Editing Flamepunk: The Guilds

[[Flamepunk:Main Page]] -> [[Flamepunk: People, Culture and Factions]] -> [[Flamepunk: The Guilds]]

----

<blockquote>Vustus gazed out across the colossal manufacturing floor, his dry eyes barely able to make out the far wall through the heat-mirage and smoke. He gazed impassively at the huge furnaces-class elementals, massive stampers, and ant-like moving workers.</blockquote>

<blockquote>''Master of all I survey,'' he thought contentedly, ''each indentant like a brick in a wall. Well, not all quite square bricks'', he mentally amended, his burn-scared callused hand loving stroking the flame-lash he wore on his hip. ''Some indendants need more encouragement than others''. Other Fabricators preferred to focus on enhancing various elemental bindstones or finding better ways to do things, but he had always enjoyed ... motivating ... his workers. His excellent efficiency ratings set the bar for other departments within the Phoenix Guild.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Fabricators Vustus," wheezed an overseer as he jogged up. ''He's got the black-lung sickness, sure enough'', thought Vustus, eyeing the gasping man, ''but his quotas haven't been quite high enough in the past to afford a visit to a wellbeing Magus. If he doesn't clean up his act soon, he's going to end up demoted back to indendant''.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Yes, overseer?" rumbled Vustus, through his expensive ash-mask; he kept his quotas up.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"There's a problem with one of the cauldrons, sir," panted the overseer.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"What type of problem, overseer?" the Fabricator growled. ''Damn, I hate having to drag information out of an indendant!''</blockquote>

<blockquote>The overseer opened his mouth to answer, when suddenly the twanging cry of over-stressed iron giving sang out across the manufacturing floor. Both men turned to face the sound just in time to see a one of the huge overhead liquid metal transfer cauldrons come off its rail and drop squarely into an equally large quenching vat below. Billows of steam sprayed out for a few seconds, scalding nearby workers, before the suddenly cooled cauldron shattered into a spray of iron shrapnel. Vustus watched impassively as the no longer contained viscous liquid copper flowed around the legs of the nearby steam-blinded indendants. All across the factory floor the sounds of human screams started up as random victims noticed burned off feet and sucking chest wounds.</blockquote>

<blockquote>A nearby gurgling noise drew Vustus' attention and he looked down at the surprised face of the overseer as lifeblood spurted out from where a piece of shrapnel had torn out his neck. ''Too coincidental for accident, must be some type of industrial sabotage'', thought Vustus, ''probably the Salamander Guild, we've been outselling them in this market recently. Not my business, really, I'll let the Ursers deal with it.''</blockquote>

<blockquote>''What'' is ''my business is keeping this facility producing at top efficiency''. Vustus sighed. He could see a lot of long days ahead cleaning up the mangled metal and contracting new indentants. ''At least I have a convenient scapegoat'', he thought, grinning down at the now silent corpse from behind his mask. ''He won't mind, and this way he doesn't have to suffer through black-lung''.</blockquote>

----

==The Guilds==

The Guilds are the financial heart of (Name of World), managing, organizing, and controlling commercial enterprise across the land. Naturally, this gives the Guilds immense power and influence, and they compete with each other for wealth and status as often as they contend with the Church and the Families. 

Chances are that any person working in a legitimate job in any city on (Name of World) is a member of, or subject to the regulations of, one of the Guilds. In fact, the Guilds frown on individuals who set up independent operations, and frequently make their displeasure known in ways that are...''unpleasant'', to say the least. It is rare that an "independent" businessman needs a ''second'' visit from the Hellforged to realize the error of his ways.

Guild factories and businesses employ the bulk of the population, who spend long hours toiling in less-than-healthy conditions to scrape together enough pay to feed their families. 

==Guild Organization==

Though the Guild responsible for any particular areas of enterprise - cindersmiths, or flamebinders, for example - may have slight variations in structure or use slightly different names for various levels of responsibility, the general structure of a Guild is a complex hierarchy based on business acumen, debt and credit, and sheer cutthroat ruthlessness.

===Guildlords===

These are the head of a particular Guild, and are usually possessed of an uncanny deviousness, political savvy, and a frighteningly calculating nature. After all, they lived to make it to the top. 

===The Sanctum===

The core management of each Guild - like a Board of Directors. Each Sanctum directs the affairs of their Guild, aiming for maximum profit at whatever cost. Competition between Guilds is fierce, but rarely erupts into open violence. Some say this is because even Guilds must respect the law, but others suggest that there is a secret True Sanctum that commands the individual Sanctums of each Guild. These whisperers claim that the True Sanctum has a sinister agenda beyond pure profit, to which goal they are gradually guiding the guilds.

===Fabricators===

Specialist guilders who focus on construction and tech-making. They are also pyro-scientists, and if there is a Guild research facility or factory its most likely run by a Fabricator.

===Usurers===

Financial experts who handle the money side of things. They usually rank lower than Guildlords and Fabricators, and are less respected, but no less vital.

===Journeymen===

Everyday guildsmen and -women, handling day to day guild business.

===Hellforged===

<blockquote>''"Yeah, I've seen them. Loaded down with more brands, brass, and fireware than a whole flock of the Cardinal's guard. They can burn hot, but they aren't too bright. They've got hearts of ash. If you ever get close to one that still has human eyes, you'll notice that they aren't really human eyes anymore. More like a doll's eyes. Sure, when their sparks are stoked, they're full of rage enough to tear through anything. But when they're idling? They're hollow men. They've got the sinister purpose and all the personality of a knife blade."''</blockquote>

Sometimes people need a little ''persuasion'' to come around to seeing things the right way. That's where the Hellforged come in. Guild Hellforged are little more than heavily augmented killing machines, loaded down with flamebindings, specializing in the use of steamtech exoskeletons, and covered with brands and subdermal obsidian core implants. They are fearsome warriors, but in exchange for near-unstoppable power, they have subsumed their will to the Guild. 

===Indentants===

Low-ranking workers, they form the bulk of Guild laborers. Their contract requires them to comply with Guild restrictions and regulations.

==Life and Death in the Guilds==

'''Benefits'''

* Money: Guild members are rich. The more you brownnose and claw your way up the corporate ladder and conform to their ideas the more credit you get. This gives you access to bigger and better and more bindstones.

'''Drawbacks'''

* The more you subsume self to the interests of the Guild, the less individualistic you become. You become one of the herd, stuck in a rut, indistinguishable from any one of a thousand other indendnats. You wear the same bland clothes they wear, listen to the same dull music they do, and carry the same credit balances they do. Also, bindstones have some type of physical control: you need to push a button or flip a switch or verbally tell it what to do.

'''Powers'''

* Most people just carry bindstones around. Guild Hellforged have the option of wearing an integrated suit of elemental armor with dozens of bindstones built into it. Hellswords, ash-masks, even a built in class four cipher! No one else is as tough as you are; tattoos and prayers can't stand up to the pure durability of a bindstone when it comes to channeling flame.

'''Termination'''

* Of course, you can leave at any time, but your contract specifies a 'no competition' clause, so other Guilds won't hire you. Also, all credit balances become due upon termination of employment.

'''Flamepunks'''

* They may purchase or build their own bindstone equipment and weapons, but rarely at the quality or quantity Guild employees enjoy. 'Punks are viewed and treated by Guild members as thieves or junkyard mechanics.

[[Category:Flamepunk|The Guilds]]