Clans and Guilds | The Dragon Realms

Bloodlines & Inheritance: Clans are bound by ancestry, oath, or marriage. To be clanless is often seen as pitiable—or dangerous, if it means one is a rootless wanderer with no loyalties.
Status & Prestige: Clans embody who you are born as. A name carries weight like a title. Old clans, like Ferronimbus, carry centuries of history, their crest instantly commanding respect in Arcadian courts.
Territory & Legacy: Each clan claims lands, estates, or ancient halls. They guard heirlooms and relics, tying identity to place and tradition.
Exclusivity: With rare exceptions (adoption, arranged marriage, blood-pacts), one cannot simply join a clan. It is lineage first, always.
Politics: Rivalries, marriages, and alliances between clans shape high society. Petty feuds can ripple into generation-long conflicts and rivalries.

Merit & Purpose: Guilds are defined by what you do rather than who you are. One earns their place by skill, loyalty, or initiation trials.
Diversity: Guilds can be mono-species (a brotherhood of smiths consisting of Earth element dragons, for example) or multi-species, like the Tidekeepers, united by their shared mastery of the sea.
Mobility: Unlike clans, guild membership is fluid. Some leave or are expelled, others climb ranks, forging reputations by deed rather than heritage.
Notoriety & Wealth: While rarely rivalling the entrenched nobility of clans, guildmasters and high-ranking officers often live comfortably, sometimes ostentatiously. Guild emblems command respect in different spheres—markets, battlegrounds, and the open sea.
Public Role: Guilds are more visible in everyday life. Merchants, explorers, mercenaries, shipwrights—all belong to guilds that shape the lifeblood of society.

A noble of Ferronimbus is recognized for their lightning lineage long before they speak, while a Tidekeeper earns recognition when their deeds ripple across ports and coastal settlements.
Clans hold power in legacy. Guilds hold power in action.
A single character may straddle both worlds: a dragon of clan blood, yet sworn as a Tidekeeper patrolling dangerous zones—respected for ancestry and admired for deeds. A character is always of one clan but may work with multiple guilds. If you are of clan A and marry into clan B, you are now a member of clan B and not clan A.