27/10/2025

The Wreckers Guild are the pirates of the Grey Sea. But they’re also so much more — and, strangely, sometimes less.

They’re not a fleet in their own right. The Guild isn’t about the ships at all. It’s about the captains. A loose but powerful brotherhood (with the occasional pilot or first mate), who may — or may not — choose to fly the Guild flag. If the flag is up, then everyone aboard — whether willing, unwilling, or blissfully unaware — is part of the Guild in that moment.

Most of the time, though? The flag stays hidden. Crews might never know they’ve been serving under a Guild captain until it’s far too late. And if you’ve ever crossed the Guild, that realisation is enough to send a cold shiver down your spine.

Guild flags only tend to appear when entering Daren Kair, or when captains are waging war under a letter of marque from the city. In Dundara, down in the Kamber Isles where the Guild rule outright, there’s no need for flags at all. Everyone’s welcome in port — unless, of course, you represent a foreign power. In which case, you probably won’t be leaving again.

Here’s the trick of it: everyday pirates rub shoulders with Guild representatives constantly, without even realising it. And that’s the difference. The Guild looks after its own. When the chips are down and the knives come out, everyone else is expendable. That’s the moment you drop to your knees and thank the gods if you discover your captain flies Guild colours.

Not that it helps in Trunia or the City States. There, being caught as a pirate automatically brands you as Guild. No trial. Just a rope and a short drop. So really, if you’re caught, you may as well side with the Guild.

Becoming a Guild captain isn’t something you apply for. You’re invited — discreetly, and only with the backing of at least two other members. And if a single captain says “nae,” the whole thing’s dead in the water. Once sworn in, you’re bound by the code. Speak against the Guild and your ending will not be a happy one.

Yes, they’re political. Yes, they serve their own ends. Even their allies tread carefully. But allies they do have. The Dakenthors rely on them to rally pirate fleets and break blockades of Daren Kair. The Pelsiatic League — little more than opportunistic pirates with merchant ships — occasionally joins forces for mutual profit. And smuggling? Let’s just say very few rings in the Grey Sea operate without paying heavy tithes to the Guild.

That means intelligence. Influence. Secrets. And all of it flows back to Dundara, to feed the Guild’s mysterious, opaque agenda. They rarely act directly — it’s always someone else pulling the trigger, often without even knowing who wound the gun.

And that, dear GM, is exactly why they exist. The Wreckers Guild aren’t just pirates. They’re a plot device. A shadowy hand. A catalyst to stir the pot. Maybe they’re the story. Maybe they’re just a chance encounter. Maybe they’re the unreliable ally your players never quite trust, or the faceless power manipulating things from behind the curtain.

The best part? Players rarely realise it in the moment. The Guild leave footprints only afterwards. Sometimes. And even then, you can’t be sure whether it was the Guild at all… or just paranoia.