The V.A.L.U.E. of the Guilds of Ravnica

[BufoBufo]

The V.A.L.U.E. of the Guilds of Ravnica

Styles:

• urban exploration
• investigation
• heist
• social intrigue
• bit of dungeon crawl

Length:

• This will be a V.A.L.U.E. Hop on Hop off Mini Campaign

• This will start in August (probably)
• It will be 7-10 sessions
• It will start at level 1 and go to high T2 maybe T3

Setting:

• This will play in Ravnica, the City of Guilds
• In the 10th district
• I will include information about Ravnica below

Character Notes:

• You are in debt to the Orzhov (think bankers and lawyers)
• Think about why you are in debt (2000GP), perhaps you have gambling debts, medical debt, needed a lawyer, lost a case, bought a home ect.
• One day you get a mysterious letter offering a renegotiation of debts sent by a Orzhov lawyer
• All species and races are allowed. Also Leonin, Loxodon, Vedalken, Minotaurs, Dragonborn (Viashino), Goblins, ect.
• If you want to be of one of the Guilds look at the specific Backgrounds for them. At my table (dm specific) the extra spells are allowed but will probably not be at other tables. If you take another one you are considered “Guildless”, which might be a disadvantage.

Backgrounds (For more info see below)

• Azorius
• Boros
• Dimir
• Golgari
• Gruul
• Izzet
• Orzhov
• Rakdos
• Selesnya
• Simic

[BufoBufo]

Ravnica is an ecumenopolis - t.m. the whole world is a single city (e.g. like Coruscant in Star Wars), that draws inspirations from a late-medieval Prague. It is divided in countless of Districts and those further in Precincts.

Ravnica is ruled by 10 Guilds, who swore a mystic “Guildpact” over 10000 years ago, to stop an epic civil war. The fragile peace held till now, with a short exception 75 till 50 years ago. The Guilds are all more or less structured hierachially and - at least in theory - of a centralized organizational structure. The Disctricts and Precincts instead are controlled on a local level in a sort of pseudo-feudal hierachy of civil servants.

Since the forging of the “Guildpact” Ravnica is in an “Age of Enlightment” … the concept of nobility is known only to those who study history and paladins & clerics gain their spells from “channeling the Guildpact” (they basically worship the philosophy of their respective Guild) instead of worshiping a god.

Half of the population, “the Guildless”, do not belong to any Guild, and form the underclass. Those can be found less in the central and more likely in the more rural/suburban areas of a District. Many “Guildless” are also critical of the 10 Guilds.

The 10th Disctrict, where the adventures will take place, is located at the 50th parallel north and is shaped by a continental climate … also because all the oceans of Ravnica have been covered with city-structures. Since urban areas can heat up pretty well, it could be warmer then one might expect, especially in the summer. (note: The climate can be compaired to modern continental central-europe)

The Timeline is set after War of the Spark but before All Will Be One

(Thanks to Darthbinks)

[BufoBufo]

The Rakdos want a party. Rumored to be a riot

The Azorius don’t want a riot, so they start cracking down regulation wise on pubs, bars, and nightclubs they suspect are Rakdos run.

Boros foot soldiers aren’t happy their favorite pubs are being fined into non-existence. They start taking their frustration out on poorer citizens in random shakedowns.

The Orzhov don’t like Boros shaking down their poorer citizens, as that’s less money in their pockets. They start having their thrulls and spirits “guard” the poorer neighborhoods from the Boros.

The Selesnya are appalled at the increased number of dead abominations and spirits walking around. They start sending druids and other Selesnya military to crack down on necromancy.

The Selesnya, in trying to fight necromancy, keep stumbling across and exposing Dimir’s hidden horrors. The Dimir send mind mages to “redirect” the selesnya toward golgari necromancers, to keep them busy.

The Golgari have figured out that the Dimir are responsible for the disproportionate number of Selesnya anti-necromancy house calls they’re getting, and so the Golgari fight back against the Dimir. The Golgari assassins, rot monsters and other creepy crawlies are in a night war with Dimir’s hidden horrors and assassins in the sewers and underbelly of Ravnica.

