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Minrothad Guilds

Minrothad, a nation of island peoples, is organized into a close-knit confederation of craft and service guilds. The country is commonly called the Minrothad Guilds, as they are known in commerce with the world's trading communities.

The Minrothad Guilds are located in the Minrothad Isles, formerly called the Isles of Dread. The islands are in the Dread Sea south of Karameikos between lerendi and Thyatia.

This nation is a political-economic combine of various guilds. Some of the guilds are organized around crafts and the families that control them; some provide professional services, while others pursue activities that are covert, military, or purely political in nature.

The Minrothad Guilds are one of the most powerful non-military entities in existence. Due to their wide-ranging trade network and dominance of commercial shipping, almost anything, legal or illegal, can be obtained by Minrothad traders or their agents. The Minrothad Guilds wield economic and political clout far out of proportion to the size of their island nation.

An increased guild presence on the waterfronts and in the trading houses of the continent have brought this successful commercial nation much into the public eye in the last decade. In earlier times the country was fervently isolationist, forbidding immigration and strictly controlling travel and trade practices that brought outsiders to the islands. But this policy has altered with a change in government, and the Minrothad Guilds have opened their doors to trade, travel, and interaction with the folk of other nations.

Curious travelers inquiring about the Minrothad Guilds can hear interesting things, depending on whom they ask for information.

It is recommended that travelers to the Minrothad Guilds go there either on a Guild vessel, or accompanied by a Guild certified navigator or pilot. The routes to the islands are tricky, and the waters contain hazards of natural or magical origin best avoided by someone familiar with the local waterways. Guild vessels bound for Minrothad or other destinations in the island chain can be found in almost every major seaport on the continent.

It is the unusual phenomena of the seaways that is most quickly apparent to a voyager to the Minrothad Guilds. These can make for an interesting and scenic journey, providing they do not turn into personal hazards. To ensure that, the caution to travel only with a qualified crew should be heeded.

Fogs

One of the inexplicable phenomena in these waters are the constant fogs and mists that surround most of the islands. Some of this is believed to be caused by active volcanoes, steaming the water through sea level vents the year round. Another cause is thought to be the meeting of the cold Continental Sweep winds from the north northwest and the warm, moist Dragon's Wind from the south. The only place these two major fronts meet is in the Sea of Dread around the Minrothad Isles.

Another cause of the perpetual fogs is undoubtedly magical in nature, the result of weather-magic worked by merchant-princes. Safe navigation of these waters is almost impossible for seamen who were not raised here or who cannot magically see through the fog.

Waterspouts

In certain seasons, when the cold and warm air masses of the Continental Sweep and the Dragon's Wind collide, tornados and waterspouts can result. Some are also said to be a sideeffect of weather magic worked by merchant-princes. Since there is so little land to be threatened by tornados, waterspouts are by far the more common and unpredictable danger.

A vessel struck by a waterspout can be reduced to splinters in the water, or lifted bodily and deposited elsewhere on water or land. Areas of fog often obscure this type of hazard, and even in clear and open water, the speed of movement and erratic path followed by these watery whirlwinds make them difficult to avoid. It is said that merchant-princes have appropriate magic with which to handle such a danger, but common sailors and fishermen must trust to luck and their sailing skills to avoid them.

Whirlpools

Numerous uncharted reefs and small islands lie within the territory of the Minrothad Guilds. At times, when ocean currents and tides flow rapidly between rocks and reefs, whirlpools may result. As with fogs and waterspouts, this phenomenon is often caused by magic when encountered in Minrothaddan waters. This hazard sucks a ship down until it is torn apart on rocks or submerged beneath the water. Whirlpools are almost impossible to escape without the aid of appropriate sea magic.

The archipelago claimed by the Minrothad Guilds is the area once known as the Colony Isles. There are six major islands and numerous smaller ones in this territory. Most are of volcanic origin, while some of the small atolls are coral growth atop submerged volcanic rock.

CASTE SYSTEM

The Minrothad Guilds has a formalized caste system, recognized by tax laws and acknowledged by citizens in their daily lives. A person's guild and rank dictate which category he occupies in the Minrothad caste system. Some caste positions limit one's progress within the guilds, but for the most part, caste lines are not completely rigid; hard work or political skill can elevate an individual to a higher caste than the one he began in.

There are six castes in Minrothad. Each reflects a degree of wealth, but even more, an appreciation of what a person can do for his guild. Caste names come from ancient Nithian words for rank and standing; people often refer to themselves and others by a reference to their caste: "A cleric will always be an evem (third Caste), regardless what he preaches to others."

WEATHER

The Minrothad Isles have a temperate climate and generally predictable weather. The tropical and sub-tropical conditions, with warm winds and periodical rainy seasons, make these seas almost perfect for a trading and seafaring society.

Dominant trade winds blow from northwest to southeast through the Isles. During storm season, this weather pattern brings rain and blustering winds to the northwest side of the islands first. Therefore, most popular harbors have an easterly or southerly exposure.

LYCANTHROPY

As trade grew, the Minroth humans soon carried most island exports. But the great benefits of the far-flung Minrothian trading network could also be a bane, as was soon evident. In the fourth century the dreaded disease lycanthropy and the curse of vampirism were brought to most of the major ports of the continent by Minroth ships, although the traders blamed it on the Alphatians.

Lycanthropy and vampirism became a major problem in the human settlements in the Colony Islands. Elves armed with silver weapons hunted down the unhuman creatures in what came to be known as the Silver Purge, destroying the Alphatian colony in the process and depleting the human population.

