TEXT: The Raiders Guild players guide introduces players to the guild and their foes. It includes 
  the history and politics of the force that stands between civilization and the darkest pits of 
  the unknown. Find adventure with the Raiders Guild and perhaps even play A new race, 
  the loyal batfolk known as Skreek.  
  axe
  initiative
  games
  
  2
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  CREDITS
  Author
  Robin D. Laws
  Editor
  Sasha Bilton
  Art
  Ben Wooten, Jeremy McHugh & Dave Allsop
  Logo Design
  Gareth-Micheal Skarka & Toby Coe
  Layout Design
  Fred Hicks
  Layout
  Sasha Bilton
  Special Thanks
  Simon Rogers, Christina Buch-Petersen, Ralf 
  Schemmann, Dave Allsop & Toby Coe
  © 2009 Axe Inititaive Games Ltd. All rights 
  reserved. Reproduction without written permission 
  of the publisher is expressly forbidden.
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, the DUNGEONS 
  & DRAGONS compatibilty logo, D&D are 
  trademarks of Wizards Of The Coast world wide 
  and are used with permission. 4E references, D&D 
  core rules and all D&D characters and certain other 
  materials are property of Wizards Of The Coast and 
  are used with permission under the Dungeons & 
  Dragons 4th edition game system license, available 
  at www.wizards.com/d20. 
  RaIDERS GuIlD PlayERS GuIDE
  Contents
  Welcome 
   
   
   
  3
  The Organization 
   
   
  3
  The Conflict  
   
   
  3
  The Formula  
   
   
  3
  Your Band Of Allies  
   
  4
  Members 
   
   
   
  4
  Council 
   
   
   
  5
  Stewards and Concessionaires  
  6
  Charter 
   
   
   
  6
  Benefits 
   
   
   
  7
  Obligations 
   
   
   
  8
  Political Role  
   
   
  8
  The Guild At War 
   
   
  9
  Politics and the Enemy 
   
  9
  When the Guild Is the Government 10
  Guild History  
   
   
  10
  The Legend Of Ogatanz Kushig 
  11
  The Guild Begins 
   
   
  11
  The Death Of Ogatanz 
   
  11
  A Civilizing Force 
   
   
  12
  To the Present Day 
   
   
  12
  Implacable Foes 
   
   
  13
  History 
   
   
   
  13
  Organization  
   
   
  14
  Political Influence 
   
   
  14
  Against Adventurers  
   
  14
  Skreek  
   
   
   
  15
  Physical Qualities 
   
   
  15
  Playing a Skreek 
   
   
  16
  Skreek Adventurers 
   
   
  17
  Skreet Racial Feats 
   
   
  17
  
  3
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  Welcome
  Congratulations, adventurer! After months of 
  toil and trial, you, and the other members of your 
  adventuring band, have been chosen to join the 
  Raiders Guild. You have every right to be proud 
  of this great honor. The strength, bravery, and 
  magical prowess the competitors you overcame for 
  this coveted spot were considerable. Your sparring 
  partners, all honored members of the guild fought 
  ferociously. Certain of the strikes you sustained still 
  echo in your bones. Yet here you are, about to step 
  onto a rude wooden platform erected in the middle 
  of the guild compound. Assembled about you is a 
  motley band of heroes and explorers, among whose 
  company you are proud to stand. Garvius himself 
  will lead you in the raider’s oath and then present 
  you with your guild medallion.
   
  From this moment on, you will be admired 
  by ordinary folk. They depend on the guild for 
  protection from the predatory creatures of the 
  encroaching wilderness—and from the tyrants and 
  schemers of the cities.
   
  In a lightless and hostile world, you have won 
  for yourselves an essential place in a far-flung 
  community pledged to mutual loyalty. Wherever 
  you go, you will find a band of brothers and sisters, 
  united by valor, justice...and a taste for ale.
   
  A ceremony is all well and good, you suppose. The 
  real honor will come later, after the salutes and the 
  thundering drums. That is when Garvius will take 
  you aside and give you your first mission.
   
  When you are down in the dungeon, waist-deep 
  in muck, pressed against the wall by a desperate 
  foe.... When by dint of superior preparation and 
  boundless courage, you press back, slay the monsters, 
  and claim your prize...
   
  ...that is when you will truly earn the name of 
  Raider!
  The Organization
  In a world of loose authority, where a strong arm 
  holding a magic sword wields greater power than the 
  king’s men, the Raiders Guild provides solidarity and 
  support to both elite and up-and-coming dungeon 
  delvers. It acts as a clearinghouse for information 
  and opportunities, lobbies authorities on behalf of 
  the trade, and suppresses the efforts of bandits and 
  thieves. 
  Recruitment
   
  G
  Why did Garvius recruit you?
  o He saw me in action.
  o A prophet told him I would fulfill a mighty 
  destiny. 
  o I rescued another guild member from certain 
  doom.
  o A great hero of the the guild, either a friend 
  or relative, put my name forward.
  o I begged and wheedled and made a nuisance 
  of myself until Garvius relented.
  o Other.
  The Conflict
   
  Their sworn antagonists are the Archivists, a 
  corrupt, reactionary league of historian-sorcerers 
  who fight to seal up the world’s dungeons and hoard 
  the arcane secrets hidden within them.
  The Formula
   
  Raiders Guild scenarios start in the middle of the 
  action, with a teaser sequence foreshadowing the rest 
  of the adventure. As guild members you always have 
  an inside track, going into the dungeon pre-armed 
  with vital information—usually a copy of the map, 
  often other intelligence giving you a tactical edge in 
  one or more encounters. 
  
