Guilds of Beachblush (Beachblush Setting)

Factions, Guilds and Notable Organizations

Being the capital of the country, Casanova has a wealth of both businesses and social circles. Formal guilds were outlawed until the new king took over, but seeing as unions and partnerships had already been made behind closed doors, it didn't take long for public guilds to take root. While many of the guilds operate throughout most or all of the major cities, Casanova being the capital, many of them primarily house their members in this city.

The Underground Guild

Can be found in Casanova, Docacea and Central. The underground guild is the oldest guild in the city, having been started around 760 years ago. While guilds were illegal until the end of the old king's reign, that didn't stop this collection of thieves, smugglers, highwaymen and the occasional hired sword from coalescing into a more or less functional society.

Hideouts

Casanova: Centralized in secret stopping points in the under-ways, the hideout for the underground guild is a converted noble's bunker that the founders were able to "negotiate" from its previous owner, after they found out about some of his less savory business dealings. For that reason, it is surprisingly elegant, and once you step through its inconspicuous doors, a large foyer stretches out with multiple rooms to the sides and back, and a central stairway leading to a second floor, the first floor opens to a gambling room/tavern, a lodging area for some of the guild's permanent residents, a planning room and a closely guarded supply room.

The second floor is for high ranking members only, and while very few people are allowed entry (thus, very few people know exactly), it's rumoured to contain quarters for the 3 leaders of the Guild, a higher end tavern/brothel, and a vault for the coin collected by the Guild.

Docacea: The hideout in Docacea is the only one that isn't actually underground. Located within an abandoned warehouse left to the guild by a very "co-operative" individual, who decided to share some of his land after the guild found evidence of some of his criminal dealings. There is an an enchantment on the warehouse that makes it look and feel like an empty space, rendering everything and everyone inside it invisible and intangible to anyone who hasn't said the unlocking phrase inside the wall, the phrase is the oath of the guild, "With my hand, I shall be swift and decisive. With my mind, I shall be cunning and clever. With my heart, I shall be loyal and secret. With my gold, I shall be with the guild." Saying these tenets allows you to see and touch what is in the warehouse, but can't be done by just anyone without risk, the guild always knows if they're expecting a new arrival, and someone who enters without the guild's say-so is likely to be met with extreme suspicion or hostility, depending on who's in at the time. Additionally, breaking any of the oaths sworn to during the oath is sealed away from the enchantment again, and cannot get back in, even if they do repeat it. While it looks, decrepit on the outside, on the inside it gives off the feelings of a lavish chateau, with a central foyer leading into a small but well stocked inn, a bunking area for any members of the guild who are travelling through or living there permanently, as well as quarters for both of the Hands and Aldwin if he's in, and a treasury for all the gold given.

Central: The newest hideout of the guild, and consequently the smallest, the Centralian hideout of the guild is located underneath Rich Man's Heaven. Specifically, underneath a hidden trapdoor in a stall posing as a fresh fruits stand called, "Underground, Overgrown". While they do sell fruits, most of their business is in criminal dealings, selling drugs, or arranging meetings. The hideout inside is unfinished, and resembles a cave system, it has a network of warm magical lights that lead through the caves, the color of the lights tells you where they're leading (green=common areas, yellow=meetings or guild payments, red=initiation). While the hideout has all the basic amenities of a guild base (bunks, a meeting room and quarters for high level guild members, and food), it lacks the polish and finesse of the other hideouts, and is frequently under construction.

Membership

Anyone who wishes to join the Guild must first be able to either find the Guild, or be one of those selected for potential recruitment, once that's done, they must pass a test of courage and a test of loyalty, while the test of courage varies from person to person, the test of loyalty involves severing one's left little finger, the blade they are provided is intentionally blunt and rusty, those who survive the tests are granted access into the Guild for a monthly payment of 5 gold pieces, as well as 15% of any gold gained from guild funded exploits.

After a year of faithful service, you become a 'Knight of the Underground Guild', are given full access to the facilities of the guild and an item called the "Finger of the Thief"

Leaders

Standard text is stuff that is public knowledge or information that players could figure out through spying or rumours, italicized text is usually reserved for backstory or closely guarded features of the characters.

