http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060501a
Theres a few organizations and feats related to Greyhawk. The list of feats includes Robilar's Gambit. Organzations includes Elves of the High Forest; Restenford Guild of Insurers, Solicitors, and Beggars; and Restenford Sewerworkers Guild.
There might be more.
I'm not hopeful based on past experience, but if it does shed some light on Lendore's current social make-up, it could be quite interesting.
"Restenford Guild of Insurers, Solicitors, and Beggars;"
If this is all one guild, then it's best ignored in any case. Silly, silly, silly.
P.
As for such a guild being silly, I thought solicitors were all a bunch of miserable beggars anyway, and insurers are well know for begging people to buy more when they work on commission, so they definitely all go together.
"Begging your pardon m'lud, but I must object to that evidence being introduced. By the by, does anyone really ever have enough life insurance? And, could you spare a coin so a brother could get something to eat?"
How odd - should we believe that this is canon on Restenford or have the designers callously ignored the fact that Lendore is all but devoid of non-elven life now...
If they are purposely ignoring that evermeet/spindrifts crap, I say they are doing GH a huge favor.
Sam's points about the size of Restenford are noted, but with the recent (in GH timelines) discovery of 3 or 4 (if you count Len's forthcoming ameteur press module, L4) adventure locales near the town could have resulted in a boom. If it happens in Greyhawk City and Darkgate, why not Restenford?
Not to mention that Restendford, with a population under 400, had no sewers, and shouldn't be able to sustain a guild fo solicitors, insurers, and beggars.
As for such a guild being silly, I thought solicitors were all a bunch of miserable beggars anyway, and insurers are well know for begging people to buy more when they work on commission, so they definitely all go together.
"Begging your pardon m'lud, but I must object to that evidence being introduced. By the by, does anyone really ever have enough life insurance? And, could you spare a coin so a brother could get something to eat?"
Maybe it's more like Vito Corleone selling Olive Oil or Tony Soprano being a garbage man. Just a thought. I can't think of anything funnier than belonging to a "guild" for which there's no real industry and it's just a front for "other" activities.
It could be insurance to protect their clients from any "accidents."
Unfortunate accidents.
Unfortunate accidents.
After all, it would be a shame for anything *smash* bad to happen to your *crash* establishment.
Sam's points about the size of Restenford are noted, but with the recent (in GH timelines) discovery of 3 or 4 (if you count Len's forthcoming ameteur press module, L4) adventure locales near the town could have resulted in a boom. If it happens in Greyhawk City and Darkgate, why not Restenford?
A boom enough to suddenly build sewers that aren't needed, and support enough solicitors, insurers, and beggars to require a guild to coordinate them?
PUH-LEEZE!
There are:
197 fishermen and farmers
58 craftsman and other inhabitants
13 clerics at the temple
5 wizards
32 castle staff, guards, and rulers
Of those, the clerics and wizards can be expected not to significantly increase, nor will the castle staff or rulers. The guards will a bit, but not at the same rate as others.
The fishermen and farmers won't be forming any sort of guild.
That leaves the 58 craftsmen and other inhabitants.
Of those, 4 are other clerics (or druids), 2 are mercenaries (with one wife), and 1 is a widow.
That leaves 50 people in 22 businesses, several of which are quite specialized. (A separate bowyer and fletcher, as well as a fine food seller.) There are also two taverns and a separate inn.
Just how much expansion of that is possible?
And, if done, how much room is there in all that for a group of solictors, another group of insurers, and still another group of beggars?
As for Saltmarsh in the DMG II, that wasn't evolution, it was a complete revision, with some rather extreme background assumptions as well. Even Hommlett wasn't "evolved" this much in RttToEE.
Sam's points about the size of Restenford are noted, but with the recent (in GH timelines) discovery of 3 or 4 (if you count Len's forthcoming ameteur press module, L4) adventure locales near the town could have resulted in a boom. If it happens in Greyhawk City and Darkgate, why not Restenford?
I say the same. I think L4, with L1 and L2 downloadable for free could indeed attract many new players to WoG. - And so, yet one more pseudo-reference... Sewers Guild of *insert random name* - ah, well, this summer everyone will be reading L4, so why not say *Sewers Guild of Restenford*?
PHB II doesn't seem to be my thing, really...
If they are purposely ignoring that evermeet/spindrifts crap, I say they are doing GH a huge favor.
I'm not so sure about that. Sure, at first glance, it may seem that Lendore became GH's "Evermeet wannabe" but if one looks further, things are different.