  4
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  Setting-Neutral
   
  The Raiders Guild and Archivists can be added 
  to any setting, published or homebrew. With a 
  few adjustments of detail here and there, they add 
  structure, motivation and excitement to any fantasy 
  world.
  Your Band Of Allies
   
  The guild consists of many autonomous chapters, 
  spread out among settlements and outposts great and 
  small.  
   
  Your DM decides whether the guild holds sway 
  only in one corner of a shattered world, or is equally 
  strong in every place that heroes dare to tread.
   
  Each guild consists of three elements: the 
  membership at large, the leadership council, and the 
  stewards, a staff of salaried functionaries, answerable 
  to the membership through the council.
  Members
   
  To qualify for provisional guild membership, you 
  must:
  demonstrate at least a beginner’s proficiency in 
   
  *
  your chosen class, as shown by a series of tests 
  with guild trainers
  be nominated by a current member of the 
   
  *
  chapter you’re applying to; sons and daughters 
  of past stalwarts and valiants (see below) are 
  automatically nominated, and are referred to as 
  legacies
   
  To go from provisional to full member, 
   
  *
  you must satisfactorily complete one mission as 
  assigned to you by the chapter assigner. 
   
  Most Raiders Guild series begin under the assumption 
  that your highly-proficient 1st level characters have 
  already proven themselves, during the campaign’s 
  
  5
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  backstory. Your DM may instead choose to make your 
  first adventure the final element of your audition for 
  full guild membership. In this case, you leave your 
  probationary status behind upon successful completion of 
  this first on-stage mission.
   
  To remain a member, you must perform one 
  assigned mission per calendar year. You can’t stack 
  them up—performing three mission doesn’t earn you 
  three years of loafing.
   
  Guild insignia, which you can wear on your tunic 
  or carry on your person, indicate your membership. 
  They serve if not as a badge of authority, then as one 
  of trustworthiness and competence. Ordinary people 
  know enough about the guild to tell whether you’re 
  wearing an outdated emblem. Neighborhood bullies 
  typically flee when challenged by someone wearing 
  valid insignia.
   
  Prestige attends distinguished members. Those 
  of paragon level are ranked as stalwarts. Even more 
  prestigious is the valiant rank, which comes at epic 
  level. Stalwarts gain an additional vote at the annual 
  conclave; valiants get three votes. In big cities, 
  wearers of stalwart emblems rarely have to pay for 
  meals or drinks. Valiants are so admired that they 
  can make money by frequenting certain hotels, 
  taverns and eating establishments, as their mere 
  presence increases trade.
  Admiration
   
  G
  The stalwart Raider I most admire is:
  o A trailblazing hero of my own primary class.
  o An inspiring exemplar of my race.
  o A dedicated smiter of my most despised 
  enemies.
  o A stunningly desirable adventurer, whose 
  mere glance speeds the beat of my heart.
  o Whichever one who most recently bought 
  me a tankard of stout.
  o Other. 
   
  In worlds where high-level characters are rare, 
  neophyte members may have glimpsed a stalwart 
  from afar, and heard only rumors of the great 
  valiants who frequent a chapterhouse in a nearby 
  region.
   
  Each year, a chapter holds its annual conclave, 
  a four-day affair known for wild carousing. The 
  craziest stretches of the bacchanal occur inside 
  the chapterhouse, so as not to scare the locals 
  and besmirch the organization’s carefully tended 
  reputation.
   
  During the day, bleary and hungover raiders 
  debate guild business, ratifying proposals put 
  forward by council or raising new motions from the 
  floor. All policies not covered by the guild’s overall 
  charter (a very general document) can be changed 
  by member vote; the council is then charged with 
  executing them until the next conclave. The conclave 
  ends with the election process for new councilors.
   
  It is also an occasion for recruiting new team 
  members, trading scuttlebutt on dungeons, 
  exchanging magic items, and romantic trysts.
  Council
   
  The council oversees the implementation of guild 
  policy, as determined by the overall charter and by 
  the local chapter’s motions, as passed at conclave. 
  Positions are:
  Guildmaster: the equivalent of a chairman
   
  *
  Past Master: the previous year’s guildmaster
   
  *
  Master-In-Waiting: the vice-chairman; 
   
  *
  automatically becomes guildmaster at next 
  meeting
  Master Of the Coffers: treasurer
   
  *
  Master At Large: councilor without 
   
  *
  responsibilities, except to vote and advise in 
  council meetings. There are either one or three 
  Masters At Large (to make sure the council 
  has an odd number of members and can break 
  ties). By tradition they are chosen from classes 
  otherwise unrepresented on council. In societies 
  where racial politics are an issue, they may be 
  chosen from otherwise unrepresented races.
   
