Mystic RealmsGlory of Guildhall

Source BookVersion: 2013-07-05

THIS COPY IS FOR MEMBERS ONLYPLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE

A Role Playing Game Supplement Created by Anton Kukal

MYSTIC REALMS is a registered trademark and service mark of Mystic Realms, Ltd. TRADESMEN, GUILDHALL and all Mystic Realmscharacters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Mystic Realms, Ltd. This material is protected under thecopyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material contained herein is prohibited without theexpress written permission of Mystic Realms, Ltd. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or eventsis purely coincidental. 2011 Mystic Realms, Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Mystic Realms, Ltd.

CREDITS

Written by: Anton KukalPlaytesting: Rosemary Auge, Ken Butler, Patrick Clewell,Christopher Diehl, Drew Forman, Bobbi J. Kukal, JenniferGannon, Noah Gershkowitz, Lee M. Lewis, Sean McGarry,Walter McCord, Vince McDonald, Scott A. Melzer, WilliamSeligman, Genna Schnorrbusch, Jarod Thomas, AmyWojciechowski.

Reproduction or translation of any part of this work, beyond thatpermitted by Section 107 or 108 of the United States CopyrightAct, without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should beaddressed to Mystic Realms, Ltd. at mysticrealms.com.

CAUTION STATEMENTAlways exercise caution when playing Mystic Realms. Playersmust ensure that no physical harm comes to them or others whileplaying, and should also be careful that their game does notdisturb or alarm those who are not participants and may notunderstand the hobby. Players are encouraged to contact localauthorities to establish procedures to inform them of when andwhere their games will be played. Stage properties, specificallyweapons, should never be carried in public places. Manyjurisdictions severely prosecute persons wielding weapons,including toy guns, and jail time may be mandatory in theseweapon and/or firearm offenses.

DISCLAIMERThe author and publisher will not be held responsible for anyaction, intentional or other, committed while playing MysticRealms or derived from the content of this book. The author andpublisher make no specific warranties as to the safety of theserules and encourage players to use their own common sense whenplaying this game.

Mystic Realms is a game for entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised. All similarities between themes,characters, plots, and persons living or dead are strictlycoincidental and do not reflect reality. All ceremonial, ritual,religious and occult elements in this book are fictional andintended for entertainment purposes only. Please do not sacrificeyour neighbors pet to your imaginary dread god and, if you do,be advised that the author and the publisher will not be heldresponsible.

ABOUT THE AUTHORAnton Kukal started live-action roleplaying in the early 1980s,long before the term live-action was ever used to describe thehobby. His first attempt at writing a rules system used crumpledballs of paper to cast spells, padded broom-handle swords, andgarbage can-lid shields. The goal was to hunt monsters throughthe woods behind his house as imagined medieval heroes.

Anton wanted more from this developing hobby and for the nextfifteen years he worked to create a rules system that would blendtheatrics and game mechanics to totally simulate every aspect ofthe imagination. The first draft of the Mystic Realms rules waspublished in 1995, the second in 2002, and the most recent in2010.

The current Mystic Realms rules system allows players to doalmost anything their imagination devises in a way that isbalanced, fair, and extremely playable, but, more importantly toAnton, dedicated to encouraging theatric performance in theparticipant.

Anton has written the Mystic Realms Live-Action! rules, as wellas a companion Dice-Play! system. Hes written the MysticRealms Writers Guide to teach game administrators how to maketheir LARP a more interactive theatric experience. And heswritten the source materials for many of the Mystic Realmsworlds. He also is the author of over a dozen novels andcountless short stories most of which are set in the game worldsof Mystic Realms.

Antons goals are to bring Live-Action! roleplaying intoacceptance as a mainstream performance hobby. He hopes toshow people the value of a theatric based rules system whereparticipants entertain each other as part of a creative communityof friends. If asked why he started Mystic Realms, hell tell yousimply, I wanted to bring people together.

Anton lives with his wife and three children in a small blue house,on a wooded lot, in the middle of a long country lane. Youll findhim at his desk, typing away, hard at work, creating the next newadventure.

OFFICIAL CLUBSWe want you to have as much fun as possible while playingMystic Realms. If youre interest in starting an OfficialProduction Club please contact us at mysticrealms.com. Ourdream is to create interconnected groups of people sharing castcostumes, weapons, knowledge, and experience. Well be gladto help you host your first couple of events. Theres no franchisefees or other nonsense to start a club. We started in ourbackyards and we want to help you and your friends get started,as well. Soon youll be renting sites with a hundred new friends,and having the time of your other lives!

Table Of ContentsA Historical Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

The Awakening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2World Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2The Five Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

On Guildhall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Guilds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Game of Guilds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Founding of Guildhall. . . . . . . . . . . . 12Guild Members. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Guild Hierarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Structure of Guildhall. . . . . . . . . . . . 14Guild Life.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

On Becoming a Guildsmen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Starting.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Lore Tomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Learning New Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Rank Advancement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Guild Ceremony.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Changing Guilds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Alchemist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Artisan.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Bard.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Cavalier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Cleric.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Druid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Necromancer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Ranger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Rogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Runecaster.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Warlock.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Warrior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Wizard.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47On Governing Guildsmen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Council of Lore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Community Governance. . . . . . . . . . 49Luminary Positions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Meetings.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Justice of Guildhall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Crimes and Punishments. . . . . . . . . . 59

On Commoners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Prejudices.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Laws.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

On Commoner Nations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Beardon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Elf.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Human. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Klacton.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Minotaur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Orc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Pythian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Rakkarin.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Weetle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Some General Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Spirits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116Military Orders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119The Eternal Spirits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Geographic Locations. . . . . . . . . . . 123Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Holidays and Celebrations. . . . . . . . 126

Economics, Skills & Equipment. . . . . . . . . . 129Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Base Substances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Runes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Compounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Glyphs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Medical Treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Traps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

The Time Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135First Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Second Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Third Age.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Fourth Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Two thousand years ago the realm was torn asunder as the peaceful rule of the Five OldGods was ended by the New Gods and their armies. For a millennia the world bled,enslaved under the yoke of tyranny, exposed to corrupted flows of magic, sufferingstorms, plagues and famine, their plight seeming hopeless, in the face of a world gonemad.

Then, a beacon of hope, a glimmer of order in the shadow, a group of heros dedicated torestoring the realm formed an organization known as Guildhall, composed of thirteenGuilds: Artisans, Alchemists, Bards, Cavaliers, Clerics, Druids, Necromancers, Rangers,Rogues, Runecasters, Warlocks, Warriors and Wizards. Each guild possessing their ownunique set of magical skills.

The heros of Guildhall fought the New Gods and their armies, ending the tyranny,purifying the flows of mana, and bring peace to the world. The Age of Death wasdeclared ended, and Age of Order begun. This is our Age, Fourth Age, known most oftenas the Age of Guildhall or the Age of Order, and sometimes by the religious among us asthe Age of Solnus.

We live in a time of peace and prosperity under the protection of Guildhall. Members ofGuildhall are called Guildsmen, and only they can wield the power of magic. They aredevoted to a way of life that values cooperation, fraternity and mutual respect. They arechampions of right and defenders of morality.

But there is a great danger, the prophecies tell that the Fifth Age, also called the Age ofKarthis or the Age of Chaos, is coming and it will be the end of all we love. Karthis, thegod of chaos will return to wreak his vengeance. The realm will be consumed in fire andflame and all that was will be but a distant memory.

The Glory of Guildhall is the story of heros struggling to keep their world in the Age ofOrder. As great nations rise eclipsing the power of Guildhall, as New Gods returngathering new armies to their faiths, as commoners rise up in greed and avarice, as theworld teeters on the brink of destruction, Guildhall struggles alone, against the world, tokeep the Age from turning.

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A Historical Overview

The AwakeningIn the beginning there were five elements: Earth, Air, Fire,Water and Spirit. These five elements swirled intoindividual consciousness. They took individual names andforms, but collectively they were known simply as the FiveGods. Later, they were called the Old Gods.

Natallis: Earth became Natallis. Her form was a humanfemale of plain beauty. She had long reddish-auburn hairadorned with leaves and flowers. She was curious,inquisitive and playful. Her thoughts moved the gods tocreate the realm. She gave the world Nature.

Lumina: Air became Lumina. Her form was a humanfemale of stunning beauty. She had long blond hair, thecolor of sunshine, and carried herself with elegance andpoise. She was patient, trusting and loving of all. She wascalled the goddess of light and day. She gave the worldLife.

Noctis: Spirit became Noctis. In his youth, he was apensive dreamer and poet. His form was a human malewith a slim build, dark hair and intelligent caring eyes, butafter the death of Lumina his form became that of acrooked, skeletal man shrouded in robes of black. He wasthen called the god of darkness and night. He gave theworld Death.

Solnus: Water became Solnus. His form was a powerfulman with chiseled facial features and eyes that portrayeda serious heart that was true to justice and right. He wassolid in his beliefs and dedicated to honor. His brother wasKarthis, and he gave the world Order.

