Chapter Four: Guilds and Organizations

City Guilds

Steeped in tradition, Fairhaven has a number of esteemed guilds who work to improve and maintain the city. In ages past these were highly selective organizations which were all but hereditary and impossible to enter. Now with the loss of so many on the battlefields of the Last War, these guilds cannot afford to be picky any longer and their ranks are filled by any who want a job and show some ability. The days of the City Guilds may be numbered and they have inadvertantly become the pawns in some of the political games which run through Aundair like grapevines.

Colorsmiths

An enigmatic group of mages, the Colorsmiths are one of the guilds that has completely broken with the city. They are, in fact, more of a secret society than a guild and their membership is known only to the leaders of the Colorsmiths, whoever they might be. In times past, the Colorsmiths were magical artists who put on arcane shows of light and illusion. Large, glowing murals in the night sky and walking animals of fire parading through the streets. They would be active on any city holidays as part of the official celebrations and specialized in delighting the crowds with their magical displays. Sometime around the start of the Last War, however, the Colorsmiths shifted in their focus. They began to put on displays whenever they thought it would be useful and more often than not they were comedic farces rather than the patriotic displays that the Governor's office wanted. Some were even satirical and critical of the crown's handling of the war. When the city officials told them in no uncertain terms to fall in line, the Colorsmiths Guild went underground instead. Today it has developed into something of a political campaign to challenge beliefs and expose hypocrisy. Members wear colorful masks when performing at their unscheduled events and their displays are critical of politicians from all camps, of foreign powers, of the Dragonmarked Houses, and even of Queen Aurala herself.

Greenkeepers

While the Lightwarders maintain the magical spirit of Fairhaven, the Greenkeepers maintain its living soul. As gardeners and herbalists they care for the city's many parks, not just Queen's Park, Ausonne Gardens, and the Managerie but also the myriad green spaces which enhance the city. The Greenkeepers have also been infiltrated in the flux of members during the Last War: the Ashbound of the Reaches have inserted several members for a plan which has yet to come to fruition.

See Also: More on the Greenkeepers and the Ashbound infiltration can be found in the Explore Fairhaven article in Dungeon 170.

Lightwarders

This groups maintains the famous everburning lamps of the City of Lights. Its magewrights, artificers specializing in creating magic and alchemical items, renew every lamp in the city at least once a week to make sure that its flame never falters. During the winter months, some of the more run-down parts of the city (including the Eastway Ward and parts of the Grangehall Ward) may be more dimly lit as the guild focuses on the more affluent neighborhoods to apply their services to. The group also maintains other magical features of the city, from fountains to art installations to the enhanced accoustics of the Grand Aundairian Opera. With the diminishing of the group's ranks during the War, First Warlord Adal has quietly encouraged his own people into the guild. Traveling all over the city, the Lightwarders are able to put in quiet words on the First Warlord's behalf and determine supporters for Adal's plans to renew hostilities with Thrane and retake Thaliost.

Stoneworkers

At one point, this guild was a crafters organization which united all the masons in the city together. Since Fairhaven joined the Kingdom of Galifar, however, this fraternity has been on the decline and today most masons in Fairhaven and Aundair have no connection to the Stoneworkers. Instead, this guild functions as the architects and magewrights maintaining the physical structure of Fairhaven. They maintain the city walls, streets, and sewer tunnels to ensure the proper functioning of the urban center and are employees of the Governor for Capital Affairs' office. Because of their involvement in all parts of the city, the Stoneworkers have a varied membership and are a true cross-section of the city. Recently, however, the guild has come to the attention of Spy Master Thuel Racannoch of the Royal Eyes with rumors that their maintenance of the tunnels in Brickenhall have led to the group being compromised by something sinister.

Adventurers Guilds

Blade and Wands Company

Based in the Eagle's Rest inn in Almenn Town, the Blades and Wands are a business-like adventuring guild with strong ties to the Wayfinder Foundation. They are fairly open and welcome anyone who can pay their membership fees (11 gp per year) and always recruit from their membership pool first for expeditions, whether Wayfinder or otherwise. The current head of the Blade and Wands is a half-elf ranger named Harvin Touleas. A native of northern Aundair he has some ties to the Liotian population of the Whiteroof Ward but is thoroughly Aundairian in his outlook. The only weakness he has, however, is the independence of the Eldeen Reaches which he believes is better for Aundair and for the Eldeen homesteaders. He is very concerned about the influence of the fey and the more extreme druidic circles on the general population of the Eldeen Reaches and thinks that Aundair should offer more support (as an ally, rather than an overlord) to curb these polarizing forces and he's funded a number of expeditions west to help this cause.