The Izzet keep getting reports of strange noises, pipes breaking, and other such infrastructure problems due to the Golgari-Dimir night war. Niv Mizzet doesn’t know or care why there’s suddenly so many problems being reported, so he orders a large sweeping new public infrastructure project to get people off his back and so he can focus on his research in peace.

The Simic see Niv Mizzet’s infrastructure expansions as competition, so they start aggressively buying or otherwise claiming land for “biozones.” The idea is these zones will be “natural” areas where the Simic can grow new species without a bunch of Izzet engineers and construction workers bothering them.

The Gruul were already pissed off at infrastructure plans, but now with the “biozones” too it pushes the Gruul over the edge. Clan Burning Tree makes a Gruul wide call to increase raids and smash more buildings, and the rest of the Gruul clans like this plan.

The Rakdos see the Gruul having all this fun without them and they get jealous. They decide to host a party. Rumored to be a riot.

~ Reddit (source unknown)

The Guilds:

Azorius Senate (Link Youtube)

• Law Enforcement, Legislation and Police
• Blue White
• Stereotype: Likes to control everything

Boros Legion (Link Youtube)

• Standing Army and Peacekeepers
• Red White
• Stereotype: Mercenary Brutes on a coffee break

House Dimir (Link Youtube)

• Officially Investigators, Couriers, Postal Service, Reporters, Librarians
• Blue Black
• Stereotype: Actually mysterious mind stealing assassins

Golgari Swarm (Link Youtube)

• Waste management and food production with some necromancy in the undercity
• Green Black
• Stereotype: Soylent Green Necromancers

Gruul Clans (Link Youtube)

• Formerly keepers of the wilds, now berserker clans of outcasts
• Red Green
• Stereotype: Bomb throwing anarchists

Izzet League (Link Youtube)

• Managing Infrastructure such as aqueducts and technological progress
• Red Blue
• Stereotype: Lemons that BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN! (Cave Johnson)

Orzhov Syndicate (Link Youtube)

• Formerly religious, now the leader in the banking and lawyer sector
• Black White
• Stereotype: Ghost Lawyer that drowns you in your debt repayments for the next two lifetimes.

Cult of Rakdos (Link Youtube)

• Crazy Entertainment, Catering and Heavy Labor (all for Rakdos the Demon)
• Black Red
• Stereotype: Crazy demon worshipers that set themselves on fire

Selesnya Conclave (Link Youtube)

• Nature based Religion, conservationists, nature workers, charity workers
• Green White
• Stereotype: Nature and Cult obsessed hippies

Simic Combine (Link Youtube)

• Medicine, Biological Research, Biomancy,
• Blue Green
• Stereotype: With this experiment I can turn myself into the mega-ooze

[BufoBufo]

Characters

• You have 2 Contacts from different Guilds. Either can be a rival or a friend (Both have advantages and disadvantages)
• You can choose these contacts from the list below

Azorius Senate

Daelric Themana

• Loxodon Archivist at New Prav (The main building of the Azorius)
• Likes his job but likes food more
• Always takes his law given breaks
• Not very sporty

Selanah Zarik

• Human Precognitive Mage
• Always knows all the gossip
• But doesn’t tell anything except when drunk

Boros Legion

Lyrandor Bebiri

• Viashino (dragonborn) Officer
• Is allergic to coffee (Hates it) -Bad Cop
• Has a constantly displeased face even when he’s happy

Janina Ostroc

• Aasimar Peacekeeper
• Good Cop
• Just a rookie with too big a heart

House Dimir

Elyndra Abanos

• gnome librarian at Prism University
• Officially Guildless, well officially
• totally not a spy

Yevan Tichon

• Post Officer Half-Elf
• Night owl because of his job
• Totally not a Vampire

Golgari Swarm

Orza Kapa

• Gorgon (Medusa) Assassin
• Likes to party hard and fancy clothes
• Promises she will never kill you (without reason)

Parvan

• Undead Rot Farmer
• Knows all the talk of the undercity
• Best Mushroom Coffee in town
• Likes to crossdress