Karthis: Fire became Karthis. His form was a handsomehuman male with an athletic build. In his youth, he wasremembered for his carefree smile and easy-going manner. He was the trickster, the fool, the jester of the realm, butafter the death of his brother, Solnus, he was reborn as agod of vengeance. He gave the world Chaos.

World CreationAfter eons of nothingness, Natallis conceived the idea offilling the empty void in which the Five existed. Sheconvinced the others to aid her in the creation of a realmwhere the Five could give physical form to all theyconceive.

Solnus and Karthis were as different as fire and water, but

were connected by the unbreakable bonds of sibling love.Solnus offered the laws of the universe; physics,mathematics and gave consistency to her dream. Karthis,offering change, varied the laws just enough so thateverything was unique in its own right.

Lumina and Noctis were lovers. She offered the idea of asun and day light. He suggested a period of darkness lit bya silvery moon. Together they designed the sunset andsunrise making these beautiful to behold as a special timefor lovers. Lumina and Noctis, working together, gave theworld its greatest gift, the cycle of life and death.

Solnus created the oceans and rose the earth from itsdepths. Karthis shaped majestic mountains which Solnuscovered in snow; Karthis carved valleys which Solnusfilled with lakes and streams. Karthis created a swirlingdesert of ever-changing sands. He made storms that causedlightning to strike and thunder to rumble. He let the rainfall in torrents and made every snowflake different. Solnusformed minerals, gems and precious metals.

Natallis created flowers, forests and grass-covered prairies. She filled the skies with birds and the oceans with fish. The forests and prairies were filled with animals. Therealm was suffused with the sounds of life.

The Lesser BeingsThe Five viewed the world with fascination, but eachwanted to give more of themselves to the world. Theydesired to create beings who could feel, reason, rememberand communicate. The Five working in pairs created thefirst beings, but all were lacking in some capacity andbecame know as lesser beings.

Cyclops: Cyclops are easily identified because theypossess only a single eye located in the center of theirforehead. They are strong, gentle and very caring, but solacking in their capacity to reason that they often hurt thosearound them by their blundering stupidity and lack of depthperception. Solnus and Lumina created the Cyclops

Goblins: Goblins are a dark green-skinned race. They aregenerally sly and sneaky, but are also greedy and will lie,cheat and steal to gain things which they desire. Goblinsoften seem cowardly and will generally avoid a directphysical confrontation. However, as part of a large groupthey become emboldened. They are often led by Orcs,who easily force them into servile rolls. Noctis and

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Karthis created the Goblins.

Gremlins: These orange-skinned beings have dome-likeheads with little mouths and beady eyes. They are trickstercreatures who delight in playing pranks, however, theirantics are extremely dangerous. Gremlins have nounderstanding of when a joke goes too far and theirfavorite pranks are falling logs, man-catcher traps, tripropes near cliffs, spiked pits dug on common trails andexploding boxes. Karthis and Lumina created theGremlins and they caused much confusion and unintendedharm. Even Karthis, who found humor in all things, wasnot amused.

Kravynn: Noctis and Lumina created the Kravynn, whowere the first sentient beings of the Realm of the Five. Kravynn have brown skin, round, wrinkled faces and thin-lipped mouths with long fangs. Their ears are too largeand their fingernails always seem in need of cutting.

Kravynn, like their creators, feel emotions deeply. Theyare an expressive, passionate race. When they areemotionally content Kravynn can be passive, lovingbeings, but at the slightest notion of insecurity they havethe potential to become suddenly aggressive. In this state,they are exceedingly dangerous.

While Noctis walked the realm, he cared for his childrenand they were peaceful beings that contributed to society,but after the fall of Evermoore the Kravynn, left to theirown devices degenerated into beings of violence.

Ogres: The Ogres are a light green-skinned race. Theyare harsh bullies who dominate the weaker beings aroundthem through force. They are concerned with immediategratification of their desires, which causes them to be impulsive and unpredictable. Ogres are not very intelligentand are easily manipulated. They are often led by Orcs. Noctis and Solnus created the Ogres.

Trolls: Trolls are muscular beings with reddish brownskin and long wild hair. They are extremely strong andvery tough. Trolls are happiest when they are able to usetheir strength for building. They are hard workers whoenjoy working with their hands, but do not possess theintelligence necessary to design elaborate structures. Trolls need careful supervision if they are to performcomplicated tasks, such as leveling, measuring and othermore precise forms of construction.

Trolls were created by Solnus and Natallis and were thelast of the lesser races created in the Realm of the Five.

During the time of the Five they provided much of thelabor force needed for the construction of the city ofEvermoore and other human cities. As the Age of Lifecame to a close they were trained as body guards andsoldiers, which continued to be their primary use duringthe Ages of Death and Order. Following the TrollUprising in the first years of the Age of Death, most Trolls fled into the East Range of the Forlorne Mountains.

Tibbyrrs: Tibbyrrs possess yellow-skin and large eyesthat rise above their low sloping foreheads. Their mouthsare entirely too large for their faces and their noses are fartoo small. Tibbyrrs are generally lazy and refuse toperform any kind of work. They hate living in cities or ingroups larger than their immediate family. They often liveby themselves near small ponds or river banks where theybask in the sun and live on fish. Tibbyrrs are territorial andonce they establish ownership over a place, they oftenbecome violent if encroached. Natallis and Kartis createdthe tibbyrrs.

Greater BeingsAfter the Five, acting in pairs, failed to create a race ofbeings in their image, Lumina suggested that they shareequally of themselves and attempt to forge a perfect being. Under Luminas guidance, the Five joined together tocreate a race of mortal beings having equal parts of all fiveof the elements. This race was called the humans.

The gods were happy and they rejoiced for a time, but eachstill felt the world was lacking. The realm was so big andcould hold so much more, so the five gods agreed to createadditional races which each possessed varying attributes ofeach. These new races were vastly different from the Fivein both form and temperament.

Collectively these are called greater beings because each ofthese beings was self sufficient, inventive and adaptive totheir environment. They possessed the ability to reasonand develop distinct individual personalities.

Beardon: The Beardons appear similar to Humans exceptthat they have three to five ridges on the bridge of theirnose and both males and females are distinguished by thepresence of facial hair on the chin and cheeks. The Fivecontributed to the creation of the beard ons in the followingorder: Solnus, Natallis, Lumina, Noctis, Karthis.

Elf: An elf looks very much like a normal Human withpointed ears. The Five contributed to the creation of theElves in the following order; Lumina, Solnus, Natallis,Karthis, Noctis

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Human: Humans are the most numerous beings in theRealm of the Five. Each of the Five contributed equally tothe creation of the Humans.

Klacton: Evolved Klactons are beings with chiton coveredbodies. They have four appendages, two arms and two legs,but their torso is a carapace. Their insect-like heads arechiton covered and their faces match the color of theircarapaces. The Five contributed to the creation of theKlactons in the following order: Solnus, Natallis, Noctis,Lumina, Karthis.

Minotaur: Minotaurs have human facial features, buttheir skin is dark brown in color. Two sturdy horns growfrom either side of their forehead. The Five contributed tothe creation of the Minotaurs in the following order:Noctis, Lumina, Natallis, Solnus, Karthis

Orc: Orcs have a physique similar to humans except thatthey are green-skinned and generally more muscular. TheFive contributed to the creation of the Orcs in thefollowing order: Noctis, Karthis, Solnus, Natallis, Lumina.

Pythian: Despite their lizard-like appearance, Pythians arewarm-blooded humanoids who walk upright as humans do.Their bodies are covered with greenish scales and theyhave a lizard-like tail. Their body hair is brightly colored,most often, red, purple, or blue. The Five contributed to thecreation of the Pythians in the following order: Natallis,Solnus, Noctis, Lumina, Karthis.

Rakkarin: Rakkarins are cat humanoids. Their bodies arecovered with short fine fur, the color and patterns of whichdepend on the particular culture of the rakkarin. Rakkarinfaces appear more catlike than human and also reflect theirculture. The Five contributed to the creation of therakkarrins in the following order: Natallis, Karthis,Lumina, Noctis, Solnus.

Weetle: Weetles are humanoid beings, with shiny blacknoses and whiskers on an otherwise human-looking face.Extending from their lumbar region is a long vestigial tail.The Five contributed to the creation of the Weetles in thefollowing order: Karthis, Natallis, Solnus, Lumina andNoctis.

The Five Ages . . . When the realm was created it was determined that therewould be five ages, and after the Fifth Age the worldwould end. Each age corresponds to one of the elementalforces that comprise the world. Since each of the Five

contributed that elemental force, the Ages are sometimescalled by the name of the God to which they are mostclosely related.

Age of NatureThe First Age has been called the Age of Nature. In thistime the Five came to live among their children in theGarden of the Gods, which was on the highest peak in whatwas later to be called the Forlorne Mountains. During theAge of Nature life was peaceful.

