Strange Bedfellows: The Guild and The Raksha

[vinom]

I remember that there was a business agreement between these two factions, detailed in some book I can't recall which. Guild exports to the Raksha slaves, Raksha nom the slave's dreams/will/soul, Raksha sell the slaves back to the Guild who import them back into creation as docile more expensive slaves.


What could the Raksha be paying the guild with? (resources, services, information)


Where would these deals usually take place? (Bordermarshes, Middlemarshes, deep wyld, freeholds?)


What precautions would the Guild be taking versus Raksha/Wyld influence?

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

Most commonly the Raksha sell things like Gossamer weapons, clothing and armor, instruments, Wyld prodigies and the like. Maybe the occasional Artifact from the areas lost to the Wyld, but most of those are worth more than a plaything or three...unless they're very INTERESTING playthings... that's more when you're not just selling ANY slave, but a Godblood or weaker Exalt or the like...and to do that...you need to be strong enough to get your hands on such. Then again...to keep and effectively sell worthwhile trade goods from the Wyld you generally need to be pretty tough, stubborn, a bit crazy, and strong willed...and when you're the sort to sell slaves to Raksha, completely lacking in empathy for your fellow man. Stupid useless Compassion...

 

[vinom]

The PC's are tailing a Guild caravan whose head abducted the Dawn's mortal wife a decade ago... I want to show them just how deep they're in over their heads while crushing the Dawn's hope for riding to her rescue. (She's secretly gone Abyssal and will be the major villan of the next plot arc after they deal with the matter of the Crazy Craft Genesis mortal whose been raising a beastmon army.

 

[uteck]

The Book of Jade that just came out on DriveThruRPG details the Guild and Wyld trade in depth, but you got the basics down. Slaves are cheep and easy to come by and the guld will trade them for about anything; artifacts, wyld goods, information, ect. The guild has a lot of first age artifacts that they bought from the fay that were swallowed by the wyld after the Balorian Crusade.

 

[vinom]

But when a guild trader meets with Raksha, what precautions are reasonable for a wealthy mortal to take... given the fact he's walking into the Wyld and dealing with beings of story and ideal?

 

[uteck]

Many carvans have been lost to the wyld, but the guild has established a treaty of sorts to make trade possible. Knowing how to treat with a particulr fay lord may be a sectret the merchant keeps, or it might be obvious to any one who knows were to look. The treaty has no way to enforce it, and that leaves each side lots of wiggle room.


Establishing a new trade pact varies from sending in slaves with the offer of freedom, tricking an Exalt into doing it, or sending in wave after wave of merchants out to make it big, but the Guild has also learned that freeholds can be starved out by denying them the mortals they need to feed.


Overall, there is little a mortal can do to protect themseves from the fay should they decide to eat them, but many in the guild see the risk as worth the reward that can made from selling the goods they get in exchange. Assuming they were not glamored rocks or twigs.


Trade with deamons is much easier, but demand is not as high for their goods, and the dead have their own guild that controls their trade.

 

[Thorn Darkblade]

A few things to remember...the Guild trades with a few set courts of Raksha. They don't go derping into any Wyld Zone and finding the nearest fae. During the first pact the Guild made with the fae, they were given tokens to carry granting them immunity to the fae's depredations...as long as they followed the rules of madness the fae set. One of the biggest ones of these is the Guild is not allowed to partake in ANY hospitality the fae lord may offer. Food and wine are the most obvious of these. Guilders go hungry, eating trail rations the entire way through. Some are a bit more subtle though. In Northern courts, a seat near the fire or a blanket to warm up a bit is grounds for soul nomming. Of course, the Guild allows their slaves that they are selling to partake in all these wondrous things...after the deal is struck, of course. Kind of a sick and twisted last meal.


As for other protections, well armed caravans are a must, everyone with iron talismans. Having a thaumaturge or two is a MUST for wyld ventures. However, in the set routes, the fae lords keep their roads relatively safe for caravans bearing a token. The caravan may get through fine, but, your party of PC's may find themselves harried by hobgoblin patrols constantly.


Finally, for as what they trade for, artifacts are the biggest thing, along with forgotten scraps of lore. Most of the near fae courts are in Wyld-claimed lands from the First Age. Fae lords get to order chinese takeout from the Guild, and pay in magical swords. Gossamer items are also in demand, but, not as much due to their frailty. Fae fashions do fetch a high price though. Dream Eaten slaves are the least important of the trade goods, and simply another way for the Guild to recoup some money from losing slaves. Dream Eaten are not as useful as a sentient slave, as they can only do the most menial tasks. Most are put into the whip legions for harvesting cash crops like opium.


Also, it depends whether or not this particular fae has made an oath to the Guild. The Guild is usually pretty thorough on getting that though.