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<blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 7128876" data-attributes="member: 92305"><p><strong>RUNNING GAMES IN ARGOS VI</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>THE PEOPLE TOIL</strong></p><p></p><p>Argosseans have a strong work ethic. The people are apprenticed at age 8. Characters have full time jobs at age 14-15. If starting a new character, consider this (age 14 or 15) to be the youngest starting age for a Level 1 character.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Argossean work day is 16 hours in the summer and 12 hours in the winter--essentially sun up to sun down.</strong></p><p></p><p>Many people craft their own goods and use the front of their homes as a storefront. Otherwise, selling goods in carts or by simply hawking them on the street is commonly seen in the cities and villages of Argos. Membership in a guild can be important, but so can <strong>Reputation</strong>, as with a tutor (who sells his Reputation more than he does his actual skill at tutoring).</p><p></p><p>Women often practice two or more trades, such as a midwife who is also a weaver. And, knowing a trade makes a woman more valuable in the marriage market (which is very important to women--their goal in their young lives).</p><p></p><p><strong>REPUTATION BONUS:</strong> Characters who have developed a thriving business receive a +1 Rep bonus.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>GUILDS</strong></p><p></p><p>The various Guilds are powerful organizations in Argos, with the rule of the King's Law behind them. Those not in the proper guild may have to pay a tariff to the appropriate guild is business is to be transacted. Argosseans are serious about their guilds, and the kingdom known for its friendly people are not so friendly when guild rules are broken.</p><p></p><p>There are annual fairs and established market days, though, when anyone can sell to the public. But, there is not enough of these to support a business.</p><p></p><p>Some guilds are men-only organizations. In others, women can become guild members upon the death of their guild husband or son.</p><p></p><p>Guilds often use secrete signs and communications forms. Some Guilds are quasi-religious organizations. For example, the Goldsmith's Guild is closely tied with the religion of Mitra.</p><p></p><p><strong>Guild Craftsmen:</strong> Usually live in parts of the town with similarly skilled craftsmen. Often Master Craftsmen of a particular craft are all from the same family. The family establishes a monopoly on that one craft in that town. The family shares apprentices among them. Nepotism is alive and well.</p><p></p><p><strong>Masters:</strong> A Master of a craft is a full citizen of the kingdom by the King's Law. Becoming a master is a path to citizenship, though entering a Guild as a foreigner is quite difficult. Guild Law allows Masters to open workshops, hire journeymen, and train apprentices. Many times, Guild Law restricts the number of Masters allowed to operate in a given area.</p><p></p><p><strong>Journeymen:</strong> Once a Master has given his approval of the work of an apprentice, the apprentice graduates to journeyman status. He is called a "journeyman" because, at this stage of his career, he is to journey from town to town, working a time for different Masters, learning various techniques. A Journeyman's most prized possession is letter of recommendation from his original Master (often a family member).</p><p></p><p><strong>Apprentices:</strong> Most apprentices live in the attic of the Master's house. Apprenticeship often starts at the age of 8 years old, and apprenticeship often lasts until the person is 14, 15 or 18 years or more old.</p><p></p><p><strong>REPUTATION BONUS:</strong> Apprentices gain a +2 Rep bonus when they are admitted to their Guild. Guild membership is also considered an increase to social status.</p><p></p><p>Becoming a Journeyman nets the character another +2 Rep bonus.</p><p></p><p>In Argos, becoming a Master <em>requires</em> a Reputation 20. And, becoming master nets the character a +4 Rep bonus. Masters are typically also become town elders and city leaders.</p><p></p><p><strong>CHARACTER CLASS:</strong> Most NPCs are of the Commoner class. They are also often non-sorcerous Scholars (in that they study their trade). The Scholar class covers any area where the character knows a great deal about a subject, thus armor smiths, traders, and glass blowers are all normally either from the Commoner class or the Scholar class. </p><p></p><p><strong>CHARACTER LEVEL:</strong> Apprentice characters are Level 1, and this can last for many years. Journeymen characters have a minimum of 6 skill points in their craft, which means a Journeyman must be Level 3rd level or higher.