The first age was a time of great learning. The Five wishedto share their knowledge and powers with their children.They preached the Way of the Five, the first religion of therealm which taught all to believe in balance and to live inlove with each other and the world of nature. It mandatedthat all conflicts be resolved by verbal discourse with anequitable decision reached by compromise. Violence wasunknown and crime was nonexistent. It was a time ofplenty where all were content.

It was in this age the Five began to teach those who couldmanipulate the power of mana. These blessed few werecalled the Five-Sworn and they took an oath to the Fivepromising to forever protect the realm. For their oath, thespirits of the Five-Sworn were bound to the realm andwould be reborn every thousand years to ensure the worldwas in its proper age.

The Five-Sworn were grouped according to the god whomthey served. The Beaconers served Lumina, the Reaversserved Noctis, the Crusaders served Solnus, the Wardersserved Natallis and the Jesters served Karthis.

By the end of the Age of Nature, the people of the realmhad grown too numerous to remain in the Garden of theGods and so it was decided that they should go forth intothe realm. One by one the races left the Garden to makehomes out in the world.

The Humans, the oldest people and most numerous, settledin the plains of the east, the highlands and isles of thenortheast and the western plains. The elves settled in theforests of the west and the beardons settled in mountains ofthe west. The Pythians traveled to the tropical swamps andrainforests of the south. The Orcs went north into themountains, bringing the goblins and ogres. The Weetlesmoved into the hills of the southeast where they lived insmall burrows. The rakkarrins dwelled in the southwestregion which included an expanse of plains, tropicalforests, mountains and portions of the great desert. TheKlactons, being the slowest and the least numerous of the

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races, were forced to travel to the coldest tundra in the farnorth, making their homes in the caves of ice and snow.

The lesser beings were given homes amongst the greaterbeings. The goblins and ogres traveled with the Orcs. TheOrcs promised to keep them safe and put them to good use.The goblins and ogres started out as servants, but becamemore like slaves, working to avoid the whip.

The kravynn stayed with Noctis and Lumina in Evermoore,where they became the caretakers of the Crystal City, atask which they cherished. They happily fulfilled dutiessuch as butlers, maids, messengers, civil servants, streetsweepers, lamp lighters and so forth. They took great pridein their jobs and enthusiastically performed them.

The tibbyrrs were cared for by the pythians, living on theoutskirts of pythian society, by small ponds and on riverbanks, where they made simple homes of sticks and mud.They enjoyed swimming, eating fish and laying in the sun.

The gremlins were too disorganized to lay claim to anypart of the realm and refused to be controlled. Their prankscaused much turmoil, and no other race allowed them to beclose. They wandered the realm causing endless problemsfor the Five-Sworn.

The trolls liked to build. They were happiest whensupervised. During the Age of Life, they labored to buildthe cities of the realm. In the latter part of the age whenunrest became widespread they were trained as protectorsand then as soldiers. Trolls took to using weapons as easilyas they once used building tools.

The Age of Nature was declared ended as the cities ofgreater beings rose up in the world. Fields were plowed,animals were domesticated and the world was full of life.

Age of LifeThe Second Age has been called the Age of Life, or theAge of Lumina. The traditional starting point for the Ageis the wedding of Noctis and Lumia and the building of theCity of Evermoore as a wedding gift by the brothers,Karthis and Solnus.

During this Age, the Five-Sworn traveled the realm helpingall those in need, settling disputes, and keeping the laws sothat all people could continue to live in peace.

At the greatest point of the Age of Life, Noctis and Luminawere crowned the Lord and Lady of the realm. FromEvermoore Noctis and Lumnia ruled the nations of the

realm.

The Age of Life promised an eternity in a world withoutcrime, war or needless death. For a time the dream was areality, but somehow the dream faltered. The Way of theFive was discarded by many who sought to rule themselveswith their own codes, faiths and ideologies. The peace ofthe realm could not be kept and the age ended in bloodshedand war.

Many try to blame the Fall of Evermoore on the Five Gods,and it was true that the Five were distracted from the needsof the realm. They had their own concerns. It was said thata jealousy smouldered between the brothers as both Solnusand Karthis both loved Natallis and she was torn betweenthe two. It was also said that Lumina and Noctisexperienced troubles of their own, as lovers often do.

The greater truth of the situation was that petty personswith dreams of their own power, decided to betray theFive. They were rabble-rousers who campaigned for theirown vanity and gain, under the pretense of doing good forall.

Where the Way of the Five gave power to everyoneequally, the malcontents wanted to collect power forthemselves. They were small and petty of mind and couldnot grasp the glory of a peaceful world where all wereentitled to an equal share.

The rabble-rousers began to rally people to their self-serving causes corrupting them to their own ends by usinguntruths. People who once worshiped the Five turnedaway, convinced by the lies and empty promises that therabble-rousers could give them a better world.

The Five did not see the failing of their dream until it wastoo late. Many of the Five-Sworn, broke their ancientoaths, as they were lured away and swept up in the folly,lost in the lies, rumors and propaganda spread toundermine the Five.

Those people who turned away from the Five created awhole different set of laws to govern themselves. Theselaws ran contrary to the Way of the Five. They allowedfavoritism, embraced inequities and placed a select few inpower, but kept the masses happy by empty promises ofpersonal favor and great reward

And then Harog (Reaver) invented the ritual that couldcreate new gods and the world of the Five was doomed. This ritual created gods by requiring thousands to give up

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their lives and spirits to form the physical bodies of theseavatars. The new gods had tremendous power because theycame from the combined essences of all those who createdthem. The first, foremost and most powerful of the newgods, was Grotar of the Orcs.

Grotar was brought into the realm Harog who was alsocalled the Herald of Grotar. The impact of this new godwas terrible and would prove the undoing of all that theFive knew, loved and taught.

The next was Tharkana, the goddess of the Klactons. TheKlactons, not being able to identify with their creators,brought into existence through their belief an insect godwho was like them. Tharkana had power over all of thehives and united their society as one. The hive-queens andtheir evolved Klactons lost all control of their hives.

The Pythians created Ansaki, the Spirit of the Swamp. Heembodied all life that came before him and had the wisdomof the Ages. His form was that of an ancient Pythian, whoappeared older then time itself. Ansaki was wise, but notwise enough to foresee the horrendous effects that the fallof Evermoore would have on his people and the realm. Henever forgave himself or his people for the role theyplayed.

The elves created Eveya, pregnant goddess of the Harvest.She was to give meaning to the toils of the working Elvesand settle the unrest growing between the ruling castes andthose below. Instead she became the mother of Unity, thechild whose death would divide the elves in bloodshed andhate.

With the creation of the New Gods, the Age of Life couldnot be saved. The concept of war was created by the Orcsand for the first time armies were raised. Both sides turnedto violence as both had strong convictions.

The first major conflict to erupt occurred in the elvenlands. The Elven struggle blossomed into a civil warconsuming all of the Elven people, except a few who choseto leave the homelands on ships in search of a peacefulexistence. Blood was shed as the Elves turned on eachother.

A schism formed in the Five-Sworn. The first group waslead by Aradawn (Beaconer) who believed that the variouspeoples of the realm should be allowed to rule themselvesas they desired. Aradawn refused to condemn the creationof new gods as a sacrilege. He felt that as long as theseAvatars did not violate the peace of the Five, they should

be allowed to exist within the realm.

Mortis (Reaver) who was later to be called the Black Handof Noctis, saw the creation of Avatars as a betrayal of theFive. He believed that Noctis and Lumina should be morethan the nominal rulers of the realm and he refused toacknowledge any government that did not derive its powerfrom the Five. He began a clandestine campaign to destroyany who tried to usurp the power of the Five through thecreation of Avatars or national governments which failedto support the Way of the Five.

The Five taught only helpful lore. However, near the endof the Age of Life, the teachings of the Five was pervertedto use for war. The people of the realm learned to summonbeings of power, such as elementals, archons and spiritbeings. Advances were made in the control and use of theelements to enable the spontaneous creation of fire and iceand their use as a weapon. The darkest skill created was byDemandred (Reaver) who discovered necromancy whichwas the use of unlife energy. He was tried as a blasphemerby Meave (Crusader), stripped of his Five-Sworn honors,and banished.

The Crystal City became a place of fear as rumors spreadthat the Orcs, Klactons and Pythians were training armies.A guard was raised for the city of Evermoore and Aradawnwas chosen over Mortis to lead it. This strained therelationship between the Five-Sworn of Lumina and Noctiswho thereafter had difficulty working together.

As tensions escalated the city guard was transformed intoa militia. In time, Aradawn, using lore newly created by he,Icarianus (Reaver) and others, founded the Order of theFive to lead the militia of Evermoore. The Order of theFive was created for defense and its motto was Defendingthe Dream. The leadership of the Order came from thoseFive-Sworn still loyal to the Five.

Lumina was found dead, floating in her reflecting pool, apool that some say she used to see the future. Was itmurder or suicide?

Events continued to spiral down. Noctis was overcomewith grief and locked himself away in his palace. Harogdemanded an audience with Noctis. His way was blockedby Aradawn. Harog tried to push past Aradawn, the twochildhood friends fought, and as the Herald of Grotar diedhe whispered, Tremble Old Ones Grotar comes.