Gatecrashers

Based in the boisterous neighborhoods of Avalier and Escape in Rordan's Gate, the Gatecrashers Guild is the roughest and least-organized adventurers guild in Fairhaven. Membership costs 8 gp a year, collected at the annual meeting held every winter, but since records are chaotic many adventurers claim membership without paying their dues and no one gets too upset about this. Members of the Gatecrashers can turn to each other for help on specific missions but there is no structure for offering jobs besides talk in the Druken Wyvern or the Crow's Nest. The nominal board of the adventurers guild is three semi-retired adventurers who are the established authorities for more junior members. Martain Debrouc is a half-orc fighter who served in the Aundairian army during the Last War before making a name for himself delving into previously unexplored sections of Khyber and living to tell about it. Vanis is a changeling sorcerer who is well-known as the spellcaster who confronted and killed Jostac Grayl, an apprentice of the Fleshweaver, and she claims to have been undercover in Arcanix for a decade and knows many of that academy's secrets. Lastly, Bec is a warforged paladin of Dol Arrah and is said to laugh louder and dice more than any other warforged in the City of Lights.

Laurel Club

Also located in Marble Halls, the Laurel Club has a long-standing rivalry with the Blades and Wands Company. This rivalry is friendly on behalf of the Blades and Wands members (those that are aware of it) but the Laurel Club considers itself a "gentleman adventurers guild" and dislikes sharing the spotlight with the wide cross-section of Khorvairian adventurers who belong to the Blades and Wands. Based in the Ivybound Tavern in Almenn Town since the Last War, the Laurel Club is a well-funded and well-respected guild with a discerning reputation. Annual membership costs 18 gp per year but the real obstacle to membership is the "gentry clause" in the guild's charter: members must have a knighthood or noble title in one of the Five Nations or be a member in good standing of one of the Dragonmarked Houses, and they will need a sponsor who will stand for their membership. This means that the guild has very few foreigners and hardly anyone of common birth, except for those who have later proven themselves and been granted some title or knighthood for their efforts. The inclusion of dragonmarked scions is a way for those of less-gentile means to enter the club but since the guild demands a sponsor for membership the rougher scions or up-jumped knights often find that they meet the requirements but are still unable to gain membership.

The current leader of the Laurel Club is a noblewoman named Marisha ir'Lentha, a human aristocrat born and raised in Fairhaven. Because she followed her father's footsteps in becoming a knight during the latter years of the Last War she considers herself a bit of a renegade but the truth is that she is a very conservative thinker socially and politically. She and her inner circle are more likely to talk to those born commoners who have been elevated socially but if the newly-raised individuals still have the manners and speech of the street they will adopt a patronizing manner and try to end the conversation immediately. Lady Marisha narrowly won the nomination three years ago against Lord Kaevin ir'Ottalk and he is still sore about it. A much more traditional man, Lord Kaevin is thinking ahead to the next round of elections in a year's time when he hopes to wrest control of the Laurel Club from Lady ir'Lentha and set it "back on track." He already has a list of members lacking noble pedigrees whose memberships he intends to revoke when he's elected.

Red Rose Adventurer's Corps

This ex-military company based in the Clayton neighborhood of the Grangehall Ward is a small but highly effective adventurers guild. Membership is difficult but merit-based and those that prove themselves to be capable soldiers and good comrades will be accepted no matter their nationality or background. For most members there is no annual fee but this assumes that these members will stay in the corps's barracks and serve with them most days. For those members working as private adventurers while only taking the big jobs that the Red Rose Adventurer's Corps accepts must pay 12 gp a year to offset the cost of the full-time members. The head of the adventurers guild is Captain Loute "Thornblade" Carrime, a capable and quick-witted fighter and tracker. While he grew up in the countryside, Carrime is definitely a city-dweller now and his ranger abilities are suited to the urban forest of Fairhaven and to the complex streets of the Grangehall Ward in particular. He's a strong leader, the company's senior officer during the war and the only captain they've known since becoming an adventuring guild, and his advancing years have not slowed the enchanted, vine-covered blade he gets his nickname from. Carrime is also a discerning recruiter and if found of saying that "anyone can swing a blade and plenty can swing it well, but those that know how to fight alongside brothers and sisters are rare."

