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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Conaill" data-source="post: 763736" data-attributes="member: 1264">MMS on GuildsFor your inspiration, here are some quotes from "A Magical Medieval Society" (MMS) on guilds. Many thanks to Suzi Yee and Joseph Browning from Expeditious Retreat Press for letting me quote so extensively from their work!Guilds Guilds provide structure and self-regulation in a city. Lords give cities the right to form guilds as listed in their charter. In the early days of the city, the guild replaces manorial obligation and organization in peasant society. Members of guilds pay dues and are subject to the guilds  rules and regulations. Guild membership, in conjunction with oath taking, brings free peasants citizenship and all its benefits. Guilds also act as insurance policies. If a merchant or craftsmen dies, the guild takes care of his family and gives him a proper burial. The guild also provides assistance to guild members when their business is struggling. Guild members eat together, drink together, celebrate together, live near each other, and perform together, creating private theater troops in the magical medieval city. Guilds commonly sponsor public activities and plays, using such occasions to demonstrate their wealth and influence. Guilds and their members, called burghers, also man the city walls in early cities. In magical medieval cities, guilds are very powerful, especially merchant guilds. It is not uncommon for guild influence to rival town lord's influence.GuildhallsGuildhalls are similar to town halls in construction, but they house particular guilds. The merchant guild, usually the most lucrative guild in the city, has its own hall. Other guilds usually do not have the finances to build independent guildhalls. Sometimes guilds pool their resources and build communal guildhalls, sharing the building between all the contributing guilds. Guildhalls are places for meetings, posting news and notices, and for recreation, such as theater performances, music shows, and other entertainment the guild members put on through the year. However, most guild performances occur in public spaces.Craft GuildsCraft guilds usually wield the least amount of power among power centers. They control the production of their craft, the progression of their craftsmen, and the selling price of their products. In the early magical medieval period, craft guilds may require the permission of the town lord or the city council to exist, but as the period progresses, craft guilds become very common. Every imaginable kind of craft can embody a craft guild: butchers, fletchers, cobblers, candle makers, masons, and tanners, to clothiers, cloth cutters, weavers, fine cloth sellers, smiths, and toy makers. Most early magical medieval city dwellers are guild members. As more people immigrate to the cities, guilds become increasingly selective with their membership and with their members  progressions within the guild. Some guilds charge exorbitant entry fees, while others only allow entry through heredity or marriage to a guild member's daughter. These limitations make guild membership socially exclusive and financially beneficial for those with influential guild positions. Every craft guild has varying amounts of control over their members and influence in their city. This determines the level of restriction enforced by the guild. Apprentice: Craft guilds are stratified into three types of craftsmen: the master craftsmen, the journeymen, and the apprentice. All three are members of the guild and pay dues according to their station. All are subject to the guild's rules on methods of production, materials used in production, who can make certain items, and the items  selling price. The apprentice is the lowest of craftsmen. Taken in by a master craftsman, he usually lives and works in the master craftsman's home. The apprentice is not allowed to make or sell any item without the permission and approval of his master craftsman. Often the master craftsman has his apprentices do the laborious tasks of the craft or produce the smallest and simplest items. When the apprentice makes items and the master craftsman sells them, he must pay the apprentice a small cut from the sale price. The apprentice earns a paltry amount of money and pays the least amount of dues to the guild. The guild promotes apprentices to journeymen on the recommendation of their master craftsmen. Journeymen: Journeymen are the intermediary strata in the craft guild. They can independently make and sell items, though some craft guilds require journeymen to have a master craftsman's supervision and implicit permission. The craft guild limits the products journeymen make and the selling price of those products. [...]Master Craftsmen: Masters are the ruling class in the craft guild. Socially and financially, they receive the greatest return from the guild and its regulations. They decide who become journeymen and master craftsmen. They determine the selling price for products of their craft based on the item and the level of the craftsmen who makes the item. They are ambassadors of the craft in civic matters and in dealing with the merchant guild. [...]</blockquote>

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