Guilds by N. Robin Crossby is a role playing game supplement published by Columbia Games Inc. for use with HârnMaster, although this supplement has no game stats.
This is a ten page PDF that is available from DriveThruRPG for $3.99 although it was purchased at a reduced price thanks to a special offer.
The opening paragraph explains that guilds are groups of craftsmen who have banded together to control economic activity in trades and that they control most such throughout western Lythia – Lythia is the continent which the island of Hârn is off.
A sidebar explains that guild badges are similar to heraldic devices but are not considered proper ones and don’t follow the rules for such precisely. They can also not be used in the same way.
Franchises and Chapters explains that franchises are granted to guild members to operate in certain regions, in order to limit competition, and chapters are groups of these franchises.
Guild Ranks has the three ranks for guild members, Apprentice, Journeyman and Master, each of which is explained. Sidebars explain guild syndics, the Mangai, which is an organisation of all the guilds, and an attempt by teamsters to form their own guild.
The remaining eight pages of the supplement cover the different guilds. Each is named, given a description of their activities and, in all except one case, has a badge which is also described. It’s fortunate that each badge is depicted, as the description of it is in heraldic terms and will not mean a lot to anyone unfamiliar with such. The sole organisation that lacks a badge is the Lia-Kavair; this is the Thieves Guild, so this is not a surprise.
Guilds in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, although there are a lot of different guilds, navigation is still okay. The first two pages follow a single column with sidebar layout whilst the remainder follow a two column format and the text appeared to be free of errors. There is a single illustration on the cover but each guild does, as mentioned, have its own badge. Presentation is decent.
No guild is described in great detail but this does provide an overview of each guild, and most fantasy game worlds are going to have similar lists. Most, but not all, guilds are organised in the same way. This does provide a list of organisations which can wield tremendous power; an individual member may not be that impressive, but if doing something to them offends the whole guild, those doing the offending are going to have problems. Guilds is an interesting insight into the titular guilds that can be used to provide extra detail to a world and it can be found by clicking here.
Leave a Reply