Guilds

The monopolised institutions that control everything in their sector

Middengeard    The World    Magnus      Guilds

Guilds are institutional bodies that control labour, production, and services across Magnus Prime. Every business sector and government department operates as a guild, which manages and regulates all activity within its domain. All individuals of working age must register with a guild. Those who are not registered are considered unemployed and face the risk of enslavement.

Organisation & Scope

Guilds are long-established organisations operating under licence from the Magnus Prime Union, which oversees all guild activity. Each guild operates across every country within Magnus Prime and may control hundreds of associated brands.

Guildhalls manage regional operations. They handle local issues and report collectively to a National Director in each country. The Director and their team oversee country-wide matters for the guild. Issues that exceed national authority are passed to the Board of Directors. The Board has no fixed location and consists of the most senior members of the guild, who meet remotely.

Scope

Guilds serve multiple functions. They set standards and pricing across the continent, coordinate the movement of goods and labour, and distribute people and services where needed. Guilds also support members with workplace issues such as bullying, accusations, or threats, and provide training.

Guildhalls also function as social spaces. Members use them to meet, network, and entertain clients. Because every citizen of Magnus Prime must belong to a guild, guilds remain a constant presence in daily life.

Guilds are the governing body of every business, production, and civic service

Brands

Each country maintains its own branded products and services within a sector, often covering a range of prices and quality levels. A single guild owns and controls all of these brands, regardless of how many operate within a country. Brand names often change between countries to reflect language or local conventions.

In Favont, for example, four supermarket brands operate under the same guild:

• Stadley
• The cheapest option focused on economy goods
• Gresham
• The standard supermarket, used by most of the population
• Farafelds
• A higher-end option, typically found in wealthier areas
• Walter & Dean
• The most expensive brand, known for luxury goods

The Grocer Guild owns and operates all of these brands. The guild coordinates supply, pricing, and services across them. Equivalent supermarket brands exist in other countries under different names, but remain owned by the same guild.

Guilds define brands by quality and price

Economic Authority

Guilds hold economic authority within their sectors. They set pricing, control supply levels, and define standards of practice using data from their own operations and from related guilds. Local guildhalls guide these decisions using production figures, labour availability, and regional conditions.

During war, natural disasters, famine, or similar disruptions, guilds reallocate goods, services, and personnel to or away from affected areas to maintain efficient operations.

Monopoly

Each guild is a monopoly as it defines and controls its entire sector, with no legal or institutional space for independent providers to exist. Client choice is limited to brands operated by the same guild, differentiated by price, quality, and status.

There is no competition for guilds, only what brand clients prefer

Guild Members

Guild membership applies to everyone from the age of sixteen. Every person registers with a guild, whether that guild covers business, production, or government work. Registration allows a person to work. If a person does not register with a guild, the state considers them unemployed. If unemployment lasts longer than six months, the state enslaves them.

Humans

Schools introduce humans to guilds through organised fairs. At these events, guilds explain the roles they offer, the qualifications required, and the training available. Some guilds also run small competitions or assessments. After humans join a guild at sixteen, the guild provides training or further education. Most humans work in clerical, supervisory, or skilled labour roles.

Magi

Family members or teachers arrange introductions between Magi and guilds. These meetings place Magi in direct contact with managers or directors working within the guild. Magi must join a guild by eighteen, though some do so earlier. Once their education ends, Magi begin work as managers and take responsibility within the guild rather than starting in lower roles.

Slaves

The Department of Economic Labour sells slaves to guilds, which then assign them where work is needed. Slaves perform manual labour, low-skilled work, or logistical tasks. The state forbids slaves from handling money. Guilds train slaves only to improve their usefulness or control their behaviour.

Training

Guilds provide training and education for all staff. Employees pay for this training through deductions from their wages, spread over time. Training may take place within the guild, through educators assigned from the Educator Guild, or at universities.

Guilds grant flexibility to employees undergoing training by allowing them to continue working during this period. Training debt may extend beyond the end of training. Employees cannot leave the guild until they repay the debt. During this period, they may request transfers to other regions.