Arcane Orders

Magic in Fairhaven may be commonplace, but like everywhere it is jealously controlled. The arcanists of the city ally themselves into slowly shifting guilds and orders which control and trade arcane knowledge to keep it both cutting edge and safe. The strongest union in the city is the Arcane Congress which formerly had the backing of the Kingdom of Galifar. Since the collapse of that kingdom, though, it has allied itself with Audair for protection and opportunity. Today's Arcane Congress is firmly in control of the government in Fairhaven, particularly the queen's brother, First Warlord and Minister of Magic Adal ir'Wynarn. No one question's the power of the Mosaic Committee which steers the Congress's interests in Arcanix but few of its activities in Fairhaven are free of influence from the Minister of Magic. Officially the Arcane Congress influences activities in Fairhaven through subsidiaries such as Haldran and Sons and Dragonhawk Reagents.

With the massive influence of the Arcane Congress, which only grew during the Last War, smaller magic circles sought to protect themselves and their interests. From this need came the League of Independent Arcanists, a conglomeration of arcane businesses who hoped to make a living without being beholden to the Congress. Based in Kettleton, the League sees the Arcane Congress as an outdated and dangerously corrupt. Not all member businesses share this lofty goal, however, and some just see the League as the most fiscally reasonable option. Member businesses include Imperia Magewrights, Artificers of Aundair, Bayr's Supplies, and Magecraft Ltd.

The Circle of Song

The bardic brotherhood in Fairhaven are just as active as they are in other large cities like Sharn or Korth, but Aundairian bards in general tend to be more focused on the arcane side of their training than the minstrelry. Or, rather, it's probably fair to say that they don't pay as much attention to the side of their musical craft that doesn't involve magic. Even street shows in Fairhaven involve a bit of magic when there's a bard involved, in fact that's how you know it's a bard. The Circle of Song often encourages younger bards to make a trip to Fairhaven, or else they encourage Fairhaven bards to travel to other lands, as they are the acknowledge masters of musical-magical crafts in the Five Kingdoms. Some Fairhaven bards even go farther and consider themselves professors of sorts of bardic magic. It may be in the near future that the Circle of Song forms into a formal college to teach the path of the bard and if that happens it's almost certain that the campus will be near the City of Lights if not directly within its walls.

Cult of the Dragon Above

The Cult of the Dragon Above, or the Siberyne Cult as it is more popularly known, is a very young faith and very poorly understood outside of its followers. Founded forty years ago by a halfling cleric named Teah Dragontongue, the faith is built on the principle of healing and selfless aid. This message was very powerful during the horros of the Last War and it has only grown more important after the devastation inflicted on Cyre during the Day of Mourning. However, Teah Dragontongue did not live to see this event and the aftermath since she died nearly eighteen years ago, but her two disciples have led the faith forward, albeit in two different directions. Aron Silverwright, an avuncular dwarven priest with a quick smile and seemingly endless hospitality, leads Teah's original temple in the adventurer's quarter of Escape. To many he is the spiritual as well as official successor to Teah Dragontongue as he captures much of her giving personality, but he is decidedly simplistic in his outlook and very much uneducated. In fact he probably would have ended up on the streets of the city if it weren't for the generosity of Teah herself and sees no reason to avail himself of books or lectures. By contrast, Banne ir'Ostriel is a young self-made noble living in the Gamelonne district of the very wealthy Nealford ward. He is well-educated, quick, sharp, and ambitious with a very different interpretation of Teah's teachings. Rather than focus on "small" projects as Aron does, caring for beggars and taking in the lost travelers, ir'Ostriel hosts philosophical meetings at his home to discuss "real" change. He has diverted a considerable portion of his fortune to public works designed to cure poverty and save whole neighborhoods, though he is forced to admit that none has made a significant impact yet. It is a dangerous game playing in the aristocratic fields that caused the Last War in the first place, but Banne ir'Ostriel is adamant that this is the only way to achieve real change, no matter how many false starts they must put up with.

Kech Motrai

To most people in Fairhaven, the Kech Motrai is not a known group. If people have heard the name they probably consider it so goblinoid gang competing with Daask and other monster criminals for control of the Kaeltusk neighborhood in the south of the city where crime is high and the goblins erect strange totems and live their squalid lives. Others might know a little more and can tell you that the Kech Motrai are a secretive groups with ties to Darguun and the Lhesh Haruuc, possibly serving as spies for him in Aundair's capitol. Very few know the true nature of the Kech Motrai or the true danger it poses, which might be more than any other group in the city.

