Magical Guilds: Difference between revisions

The Hierophants are an esoteric divine organization. Prophets of the avadri, the Hierophants believe that they can learn to divine the future by deciphering the coding written into the universe. The organization is small and reclusive, but widespread. If one knows where to look and whom to ask after, a clever investigator can usually find a Hierophant alcove.

The Path of Ascendancy is an infamous school of the occult. Ascendants profess that anyone can become a god in their own right if they try hard enough and are willing to sacrifice enough; this sacrifice comes with immense physical and mental toll. For new initiates in the Path to advance in rank, they must bring in additional new initiates.  

 

The Great Ascendant is the leader of the Path. Although once human, he has undergone so many permanent transformations that he now looks like an archfiend. He has goat legs, huge claws, cat eyes, ram horns, a snake’s tongue and fangs, and enormous bat wings. Every inch of once- human flesh has been burned and branded so many times that it’s as tough as leather and as red as raw meat. His skin is also covered in geometric tattoos that are never quite symmetrical.

A widespread and decentralized organization of arcane casters specializing in alchemy and altering, members of the Reweavers are a welcome sight in any struggling town. Capable of quickly repairing and rebuilding basic objects and even whole buildings, Reweavers believe that their magical powers should be freely shared with those in need. Reweavers are generally content to receive a modest income and free room and board for their services, caring not for great wealth. While the Reweavers do not have an official home and can be found in most nations, they are most active in Anedonia and Doshairiel. They used to operate widely in the region that is now Roshallan, but as the empire took over many of the Reweavers looked elsewhere. Roshallan’s effective infrastructure and its tyrannical rule gave Reweavers both little reason to stay, and great reason to leave.

Members of the Storm Conclave are vengeful naturalists trying to burn down society and return everyone to hunter- gatherer lifestyles, as this is the way that they believe nature intended for humanity to live. They especially target international trading groups such as the WGC, or popular routes utilized by intercity merchants such as the Golden Road, trying to destabilize the veins of modern living and return the world to its days of so-called glory.

The Unsoiled find this an abomination. With a contemporary understanding of magic, surely a person ought to live forever if they wish to. The Unsoiled are expert necromancers who generally use their magical abilities to help their communities. They will raid graveyards and animate skeletons to perform manual labor around a town, freeing up other folk to relax or pursue other activities. This has been well-received in some communities, but others find the presence of the Unsoiled unnatural and repulsive. Many of the Unsoiled also aggressively pursue experimentation on humanoid corpses, trying to discern a way to extend a body’s livelihood indefinitely.

A majority of Unsoiled are well intentioned and are harmless to the public, if a bit creepy. Some, however, become transfixed by their fascination with death, and this obsession consumes them. Most famous among these is Mirva the Carver. Mirva was a Gavarese halfling with a relatively normal life. She practiced some arcane magic, but was more concerned with tending her family, including her two sons and her daughter. When a monster razed her town and tragically slaughtered her family, she turned to necromancy to revive her husband and her three children. Unfortunately, they were only shells of their former selves, so Mirva continues to seek enough power and understanding to restore their personalities. She wanders the southern Cloudpiercer Range, murdering anyone who loses their way and raising more and more corpses into her service.

A large, decentralized denomination that worships all Celestials and Avatars - especially those that have a militant attitude against evil and corruption, members of Vigil or “Vigilants” have sworn to protect the innocent and weak from threats that lie beyond. Some branches of Vigil are welcome in settlements that fear attacks from monsters. While all branches of Vigil are founded on good intentions, there are totalitarian branches of Vigil that do more harm than good.

W.A.N.D. (Worldwide Arcanists who Neutralize Danger) is a large and widespread organization of mages and arcanists. Their headquarters is officially in Constel on the east coast, but W.A.N.D. has regional strongholds across all of Gathandia and, according to their leaders, maintain a presence on Ancerra’s other continents as well. W.A.N.D.’s arcanists view themselves as magic-wielding soldiers, spies, and diplomats whose primary goal is the protection of Ancerra from extraplanar threats. Occasionally, if a tyrannical regime grows strong enough to threaten the world order, then W.A.N.D. might intervene, but they generally reserve their concerns for otherworldly threats. W.A.N.D. arcanists specialize in evoking and warding magic, but many arcanists choose a third function to focus on as well.