Hello everyone and welcome to this not-so-short guide!
Have you noticed how if you check the description of most guilds that were presented in this forums, they all curiously cover everything they could ever need like a mini-kingdom? For those that did not know, that's not what a guild does. This guide is an attempt at fixing that.
I'm just a nobody that plainly likes history and historical accurate simulations; and also a good game. Since this particular game depends on people, then I've got to address you to let you know some tips on how to avoid failure and potentially cause a chain reaction with other groups that also fail, ending up in a massive failure of everything.
This will be a simple step by step with tips that can be followed and will not restrict your wishes. You are free to do whatever you want but i'll not be made responsible of your failure, the one losing money and time is you.
Note that when i mean guidelines for guilds, i do not mean what you've got to do as a player. I made this guide in hopes that larger organizations will not cause a massive fall in the quality of products, services, skills and market. Which will be detrimental and hinder people that is actually trying to do things right. This is only dedicated to large organizations.
Guilds
What are Guilds?
Guilds in history were developed as countermeasure to the increasing tax on trading. Groups of people gathered to be represented by an entity, that way it is easier to organize all the members and their taxes. What's more they also were used to protect and help said members. Their purpose is to gather workers of one field, for example smiths, fishers, bankers, pharmacists, etc. If there is something outside of their field of expertise then it was a really common practice to outsource and hire another company or guild for that task.
More about Outsourcing
Think of them as the present Trade Unions. Some countries may have a different word for them.
More info and
common conception of merchant guilds
What are not Guilds?
They are not simply a group of people that hang out for no reason. That's a party.
They are not just a symbol or a flag to be member of. That's a kingdom, noble house, or religion.
They are not self-sufficient entities. That's a nation or, in few special cases, megacorporations (which have large amount of assets everywhere)
They do not "specialize in everything". A merchant guild for example will not specialize in trade AND security AND exploration AND research AND crafting.
All of this are the result of a misconception of guilds brought by the early mmorpgs like World of Warcraft to represent a group. Chronicles of Elyria is not World of Warcraft. CoE is an accurate representation of the late middle ages in a fantasy setting and since it is player driven game, then people will have to do the job of many things for it to run properly.
On to the Guidelines:
1) Select your field of expertise. What do YOU want to specialize on? Once chosen, you now either want to play alone or find/create a group dedicated to it, AKA, guild.
2) Congratulations, you've just joined/created a guild for a determined task! Now gather more people and/or do the job you entered the guild for. Smithing guilds will craft metalworks, Carpentry guilds will craft wooden items, and so on.
3) The main point of this guide. Does your guild need something that's out of the main field of expertise? For example, a smithing guild needs wood for the handles and leather for armors, but does a smithing guild need woodworkers and leatherworkers? Not at all!
Answer: You outsource. Find a group of woodworkers and leatherworkers or a guild that represents them and pay them for the materials or hire them to collect/produce them. That way they get something in exchange of their work, you gain the needed resources and start producing and selling your products. This is how money flows.
What happens if you are not a crafting guild? Nothing at all, the same example applies to any other guild. Exploration guilds do not need resource collectors or full-time crafters. Combat Guilds do not need crafters or traders. Crafting guilds do not need soldiers or explorers.
Note that i do not mean for a guild to go for a 100% focus on their field of expertise. A guild is completely free to manage their assets however they want, a merchant guild may be able to provide their caravans with their own guards. But that does not mean that said merchant guild MUST also specialize in combat. This is also a secondary thing that will come in due time and if it is an affordable feature for the guild. It is not a day 0 need.
Why do I encourage focusing in only the one and sole task you should be doing?
First, common sense. If you want to have a section for everything and specialize on everything; you'll be bad at everything and good at nothing. Let the combat guilds do the combat, let the merchant guilds do the trade, let the exploration guilds do the scouting, let the crafting guilds do the crafting. Simple, right?