Then, Natallis disappeared in the grove and many of hermost loyal Warders were found dead, butchered. Most

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believed this could only be murder! The truth was evenmore tragic.

The death of the herald at Aradawns hand, was the sparkthat united the world against the Five. Grotar came at thehead of a massive army of Orcs, Klactons and Pythians. Very few races stood with the Five, and Evermoore wasbesieged.

Solnus took the field and the truth became known, Luminaand Natallis gave their energies to Solnus, but even theirpower was not enough. Grotar slew Solnus and the cityfell. Karthis fled to the desert that bares his name andNoctis went insane cared for by Reavers in the catacombsunder Evermoore.

Age of DeathThe Third Age has been called the Age of Death. Thebeginning of the Third Age is marked by the fall ofEvermoore. It was a time of tremulous upheaval and worldchange for the worst. Grotar had a plan to rule the realmand dispensing of the Five was merely the first step. It wasnot until the Fist of Grotar smashed the realm and plungedit into the Seven Days of Darkness that this horror wastruly realized.

The Klactons desired the Valley of the Rainbows as theirhome now that the Minotaurs were driven from it. Grotarrefused to yield Evermoore to them and placed one of hisown generals as ruler of the valley as the Orcs hoped tobenefit from pastureland of the valley. The Klactons underthe iron fisted rule of their goddess Tharkana threatenedwar against the Orcs. Before the Klacton armies couldmarch against the Orcs, the great Fist of Grotar, a meteor,struck the plains of Tharkana, sending clouds of dust anddebris across the sky that blocked out the light for sevenwhole days.

The Klacton homeland was in ruins and the survivorsstarted their war against Grotar, but they were soundlydefeated in almost every battle. Tharkana became obsessedwith the destruction of Grotar. Her madness wasdestroying the Klacton people by keeping them in a warthey could not win. In an act of desperation the hive-queens and evolved Klactons slew their own god for thegood of their people. Thereafter, the Klactons made peacewith the Orcs and acknowledged Grotar as their ruler.

Next, the Orc dreadlords betrayed their treaty with the FiveKingdoms and led their armies against the humans. TheDale was quick to fall as it had no army to defend itself.The remaining Five Kingdoms offered stern resistance, but

a surprise attack on Andor by the Pythians doomed them.The Orcs conquered the northern four kingdoms and thePythians seized Andor.

Seeing the fate of the Five Kingdoms, the Beardons andWeetles accepted the rule of Grotar rather than fight hisarmies. The rakkarins and plainspeople refused tosurrender and were conquered by the Orcs. Theplainspeople were forced onto reservations and therakkarins who refused to live in captivity were slain. Bythe end of the Age of Life there were few rakkarrins left inthe world.

The civil war continued in the land of the elves, and whenit finally concluded the elves were so weakened that theorcs easily incorporated them into their Empire.

The Minotaurs who were driven from the Valley of theRainbows wandered the realm searching for a new home.They were lead by their own new god, Minos, who cameto them during the fall of Evermoore. Minos had a visionof a perfect place where the Minotaur people wouldforever be safe. His people reached the Isle of Minos, buthe did not, slain on the shores as his people fled themainland.

The Orc dreadlords ruthlessly sought total domination ofthe realm, but they did have a few challenges to theirultimate power. The first was when Demandred andMorgodia led an army of undead against the Orcs, justafter the Fall of Evermoore. They reached the Temple ofGrotar before being defeated.

The greatest defeat of the Orcs occurred when they tried toinvade the Karthydian Desert to destroy the refugees of theCrystal City. The huge army of Orcs, Pythians and soldiersconscripted from the enslaved people army reached the cityof Ash Shir where Karthis and a small group of hisfollowers waited in the abandoned city. When the invadersreached the god of chaos sacrificed himself and destroyedthe entire army with a fiery explosion that leveled much ofthe city and surrounding countryside. The desert was neveragain invaded. Four of the Five old gods were now gonefrom the realm.

The last challenge to Orc rule occurred in the middle of theAge of Death, when a Beduin hero named Thanos rose toprominence. A prophecy was given that he would lead thearmies of chaos from the desert and be victorious. Heformed the first Karthydian Empire and his followersmarched against the Orcs, freeing the Fertile Valley andinspiring a world to rebel, but Thanos was killed by Grotar

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in battle near the ruins of Evermoore and buried in a tombthat would later bear his name, a tomb that he would risefrom in the Age of Order as a mummy serving the cause ofchaos again. The Age of Death was a dreadful time for the realm,millions died in storms of magic, in the barbaric wars ragedby the Orcs, and because of famine and plague. Mananodes and flow became corrupted by the hate and harms.Nature changes, plants came alive and gained sentience,beasts changed developed powers and insects grew toenormous sizes.

After too many terrible years, the first step toward endingthe Age of Death occurred when a group of adventurersgathered in Evermoore to research and reorganize theteachings of the Five. As their numbers grew these heros,united into the League of Guilds which later becameGuildhall.

At the same time the League of Guilds was beingorganized, the Humans of Holt created a new god of theirown. His name was Eldin and he was formed by resistanceforces who had fought against Orc occupation throughoutthe Age of Death. His symbol was the symbol of Holt, theIron Cross, but covered in blood. The Blood Cross, as itwas known, became a symbol to rally the Human race.

After one thousand years of war, famine, and death, arenaissance began with the founding of Guildhall and theintroduction of thirteen Guilds into the realm.

Age of OrderThe Fourth Age is called the Age of Order, or morecommonly the Age of Guildhall. The founding of Guildhallmarked the beginning of the Fourth Age.

Suddenly the Orc Empire was under siege. The armies ofGuildhall marched from the south, while the armies Eldin came from the north. These armies were supported inalmost every nation by resistance groups and independentmilitary units, such as the Order of the Rack and theKnights of the Black Hand. The Karthydians sent soldiersto aid Guildhall, as did the Klactons and Phythians. Theworld raged in battle as the Orcs would not surrendermeekly.

During this time a group of Humans created, Xanadu, theslayer of gods using the life essence of Noctis who theyfound insane in the catacombs of Evermoore. Xanadusystematically seduced and killed those with theknowledge to create new gods, and even gods themselves.

Xanadu was trying to give the world back to the mortals.

After years of war, the armies of Guildhall and their allieshad driven back the Orcs and freed the world. Grotar andEldin killed each other in the last decisive battle in thefoothills of the Forlorne Mountains near the ancient townof Evermoore.

Guildhall helped to reestablish the territories, which hadexisted before the Age of Death and dispersed peacethroughout the world. With the spread of peace cameincreased trade. The masters of the guilds, as theypredicted, became wealthy beyond their dreams. As therealm was ordered, other races were allowed to join theguilds. The last to be admitted were the Orcs. In fifty years all the remaining new gods had beendestroyed and the world was delivered to the hands ofmortals. The followers of Xanadu deserve much credit inensuring that gods could not be returned to the realm byslaying those with knowledge to create them.

The Guildsmen breathed a sigh of relief. The gods nolonger had physical form and religion would not be used tomotivate the armies of the world as the Clerics and Druidscontrolled religious power. Leadership would fall toGuildhall and the mundane rulers of each land and not todevout relisgious fanatics.

Age of ChaosThe Fifth and Final Age will be called the Age of Chaos,an age of ultimate entropy and complete destruction, theabsolute end of the realm, a time when the Five take backall the effort they gave into creating the world.

The prophets say that the Age of Chaos will not be markedby any great event, but instead the Guildsmen will lookaround and realized that the world they ordered had beendisordered by them.

Divided and alone, with their great halls empty, there willbe too few Guildsmen to continue. And as the Age ofOrder turns to Chaos, they will wonder why the greatdream died and only after it is gone will they realize thatthey were the ones who allowed Guildhall to be destroyed.

The prophets have seen that the Age of Chaos will beheralded by the Guildsmen themselves. When brotherturns on brother for reasons of nation, faith or folly, soshall the great hall fall. Just as in the end of Evermoore,there will be a few who covet power to themselves at theexpense of others, and these few will cause the fractures

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that will cause the hall to crumble. With empty promisesand blatant lies, with constant criticism and negative criesthe rabble-rousers will end the Glory of Guildhall, just asthe shattered the crystal city.

But when the Age of Order ends, there will be nothingthereafter. Magic will fade from the world and lore will belost. And then in the final days of the world, Karthis, the

god of chaos and fire, will return at the forefront of hisgreat army to wreak his vengeance on the world thatbetrayed the Way of the Five.

The realm will be consumed in fire and flame, as a booktossed burning in the trash, the dream that was will be nomore, and soon everything great that was thrown away willbe nothing, but a distant memory.

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On Guildhall

At its height of power in the Realm of the Five,Guildhall was a powerful, fraternal organization ofmen and women, called Guildsmen, who fought tomaintain the Age of Order. Guildhall was a bulwarkagainst the Age of Chaos and the Guildsmen werechampions of right and defenders of morality.Guildhall was the dream that represented therebuilding of a shattered world and the end hatred,prejudice and animosity which existed in the Age ofDeath.