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>MERCHANT HOUSES</strong></p><p></p><p>As mercantilism grew in Argos, and the kingdom became rich in trade, the Merchant Houses obtained more power. This proved to be a thorn in the side of the nobles of the kingdom, and today, this is the main reason that feudalism is dying out in the kingdom. Feudalism is still strongest in interior Argos while, in the Coastal Cities, the Merchant Houses have more power.</p><p></p><p>The Merchant Houses have followed the model set by the Craft Guilds, which came first. The Craft Guilds exist under feudalism. The Merchant Houses exist in spite of feudalism.</p><p></p><p><strong>High ranking House members wear medallions of station on silver chains.</strong></p><p></p><p>Members of Merchant Houses are considered to be noble, by the King's Law. But the old Noble families know that noble blood does not run through the veins of these Merchants, and the nobles of the Merchant Houses will never gain the full respect of the nobles who's bloodlines can be traced back for centuries. The leaders of the Merchant Houses claim titles as barons, counts, and even that of dukes.</p><p></p><p>Two of the three great institutions of power in Argos are, indeed, the Merchant Houses and the True Nobles. (The third leg of that tri-pod is the Church of Mitra.) All three have strong influence on the crown.</p><p></p><p><strong>Nature of the House Merchants:</strong> Some are purely evil. Some are corrupt. Others are severely avaricious. All are deceitful and insidious people who rarely give more care to those not of their House.</p><p></p><p>The great Merchant Houses take care of their own. They are known for charity toward disadvantaged members, taking care of funeral expenses of dead members, and looking after the family of dead members. Of course, this charity is strictly within the House. Though, this is the only real charity to exist in Argos.</p><p></p><p>The Houses police themselves, work together to defend the Houses from outside powerful influences (foreign trade, the Interior Nobles, the Church of Mitra), and they even maintain small armies or guards in particular areas. They operate caravans to distant lands, and they maintain fleets of naval vessels. The Merchant Houses even have the power to invoke their House Law in many instances, replacing the King's Law. The Houses act as a Republic of small City States or kingdoms within Argos as a whole, though they do recognize the king of Argos as the ultimate authority.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Water Bob, post: 7128876, member: 92305"] [b]RUNNING GAMES IN ARGOS VI[/b] [b]THE PEOPLE TOIL[/b] Argosseans have a strong work ethic. The people are apprenticed at age 8. Characters have full time jobs at age 14-15. If starting a new character, consider this (age 14 or 15) to be the youngest starting age for a Level 1 character. [b]The Argossean work day is 16 hours in the summer and 12 hours in the winter--essentially sun up to sun down.[/b] Many people craft their own goods and use the front of their homes as a storefront. Otherwise, selling goods in carts or by simply hawking them on the street is commonly seen in the cities and villages of Argos. Membership in a guild can be important, but so can [b]Reputation[/b], as with a tutor (who sells his Reputation more than he does his actual skill at tutoring). Women often practice two or more trades, such as a midwife who is also a weaver. And, knowing a trade makes a woman more valuable in the marriage market (which is very important to women--their goal in their young lives). [b]REPUTATION BONUS:[/b] Characters who have developed a thriving business receive a +1 Rep bonus. [b]GUILDS[/b] The various Guilds are powerful organizations in Argos, with the rule of the King's Law behind them. Those not in the proper guild may have to pay a tariff to the appropriate guild is business is to be transacted. Argosseans are serious about their guilds, and the kingdom known for its friendly people are not so friendly when guild rules are broken. There are annual fairs and established market days, though, when anyone can sell to the public. But, there is not enough of these to support a business. Some guilds are men-only organizations. In others, women can become guild members upon the death of their guild husband or son. Guilds often use secrete signs and communications forms. Some Guilds are quasi-religious organizations. For example, the Goldsmith's Guild is closely tied with the religion of