I know the personality and characteristics of every guild but the Orzhov. What are they? What do they do? What type of magic do they specialise in? And by lore, how powerful are they in Ravnica?
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Modern: U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
I basically think of them as the Church of Scientology with magic. They're a largely hollow religion/financial institution centred around money and the afterlife, with a strict caste system more or less delineated by your wealth. Oh yeah, and they're pretty good with necromancy.
Overall, they're pretty powerful, but a large part of that power comes from their involvement with business and economics (if you got rid of them, then Ravnica's infrastructure would take a huge hit).
I basically think of them as the Church of Scientology with magic. They're a largely hollow religion/financial institution centred around money and the afterlife, with a strict caste system more or less delineated by your wealth. Oh yeah, and they're pretty good with necromancy.
Overall, they're pretty powerful, but a large part of that power comes from their involvement with business and economics (if you got rid of them, then Ravnica's infrastructure would take a huge hit).
So thier motivation is ever-wanting more wealth and power?
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Modern: U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
I feel it's important to think about each guild's place in the Guildpact. The whole thing was drawn up so that every guild would provide something of value. The Azorius were set up to provide enough bureaucracy to keep things from changing too rapidly. The Izzet were tasked with building the city's infrastructure and pushing the limits of magic. The Simic were supposed to ensure the safety of the plane's fauna, the Gruul to protect natural places, and the Selesnya to ensure the continuing commune with nature. The Golgari were responsible for the cycles of death and fertilization, but more importantly the production of food. The Rakdos provide entertainment and thus keep their Paruun too busy to make his own fun. The Boros enforce order by putting down any civil unreast that might arise, and the Dimir were by design intended to strengthen all of the guilds through opposition to the Guildpact.
The Orzhov role in things was to mollify the masses by providing a means to control undeath. It is normal for ghosts to linger some hours after death on Ravnica, and the Golgari have their liches, but there is still the fear of losing one's self in undeath, that their spirit will be a hollow shell of what they were in life. The Orzhov provide a simple answer: if you attain enough wealth while in good standing with the guild, you can buy into an afterlife of luxury rooted to Ravnica while in full control of the faculties you had in life, for as long as you can keep paying your dues to stick around (this is why the Obzedat are so keen on always gaining more wealth - if a member's income can't keep up with their dues, their afterlife of luxury on Ravnica is cut off). And if you die while in debt to the guild, they take your soul and you will spend your afterlife working off your debt (with interest).
This position of being able to collect on debts no matter what coupled with the massive reservoirs of wealth stockpiled by fleecing people afraid of death leaves the Orzhov in a privileged position of being able to invest freely in damn near anything and make a guaranteed profit. So the Orzhov, in addition to keeping the masses from having crises of sudden realizations of mortality, also serve to lubricate the economy of Ravnica by making sure that the money flows freely (knowing that the wealth always circulates back to the Syndicate).
And because they have so many ties to so many investments and because their practices are more than a little shady, it is in their interests to have the best contract lawyers, defense attorneys, accountants, actuaries, economists, and so on on the plane to ensure that when an Orzhov of means makes a bargain they are always on the correct side of it. On the flip-side, they also have access to the best non-Dimir assassins, the best non-Gruul thugs, and the best non-Boros soldiers on the plane to ensure that they have the in-house means to collect on debts.
So there you have it. They're equal parts corrupt church, corrupt bank, corrupt insurance agency, and mafia. And yet, unlike the church their promise of afterlife is not a matter of faith (that is, it is something demonstrably true rather than something which may or may not be true) and unlike the real-world banks they do not deny loans because they know they will always make a profit. They're every bit as awful as real-world insurance companies and organized crime, though.
I hope that helps you understand 'em a bit better.
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U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
Overall, they're pretty powerful, but a large part of that power comes from their involvement with business and economics (if you got rid of them, then Ravnica's infrastructure would take a huge hit).
So thier motivation is ever-wanting more wealth and power?
Posted from MTGsalvation.com App for Android
U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
Yeah, pretty much. They're pretty much the Mafia, with a banking system and houses of worship as their "Legitimate Businesses" (i.e. their front).
Went to a new shop from a friend's recommendation, DQ'ed for willful violation of CR 100.6b.
Have played duals? I have PucaPoints for them!
(Credit to DarkNightCavalier)
$tandard: Too poor.
Modern:
- GW Birthing Pod(?)
Legacy:
- UWR Delver
The Orzhov role in things was to mollify the masses by providing a means to control undeath. It is normal for ghosts to linger some hours after death on Ravnica, and the Golgari have their liches, but there is still the fear of losing one's self in undeath, that their spirit will be a hollow shell of what they were in life. The Orzhov provide a simple answer: if you attain enough wealth while in good standing with the guild, you can buy into an afterlife of luxury rooted to Ravnica while in full control of the faculties you had in life, for as long as you can keep paying your dues to stick around (this is why the Obzedat are so keen on always gaining more wealth - if a member's income can't keep up with their dues, their afterlife of luxury on Ravnica is cut off). And if you die while in debt to the guild, they take your soul and you will spend your afterlife working off your debt (with interest).
This position of being able to collect on debts no matter what coupled with the massive reservoirs of wealth stockpiled by fleecing people afraid of death leaves the Orzhov in a privileged position of being able to invest freely in damn near anything and make a guaranteed profit. So the Orzhov, in addition to keeping the masses from having crises of sudden realizations of mortality, also serve to lubricate the economy of Ravnica by making sure that the money flows freely (knowing that the wealth always circulates back to the Syndicate).
And because they have so many ties to so many investments and because their practices are more than a little shady, it is in their interests to have the best contract lawyers, defense attorneys, accountants, actuaries, economists, and so on on the plane to ensure that when an Orzhov of means makes a bargain they are always on the correct side of it. On the flip-side, they also have access to the best non-Dimir assassins, the best non-Gruul thugs, and the best non-Boros soldiers on the plane to ensure that they have the in-house means to collect on debts.
So there you have it. They're equal parts corrupt church, corrupt bank, corrupt insurance agency, and mafia. And yet, unlike the church their promise of afterlife is not a matter of faith (that is, it is something demonstrably true rather than something which may or may not be true) and unlike the real-world banks they do not deny loans because they know they will always make a profit. They're every bit as awful as real-world insurance companies and organized crime, though.
I hope that helps you understand 'em a bit better.
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