Many adventurers pass through the town of Summerfort. With the large numbers of ruins, monsters, and ancient treasures in the area, an increasing number of those adventurers are settling in the town itself. Since the town is also a trade hub, it seemed inevitable that a guild would form to help regulate and promote the interests of this group of heavily-armed free lances. Toward that end, four retired adventurers came together and created the Summerfort Adventurer’s Guild.
Membership is not free, but it is well worth the cost of joining. Adventurers operating in or near Summerfort without a badge from the Guild are subject to the normal treatment that heavily armed strangers receive from the town guard. Those who display the badge, however, may pass through the town gates without being stopped. They also receive various discounts that the Guild’s leaders have arranged with some of the permanent merchants and proprietors of the town.
To distinguish itself from a noble order, the Guild doesn’t bear a coat of arms. Instead, its badge is defined by the symbol of a crossed sword and staff behind a lidless stylized eye. The leaders of the Guild each have gold rings etched with this symbol and inlaid with onyx, ivory, ruby, and sapphire, respectively. Lieutenants of the Guild wear red cloaks embroidered with the symbol in gold. Most regular members are given a more crudely embroidered cloth favor to hang from their belts. It is this favor that the town guards have come to look for when checking for Guild membership.
The Adventurer’s Guild polices itself more harshly than any outside force. Any member caught violating the tenets of its charter may be ejected from the Guild and, depending on the severity of the violation, magically branded with a broken version of the Guild symbol on their forehead. The brand can be removed, but only by magical means, and few established mages anywhere near Summerfort are willing to do so.
The Summerfort Adventurer’s Guild charter states the following rules:
- No member may harm another member, or through intentional inaction cause another member to come to harm
- No member may conceal treasure gained through adventuring from an exchequer of the Guild
- All members must check in with a Guild lieutenant upon entry into the city
- All members must yield 10% of the gains of any adventure to the Guild upon return to Summerfort
Members receive the following benefits:
- 20% off at all inns in Summerfort, except the Running Stag Inn in the Southern Ward
- One night’s free lodging at the Running Stag Inn once a month
- 10% off at all taverns in Summerfort
- 10% off all services at Vanan’s Leatherworks
- 10% off all repair services from smithies belonging to the Summerfort Blacksmith’s Guild
- Free guild belt favor (and cloak, at elevation to the rank of Lieutenant)
- Access to the Guild library of magical and nonmagical tomes