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By Eric Jensen, aka The Enthusiastic Student (based on an idea by wmsmitty) The Shabby Hat Guild
Sometimes referred to as the Guild of the Shabby Hat or just "The Guild", this small time mage guild was founded by members of Delver's Guild.
Calling it a guild might be a bit of an overstatement since it is more like a loose organization of arcane spell-casters who need somewhere to research spells and brew potions.
History
 The Guild Shingle
The inn catered specifically to arcane spell-casters in that there were strict rules of silence in one part of the inn, allowing wizards to rest, scribe spells, research or experiment in the rented rooms of this part of the inn.
The innkeeper himself was a wizard of some power and he started allowing some regular customers to scribe a few spells from his own spellbook.
All this was due to the workings of the Shabby Hat. The Hat, of course, was an intelligent item, but not a very bright one. It had been created a long time ago by an elf wizard who wished to further the cause of magic in those races which were not as gifted as his own (in his eyes). However, something went wrong and the Hat was not as powerful as he had wished. In disgust he sold the hat to a passing tribe of Aram.
Although not as powerful as the wizard had wished it was non-the-less an intelligent magic item and endured the many years, frequently changeing hands until one day it was found by a wizard from Ptolus (Mather) amongst a pile of rocks, discarded like an old hat.
Mather discovered that the hat was magical and, after talking to it, took a liking to it and agreed to help further its goals.
Although not as powerful as most intelligent items the hat succeeded in manipulating the former delver into forming the Shabby Hat Guild in the basement of the inn. Marther, however, soon saw that he had been manipulated, but instead of becoming angry and throwing them all out he decided to give the hat and leadership of the guild to a regular customer name Armus Todgate. Mather's last act as leader of the guild was to create a second position in the leadership which he gave to a total stranger named Fenris Gurd, who at the time was a first-time customer of The Shabby Hat. Mather explained that this would keep the guild fresh, but in reality he did it as a joke on the hat.
Today
Today the guild is run by Armus Todgate (human male wizard12) and Fenris Gurd (human male fighter6/wizard4). Armus is usually the one hanging around the guilds Headquarters in the basement of The Shabby Hat. He keeps records of all the spells in the guilds three spellbooks and of all the scrolls and magic items in the guilds possession (although there are very few of the latter).
The guilds headquarters are located, as mentioned, in the basement of the The Shabby Hat inn. There are two gathering rooms and 8 study rooms available for any member as long as nobody is using them. There is also one locked and warded room which houses the guilds possessions. The gathering rooms are there for wizards and sorcerers to meet and normally there are 3-6 people in these rooms of level 1 to 9.
Fenris is usually found near Delver's Square looking for some excitement. He doesn't care much about the guild as such, but has come to think of it as a necessary part of Ptolus. If it can further his goals he does not hesitate to invite people down to take a look at the guilds holdings and maybe even scribe a spell or two, to the endless irritation of Armus.
The reason the guild is still here is that it offers an alternative to the Inverted Pyramid, especially at low levels and because it does not do anything to cause ill will from the Inverted Pyramid.
Membership
Members pay a yearly due of 20 gp. This money mainly goes towards renting the basement from Mather.
The main strength of the guild is to facilitate contact and dialog between low-level arcane spell-casters in Ptolus. Both Armus and Fenris are very knowledgeable about how many arcane spellcasters there are in Ptolus. The Guild offers a forum for mages to meet, discuss and trade which is not the Inverted Pyramid and which doesn't have all kinds of nosy party members of other classes poking about.
For a price of 10% of the scroll value a member can scribe a spell from the guilds spellbooks (if the spell is there). The chance that the guild has the spell is:
0th: 70%
1st: 50%
2nd: 40%
3rd: 30%
4th: 20%
5th: 10%
6th, 7th: 5%
8th,9th: 1%
Members can purchase any scrolls or potions in the guilds stock for 10% off and can sell such items for their full market price as long as the guild can afford it (the guilds price limit is about 5000 gp).
In the rare instance that the guild acquires magic items these can be rented at the base price of 5% of the items market value (min 10 gp) per day.