Second, efficiency. Why waste your efforts on getting members that will not help at all to your guild's goal? In the end, it is simpler and cheaper to hire another group or guild to do the task. No one can afford the costs of everything, nor the time.
Third, economy. If every guild is a self-sufficient entity as some sort of mini-state the size of a building, then economy will suffer. Neither goods or services will be moving around since everyone has a section for it. But since there is no focus on them, they'll all be bad. Why would i need to hire mercenaries when i have my own guards? Why would i need to hire crafters when i have my own? That train of thought is what destroys economy. There is a need for money to change hands and, i repeat, in the end, it is simpler and cheaper to hire another group or guild to do the task.
4) Congratulations! You've just satisfied all the needs of your guild and are now free to do what you specialize on. The big wheel called economy will spin, coins will flow and everyone will be happy.
What happens if you ignore this methodology and keep thinking and applying your self-sufficiency tactic?
Your guild will inevitably fail.
It is not a probability, it is a fact. No matter the amount of people in the game, a guild is not a country. A guild has a sole function, if you are bad at everything as previously mentioned then the days of that guild are counted. You'll advance at a pace so slow, profits will not compensate for it; or not advance at all. Your members will get tired of the lack of productivity of the guild and abandon it, then it will completely disband and no one will remember it.
A little note on this prediction: There can be exceptional cases where there is a comeback due to change of management, administration or simply hitting a jackpot and getting back with plain monetary power. (Please don't kill your duke cousin to inherit everything)
Note about Politics and Guilds
Noble Houses and Guilds are 2 separated things. They are not even in the same category. Nobility focuses on gathering power, wealth and waging wars for territory and the like. Guilds specialize on a certain field.
Guilds may be patronized by a noble.
Nobles may hire guild members for a task related to something within the noble's territory.
A noble will get a revenue from the activity of a guild for letting it work in their territory.
More info on Nobility
There is one last thing that is not historically correct but is a mechanic of CoE apparently:
Nobles are not Guild Masters. Guilds were made for commoners to rise in power through skills. Nobles are born like that and their goal is to manage their territory and get more. Guilds were made in response of the lack of power of the people in comparison to that of feudal lords.
It makes no sense for a noble to also be a guild master, but apprently that is the only way to get some power right now in CoE. Barons, counts and dukes should be fighting over territory instead of managing guilds.
Notes on noble houses: Some might think that noble houses get their monetary power from only taxes. That's wrong. Although I said that they should manage territories instead of guilds, that doesn't mean they can't have an economic activity. It was pretty common for them to have one, the upkeep from the cities, roads, armies, guards, etc is way higher than the sum of all the taxes. And if you decided to nurture certain aspects of your territory and guilds that will work on them, then the revenue will be higher, so its a win-win if the noble in charge tries to help the guild in his territory grow!
Example: the blacksmiths of a smithing guild that's settled in a county that has a lot of mountains and mines and has a count that is willing to invest in that field, will certainly succeed, produce a lot and will be more experienced than those of a smithing guild in the plains, in a county that focuses on agriculture.
End of the Guidelines!
Any of you reading this is free to do however you want, guidelines are not orders nor absolutes. I only gave tips on how to be successful when managing an organization. It is your money, it is your time and it is your reputation. Because if you fail, it is your face and your name which will suffer most.
And even though I said that "I hope", I actually don't have any hope. If internet and history taught me something is that people will do dumb things until the end and learn after they become unable to fix the situation. That or someone that's not a nobody like me, like a developer or a GM, come tell you this stuff for you to pay attention to it.
In the end this is only a way for me to have a reason to say "At the very least i took some time and explained it" and "I told you". Most of the guilds in the situation that made me write this guide will probably ignore it and learn the hard way.
In any case, thank you for taking your time reading this text wall.
And if you changed your mind about your organization and will apply some of the things i mentioned, then thank you for paying attention to it and hope the best for you.