The roots of the Kech Motrai trace back to the last stages of the Dhakaani Empire, the period after the Daelkyr Wars called the Final Dynastic Period. The first dynasty to take control of the empire following the defeat of the daelkyr was the Daac'or Dynasty, which sought to reestablish the might of the goblinoid races through promoting deist religion over the other forms of worship practiced by the Dhakaani. When that dynasty fell after a mere ten years, the core supporters of the theocratic ruler fled west and established themselves in the lands that would become Aundair, calling themselves the Bearers of the Mantle or Kech Motrai.

This is all the subject of much academic research and writing but it has direct effects on the population of Fairhaven today. Centuries have passed since the defeat of the Daac'or Dynasty at the Battle of Tac'muul Pass but the Kech Motrai have held onto two beliefs very strongly. First of all, they have remained devoted worshipers of the Merlaac Taer and their beliefs have, if anything, only grown more zealous over time. They are a cult as well as a cultural movement and their influence can be seen in goblinoid communities throughout Fairhaven and greater Aundair where the goblin gods are worshipped. This means that they have a huge amount of influence over a large population that they can whip into a religious frenzy if they feel the need to gather an army. Even the Lhesh Haruuc can't manage that, let alone do it in the heart of the Five Nations.

Secondly, the Kech Motrai continue to feel that they personally had the stability of the Dhakaani Empire stolen from them and they want to see it return. Lhesh Haruuc might have been planning for years to resurrect the empire before he launched his rebellion against Cyre but the Kech Motrai have been planning its return for centuries. In all that time, of course, their vision of what the "true Dhakaani Empire" looked like has been warped and twisted by their extremist religious views which means that they want to see a goblinoid empire that is even more intolerant of outsiders than the society currently found in Darguun. They think non-goblins should be in chains and that any religion besides the Merlaac Taer are blasphemous and should be destroyed. When the Kech Motrai launch their campaign of resurrection it will mean the total enslavement and destruction of everything around them so that they can build their cherished theocracy from the ashes. While this plan has languished since the fall of Daac'or, the weakening of Aundair during the Last War has allowed the group to grow stronger and they may be terrifyingly close to the completion of their dreams.

Lhevk Reesh

The leader of the Kech Motrai bears the relatively humble title of warlord (lhevk) but he is effectively an emperor of his own shadowy kingdom. He is a strong leader and responsible for many of the gains that the Kech Motrai have achieved in the past fifteen years while his father, the Lhevk Gaaren, was responsible for the group's gains in the twenty years before that. He is a practically and politically savvy hobgoblin who sees the need to keep a low profile for the moment until the time to strike comes. He has encouraged reaching out to goblinoid communities throughout Aundair to take back influence of these groups from rivals like the Blackheart Cult and Elder Roteal at the Kuraal Rhun. It was also Lhevk Reesh who sent envoys to the Lhesh Haruuc's new kingdom in Darguun to forge an alliance. While he despises the ancestral worship in Darguun and the tolerance of non-goblins in the kingdom as much as any other member of the Kech Motrai, the Lhevk Reesh is willing to swallow his disgust for the moment and wait for the day he can slip a swordblade through Haruuc's heart.

Huulkhaar Tarthuulkhec

The quiet and sinister goblin woman known as the Huulkhaar Tarthuulkhec traces her family back to the Magaan goblins that claimed the patronage of Agaac, goblin god of magic and secrets. She is certainly an accomplished sorceress and has earned the title of huulkhaar (high mage) but the records she uses to support her pedigree are speculative at best. Still, Tarthuulkhec is likely one of the most powerful sorcerers in Fairhaven if not all of Khorvaire and has beaten senior mages from Arcanix and the Twelve when the groups have clashed over Dhakaani relics. Tarthuulkhec knows many secrets, both from the past and about the present, and she has served the Lhevk Reesh loyally for years despite her open personal ambition. A secret of her own that she keeps jealously is that she has been considering the power afforded to the Dhakaani Empire when it served the daelkyr lords and believes that the Merlaac Taer can be honored with the Kech Motrai as daelkyr vassals. If she finds a way to contact one of the Daelkyr Lords, she might just put her plans into action.

Lhurusk-Rhu Orlaaken

The Lhevk Reesh's right-hand subordinate is a tall and stone-faced bugbear called Orlaaken with the rank of "skilled war-leader" (lhurusk-rhu) among the Kech Motrai. Orlaaken believes in the Lhevk Reesh's leadership but he longs for the day when the promised purges come. He is a fervent follower of the bugbear god Druul'duur, Lord of Strength, and he follows that god's precept that the weak endanger all. He roots out dissention among the Kech Motrai and takes great pleasure in capturing, punishing, and torturing traitors and heretics among the Mantlebearers. On those occasions where the Kech Motrai has been able to secretly betray their "allies" from Darguun, the Lhurusk-Rhu Orlaaken kept the blasphemous ancestor worshipers alive for weeks despite their screaming as he slowly peels their skin from their flesh to make his impressive leather armor. He still brags about these accomplishments with an almost wistful smile.