It was said in the Age of Order that all roads lead toGuildhall. Guildhall was more than a fortress on anisland in the Sea of Lore. It was a way of life thatvalued cooperation, fraternity and mutual respect.Though Guildhall was built of granite and layeredwith silver and gold, it stood for so much more thanpower and wealth. Its foundation was of brotherhoodand its mortar was of love. There was no evil thatGuildhall could not overcome as long as its membersheld true to the dream.

The Age of Life was over, the Five Gods were destroyed,and the Orc Empire controlled the realm. The Way of theFive was lost, and the Orcs sought to eradicate everythingthe Five stood for stamping out all learning, denyingeducation and enslaving the world.

The realm suffered one thousand years of oppression andpersecution, but then a group of idealistic heros joinedtogether and formed the heart a rebellion that would endthe tyranny of the Orcs.

By gathering the teachings of the Five, and recreatingmuch of their ancient magical lore, these heros founded theinstitution of Guildhall which became the guiding light thatled the world out of the Age of Death and into an Age ofOrder.

GuildsThirteen Guilds comprise Guildhall. Each Guild has itsown special skills, its own idiosyncracies and politics, butthey mesh together and balance with each other bonded intheir devotion to Guildhall and the knowledge that onlythrough their unity can they preserve the realm.

Alchemists

Alchemists seek to understand the essence of existence.They are philosophers, physicians, and naturalists whosestudies allows them a diverse set of skills. In battle, theyuse their magical compounds to disable or destroy theirenemies, or to enhance and augment their allies. OtherGuilds stereotype Alchemists as more involved in theirstudies than the outside world; Alchemists reply that theirtheories and notations afford them a greater understandingof the world.

ArtisansArtisans are builders who fashion and upgrade items. Theyare experts in construction, engineering and manufacturing.In battle, they can remain behind the lines fashioningweapons and mending equipment. However, if the frontline falls, the artisans are formidable fighters. Other Guildsstereotype Artisans as devoted more to the esthetics oftheir creations than the practicality of their use; Artisansreply that functionality itself should be beautiful.

BardsBards are entertainers. They manipulate the world throughsong and create spectacular effects with their voice. Inbattle, bards can rely on their fighting skills as well as theirpowers to manipulate sound energy and control the mindsof others. Other Guilds stereotype Bards as carousers;Bards reply with a smile, a little laugh and maybe a sip ofwine.

ClericsClerics lead the worshipers. They provide religiousservices and guidance for the followers of their faith. Inbattles, clerics are often healers, but should the situationwarrant they can use their prayers to call down theawesome power of their god. Other Guilds stereotypeClerics as controlling; Clerics reply that faith is its ownreward.

CavaliersCavaliers command armies, leading divergent groups ofGuildsmen to protect the tenets of Guildhall. Theyspecialize in the tactics and strategy that mean thedifference between victory and death. In battle, theCavaliers are often the leaders. Other Guilds stereotypeCavaliers as glory hounds; Cavaliers reply that victorybrings glory to all Guildhall.

DruidsDruids are skilled in dealing with the natural world. They

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are shamans of the earth, sky and water. They can heal,restore injured limbs and resurrect corpses. In battle,Druids are often scouts slipping through the woods, but itsjust as common to find them helping just behind the frontlines. Other Guilds stereotype Druids as being overlyconcerned with the natural world; Druids reply thatkeeping nature in balance preserves the world.

NecromancersNecromancers are skilled in dealing with death. Theiradmission into Guildhall was of necessity, for they havethe power to raise corpses into undead servants. Thenecromancers are fond of saying, "if the armies ofGuildhall fail in life, then they will triumph in death." Necromancers also have offensive spells that disable theirenemies by defeating life energies. In battle, it is thetraditional task of the necromancer to raise and control thecorpses of both friend and foe to fight for the cause. OtherGuilds stereotype Necromancers as disloyal; Necromancersreply We are the loyalist Guild, by necessity of course,because if Guildhall should fall the Commoners wouldhunt us to extinction so its in the Necromancers bestinterest to preserve Guildhall.

RangersRangers are woodsmen who develop extraordinary skills indealing with terrain and beasts. In battle, they specialize inranged weapons and are the chief scouts who gatherinformation and report it back to the leaders. Other Guildsstereotype Rangers as loners and individualists; Rangersreply that each person should be self-sufficient so theperson can better serve the group.

RoguesRogues are the stealthy agents of Guildhall, dashing covertoperatives who can be found at every level of commonergovernment. They are highly skilled, well-connectedindividuals whose aptitude for espionage enable them togather influence, broker power and negotiate backroomdeals. They are not thieves or murderers and vehementlyresent such accusations. In battle, they most often workalone or in small groups undermining the enemy. OtherGuilds stereotype Rogues as untrustworthy; Rogues replythat trust is earned.

RunecastersRunecasters deal with fate and destiny. They scribe runesthat provide protection from many dangers. In battle, thereis equal chance they may be found in the rear, drawingrunes, or fighting on the front lines. Other Guildsstereotype Runecasters as meddling in destiny; Runecastersreply that foreknowledge is forewarned.

WarlocksWarlocks are the perfect balance of battle magic and meleefighting. Steeped in mystery and suffused by magic theyrea close knit Guild, dedicated to destruction. In battle,Warlocks are on the front lines fighting side by side withthe troops, using their powerful skills to destroy the enemy.Other Guilds stereotype Warlocks as aggressive, secretive,and ritualistic; Warlock are too busy attending theirclandestine meetings to reply.

WarriorsWarriors are the embodiment of combat prowess. They canlearn to use almost any weapon and the sheer number ofpowerful combat feats can overwhelm any defender. Theyhave been known to shrug off the effects of magic and usetheir massive blows to rend through the thickest armor. Inbattle, the Warriors are the ones who often carry the day.Rarely getting the glory, they are the first to fight and thefirst to die, but on their backs every victory is carried.Other Guilds stereotype Warriors as being dumb lugs;Warriors dont have to reply, because no one dares tellthem this to their face.

WizardsWizards are all-purpose spell casters and enchanters. Theyhave varied spells focusing on mind control, manamanipulation and immobilization. In battle, wizards mayuse their spells against their enemies, augmenting themwith their powerful magical feats. Other Guilds stereotypeWizards as intellectuals with little common sense; Wizardsreply that thinking on a higher intellectual plane oftenmeans that others will misunderstand your thoughts.

Game of GuildsThe Game of Guilds is the name for the politicalwrangling that permeates the institution of Guildhall. SomeGuildsmen say that if youre not a player, youre beingplayed.

The Game of Guilds encompasses a broad range ofpolitical elements including controlling elected communitypositions, forging alliances with Commoner groups forpersonal benefit, and limiting the power of otherGuildsmen while creating voting blocks of your own alliedGuildsmen.

Every community of Guildsmen has positions of powerwhich convey status, prestige and power to those who gainthem. Since Guildhall is a democratic organization thesepositions are always up for grabs. Power-plays arecommon in communities as people covet these positions.

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The Game of Guilds rarely turns violent and never turnsdeadly. All those who play The Game of Guilds knowthat violence is the sign of a poor player. Only chumps useviolence to win the Game of Guilds (if such a thing iseven possible); a true player only needs wits, charms anddaring.

The Oath of GuildhallI swear the oath of blood, life and soulMy loyalty shall be to my Guild

and to Guildhall first, above all else.I shall serve my brother and sister Guildsmen

in both life and death.The Laws of Guildhall

shall be the laws of my heart and mind.For now and through all eternity

I pledge this blood, this life and this soulto the greater glory of Guildhall

And all that we represent inLove, Truth, Honor

and Eternal Fraternity.

Founding of GuildhallGuildhall was founded in the Realm of the Five at thebeginning of the Age of Order. It began as a gathering ofthose who remembered the old ways and who traded toeach other knowledge of the Five. This knowledge hadeither been passed down in their family or rediscovered inancient ruins. This knowledge was the Lore taught by theFive in the Age of Life.

The group, led by the Nameless Knight and others,gathered in Evermoore. These persons were believed to bethe descendant reborn souls devoted to the Five. TheNameless Knight claimed that he was given the idea ofGuildhall from the spirit of Lumina who came to him amidthe ruins of old Evermoore. He revealed to the group a planto organize the learning of lore skills into systematicGuilds. The Guilds would be organized into a league andwhen they were strong enough they would create aninstitution to be called Guildhall.

The initial group was mainly Humans, Elves, Minotaursand Weetles, with some Rakkarrin. They formed theLeague of Guilds. In the beginning, there were only fiveGuilds. They called themselves Clerics, Druids, Warlocks,Wizards, and Cavaliers. The first four used the force ofmana to cast spells and prayers, whereas the last used forceof arms.

In time, others came with knowledge and their skills weregrouped into additional Guilds. The Van Dorn family,

famous entertainers of the Age of Life, taught the lore ofballads and helped found the Bards Guild.