Guilds invest in their employees early

Advancement

Advancement within guilds depends largely on personal networks. Employees who build strong relationships with colleagues tend to progress more quickly. Through these networks, employees can seek roles in specific departments, brands, or regions. This applies to both humans and Magi, though each group typically operates within its own social circles inside the guild.

Slaves cannot advance. Guilds may train slaves to increase productivity, but this training does not lead to promotion or improved status. Guilds may reassign slaves at any time, without notice. Tax incentives tied to the buying and selling of slaves encourage regular redistribution, making slave movement a routine part of the system.

Making changes

Employees may approach their guildhall leader to request a change in role, department, or location. When an employee declares interest in a new position, the guildhall monitors opportunities and may facilitate a move. Employees may also request to leave their current guild and join another. In such cases, the guildhall leader may arrange introductions with leaders of the prospective guild.

If a guildhall leader blocks an employee’s departure without cause, the employee may report the decision to the National Director.

Guilds support movement between departments and locations

Discipline

Guilds handle issues of conduct internally. For minor breaches or failures of duty, guilds issue warnings, reassign roles, or block advancement. After three warnings, the guild expels the employee. Warnings remain on an employee’s record permanently.

After expulsion, Magi may secure a position with another guild under close supervision. Humans rarely do. Without guild membership, a human becomes unemployed and will eventually face enslavement.

Guilds punish slaves physically for minor infractions. Repeated misbehaviour results in the slave being sold.

Innocent until Guilty

In serious cases where innocence remains possible, the guild may defend the accused at the employee’s expense. This support can extend to incidents unrelated to work. When evidence confirms guilt, legal proceedings serve only to determine punishment. In such cases, the guild withdraws support and terminates the guild contract.

Disputes

When disputes arise between guilds over work or services, the Law Guild mediates. If mediation fails at the guildhall or national level, the matter escalates to the board. Such cases remain rare.

Forced Expulsion from Guilds can result in enslavement

Social

Guildhalls exist in all major cities. They are large, imposing buildings designed to display the wealth and success of the guild. Guild members use them as social and business spaces, where they network, hold meetings, entertain clients, and meet with lawyers. Guilds also host regular social events and formal balls, which only members may attend. Many guild members form friendships and relationships through repeated contact at guildhalls.

Making complaints

Members of the public who wish to contact a guild directly, rather than through one of its brands, may do so through a dedicated complaints board. Each guild maintains a board that accepts contact by post, æ-mail, or phone. Guilds treat customer service as a priority, as public perception reflects directly on the guild itself. Complaints are therefore handled quickly.

Public Display

Guilds place great importance on visible displays of wealth and power. They commission artists, architects, and designers to ensure their buildings outshine those of other guilds. Guilds often invest in the surrounding streets and housing, creating quarters where employees and visitors can live nearby.

Guild factories also reflect this emphasis on display and often appear more impressive than functional. Slave accommodation was once hidden and minimal, consisting of back rooms or poorly concealed structures. As public display grew more important, guilds began providing better housing to demonstrate that their wealth extended even to the care of their slaves.

Public perception is vital for success

Guilds

Quick View

Organisation & Scope

• Guild control the entirety of their respective sectors, setting standards, prices, flow of goods and services, and the training of their staff
• They operate internationally across all of Magnus Prime
• The illusion of choice is given with brands, but the guild remains a monopoly

Guild Members

• Humans and Magi are introduced to perspective guilds from a young age
• Slaves are purchased to work in manual labour roles
• Guilds provide training for all employees, but the training comes out of their paycheck
• Guilds support employees moving departments and locations, and even guilds
• Slaves are regularly sold to keep the economy moving
• Repeated disciplinaries can result in expulsion from guilds, which can mean enslavement for humans
• Guilds will legally support employees that they believe are innocent, but not if they're guilty
• Guilds provide training for all employees, but the training comes out of their paycheck

Social

• Guildhalls are impressive buildings
• They are used for meetings and social events, but are exclusive to their guild
• Guilds commission artists and architects to improve their public display
• They are now investing in improving slave accommodation
• Customer service is also important to guilds, and they offer numerous ways to get in contact

List of Guilds

This area is currently blank, but as I create guilds, I will add them here