  Each year at the annual conclave the members 
  vote for all of the above positions except for Guild 
  Master and Past Master. Candidates often run as 
  
  6
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  slates, ensuring a balance of representation between 
  classes.
   
  Small chapterhouses may elect or acclaim the 
  same worthy adventurer as guildmaster many years 
  running. Where a guildmaster succeeds himself, the 
  positions of past master and master-in-waiting are 
  dispensed with in favor of two additional masters at 
  large.
  Stewards and 
  Concessionaires 
   
  Stewards are the paid functionaries who 
  administer the day-to-day operations of the 
  chapterhouse. Many stewards are past guild members 
  who’ve retired from the fray, or present members 
  earning a few gold pieces on the side. Either way, 
  they’re often a little the worse for wear: those who 
  can, do. Those who have had their legs ripped off by 
  owlbears, teach.
   
  The chief steward of each chapter is called 
  the castellan. He or she supervises the work of 
  trainers, scribes, cartographers, alchemists, armorers, 
  smiths, and other providers of services to members. 
  Wherever appropriate, these tasks are hired out to 
  members of craft guilds. 
   
  Though he may be extended the honorary title 
  of steward, a chapter’s resident armorer probably 
  won’t be an employee of the guild. Instead he pays 
  an annual concession fee to the guild for the right 
  to do business in the chapterhouse. These fees help 
  fund the guild’s activities, keeping other charges low. 
  Concessionaires may be taken out of the running if 
  council has received complaints about the quality 
  of their work or goods. Those who overcharge lose 
  business to competitors outside the chapterhouse 
  walls.
   
  Concessionaires can only be removed for extreme 
  turpitude, or when their contracts expire. Stewards, 
  including the castellan, serve at the pleasure of the 
  council and can be dismissed at any time.
   
  Small chapters have few concessionaires; instead 
  work is hired out to members of relevant trade guilds 
  by the job. The chapterhouses of large guilds are 
  bustling marketplaces unto themselves, taking up 
  entire walled compounds inside a city center. 
   
  Unskilled jobs are performed by full-time 
  stewards. The guild is thought of as a good employer 
  for a serving boy or girl. Those who last in the job 
  display thick skins and a blunt sense of humor, 
  enabling them to cope with the sometimes rough-
  and-tumble manners of its adventuring membership.
  Charter
   
  The charter was written by guild founder Ogatanz 
  Kushig; see below. (Really it was written by scribes 
  working under his supervision, but only pedants 
  care about that sort of thing.) The charter is a broad 
  document laying out the principles and purposes 
  of the organization. It includes a code of ethics and 
  an organizational structure, along with a few oddly 
  picayune rules that somebody obviously argued for 
  on a special-case basis. Its main function is to ensure 
  that all chapters, which are otherwise autonomous, 
  operate in roughly the same manner. This protocol 
  allows any Raiders Guild member to be accepted at 
  any other chapterhouse, knowing that he will enjoy 
  the same benefits, and have to live up to the same 
  obligations, as he would at his home chapter. As 
  adventurers are constantly on the move, continuity of 
  rules between chapters is essential.
   
  The charter expressly forbids the formation of 
  a international council to rule over the various 
  chapters. Ogatanz feared that an overall leadership 
  would become corrupt, self-serving, and separated 
  from the concerns of its members. He also had to 
  reassure nervous dukes and kings that his new guild 
  would not rival their power.
  
  7
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  Charter
   
  G
  My favorite provision of the charter is:
  o Its stirring preamble, calling for brotherhood 
  among all dungeon explorers.
  o The provisions making leaders accountable 
  to members.
  o Its generous treasure-sharing terms.
  o The rules requiring a respectful silence 
  toward slumbering or hung-over members on 
  early mornings following a guild celebration.
  o As soon as I get around to reading it, I’ll let 
  you know.
  o Other. 
  Benefits
   
  The guild provides:
  access to missions
   
  *
  intelligence on dungeons
   
  *
  intelligence on archivist strongholds, where even 
   
  *
  more intelligence on dungeons can be found
  access to discounted goods and services by 
   
  *
  concessionaires; these include everything from 
  armor repairs to raise dead spells. Rewards for 
  missions may be given in concessionaire credit, 
  allowing for convenient conversion of rewards to 
  necessary goods.
  assistance in team recruitment
   
  *
  mediation services to settle disputes (usually about 
   
  *
  treasure distribution) between team members — 
  no need for intra-party conflict when you can 
  launch a grievance with your guild
  accommodations: temporary rooms in large 
   
  *
  
  8
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  chapterhouses; longer stays permitted in frontier 
  outposts
  social status and prestige
   
  *
  a network of connected former adventurers, who 
   
  *
  can help you with political problems
  religious services from the chapter’s chaplain—he 
   
  *
  or she is always an ex-adventurer who knows the 
  pressures of the life and won’t try to lay a bunch 
  of tired sermonizing on you when all you want is 
  some answers to questions about the gods, or your 
  arm put back on.
  Obligations
   
  Adventurers don’t like to be forced to do things. 
  Clever fellow that he was, Ogatanz set up the guild 
  so that most of the obligations it entails also provide 
  a benefit to the individual performing them. To 
  the extent that the guild makes players do things 
  they don’t want to do, they get a carrot to go along 
  with the stick. They get quest rewards when they 
  intervene to protect the guild’s reputation, or provide 
  it with information, etc. 
   