Aldwin Bostel: The leader of all branches of the underground guild is Aldwin Bostel, a human in his early to mid 50s, seemingly jovial upon first meeting him, but those who've known him for long know that he's always three steps ahead of the competition. A skilled gambler, Aldwin is a man of tanned complexion, somewhat portly, and often dressed in a thick, fur lined coat, with a belt strapped around his shoulder containing a myriad of thieves' tools. He often travels around the four big cities, checking in on each branch of the Guild. Aldwin Bostel used to be a naval captain, and one of the four members of an anti-piracy group in Beachblush, skilled in torturing, strategy and manipulation, he alone quickly thinned the scourge of Pirates taking over the waters surrounding the country. But his questionable techniques began to draw unwanted attention to this secret group, and when the navy told him to either step down or face prison, he chose prison. But on his transport, he was somehow able to escape, and killed all the 28 guards sent to escort him, without leaving any hints as to where he'd go next. When he came across the underground guild, the leader at the time, an elderly gnome by the name of Wozniak Pauper took him in and groomed him to be his successor, a role he was more than happy to take.

As well as a central leader, each branch of the Underground Guild has a Left Hand and a Right Hand, two leaders who are in charge of different aspects of running their city's criminal underground. The Left Hand's job is to oversee dealings with the nobles and their less-than-noble deeds. To that end, a Left Hand will often run any high level drug trafficking, make sure to be forging connections with the right kind of people, and "negotiating" with businesses and nobles when those connections begin to fray. The Right Hand of the Guild deals with street level crime, ground level surveillance, district management, organization of heists, crimes or general ne'er-do-wellery all fall under the umbrella of the Right Hand.

Casanova: The Left Hand of the Casanova is a young adult Triton. She has long, navy blue hair, and emerald green eyes. She can often be seen in simple yet elegant dresses, concealing a myriad of weapons and thieves' tools, and in public, an incredibly ornate crown made of different corals and shells, with a few precious gems thrown in for good measure. She is soft-spoken and has a tendency to lull people into a false sense of control, so that by the time they realise she was conning them, she's already gone, her lineage and techniques have earned her the nickname, "the Siren of Casanova". Her real name is unknown, but a favored moniker is, "Sapphire Trelawny". A former member of the royal family of Attmoore (the Aquatic country to the West of Beachblush), changes to be made with this section to keep in line with updated lore Kona Coralheart was heir to the throne in the long standing matriarchal line of rulers, loved by all her subjects for her compassion and kindness. She found that her father, the Prince of the city was plotting to kill both her and her mother, the Queen. While she was barely able to escape by faking her death, her mother wasn't as lucky. Within a short time, her kindness had to take a backseat to survival on the streets of Kirad. For twenty three years she lived in squalor, until she tried to hire an assassin to remove her father from power. When she realized that his fee would be more than she could ever save living on the streets, the assassin instead offered her an option: thirty years of service in his guild in exchange for the murder of the King. She accepted, and the assassin's revealed himself to be the Right Hand of the Casanovan branch of the Underground Guild, who happened to be in need of someone familiar with the Nobles' way of life. Her kindness still shines through on occasion, but it's now shrouded by a desire for revenge, a desire that won't be satiated until she's back on her throne.

In Casanova, the position of Right Hand falls to a red Tiefling named Akmenos, early fifties, with a tight ponytail of purple hair, long, wavy horns, and an eye patch covering his left eye. A master in nearly all forms of both melee and ranged combat, Aldwin recognized his talents and made him a member, where he quickly rose through the ranks. So when a position for Right Hand was made available, it didn't take long for him to claim it as his own. His cold demeanor belies a hot temper that has, on occasion, landed him in trouble, and he specifically holds a sore spot for the royalty and elite guard of the city, although his exact reasoning is unknown to all except his close friend, Aldwin Bostel. Akmenos was the first Tiefling of the royal guard for the former King, Matías Santiago, and he eventually became the head guard, and a close personal friend of the king. A former assassin, Akmenos was hired to kill the King by a group of his dissenters, and he nearly did: when he entered the King's room in the middle of the night, however, Matías was awake, and ended up having a lengthy conversation with his prospective killer. He was able to convince Akmenos to join his elite guard, the Justicia, he worked with the King for five years, until Mathías, in a fit of paranoia, ordered the Justicia to kill him, under suspicion of treason. He made it out alive, but the head guard skewered his eye out before he left, and left a permanent hatred of royalty and the Justicia in its place.

