League of Private Merchants

[Ninja D!]

[spoiler=Click here for basic summaries of setting elements referenced but not explained below.]The Place.First off, the setting is a place called Silver River County, or sometimes simply Silver County. Well over 100 years ago, it was part of a larger kingdom. When that government collapsed, the local government also lost all power. Silver County is now fully independent and no formal government has risen to take the place of the old one.

How does that work? There is an organization in the County known as the Judges' Order. They maintain the peace, mostly just through their existence. If anyone steps too far out of line, they will almost certainly be visited by a Judge. Should the offender survive that encounter, it is still likely to be enough to make them change their ways. With the Order around acting as a sort of extreme police force and honestly working for the greater good, life in Silver County is quite peaceful and orderly. People rarely oppose the Judges' Order since most would agree that those who invoke their wrath genuinely deserve it.

Economic Alliance. The Economic Alliance is made up of the four major merchant houses of the County along with the League of Private Merchants (which is the subject of the following article). Think of them as part Better Business Bureau, part Trade Commission, part Federal Reserve, part their own thing. They set the rules when it comes to trade and they do so with the consent of the Judges' Order, which wants no part of these matters (outside of peacekeeping aspects) for fear of becoming a sort of government. In addition, the Alliance creates and maintains the official currency of the County, holds stores of it, and releases more as needed (the process is complex but they make sure that the currency keeps the intended value). The different parties of the Alliance keep each other mostly honest both to avoid interference from the Judges' Order and to make sure their competitors can't have an serious advantage.

Oberalis. The individual called Oberalis is the single well-known mage in Silver County. To most people, he's simply always been there. All records and stories put him as having lived there for well over a century. He trains others but only if he deems them worthy...and the process of proving oneself to Oberalis takes a few years and a lot of work. The idea is that only the deserving will make it through that process. He is the pretty much the only current supplier of magical items or services and he isn't in the habit of providing them.[/spoiler]
The League of Private Merchants is and organization made up of the most powerful merchants in the County that are not aligned with any of the major merchant houses. It was formed to allow some of the lesser economic powers to have an official voice in the Economic Alliance.

History

Early on in the independence of Silver River County, most felt that the four major merchant houses that made up the Economic Alliance had an unfair advantage in all trade related matters. At the time, they had indeed managed to put of their competitors out of business.  It was because of this that the League of Private Merchants was formed.

At first, the four merchant houses refused so accept the League into the Economic Alliance. Their stated reason was that a single entity must have the power to greatly impact trade in the County to be worthy of membership. They would not allow the League to join because no single member had great enough influence in the area. The debate continued for several years before the Judges' Order became involved. The Order demanded that, should the Economic Alliance want to maintain the influence and liberty it was allowed, the League of Private Merchants must be allowed full membership and all the benefits that came with it. Essentially, the League became a fifth merchant house.

Leadership and Internal Politics

The internal politics of the League of Private Merchants can sometimes be chaotic, especially at lower levels of the hierarchy. A few times in the past this has grown so extreme that it has even led to violence, with a few members of the League bringing the wrath of the Judges upon themselves for it. However, beyond this usual keeping of the peace (in their own unique way), the Judges' Order doesn't interfere with the League any more than it does with any other merchant house.

To better represent what it is and what it stands for, the League of Private Merchants does not have a single leader. Instead, the membership elects a council of three that attend the meetings of the Economic Alliance and cast the faction's single vote. Officially, elections for new council members are held once every three years, just after that year's meeting of the Economic Alliance. In reality, however, council members usually keep their position until they choose to give it up or they upset too many of their fellows.

Council Members

Martin Reis is based out of Riverest. He is a man of average height with a slightly muscular build. The top of his head is bald and what hair remains around the sides is grey. His eyes are a vibrant green color, boldly standing out against his pale skin and hair. His usually clean shaven face is wrinkled as he just began his fiftieth year of life. Despite his age, most say that Martin has an energy about him that some men half his age do not possess. Many believe that this is simply because he is a good and happy man in good health while others suspect that it has something to do with his dealings with Oberalis. He has never married and has no known legitimate children.

Among all the merchants and traders of Silver County, Martin Reis alone deals directly with Oberalis. He supplies the old mage all he needs , brought directly to his tower near Riverest, in exchange for things produced there. These things range from baskets woven by the apprentices, to dyes, to the occasional magical trinket, usually enchanted by Oberalis himself. It is this unique endeavor that had earned Martin the respect of even the major merchant houses, which was the primary factor in getting him elected to his current position. He is a typical merchant otherwise. His dealings are always fair but he is capable of being just as greedy as any of the rest.