The Cavaliers Guild split, dividing into those who wantedto train soldiers and concentrate on individual combat andthose who wanted to concentrate less on weapon use andspecialize into strategy and tactics used to lead armies inbattle. The former became known as the Warriors, wherethe latter retained the name of Cavaliers. The Rangersbroke off from the Warriors because they saw a need forscouting units which specialized in woodland craft.

The Artisans, Runecasters and Alchemists formed Guildsof their own. The need for intelligence gathering andpolitical espionage allowed the Rogues Guild to enter theleague as professionals with very particular skills.

The last guild to be admitted were the Necromancers. Theyhad perverted the teachings of Noctis and created adreadful lore which was hated in all the civilized realm.However, it was out of necessity that they were admitted.The Necromancers had vowed that if they were not givenequal standing and recognized as a legitimate institution, they would side against the League and offer their servicesto the Orcs. Practicality carried the vote, because all sawthat the alternative was to fight every enemy twice.

The League, with its full complement of thirteen guilds,moved its headquarters to a more defensible position on anisland in the Sea of Lore and created a school where theytaught mundane subjects openly, but in secret they taughtancient lore to those dedicated to destroying the OrcEmpire.

Thirteen Guilds signed the charter. The NecromancersGuild was the last to join. They forced their acceptanceinto Guildhall under threats that they would resistGuildhall if they were not admitted with equal standing.

In the beginning the founders of Guildhall portrayedthemselves as merchants, healers and teachers. The Orcspaid little attention to their activities. The building of aschool on the Sea of Lore was allowed by the localDreadlord, Bumgar Narr.

Guildhall was portrayed to the Orcs as a society ofmerchants, scholars, and tradesmen. On the surface theschool taught basic subjects, but in special classes studentslearned guild skills, such as healing, runic lore, elementalmagic and the fashioning of items.

The members of Guildhall were careful to keep weapons

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and weapon training confined to secret bases in theKarthydian desert and on the Isle of Minos. Bumgar Narrhad no idea that the school was teaching skills whichwould later form the basis of the armies that would end theOrc Empire.

Guildhall began training the men and women who wouldorganize and lead the armies of the realm. Under the guiseof traders, the Guildsmen traveled the realm selling theirwares. In actuality they were recruiting a rebellion. Thewealth earned from their trading funded the war effortclandestinely developing throughout the realm.

They formally named their institution Guildhall peoplefrom throughout the realm came to learn what it meant tobe a Guildsman. Each of the thirteen trades laid claim to acertain collection of lore skills. This collection of skills,called a Guild Syllabus, allowed a man or woman tomanipulate mana.

When following a Guild Syllabus a person begins to masterone collection of knowledge to the exclusion of otherknowledge. This specialization allows a guild member toexcel in his or her pursuit. Only through this specializationcould a person develop their body, mind and spirit to asufficient level that allowed them to perform the seeminglymagical activities of a Master.

Guildhall was strong enough to challenge the Orc Empireand began openly teaching lore. When the Orc Empireprotested Guildhall was ready, and with the aid of theEldinites and the followers of Xanadu, the Guildsmen wonthe Wars of Order and brought the realm out of the Age ofDeath.

Guild MembersAll the members of Guildhall are Arcane. Arcane peopleare those born with the spark of magic. Only Arcanes canlearn the weaves and patterns of mana necessary to followa Guild.

Commoners, as those without the spark are called, cannotmanipulate mana and are therefore not accepted intoGuildhall as Guildsmen.

Being arcane means that a person has a strong connectionbetween their body, mind and spirit. A person is eitherborn arcane or commoner. Only an arcane can become anapprentice to Guildhall.

Most people bring their children to local Guild Councils atan early age so that they can be tested. There are also

special Guildsmen called Seekers who search for arcanes.Only a small percentage (less than one percent) of theworld is arcane.

Joining Guildhall and learning lore is a momentousdecision in ones life. Once a person become part ofGuildhall they cannot just leave. A Guildsman acts in theservice of the realm. The lore he or she learns may only beused in the service of Guildhall. If a person wishes to leaveGuildhall after learning skills, they may only do so byhaving all skills and the spark of mana removed from theirbodies through purgation.

Guild HierarchyThere is a hierarchy of the membership in each guild. AllGuilds have five ranks: Initiate, Junior Journiate,Journiate, Senior Journiate and Master.

The apprentices are at the bottom of the heirarchy, theninitiates, then the journey making levels, and finally onereaches the high rank of master. All Guildsmen must passthrough these five ranks on the way to mastery of theirGuild.

The hierarchy denotes a level of learning and providesprivilege. Once a person becomes a Guildsman, he or sheis entitled to all its benefits. All Guildsmen are above thecommon person.

Guildhall is often viewed as a family. All members arebonded to each other by the oaths of Guildhall. TheApprentices are the children who need to learn the ways ofGuildhall. The Initiates are discovering their place in theworld. The Journiates are making their way through theranks toward mastery of their Guild. Their task is to defendGuildhall and protect the realm. And the Masters are thefathers and mothers of the Guildhall family. Their task isto teach the apprentices and to guide the community.

Responsibility The Guildmaster assigns the duties of the Guild membersat Market Days according to their ranks. All Guildmembers should report to their Guildmasters at the start ofthe gathering. Most of the duties will include informationgathering, substance recovery and communications withother Guilds on pressing matters.

Guild TitleGenerally, a person will identify themselves to others as amember of their Guild. But on formal occasions or whenintroducing themselves to a member of their own Guild theGuildsmen will generally announces his or her full rank by

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stating I am a [rank title] [guild name]. For example, Iam an Initiate Rogue, I am a Junior Journiate Wizard,or I am a Master Cavalier.

Structure of GuildhallThe headquarters of Guildhall is located on an island in theSea of Lore. During the first week of each month theelected Councillors of each Guild meet in a generalassembly to discuss the business of Guildhall.

The Isle of Lore contains the best schools which Guildhallhas to offer. To be accepted as an apprentice on the Isle ofLore was a great honor and usually meant that the personwas destined to go far in the politics of Guildhall.

Great Halls: Every large city has a local hall of guildsand its own local Guild Council of Guildmasters. The localmeeting places are called Great Halls and are beautifullycrafted with high vaulted ceilings and a rich elegancewhich inspired envy in all. Within the large cites theindividual Guilds control the universities and act asinstitutions of higher learning. Each Guild erects its ownGuild building within the walls of the city. These immensefortified structure are grand displays of wealth and powerwith each Guild trying to build bigger than the others. NoGuildsmen may harm another within the sanctity of a GreatHall.

Inns: In the smaller towns there is often a lack ofresources. Small town Guilds do not have the finances tosupport their own individual structures or a Hall of Guilds.Guildhall, sensitive to the plight of small town Guildsmen,erects and maintains structures called Inns.

These Inns are owned by Guildhall and act as centers ofcommerce and education for those in remote areas. TheInns are run by Innkeepers who are hired by Guildhall onthe recommendations of a Charter Sponsor.

Inns serve as a gathering point for the Guildsmen in thelocal community who often attend monthly Markey Dayswith adventuring, feasting and entertainment. The laws ofGuildhall protect the sanctity of the Inn and no Guildsmanmay harm another within the sanctity of an Inn.

Guild LifeA persons experience in Guildhall depends as much onwhere they live as how they choose to live.

Typical Guildsmen: Eighty to ninety percent ofGuildsmen will live in large cities where their lives will be

governed by politics and economy. Political appointmentsand the ability to make business decisions will determinethe rate of their advancement and ultimately their ability toearn status in the eye of their peers.

Their apprenticeship is a structured classroom environmentwhere their lessons are taught by a headmaster. Theygenerally progress through their studies as a group and arepromoted as a class.

Initiates generally go to work for Senior Journiates whomanage Trade businesses. In time they will learn enough toopen their own business and if they have the talent, theywill grow wealthy and powerful.

Guildsmen in cities manage businesses related to theirTrades. Clerics and Druids run religions, Runecasters workas seers, Warriors train soldiers and Cavaliers lead them.Rangers scout for armies or manage woodland preserves.Alchemists and Artisans run their shop or even chains ofshops. Necromancers tend to the dead and live eccentriclives.

All of the Guilds do something with their lore that canmake them a living, but those Guildsmen who can excelwill become wealthy beyond the commoners imagination.Only nobles and the owners of Coventry corporationscome close to experiencing the wealth possessed by SeniorJourniates and Masters of Guildhall. The ten wealthiestpeople in the realm have always been Guildsmen.

Much of a typical city-living Guildsmans life is spentprogressing in his or her Guild. Businesses are expandedby taking risks, making contacts and sometimes by suckingup. Status is earned by a Guildsmans success. Most city-living Guildsmen reach mastery around the age of thirty-five.

A typical city-living master commonly moves to thesuburbs where he may purchase a manor house with manyrooms and lots of land. Most city masters made fortunesas a Senior Journiate and retire to their estates to raisefamilies and manage their businesses away from the hustleand bustle of the city center. Most of their day to daybusiness decisions are made by their trusted lower rankingGuildsmen who will one day branch out on their own tobecome masters with their own fortunes.