Mitra. [b]Guild Craftsmen:[/b] Usually live in parts of the town with similarly skilled craftsmen. Often Master Craftsmen of a particular craft are all from the same family. The family establishes a monopoly on that one craft in that town. The family shares apprentices among them. Nepotism is alive and well. [b]Masters:[/b] A Master of a craft is a full citizen of the kingdom by the King's Law. Becoming a master is a path to citizenship, though entering a Guild as a foreigner is quite difficult. Guild Law allows Masters to open workshops, hire journeymen, and train apprentices. Many times, Guild Law restricts the number of Masters allowed to operate in a given area. [b]Journeymen:[/b] Once a Master has given his approval of the work of an apprentice, the apprentice graduates to journeyman status. He is called a "journeyman" because, at this stage of his career, he is to journey from town to town, working a time for different Masters, learning various techniques. A Journeyman's most prized possession is letter of recommendation from his original Master (often a family member). [b]Apprentices:[/b] Most apprentices live in the attic of the Master's house. Apprenticeship often starts at the age of 8 years old, and apprenticeship often lasts until the person is 14, 15 or 18 years or more old. [b]REPUTATION BONUS:[/b] Apprentices gain a +2 Rep bonus when they are admitted to their Guild. Guild membership is also considered an increase to social status. Becoming a Journeyman nets the character another +2 Rep bonus. In Argos, becoming a Master [i]requires[/i] a Reputation 20. And, becoming master nets the character a +4 Rep bonus. Masters are typically also become town elders and city leaders. [b]CHARACTER CLASS:[/b] Most NPCs are of the Commoner class. They are also often non-sorcerous Scholars (in that they study their trade). The Scholar class covers any area where the character knows a great deal about a subject, thus armor smiths, traders, and glass blowers are all normally either from the Commoner class or the Scholar class. [b]CHARACTER LEVEL:[/b] Apprentice characters are Level 1, and this can last for many years. Journeymen characters have a minimum of 6 skill points in their craft, which means a Journeyman must be Level 3rd level or higher. [b]MERCHANT HOUSES[/b] As mercantilism grew in Argos, and the kingdom became rich in trade, the Merchant Houses obtained more power. This proved to be a thorn in the side of the nobles of the kingdom, and today, this is the main reason that feudalism is dying out in the kingdom. Feudalism is still strongest in interior Argos while, in the Coastal Cities, the Merchant Houses have more power. The Merchant Houses have followed the model set by the Craft Guilds, which came first. The Craft Guilds exist under feudalism. The Merchant Houses exist in spite of feudalism. [b]High ranking House members wear medallions of station on silver chains.[/b] Members of Merchant Houses are considered to be noble, by the King's Law. But the old Noble families know that noble blood does not run through the veins of these Merchants, and the nobles of the Merchant Houses will never gain the full respect of the nobles who's bloodlines can be traced back for centuries. The leaders of the Merchant Houses claim titles as barons, counts, and even that of dukes. Two of the three great institutions of power in Argos are, indeed, the Merchant Houses and the True Nobles. (The third leg of that tri-pod is the Church of Mitra.) All three have strong influence on the crown. [b]Nature of the House Merchants:[/b] Some are purely evil. Some are corrupt. Others are severely avaricious. All are deceitful and insidious people who rarely give more care to those not of their House. The great Merchant Houses take care of their own. They are known for charity toward disadvantaged members, taking care of funeral expenses of dead members, and looking after the family of dead members. Of course, this charity is strictly within the House. Though, this is the only real charity to exist in Argos. The Houses police themselves, work together to defend the Houses from outside powerful influences (foreign trade, the Interior Nobles, the Church of Mitra), and they even maintain small armies or guards in particular areas. They operate caravans to distant lands, and they maintain fleets of naval vessels. The Merchant Houses even have the power to invoke their House Law in many instances, replacing the King's Law. The Houses act as a Republic of small City States or kingdoms within Argos as a whole, though they do recognize the king of Argos as the ultimate authority. [/QUOTE]
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