Paymasters
"The sword earns glory. The coin earns control." — The Iron Oath, Chapter 2
Paymasters buy and deposit Royal Charters into the Syndicate Vault, gaining passive control over a share of the spoils extracted by active adventurers.
The Syndicate Vault

Charter Deposits
Paymasters can mint Charters (T1) and deposit them into the Syndicate Vault
Deposited Charters generate Syndicate Shares (1:1 ratio), which entitles holders to a share of both new Charter purchases, and cash-ins (Silver and Royal Favor) from adventurers to Ser Althus.
The order in which Charters are deposited into the vault does not matter for each 5-minute snapshot.
Deposit & Withdrawal
Charters cannot be withdrawn once deposited into the Syndicate Vault
Taxation

"Ser Althus keeps the Treasury’s books, Ser Grimwald his Majesty's Charters - but make no mistake, neither serves the Crown alone. Coin flows where whispers guide it, and in the halls of power, the Paymasters' gold speaks louder than any royal decree."
[1.0] New Charter Tax (0.002E per Charter / 20%)
Every new Charter purchase triggers a 20% tax on the base value of the Charter (0.01ETH) at Tier 1. Purchases of higher Tier charters will not grant extra tax, the tax is capped at 0.002E (20% of 0.01E).
This tax is distributed to all Syndicate Share holders every 5 minutes.
[2.0] Cash-in Tax (0-13% of Cash In)
When adventurers cash in Corrupted Loot (Artifacts, Curios, Gems) to the Royal Treasury, a 13% tax is applied to the Silver and Royal Favor reward. This tax is split every 5 minutes to Syndicate Vault depositors pro rata based on their deposited charters.
Exceptions:
Guild members (T1 charter) pay a reduced tax based on their Guild's standings in the current Rolling 24hr Guild Leaderboard. See Guild Leaderboard for the exact breakdown of fees paid.
Founder NFT holders pay reduced Paymaster taxes (5%), or less if eligible for the Top Guild tax
Strategy
Players can choose to be a Paymaster (pure passive investor), or using Charters to sponsor Guild adventurers who extract loot directly. You can also do both.
However, Charters cannot be simultaneously used for both — you must choose between Syndicate Shares or Guild Sponsorship when depositing Charters. You also can't withdraw Charters in the Syndicate Vault or Guild.
As more players become Paymasters, yield per share diminishes, creating early advantage and late-game dilution pressure from Guilds.
Economic Warfare
Paymasters benefit indirectly from creating chaos amongst Guilds:
Disrupting top guilds reduces their members' cash-ins, reducing their advantages from lower taxes
Reduced Guild silver earnings increases the value of silver taxed from non-Guild players
Last updated