The Modern Wayfarers
Those wishing to become adventurers often start at one of the Guild Lodges. Larger baronies in the Grand Alliance have at least one Lodge with retired Masters who teach potential apprentices the fundamentals of the Wayfarer’s craft. Masters will often recommend potential apprentices to active Masters who are operating in their field. One holdover from the original Royal Charter is that the Masters must evaluate every applicant regardless of their background. This has led to a few embarrassing misunderstandings. A common one is that the Guild accepts all comers. This usually comes from the so-called Vagabond Law. The official law states:
Apprentices who are laboring under punishment of being a Branded Vagabond will have their punishment suspended so long as they remain in good standing within the Guild. When they graduate to the rank of Journeyman, the Guild may choose to lift their Vagabond punishment, or allow them to remain Vagabonds but trust them to continue as a Wayfarer without a Master’s supervision.
The law outlines the power of the Guild to suspend civil law in favor of gaining a skilled Wayfarer. It does not, however, give any guidance on the protocols for accepting these Vagabonds into the Guild. Being a political organization that has to work within the civil structure of the Grand Alliance, it is understandable that the Guild Grandmasters do not wish to accept large numbers of individuals that the kingdoms view as criminals into their ranks. Thus, each season, Guild Lodges throughout the Alliance reject several Vagabonds after considering them.
Potential adventurers join Guild Lodges as novices, some as young as ten years old in human reckoning. Novices learn all the general skills of a Wayfarer, and also the techniques they need to connect with their Core and use Attributes and Talents.
When a Lodge Master believes the novice is ready, they may take the Gauntlet test. Each of the five schools within the Guild has its own Gauntlet that it uses to evaluate the abilities of a novice. Successful completion of the Gauntlet test confers the rank of apprentice and membership in a training School.
After the Gauntlet, a Master then takes on the apprentice. This person handles the training and advancement of the apprentices. The apprentice serves their Master as an assistant and party member during their work. Apprentices follow their Masters on patrols, delves dungeons, deal with Underland Eruptions, monster attacks, and all the other jobs required of a Guild Wayfarer.
Apprentices who have learned the prerequisite Talents of their School are eligible to test for their Journeyman Rank and full membership in the Guild. The Guild and the specific schools keep the Journeyman rank test a secret, and they rarely reveal it to outsiders.
Gaining the Journeyman rank means the Wayfarer may now adventure on their own, without the supervision of a Master. They may form parties and adventuring companies as they see fit, so long as they adhere to Guild laws.
The path to the Master Rank is more difficult. A Wayfarer only becomes eligible to become a Master when sponsored by a Master of the 5th rank or higher. Confirmation takes place during one of the four Gatherings at the Master’s Hall in the Guild home base of Samson’s Rest. During the Gathering, ten Masters of the candidate’s school vote to accept them as a fellow Master. The candidate becomes a Master by simple majority vote.
The Master Rank gives the Wayfarer their first real responsibility and leadership role within the Guild. Gaining the Master Rank allows the Wayfarer to teach in Lodge, take on apprentices, and even take on leadership roles such as Lodgemaster or Archmaster.
Benefits of Guild Membership
Members in good standing enjoy more than a few perks. First, they can redeem the standing bounties on all monsters listed in the Temple’s Lexicon of Beasts at any Guild Affiliated tavern or Lodge. These bounties are quite generous and often offset the costs of the adventuring lifestyle. Another is free use of healers in all Alliance lands. Tithes and fees are all paid by the Guild, which is subsidized by the various kingdoms of the Alliance. Without this healthcare plan, there would be very few active Wayfarers. Finally, is the system of Guild Markers, which allows for items to be paid for with the credit of the Guild. These Markers are essential to keeping the Wayfarer system working. An under-equipped adventurer does not survive on the Glory Road very long.
Guild Lodges
Although the primary organization of the Wayfarers is independent Master training apprentices, or groups of Journeymen selling their services, the Guild needs organizational hubs to issue quests and give out rewards. Thus, the Wayfarer Lodge. The first Wayfarer Lodge is, according to Guild legend, the one at Harper’s Crossing. Though there is no concrete proof that it was the first lodge, the original “King’s Vagabonds” operated near Harper’s Crossing. Initially constructed to give Wayfarers a place to rest and recover from injuries, the Lodge soon became much more. Locals learned they could hire Wayfarers for specific jobs, so the Lodge helped with matching adventurers with suitable jobs. The Lodge became a storage repository for gear, supplies, and weapons, making it an ideal spot to resupply before heading back out into the wilderness. Finally, the Lodge became a place for apprentices to learn the craft of adventuring under controlled conditions. As the Guild grew, Lodges sprang up in settlements up and down the Glory Road. Most maintained the hybrid approach that had begun with the Harper’s Crossing Lodge. Others took on more specialized roles. As adventurers became more specialized, so did their training. Lodges that catered only to training warriors, or rogues, or any other specialty began being formed. Masters who had had enough of the adventuring lifestyle would retire to these training lodges to instruct the generations of adventurers to follow. Administrative Lodges formed in large cities that have active Wayfarer presences. These lodges would settle disputes, handle interactions with local authorities, and issue quests to smaller lodges within their territories. Administrative Lodges also deal with large-scale threats to an area. If a monster infestation has gotten out of hand, then it is up to an Administrative Lodge to put together a plan to deal with the problem. Some independent Wayfarers chafe at the regulation and control that Lodges impose on their members, but every one of them is grateful for the aid and sanctuary that a local Lodge can provide.