Free companies

Free companies are semi-autonomous of adventurers, typically numbering between five and five hundred members. They operate under the aegis of the Grand Companies. Within Eorzea d20, it generally makes sense for the player characters to be their own small free company- or an adventuring party within a larger one.

The style of governance, perks, and member responsibilities within a free company can vary dramatically. The best established free companies have paragons in leadership positions and do not charge new members a free to join. They might have selective recruitment criteria based on race, clan, gender, level of expertise in a specific class, personality, etc.,. Most free companies find benefit in swearing allegiance to the Grand Company located in the city-state they establish as the base of their operations. Free companies who operate outside the jurisdiction of a city-state are viewed at best as mercenaries and at worst brigands- in fact, much of the distrust that citizens of a city-state hold towards adventurers are based in their experiences with the unaligned.