Docacea: Both the Left Hand of Docacea and the latest in a long line of merchants, specifically, merchants under the employ of the Underground Guild. Cederic Griffin, a human in his early 40s, often clad in black, gold and purple clothing, with shoulder length (though always curled like a judge) hair. takes care of his duties in an uncommon way, rather than simply rubbing shoulders with nobles, his work as a merchant often results in him selling items to the upper class, all while luring them into a false sense of security and influencing them on a more subconscious level. It helps that the things he sells to his targets often have tracking/spying enchantments on them. He and his (unknowing) wife, Maribelle, run a shop in Docacea selling all manner of fineries, from jewelry to clothes to accessories to furniture, but because of Cederic's frequent traveling to sell to specific Nobles, it's usually Maribelle who's running the shop proper. Most of Cederic's wares are authentic, and he has very little to do with the Guild by choice, stating that the less he knows, the harder it is to catch him in the act. He prefers to simply get a letter in the mail saying a name, a goal, and a time limit, after that he works his magic. He wasn't happy with his families ties to the underworld, but was able to put his misgivings aside when he realized the coin that one could make in his line of work.

The Right Hand of Docacea is most likely human or elf named Calvin Payne, his age is unknown but most people assume that he's between thirty and fifty years old. In any kind of public setting, Calvin wears a hood and cloth mask, meaning that everything except his eyes is covered, this hood and mask combo fasten together, making them almost impossible to remove before he removes you. He wears a leather chest piece over a burgundy doublet with the sleeves removed, and is a fair middle ground between lean and muscular. Obsessed with perfection, he runs a tight ship, and has specific squads in specific areas, as well as rigid operating locations and hours, and vigorous screening for anyone who tries to enter his branch of the Guild, with recon often being conducted for multiple weeks for final decisions are arrived at. While he seems stone cold on the surface, it's mostly a front, and Calvin is teetering on the edge of total collapse, a result of intense physical and emotional abuse until his early adult life, conducted primarily by his parents, the final straw was when they killed his sister in a drunken rage, prompting him to end their violence, permanently.

Central: The Left Hand of Central is a High Elf by the name of Rydea Aeondwyn (Rid-eah Ay-on-dwinn), born to a the prestigious Aeondwyn Estate 238 years ago as a rambunctious, bold and confident child, their parents were bent on beating out their child's "unladylike" behavior, but their child, always feeling more comfortable being androgynous, was a stubborn one to break. Stubborn enough that even after their parents' deaths, they remained bold and strong. Rydea is known to be an aggressive negotiator, often challenging those who disagree with them to duels, a nickname that has earned them the mantra of "the Duchess of Death". When they aren't doing business with the guild or for the estate, Rydea is an avid fencer, gambler and hunter.

The Right hand is an elderly Gnome who goes by the moniker of Illmaze, a Gnomish Sorcerer who focuses on enchantment and evocation to make up for his small stature, he is a a fisherman by trade. He has a well kept white moustache and beard, with the beard tied around with a bit of cloth. He wears a green, pointed hat and green robes trimmed with gold. He also uses a staff that publicly is just for walking, but doubles as a spell focus. The robes, hat, staff, and cloth are all adorned with small green jewels that light up slightly when he casts spells. When communicating with his underlings, he has a system of complex codes that make it sound like they're talking about the day's catch.

The Guild of the Creatives

Can be found in Casanova, Central, and Vared. The Guild of the Creatives was started shortly after guilds were made legal again. Artists of all kinds had already been holding creative gatherings, sharing ideas, techniques and more, so all the officiating of the Guild meant was that these creatives were no longer stifled in secrecy.

The Globe Shapers

Placholder text, so the deal with these ones is that they're all the nobles of the country, certainly a fair chunk of them, and they're the ones who "shape" the country. Yeah that's right, they've mostly got big egos and even bigger chips on their shoulder. Nobles can be a real pain, just like naming a guild of nobles, just calling them "the Guild of nobles" felt a little too on the nose, but I feel like shapers is massive a little too pretentious, on the other hand, they are pretty pretentious. I don't know dude, it's getting late so I might wake up tomorrow and change it completely, make it "the Guild of hula dancers" or something. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. I think I'm done with guilds for tonight though, I've got to save some for the other cities after all.

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