Quote from: RPGPunditJust that.. in a fantasy standard D&D-type game setting; if there is such a thing as an "Adventurer's Guild", would it look like a stuffy victorian social club? A golf/country club? A Frat house? A paramilitary training base? A secret society? A bureaucratic office? The Hall of Justice? A hiring agency?
What should go in there?

RPGPundit

In my world, Elthos, there is an Adventurer Guild founded at the heart of the Empire when the world was young and no one knew what lay beyond the Far Ranges, or the River Kismet, or the Red Desert, or the Western Sea by the first Emperor.  The Adventurer's Guild was given a mandate by the Emperor to explore the Unknown Lands, and granted a rather impressive Charter, as well as a Grand Castle to conduct their business from.   There is a Council of 24 Guild Masters, and a Supreme Council composed of one of each of the four Major Houses, and one Guild Lord, who resides as President of the Guild, officiating Council Meetings.  

Fighters, Magic Users, Clerics and Thieves (of course) each have their own House (no this is not a replication of Harry Potter - I've had this structure since the days of old).  The purpose of the Guild from the members perspective is:

1. Gain invaluable Training
2. Team up with other Adventurer's
3. Take (or pass up) Missions
4. Socialize
5. Purchase, or Trade Items, Armor and Weapons
6. Do research of various kinds, gain information, and gossip.
7. Deliver information gleaned from the Adventures to the Guild Masters.

The importance of training is two fold:

1. To learn the skills required to be a member of a specific Guild (or combination of Guilds for those who are split class).

2. To learn how to conduct Combat as an Adventure Guild Group.  

The second one is important because without this training the Adventure Group would not necessarily learn the fine art of such combat, such as MU's fighting from the second rank, and Clerics remaining on the third, etc.  The Guild teaches such things as Group Formations, and Transformations.  For example, who goes to what positions when going from single file formation into a 2 row line, or a 3 row block.   The efficiency of this maneuver while engaged in combat can mean the difference between group cohesion or chaos and defeat.  The formations are standardized based on the group configurations.  For example a group of 12 (which is a large group for the Guild) would usually have 8 Fighters, 2 MUs, 1 Cleric and 1 Thief.  That is called the Standard 12 Man Block, and it can be configured in a number of ways depending on the circumstances.   In a 12 foot wide dungeon corridor they would take up The Brick.  In the Wilderness they might opt for The Crescent, or Star formations.   It depends.  That's the point of the training.  To help the group to understand their options, and allow them to maximize their potential via training.   The Guild also establishes rules for treasure splits, Party Constitutions, and so on.  

Not all PCs join the Guild.  For one thing it costs money to maintain membership.  Two, you have to tow the line, take missions, and obey the rules, which some don't like.  Other reasons for not joining might be personal, religious or political, despite the fact that officially the Imperial Mandate has it that the Guild is specifically Politically and Religiously Neutral.   This allows Adventurer's to group together who may cross Alignments.  The basic rule is that they work together, and leave religion and politics at the door.   However, in reality, politics and religion both have a way of creeping in, and so sometimes rifts occur and people either leave the Guild or don't join.   Characters who Adventure but outside of the Guild are called Freemen.   They can also get Training at the Guild, but they must pay double what the Guild Members must pay (on top of the fee, which is actually rather modest).  

There are Guild Halls scattered throughout the Civilized World at this point.  When the Adventurer's Guild learns of a newly discovered realm they will send a small Guild Party to assess it and report back.  If possible, and interesting enough a realm they will send an emissary mission to found a new Guild Hall there.   All Guild Halls report back to the Imperial Guild once a year with maps, studies, and information about the realm they are invested in.  


Often time provincial Guilds will become involved in their realms politics, as it can not be avoided.  They are instructed universally to avoid Imperial commitments (those that might imply some responsibility of the Emperor to be allied with whomever).  Sometimes when a provincial Guild Hall runs afoul of the local politics it may be decommissioned (or in some cases destroyed).

The Guild members get training, lodging, and the other benefits of Guild Membership, and access to the Guild Bar and Grill, which is usually quite good, and not expensive for Members.  Overall, Guild Members think its a pretty damn good deal.  It keeps them organized, trained, and gives them a central location to socialize, trade information, and so on.

The Guild Castle itself is sectioned into four parts, one for each class, and is designed for the purposes of that the class to which it is assigned.   Fighters have a large open air training ground.   MU's have underground and above ground areas for their training in spells.   Clerics have an area devoted to their temples and religious activities.   Thieves have their own area.   The Thieves guild is tricky because they are commissioned by the Emperor, and as such live in a kind of twilight between being lawful citizens and outlaws.  As long as they do not break the Imperial Law during the course of their Adventures they are safe from the Guard.  However, as one could imagine, the intrigues within the confines of the Thieves Guild are rife, and the Emperor is often left to question the wisdom of allowing the Thieves Guild a general immunity to prosecution (except in the case of Imperial Crimes and Misdemeanors).  So the Thieves Guild is tricky, to say the least.  The only reason it exists is because the Grand Masters of the Guild all agree that Thieving Skills are essential for the success of their activities - and the Empire benefits from them in aggregate.   The Guild has compiled a considerable Library and Archive, and have amassed an interesting collection of rare artifacts and items from around the World.  

It is to these final components that the Emperor avails himself with utmost satisfaction, naturally enough.   One thing he does not do is set Mission Agendas, or commandeer Adventure Groups for his own purposes.  He has his own Imperial Force which is a different institution entirely for that purpose.

- Mark

In my high fantasy games they are august and honourable organisations that resemble the White Council or the Order of the Phoenix, formed to fight against a specific peril or threat.

In grittier settings they resemble The Sopranos Bada Bing...