The Mercantile Guild

[Gato Blanco]

What we know
-Guild-Japanese, Russian, Romanian influences
-Always at war with the Arashi League
-Swan, gold and white

So we have an eclectic mix of cultures, Japanese with eastern European.  I would hazard a guess that they come from a larger entity, and their part is, as the name implies, for trading.  This is supported by the indication that there is a LOT of land to the south of the Guild, as well as account for the diversity of their cultural makeup.

This brings me to another tangential thought, where would each nation like to expand to?  Here are my guesses
Arashi-east and south
Yesha-West (journey to the west, lol)
Anglea- lol nope
Fjordlands- into the Burren
Chaladon-out to sea
Mercantile- the entity that it is a part of is going south, west and east, the guild is supposed to push north.

Why or how they started to war with the Arashi is anyone’s guess right now, but I’m of the belief that they are both expansionists.  The Arashi want more fertile ground, the Mercantiles want more ground, period. 

For their ships, I would probably guess it would tend towards the Japanese (Island nation, navy, etc...) , while their buildings would look more industrial revolution European (They look better, IMO.  Also, there’s the Asian influence in the Empire, don’t want to get the Japanese and the Chinese mixed up.) 

Exports....Wood and Spirits...anyone else want to hazard a guess?

Political structure-part of a larger entity, and expedition force, appropriate, assimilate or exterminate whoever they come across.
-Arashi- always at war with them, but they really like what they can produce, maybe tobacco?  Though Arashi goods are illegal, they fetch a very high price all over guild lands, and are the premiere black market currency.
-Yesha- Good relationship.  Assimilation goes both ways, and they don’t mind the business that they can produce
-Chaladon-Good trading partners, would love to get their hands on the technology, but also don’t quite know their agenda, makes them less likely to use force on them soon.  Also, Chaladon has the best sea navy, the guild doesn’t want to mess with that
-Anglea-Love to get their hands on their tech too, but their isolationist tendencies make communication difficult.  I would, however, believe that they have a good embassy in Kinforth.  Probably the only foreign embassy in Anglea.
-Fjordlands- I don’t really have a good idea about what the Baronies’ agenda is.  I’d say relationships are fair.

City names, used Google translate to see what I could come up with. 
Starrostrog- old rigorous
Cetatea Mica- small city
I can’t seem to get a fix on some of the other names.  Google translate is having a tough time, and the map I have has a resolution that’s too small to read the writing.

Lets hear what you have to say!

[Lord Dick Tim]

I've largely avoided speculating on the Guild because I keep thinking either Carthage or Ferengi.  Either idea totally pollutes my thinking approach towards the guild, so watch as I start to lean towards particular lines of thought.

Now, business, war is good for business, but peace is good for business as well (Rules 34 and 35).  So what makes the Arashi wasteland so damn profitable?
Tech?  Oil?  Natural Gas?

Also I imagine the Guilds real aim is to control nexus points, locations where several roads meet.  If they can funnel the majority of traffic into one area, all the better, especially if it has shorter point to point routes for expediting material from one side of the world to the other.

[Gato Blanco]

Oshit, maybe the larger entity wants ancient technology!  Icarus was built in Patrius, and the safest way to bring back tons of heavy cargo intact is by land.  Also, the logistics of trying to make landfall in Albys and Torydon might spread them too thin, having to beef up their sea navy, which could be taken as a sign of aggression by Chaladon, who would come in and curb stomp them by sea, Glasgow style.

At least if they push into the league, they have the (flimsy) argument that the League is encroaching on Guild territory.

[Lord Dick Tim]

So it might just come down to the guild desiring the coastline trade route the Arashi already have under control.

[Sgt. Spoon]

(Rules 34 and 35)

urm.. what kind of rules are we talking about here exactly O_o

On a serious note, when I think about the Guild I always think about the "Hansa" trading guild of the late mediveal northern Europe. I would suspect them being able to keep vast trading routes into most of the other nations lands.

[Lord Dick Tim]

Not Internet 34, Rule of acquisition perv :p

[Sgt. Spoon]

Not Internet 34, Rule of acquisition perv :p

Aww 

[Gato Blanco]

I was a little confused about it too....I was curious about what rule 34 on war and  peace would be like....

[Gabranth]

Im pretty sure I´ll join the Guild Mainly because the Design of the Ships (!) and the Clothes are . just . Awesome !   Most Badass ships from all the Factions

[Douzei]

Hah, I can say this surely will be my homeland. I'm a Romanian, and seeing the description of the Guild, looks like I'm home.
Also, names of some cities are:

Vama Rea: Bad Customs.
Baia Veche: Old Bath
Gura Lupului: Wolf's Mouth
Serpeni: Serpeni lol. This can't be translated. Should be written Șerpeni (Ș acts as a 'Sh'). Pronounced Cher-peny.

As for the rest, I'm not entirely sure which of those are Romanian names.
I also have a slight dislike for the Arashi League, must be in the blood.

Romani, hai in Mercantile!

[Mill Wilkinson]

I think Hanseatic League -type solution of tradesmen-led city-states forming a military alliance to back their financial interests would be interesting, especially if intertwined with a previous agenda of hiring mercenaries and not really knowing modern warfare. And, when someone has more might than the other, they tend to think it is a-okay to greedily paw at more.

[Puggerugger]

Judging by the name, is the guild made up entirely of mercenaries?

[Zabinzu]

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the term Mercantile is described as thus: Of or relating to merchants or trading.

Basically the Mercantile guild are a faction based around trading and economics.

[Puggerugger]

Ohhhh.


But when you think about it, it would make sense if you played as mercenaries escorting barges and smuggling goods through Arashi lands for trade companies.

[Lord Dick Tim]

The way the Merchantile guild has been being portrayed in the fan game "Diesel Punk Tale" is as the universal standard for many of the worlds inhabitants.
I've liked the idea of using the Merchants money as the standard currency, and thus their language also being the go to trade and diplomatic language.  I've been portraying them as not evil, nor naïve, but heavily invested in their legal blood lines, marriages, corporate alliances and interest in foreign trade along with the ownership of land and markets in cities that make trade or monopoly networks for products.

One of the story lines in the campaign that's been working out is a Bankers marriage to a Baroness of the Fjordlands to get at her lands in a choke hold port, giving him the only eastern access point into the Fjords from Chaladon, with her death and his re-marriage to another Merchant guild higheress he would have monetary control, and physical asset control of 4 major ports that would tie the Guild and Chaladon to Cathedral, making the Arashi land route the only other option for goods to travel, a long and distant journey.  Over night he could make himself the most powerful man in the world, till the test party put him in a toilet and blew his brains out with a shotgun (Way to go Papa).

That's how I envision some of the Merchant Guild politics going down anyways.