can be an individual, a family, an organization, or even
an abstract concept. Examples of blood witches include
the judge of the judges, who targets the Azorius guild-
master; the Tormentor of the Wojek, who confounds
Boros military intelligence efforts; and the Disintegra-
tor of Law and Order, who undermines all efforts to
uphold law.
STAR PERFORMERPrerequisite: Renown^25 or higher in the Cult of Rakdos
At last, you have the opportunity to display your genius
to t he masses. When you perform, you're the star of the
show, the climax of a night of revelry. The rest of the
guild regards you with admiration and more than a little
envy. since crowds pack whatever venues you choose
for your shows. Rakdos himself might even come to
watch. You can count on the support of your ringmaster,
and you can call on the aid of other performers in your
troupe-just be careful not to turn your back on the ones
who would kill in return for a moment in your spotlight.
You can bring 2d4 Rakdos performers and ld4 R a k-
dos lampoon ers (see chapter 6 for these stat blocks)
with you when you're going on stage or heading out to
riot on the streets.
RINGMASTER
Prerequisite: Renown 50 or higher in the Cult of Rakdos
The show is yours to command. You determine what
performers take center stage and when, and you design
the exciting and bloody final act of the show-meaning
that you decide who lives and who dies. You might adopt
an ominous or overwrought title, such as Choreogra-
pher of Flame or the Dramaturge. A troupe of 3d10 +
20 Rakdos p erformers is at your service, and you can
call on 2d4 blood witches to aid you with their magic
(see chapter 6 for these stat blocks). You're probably also
considered a s ignificant public enemy by the Azorius,
but they can't arrest you if they can't catch you.ENEMIES AND ALLIES
A cult of demon worshipers doesn't make a lot of
friends. Ideologically, the Rakdos have the most incommon with the Gruul and the Golgari; all three
guilds have a desire to topple the structures of power in
Ravnica. Of course, the guilds disagree about what (or
who) should replace the existing structures.
Making the powerful look ridiculous lies at the heart
of the Rakdos performance philosophy. The bulk of the
guild's aggression is directed toward guilds that have
power and abuse it or guilds that make blatant bids for
power. That's particularly true when powerful guilds-
especially the Azorius- try to use their power to sup-
press the Rakdos.
Making the ridiculous powerful is the flip side of the
Rakdos philosophy. Usually, this means elevating the
status of the Rakdos-and yourself- at the expense of
others, but circumstances might lead you to cooperate
with members of other guilds in pursuit of a common
goal. For example, a power struggle in another guild can
be an opportunity for you to install a sympathetic (or in-
effectual) leader in that guild. Beyond that, other chaotic
guilds have grudges against the law-enforcing guilds
and would be happy to join your efforts to strike a blow
against them.THE R AKOOS VIEW ON OTHER GUILDS
The Cult of Rakdos serves a demon lord who is feared,
if not respected, by most citizens of Ravnica. Its cultists
express their zeal th rough riotous, bloody, and deadly per·
formances and revels. To other guilds, they are a fearsome
threat to the city. To the Rakdos, the other guilds invest too
much effort in a vain search for meaning and might.
Azorius. "Insufferable killjoys, and every artist's eternal
enemy. Everyone thinks we are the guild of ultimate evil,
but we're not the ones who want to monitor, legislate,
and control your every move."
Boros. "We love a parade, but their demonstrations always
come across as stiff. They're the deserving straight man
for our every punch line."
Dimir. "They crave secrets, but there's nothing they can
get by eavesdropping that we won't freely scream at the
top of our lungs. They lurk in the shadows trying to look
mysterious, practically inviting our mischief."
Golgari. "We know they're t ired of being the downtrodden,
misunderstood misfits. If they're truly ready to anger
the powers that be rather than lick boot soles, we invite
them to run away and join our circus."
Gruul. "Our well-meaning cousins in chaos! We want to
take society down a peg, and they want to raze civiliza-
tion to the dirt. That's practically common ground!"
lzzet. "Every performance benefits from prop masters and
pyrotechnicians. They can be useful backstage, but they
lack the charisma for the spotlight."
Orzhov. "The more the Orzhov try to coerce free people
to act against their desires, the easier it is for Rakdos to
gain recruits."
Seles nya. "Such crowds! They would scarcely notice if they
were missing a few by night's end. They'd make the per·
feet audience, if only they had a better appreciation for
bleeding-edge art."
Simic. "Imaginative creators who nevertheless fail to
appreciate the meaning of their living creations-nor
do they appreciate the tragic irony of not knowing how
funny that is."CHo\Pfl::R2 GUILDSOFRA\NIC.\ 83