EN World City Project: Guilds and Organizations

Conaill · Mar 28, 2003

GladiusNP said:
If we assume (like most DM's) that wide-scale, commercial printing of books isn't widely available, then Ialato's libraries will consist of maybe a dozen books, at the most. A very rich noble may have thirty or so, but that's a considerable investment.

I'd vote for Ialato's private collections. The wizards guild probably has the largest collection by quite some margin, but not a on the order of more than a hundred books or so. A dedicated building may be too much as well - there simply aren't enough books to fill it, and if they are all written out by hand, you aren't going to let any citizen handle them.

I remember seeing some number on what counts as a "research library" for researching new spells etc. in D&D. I'll have a look if I can find it. (anyone have Tome & Blood handy? Stronghold Builders handbook perhaps?)

But you're correct in general. A medieval "library" would at most be one or two bookracks. For fantasy purposes we may want to double that, but it would still only take up a single room. The City Archives may be quite a bit larger, depending on how much is written down on a daily basis. 1/2 page per day on average, that makes one volume per year... maybe up to 300 volumes?

GladiusNP · Mar 28, 2003

Conaill, three hundred sounds good for a library. Where we sticking too the Wizard's Cabal/Guild? I can do some revision on the earlier post to make it more compliant, but would appreciate a list of what should be included. On the thieves guild, here's an example of how the fence/gangs structure could work.

GladiusNP · Mar 29, 2003

Okay. So above, the three fences sort of have an uneasy alliance. This mainly means that if one cuts someone off, they all cut them off. They aren't above cutting in on each other's profits, but usually keep well clear of each other's operations. The third guy (Silas Pimm?) runs the show around the docks with the Longshoremen, Sabrian is stationed in the Posh District, but runs the squats with his thugs (though Philip Dusaine does most of the dirty work), and Randall keeps a low profile - he's got the least muscle. The burglars don't deal with other fences.

Lalato · Mar 29, 2003

Nice work Gladius...

I think more of those lines would be dotted, though. Not necessarily direct connections to the fence... just the person that particular burglar or smuggler usually goes to. The fence still has great influence by virtue of all of his contacts... he's just not a direct "boss". However, since he has a lot of money... he commands the burglars, smugglers respect and greed.

--sam

jdavis · Mar 29, 2003

The fences need a method of communicating with each other and/or having meetings, maybe they have a go between that keeps them all informed so they don't step on each others toes. They would also want to keep their identities as secret as possible. Perhaps a face person, sort of a fake head that everybody reports too, very few would know who the actual man pulling the strings was.

Conaill · Mar 29, 2003

Ah, a Triad, excellent!

fusangite · Mar 29, 2003

Please vote in the Lady Kelvin poll I posted. I'm having real trouble with hammering out who she is.

Tonguez · Mar 29, 2003

jdavis said:
The fences need a method of communicating with each other and/or having meetings, maybe they have a go between that keeps them all informed so they don't step on each others toes. They would also want to keep their identities as secret as possible. Perhaps a face person, sort of a fake head that everybody reports too, very few would know who the actual man pulling the strings was.

Fagan type would be appropriate - so yep works for me

But this (The Middleman) would be the role for Whistling Tom! He's nice but only in the way that the Sweeper only looks like an old man with a broom (and remember rule 1 - Never mess with the Sweeper). He looks after those who come seeking his aid, he keeps an eye that things are happening as they should. He keeps people informed. But should anything happen he doesn't like - well then he can be deadly!

Oh yeah and Silas Pimm for Fence of the Docks

Tonguez · Mar 29, 2003

GladiusNP said:
I think the problem with the library is whether or not Mor's End has the printing press. This is campaign specific. If we assume (like most DM's) that wide-scale, commercial printing of books isn't widely available, then Ialato's libraries will consist of maybe a dozen books, at the most. A very rich noble may have thirty or so, but that's a considerable investment.

I'd vote for Ialato's private collections. The wizards guild probably has the largest collection by quite some margin, but not a on the order of more than a hundred books or so. A dedicated building may be too much as well - there simply aren't enough books to fill it, and if they are all written out by hand, you aren't going to let any citizen handle them.

The thing is DnD assumes the the populace (well the PCS anyway) are all literate and this for me implies that at least some books are readily accessible to everyone who isn't a Barbarian. Of course these books might only be Religious texts - but in a world of multiple religions I think resources would be put into something other than mass production of hand written illuminated texts. However this would be possible if a Printer Press did exist OR that a number of mundane manuscripts are avaiable

Lalato · Mar 29, 2003

The thing is DnD assumes the the populace (well the PCS anyway) are all literate and this for me implies that at least some books are readily accessible to everyone who isn't a Barbarian. Of course these books might only be Religious texts - but in a world of multiple religions I think resources would be put into something other than mass production of hand written illuminated texts. However this would be possible if a Printer Press did exist OR that a number of mundane manuscripts are avaiable

This has always been a weird issue with DnD. I've explained it away by magic. There is a magical means of copying books. It is rarely used on a mass scale, but it is used.

One thing to remember, too, is that the original inhabitants of the area were barbarians. The caravans would have been the only source of books... and the city was sacked just a couple of hundred years ago. That would definitely limit the number of books available in the city... and that is also why no one person or group has amassed a huge collection.

--sam

EN World City Project: Guilds and Organizations

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