Remember choice of alexandria?
I dont think i’ve played the game unfortunately.
Well considering its based on real history and we can change this, I dont really feel like it would be spoilery but yeah. Pretty much what happenend. Parents built an empire but the heir was a brat so yeah. Didnt end well.
Well basicaly how it work in this universe is that if for example a tavern on the road had a goblin problem.
They would go to the guild and tell them about it. The guild would then assess if its a low, medium or high threat. Then they would send a certain number of adventurers of a certain rank depending on the situation. So if our tavern owner only had a problem with a few goblins raiding the beer kegs during the night then the guild would send a few low rank members to deal with them in the way they find the most appropriate.
If the owner instead had to deal with a whole tribe setting nearby then the guild would send members of higher ranks.
Since the adventurers are a private group, they would end up being cheaper and more reliable to use than guards because the guild cover for their members equipement and food, and they make sure the job is done until proven to be too much for them. Then it would become state problem. They also dont lack peoples since any farm kid with a sword can join to make a honest pay slaying generaly evil things. A good member will be lucrative and a bad member will simply die in the field.
Basicaly they are those the peoples would go to if they had something stolen from them by a creature or bandits, if their commercial interests were threatenend by a insignificent threat or any other personal reason that guards and the army could not afford to look after and that wont harm the state.
And yes! Smugglers would be incredibely usefull since they could smuggle food in. They would probably be good saboteurs as well since they are definitly used to sneaking around and hiding packages.
You also got it perfectly right with the how the criminals would be. It could be compared to certain south american cartels who worked with the government. This went so far that at one point the peruvian government was the sole responsible for a very large part of the cocaine trafic in the world during the 90’s. Needless to say they got stinking rich but lost their soul.
Smugglers would definitly make embargoes easier to deal with as well.
And if I may add, there is a definite advantage to having the city thieves in your pocket. They might think about it twice before stealing from you. I would even expect bribes from them in exchange for future services.
I would expect helping the criminals to be a bit of a double edged sword though. Being their ally and losing their confidence put you in a worst position than simply being their enemy from the start because now its personal and they have all the informations they need to bring you down. That is, unless we are the individual who unite the kingdom gangs together. If you are open to the idea I could see it as an incredible achievement with possible great consequences if found out like your people finding out and losing all trust in you. A tyrant might not care as much but it doesnt help his situation at all if not for the fact that AT LEAST now it doesnt have to be done in secret. Peoples would be angry though and the other guilds would just want to kill you. After all the criminals are the biggest enemies of the merchants and the adventurers.
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The Shadow Syndicate. A collective federative organization of criminal groups that believe themselves to be the shadow of the government. “Fixing the government” Which in turn is considered their body. If it means using harsh means to “collect taxes” for their “services” to the land then so be it.
I came to the same conclusion regarding the adventurers guild rank idea. Figuring out what use they would be to the crown and the ups and down becomes the new issue.
Saboteurs, smuggling, blackmailing, thievery, slaving, among other such matters. With of course historical points added. Modern Japenese Yakuza makes for a good basis. I can definitely picture the MC wanting their city not to look like a cesspool and ask them to lay low. And feeding some information or looking the other way in turn. I actually was putting a skeleton chapter together involving the gang wars. Mainly state vs syndicate. Though picturing the MC turning against the gang vice versa and each trying to destroy the other before they’re destroyed… what a change that’ll make for the story and a story for the grandchildren.
Some rest and further examination should definitely grant the final stamp of approval for crafting this criminal organization.
@DisturbedOne Much of the game actually has real life basis to it or will at the very least in some shape or form. I’ve not a clue if there was ever a ruler that was chased by an armada of mercenaries, but hey, there’s a first for everything. 
I suppose one could consider the game realistic without anything mythological or such. Anything involving spirits could be due to lack of sleep or ingesting something strange. Visions due to a concussion… perhaps… perhaps.
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Regarding the Guilds in a way, will they resemble the reds and blues of the Byzantine Empire? There were originally 4 colored teams in the chariot races, but these quickly became organized mafia, strong to the point the emporor would side with one or the other offering favors to control them. This mentioned the emperor use any dirty trick worry free.
Well what they bring to the crown would be less chaos and popular support because they are mostly average joe’s. Downside could be more non-aligned powerfull peoples and achievements bejng rewarded to the guild instead of the state, making us look weaker in comparison so losing the trust of the adventurer guild could be a good way to have a strong rebellion against us. In a way, the adventurer guild and the shadow syndicate are like opposite, rival organisations.