  Banditry is a big problem for adventurers, who 
  want to be able to get their loot back home through 
  the wilderness without fighting all the way home. 
  So participation in anti-banditry campaigns counts 
  toward your missions logged. And you get a share 
  of any of the loot you get from them! As a result, 
  banditry is way down in guild-heavy areas. No 
  doubt due to its insertion of profit motive, it has 
  proven more effective than governments at bandit 
  suppression.
   
  Adventurers get the benefit of the guild’s good 
  reputation, and have an incentive not to spoil it 
  with crazy anti-social behavior. The guild member’s 
  primary obligation is to exemplify the organization’s 
  good name. You can steal from orcs in dungeons, but 
  not shopkeepers in town. You can kill zombies, but 
  you can’t murder people. You must obey fair laws and 
  respect legitimate rulers, while protecting the people 
  from tyrants and usurpers.
   
  The worst thing you can do as a guild member is 
  to betray another member. Backstabbing or stealing 
  from team members while on a raid gets you marked 
  as a traitor to the brotherhood. If judged guilty at 
  a guild tribunal any guild member may hunt you 
  down, kill you, and keep your stuff—except for any 
  items stolen from the raiders you betrayed, which are 
  restored to their rightful owners.
   
  Trials are adjudicated by five-member panels, 
  chosen by the council and made up either of 
  stalwarts or (if you are a valiant), your fellow valiants. 
  These may be held in absentia. You can also be 
  banned from the guild for aiding the archivists. 
  If your aid to the enemy leads to deaths of guild 
  member, you can be marked for death.
  Rebels
   
  G
  On the fringes of civilization dwells a small 
  band of outlawed guild members. One of them 
  committed a crime against a fellow member 
  that particularly offends you. What is it?
  o Committed acts of banditry against honest 
  folk.
  o Killed a guild brother in a drunken rage.
  o Stole treasure.
  o Hoarded vital information.
  o Spied for the archivists.
  o Other. 
  Political Role
   
  Like other trade guilds, the Raiders Guild curries 
  favor with local leaders, securing privileges for its 
  members and offering assistance in return. Rulers 
  often need missions performed for them and are 
  natural clients of the guild. They also draw on the 
  guild for bodyguard services, intelligence, and tactical 
  advice.
   
  Relations between a ruler and the guild of course 
  depend on the leader’s personality and the nature 
  of his regime. Benevolent kings, especially the 
  heroic Arthur or Richard the Lion-Hearted types, 
  get on best with them. They often send their sons 
  and daughters to the guild for training and combat 
  
  9
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  seasoning. When the prince or princess grows up to 
  become king or queen, this leads to a strong bond 
  between throne and guild. These guild kings, as 
  they’re sometimes called, often have an old raider 
  mentor on hand as an advisor. Depending on the 
  personalities involved, he may be an invaluable 
  advisor or a charmingly raffish Falstaffian mascot.
   
  Weak, temporizing or vacillating leaders who play 
  interests off of one another may favor the guild one 
  week and put them in the doghouse the next. In 
  ever-shifting political environments, the guild’s chief 
  courtier (usually a Master At Large) must constantly 
  hustle to preserve the group’s rights and privileges.
   
  When they first come to power, evil, authoritarian 
  or tyrannical leaders typically try to co-opt their 
  guild chapters. This may lead to a power struggle 
  within the guild between militants and appeasers. 
  Eventually the ruler pushes the guild farther than it’s 
  willing to go, giving them the choice of becoming 
  his thugs or his prisoners. This usually accompanies 
  a general crackdown on adventurers, who are always 
  a threat to an evil regime. Underground resistance 
  against tyrants is often led by guild officers. Evil 
  leaders frequently enlist archivists to help them take 
  on the guild.
  The Guild At War
   
  In times of war against evil armies Raiders Guild 
  chapters transform themselves into paramilitary 
  units. The same skills that make them effective in 
  dungeons turn them into superb commando fighters. 
  They penetrate behind enemy lines and perform 
  as skirmishers, or on highly targeted missions. For 
  example, a team might be sent in to capture an 
  enemy commander or swipe the magic orb that 
  allows him to keep his monstrous troops in line.
   
