Banding together as a means of financial survival, the Faceter’s Guild is a group of gem workers and crafters who specialize in psionic stones, such as power stones or cognizance crystals. As competition for market share grew, the different crafters of psionic crystals discovered that they were spending more money on gaining patrons than they were actually making from sales. They discovered that by joining together, they could still sell at reasonable rates, but would make a higher profit without having to compete with each other.
Base of Operations: Found primarily in the bustling city of Lyrista, the Faceter’s Guild has a guildhall in the trade district that serves as its base of operations for meetings between the council.
Alignment: LN
Size: Over a dozen shopkeepers with over a score of apprentices and several dedicated suppliers.
Members: Members of the Faceter’s Guild tend to be experts, although some are low-level shapers.
Symbol: Gemcutter’s chisel and hammer over a faceted gemstone
Motto: “Turning hard rocks into gems”
Description: Three decades ago, the gem cutters, jewelers, and crafters of empowered stones such as power stones and cognizance crystals were near bankruptcy due to an influx of new crafters. With a severe increase in the amount of finely crafted gems and crystals available, prices began plummeting and businesses started to crumble. To counteract this trend, Morrik Amberson called a meeting of the largest of his rivals to discuss their plight. While the individuals would normally not deal with each other for business reasons, it was readily apparent to all that if something didn’t change, they’d all be penniless in a matter of months. At the gathering of business owners, Morrik called for unity before they ruined each other and themselves in the process. Long into the night, the debate over the proposition continued until, finally, they came to an agreement. From that day forward, the gem cutters and craftsmen worked to stabilize their prices and ensure their businesses and ways of life would survive.
Worshippers of Phanos and his dominion over metacreativity, the Faceter’s Guild draws upon the teachings of Phanos to create some of their most prized pieces.
Joining: To become a member of the Faceter’s Guild requires one to be considered a master in the crafting of gem stones or psionic crystals. Mechanically, this is treated as having a minimum of 6 skill ranks in craft (gemcutting). Extra consideration is given to applications that excel in the crafting of gems, such as those who have taken Skill Focus (crafting [gemcutting]).
Duties: Being a member of the Faceter’s Guild means sharing the profit of business associated with any gems or crystals. This means that 20% of any profit is given as dues to the guild. Those who try to cheat the guild are quickly and harshly punished.
Benefits: The high cost of maintaining membership in the Faceter’s Guild grants the member certain sureties in business. First, any member of the Faceter’s Guild will not undercut another member unless the member with a lower price had that price first. Second, a member may take a loan of up to twice his previous year’s dues from the guild interest free once every five years. Failure to repay the loan within five years results in removal from the guild and repossession of merchandise amounting to the borrowed amount.