Need assistance modifying Ravnica campaign setting

[IIzak]

Hey everyone,

So I have a group of players together and I'd really like to play a game involving the ravnica guilds. I really enjoy what they did with each guild, how fleshed out they are, as well as the renown and ranking systems detailed in "Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica." However, I've been watching a lot of Matt Colville and am also feeling very inspired by his stuff, including the idea of feudalism and all of that. My players seem very down to play a game of warring factions with all the players on one side of the conflict.

I was thinking of possibly dividing out each guild in Ravnica into its own Kingdom, but am having a bit of trouble figuring out how exactly that would work. Was wondering if I could get some advice or assistance on this, or maybe just some feedback on whether you think something like this would work out. Right now my working theory is to set the game in sort of a post "fall of Ravnica" type deal where the Guildpact was destroyed again and infighting among the guilds broke everything and plunged it into a dark age with maybe certain aligned guilds teaming up against the others until you have like 3 kingdoms. I'm not sure about the division of the guilds though.

[LuccMa]

If you really want to rework the setting into some kind of "post guildpact"-Ravnica where the guilds were destroyed i would go into a route like this:

Kindgom 1: Boros, Azorious and Orzhov joined together and try to restore some sort of order and law.

Kingdom 2: Golgari would strive in a post-war setting, i feel. And with less rules and laws the dimir would have the ability to do whatever they want - those two could have joined hands to become the new powerhouse and the "standard" enemy faction if you wish.

Kingdom 3: Izzet & Simic finally joined hands to not get destroyed and through scientific advantage managed to hold their own against the other factions.

Rakdos and Gruul were wiped out or disbanded and now work as freelancers without a banner for the different kingdoms. Selesnya tried to save the land and sacrificed itself to keep nature alive and is thought to be extinct.

The story and relationship of the guilds changed with every block WotC printed, meaning you can make the post-war guilds to whatever you like. But if you want to go towards a more medieval setting with the guilds involved, maybe have the guilds as a background for different factions and characters. I can see pretty much every guild as having members who would freelance after their guild lost in the war. The ideology of the guilds would probably be forgotten for the most part after a few decades.

Edit: Or wait until War of the Spark, get an overview of the Bolas-War and split Ravnica in two. Decide who won that and you got a nice post-war setting with delivered lore for the different guilds. Seems like less work for you, which is always a plus :)

[hymer]

Right now my working theory is to set the game in sort of a post "fall of Ravnica" type deal where the Guildpact was destroyed again and infighting among the guilds broke everything and plunged it into a dark age with maybe certain aligned guilds teaming up against the others until you have like 3 kingdoms. I'm not sure about the division of the guilds though.

I'd definitely keep the guilds more fluidly aligned than that. Think Starcraft.
While certain guilds might just have temporary fallings out (say, Selesnya and Azorius) and not work together until they patch things up, others could easily freewheel and turn on guilds or align with them as the situation warrants. Some guilds could try to stay outside the conflict, and simply sell information (Dimir), but even that will sometimes provoke an outright conflict with someone who was hurt by that activity. And other guilds could be locked in a neverending struggle for dominance, forcing everyone else to diplomatize around the edges, always trying to get these military powerhouses to turn on the right enemies and spare others.

I think I'd also have an area where the guilds would meet and do politics, sort of UN style. It could be deadly dangerous, but everyone wants to keep a presence here to keep an eye on what everyone else is up to, and to influence them.

[Madfellow]

Alternatively, you could set it in pre-Guildpact Ravnica. If you want to make each guild into a self-contained state, here's how I would do it:

Azorius is a prosperous coastal kingdom that prizes education and adherence to law and order. Its current ruler is the sphinx Azor, who will eventually author the Guildpact.

Boros is a militaristic theocracy made up of many diverse people united under the rule of the angels.

Dimir is a coastal trading hub, and a hive of scum and villainy.

Golgari is a remote enclave of monsters and dark elves.

Gruul is a rugged wilderness inhabited by warring clans of humans, giants, and monsters.

Izzet is a magicracy ruled over by Niv Mizzet the Firemind.

Orzhov is a theocracy that is firmly divided into haves and have nots.

Rakdos is an isolated kingdom controlled by the demon prince.

Selesnya is an egalitarian society of elves, humans, and other races that respects nature and protects the forests of their homeland.

Simic is a coastal kingdom that prizes education and trades far and wide for various animal species from all over the world.

Hope this helps!

[Vogie]

Warning, Pop culture references abound:

I'd actually suggest keeping them widely divided, with very tense, fluid alliances. Think the continent of Panem and the districts from the Hunger games trilogy and however many movies, or the dystopian Chicago from the Divergent series. Divvy up your world like a wheel, with a center zone Capital, with the ring sliced into four pieces, encircled by ruins.

The Azorius would still hold the Capital in the center, maintaining a sense of order within their district, but not much further... they don't have the manpower to do much more than keep peace and maintain their border. The Boros quarter would be more akin to District 13, which is under universal martial law and is effectively acting independently of the Capital and other 3 quarters. The Selesnya and Golgari and Orzhov would be larger control of the other 3 quarters, as the first two have the most control of the food supply, and the latter would act in a very Iron Bank analog, financing all of the others. The Gruul and Rakdos areas would be largely just ruins of hedonism and anarchy gone wild - very much a wild west/postapoc zones.

The Izzet, Dimir & Simic are the "swing guilds" you would seed in the world to create conflict. Each would have allied with whatever zones would give you the most power to drive the narrative. If your players are into MTG Lore, they'd expect that the Simic, Golgari or Dimir would end up being the BBEG, but if you want to lean towards feudalism, I'd choose either the Azorius, Boros, or Orzhov as the ultimate baddies.

If the Boros want to take over the whole area/zone/nation/plane via military might, they'd be allied with the Izzet (for weapons) or the Simic (for living vehicles). If they wanted to destabilize the other areas, they'd instead ally with the Dimir and act tactically.
If the Azorious go a very dystopian route (a la Divergent or Equilibrium), they'd do the same, maybe getting more than one of the swing guilds on their side.
The Orzhov would be the next most likely, but in a different manner. They'd still pick up one of the swing guilds, but they'd also reach out to either the Rakdos or Gruul (or both?) to augment their ground forces, with the promise of the raid (or performance) of a lifetime.

[Samayu]

The Izzet are basically the Department of Public Works. So what do the other guilds do when they lose them from their areas? Things start breaking down? And without jobs, most of them will have little to do with their time than blow even more stuff up. They'll become Gruul, but they'll be destroying everything accidentally instead of on purpose.

If the Azorius are isolated, what do they do? Most of them will probably just drop out because what's the point of enforcing law among the lawful?

I think that in each area, the unguilded will step up to fill the vacuum created by the departure of the guilds. So at first there will be chaos. Then everything will start to feel like normal, though the guilds won't have the central leadership. Then all those mini guilds will eventually join the main guilds, and we'll be right back where we started.