Mercenary Services

There are more mercenary services in Fairhaven than it's worth counting, including the Manifest Legion in Silvertorch, the Knife's Edge Guide Serve and Pride Guardians in Almenn Town, and the wandering groups of thugs in Rordan's Gate and Eastway. Mercenaries come from across Aundair, the wilds of the Eldeen Reaches, southwest in Droaam (with or without the help of Daask), and even farther than that. Fairhaven is a cosmopolitan city and there is nothing more cosmopolitan than a sword for hire so there are no shortage in the City of Lights.

Organized Crime

Daask

The criminal gang called Daask has spread into the Five Nations as its homeland of Droaam has stabilized into a recognized nation. This might be because it faces harsh attacks in Droaam from the Daughters of Sora Kell and are seeking more accommodating cities or because it is secretly backed by the Daughters who are sending their agents abroad. Either way, the established gangs of Sharn and Fairhaven are losing ground to an influx of monstrous gang members.

The leader of Daask in Fairhaven is called Jelaan the Tall, a lanky hobgoblin who arrived in the City of Lights three years ago. His task was to set up a Daask cell and he brought a band of bugbear strongarms which call themselves Jelaan's Fist. The tactics that Jelaan had planned were simple: fear and intimidation. He setup a base of operations in Kaeltusk and began to lean on goblinoid businesses in the area for protection money. Jelaan was sure from his experience back in Droaam that he would easily take hold of the neighborhood and probably gain some goblinoid recruits in the process. While recruits did come to Daask, Jelaan was surprised when the residents of Kaeltusk began to push back. The goblinoids of Kaeltusk are organized and ready and they did not take kindly to being shoved around.

Jelaan pulled back his operations and began to focus outside of Kaeltusk. Using the general chaos of Kaeltusk to his advantage, Jelaan has organized protection rackets in the Grangehall Ward and Rordan's Gate. He has gained recruits from Kaeltusk as well as rebellious shifters and half-orcs in the Grangehall Ward. Jelaan's Fist remains the strongest weapon in the arsenal of the Fairhaven Daask cell and their numbers are still few, but Jelaan has agents throughout the southern wards and the western wards. It's a start but Jelaan is not one to wait patiently.

Notable NPCs

Before he came to Fairhaven, Jelaan the Tall was a dangerous cultist of the Dark Six who would never back down from a fight. Since arriving in the city, however, and seeing his plans hit one dead-end after another, Jelaan has become even more ruthless and determined. The lanky hobgoblin has a dim view of the resident goblinoids of Fairhaven and considers them too soft for their own good. He is not sure how he feels about the half-orcs and shifters and knows that many of them owe their loyalty to the Eldeen Reaches before Daask. However, the alternative is to either give up (which would kill his pride if it wasn't a guaranteed death sentence from superiors in Droaam anyways) or bring in stronger allies from the Droaam homelands and create more competition for his position.

Instead, Jelaan relies on his Fist enforcers to get the job done and is exploring other options. As a cultist of the Dark Six, Jelaan has also been establishing ties to worshipers in Rardan's Gate and Marble Halls for support. Inadvertently he has also begun working with agents of a rakshasa agent in Brickenhall who present themselves as followers of the Six. Jelaan is ambitious and capable but not the most subtle and the fiend could easily gain control of Daask operations playing the hobgoblin as a puppet.

Joining Daask

While it is struggling, the Daask cell in Fairhaven can still be an attractive option for someone wanting to enter the city's underworld. Jelaan is always looking for competent thugs and if anyone applies they can look forward to a meeting with the gang leader to see how capable they are. Changelings and halflings are rarely accepted (Jelaan suspects them of being spies for either the Dark Dagger Gang or the Saverne) but most other races can find a position readily as long as they know their place in the gang's hierarchy. The advantages of joining Daask are mostly in upward promotions since the cell is dominated by low-level enforcers and thugs. Anyone who shows a little initiative might come under the notice of Jelaan and be offered a promotion. Newcomers would do best to watch themselves, though: a little initiative lets Jelaan know that you can be counted on, but a lot might convince him you are after his job.

