relationship between The Watch and the Guard Coalition is tenuous at best, hostile at worst. Some members of both organizations have a healthy respect for the role the other plays, even if they disagree about how to address the issues at hand. Others have become very defensive and distrustful, feeling like the other organization is actively challenging their authority and identity as a Knight or a Watcher.

### Relationship with the Fellowship of Thieves

In many ways, the Fellowship of Thieves is another foil to the establishments of The Watch and the Guard Coalition. All three of these organizations want to protect the people of Duilintinn, but they all go about it in very different ways and with very different internal politics. The Watch is very reactive, with a very casual de facto hierarchy and a focus on investigations and debate. The Guard is very organized, with an iron-clad chain of command and a focus on orders and discipline. The Fellowship of Thieves, on the other hand, is borderline vigilante in structure, with a secretive internal hierarchy and the ability to seemingly be everywhere all the time. They’re in a constant rivalry with the Guard and a tenuous relationship with The Watch.

### Relationship with the Mercenary Syndicate

Unsurprisingly, the Mercenary Syndicate is considered an active rival of the Guard Coalition. While the reasons for hiring a member of the Guard versus a mercenary are different enough that they rarely come into direct competition with each other, the Syndicate’s culture and history lends itself to something of a rivalry. That being said, animosity between these two guilds has somewhat lessened over the years corresponding with the rise of The Watch as the primary usurper of the Guard’s jurisdiction