Monday, October 17, 2011

Elthos Adventure Guild Protocols I


The Adventurer's Guild of Elthos offers some general Guildlines on Mission Planning that are taken from the tome of Adventure Guild Protocols:










1) Recon whenever possible.
2) Consider options and possible outcomes.
3) Have contingency plans thought out.
4) Try not to rely on unknown variables (such as a person's reaction)
5) Keep it simple, and have clear objectives.
6) Equip the party based on the plan.
7) Move quickly, stay on target, achieve the objective, and return.
8) Do not get side tracked.
9) Map and take notes whenever feasible.

This advice is provided to all members of the Guild who survive their first adventure mission, and is given as a short speech by the Guild Master of the Hall.   He also often provides a few examples of times when planning went well, and produced success, and when planning was minimized, leading to disaster.

The Guild Master, in this case Rothmon, Guild Master at the Hobbinton Hall, also may see fit to mention that Guild Plans can take time to develop.  A proper reconnaissance, accumulation of known facts, research on existing knowledge in the Library, and the study of any related maps, is somewhat time consuming, but produces Mission Plans that can be distributed with the proper Ratings.   Mission Ratings are by Level, he explains, and those levels correspond to Party Level within the Guild Order.  First Level Adventure Groups will be offered 1st Level Missions.  2nd Level Adventure Groups will be offered 2nd Level Missions.  And so forth. 

Successful Missions earn money in accordance with the Mission Level.   1 silver (10 Iron) per Level per Party Member is paid, and Guild Experience Points are assigned by the Guild Master based both on the Mission (10 Points per Mission Level + Any additional points for exemplary use of Skills).   The Experience Points are viewed as a way to determine when members are to achieve new Levels, and learn new Skills.  While Rothmon is the first to admit the system is not perfect, he also will be inclined to add that it "works well enough, and has served the Guild sufficiently for many years".

Loot gained during the course of any Mission is shared equally among Adventure Group Members.  

Maps and useful information on discoveries will be paid for by the Guild Master according to the quality and value of the information.

Discovered Mystical Artifacts must be shown to the Guild Master, studied, and cataloged by the Guild Librarian.  The Items will then be distributed to the Group by voting among the group members.  The general Guidelines for distribution of Mystical Artifacts are:

1) 1st Consideration is who can use the item best.
2) 2nd Consideration is to distribute Artifacts fairly so everyone gets equal treatment.
3) 3rd Consideration is the value of the Artifact

The Guild Master has the power of Veto over the Adventure Group's Artifact Distribution Vote, but will use it only in cases where the Guild Master comprehends that the determination of the Party is unsuitable for the particular Item (such as if they should give a Holy Sword to a Cleric who is sworn against using bladed weapons), at which point the vote must be recast by the Party.  If the vote is the same three times in a row, and the decision is non-lethal to the Party or Guild, then the decision will stand.   The Guild Master does not have Fiat Power to assign Artifacts that have been discovered by Adventure Groups, however, he does have Fiat Power for any Artifacts from the Hall Treasury that he may decide to distribute to a Party.  The essential goal for the distribution of Artifacts is that they be shared fairly within each group, and go to the best people to use them during the course of their Adventures.   Ultimately, the person who receives an Artifact through the process of Guild Mission Adventuring 'owns' the item, however, if he should perish in the course of his Adventures, it is expected that the Artifact will be returned to the Guild Hall, and redistributed fairly within the Group.

The Adventure Guild Protocols  are written in the Adventure Guild Charter, and are available to Guild Members upon request, though access to sections of the Guild Protocol may be limited based on Guild Ranking of the Individual.

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