The guild also has a modest library open to any member. Researching an arcane topic gains a +2 circumstance bonus when done in the library. Currently Armus is trying to work out a deal with the City Library, the Sage Guild and the Delver's Guild for access to their libraries at a reduced cost.
Fenris and Armus actually worked together to create a particularly powerful magical item for the guild: the Shabby Goggles of Scrying. The name is only in honour of the guild as there is nothing shabby about the gold goggles with emerald green silk bands and crystal lenses.
The Shabby Goggles of Scrying allow the user to see a specific creature as if using the spell Scrying or a place using Clairaudience/Clairvoyance. Seeing as it was created specifically for the guild only arcane spellcasters can use it.
Only members whom the Armus or Fenris trust can borrow the Goggles and even then it is at the steep price of 2000 gp per day. The Goggles may not be removed from the guild.
Recently the guild has acquired a Cursed Quill of Scribing. The curse however works to the benefit of the guild. Magic scribed with the quill is inert until the quill has another user.
The quill was donated as a gift to the guild as its curse prevents it from being useful to a single wizard.
Though a cursed item, the quill is still very popular among members. For a donation of 100 gp per hour of use the quill can be signed out and used by a member. One of the study rooms has been set aside for its usage. There is a signup sheet for use of the quill on the wall outside the room. The quill is generally booked a few days in advance.
Joining
To join the the guild one must simply pass two tests. The first is called the Test of the Soul. Simply put one tries on the Shabby Hat and if it turns red you fail. The second "test" is paying the joining fee of 50 gp.
In the Test of the Soul the Shabby Hat casts Detect Evil and Detect Thoughts on the applicant and also detects if the person can cast arcane spells. If the applicant has a non-evil alignment, has no ill-thoughts towards the guild or arcane magic in general, and can cast arcane spells (be this by spell or spell-like ability) the applicant passes the test. If not the hat casts Disguise Self making itself turn red.
 The Shabby Hat Guild Use in your game
As mentioned in the description the best use of this guild is as a means for the arcane spellcaster(s) in the group to have somewhere to go to learn new spells or research spells. Since other spellcasters not affiliated with the Inverted Pyramid congregate in this place it might also function as the source of adventures with a special arcane twist.
There are several variant to the guild as the motives of Armus and Fenris have not been made clear. If their motives are not benevolent this would change some aspects of the guild.
Additionally the dues could be changed (up or down) or additional levels of membership could be created. Each level would have different dues and privileges (perhaps only certain levels of membership can use the Quill or scribe X level spells).
You can, of course, change the hat.
The Shabby Hat
The shabby hat looks like a very worn pointy leather hat.
It is a very old intelligent item with the special purpose of furthering the cause of magic in the world. Since this is a very general cause, the hat has been very unlucky and because the hat isn't very bright it has been very difficult for it. The hat knows what it wants, but not how to get it therefore judging each case individually.
Intelligent magic item; int 10, wis 12, cha 12;AL CG; ego 12; telepathy, read magic; 2/day- Detect Evil, Detect Thoughts, Disguise Self; 30ft. vision and hearing; when following the items special purpose the wielder gains a +2 luck bonus on attacks, saves and checks
Cursed Quill of Rapid Scribing
(see DMG2 pg. 270)
This item copies a spell from scroll to spellbook in 10 minutes.
However, the creation of this particular quill met with misfortune and it ended up being cursed. Anything scribed by the quill has no magical properties until it is used by another arcane spellcaster. Anything scribed by the quill also loses all magical properties while the quill in your possession.
Shabby Goggles of Scrying
These goggles have a thick gold frame set with clear crystal lenses. The bands to tighten them around the head are made of emerald green silk. These powerful goggles allow any spellcaster to use Scrying or Clairaudience/Clairvoyance as if they were a 12th level caster.
Moderate divination; CL 12th; Craft Wondrous Item, Heighten Spell, Scrying, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance; Base Price 189000 gp; Cost to create 94500 gp + 7560 xp.
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