The Lycanthropic Plague of 980 AC was a resurgence of the old curse of Minrothad humans. The council of guild leaders failed to act decisively against the outbreak and some even enlisted lycanthropes as their agents for assassinations. The were-menace soon grew into a fullgrown plague, with weres appearing on all the islands by the year 989.

In that year Oran Meditor took office and sent the Mercenary Guild to deal with the problem. The greatest threat is now past, but weres remain in unexpected places.

One of those places is in the city of Minrothad. The former commander of the Home Guard #1, Marden Bailey, is himself a victim of the curse. Blackmailed by Verdier forest elves, he is head of a group of weres who assist in assassination plots. Bailey plans how to destroy all those who have taken advantage of his curse. In his human form he works to gain the loyalty of guards in his old unit.

THE MINROTHAD GUILDS NAVY

With so much attention focused on the trading capabilities of the Minrothad Guilds, little is said about the Minrothad Navy. The Navy is a small force, intended primarily for coastal patrol and protection of Minrothad's fishing banks. It seldom leaves local waters and is not considered to be a serious naval threat by foreign countries.

In the past the Minrothad Navy has served a useful purpose by discouraging colonial powers, such as Thyatis, from extending into Minrothaddan territory. The Navy has seldom had to confront foreign vessels with force of arms, since the treacherous Minrothad waters are sufficient to discourage most intruders. These naval ships ignore the Privateers Guild unless theystumble upon privateers attacking or looting another vessel.

The Minrothad Navy consists of 10 2nd Rate Man o' War ships,and they are crewed by marines of the Mercenary Guild, and by sailors of the Naval Associate Guild of the Merchant Sailors Guild.

Minrothad, with its concentration on merchant shipping, has never developed a large navy. In the early 8th century, the guilds relied heavily on their merchant force to supplement the Navy's patrolling capabilities and keep Thyatian naval vessels out of Minrothad waters.

Navy ships sometimes stop and inspect vessels they suspect of being pirates or smugglers.

Navy Size

Total ships: 10
10 22nd Rate Man o' War ships

THE MINROTHAD GUILDS PIRATES

PIRATE LORD:  John Finch

Perhaps more treacherous than natural phenomena are the pirates who haunt the sea routes between Minrothad and the mainland. Always ready to prey on promising cargo vessels, pirates appear like a scourge out of nowhere, attack their victims, then vanish untraceably into the mysterious fogs. Merchant-princes have a better chance than average captains of dealing with pirates, but not even Minrothad vessels are safe from their predations. It is believed that the seafaring brigands are lerendi or Thyatian privateers lured to this area by the rich shipping traffic. Publicly, the guilds are doing their utmost to eliminate the pirates from these waters.

In reality, Privateers, or pirates, have a tolerated, semi-legal status in the Minrothad guilds. Their existence is known, but the fact that they are part of the Thieves Guild is a well-kept secret. Details about piracy in the Sea of Dread and Minrothad waters are given under Pirates. Here following is simply an overview of privateers as associates of the Thieves Guild.

Master Privateer: The Master of the Privateer Guild is the water elf Hamilvar Kasan. His headquarters and base is Cove Harbor on Fire Island.

Device: The device of this associate guild is a balance with two cutlasses as the crossbeams of the balance arm. When ashore, guild members wear a metal bracelet or anklet with this device on it.

When at sea, absolutely no insignia relating them to the Mintothad guilds is worn, though passwords are issued so they can identify themselves to key merchant-princes. The traditional pirate flag bearing a skull and two crossed cutlasses, called the Dread Banner, is used to identify privateer ships when raiding.

Minrothad privateers once had letters of marque from the government authorizing them to attack and destroy or confiscate the shipping of nations hostile to Minrothad. In the past there was some purpose to this, since Thyatian war vessels made forays now and then into the Sea of Dread. Now, however, the guilds have signed neutrality treaties with most seafaring countries. There are no openly hostile powers for the privateers to attack.

This tiny detail has not stopped the privateers from continuing their banditry. Called pirates by everyone but themselves, the Privateers Guild preys on any likely merchant shipping except Minrothaddan vessels—and a decade ago were attacking those as well.

Since the restructuring of the Thieves Guild, Oran Meditor has tolerated the continued existence of the Privateers Guild under inflexible conditions. They must leave Minrothad shipping strictly alone and may harass only shipping of companies and nations which compete with Minrothad's cargo trade. They are not permitted to kill captives after a vessel is taken, but must drop them at the nearest inhabited land fall or set them free in boats within sight of inhabited land. The privateers are expected to supplement the tiny Minrothaddan navy and assist in the effort to keep foreign military vessels and poaching fishermen out of Minrothad waters.

For use in such 'official' encounters, privateer captains carry letters of authorization from the ruling guild master. With this exception, privateers carry nothing to connect them with Minrothad during their piratical ventures. If they are captured, the ruling guild master can claim, truthfully, that he had merely authorized some Minrothad captains to act as auxiliary navy in patrolling the local waters.

Privateers sell captured cargos in a variety of mainland ports. They never sell such goods in Minrothad, a stricture intended to keep them out of the public eye and questions out of the minds of inquisitive guild merchants.

Their cargo sales are tacitly assisted by the Minrothad trade agent in port. As long as items are not contraband or clearly identifiable as someone else's property, the factor does privateers the courtesy of asking no questions about the goods. The cargo is accepted into the guild warehouses and the trade agent handles the other details of selling.

Minrothad privateers can be contacted in Cove Harbor on Fire Island, at sea in a sea encounter, or sometimes selling goods in a mainland port.