Ravnica Table of Contents & More

Parmandur · Oct 22, 2018

Jester David said:
True. But the sole benefitt of this product versus say "Planewalker's Guide to Sigil" is that it might attract Magic the Gathering fans to the product, potentially increasing sales and maybe getting them into D&D.
What's the point of doing this rather than a brand new setting?

Given this is not a MtG forum, I wouldn't expect people to know much about Ravnica.
I'm also not going to fault people for expecting a book titled "Guide to Ravnica" to fire and foremost be about Ravnica!

Well, sure, they are doing this instead if something else for financial reasons, though they are in a position to do so primarily due to James Wyatt's tenacious passion for the project, dedicating his spare time to making the proof of concept Plane Shift articles.

It might not be reasonable to expect everyone on a DD board to know Magic stuff, but I didn't know anything about Ravnica a few months ago: my knowledge is from Dragon Talk and other WotC D&D sources. Not terribly unrealistic that people on this forum would listen to Dragon Talk or read Dragon+.

Parmandur · Oct 22, 2018

Jester David said:
So knowing about the Guilds gives me location adventures?
That will tell me how and where the adventuring party meets and what quests they might be given? What people wear and how they act? The history of the setting? What the common trade goods are and where they come from?

That feels a little reductive. Like saying that knowing about the gods and faiths of the Forgotten Realms tells you everything you need to know about Faerun.

After all, the iconic "adventure" is the party guarding a caravan going from place A to B. Knowing the Guilds likely tells me who would be owning and operating the trade caravan. But it wouldn't tell me what was in the caravan, where it was going, and likely not who would try and and hijack it.

Actually, yes. That is why they have organized the adventure procedural generation material around the Guilds. The Guilds determine fashion of their members, they control all significant legal and illegal business. They are all-encompassing.

Rossbert · Oct 22, 2018

It kinda does tell you all that. 95% of all commerce is guild related. Threats are usually other guilds or wildlife (which are cared for, created and propogated by a specific guild). Clothing is a little less tight, outside of uniforms though but much of that can be used to determine guild affiliation, the abscence of a uniform or a guild pin is the sign that someone is a peasant who doesn't matter (legally or magically).

Hell which guild area you are in tells you the architecture and geography of the area.

MonsterEnvy · Oct 22, 2018

Jester David said:
So knowing about the Guilds gives me location adventures?
That will tell me how and where the adventuring party meets and what quests they might be given? What people wear and how they act? The history of the setting? What the common trade goods are and where they come from?

That feels a little reductive. Like saying that knowing about the gods and faiths of the Forgotten Realms tells you everything you need to know about Faerun.

After all, the iconic "adventure" is the party guarding a caravan going from place A to B. Knowing the Guilds likely tells me who would be owning and operating the trade caravan. But it wouldn't tell me what was in the caravan, where it was going, and likely not who would try and and hijack it.

In Ravnica, yes it would.

Jester David · Oct 22, 2018

MonsterEnvy said:
In Ravnica, yes it would.

Then what would the answers be?

Parmandur · Oct 22, 2018

Jester David said:
Then what would the answers be?

It would depend on the initial answers: whuch other Guilds are the enemies of the Guild or Guilds running the caravan, etc. This is why they are using tables to organize the information. Point is, the answers to all of your questions would be Guild information. Because the Guilds are the setting.

Rossbert · Oct 22, 2018

Depends on which product, food is usually a Golgari shipment up canyon walls to the city proper using zombie guards. Izzet is transporting infrastructure pieces or magitech, probably using elemental labor. Orzhov and Azorious is likely VIPS in luxury accommadations. Raids are most likely Rakdos arsonists (possibly including priest demon support) or Gruul raiders with beasts (or possibly just the beasts).

The richest transports are zepplin-like animals, much safer but much more devestating if Gruul wyvern riders take exception and cause a crash.

Jester David · Oct 22, 2018

Parmandur said:
It would depend on the initial answers: whuch other Guilds are the enemies of the Guild or Guilds running the caravan, etc. This is why they are using tables to organize the information. Point is, the answers to all of your questions would be Guild information. Because the Guilds are the setting.

Which is why I was asking [MENTION=6706188]MonsterEnvy[/MENTION]. He knows the Guilds so the answers should be apparent.

He knows whatever the merchant Guild is, so he should know what the caravan would be holding, where it is going, and who is trying to steal it.
To say nothing of what the city looks like and how to describe the journey...

MonsterEnvy · Oct 22, 2018

Jester David said:
Which is why I was asking @MonsterEnvy. He knows the Guilds so the answers should be apparent.

He knows whatever the merchant Guild is, so he should know what the caravan would be holding, where it is going, and who is trying to steal it.
To say nothing of what the city looks like and how to describe the journey...

There is more then one Merchant guild.(Well to be correct none of them are merchant guilds) Were it would be going and who would try to steal it all depends on the guild. @Rossbert gives a good answer.

On what the city looks like and how to describe it, it depends on which guild is in charge of the area. And we are going to get coverage over the most notable area in Ravnica the 10th District.

Rossbert · Oct 22, 2018

I see a bit of the misunderstanding. Each guild controls much more than a typical guild in other settings. I plan on posting a bigger thing when I get to an actual computer to give the rough outline of each guilds initial purpose, and their general side effects.

They are less trade guilds and more stewards of essential aspects of life and order. For a quick example one guild was built to embody the letter of the magical contract that protected the plane, another is to be the spirit of that law.