See Also: More information on the international Daask criminal organization can be found in Sharn: City of Towers pages 151-154 and in the Eye on Eberron article from Dungeon 194. More information on Jelaan the Tall and his base of operations can be found in Chapter Two: Life in Fairhaven.

Dark Dagger Gang

Morak's Crew

Saverne

Over 160 years ago, the Church of the Silver Flame launched an inquisition to destroy ravenous packs of lycanthropes plaguing western Khorvaire and Aundair in particular. Unlike modern lycanthropy, the condition at that time was spreading like an infection through wounds left by hungry werecreatures. Though the Lycanthropic Purge began as an honest effort to help the local people (who, many forget, originally begged the church for help) the zealous crusaders of the Silver Flame began to adopt harsher and harsher tactics. The distinction between dangerous bestial lycanthrope and honest pack member broke down and all lycanthropes were targeted. Many lycanthropes fled to the Eldeen Reaches and from there through manifest zones to Thelanis and the safety of that fey plane. Others, however, hid from the Purge by disguising their heritage.

The Saverne is a legacy of that time, a gang born from wererats who hid in the underground tunnels of Brickenhall to escape. Many people in the eastern wards of Fairhaven have heard of the Saverne, but few know about the gang's lycanthropic heritage and even fewer that ever Saverne member is a lycanthrope. The gang operates mostly in the Eastway Ward, particularly Northarrow, which has been a stronghold of the Saverne since the days of the Purge, and the industrial district of Ashcort, where it has stakes in many of the foundries. While they would like to control more of the streets in the city their tunnels in Brickenhall extend from the Eastway Ward under the Sovereign Ward, Marble Halls, and the Whiteroof Ward. This tangle of underground tunnels allows the Saverne to move secretly through the city and conduct deals or raids well within the territory of other gangs. Not even the elder leaders of the Saverne know the extent of the underground passages. Northarrow remains the above-ground headquarters of the Saverne, but the Dark Dagger Gang continues to encroach into the Eastway Ward from Marble Halls. Their extensive underground Warren, however, ensures that the Saverne will not easily be rooted out.

Notable NPCs

The head of the gang is the ancient female wererat known only as the Matriarch. No one is quite sure how old she is but some whisper that she has been alive since days of the Lycanthropic Purge. If the Matriarch's original race was long-lived, such as an eladrin, then she might very well be close to two hundred. The suspicion of fey blood is encouraged by her powers at divination, a talent which has preserved the Saverne through it's long history from extinction. Few ever see the Matriarch in person, but all members of the Saverne are loyal to her and respect her authority.

The will of the Matriarch is conveyed to the rest of the gang by a group of five elders and is in turn carried out by the many pack masters, leaders of individual Saverne packs. Many pack masters live in the tangled Warren in Brickenhall but others live above ground and lead double lives as merchants or craftsmen by day before venturing underground on Saverne business by night. One such pack leader is Ilous Nester who presents himself as the manager of the Gorsethorn Tavern which is owned by the Saverne. Regulars know that Nester is never really around but few realize it is because he organizes gang members for raids into Archway against businesses controlled by the Dark Dagger Gang.

Joining the Saverne

Becoming a member of the Saverne is not like joining other gangs. Prospective members of the gang are brought to a pack master to assess their commitment, then they are taken into the tangled tunnels of the Warren. After being presented and tested by other pack masters, the candidate is strapped down to a wooden bench and subjected to a magical ritual. Lycanthropy may no longer by infectious, as it was during the Lycanthropic Purge, but the Saverne knows a procedure to spread it to new recruits. After a period of chanting and anointing the candidate with special oils, they are fed a thick potion rumored to contain drops of blood from several wererats including the Matriarch herself. After this potion, the purpose of the straps is revealed as the candidate convulses with spasms of pain. Most candidates black out during this and some never awaken again but those that survive become wererats complete with an infectious bite spreading filth fever.

All members of the Saverne are lycanthropes, even those born as shifters, and at least nine-tenths of the gang are wererats. Those who are not wererats are natural lycanthropes from some other strain, usually recruits from the Eldeen Reaches. The Saverne has werewolf, werboar, werebear, and weretiger agents and at least one wereserpent responsible for a string of assassinations through the Chequers' Ward in the last year. Saverne member born as lycanthropes usually trust those turned by the gang's ritual, but many have their suspicions about the loyalty of such members. Not all of them suspect turned wererats of treachery either, some suppose that there may be an aspect of forced obedience in the ritual that the Saverne elders keep quiet.