Guilds

Guilds play a large part of the politics and economics in Nelwar. There are several very large guilds that span nations, but most are local to whatever nation they are in.

Particularly in Antiris, the guilds are officially recognized and affiliated with the government, and actually have representatives that sit in Antirean congress and vote for their interests.

The Guild of Scholars
The pirate Sneed Barlow once said:

"When I die, lads, I'll get to meet two very interesting people. The first is Malzoroth (the devil in the religion of the Creed of the Divines). the second is some bloody Scholar's Guild pinhead following him around asking him what makes it all work."

The Scholar's Guild is a group of people dedicated to the discovery of knowledge and the pursuit of academia. It is based on the grounds of the Great Library in Citadel. Members of the Guild of Scholars typically choose a certain topic and study it from their books, then eventually go out into the world and attempt to learn about it through exploration. In order to be given leave to study something, the scholar must first discuss with a board of other members what makes the information worth having. However, everyone in the Scholar's Guild is a big fucking nerd, so it doesn't take much to convince them. Because of this, there are a massive number of topics currently under study by the guild. However, some of the more common fields of study are: Notably, the Guild of Scholars does not study magic. This is left to the various guilds of magic. However, the type of pointy-headed academic that is successful in High Magic is often successful in the Scholar's Guild as well.
 * Mathematics
 * Some specialization of history
 * Politics
 * Warfare and strategy
 * Biology/Zoology/Whatever
 * Medical sciences

Magical Guilds
There are many guilds of magic. The most noteworthy are the Antirean Guild of Wizards, and the Wizards of the Iron Door. Many localities have their own guild of wizards, but many are also simply served by the Wizards of the Iron Door.

The Antirean Guild of Wizards is based in Citadel. It operates only within Antiris and several nearby nations, but has Guild Houses around the world. It is very well funded, and is officially affiliated and sponsored by the Antirean government. It is headed by Archemage Albert Lhorn.

The Wizards of the Iron Door are based in Dragonsmouth in Belrast, and although they are hugely impactful on the politics of Belrast and of the world as a whole, are not officially affiliated with the Belrassi leadership. They study the most powerful magical artifact known to the world - The Iron Door. This is a massive (around 30 feet tall) Door and frame made of solid, seemingly indestructible Iron. The door floats perfectly still, at ground level inside the city of Dragonsmouth. It is almost completely covered on both sides by magical symbols. Most of these symbols are understood, and are the language used to cast spells in High Magic.

Both of the two largest magical guilds have adopted a system of apprenticeship. First, children are brought to the guild when it is discovered that they have magical abilities (usually when they start inadvertently casting small spells). Most families have a method of contacting the guild through their local leadership, and representatives of the guild will come and take the child to live and study with them. When they are around 12-14 and have decided which type of magic they wish to pursue further, they become an apprentice under the wing of a more experienced member of the guild. They then typically either choose to stay with the guild and study and teach, or move out somewhere (often their old hometown) and ply their craft in a sort of magic shop, selling their talents to the locals. When they are ready, they present the guild leadership with some original work (similar to the idea of a thesis in real academia) and become a full-fledged member of the guild. The two largest magical guilds share a lot between each other and are on good terms, despite being each other's economic competition. Many think this is because the current leaders of them are personally very good friends.

Other Guilds

 * Craft guilds
 * Mercenary guilds
 * Profession-based guilds (fisherman's guild or farmer's guild, sort of like worker's unions)
 * Merchant's guilds, for different types of things that they buy and sell

Guild Houses
Many guilds spend their resources buying into "guild houses", a type of business where someone basically sets up an inn, and then sells guilds the rights to have their members stay there for free or a discount. In big cities, there will be many guild houses, with each guild having their own house where members stay for free and eat for cheap, with many rooms and even other facilities (likes studies or small libraries, for the Guild of Scholars). In smaller towns, there might be one guild house, with agreements with a few of the large international guilds and with most of the local guilds, where members stay and eat for a discount, but not free.. These houses have standardized symbols written above the door, it is easy to tell if an inn will give you a discount.

Playing a Character that is in a Guild

 * Being part of a guild means that you have to take the relevant skills.
 * Being part of a guild means that you might have to have some duty or vow, depending on the guild and your position within it.
 * Being part of a guild, particularly the ability to stay at guild houses, is a significant advantage worth some points. Talk to me about buying the advantage if you want to be part of a guild, particularly a big one.
 * You may have to additionally by status or rank as an advantage, depending on your position within the guild.