Adventuring Parties and Patronage in Keoland
Here's somethign more from my campaign. I decided that a stable kingdom like Keoland would want to have some fairly stringent control over armed and powerful individuals (i.e. adventurers) roaming around within its borders. So I cam up with a system of patronage, based very loosely on the way patronage for playing (acting) companies worked in Elizabethan England. I figure it provides some degree of state control while leaving enough loopholes for smart players and PCs to exploit.
Adventuring Parties and Patronage in Keoland
Despite its fairly tumultuous history and strong role in military campaigns abroad, within its borders Keoland is one of the most stable states in the Flanaess. While the rulers of Keoland have always accepted the importance of adventurers and adventuring parties to the health of the kingdom (and not a few ex-adventurers have ruled the country), they have also always been keenly aware of the danger posed to the security of a country with well-armed spell-slinging individuals travelling indiscriminately within its borders. To minimize this problem while retaining the advantages of a resident population of adventurers, the Keoish crown has had the concept of patronage in existence for the last few centuries.
Patronage: All adventuring parties in Keoland must be officially registered with the kingdom. Such registration is usually carried out with one of the members of the King's Bench, whether the itinerant judges who travel the country or at one of the permanent courts in one of the 4 primary cities. At the time of registration, the party must either be accompanied by an individual who agrees to be their patron (see below) or have a written and sealed document from the patron (which must identify the names of all members of the party). After paying the required sum (usually 100 gp + 25 gp per member), the primary representative of the party is provided with an Adventurer's Writ, listing the name of the group (see below), name and signature of the patron and the group's members (up to 12 - any more requires registration as a mercenary company, which is a much more complicated process), their home province and a little space for their notable deeds. Each Writ must be renewed annually, by paying the same amount as at creation (modified appropriately as the number of members changes). A Writ can be cancelled by a patron or the majority of the members of the group. An individual can also have his name cancelled from a Writ for a small payment.
Nomenclature: An Adventurer's Writ always lists the name of the adventuring party, and follows up with the phrase, "the [insert patron's position]'s men". Hence, a registered adventuring party in Keoland will be known by their own name (e.g. The Swords of Light) and that of their patron (e.g. The Earl of Gand's Men).
Patrons: Acceptable patrons in Keoland consist of any noble of the realm (at or above the rank of knight) and his immediate family. More rarely, a reasonably high-ranking member of the clergy may also function as a patron, but any cleric who is not either a member of the Divinity Council or the head of a recognized priesthood in a given province is likely to be refused. An individual may never be the patron for more than one adventuring company.
Duties of a patron: The duties of a patron are literally non-existent. Officially the patron is responsible for all acts of the party, but in actuality while the patron may benefit vicariously from the fame garnered by a party adventuring in his name, any infamy garnered by them usually leads only to commiseration from the patron's peers and the swift cancellation of the Writ. Some of the more generous patrons provide funds for their sponsored parties, especially those which have fallen on hard times.
Duties of an adventuring party: An adventuring party is officially supposed to obey the wishes of their patron, but in reality most patrons do not exercise consistent control over a party's actions, only putting forth requests for specific actions when necessary. The small print on an Adventurer's Writ says that the member of a party pledge to protect their patron's life, his land and holdings, and to protect the lives of all innocents which dwell therein. This is usually achieved more often by parties which dwell regularly within their patron's lands then by itinerant ones.
Results of patronage: The patron's primary benefit is the advantage of having a powerful (presumably) group of individuals who are beholden to him. While a patron does not wield autocratic control over the party he sponsors, the fact that adventurers are not officially accepted into Keoish society without patronage means that they are likely to humor his wishes whenever possible. Lawkeeping within a territory, elimination of dangerous monsters, exploration of strange places, etc. can all be accomplished more easily with a resident group of adventurers. Also, since a successful group of adventurers usually spend a lot of money in the area where they dwell (usually their patron's demesne), they can be an economic boon too. Some parties, esp. those sponsored by a religious figure, tithe from their trasure and add to their patron's coffers in this way.
The benefits to an adventuring party from patronage are manifold. They cannot legally adventure within the borders of Keoland without patronage (see below). Many places and individuals will not hire adventurers for any task if they do not have official registration. In many towns, carrying a weapon larger than a dagger is illegal unless one is a registered adventurer (or another licensed to do so, like a soldier or a town guard). Some of the higher levels of society are barred to adventurers who do not have powerful patrons. In short, the registered adventurer can count on the existence of a patron (however distant physically) to allow him a safe space in a society where he might otherwise be considered a dangerous and disruptive influence.
The Master of the Travails: The individual officially in charge of adventuring parties in Keoland is the Master of the Travails, whose office keeps records of all parties in existence in the kingdom. Depending on the actions of a particular party, he may cancel their Writ even against the will of them and their patrons. More rarely, when a party becomes a danger to the realm, it is his duty to have them apprehended and punished. This is usually accomplished with the help of other adventuring parties in the vicinity of the troublesome group. Royal proclamations that have to do with adventurers in general and information about certain missions are channeled through his office too. On very rare occasions, when a group of adventurers run into problems where the aid of a high-ranking noble of the realm is necessary and where their patron cannot help, they may petition the Master of the Travails for aid. The results of such petitions vary considerably, ranging from the arrangement of a royal audience to being completely ignored.
Advantages to the Crown: The Crown gains a number of substantial benefits from the patronage system. Not only does it gain a substantial amount of money, but it is provided with information about the existence and general whereabouts of some of the country's most dangerous and powerful inhabitants. The Master of Travails' records also provide lists of individuals who could be profitably employed by the Crown at times of national emergency and need. Lastly, the patronage system allows the Crown to provide the dangerously mutable and socially mobile community of adventurers with a social space while keeping them clearly subservient to the nobility.
Itinerant adventuring parties: While an Adventurer's Writ lists the group's home province, many (if not most) of them travel far and wide. Within Keoland, an Adventurer's Writ is all the proof of identity that is needed, however far they may travel. If travelling outside Keoland, the weightage given to a Writ is far less, but it can sometimes lead to better treatment in some of Keoland's neighbouring states. Further afield, a Keoish Writ can be meanigless or even a dangerous document to possess.
Foreign adventurers: Similarities to the Keoish system exist in many other nations, especially those of the Sheldomar Valley. Foreign adventurers travelling in Keoland are usually required to obtain a Temporary Adventurer's Writ which lasts only three months and may be renewed only once. After that, the group had better find a permanent Keoish patron.
Non-registered adventurers: Non-registered adventurers are considered vagabonds at best, and a serious danger to the local noble's and the king's peace. The fact that an adventurer has no Writ is usually taken to mean that he is incompetent, a criminal, or both. While some will hire them for clandestine operations (or at times and in situations of complete desperation), they are usually encouraged to quickly move on from wherever they are, often towards the nearest member of the King's Bench.