Sallow-Warden Guild
The Guild was born from the desperation of the Great Sallow Famine over a century ago. When traditional crops failed, the survivor Elara Vane discovered that the venomous flora of the Sunken Marches possessed potent medicinal and alchemical properties. She organized a band of ruthless sellswords to protect the first harvesters from swamp-horrors. Over decades, this protection racket evolved into a sophisticated monopoly. They transitioned from simple guards to the sole legal authority of the marsh, eventually winning the Great Mire Skirmish against local crown-tax collectors, which established their autonomy through a 'Lease of Despair' signed with the neighboring kingdom.
Sallow-Warden Guild
- Type
- Merchant-Militia
- Size
- 500 members
- Reach
- High
- Base
- Oakhaven Marsh
Overview
The Guild was born from the desperation of the Great Sallow Famine over a century ago. When traditional crops failed, the survivor Elara Vane discovered that the venomous flora of the Sunken Marches possessed potent medicinal and alchemical properties. She organized a band of ruthless sellswords to protect the first harvesters from swamp-horrors. Over decades, this protection racket evolved into a sophisticated monopoly. They transitioned from simple guards to the sole legal authority of the marsh, eventually winning the Great Mire Skirmish against local crown-tax collectors, which established their autonomy through a 'Lease of Despair' signed with the neighboring kingdom.
How it began
Elara Vane was a disgraced legionnaire who fled into the marsh to escape a debt execution. Legend says she bargained with a bog-spirit for the secrets of the Rot-Sovereign fungi, promising that 'the land would never go hungry for blood again.' She built the first pier of their headquarters using the bones of a titan-crocodile she slew with her own hands.
How to know them
Swamp Green, Iron Grey, Mustard Yellow
A notched rusted sickle, The rot-sovereign mushroom, The knotted willow root
Standing
What they say they want
What they are doing now
Where it leads
To become the primary financial backbone of the region, making every crown-sanctioned alchemist and doctor dependent on Sallow-Warden harvests.
How others see them
Cruel but necessary. The public knows they are greedy and often brutal, but they also acknowledge that without them, the price of medicine would quadruple and the marsh-monsters would roam the city streets.
People
5 ranks
The High-Arborist
Meticulous, humorless, and obsessively organized. He treats human life as a resource to be spent for optimal growth.
- High-Arborist1 member
Supreme commander of both the merchant fleet and the militia. Makes all final trade and military decisions.
- Moss-Captains12 members
Command the fortified pier-forts and lead harvest expeditions into dangerous territory.
- Sallow-Grips120 members
The elite soldiers who defend the trade routes and enforce Guild law within the marsh.
- Dredge-Drovers80 members
Oversee the labor gangs who harvest the dangerous plants; manage the day-to-day logistics of the piers.
- Seedlings300 members
Entry-level laborers and recruits. Perform the most dangerous tasks in the deep mud.
Other key members
- Lyssa 'Half-Lung' Vane Chief Harvester
- Master Scribe Kaelen Trade Negotiator
How they are organised
- A minimum of two years combat experience or a degree in Alchemy
- Willingness to sign the 'Pact of the Mud' (a life-term contract)
- The ability to withstand standard doses of marsh-toxins (tested during initiation)
Relations
4 factionsThe primary buyers of the Guild’s raw materials; they provide the Guild with advanced equipment in exchange for priority access to plants.
Operations
What they do
How they do it
Services for hire
- Marsh-Guide Escort500 Gold Crowns or 10 percent of cargo valueGuaranteed safe passage through the Sunken Marches for one caravan.
- Component SourcingVariable, starts at 200 Gold Crowns per ounceProcuring rare, dangerous plants for high-level spellcasting or alchemy.
What they can do
What they have
Where they are weak
Territory
Headquarters
Oakhaven MarshThe Sunken Spire is a sprawling complex of reinforced ironwood piers and suspended walkways built over a bottomless whirlpool. It is bristling with ballistae and alchemical traps, and its lower levels are submerged research labs.
Lands they hold
Outposts
- The Thirsty ReachNorth Marsh EntranceCustoms office and primary gatehouse for all visitors.
- Lily-Pad WatchWestern Bog-LineA mobile floating platform used for scouting hostile creatures.
Secrets
Plot hooks
3 hooks- 1The Poisoned LedgerMediumReward: Gold and a Favor from a Merchant PrinceMaster Scribe Kaelen hires the party to steal a 'black ledger' from Valerius Thorne's private study. The ledger contains proof that the Guild is planting lethal mold in rival lands.
- 2Missing in the MudHardReward: A set of enchanted Muck-Proof boots and Guild friendshipA group of Seedlings has gone missing near the Forbidden Quagmire. The Guild officially claims they deserted, but their families hire the party to find their bodies. The truth involves the 'Green Reanimation' experiments.
- 3The Tithe of BloodEasyReward: Renown in the local village and a moral victoryThe Guild demands a 'protection fee' from a local village that the village cannot pay. The party must negotiate with a cruel Moss-Captain or help the village defend themselves against a 'monstrous attack' staged by the Guild.
Work they offer
What gets in the way
Rumours
Connections
Media
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