Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild
The Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild
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The Zoarstar, Quill Alley and the Wilde Way, Trades Ward
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Personages
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Guild Master
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| Lady Master Scrivener Imilantra Cassalanter |
Primary Contact
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| the Master |
Other Guild Members
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| Membership: 400+ None |
Membership
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Livery
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| Royal blue berets, with silver quills on them |
Dues
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| Entry Dues: 10 gp • Annual Dues: 1 gp/month |
Goods & Services
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| • Art: 10gp - 200gp (based on skill and complexity) • Bookkeeping and Record-Keeping: 1gp/day (or portion thereof) |
Member Shops
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| – |
Faction Details
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| Common Descriptors: {{{descriptors}}} Primary Classes: Any Alignments: Any |
Faction Ranks
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| • Apprentice: Renown 1. You are apprenticed to a master within the Guild. • Journeyman: Renown 3+. You have completed your Journeyman's Work, and may now work within your guild's specialty, albeit under the direction of a master. |
This guild is a highly educated, professional group of men and women who letter signs, draw pictures (sometimes in front of a party audience, upon a nobles hiring), compose and write letters, take dictation, design ornamental scripts, draw up legal tallies, and set down records, contracts, and accounts.
Many guild members will even forge or counterfeit documents. These cost some very stiff fees – hundreds of gold pieces per document – since the penalties are so severe: Expulsion from Guild and city for very serious cases, with amputation of fingers and thumbs added if the forgery is treasonous or inflammatory, in a manner that threatens the peace of the area.
The Palace retains a dozen guild members at all times to transcribe a record of all said before it, and retains one scribe for each Magister (for the same task). The watch also employs guild members to draw likenesses of fugitives described by witnesses, so that watch officers can carry these sketches when on patrol.
In the mid-1400s, the Scriveners' Guild fought the formation of a Printers' Guild for several years, finally successfully gaining recognition as having dominion over that particular vocation by absorbing all of the members of the would-be new guild. To this day, the Scriveners' Guild's portfolio includes the work of printing presses as well as hand-wrought written and visual works.
Notable Members
Guildmaster (Rank 4)
- Lady Master Stationer Imilantra Cassalanter: When Imilantra Cassalanter entered the guild, most assumed she was simply going to lean into her noble connections to snatch work from more deserving artists. She did not do so, however; indeed, she often offered to find an artist for her noble friends, seeking out those in the guild without noble contacts. In exchange, she only ever asked that they share some of their skill with her, taking some time to teach her their techniques. Fostering not only skill but good-will, it is no surprise that Imilantra Cassalanter has risen to become lady master of the guild, by an unheard-of unanimous vote.
Faction Ranks
Scriveners in good standing have the following ranks.
Apprentice (Rank 1)
Prerequisite: Scriveners' Guild renown 1+
- Dues: You are not required to pay annual guild dues as long as you are an apprentice.
- Master: You have a master for whom you work. You are provided a Lifestyle free of charge (usually "Poor"), and are expected to dedicate at least one tenday every month in downtime activity toward working in the master's shop. This functions like the Training downtime activity except that you do not run the risk of Training Complications. Once you have completed a number of these Training workweeks to gain a new proficiency, you gain proficiency in the Calligrapher's Supplies or Artisan's Tools proficiency. If you already have this proficiency, you may instead gain proficiency in Forgery Kit. You also gain a point of Scriveners' Guild renown.
- Journeyman's Work: Renown 2 • Guild Quest. The only mission that gains an Apprentice another point of renown is the completion of the Journeyman Work. This is a DC 20 Intelligence (Calligrapher's Supplies or Artisan's Tools) test, which takes a tenday of the Work downtime activity. Each tenday put into a specialized downtime activity called Journeyman Work Preparation reduces the DC of this test by 1. When the apprentice is ready, the test is performed. If failed, the guild declines to elevate the apprentice, who must remain an apprentice for another year before trying again. If successful, the journeyman piece is accepted, and the student gains a Rank of Guild faction, becoming a Journeyman.
