The following is a list of the major Guilds of the Light. These are the only formally recognised Guilds by the governments of the Dark countries (Greiflands, Ithaca-Under-Shadow, Nakkiga, Glacier Shelf and the Northron Wastes) and each has memberships in the millions. Groups can have members belong to Guilds, either in their entirety or each individually.
A Character that joins these Guilds must be Dark, and they can only join one Guild. This is because each Guild holds a deep secret that it guards with utmost jealousy. A character that belongs to a Guild gains a Hidden Skill from being in that Guild, which might be different from other characters in that Guild. These are not given below, but a brief description as to what it might be is. Characters must prove worthy of joining the Guild, and membership is often for life. Some Guilds might charge a membership.
The Arc-Grid
A centre in the eastern Wastes, the Grid is a series of coils that tempers Fae in unknown ways. It is basically a series of metal shacks built around the coils and forms the basis of all great craftsmanship in the North – tempering materials is strange ways.
Guild Skill: The Arc-Grid is known to produce Crafted items unlike anywhere else in the world, with strange results and odd Fae-reactions
Restrictions: Character must have at least one Craft skill, at least of Master value.
Guild Fee: 1 laurel per event
Clawed Coliseum
The ruins of a Coliseum in the middle of the Wastes, though far from the Shelf, the Coliseum looks like it has been clawed by some massive beast. This place trains warriors of the Dark and often puts of shows to the amusement of the Northmen. Unlike many Guilds, the Coliseum accepts all races and is also the known place for trade and barter.
Guild Skill: The Coliseum produces the most bestial warriors of the Dark, and their skills rely on pure brute force. It also produces the finest traders and merchants.
Restrictions: None.
Guild Fee: 2 silver per event.
Cult of the Hydra
The ruins of a Coliseum in the middle of the Wastes, though far from the Shelf, the Coliseum looks like it has been clawed by some massive beast. This place trains warriors of the Dark and often puts of shows to the amusement of the Northmen. Unlike many Guilds, the Coliseum accepts all races and is also the known place for trade and barter.
Guild Skill: The Cult of the Hydra makes the most perfect assassins and thus skills will be around subterfuge and a quick death.
Restrictions: Character may not be Norn.
Guild Fee: All money gained.
House of the Devourer
The House of the Devourer is run by the clergy of the Norn. From priests and priestess to battle-clergy, monks and nuns, the clergy of the Norn consistently pull arcane energies from a source – baffling scholars of the Fae. The fell powers thus released from the clergy mean the clergy themselves are greatly feared and respected in equal measure. Like an informal inquisition, the clergy of the House oversee all the Norn race and ensure all Norn follow the Devourer.
Guild Skill: The House of the Devourer releases the full potential of the clergy, and their prayers might well increase in power or grant abilities like Fearless.
Restrictions: Character must be Norn.
Guild Fee: All money gained.
The Obsidian Spire
The Spire is a needle of black stone in the north-west of the Wastes, and on the edge of the Glacier Shelf so that parts of its training yards open up into the Deeps of the Shelf itself. Here, Norn train the most useful of each of the other races and their own into the perfect form of battlefield executioner. Typically armed with two-handed swords or dual-wielding, the warriors of the Spire prefer close-combat, believing ranged combat is for cowards.
Guild Skill: The Spire’s warriors are feared all over the North, and they are known as spell-swords and executioners of the weak. Thus their warrior skills are more likely to be about skill at arms, not the brute force of the warriors of the Clawed Coliseum.
Restrictions: Character must be a warrior, and cannot be Dwarrow or Troll. The high ranks here will always be Norn, and all Norn here must be trained as a Zha’Hao.
Guild Fee: 1 laurel per event for non-Norn.
The Shade Towers
The Shade Towers are a series of spiky folds in the third circle of Nakkiga. The Towers are a centre that teaches fundamental basics, from numeracy to literacy. It ensures that even the lower classes of Norn are properly trained, but a small number of those it teaches remain in contact with it for the rest of their lives. This is because the upper echelons maintain records of bargains and assets of the Noble Houses, thus delves deep in Norn nobility. Of all the Guilds the Shade Towers council the Queen and have Her ear directly.
Guild Skill: The Shade Towers teach etiquette and simple practices of lore, trade and herbalist skills. It acts as a comprehensive library for the Norn, a collection of ideals of the Norn, and witnesses bargains and bonds made by Norn between Norn and servants. It has the authority to turn a Norn to a Ni’Han (Disear).
Restrictions: Characters cannot be Goblin or Kobold.
Guild Fee: 1 laurel per event for non-Norn.
Teeth of Secrets
The Teeth are a series of tower-like protrusions on the eastern fringes of the Greiflands. Here in the mighty towers, the Norn teach the arcane mixtures of Arts, Alchemy, Blood-magicks and other Dark Arts to those it considers worthy. Feared by all the North, including the Cult of the Hydra and the Obsidian Spire, it is to here that vast caravans of lesser races are brought to be made into chimaerae... though it is also rumoured that a vast number of those taught at the Teeth become ‘in-mates’; insane and babbling wrecks of people.
Guild Skill: The Teeth uses a mixture of Alchemy and other magicks and fuses them in strange and complex ways – it is they that make the Chimaera of the North. It is also whispered that they work with daemons.
Restrictions: Character must be able to use Alchemy.
Guild Fee: All money gained.
The Coded
None truly know the basis of where the Coded came from except the higher ranks, and it is typical the Coded will not know other Coded from other areas. They are dealers in ‘purloined’ goods, traders, merchants – but assigned as the high ranks as they see fit – rubbing shoulders with cut-throats, dealers, thieves, alchemists, scholars, historians, pick-pockets, fencers, forgers and pirates. The Coded provide a wide range of individuals to solve other people’s problems... for a price.
Guild Skill: The Coded are the thieves and con-artiste of the Dark, but also bargain with knowledge which they sell off to others. It is typical that they do not know all the other Sanctified across the North, and many will specialise in certain areas of information. They risk a great much, though, often stealing from powerful members of the Dark.
Restrictions: Characters cannot be Norn.
Guild Fee: 2 silver per event, with 1 laurel per Noble Rank.
Witherer’s Gardens
From a series of ruins in the North-east, the Gardens are a religious centre for those that worship the Witherer. Part hospital and part funeral service, the Witherer’s Gardens exist apart from the rest of the Dark and away from Norn society – who find the idea distasteful. It seems to attract its fair share of Goblins and Dwarrow, but is most known with great respect amongst the Human tribes for its healing and curing of the sick.
Guild Skill: Using a mixture of herb lore and other apothecary skills, the rumours say that they also dabble into the forms and functions of the living body. Skills will be thus appropriate.
Restrictions: Character cannot be Norn.
Guild Fee: 1 laurel 2 silver per event.
