Urban Locale: Guild Hall
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Often grand and well-appointed—designed to show off the guild’s power and prestige—guild halls are a fixture of commercial life in many towns and cities. Therein, artisans and merchants meet to discuss business and socialise. Customise the entries below to suit the type of guild the characters are visiting.
1: The Guild Hall
The Arcade: Workshops and shops flank the public right of way that runs through this long building that was once a street before it was covered over. The Arcade is a convenient cut-through for pedestrians, and its traders and artisans do a brisk business.
The Lodge: This building was once a hunting lodge for a wealthy family and has stood here longer than the surrounding settlement. The old building has long since been replaced, but the lodge’s old labyrinthine cellars survive under the new building.
Tower of Mietti: Buildings surround this old tower. The tower itself is little used—most of the guild’s business is conducted in the surrounding office and workshops—because a gruesome murder took place within four decades ago, and people think it is haunted.
The Guild Hall: The hall serves as a meeting place for all the town’s guilds; it is always busy. The hall features an exclusive high-class tavern reserved for guild members and their guests.
2: Major Locale Features
The guild hall is in an excellent state of repair, and its walls have recently been whitewashed; they glimmer in the sunlight.
The guild house has a large walled courtyard at the rear. Therein, members may display their wares, meet clients and so on.
A well-tended garden sprawls around the back of the guild hall. Gravel paths meander between beds of colourful flowers.
The guild hall features a large, impressive dining hall; members can use it to host customers, and the guild also hosts monthly dinners. Invitations to the dinners are most welcome—the guild has an excellently stocked wine cellar and the food at the dinners is excellent.
3: Minor Locale Features
Oil paintings of guild members hang throughout the hall. Some of the paintings are huge and have impressively ornate frames.
A central oak staircase studded with landings connects the hall’s various floors.
Examples of the guild members’ work are displayed throughout the hall. Such items are chosen to represent the guild’s finest work.
Huge tapestries—some quite old and faded—hang on the walls. The tapestries depict the guild’s business.
4: What’s Going On?
People throng the street outside the guild hall; two liveried servants flank the building’s front door.
The guild hall’s front door is open, and several well-dressed merchants stand just within; they conclude their meeting, and two of them take their leave.
The murmur of conversation and soft music drifts from the guild hall’s upper floor. The guild is holding a function of some kind, and the characters are not invited.
The guild’s business keeps the hall busy; servants and artisans are constantly in motion inside, and it is almost impossible to move about undetected.
5: Other Folk
Lempo Montaja (N middle-aged male human) hurries to the guild hall; he has important business within and won’t stop to talk to rude adventurers. Lempo is a snob and has a superior attitude. He is obsessed with his work and getting the recognition he deserves.
Pekko Otra (NE male human) works in the hall as a clerk. He knows much of the guild’s business and is happy to sell information to anyone. He appears hardworking, but he is always looking for a way to make a bit of extra coin.
Tuuli Niera (young female human) hangs around outside the guild hall, waiting for an opportunity to earn a few coins. She knows the town well and can serve as a messenger or guide. Dressed in her best (but still grubby) clothes, she looks little better than a beggar. She dwells in the slums with her parents and four brothers and dreams of a better life.
Eerik Raita (old male human) retired years ago but still comes to the hall to see old friends and, perhaps, make new ones. Eerik has much time on his hands and is a chatty fellow. If the characters seek news or information about the guild, he is a good person to talk to. He is happy to visit a nearby tavern with his new friends.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from Urban Locale #27: Guild Hall by Robert Manson.
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