Guild of Watermen

The Guild of Watermen was a group of Waterdhavian dockmen and sailors that kept Deepwater Harbor clean and free from debris and ferried goods from ships moored to the dock. Due to the amount of ships coming in and out of Waterdeep's port, their duties had them working round-the-clock. Fortunately, the importance of their labors was well-known.

They were the masters of the city's Dock Ward and knew all the harbor's currents, its varying depths, and every drain pipe that emptied from the sewers.

Activities
Using a fleet of skiffs and small ferries, the Watermen removed any errant crates or other debris that could possibly clog the harbor, cleared away seaweed from ship hulls and disposed of bodies they came across. In addition, they loaded and unloaded nearly all of the ships that came into the city's docks.

They were allowed to keep any cargo they recovered, as long as it wasn't claimed by its previous owner within a period of seven months. If the owner identified lost goods, sufficient to the judgement of a local magister, but did not wish to immediately pick it up, the city stored the goods for some time and paid the Watermen a finder's fee of 1 gp.

Costs
The guild charged 1 sp per man-hour to load or unload cargo from ships. This fee was increased to 2 sp if they had to handle hazardous or potentially deadly goods such as caged beasts, incendiary items or oil, or creatures that carried disease of the body or mind.

Uniform
Guild livery consisted of blue raincoats and white, formless hats.

Notable Members

 * Zzundar Thul: "Master of the Harbor" during the late 14 century DR.
 * Jaster Thul: The guild's spokesman in the same period.