Craft and Profession skills and Medieval Guild Apprenticeships

[Rethalgamon]

I'm working on a homebrew setting for d20 based on 8th-11th century Near East, and I'm working on incorporating guilds into the setting and rules system. I know that in the past, especially in the Medieval era, guilds were a big thing, very powerful and very secretive; most non-guild craftsmen didn't have the resources or abilities of the affiliated apprentices, journeymen, or masters, or, if they did (by working in an area outside of guild interest/control), weren't able to operate on a large scale or in a large area without the guild taking both notice and fees.

I've decided to represent this several rules, but I'm worried that they are too strict, and the craftsman PC as a concept basically falls apart at one of them (the Apprenticeship feat.)

1. Unless you have taken the "Apprenticed" background feat*, you may only place up to 2 ranks in any one Craft or Profession skill. The reasoning is that, without further in-depth instruction by either a guildmaster or an experienced artisan (i.e., an apprenticeship), you would not have access to the information that would allow you to expand your skills.
2. Guilded craftsmen belong to a guild (!), must pay guild dues, are bound to guild trade laws, and are able to practice their profession within cities.
3. Non-guilded craftsmen, called "Artisans", do not belong to a guild, and thus do not have to pay guild dues or be bound by guild trade law, but they may not practice their profession within cities controlled by the guild of their craft or profession.
4. If a character wishes to pursue a craft, that is, put more than 2 ranks in a single Craft skill or Profession skill, he must take the "Apprenticeship" feat, detailed below. Note that the player would be essentially retiring their character for a span of in-game years as indicated by the chosen mentor, as apprenticing to a craftsman is a full-time commitment that doesn't allow for such adventuring nonsense. After that point, he is free to practice his craft wherever. It is advised that players who wish to play craftsmen characters cover their apprenticeships with the "Apprenticeship" background feat, and start the game as Journeymen.
5. The Apprenticeship feat itself (this is where things get difficult.):

Apprenticeship: Prereqs 2 ranks in chosen Craft or Profession skill.
Your character begins learning a craft or trade from a master guild member or a skilled artisan.
During an apprenticeship, a character earns enough experience to increase his Craft skill to 4 ranks by the end of his apprenticeship. A guild apprenticeship takes 2d4-INT mod years, while an artisan apprenticeship takes 1d6-INT mod years, each at a minimum of one year. While apprenticing under a guildmaster, the character earns 5*1d6 GP [readP] and may not travel unless his master does so. While apprenticing under an artisan, the character is free to travel, but must only travel from mentor to mentor. You gain one rank in the Literacy skill for the language in which you were instructed (most likely your first language) for free. At the end of his apprenticeship, the character must pass a DC 15 Craft or Profession check. If he fails, he must continue apprenticeship for another six months, when he will be allowed to make another attempt. This attempt and all subsequent attempts receive a cumulative +1 bonus. At any point during his apprenticeship, the character may leave, but forfeits any EXP, money, or skill points gained from it, and may not place more than two skill points in the Craft or Profession skill without first completing his apprenticeship. You must place any gained attribute points into the attribute used by the craft skill.

I know this seems overly complicated and obtuse, possibly unbalanced even, but I can't figure out any other way to get at the "you need someone to teach you a craft and that information wasn't cheap, easy to come by, or quick to learn" and "guild were powerful and controlling economic entities" aspects of medieval life. What do you guys think? Am I overthinking it? Should I just ignore the entity of guilds, or restrict Craft and Profession skills to those characters with the Apprenticed background feat? Doing that, I believe, wouldn't allow a character with both the time and money for apprenticeship fees to learn a skill, for absolutely no good reason. I'm stuck.

*Characters get both a feat and a background feat at level one.

 

[Dethklok]

Sorry to break it to you, but it looks like you are indeed overthinking this.

From Ann Lambdon's Continuity and Change in Medieval Persia:

The crafts probably had some kind of loose corporate structure, but they were not, as far as is known, organized according to professional criteria into guilds fulfilling economic, social and administrative functions. Nevertheless, there was a certain solidarity among them, which tended to manifest itself on the occasion of religious festivals and public holidays and also, though more rarely, in political protest. In the bazaars most of the crafts had their own special quarters, which may have contributed to their solidarity. So far as they were organized as groups, even if only loosely, they were better able to resist extortionate demands by the government and others holding power.

To the extent that guilds existed at all in the Near East, they were loose fraternities, not the powerful organizations seen in Europe.