Page 58 - Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

To the Golgari, the other guilds of Ravnica are shortsighted
and inevitably doomed to collapse.
E N EMIES AND A LLIES Azorius. "Such hubris! As if all their laws could shore up
The Golgari Swarm shares a general philosophical this crumbling society. Their regulations and institutions
approach with the other nature-oriented guilds-Simic, are just detritus in the making."
Gruul, and Selesnya- in its concern for the forces of life Boros. "The Boros speak a language we will never un-
and growth. Under the right circumstances, a member derstand. Their militant dedication to empty concepts
like 'justice' and 'righteousness' is both confusing and
of the Golgari can work well with agents of those organi-
disturbing."
zations. But the Golgari's emphasis on death as part of
Oimir. "They collect information like trinkets, so how can
the life cycle is foreign to those other guilds.
they ever grasp the deeper truths we possess? But their
The Golgari prefer to erode their enemies' strength
presence in the undercity is an all-too-real threat to our
through a process of attrition rather than by launching
dominion beneath the streets."
frontal attacks. 1 f you are called on to take direct action
Gruul. "The clans serve as effective instruments of the
against another guild, it is probably a matter of self-pres-
natural cycle, though in their anger, they are blind to the
ervation against a guild that is threatening the life and extent of the role they play."
livelihood of the Golgari. You might oppose the Azorius lzzet. "Perplexing. They are attracted to whatever flashes
as they attempt to extend their jurisdiction into the brightest and booms loudest. Their fascination with their
undercity or strike back at the Boros to dissuade them toys will only hasten their own end."
from launching more attacks into Golgari territory. Oc- Orzhov. "They flout the natural order and use their
casionally, you might be assigned to assault the enemies knowledge of death to resist its pull. While their bodies
of the Golgari more directly, especially if you are a mem- rot, their spirits persist, clinging to the fiction of mate-
ber of the Och ran. If the death of a particular person or rial wealth."
the theft of a key treasure will contribute to the decline R akdos. "They understand the inevitability of death but
and downfall of an enemy guild, even the typically pa- seek to hasten its arrival for their petty ends. What the
tient Golgari will try to seize that opportunity. demon destroys, we nurse back to life again."
You might ally with members of another guild if Selesnya. "Their reverence for nature is the mark ofim-
maturity and naivete. They fear death, so they can't
they are working- even unwittingly-toward goals you
understand life. They can be dangerous when they
share. The Gruul, for example, are adept at hastening
fervently cling to their narrow-minded and inadequate
the decay of both humanoid populations and physical
view of life."
structures, even if they remain unaware of their full role
Simic. "They seek patterns in the natural world, which is
in the natural cycle. If some event threatens to upset the
commendable enough, but they believe the search will
balance of nature, such as a necromantic blight that kills
lead them to find perfection through all of its flaws. They
all growth or a magical wildfire rampaging through the
strive to move forward but fail to see that the path they
city, you might join other nature-oriented guilds in an
tread is cyclical.''
attempt to curtail it and preserve the balance.
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