  When wars break out between civilized states, the 
  guild’s position is one of official neutrality, but this 
  becomes difficult to maintain. Guild members hate 
  to face one another on the battlefield. Commanders 
  rarely deploy them in circumstances that might send 
  them up against their guild brethren, as loyalty to 
  Ogatanz’s creed usually trumps national fealty.
  Politics and the Enemy
   
  The struggle between guilds and archivists is of 
  great importance to members of both organizations, 
  but is usually of minor note to the rest of society. 
  Both sides take care to keep the fight covert, so that 
  local rulers don’t decide that both organizations are a 
  threat to public order. This attitude varies according 
  to the nature of the regime and its ties to the guild.
   
  Where the guild is tight with local leadership, 
  they may be able to rob, infiltrate and harass 
  archivists with legal impunity. The archivists protect 
  themselves, with no outside help.
   
  Ironically, a local king who really hates archivists 
  and drives them underground makes the work 
  of the guild harder than one who treats them 
  with grudging tolerance. If the archivists have to 
  hide from the authorities, their installations and 
  storehouses are much harder to find than when 
  
  10
  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  they’re able to advertise their existence.
   
  Where local leaders occasionally or consistently 
  protect the archivists, guild infiltrations accrue an 
  extra layer of risk. The team doesn’t have to worry 
  only about the enemy, but about being arrested 
  by the king’s men. (Remember though that the 
  typical fantasy city ought not to have a police force 
  on patrol, as a modern city would. They may have 
  sheriffs who respond to complaints after the fact. So 
  it’s not so much a matter of evading the cops after 
  you pull a heist, but of leaving no evidence behind, 
  so the archivists can’t show the proof to the king and 
  demand redress.)
  When the Guild Is 
  the Government
   
  When settler communities spring up around 
  frontier outposts, the guild becomes a de facto 
  government. This trend began after Ogatanz’s death 
  and isn’t addressed in the charter. Guild members are 
  of two minds about it. Some take satisfaction in the 
  prestige and responsibility of public service. Others 
  became adventurers to get away from authority, not 
  to become it. Frontier guild masters may serve as 
  paternalistic leaders of their settler communities, or 
  hands-off protectors who urge the settlers to create 
  their own little utopias.
   
  Crises often occur when a chunk of frontier land 
  is deeded to a noble by the king of a nearby nation. 
  He may show up expecting his feudal rights over 
  land that the guild protects and the settlers regard 
  as their own. The noble may make a deal or (often 
  pressured by a king hoping to extend his sovereignty) 
  try a takeover by force. Sometimes they’re backed by 
  archivists, secretly or otherwise.
   
  Guild-friendly kings use their old allies to extend 
  their territory, promising Guild Masters full rights 
  (and special town charters for the settlers, if need be) 
  if they agree to fly his flag.
  Role
   
  G
  What is your attitude toward the guild’s role as a 
  civilizing force?
  o Dungeon raiding is but a prelude to this, our 
  most important duty.
  o Only people like us, who are suspicious of 
  power, are fit to wield it.
  o Better us than the stinking Archivists.
  o I’m happy to fight whoever needs fighting, so 
  long as you don’t ask me to make policy.
  o If I wanted to be civilized, I would have 
  trained as a scribe.
  o Other. 
  Guild History
   
  Since the early days of commerce, craftsmen and 
  tradespeople have gathered together into guilds. 
  They regulate prices, set rules for the trade, and grant 
  licenses to members. In places where townsfolk wield 
  political power, guilds serve as the conduit for their 
  influence.
   
  Until a hundred and fifty years ago, no one 
  thought that adventurers could form and sustain 
  a guild. Armed, dangerous, and dedicated to the 
  collection of treasure, they were deemed too wild, too 
  independent-minded to ever band together for their 
  mutual benefit. 
   
  Over the centuries, a few quixotic souls had 
  tried to create organizations like the Raiders Guild, 
  but these always failed. Once in charge of a group, 
  freedom-loving warriors and magicians would turn 
  abruptly into zealous autocrats, trying to enforce 
  their will on new members. Guilds usually fell apart 
  over money—leaders would try to fund the guild 
  by taxing members’ treasure hauls. And anyone who 
  knows anything about adventurers knows you don’t 
  come between them and their gold pieces.
  
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  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  Style Note: The Name
   
  G
   
  The organization central to the property 
  is a guild (noun) made up of raiders 
  (adjective.) Raiders Guild is the correct term. 
  No apostrophes. It is not a Raider’s Guild, the 
  possession of a single raider, or a Raiders’ Guild, 
  the possession of a group of Raiders.
   
  Raiders Guild.
  The Legend Of 
  Ogatanz Kushig
   
  Some say that Ogatanz Kushig, legendary founder 
  of the Raiders Guild, succeeded where others had 
  failed on the basis of his powerful charisma, or by 
  dint of the accumulated glory of his deeds. Though 
  born a human, Ogatanz grew, in his fifteenth year, 
  to a height and size near that of an ogre. (One story 
  has it that his enormous size was a gift from a kindly 
  witch, who he selflessly saved from a bog wraith.) 
  He could lift and carry a pair of draft horses, one 
  under each arm. Ogatanz often fought by picking 
  up a foe and using him as a club to beat his fellows. 
  Along with his famous companions—Barl the 
  Swift, the elf princess Gallosa, the foul-mouthed 
  dwarven outlaw Torfdan, and the mysterious Pearl 
  Woman—he won a name for himself throughout the 
  land. Together they penetrated dungeons no one had 
  ever survived, bringing back one spectacular treasure 
  after another: the Monmouth Hoard, the funerary 
  boat of Amoh-Ka, and the seven diadems of Ottark.
   