Journeyman (Rank 2)
Prerequisite: At least three months at Rank 1 and Scriveners' Guild renown 3+
- Working Assistant: You may now be taken in as a journeyman employee in a master's shop. You have the right to take the Work downtime action within the Scriveners' Guild's area of vocation, adding a +1 to the check. You may not run your own business or open your own shop within Waterdeep, however, by the laws of the Guild, as long as you are a member of the Guild.
- Experienced Journeyman: Renown 5+ You are well-known for your skill, and an asset to any master's shop. You may add a +2 to the result of taking the Work downtime action in your guild's area of vocation. You also gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill, as your experience in a shop has given you some talent at bargaining and haggling.
- Master's Work: Renown 9 • Special Mission. The only mission that gains a Journeyman another Rank is the completion of the Master's Work. This is a DC 24 Intelligence (Calligrapher's Supplies or Artisan's Tools) test, which takes a tenday of the Work downtime activity. Each tenday put into a specialized downtime activity called Master Work Preparation reduces the DC of this test by 1. When the journeyman is ready, the test is performed. If failed, the guild declines to elevate the journeyman, who must remain a journeyman for another year before trying again. If successful, the journeyman piece is accepted, and the student gains a Rank of Guild faction, becoming a Master.
Master (Rank 3)
Prerequisite: At least one year at Rank 2 and Scriveners' Guild renown 10+
- Master: You are accorded a master of the Scriveners' Guild, giving you a vote in its political affairs and your own Master's Seal. You now have the right to open a shop practicing the vocation you have learned although some of this rank choose to continue to work for other masters (especially if they are working on saving up enough coin to start their own shop). Scriveners shops operate at a minimum of Poor quality.
- Master's Touch: When crafting items using your artisan's tools, calligrapher's supplies, or forgery kit proficiencies, you get 10gp worth of work done per day, instead of the normal 5gp.
- Guild Loan: Masters in the Guild are entitled to arrange a loan from the guild, in an amount equal to your Guild renown x 50gp. This does not accrue interest for the first year, and then accrues 10% monthly thereafter. You cannot gain another loan while you still owe one.
- Shop: When you open and run a shop, the longer the shop successfully operates, the more attention and renown you attract for your craft. This is handled via the Establishing a Business downtime action. The following benefits accrue after the indicated amount of time that your shop has been in operation.
- Master's Reputation: For each year your shop is in operation, gain a +1 bonus to the monthly Business Roll due to a growing reputation.
- Renown: Gain a point of Scriveners' Guild renown for each six months your shop is in operation, until you have a renown of 15, at which point you gain a point for every year your shop is in operation.
- Apprentices: For each year your shop is in operation, you attract 1d3 apprentices. Apprentices are considered Unskilled hirelings, which you are expected to maintain at Poor Lifestyle. Each apprentice remains with you for (1d6 x 6) months, after which they either become journeymen (60%) or prove themselves unfit for the vocation (40%).
- Journeymen: For every four apprentices that come through your shop, you attract one journeyman. Journeymen are considered Skilled hirelings, which you are expected to maintain at a minimum of Modest Lifestyle. Each year, a journeyman has a chance equal to 20% + 10% per additional year spent in your employ of becoming masters. If this check ever results in a 91% or higher, the journeyman simply doesn't have what it takes to ever become a master, and remains a journeyman for the rest of their careers.
Guildmaster (Rank 4)
Prerequisite: At least three years at Rank 3, Scriveners' Guild renown 25+, and the majority vote of the masters of the Scriveners' Guild
- Master of the Guild: The guildmaster is in total control of the Guild's finances and various holdings, established by the laws of Waterdeep. The guildmaster has control of the guild's coffers and can give commands to its membership. Guildmasters wield a great deal of influence in Waterdeep, on the level of the heads of noble houses, and are often involved in a variety of intrigues and business undertakings. The guildmaster lives at a Aristocratic Lifestyle, paid by the guild.
