To the Matriarch Ol’Nilean of Kel’Malar

I have completed my investigation of the lands of Torodan, and have enclosed a copy of the structure of their Guildocracy. This is a product of acquisition of records from the various guilds, some general legwork, and is a compilation of the last 5 years of work. Fortunately, most of their records seemed to be easy to access, but as you requested, I have managed to look into each group personally, although some eluded me for one reason or another, and a few had secrets which I could not extract. With your approval, I would like to get a team together to look further into these matters, as I feel they may be of some significance.

The first thing to understand of Torodan is it’s basic system of government, which as I noted in my preliminary letter to you has changed slightly in recent years. Much is still the same however. Torodan is still run by the Guild Council, who make all decisions of government not related to taxation or internal defense, and still claim half of all taxes collected by the high church after they are taken in. Every 5 years, a Guildmaster is still selected, who has the power to veto decisions of the Guild Council, who then put forth the motion to the Guild Leaders. The Guild Leaders are the heads of each individual guild and include the Guild Council. The chief responsibility of the Order Leaders is to monitor and facilitate the special interests of individual orders. Below the Guild Leaders are the Provincials, who take care of the interests of each province of Torodan. Below them are the new class, the Regionals, who take care of the various regions of the provinces of Torodan. In both cases, these people seem to be intermediaries, and each guild has a Provincial in each province and a Regional in each Region. In both cases, matters of business are handled by the appropriate guild, and matters of government are handled by a vote amongst the respective Provincials and Regionals. Below the Regionals are the Chapterheads, who control the chapters of their respective guild, representing their guild, their Regionals, and applying all measures sent down from the Council, Provincials, and Regionals. Chapters are limited to one region, and thus one province, unless they have permission to conduct business elsewhere. Outside of this social hierarchy of power are the Order Leaders. While Order Leaders are more accessible than Guild Leaders, Order Leaders organize the guild structure, and are responsible for many of the political dealings that go unseen within the guilds. The common people of Torodan are the members of the chapters of government, and the economically active among them are often referred to as “Guildmembers.”

The second thing that must be understood about Torodan is the politics of the region. While we prefer to allow tradition to rule our lands, and many of the human governments outside of Torodan prefer to use the rule of law, much of the Torodan government is based entirely around economics. Trade is seen not simply as an exchange of goods, but a political action, and is also much more extensive than in feudal or communal systems of government. To give someone your gold is a sign that you trust them, and that your guild is on good terms with theirs. While I haven’t seen it on a greater than regional level, I have seen instances where trade was halted because of an exchange of resources. For three months I traveled with a mage of the Order of the staff. When I met him, he and his team had come upon a magic sword. While the duration on its enchantment was short, they felt it could be sold, and the mage took it as his share of the treasure. In town, a mage from the Order of the Trade offered to buy it from him, but he declined, later negotiating and taking a lower price from an adventurer of the Order of the Red Blade. When I asked him why he did so, he replied, “Guild Loyalty.” In another instance, the Forester’s Guild and the Miner’s Guild both were vying over a piece of forest that had in it a large iron deposit. I saw that, as the dispute became more heated, those of the Smith’s Guild (who have been working to develop good relations with the miner’s guild) raised their prices to those who bore the symbol of Foresters. In the end, the lack of good tools on behalf of the Forester’s Guild was one of many factors that lead to the Miner’s Guild controlling the region.

The third thing to be understood is that while the politics of the guilds get very thick when you get higher up in the system, that this is not so on the lower levels. Nearly everyone in Torodan is a guild member, and people are not highly political or decisive, following what their leaders and representatives tell them is a good idea. There are vehicles for social change, but those who use them tend to get drawn further and further into the politics of the region, becoming highly political or falling from the ranks as time goes on.

The final note to make on Torodan is its position that only citizens may enter the guilds. Some guilds, notably the sailor’s and merchant’s, would like to extend this and open their business up to foreign trade, the Guild Council has always ruled against it when it has been brought up. To those who become citizens and do join guilds, each person can only belong to one guild and one Order, and the Order one joins must be a part of the guild that one joins. Some guilds require that you join one of their orders upon membership, but this is not a universal policy among the guilds.

And so, without further ado, here are the guilds and orders of Torodan.