Once a week the city-living master will travel into the cityto meet at the Hall of Guilds where he and the otherGuildsmen in the city make the deals that drive theirnational economy and politics.

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Atypical Guildsmen: The remaining ten to twenty percentof Guildsmen are those who live on the fringes of society.They are adventurous spirits who decline to participate inthe bureaucracies of the larger cities.

A few live inside the cities refusing to participate incommerce or business, but most gravitate to the smallertowns and out of the way places. Many offer their servicesto people who would never afford the price of Guildsmenintervention. They often live near an Inn where they go tofrequent Market Days and meet with other Guildsmen.

These Guildsmen retain the bold spirit of Guildhall and arerecognized as adventurers. They may never earn themonetary wealth or gain the political power of their cityliving counterparts, but they will often advance through theranks much more quickly as they live audacious lives, fullof adventure and glory.

An atypical Guildsmen who adventures frequently andbecomes well-known by his peers can easily achievemastery in three to five years, sometimes sooner.

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On Becoming a Guildsmen

The old Master stood in front of the blackboard andwrote incantations on the slate surface in chalk withpowerful strokes. He explained, You will need toinclude nine syllables within your verbals. Theintonations of each syllable must be precisely spokenas words of invocation or magic will not bemanipulated and your mana will be wasted.

In the classroom sat twenty-one Apprentices. Theylistened as attentively as possible for students of theirage and copied the Masters incantations onto theirparchment pages. Each one longed for the day theywould be promoted to an Initiate and become fullmembers in the Hall of Guilds. Some even dreamed ofbecoming a Master and teaching others the ways ofGuildhall.

StartingA Guildsman begins with 5000 status which representstheir lifes experience up to this point. The new Guildsmanmay use this status to improve his or her body and mana orto learn Guild skills, racial abilities or cultural skills.

Body and mana each cost 300 status; the maximum bodyis 8 and the maximum mana is 16. The cost of each Guildskill is listed after the skill on the individual Guild Syllabi. Racial abilities and cultural skills are detailed in thesection on Nations. Any status not spent may be saved asunspent status.

Guild SyllabiThe syllabi for each Guild (found at the end of this section)contain a complete list of all the skills that the Guildsmanin that Guild can learn. The skill list for each Guild islarge, but apprentices should not be intimidated. They willsoon grow to appreciate the depth and diversity foundwithin each Guild.

Pre-requisite Skills: Many skills requires a Guildsman tolearn a pre-requisite skill before learning more advancedskills (See core rulebook).

Rank Restricted Skills: Every Guild has a list of rankrestricted skills, which means that only a Guildsman of thatrank may learn that skill. Accordingly, skills that have rankrestrictions as a skill pre-requisite cannot be learn (seeabove).

Choosing Skills A Guildsman may learn any skill off their Guild syllabiprovided he or she has learned the prerequisite skills andhas sufficient rank if the skill is a rank restricted skill.Please see the skill listing in the core rule book for requiredpre-requisite skills and refer to the Guild syllabi herein fora list of each guilds rank restricted skills.

A starting Guildsman must spend at least 300 status onbody and must first learn all Apprentice skills (2500 status)before they may begin learning initiate skills.

Apprentice Skills: Every Guild has a list of skills thatevery Guildsmen must know. They consist of useful skills,like bandaging, climbing and swimming, as well as,specific basic skills required by that particular Guild.Characters must learn all of these skills before they canlearn other guild skills. Apprentice skills can only belearned from a Master of the appropriate guild with theskill teach II who is in good standing with Guildhall.

Initiate Skills: Once a Guildsman is promoted to theInitiate Rank the majority of the Guild Syllabi is availablefor learning.

Journiate Skills: Journiate skills rank restricted becausethey require greater experience to learn. Before learningthese skills a Guildsman must have achieved the JourniateRank in their Guild.

Master Skills: These skills are very hard to learn and require a lifetime of devotion and are restricted to Mastersof the guild.

Starting RankMost Guildsmen begin their adventuring as an Initiate oftheir Guild, having just completed their apprenticeship andrecently been promoted to the Initiate Rank. However, aperson can elect to start their adventuring as a Candidatefor Apprenticeship (see Arcane Commoner) or as anAppointed Apprentice who is in the process of learningapprentice skills. Guildsmen who begin adventuring as lessthan an Initiate Rank must go through rank promotions.

Lore TomesLore tomes are books that record the erudition of a Guildwithin Guildhall. They are magical works containingweaves of mana within the pages, demonstrating the powerof performance and perspective, and sharing the drafters

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own unique vision to the world.

Lore tomes are works of art, explaining how skills areperformed at the level of action. They do not generallyprovide the simple elements of use and effect as this iscommon knowledge to all Guildsmen, but instead recordthe personal thoughts of the writer when using skills. Theycontain underlying philosophies, incantations, precisemovements, and other details related to the quality of theperformance.

Every Guildsman must have a lore tome to record progresswithin their Guild. This personal lore tome is a repositoryfor all he or she has learned containing personal expressionand world view. It is a sacred book filled with musings andimagination that acts as a guide when performing skills.

Whenever a Guildsmen seeks promotion to a higher rankthey must present their lore tome to the promoter who willreview the lore tome. It is not necessary that every skill belisted, but the tome must present evidence that theGuildsman has a solid foundation in their learning.

A Guildsman without a Lore Tome cannot be promoted tothe next rank. When a Guildsmen prepares to be acceptedas a Master of their Guild they must present their LoreTome to Guildhall for review. The tome must demonstrateprinciples of mana manipulation, philosophy andunderstanding unique to the petitioner.

Many Guildsmen refer to their tomes often using them asan aid. Alchemists always use their tomes when mixingcomplex compounds. It is common to see bards singingfrom their tomes and rogue setting traps from roughsketches. Artisans make use of schematics in their tomes,and all the fighting Guilds record their varied combattechniques and systems within their lore books. Casters ofspells, prayers and powers often have the thickest loretomes as they grapple with the many ways to weave mana.And the image of a Guildsman reading incantations fromhis or her lore tome when performing a ritual is iconic.

Many Guildsmen spend a lifetime writing and rewritingtheir lore tomes as they gain skill through years of practice.At some points in their lives Guildsmen experience greatbreakthroughs and often throw away their old tomes asinferior, setting to work on better interpretations of theirskills based on their greater accumulated knowledge.

Grand Lore Tomes are written by the great visionaries ofa Guild and become text books used to pass on learningand wisdom. The Grandest Lore Tomes can revolutionize

whole Guilds raising the level of magic and the quality ofperformance for all.

Learning New SkillsA Guildsman may only learn a skill if he or she hassufficient rank, available unspent status and the properprerequisite skills to support learning. Once all threecriteria have been met the Guildsman may learn the desiredskill as follows.

From a TeacherA teacher must be from the same Guild as the student,must know the skill the student wishes to learn, and havethe skill teach I. The time it takes to a teach to teach a skillvaries with the teacher and the student, and is left up to theparticipants involved. A group of students may be taughtat once by one person, as long as they are all learning thesame skill. After a skill is taught, the student must taketime to perfect the technique before using the skill. Thisgenerally takes one full day of practice for each skill. Characters perfecting a skill cannot adventure and must bein a safe environment.

Self-TeachingA Guildsman with teach I may learn a skill of their Guildif there is no teacher available, provided they have a loretome that contains an explanation of the desired skill. Public lore tomes are available for use by Guildsmen inmost cities at Guildhall libraries and at most GuildhallInns. Self-teaching takes at least one full day of practicefor each skill. Characters self-teaching a skill cannotadventure and must be in a safe environment. Apprenticeskills cannot be learned by self-teaching.

Rank AdvancementA Guildsmens rank is determined by how much status hasbeen spent on learning Guild skills. This total does notinclude status used to learn mana, body and non-guildskills. Consult the chart to see the amount of spent guildskill status needed for each rank. The amount in each rankinterval is also shown. A character who reaches the end ofa rank may not learn additional skills until they arepromoted to the next rank.

A character may learn a skill as long as his current guildstatus total is under the amount for the rank. This is trueeven if the status cost for the desired skill pushes him intothe next rank, but he must be promoted before he can learnadditional skills. For example, Harker is a Rogue. He has7400 status and is of the Initiate rank. He wishes to learna new skill that costs 400 status. He may learn this skill

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and will end up with a status total of 7800. He may notlearn additional skills until he is promoted to JuniorJourniate Rank.

When a Guildsman reaches the end of the rank, he must bepromoted to the next rank before he can learn additionalskills. The promotion to a higher rank requires that theGuildsmen participate in the appropriate Ceremony ofPromotion. The Ceremonies of Promotion are powerfularcane traditions that allow a Guildsmens progression tothe next rank by infusing their body, mind and spirit withpower. The ceremony must be properly performed or acharacter will be unable to learn additional skills.