Reis first met Oberalis just over 30 years ago. He arrived at Oberalis' tower as a simple courier, hired to bring a small package to the mage which contained a bill from one of his old suppliers. When Oberalis received the package and studied its contents, he spoke with Martin of the troubles he had been having with his suppliers. They discussed his situation at length that day, and several more times over the next few months when Martin was invited back to the tower as a guest. It was not long before Oberalis chose to supply Reis with a large sum of money with which to invest in the things needed to take up the life of a serious merchant so that he would be able to become exactly the long-term supplier that the old mage needed. It was during this time that their friendship, which continues to this day, began.

Though his shipments to the tower vary greatly in size and importance, over the last 30 years Martin Reis has personally accompanied every one. In part it is this practice that sets him apart as a merchant but he would say it is just that he would never miss a chance to visit his old friend.

[Ninja D!]

The above is an overview of the faction as a whole. Still to come I have fairly detailed entries for the three current council members.

[Tangential]

This is awesome and piques my interest as it draws on many themes shared by my CS.

How large is membership? You suggest that there are strata of members - what impact does that have on the organization?

[LordVreeg]

Happy how you've controlled the flow and learning of magic and magic items right off the bat.

How big an area and how many population centers are we talking?

[Ninja D!]

This is awesome and piques my interest as it draws on many themes shared by my CS.

Thanks. Now I'm interested. If you have your CS posted somehere link me, when you get the chance.

How large is membership?

Exact numbers for anything are nonexistant at this stage of development. The idea is that all merchants with any sort of influence (either through dominating a certain market or just size of their operation) would be allowed membership.

You suggest that there are strata of members - what impact does that have on the organization?

It only adds more chaos and disorder, really. I know I wasn't clear on this point but there isn't actually a formal hierarchy but those with more influence or larger operations tend to be taken more seriously.

Happy how you've controlled the flow and learning of magic and magic items right off the bat.

Thanks. I figure that's a good method of keeping the setting low-magic that works well with the existence of the Judges' Order. There are probably other magic users about, and certainly artifacts from when the County was part of a larger kingdom and more prosperous, but those are more secretive or in hiding. I haven't gotten around to posting about hime yet but one of the council members of the League is the only person Oberalis will directly do business with.

How big an area and how many population centers are we talking?

At this time, I don't have the exact details of that sort of thing worked out. I'm planning one large city that was the main city during the time when the County saw regular trade with the outside but is now very much in decline. Now there are probably two other smaller trade centers with a bunch of smaller communities where many farms come together or wherever there is something of value or interest.

[LordVreeg]

Sounds wise, like you are controlling this well.  I have always discovered that my best campaigns in Celtricia are ones where the major population center is very carefull controlled and crafted.

[Ninja D!]

Sounds wise, like you are controlling this well.  I have always discovered that my best campaigns in Celtricia are ones where the major population center is very carefull controlled and crafted.

Thanks. More and more I seem to start with the very broad strokes of a setting so I know what I want to be, then work pretty much from the ground up. For many years, I have always focused on a fairly small area (just a single region) for my settings since I'd guess that's all that will really be needed and so that someday I might be able to piece them together as one single kind of meta-setting. I think I've improved with each one and I'll eventually go back and try to polish each one up, one day.

[Ninja D!]

Now to start with the council members:

Martin Reis is based out of Riverest. He is a man of average height with a slightly muscular build. The top of his head is bald and what hair remains around the sides is grey. His eyes are a vibrant green color, boldly standing out against his pale skin and hair. His usually clean shaven face is wrinkled as he just began his fiftieth year of life. Despite his age, most say that Martin has an energy about him that some men half his age do not possess. Many believe that this is simply because he is a good and happy man in good health while others suspect that it has something to do with his dealings with Oberalis. He has never married and has no known legitimate children.

Among all the merchants and traders of Silver County, Martin Reis alone deals directly with Oberalis. He supplies the old mage all he needs , brought directly to his tower near Riverest, in exchange for things produced there. These things range from baskets woven by the apprentices, to dyes, to the occasional magical trinket, usually enchanted by Oberalis himself. It is this unique endeavor that had earned Martin the respect of even the major merchant houses, which was the primary factor in getting him elected to his current position. He is a typical merchant otherwise. His dealings are always fair but he is capable of being just as greedy as any of the rest.

Reis first met Oberalis just over 30 years ago. He arrived at Oberalis' tower as a simple courier, hired to bring a small package to the mage which contained a bill from one of his old suppliers. When Oberalis received the package and studied its contents, he spoke with Martin of the troubles he had been having with his suppliers. They discussed his situation at length that day, and several more times over the next few months when Martin was invited back to the tower as a guest. It was not long before Oberalis chose to supply Reis with a large sum of money with which to invest in the things needed to take up the life of a serious merchant so that he would be able to become exactly the long-term supplier that the old mage needed. It was during this time that their friendship, which continues to this day, began.

Though his shipments to the tower vary greatly in size and importance, over the last 30 years Martin Reis has personally accompanied every one. In part it is this practice that sets him apart as a merchant but he would say it is just that he would never miss a chance to visit his old friend.

This has also been added to the original post.