Artisan's Guild

The Artisan's Guild of Minoc (also known as the Artist's Guild) is a collective of artists, musicians and tinkers operating in concert for the benefit of the group. First founded sometime before Ultima VI, the group persisted for nearly two centuries, disappearing some time after the events of Ultima VII.

Age of Enlightenment
Initially appearing to have a theme of musicality to its ranks, the Avatar first encountered the Artisan's Guild in Ultima VI, when it was headed by the lutenist Selganor. As the hero had need of joining its ranks that they might obtain the Rune of Sacrifice, the champion of virtue found it necessary to perform the rituals of its initiation, which consisted of playing the folk song "Stones" on a set of yew panpipes before receiving an accolade with the handle of the guildmaster's lute. As the Avatar's former companions, Julia and the goodwoman Gwenno, were already both members in good standing, the pair proved more than willing to assist the hero in this endeavor.

Age of Armageddon
Over the next two centuries, the guild slowly became more focused on craftsmanship rather than performance, with the group becoming more akin to modern artist collectives, sharing living and studio space in a large cross-shaped guild hall. By Ultima VII, the position of guildmaster had fallen to Gladstone, a stern glassblower and potter. Struggling under the burdens of uneven taxation by the Britannian Tax Council, the assembly of craftspersons had fears of bankruptcy at the time the Avatar again visited their city - their financial problems compounded by an ongoing feud with the local Fellowship branch over the construction of a commissioned monument for Owen, a local celebrity shipwright. Fearing that the shift in the economy brought on by the monument would create a dramatic rise in material prices, many worried that the guild would not long be able to sustain itself.

Should the Avatar investigate claims that Owen's craftsmanship was fundamentally faulty, the hero could uncover designs which proved that numerous ships made by the shipwright had been ill-proportioned and prone to capsizing - and that several of these had been involved in fatal wrecks. If the mayor of Minoc at the time, Burnside, was confronted with this reality, the official could be convinced to cancel the statue, after which the guild would be asked to create a piece of public art to fill its empty pedestal.

Regardless of this seeming windfall, the following years were not kind the Minoc or the Artisan's Guild. The shifts of the Imbalance and the Great Cataclysm destroyed the original City of Sacrifice, and the new settlement bearing its name on Dagger Isle had no similar groups within it, its populace decimated by riots and murderous rituals.

Ultima VI

 * Selganor: guildmaster and lutenist
 * Dale: glassblower
 * Gwenno: bard and bowyer, working on the transcription of traditional Britannian folk music
 * Julia: tinker and maker of various musical instruments
 * Michelle: basket weaver
 * Troy: clockmaker

Ultima VII

 * Gladstone: guildmaster, glassblower and sculptor
 * Seara: clock maker
 * Xanthia: candelabra maker

Trivia

 * In Ultima VI, Stivius makes mention of "guild language" when referring to the poetic speech of Horance, implying that the sorcerer may have one participated in the Guild.
 * In reality, crafting panpipes out of Yew wood would be very ill-advised, as all members of the taxus genus contain highly poisonous alkaloids which can sicken and even kill humans.