Most bounties are handled through an office at the edge of the Martial Ward. There are a few guilds but they are for established hunters. Bounty hunters handle things the guard doesn't have time for or are too dangerous for them but not important enought to bring in a Sherrif.
The office is in an old guard house. It is solid, simple stone building with a single heavy door of iron bound hardwood and two slit windows protected by iron bars. A sign with the emblem of a lock and key hangs outside.
The outer room has some benches and a counter where one of the "Handlers" has a list of current bounties and what they pay. They usually don't hand out bounties to more than one hunter at a time but since the bounties are actually paid by order of the magistrates office word sometimes gets out.
In the back is an office and two jail cells.
Targets are brought back to the office where the bounty hunter gets paid.
The staff then hands them over to the proper authorities.
The Shadow
A guild that consists of experienced bounty hunters who have established themselves by working with the guard on open contracts.
The Bounty Hunters of the Shadow live by a strict code.
- We track, capture and return. We do not kill. We are not assassins.
- We will not mistreat the quarry and will not use any violence save that required for capture. Once captured, any wounds sustained by the quarry will be tended.
- While in our care, the quarry will be well treated.
- We don’t ask questions about the quarry. Your reasons are your own. We don”t want to know what they are.
The Shadow does not accept open contracts. Any contract made with them must be with them alone and they only assign a contract to one hunter or group of hunters at a time.
The Shadow will accept any contract and because they refuse details that are irrelevant to the capture much of their work has very little to do with either the law or justice.
The Shadow takes care of their own. Hunting a Shadow Hunter is very dangerous because you run the risk of having them declare a “Red Hunt” on you. The Red Hunt is an internal contract open to all that ends in an execution and is the only exception to their first rule. For this reason some of those targeted who know what they are up against simply surrender.
The Shadow doesn’t have a guild hall. They can be reached by leaving a message on a sign board near the bazaar and will typically respond by sending someone to meet in a public place such as a tavern.
Leadership includes Daz Barrow - a notorious gnome who carries a musket, Aunt Lee - a halfling woman whose skill with a whip is legendary and Big Rugh - a diminutive half orc with an attitude.
Members on a hunt wear black and gray cloaks, carry whips and wear an emblem (usually a pin) that resembles a long shadow hands raised in surrender. The guild pays well but is selective about its membership.
This guild gets its name from the charms they use to track their targets. They only work for the Guard and only to secure criminals that they believe to have left the city. Members are recruited from those who have proven themselves by working open contracts.
The silver bolt charms resemble tiny crossbow bolts that can be held in the outstretched palm. When the name of the target is spoken the bolt is suffused with a silvery energy, levitates a few inches in the air above the users palm then rotates until it is pointing in their direction.
Silver bolts can be made by Seekers (spell casting Inspectors) familiar with the target. You don’t have to be attuned to use one, all you need is the targets name. The magic can be invoked once an hour and only lasts two turns.
The accuracy of tracking “by Bolt” varies depending on how far away the target is, where they are and what sort of terrain is in the way. The spell loses accuracy with every mile and has trouble with earth and stone. Usually hunters will use the bolt to get close then rely on more traditional skills to make the capture.
There is no guild hall but members report to a specific guard house in the martial ward when they are checking on a job or dropping off a capture. Runners take word to members when a contract is available.
There is no guild leadership as such. Members are contractors who work for the guard and will usually get their orders from a Sheriff.
Contracts are designated Green (target is not to be seriously harmed). Yellow (use whatever means you need to bring them in) or Red (rough them up). Regardless of designation all contracts only pay half of the target is killed in which case proof of death is required (the head is customary).
The Silver Bolt
This guild gets its name from the charms they use to track their targets. They only work for the Guard and only to secure criminals that they believe to have left the city. Members are recruited from those who have proven themselves by working open contracts.
The silver bolt charms resemble tiny crossbow bolts that can be held in the outstretched palm. When the name of the target is spoken the bolt is suffused with a silvery energy, levitates a few inches in the air above the users palm then rotates until it is pointing in their direction.
Silver bolts can be made by Seekers (spell casting Inspectors) familiar with the target. You don’t have to be attuned to use one, all you need is the targets name. The magic can be invoked once an hour and only lasts two turns.
The accuracy of tracking “by Bolt” varies depending on how far away the target is, where they are and what sort of terrain is in the way. The spell loses accuracy with every mile and has trouble with earth and stone. Usually hunters will use the bolt to get close then rely on more traditional skills to make the capture.
There is no guild hall but members report to a specific guard house in the martial ward when they are checking on a job or dropping off a capture. Runners take word to members when a contract is available.
There is no guild leadership as such. Members are contractors who work for the guard and will usually get their orders from a Sheriff.
Contracts are designated Green (target is not to be seriously harmed). Yellow (use whatever means you need to bring them in) or Red (rough them up). Regardless of designation all contracts only pay half of the target is killed in which case proof of death is required (the head is customary).
The Long Chain
A Bounty Hunter’s Guild that will track anyone anywhere for the right price. They are notoriously mercenary and seldom take contracts from law enforcement.
Their guild hall is a grim building with ornamental towers and battlements that give it the look of a small fortress. It is all for show however and has no real structural value. There are dozens of chains hanging from one of the other walls, each with a manacle on the end.
The Chain is run by a legendary hunter named Boris whose partner is a talking sword named Felix. Some say the sword isn’t actually magical and that years hunting have taken their toll on him, that he is talking to himself when he is talking to Felix. Others believe that Felix is a ghost that is haunting him. Crazy or not, Boris is the best of the best.
Getting membership in the guild requires a trial where an existing member hides and the applicant seeks. Few manage to pass this test.
Their guild hall is a grim building with ornamental towers and battlements that give it the look of a small fortress. It is all for show however and has no real structural value. There are dozens of chains hanging from one of the other walls, each with a manacle on the end.
The Chain is run by a legendary hunter named Boris whose partner is a talking sword named Felix. Some say the sword isn’t actually magical and that years hunting have taken their toll on him, that he is talking to himself when he is talking to Felix. Others believe that Felix is a ghost that is haunting him. Crazy or not, Boris is the best of the best.
Getting membership in the guild requires a trial where an existing member hides and the applicant seeks. Few manage to pass this test.
Members mark themselves with a tattoo of a chain around the left wrist. They are very well paid and very loyal to Boris, the Guild and each other.