  Yet Ogatanz and his friends were more than 
  just freebooters. With the power they accrued to 
  themselves, they saved the world. Most notably, 
  they forced the demon lord Abbatak back into his 
  hell realm, slaying him and sealing the passageway 
  forever. This victory came at a heavy price—
  Ogatanz’s companions were either slain or crippled.
  Identify
   
  G
  The member of Ogatanz’s band I most identify 
  with is:
  o Barl, who was clever and daring.
  o The regal and surpassingly lovely Gallosa.
  o The Pearl Woman, whose acts of scholarship 
  kept knowledge alive.
  o Torfdan, who didn’t take stick from nobody.
  o Ogatanz, of course! 
  The Guild Begins
   
  Restless in his retirement, Ogatanz decided to 
  form a guild to help the many young adventurers 
  who came to him seeking his advice and blessings. 
  In founding the Raiders Guild, he did a clever thing 
  that eluded the failed organizers before him. His 
  guild would not skim a percentage of its members’ 
  treasure. Instead, the group would solicit patrons 
  to propose missions. These well-heeled individuals 
  would use the guild as a hiring hall, to find groups 
  willing to retrieve ancient artifacts, rescue hostages, 
  or gain just vengeance against evil enemies. The guild 
  would take a fee from the patron, plus a bonus for 
  successful mission completion. It would also charge 
  other membership fees as necessary, but would never 
  take a percentage of loot from dungeon delvers. They 
  would get to keep whatever ancillary treasure they 
  found in a complex while performing a mission.
   
  From a single guild in Ogatanz’s home nation, the 
  Raiders Guild system spread quickly throughout the 
  civilized world. 
  The Death Of Ogatanz
   
  Unlike all of his original comrades, and most of 
  his fellow adventurers, Ogatanz died peaceably, of 
  old age, surrounded by admirers. He arranged for an 
  enchanter, Dwale the Artificer, to infuse his spirit 
  into a crystal replica of his head. Guild members of 
  valiant rank or higher could commune with him, 
  seeking advice, by placing their hands on the replica’s 
  bald brow.
   
  A generation later, the Head Of Ogatanz was 
  
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  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  stolen, presumably by archivists. The simmering 
  feud between archivists and the guild grew more 
  violent as members raided archivist strongholds in 
  an effort to retrieve the head. To this day, it has never 
  been found, and the archivists continue to deny all 
  knowledge of its whereabouts.
  A Civilizing Force
   
  As generations passed, they even established 
  chapters and outposts in the wilderlands, providing 
  fortified housing for guild members on the dungeon-
  filled frontiers. As adventurers thinned monster 
  populations and drove away bandits, settlers began 
  to filter in to cultivate once-haunted lands. Towns 
  and villages grew up around these outposts. Thus the 
  guild became a vanguard of civilization. Some guild 
  members found greater fortunes as merchants and 
  town leaders than they dreamt of as warriors.
  To the Present Day
   
  Even without the counsel of Ogatanz’s spirit, the 
  guild continued to prosper, expanding the services 
  it offers to its members, cementing its political 
  influence, and winning the hearts of ordinary people. 
  Dungeon explorers, who used to be thought of as 
  uncontrollably powerful wanderers, tethered by no 
  authority, are now hailed as heroes—so long as they 
  can display the emblems of guild members in good 
  standing. To be regarded as respectable would be 
  boring, but guild members are at least recognized as 
  indispensable.
  
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  Implacable Foes
   
  Like the guild, the archivists are a private 
  organization spread out throughout the civilized 
  lands. Though not a governmental body, their 
  political influence is considerable. Where the guild 
  struggles to unearth information about dungeons, 
  monsters, and treasure, the archivists work to 
  suppress it. 
  History
   
  Three hundred years ago, the priest-wizard Ald 
  had a vision. The world would be destroyed, he saw, 
  by a demon god foolishly unleashed by a gang of 
  freebooters. Although stern and forbidding, Ald 
  was as charismatic in his own way as Ogatanz 
  would later prove to be. He started a secret society 
  of scholars, spies and assassins dedicated to the 
  protection of the world. The Archivists, as they 
  called themselves, would achieve this by hoarding 
  all available information on dungeons, magic, and 
  monsters. Until they found the secret lore needed 
  to destroy the demon, they’d suppress dungeon 
  exploration, keeping maps, journals and other 
  information out of the hand of untrustworthy 
  mercenaries.
   
  Over the centuries the organization has become 
  a corrupt shell of the altruistic original. Its once-
  specific goal has mutated into a fanatical ideology of 
  secrecy and oppression. The group allies itself with 
  authoritarian regimes and factions, who use it as a 
  mechanism for the suppression of dissent. Archivists 
  now spend as much time surveilling citizens and 
  gathering blackmail material as they do researching 
  dungeons. Even virtuous kings fear to cross them. 
  