After being promoted the Guildsman is then able to spendstatus to learn skills in the new rank. A guildsmen mustremain at a rank for at least thirty days before beingpromoted to a new rank.

The promotion to Master is much more involved, requiring the candidate be brought before the community forconsideration.

ApprenticeAll Guildsmen start as an apprentice and are taught thebasic skills and theories of the Guild. They spend muchtime studying the great lore tome of visionary masters,learning the many ways of mana manipulation so that theycan create their own styles, and in time make their owngreat contributions to the community and the realm.

Any arcane commoner may attempt entry into Guildhall.Generally this is done at a very early age; mostapprenticeships begin at ten years of age and last until atleast sixteen. Sometimes arcane commoners may goundiscovered and have to apprentice when older.

Becoming an apprentice requires a unanimous vote of the

local Guild Council who must be thoroughly familiar withthe candidate.only the best candidates with a good andnoble character will be accepted as an apprentice toGuildhall. Candidates are heavily tested before beingaccepted and only the best are allowed to proceed into anapprenticeship. After testing, a master of the Guild mustbring the candidate before a formal meeting of the localGuild Council for an official vote.

After receiving approval from the Guild Council of theircommunity the candidate must go through the Ceremonyof Apprenticeship. Only after passing through theceremony, will the apprentice be considered a Guildsman.

During the apprenticeship, a Guildsmen will learn skillsbasic to all Guilds like first aid, swim and climb, and alsothose skills central to their own Guild.

Apprentices are required to wear a simple brown robe tosignify their station. Throughout their apprenticeshipperiod they are required to perform menial tasks for themembers of their guild. However, apprentices are neverdemeaned, abused or hazed. Apprentices are treatedrespectfully, because one day they will be full brother andsisters in Guildhall.

The minimum period of apprenticing is one calender year,but some apprenticeships can last for many years. In largecities where classes of apprentices are trained together thenormal time period for apprenticeship is four years. Afterthe apprentice has fulfilled the time commitment and haslearned the required 2500 status worth of Apprentice skillsthe apprentice may be promoted to the Initiate Rank.

InitiateWith their apprenticeship complete the Guildsman ispromoted to the initiate level of the guild and undergoesthe Ceremony of Initiation where the brown robes of theapprentice are removed and the apprentice is given acandle representing the light of learning. The Guildsmanmay begin learning more Guild lore.

The initiate begins the drafting of their own lore tome,writing down all they learned as an apprentice anddeveloping their own unique methods of mana manipulation. Through constant and diligent practice theywill develop their Guild skills, learning to better theirsocial, leadership, physical, mental and magical skills.

The Initiate Rank builds on knowledge learned during theapprenticeship, allowing the Initiate to learn a broad baseof useful skills in the trade. The Initiate should try to

Guild GuildRank Status IntervalApprentice 0-2,500 2500Initiate 2,501-7,500 5000 Jr. Journiate 7,501-12,500 5000Journiate 12,501-20,000 7500Sr. Journiate 20,001-25,000 5000 Master 25,001-30,000 5000 Loremaster 30,000 n/a

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determine the path within the Guild that he or she wants tofollow. When the Initiate has sufficient status, he may bepromoted to the next level through the Ceremony ofJourney Making.

JourniateThe next three ranks are generically called the Journiateranks within the Guild. As an Inititate the Guildsman hasproven himself competent, but has a long journey before hebecomes a master.

The Junior Journiate Rank is a rank where the Guildsmenbegins to decide on which rank restricted skills begin towork toward. All of the trades have rank restricted skillsand there are various pre-requisite skills that need to belearned as one works toward them.

Journiate Rank marks the halfway point to Mastery. Itsalso at this rank where a Guildsman begins to learn therank restricted skills of the trade. These are the powerskills that define the Guild.

At the Senior Journiate Rank the Guildsman will generallyfinish learning the defining skills within the trade andbegin to learn the Trades more esoteric skills. His or herunderstanding of the Trade will grow as the SeniorJourniate begins preparation for the test of mastery.

The Guildsman is filling his or her lore tome withinformation, while learning new and wonderful skills. It isat some point during the journey-making that a Guildsmenwill solidify his or her own unique methods of manamanipulation. With increased mental, physical, emotional,and social awareness the Guildman will finally becomeproficient in sharing his or her vision with others.

MasterA Master is viewed as one who has learned all of thedefining skills in the Guild and is ready to share thephilosophical underpinnings of the Guild. Mastery is notawarded to all Guildsmen. Candidates must be heavilytested, both in character and skill, and only the best shouldbe allowed to proceed to Mastery.

The pursuit of understanding and enlightenment is whatdefines the Master. It is often said that Senior Journiateshave learned skills, but a Master is one who understandsthem by possessing an awareness of how the skillscombine to form the essence of the Guild.

Masters have a great responsibility. Since only a Mastercan learn the skill Teach II, many masters cease

adventuring and devote their time to helping the nextgeneration become good members of their Guilds. Mastersare the caretakers of Guildhall and must ensure newGuildsmen maintain the high standards of Guildhallsnoble dream.

Mastery is not a right, but a privilege. Any Guildsmen whodoes not hold the tenants of Guildhall close to his or herheart should not be promoted.

The first step is proving proficiency. The proof of aMasters proficiency and understanding is found withintheir Lore Tome. This is a dissertation of all the wisdomthe candidate has learned and all the wisdom that he or shecan pass on to the next generation. Candidates for masterysubmit their lore tome to Guildhall for review and if thereviews shows a worthy candidate, the petitioner mayproceed with forward with their petition to become amaster.

The community decides who should or should not be aMaster. However, the Courts of Guildhall do holdjurisdiction over community decisions when they areunfairly made.

Becoming a Master requires a unanimous vote of the localGuild Council who must be throughly familiar with thecandidate. Each Guildmaster must be informed ofcandidacy in time for them to speak with and test theindividual before the Community meeting.

It is customary to announce a candidate for mastery beforethe community gathering takes place and to present him orher at the start of the gathering. This gives eachGuildmaster time to meet with and talk to the candidate ina one-on-one situation, and assign them a task to completebefore the Guild Council meeting.

The vote for mastery must be made during an officialmeeting of the Guildmasters Council that takes place on afull Market Day. This advancement must be approved byunanimous vote of all local Guild Masters, whose approvalcannot be unreasonably withheld.

Approval can be withheld for various reasons includingunrepentant, repeated breaches of the law while movingthrough the ranks and failure to conduct oneself in amanner serves the interests of the Community or Guildhall.A denial of promotion to Mastery can be directly appealedto the Court of the Shields.

After receiving local Guild approval the candidate for

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Mastery must wait at least one month before the ceremonycan be performed. During this time Guildhall will reviewthe candidates record, and either affirm or deny the localvote.

When a candidate is approved for mastery the entirecommunity must come together for the public masteringceremony which includes, feasting, entertainment andconcludes with the ceremony. The candidates friends areresponsible working with the Innkeeper to hosting thisaffair.

After the petitioner is approved as a Master a copy of hisor her Lore Tome is made and this Lore Tome is given aplace of honor in the Hall of Masters at Guildhall.Apprentices seeking to begin their own journey through theranks of Guildhall will begin their studies by lookingthrough these hallowed books.

Lore MasterA Lore Master is a guildsman who has learned all theskills. A Loremaster is eligible to be elected to the Councilof Lore. A Guildsman who serves on the Council of Loreis very busy with their duties and must retire fromattending Market Days and adventuring until his term as aCouncillor of Lore is completed, excepting that he or sheis permitted to attended the Feast/Guild Meeting portion ofa Market Day no more than three times in a calendar year.

The Ceremonial Hall on the Isle of Lore was filled tocapacity with spectators. Thousands occupied chairsran on both side of a wide isle and even more stoodshoulder to shoulder along the outer walls.

Above, the massive arched ceiling was lost in theshadows cast by a thousand flickering mana-filledbulbs screwed into chandeliers that hung frommassive chains. At a level with the chandeliers was abalcony that ran the length of the building. Thebalcony was packed to capacity.

Seven Apprentices walked down the center isle. Theywore their brown robes proudly and held their unlitcandles before their bellies with both hands. Theywere the last group of Apprentices to receive theirpromotion to Initiate. The Guilds were alwayspromoted in order of their traditional entrance inGuildhall. Cavaliers first. Necromancers last.

In front of the raised dais on which stood the thirteen

Masters was a pile of discarded brown robes, cast downduring previous ceremonies. Standing to the left andright of the dais were the newly appointed Initiates ofthe other Guilds, faces beaming with wide grins,hands holding burning candles, heedless of the waxthat dripped onto their finger, happy to have theiryears of apprenticeship behind them.

The seven Apprentices came forward to form a line infront of the Master Necromancer. He was an ancientLoremaster, an iconoclast robed in black velvet andreeking of the grave. The skin of his face was pulled sotaunt he almost looked like the skeletons he so oftencommanded. His voice was powerful when he spoke,Today is your day-of-days . . .

Guild CeremonyElaborate ceremonies are the heart of Guildsmen culture,and these ceremonies have great e