Appendix A: The Deltapian Guilds

The Delta Phi Museum of Contemporary Archaeology
(DPMoCA or The Coffeehouse)

Who they are…
Arguably the most powerful museum guild in Delta Phi. These are the people that sentient beings all over the realm are thinking of when they speak of the avarice, cruelty, and wicked intensity of Delta Phi. DPMoCA’s influence can be felt far and wide and in many cases rivals the national authority of kingdoms and countries.

What they do…
In a word, everything. The museum and university complex in Grand Central Plaza at the heart of the city stands as a powerhouse of advanced training and scientific thought. The only research, exploration and training based organization that matches their size and area of influence is the Restorationists – an infuriating fact not lost on the power-obsessed presidents and Board of the guild.

Why they matter…
Not only does DPMoCA embody the image shared across the realm of the cunning, perfectionistic, and ruthless Deltaphian; they have been the ones most responsible for creating it in the first place. The citizen and civic castes in the city see the beings of the coffeehouse as the stars of the show. The group that dared to “modernize” the city and create their elegant, organized Eden.

Important People…



A Brief Historical Digression on the History of DPMoCA
And Its Impact on the History of Delta Phi…

The settlement on the lush river delta at the mouth of the Spiraled River started around the well-preserved remains of several ancient structures. In time, the largest two islands on the delta joined with a growing village on the riverbank to create a sizable town. The well-educated but weary people of the nescient Delta Phi would soon set up fortifications, turning the town’s center into an austere monastery. Soon the population overflowed inside and outside the walls and the town center was fully integrated into the rest of the city. It was at this time that the families living in and around the ancient buildings rose to prominence. They formed into clan-like organizations with status based on the size and complexity of their “collections.” These museum collections were organizations both parasitic and beneficial to Delta Phi. The slow pace of development continued for over a hundred years. . .

In 2633, Masala Rutger rose to become the Regent of DPMoCA. In Rutger was a vision of a new Delta Phi; not some monastic hideaway but a thriving, respected metropolis standing as the vanguard of culture and civilization. Rutger made plans. He set about radically restructuring the traditional aristocratic museum system to a more secular business model. While the rival clans openly criticized the changes, predicting it would all fail given a short time, many of the leaders and experienced associates were weary of the new ideas at work.

Unfortunately, Rutger’s ideas did not meet with much success at first. DPMoCA found the other collections quickly turning their collective backs on them. Isolated inside their own city, the Coffeehouse quickly began to wither to nothing. Rather than see the dissolution of his guild, Rutger made an unprecedented appeal to civic and low-string authorities. This move struck at the heart of early Deltaphian society by integrating the credibility of a noble museum collection with factions long considered beneath their attention. To this day DPMoCA still holds a controlling interest in the city’s administrative branches. Rutger’s gamble paid off, the guild’s survival was secured.

But survival was not enough.

The dream of a new Delta Phi was not born from equality or good will but from competitiveness and trademark Deltaphian elitism. It was not enough for Delta Phi to be the leader of the world; it also had to be the center of it. Masala Rutger spent the rest of his career consolidating his guild’s new assets; trading the knowledge and resources of his organization for continued favors with the until-then powerless city government. This first foray into infrastructure investment would prove to be a wise one. DPMoCA survived and even began to prosper, making the other museum families take anxious notice. What few suspected were the long, patient plans Rutger spent all those long years putting into motion. Each succeeding president followed Rutger’s immaculate timetable.

In 2675 museum president Orlen Wright took the now completely solidified and restructured guild and brought Rutger’s ambitions into stark clarity. If Rutger was the father of the museum guild, Wright was the father of its reputation. DPMoCA’s first order of business was to privatize all services typically provided by smaller guilds. In a few cases they simply bought out small guilds and their collections and integrated them into the Coffeehouse. This not only cut the lines of supply their rivals needed but made public knowledge the army they had been secretly amassing under the guise of “Field Work Functionaries.” Additionally, their major rivals scrambled to privatize their own security and field work corps in order to defend themselves. Up to that point security and field work was contracted to The Guild of Explorers or to the Delta Phi Archaeologist’s Society. This panic over private security gutted both organizations’ income and manpower. Thus, the only two groups that could have openly fought DPMoCA were almost completely destroyed without a single shot fired.

The years of Wright’s office shattered old Deltaphian politics, pushing all of the Coffeehouse’s detractors into open enmity. Wright himself eventually succumbed to sheer hubris and the dazzling newfound power of his station. He dismantled Masala Rutger’s timetable, declaring it completed and therefore unnecessary. He then turned his back on old favors and connections to the civic and citizen castes; filling the wallets of city counselors and flouting his position at every turn. Near the end of his term, Orlen Wright’s actions began the Delta Phi Guild War. For the only time in its history, groups of armed beings prowled the city and turned neighborhoods into war zones. The Coffeehouse had gone too far, and after losing a few major skirmishes Orlen Wright knew it.

