Guilds are organized around a craft, service, or trade. They set rules for practice, provide training, and protect their members. Many provide reduced prices for members for the products produced, tools of the trade, and required materials. Joining a guild has entry requirements and leaving a guild is not always easy. Members support each other and the organization by providing money, materials, or work to maintain the guild.

Each individual guild has some amount of political and social power where it is located. Secondary locations are created that are part of the same organization when a guild becomes large and powerful enough. There can also be multiple guilds of the same type that compete or divide areas to stay out of each others way.

The method of joining a guild is determined by the individual guild, but often has base requirements in common. In almost every case, a formal application must be submitted at the guild hall. As it takes time an effort to process an application, you should expect to pay a fee with your submission. These fees range vastly, primarily based on the prestige of the guild and number of regular applicants. Guild may reduce or even wave this fee during particular recruitment campaigns when they are in need of members.

The application will collect basic information about your skills, especially those relevant to the guilds purpose. Many applicants can be approved based on existing skills, however there are cases where a recommendation or sponsor from an existing member can allow you to join based on other factors. Some guilds prefer to train their members from the start, instead seeking candidates who present the ability and willingness to focus and learn.

Once your application is reviewed and you are deemed to meet basic requirements, expect to be examined to prove your talents are exactly as presented. Exams come in many forms, though often will be in the shape of completing a basic quest for the guild. Being caught giving misinformation on your application will often result in your information being shared with other guilds to ensure you are not considered for membership with anyone.

Members receive many benefits, often including but certainly not limited to discounts of guild related products and tools, contacts for safe and higher paying quests, social support from fellow members, and access to facilities the guild owns. In exchange, members are commonly expected to pay a percentage of their earnings from guild related tasks to the guild. Some allow performing guild duties and services without any pay. Be sure you are familiar with the requirements before applying.

As guilds tend to invest time, money, and status into their members, leaving is not always as simple as choosing to quit a regular job. Many will require exit applications in which evidence of your inability to remain a member or solid reasoning you must be elsewhere is provided. Some may allow you to pay your way out. In some powerful guilds, if your reach certain stages of importance, even death is not an acceptable reason to leave the guild, as they will resurrect you, often billing you for the service after. Most guilds have specific conditions that allow a seamless retirement when you reach that stage, and you should be certain to familiarize yourself with these before applying.

Once you become a member in a guild, they will register you into a common guild system and present you with a guild badge, sometimes at your cost. Most guilds are exclusive, preventing you from being a member of another guild at the same time. Exclusive guilds will always check the register as part of your application. Some guilds, normally the smaller, less reputable ones, allow open membership where you can be a member in any number of guilds as long as your perform your duties in a timely manner, though even these will ensure you do not join a competing guild.

The most common reasons to join a guild are access to quests and training. Many guilds keep careful guard on the skills and spells related to the tasks they manage, so you cannot easily learn these elsewhere. Special techniques and blueprints can greatly increase your values in the world allowing you to earn superior reputation and funds. Even for information that is otherwise available, guilds can make it easier and cheaper to obtain.

Higher ranked members are expected to make themselves available to train and tutor newer members, or sometimes secretly shadow them early on to ensure they are not bringing negative reputation to the guild name. Becoming an apprentice to a high-ranking member can be a simple way to guarantee an easy path in life, as long as you put in the effort to shine in your role.

Guilds adhere to a simple ranking system within the empire, with rank 1 being virtually unknown and rank 12 being the guilds kings reach out to for service. Guilds impact everything around them by brining jobs and structure everywhere they service. Many cities see new life when a guild hall opens within their borders.

Guilds earn their rank by providing good service and showing that they follow the rules of the empire. Many make great efforts in community outreach and support to keep the favor of the people on their side. While the numbers are straightforward, gaining any ranks can take years of dedicated effort.