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  The twisted iron towers of their library fortresses 
  stretch across the civilized lands. Innumerable other 
  secrets are hidden in dozens of nondescript buildings 
  throughout the land.
   
  Raiders Guild scholars have concluded that 
  Ald’s original prophecy foresaw the battle between 
  Ogatanz and the demon lord Abbatak, but failed 
  to correctly predict its outcome. Thus the archivists 
  hoard knowledge and suppress exploration to 
  forestall a disaster that has already been prevented.
  Archivists
   
  G
  What is the worst thing the Archivists have 
  done to you?
  o Murdered a friend or family member.
  o Put my village to the torch.
  o Imprisoned me unjustly.
  o Purloined a family heirloom.
  o Other.
  o Nothing; I’m going to do unto them before 
  they do unto me!
  Organization
   
  In keeping with their philosophy, the archivists are 
  staunchly hierarchical. They receive orders from their 
  nameless leader, ensconced deep beneath the earth 
  in a secret dungeon they’ve cleared and converted 
  to their needs. Some say this is Ald himself, slowly 
  calcifying on a limestone throne that keeps him 
  alive but renders him paralyzed. (Does he spend his 
  days in a rambling harangue, directed at the captive 
  crystal head of Ogatanz Kushig?)
   
  The Grand Archivist issues orders to his courtiers, 
  the legates. They convey these by secret courier to 
  prefects, who head regional operations roughly 
  equivalent to guild chapters. A prefect’s lieutenants 
  are called tribunes; they issue orders to the rank-
  and-file types, known as ordinaries.
   
  Archivists wear masks when meeting with one 
  another. They use underhanded means to ferret out 
  each other’s identities but may not know who a new 
  superior is when he first shows up to begin hissing 
  his sinister orders. 
  Political Influence
   
  Fear is an archivist’s greatest weapon. Whether at 
  the king’s court or in a convocation of scholars, you 
  never know who’s listening in, waiting to take down 
  your every damning word. Occasionally a bold leader 
  declares a pogrom against them. The archivists close 
  down their towers, go underground, and wait a little 
  while, until whispers and revelations bring the ruler 
  down. Then they return to their weirdly public form 
  of intimidating secrecy.
  Against Adventurers
   
  Archivists hate adventurers because they have 
  nothing to fear. They depend on their own bravery, 
  not on their relationships to power. Blackmail rarely 
  cows them; no one begrudges a freebooter a little 
  scandal.
   
  And of course the guild is always raiding 
  Archivist installations, overcoming their carefully 
  laid traps, and stealing their precious information, 
  making them look like fools.
   
  Archivists field masked adventuring parties to 
  counter the exploratory efforts of the raiders. They 
  go into dungeons to lay additional traps, to seal off 
  corridors, and to find maps, scrolls, and treasures to 
  seal away forever in their vaults. It may not be their 
  prime mission, but these teams are more than happy 
  to waylay and slaughter an exhausted team of guild 
  members if they find them resting in a dungeon. 
   
  If they hear that a new dungeon entrance has 
  been discovered, they try to assassinate its finder 
  before he can spread the word. Rumor has it that 
  they subsidize bandits, humanoid marauders, even 
  the undead, to harry and ambush hated adventurers.
  
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  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  Skreek
  Strange dungeon delving bat-people with a lost 
  history.
  RACIAL TRAITS
  Average Height: 4’1-5’0
  Average Weight: 90-120 lb.
  Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom
  Size: Medium
  Speed: 6 Squares
  Vision: Dark vision and Blindsense 10
  Languages: Common
  Skill Bonuses: +2 Perception, +2 Stealth
  Skreek weakness: When you are injured by thunder 
  damage you become dazed in addition to any 
  other effects (save ends)
  Ultrasonic screech: You can use ultrasonic screech 
  as an encounter power.
  Skreek Climbing: You have the Sure Climber feat 
  in addition to your usual feats. You may hang 
  upside for any period without penalty.
  Step From Shadows: You may spend an action 
  point during the surprise round.
  Ultrasonic screech 
  Skreek Racial Power
  By emitting a high frequency pulse you let loose a 
  stunning blast of sound
  Encounter * Thunder
  Minor Action 
  Close blast 3
  Target: All creatures in area
  Attack: Dexterity + 2 vs. Will
  Hit: Target takes 1d4 + wisdom modifier thunder 
  damage and is dazed until the end of your next 
  turn.
  Increased to 2d4 damage+ wisdom modifier and 
  dazed at 11th level and 3d4 damage + wisdom 
  modifier  and stunned at 21st level. 
  Completely loyal to the Raiders Guild, these 
  masterful scouts make their home within Guild 
  strong holds, mimicking their lost caves within. 
  Beware any who cross a skreek for hiding from them 
  is near impossible. 
  Play a skreet if you want...
  to be silent and eerie.
   
