Toreador Guilds

Classic WoD: | Vampire: The Masquerade | Clans (Masquerade) | Sects | Coteries

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Clan Toreador is made up of Artist and Posers of many different skills and predilections. To account for this they have developed a complex Guild system to foster the Arts within the Clan. These Guilds have existed for a long time and it is not known if they formed the basis for the mortal craft guilds or the other way round. Most suspect that it is a shared development, but some of the more proud Toreador will argue that the mortals simply followed their lead.

History of the Guilds

The actual date of formation of the Guilds cannot be established, but some significant dates are well known.

• 400 BC - At the urging of the Guild of Discordia (with assistance from the Guild of Pluto) the Guilds adopted Roman Gods/Goddesses as their names.
• 1860 AD - The Guild of Mars was formed from the Guild of Vulcan, with support from the Guilds of Pluto and Discordia.
• 1945 AD - The Guild of Venus accepted photographers into its membership.
• 1992 AD - The Guild of Venus rejected digital artists and new media.
• 1995 AD - The Guild of Saturn formed from those “artists” rejected from the Guild of Venus. The Guild was backed by the Guilds of Pluto, Discordia and Vulcan, much to the anger of the Guild of Venus.

In Modern Nights

Things are not “happy” between the Guilds. The Guilds of Apollo and Venus see the rise of the “New” Guilds as a direct threat to their power, but are not willing to challenge them due to the support of the Minor Guilds (Pluto and Discordia) and the Guild of Vulcan. The New Guilds, specifically the Guild of Saturn, are rising in power and prestige, and this is dragging the Minor Guilds into a more dominant position. It looks like conflict is brewing between the Guilds of Clan Toreador.

Guild Ranks and Positions

Within the Guilds there are a number of ranks that loosely identify how advanced one is within their chosen art form. The titles for these vary slightly from Guild to Guild.

Each Guild also has a number of positions of authority; these positions are separate from a person’s rank in the Guild, though to hold certain positions one must attain a certain rank.

Guild Ranks

Below are the ranks attainable in the Guilds and their names (the names in bold are the names in common use, the names in italics are used by the Guild of Pluto and the plain names used by the Guild of Mars and some parts of the Guild of Vulcan, depending on Art Form).

Guild Positions

Rank	Description
Apprentice Supporter Student	Learning your Art form. No ‘Skill Requirements’ but you must have a reason for being embraced. PLUTO – You have agreed to support an Artist of another Guild.
Toro Advocate Free Student	You have finished your apprenticeship and are working on your Journeyman Piece. To have this rank you MUST have at least 2 points in your Art form. If progress on your Journeyman Piece has not continued for a period of 12 months you will be demoted back to Apprentice. PLUTO – you must be supporting an artist that has completed their Journeyman’s work, you must have also supported them during the creation of their work.
Journeyman Sponsor Scholar	You are no longer under the control of a Master and are free to travel and study the different parts of your art under other Masters as you wish. To attain this rank you must have at least 3 points in your chosen Art Form. You must also Present your Journeyman Piece to a panel of Masters (one of which is from the Guild of Discordia) for appraisal. The piece must be graded as acceptable to proceed. PLUTO – You have supported 2 Artists through their Journeyman works and continue to support other Artists.
Artisan Benefactor Free Scholar	You have finished your Journeyman Travels and associated learning and are now in a settled period of development of your Art. To attain this Rank you need to have at least 3 points in your chosen Art form and 2 points in other related crafts or skills. (example: Performance: Harp 3, Craft: Composition 1, History: Music 1) You do not need to be settled in a particular area or with a particular group to be an Artisan. You are no longer answerable to a Master. PLUTO – You support at least 3 Artisans.
Master Patron Prevost	You have studied your Art in many forms and are now accepted as a Master of your Art form. To attain this rank you must have at least 4 in your chosen Art Form and 3 points in other related Crafts and/or Skills. (Performance: Harp 4, Craft: Composition 2 , History: Music 1) You must also prepare a Master Work that shows not only your mastery of your Art but the understanding of the skills required to support it. This work is judged by a panel of Masters and Grand Masters, one of which is to be a Master of the Guild of Discordia. PLUTO – You have supported 3 Artists through their successful Master Works. This rank is bestowed upon the promotion of your third beneficiary.
Grand Master Champion Maestro	You are an acknowledged Master of your Art, but you have also moved beyond the base form of your Art and have specialised into a style that is uniquely your own. To attain this rank you must have at least 5 points in your chosen Art form and 6 points in associated skills (Performance: Harp 5, Craft: Composition 3, History: Music 3) and have been proven to support others in your Art. Because of the exacting nature of the Toreador there are less than a handful of Grand Masters in each of the Major Guilds, even less in the Minor Guilds and the Guilds of Mars and Saturn are yet to acknowledge a Grand Master. PLUTO – You have supported 3 Artists to Grand Master, or you have continuously supported 2 Artists from Apprentice to Grand Master

Rank	Description
Master	Upon reaching the rank of Master you can become a Master to one (or more) Apprentices. You will also be asked to judge Journeyman works and may be asked to sit on a Masters Panel.
Leader	If there are enough members of a Guild in an area a Guild Leader is appointed. This can be anyone of Artisan Rank or above, though it is generally a Master (Rank). Some of the Smaller Guilds do not have City based leaders but instead control larger Geographical areas.
Guild Master	-