1) the island never was fully elven in the past, so no hundreds of years old elven stuff
2) the elves kicked out the human population, perhaps the single most aggressive move against a non-evil species they've ever done
3) Evermeet is a last retreat. Lendore is more of a last step on a journey to the elven gods' plane. Not exactly the same.
4) LG introduced the notion that apprentices of the archmage Lendore were fighting the elven invasion from their City of Glass. So, the place isn't "pacified" yet and there is potential for PC to interfere.
Fact is, I was surprised nobody used this event as a springboard for a rise of anti-elf racism in some human nations of the East.
A boom enough to suddenly build sewers that aren't needed, and support enough solicitors, insurers, and beggars to require a guild to coordinate them?
PUH-LEEZE!
There are:
197 fishermen and farmers
58 craftsman and other inhabitants
13 clerics at the temple
5 wizards
32 castle staff, guards, and rulers
As for Saltmarsh in the DMG II, that wasn't evolution, it was a complete revision, with some rather extreme background assumptions as well. Even Hommlett wasn't "evolved" this much in RttToEE.
Hmm - thus far, I'm sticking with LG version of Saltmarsh just because they made use of pre-existing npcs to good effect. I'd be interested in doing a comparison, but I'm not buying DMG2 solely for that purpose!
I started doing a Lendore gazeteer, assuming that Restenford and Garotten, being isolated from the main settlements on the island, were left largely unmolested by the elves and ended up providing the bulk of the service industry for the elves on the islands. It seemed like a good way to keep established settlements alive. So if the villagers are providing grunts for the sewers in Lo Reltarma or scribes and lawyers for the elves (maybe they don't want such Oerthly concerns to impact on their elven utopia and are happy to keep the lawyers tucked away in a remote village - who wouldn't?).
If the information adds something to the modern societal make-up of the island, I might adopt it. Mind you, I don't particularly want to buy the book just for this stuff either... :P
Evermeet? Bah - that was always a bad analogy for what was going on in Lendore. I take it for being the first step in a more aggressive policy on the part of the Olve towards hu-mans. After all, we know that the Lendorian Olve have contacts with their brethern across the Solnor, who, if we take Chainmail as canon are the distinctly unfluffy, skippy, dancy Olve of Ravilla.
Today, Lendore. Tomorrow, Grandwood and the Adri? Or perhaps Sunndi. Who's to say that Lendorian agents aren't already stirring up anti human sentiments in the Rieuwood or elsewhere among the Grey Olves of Sunndi?
As for anti_olven racisim or the lack thereof - I'd say there's be a lot among the exiles, but they're scattered and the more Oeridian decended people around the Aerdi Sea probably don't have much sympathy. Lendore is a far-away place of which they know little and care less.
Ironically, the people who might hate the Olve most are the Lords of the Isles, the Scarlet Brotherhood and of course the followers of Wastri - now there's shades of grey for you!
P.
I got the impression that the Olve were pretty down on any hu-mans remaining on the isles - so I doubt they'd be using them as service industry providers. If the settlements are isolated, it's possible the hu-mans are hanging on and resisting the Olve, but I don't fancy their chances. without help from the City of Glass.
Hmm.. if I am not mistaken, there was a quote somewhere stating that the Olve had left alone old fishermen along the coasts, leaving them to live the rest of their (short) natural life in peace. So, small settlements could have been left alone too, although it's doubtful because those would "breed" new humans and that's something the Olve wouldn't stand given what they have in mind for the island.
Now that they hold the island, the Olve need to keep up-to-date on what human rulers far & wide intend to do about it. To do so, they need spies trained to operate in human nations. What better place to train those spies than the human communities allowed to survive (though completely isolated) on remote corners of the island?
On balance, I'm anticipating that the stuff with be GH in name only.
Hmm.. if I am not mistaken, there was a quote somewhere stating that the Olve had left alone old fishermen along the coasts, leaving them to live the rest of their (short) natural life in peace. So, small settlements could have been left alone too, although it's doubtful because those would "breed" new humans and that's something the Olve wouldn't stand given what they have in mind for the island.
Anytime people get "deported" en masse there are going to be holdouts. I think if you look at our own history you'll see what I mean. Anne Frank and her family hiding from the Nazi's in an attic, the Eastern Band of Cherokee hiding in the Smokies and avoiding the Trail of Tears, etc. Humans are nothing if not tenacious. I doubt even elves could successfully sterilize the island of all humans. A handful survive, regroup, build fortifications, some refugees return (possibly with aid and some rich adventurer looking to make a wild investment that hates elves) and you've got a recipe for a crusade and revolution all wrapped into one. Most of these people end up in one place, armed, angry and behind a wall...the Elves have just made the situation worse IMHO.
P.