In 2682 Orlen Wright fled from the city leaving his cousin and successor Oneida Bally with the consequences of his actions. Her first test as president was avoiding impeachment by the museum board of directors. With rapidly shrinking leeway, Bally knew she had only one chance to keep her post. The guild regrouped and prepared to bet the future on one dramatic, concerted strike on the headquarters and exploration corps of their most bitter rival, The Artifact House. Oneida Bally herself led the storming of TAH’s compound, coordinating it with a major clash between the two guilds’ operatives outside the city. By the time the smoke cleared, DPMoCA had won the Delta Phi Guild War and Oneida Bally was dead.

The Coffeehouse has since stood at center stage of Deltaphian affairs and nearly every remaining family and collection has shaped itself into the guild system first imagined by Masala Rutger. Through hard work, obsession, and a bout with the unguessable Rutger’s dream was accomplished.



The Artifact House
(TAH)

Who they are…
The number two guild in Delta Phi, snapping at DPMoCA's heels to become the top dog. The most city-minded of the major guilds with more direct influence over city affairs yet still lacking the ironclad hold over the city council enjoyed by the Coffeehouse.

What they do…
Just about everything. TAH has an extremely diverse staff, having adopted the Museum Guild model introduced by DPMoCA to a much fuller extent than any of the other rival guilds. In practice, TAH's strengths lie in city power brokering and intelligence while R&D tends to be lackluster.

Why they matter…
The Artifact House does more than any other guild to keep the city running. When the events of the Delta Phi Guild War severed many of DPMoCA's ties to city infrastructure, it was TAH that quickly picked up the scattered pieces. While the Coffeehouse's influence makes or breaks city counselors and passes the occasional ordinance, TAH's influence controls immigration status, city guard manpower, and all public works. Their position also makes them the guild most open to the rest of the city. The Artifact House will usually trade a period of service or a rather high processing fee for a recommendation that will get the applicant a job just about anywhere in the city guaranteed.

Important people…


Additional notes…
The leaders and longtime guilders of The Artifact House remember well their bitter defeat at the end of the Guild War. DPMoCA’s bloody and brutal ascent to the top is not lost on any member of the guild’s management and administration. Nearly everything The Artifact House does is part of their plan to avenge their guild’s past humiliation. With other guilds and city concerns, TAH deals openly and freely. They sell their information on guild activities to anyone willing to buy or trade. They contract expeditions with other guilds and allow small-time guilds to lease labs or buildings on their grounds. They are the easiest guild to become a member of. But in nearly any deal involving DPMoCA The Artifact House slams shut its doors.



The Marklin Collection
(Marklins)

Who they are...
The Marklins are the last of the city founders’ blood. Tracing their lineage back the long centuries to the frightened families crawling out of the blast shelters to an alien world, they still follow the same protocol and practices. The Marklins have staunchly refused to “Modernise.” Their guild is still a museum collection run and inhabited by a clan monarchy.

What they do…
What The Artifact House does for the civic caste, the Marklins do for the citizen caste. Marklin guidance and thinking keeps businesses running and trade markets afloat. They jealously guard advanced theories and practices in social and economic thought; parceling this “tech” to close business partners only. The Marklins keep exploration teams only as a matter of status. Technical R&D, broad recruiting and field operations are practically non-existent.

Why they matter…
The Marklins are living history. Their adherence to the old aristocratic structure – the museum collection – and apparent championing of the “common folk” has given them a sizeable cult of celebrity. The Marklins are the movie stars. They are the glamorous dilettantes and trend-setters that the average deltaphian citizen reads all about and strives to be. The Marklins have stayed solvent despite change, upheaval, and themselves. To this day they have never found a problem they couldn’t buy the solution to.

Important people…


Additional notes…
The Marklins currently have truce with The Artifact House so that the latter may consolidate its plans for vengeance against DPMoCA. While not directly funding the effort, many Marklins are quite indulgent with lend/lease rates and grants to TAH’s operations against the Coffeehouse. Over the years there have been multiple attempts by the other major guilds to revoke the Marklins’ status as an official Museum Guild. Most attempts cite the Marklin Collection’s lack of hard technical expertise and focus on soft sciences. None of these attempts has succeeded thus far.



The Delta Phi Explorer’s Guild and Archaeological Society
(EGAS)

Who they are…
The current guild called EGAS was once two organizations called The Guild of Explorers and the Delta Phi Archaeologist’s Society. These were the first casualties of Masala Rutger’s plans for a modern Delta Phi. Betrayed by virtually every other guild in the city, EGAS has little trust or love for its peers. This does not stop them from cheerfully taking their money in exchange for their heavily demanded services.

What they do…
EGAS functions as a third-party clearing house for any guilds or concerns in the city that need physical or skilled specialists. In addition to traditional mercenary roles, EGAS supplies guest researchers, contractors, artisans, engineers, lawyers, even servants and valets. While other guilds may bost better or more famous professionals in these fields, EGAS offers availability and versatility.


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