Gruul Anarchs

Faegyn

• Centaur Shaman (Druid)
• Thinks Civilization is a disease and should be burned down
• Actually very articulate
• Always happy to host a friend

Bozhanna

• Giant (Goliath) Fighter
• Would rage but he is tired
• Actually friends with some guildless (promises not to smash them)

Izzet League

Zareth Horka

• Orc Aqueduct Engineer
• 50% of his lifeblood is coffee
• constantly busy
• reads Rakdos Magazines in his free time

Tverta Rotikow

• Dwarf Electrician
• Speaks very fast and a lot
• Has a Laboratory at home (for reasons)
• Niv-Mizzet’s biggest fan

Orzhov Syndicate

Valka Pabino

• Vedalken Investment Banker
• Uses divination to know the future
• More sturdy than she looks
• Has a strong rivalry with someone called Uldin

Sobik Yanda

• Goblin Law Mage (Defense Lawyer)
• 100% Protection from Azorius (Guaranteed 100% money back) (don’t read the fine print)
• Will take any case for money
• Has defended a donkey once

Cult of Rakdos

Mitah the Slasher

• Knife Juggler on the street
• Works hard to get hired at the big stages
• Knows how to hide any weapon
• Known for 12 accidental stabbings

Draza Flameseeker

• Fire Genasi Rocker (Bard)
• Sets himself on fire for the Show
• Fears neither gods nor men
• Smokes mushrooms regularly

Selesnya Conclave

Vaelith Kabov

• Elf Gardener (Ranger)
• Knows the secret paths through the parks and all the hidden spots
• Harm his plants and he harms you
• Totally Vegan

Nadia Benesh

• Loxodon Yoga Instructor
• Regularly tries to convince the Azorius to allow Yoga in prison
• Very relaxed
• Often in New Prav (Azorius)

Simic Combine

Raska Jellinek

• Triton Intern in Bioengineering
• Works three jobs to pay off her college debts
• hates her life
• Often complains for long hours

Hayek Dunja

• Hybrid Elf Doctor
• Fun Facts about poison and disease
• Finds his job fun
• Questionable methods that seem to work

[BufoBufo]

You can post here if you are interested. I will put you on a list and ping you when it starts

[Mexikorn]

In that case, colour me intrigued. I hope I’ve got time in August, but sounds fun and interesting. I used to play a lot of MtG so I’m fairly familiar with the setting too. I just hope those pesky planeswalkers don’t cause too much chaos again.

[Bearberry]

That sounds very interesting! I’d like to be on the list please.

[Stracci]

Definitely interested!

[Lux_Tenebraeque]

def. interested!

[Darthbinks]

plan to join with a Simic Researcher
… so please ping me

Contacts:

• Dimir - Elyndra Abanos
• Izzet - Tverta Rotikow

her crippling dept comes from money she is putting in her MEGA-KRASIS-9000 project

[Jackfruitchilli]

Also interested

[Tequila_Sunset]

There is another campaign that is planed for august, but organizer said it would be twice a month. Well, i still don’t now the timing of both… But anyway consider me joining

[thelaramin]

I’m interested! Sounds like fun XD

[Valzon]

Definitely interested would love to join if I end up having time in August.

[Mexikorn]

On an unrelated note, and if I may take the liberty, if anyone wants to check out what Ravnica looks like to get a feel for it, check out this website linked below. It features the original art of the basic lands in Ravnica from MtG.

https://basiclandart.com/tag/ravnica-city-of-guilds/

[Lenzi-boy]

I am definetly interested. In fact I was looking for ravnica dnd for a long time

[Darthbinks]

On an unrelated note, and if I may take the liberty, if anyone wants to check out what Ravnica looks

plus MtG also post their art

Guilds of Ravnica art
Return to Ravnica art
Murder at Karlov’s Manor (Ravnica)

[Tequila_Sunset]

If the game starts after 10th of August i’m in!

[Istariel]

Throwing in my application just hoping to be considered would most likely be playing a dimir since I always found those super interesting

Played a lot of MTG with friends back in school. Super exciting setting Bufo

[BufoBufo]

If you are unsure about your guild. Here is a flowchart which might help you out.