Draz74
2006-08-17, 12:24 AM
The Steamscorch Guild
Scene: the edge of a desert oasis. This end of the oasis is covered in palm trees and lush undergrowth, surrounding a small, well-built, roughly cone-shaped building of bluish wood. There are circular windows in the building’s walls, but they are far too covered with steam to see through. In a small grass shack built over the entrance to the building, a conversation is taking place.
“Gee, Kaldar, it’s been really nice to stay at your bungalow here,” said Usfo, the portly merchant, as he pulled his belt around his belly.
“We live to entertain,” said Kaldar, his bald gnome head glistening with sweat as he sat down in a meditative posture.
“Really,” said Usfo, “This desert is such a terrible place between the oases. Your sauna service here has probably saved my life. And it’s also made me feel energetic, healthy, well-watered, romantic, and spiritually peaceful. What can I ever do for you and your Guild for your service of maintaining this bungalow and offering it so generously to travelers?”
“Well, there is one thing,” said Kaldar. “You see, there’s another oasis twenty leagues west of here, right along a popular trade route. Unfortunately, a band of bandits keeps travelers from staying at that oasis, and many die as a result.”
“How horrible!”
“Yes. The Steamscorch Guild would like nothing better than to build another hospitable bungalow there, but the Sultan in the west has told us that he absolutely won’t allow it; it seems he has some kind of religious prejudice against us.”
“Should I talk to him next time I cross through his land?”
“Why, Usfo, that’s awfully generous of you. Could you? And the Sultan is known to be quite prone to accepting bribes, and you are an affluent man after all …”
The Steamscorch Guild is a powerful chain of luxury saunas that line the shores of oases across the vast Pustinya desert. They help travelers in need of water, and if the travelers are rich or influential, they also give them access to their spa-bungalows; those who have had such treatment claim that it is the most comfortable and pleasant experience of their lives. The Guild is also rumored to have a shady connection to the bandits that infest the desert; these bandits leave the bungalows and oases of the Guild strictly alone, which makes their service more appealing. The Guild also mysteriously seems to have an easy time clearing out the bandits anytime they are able to acquire a new oasis on which to build.
Purpose: The Guild’s main goal is to expand until it controls every oasis in the desert. Its leaders claim that they are following a directive from the gods of the desert, and that if they are able to control every oasis, they will be able to unleash a mighty spell that will free many Djinn who are currently captives of the Efreet. However, nearby rulers claim that the Guild’s true goal is to have a monopoly on all the desert’s water, so they can charge exhorbitant prices for it.
Alignment: True Neutral (any except LG, NG).
GP Limit/Economics: 80,000 gp (for an average “local branch” of the Guild, not the Guild in its entirety). The Guild is quite wealthy, though it is too spread-out and beaurocratic to compile all of its money into one effort.
Membership in the Guild guarantees free access to the saunas. In addition, the Guild’s spellcasters will only enchant weapons with the “Steamwreath” quality for members of the Guild, though the Guild knows that these weapons will naturally pass into other hands through buying, selling, looting and so on. Members must still pay normally for any such enchantment.
Scene: the edge of a desert oasis. This end of the oasis is covered in palm trees and lush undergrowth, surrounding a small, well-built, roughly cone-shaped building of bluish wood. There are circular windows in the building’s walls, but they are far too covered with steam to see through. In a small grass shack built over the entrance to the building, a conversation is taking place.
“Gee, Kaldar, it’s been really nice to stay at your bungalow here,” said Usfo, the portly merchant, as he pulled his belt around his belly.
“We live to entertain,” said Kaldar, his bald gnome head glistening with sweat as he sat down in a meditative posture.
“Really,” said Usfo, “This desert is such a terrible place between the oases. Your sauna service here has probably saved my life. And it’s also made me feel energetic, healthy, well-watered, romantic, and spiritually peaceful. What can I ever do for you and your Guild for your service of maintaining this bungalow and offering it so generously to travelers?”
“Well, there is one thing,” said Kaldar. “You see, there’s another oasis twenty leagues west of here, right along a popular trade route. Unfortunately, a band of bandits keeps travelers from staying at that oasis, and many die as a result.”
“How horrible!”
“Yes. The Steamscorch Guild would like nothing better than to build another hospitable bungalow there, but the Sultan in the west has told us that he absolutely won’t allow it; it seems he has some kind of religious prejudice against us.”
“Should I talk to him next time I cross through his land?”
“Why, Usfo, that’s awfully generous of you. Could you? And the Sultan is known to be quite prone to accepting bribes, and you are an affluent man after all …”
The Steamscorch Guild is a powerful chain of luxury saunas that line the shores of oases across the vast Pustinya desert. They help travelers in need of water, and if the travelers are rich or influential, they also give them access to their spa-bungalows; those who have had such treatment claim that it is the most comfortable and pleasant experience of their lives. The Guild is also rumored to have a shady connection to the bandits that infest the desert; these bandits leave the bungalows and oases of the Guild strictly alone, which makes their service more appealing. The Guild also mysteriously seems to have an easy time clearing out the bandits anytime they are able to acquire a new oasis on which to build.
Purpose: The Guild’s main goal is to expand until it controls every oasis in the desert. Its leaders claim that they are following a directive from the gods of the desert, and that if they are able to control every oasis, they will be able to unleash a mighty spell that will free many Djinn who are currently captives of the Efreet. However, nearby rulers claim that the Guild’s true goal is to have a monopoly on all the desert’s water, so they can charge exhorbitant prices for it.
Alignment: True Neutral (any except LG, NG).
GP Limit/Economics: 80,000 gp (for an average “local branch” of the Guild, not the Guild in its entirety). The Guild is quite wealthy, though it is too spread-out and beaurocratic to compile all of its money into one effort.
Membership in the Guild guarantees free access to the saunas. In addition, the Guild’s spellcasters will only enchant weapons with the “Steamwreath” quality for members of the Guild, though the Guild knows that these weapons will naturally pass into other hands through buying, selling, looting and so on. Members must still pay normally for any such enchantment.