  *
  to daze your foes so that others may move in to 
   
  *
  attack.
  to be able to climb easily and hang upside down.
   
  *
  to be a member of a race that favours the rogue 
   
  *
  and ranger classes.
  Physical Qualities
  The skreek are short, hunched, bat-like humanoids. 
  Their exaggerated frames sport broad upper torsos, 
  narrow hips, and oversized feet. Their fur ranges in 
  color from light gray to chestnut brown to night-
  black. The clawed hands of a skreek are surprisingly 
  dexterous. They move with a quiet, creepy grace and, 
  when not in motion, achieve a preternatural stillness. 
  Skreek ancestors lost their wings long before the race 
  achieved sentience; a vestigial remnant appears in the 
  form of a pronounced underarm membrane.
  
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  Playing a Skreek
  The skreek seem detached and emotionless to 
  humans, because they practice a meditative discipline 
  of extreme self-control. They feel deeply, but consider 
  it shameful to show it, especially to outsiders. 
  Although their faces seem locked in perpetual 
  grins, many skreek claim to have no sense of humor 
  whatsoever, and to be totally perplexed by the jokes 
  of other cultures. (Anyone who befriends a skreek 
  well realizes that this in itself a very dry jest.) A rare 
  and tiny minority many find physically repulsive, the 
  skreek are used to being feared and distrusted by the 
  more numerous peoples. 
   
  Traditional skreek culture has mostly disappeared. 
  A hundred and thirty years ago, Ogatanz and 
  his friends saved the last enclave of the creatures 
  from certain destruction in the face of an attack by 
  marauding humanoids. The skreek king made 
  Ogatanz his successor in a what the great hero 
  considered a merely ceremonial gesture. 
  Decades later, after his friends had died and he was 
  first forming the guild, skreek began to come to him, 
  asking for his guidance. The king had died, and he 
  was now their leader. Ogatanz, uncomfortable as 
  always with crowns and authority, told the skreek 
  that they were now free of all rulers. Unsatisfied 
  with this answer, the last of the skreek instead 
  pledged loyalty to the guild. Generations later, the 
  few thousand skreek left in the world are mostly 
  members or associates of the guild. Their old enclave 
  now uninhabitable, they’ve dispersed throughout the 
  civilized lands. Wherever there are guild chapters 
  and outposts, there are skreek. No one places a 
  higher value on the guild community than they. 
  It has become a replacement for their destroyed 
  homeland. In guild politics, they are the staunch 
  traditionalists who 
  
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  Raiders Guild Players Guide
  speak up for Ogatanz’s original values, quietly but 
  forcefully opposing anyone who would subvert the 
  organization for their own selfish advancement. 
  Skreek scouts are valued as bodyguards for their 
  ability to smell the approach of would-be assassins. 
  Their absolute discretion, born of a disinterest in 
  non-guild political affairs, is likewise prized. Rulers 
  requesting guard services from the guild often ask 
  for skreek.
  Skreek Characteristics: 
  Detached, silent, perceptive, loyal, agile, dry, 
  measured, self-contained, eery
  Male Names: Onychrix, Antroz, Noctryan, 
  Emballam, Chrydorix, Vashan, Crasroyan
  Female Names: Mormopia, Finneyia, Natalidae, 
  Nycterid, Vesperduo, Furipidia 
  Skreek adventurers
   
  Onychrix is a skreek rogue who scouts for a team  
  of Raiders Guild adventurers that thwart slavers 
  wherever they can. Filled with hidden disgust at his 
  peoples near extinction he means to put an end to 
  tyranny where he finds it.
   
  Finneyia is a ranger of intense skill with her 
  twin short swords. She singles out her foe and 
  takes whatever steps necessary to bring them down. 
  Thought of as cold blooded killer by those who don’t 
  know her, her friends value her protection and see 
  through her efficiency.
   
  Mormodryix is a warlock who seeks the histories 
  of her own race. She values knowledge more 
  than power and power more than wealth. Having 
  found wisdom from beyond the mortal realms, she 
  channels against those who would hide anything 
  from her. 
  Skreet Racial Feats
  The following feats are available as racial feats to 
  Skreek
  Shadow Surge 
  Prerequisites : Skreek, Step From Shadows racial 
  power.
  Benefit : You can a +4 bonus to attack rolls you 
  make when you use your Step From The Shadows 
  racial ability.   
  Enalrged ultrasonic Screech
  Prerequisites : Skreek, Ultrasonic screech racial 
  power
  Benefit : When you use your ultrasonic screech 
  power you may choose to make it a close blast 5 
  instead of 3. 
  Self-contained fighter  
  Prerequisites : Skreek
  Benefit : You gain +1 to all defences against all 
  attacks in which you grant combat advantage due to 
  being flanked.  
  Skreek
   
  G
  The best thing about the skreek is:
  o Their mastery of stealth.
  o Their strange heightened sense.
  o Their meditative discipline.
  o They’re cute, in their own ugly way.
  o I’m one of them!
  o Other.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/3rd Party/4th Edition/Axe Initiative Games/Raiders Guild Players Guide.pdf