(Also, as vicious Dark Arkati bastards, it would be only fitting for the Guild to adopt the guise of a splinter Borist faction, given that it would cast a shadow of tremendous ill-favor on the Boristi.)
Genertela: Crucible of the Hero Wars states, "...(T)he Guild of Chaos Monks is a band of madmen which peddles assassination, sickness, mutation, and spoilage for the glory of their secret god." This impressed me as an indication that the Guild is a consolidation or alliance of chaos cults brought together during the Gbaji Wars. The Guild is not a monolithic organization, but is rather formed of cells and lodges which have little direct contact with each other. The sundry cults act as merchants, selling murder, rape, anarchy, disease, terror, deceit, betrayal, corruption, torture, necromancy, poison, destruction and madness to each other and to the other factions struggling for power in Safelster. Not without a Plan, of course; the Guild uses blackmail, kidnapping, slavery and worse against those who purchase its wares, in order to guarantee compliance with Guild wishes and to further its aims to completely dominate the region.
I see more than one cause for the mutant rebellions. In some cases, they are the result of Boristi tapping gone wrong. At other times, they are due to Pochargno mutants leading their monstrous charges on a rampage or the accidental escape of some Krjalki abomination. Whatever the cause, they are just plain fun. Few plot devices motivate a group of characters quite so well as witnessing some beggar suddenly sprout tentacles from every orifice, double in mass and bite the face off the little old lady from the flat next door. But perhaps that's just me.... 8)
IMO, the conflict between the Order and the Guild is not an opposed dualism a la good vs. evil, but rather a complementary one a la yin vs. yang. Although the two represent very different ideologies, both are fragments of the whole of Arkati experience. Neither group could exist without the other and if, in fact, one did NOT exist, it would be necessary for the other to create them! They are truly mirrors of one another, reflecting to infinity.
The many factions inhabiting the grey areas between and within the two societies are often free agents. Few of them can assert with any confidence exactly WHO the Masters are, but then neither can the Guild or the Order. NOBODY knows who the hell is REALLY in charge, and that is the underlying tragicomedy of the entire campaign.
I'm certainly interested in the Guild as Peter outlined it, but it does not fit the current premise of my campaign. The tone I am attempting to invoke runs the gamut from Apocalyptic prophecy through Lovecraftian horror and Fortean weirdness to wacky Wilsonesque conspiracy theory. Perhaps I should have phrased my campaign blurb thus: "The control of the entire Arkati movement is divided equally between the Guild and the Order, perhaps even extending to the control of each other's organizations!"
Michael Schwartz
gbaji_at_aol.com
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