Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
friends, rivals, or even family members, but their rela-
tionship with you is rarely as strong as with a bond.
Although the tables of contacts in this chapter de-
scribe nonplayer characters who are members of guilds
(your own and others), you are likely to acquire guildless
contacts as well. NPCs such as goblin gang leaders,
minotaur bartenders. and vedalken tailors all go about
their lives in the shadow of the guilds but divorced from
those groups' intrigue and politics.

STARTING CONTACTS
Your character starts the game with three contacts: an
ally in their guild, a rival in their guild, and an ally or
rival in another guild. (House Dimir is an exception.)
Tables in each guild section help you determine who
these contacts are- facts that you can build on by work-
ing with your OM to add some details. The table entries
for contacts are written in the first person, where "I" is
your character.
You'll roll twice on the Contacts table for your guild,
unless you're in House Oimir (as explained in that
guild's section). Your first roll gives you an ally. Your sec-
ond roll gives you a rival, who might be fri endly, jealous,
or antagonistic. (It's possible for these to be the same
person; a single person might be generally friendly to-
ward you and simultaneously jealous of your success,
for example.) Then you'll roll once on the table of con-
tacts from other guilds. That contact could be either an
ally or a rival, or you might instead gain a third contact
from your own guild.

Renown


As you advance the goals of your guild through your ad-
ventures, you become an increasingly important part of
the guild's activities. You might rise through the ranks,
eventually taking up a position at the right hand of the
guildmaster-or even becoming the master yourself!
Your status in your guild is measured by your re nown
score. As you increase that score, you gain the opportu-
nity to advance in the ranks of the guild.
When you join a guild as a starting character, your
renown score with that guild is 1. Your renown score
increases by 1 when you do something to advance
the guild's interests, assuming that other members of
the guild are aware of what you've done. Each guild's
description in this chapter includes a discussion of its
goals and your role in pursuing those goals, which your
DM will use to judge whether you earn an increase in
your renown score.
The various ranks within the guilds describe the
range of tasks you might perform, from testing experi-
mental Izzet weaponry to leading a squad of Boros sol-
diers into battle. When you're assigned a mission that in-
volves an adventure- leaving behind your guild holdings
and putting yourself in danger- and you complete that
mission, your renown score with that guild increases by


  1. Chapter 4 includes information for the DM about mis-
    sions appropriate for your guild.
    Other tasks that don't involve adventuring can also im-
    prove your renown score. You can use the time between
    adventures to improve your renown within your guild by
    performing these tasks, as well as by socializing with


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prominent people in the guild. After doing so for a total
number of days equal to your current renown score mul-
tiplied by 10, your renown score increases by 1.
At your DM's discretion, you might also have a re-
nown score in a guild you don't belong to. You can't
ever formally advance in rank within another guild, but
a high renown score can earn you additional contacts.
favors, and other benefits. This option can be useful
in an intrigue-heavy campaign where the adventurers
spend a lot of time trying to influence the leaders of vari-
ous guilds.

BENEFITS OF RENOWN
As you gain renown in a guild, you gain certain benefits.
Most benefits are guild-specific, but there are general
benefits that apply no matter which guild you belong to:
Renown 3 or High er. When you have a renown score of
at least 3 with your own guild, you are an established
and respected member of the guild. Other members
of the guild have a friendly attitude toward you by
default. (Individual members of the guild might have
reasons to dislike you despite your renown.) They pro-
vide you with lodging and food in dire circumstances
and pay for your funeral if needed. If you are accused
of a crime, your guild offers legal support, as long as
a good case can be made for your innocence or the
crime was justifiable.
Renown 5 or High er. When your renown score with
any guild reaches 5, you gain an additional contact
within the guild. This contact might be a character you
met during your adventures or someone who seeks
you out because of your fame. Your DM will assign
you a contact or have you roll on the Contacts table for
the appropriate guild.
Some guilds- notably Azorius, Orzhov, and Boros-
have well-defined hierarchies that characters can as-
cend th rough as they improve their renown scores.
Other guilds have positions of honor that characters
can apply for if their renown score is high enough. Not
every member of the Selesnya Conclave aspires to be a
sagittar (an archer assigned to guard an important guild
location), but any character who meets the prerequisites
can apply for t he position. Ultimately, the DM decides
whether a character qualifies for such a role, with acer-
tain renown score as a minimum requirement.
Several guilds provide a salary among the benefits
of renown within the guild. The salary i s described as

sufficient to maintain a lifestyle of a certain level. If you

earn a salary, you can live at the specified lifestyle with-
out paying the normal daily expenditure. See chapter 5
of the Player's Handbook for more information on life-
style expenses.
A prominent position in a guild often allows you to
call on the services of lower-ranking members to assist
you in your work. When you do, they are assumed to be
loyal followers who help you to the best of their ability.
Some of them are assigned to help you for the duration
of a single task or mission, while others are under your
permanent command, staffing a laboratory, workshop,
or garrison where you are in charge. Depending on their
role, they might help you in dangerous situations (like
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