Both bring order but one use fear and the other by being helpful. I would also see the adventurer guild help a lot in case of a war against a nation considered evil since they would risk being disbanded and pure patriotism if we have been good to them.
Basicaly the criminals pay in cash and services while the adventurers bring trust and cooperation.
I don’t believe I’ll have the guilds/organization reflect the Byzantine Empire. Especially not a worry free approach. In fact I’d rather fill the royal with worry. Hopefully it doesn’t consume them
Adventurer’s guild – Support and order sounds about right. Though I can see them being more popular in villages and towns rather than in the cities. The cities mainly being where the criminals ply their trade.
The Byzantine (or Eastern Roman) Empire was so complex in their agreements and structure that I doubt anyone now a days could do it justice without being a serious historian. As an example just look at the Venetian trade agreements in the last days of the empire. Confusing, complicated and even contradictory are appropriate descriptors.
It seems complicated tends to be a marking point for the collapse of old age empires. It’s a miracle the Byzantine remained as great as they did for as long as they did in such a case.
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It wasn’t really a miracle that the Byzantines remained viable for as long as they did, it was really the result of two thing, money and diplomacy. Their bureaucracy was very efficient at raising taxes across their empire so they always had alot of money. Secondly, they were quite swift to deploy that money to sow dissension among their enemies and to turn various states they shared a border with against each other. This worked relatively well for them. However, over time their military atrophied and they were unable to field sufficiently large and well trained forces. The Plague was also a huge factor insofar as Justinian had engineered something of a Roman Imperial comeback story which was ground to a halt by a bubonic plague which killed an estimated 25 million people in the empire and at one point 5000 people a day were estimated to be dying in Constantinople. The severe loss of manpower allowed for Arab expansion in the ease and the loss of Italian holdings.
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I’ll give them that, their tax and administration were superb. Although war from the east with the Persians was definitely what dealt a serious blow to the Byzantines, causing them to lose important wealthy eastern lands. Germanic tribes carefully picking them a part to the side. The rise of trade competition.
Religious turmoil (in the sense of the situations with the patriarchs and the pope-- specifically when the pope called for the crusades to retake important lost lands, but those same soldiers kept the lands instead) And most importantly the whole orthodox and not orthodox issue. Sowing even further dissent and decay in the nation.
At this point the Byzantines were already just about done, as they were losing even more land, bit by bit. The final hammer on the nail was the Turks sweeping in to finish the job.
The plague might have been damaging, but I would grant the real cause of the halt to Justinian’s comeback to the above. The mere idea that they managed to survive for thousands of years under those conditions is really something. Course take my limited knowledge on the matter with a grain of sugar (preferably not salt)
The idea that they so carefully used their wealth to manipulate their neighbors and used so thorough bureaucracy for domestic affairs is in itself far too incredible to indeed be simply replicated.
They were not fighting Turks at the time of Justinian but Arabs. One of the main causes for the Arab inroads was that the plague severely reduced the military manpower available to the empire. That was also an issue with gains in Africa and Italy. If a plague sweeps a way a significant portion of your population while you are attempting to expand it tends to create vulnerability.
Don’t mind my historical (time) inaccuracy, I was mainly aiming to point out the multiple factors piling on that makes it a wonder they managed to still managed to do so well in the face of it all.
Disasters are one thing, but plagues, they are something else altogether…
I wonder how I could incorporate that very thought in the face of expansion in TRL.
It could be the reason everything has fallen into three dozen pieces. Hard to maintain central authority after a plague.
That seems perfectly sound. A plague ravaging the land with the ruling regime’s influence waning, powers wanting control as corruption sweeps the land. I can definitely see everything crumbling into an age of chaos.
I’m almost surprised that neighboring nations (byzantine empire) among others, wouldn’t simply wait for the plague to pass before invading. Though, you really wouldn’t want your enemy to rebuild their strengths first. I suppose it really comes down to is, is what’s being taken worth challenging a plague over.
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Well pandemics only last so long. They sweep through kill off a goodly portion of the population and then peter out. It would actually explain also why the player character has been thrust into a position of authority, when it appears there was no expectation of him inheriting.
Though the MC is only taking their dues, regardless if they were next in line to succeed or not. I actually do need to edit that area a little better, but have no fear. The reasoning behind the sudden the ascension and the royal families situation have been carefully thought out.
Well of course I’m not privy to your plans.I’m just speculating of course.
Oh no your insight is just as well. Course with lack of information, rushing to do what was meant to be done in a week within a few hours, the questions of both what’s going on and how leaves much to the imagination.