Yeah, that just doesn't gel with what I've been reading about them.  Getting a different vibe from a sourcebook vs the original material isn't a good sign at all.

Quote from: HappyDaze;1065541So, is there a comprehensive source (online is fine) that tells me about the greater cosmology that contains Ravnica? I know D&D online has some other Magic-inspired PDFs, but how do they fit together?

You could probably do worse than to start here.

Quote from: Manic Modron;1065542Yeah, that just doesn't gel with what I've been reading about them.  Getting a different vibe from a sourcebook vs the original material isn't a good sign at all.

I have a few quotes:
"The Lyev Column enforces the law as Ravnica's police force" (p. 32).
Under why you might want to play a member of the Azorius Senate: "You're drawn to the idea of a hard-bitten police officer trying to impose order on a chaotic world" (p. 33).
"Most Azorius adventurers belong to the guild's police force. They are soldiers or spellcasters who patrol the city in teams or singly, preventing crimes or stopping them in progress. If you want to pursue a career in law enforcement, choose the path of the lawmage, the precognitive mage, or the arrester" (p. 33).
"Map 4.1 depicts an arrester station, which serves as the law enforcement hub for a precinct or neighborhood" (p. 129).

OTOH, the Wojek are only mentioned briefly:
"This special order serves as a combination of military police and military intelligence, giving it a fair degree of independence within the guild" (p. 43).
"Secondarily, the Wojek League is responsible for policing the ranks of the Legion" (p. 43).

From that, the Wojek in GGR are not what the vast majority of Ravnica would consider the police.

Quote from: Manic Modron;1065543You could probably do worse than to start here.

That helps a little, but some of it doesn't make much sense to someone coming in without previous exposure. I did track down where it noted that Ravnica is/was isolated from the other planes, but I don't know if this is current or if it happened a long time ago.

Here's some more contradiction:
"Citizens of Ravnica aren't born into guilds" (p. 29).

After reading over the guilds, this is bullshit. The Orzhov Syndicate specifically spells out that certain privileges can only be held by those born into the guild. The Selesnya Conclave is a giant hippie commune that doesn't let its people (which probably includes thier progeny) leave easily. The Gruul Clans talk about "born and raised" members. The Boros Legion has its own family line of minotaurs. Many of the Contacts table entries make it sound as if most PCs' families are associated with the same guild and that members in other guilds are unusual exceptions.

In short, the idea that people are not born into the guilds is crap. If your parents were of Guild X, they probably raised you into Guild X, and that's really where the Backgrounds come from. Sure, you can abandon your upbringing, but that's hardly the norm.

Over half the citizens of Ravnica aren't in a Guild. You're not forced to join one either, despite parental upbringing.

The way I would look at it is sort of like those religions that require you to confirm later on in your early adulthood. Sure you're going to go to church with your parents but there's no guarantee you're going to stick with that later in life

This one's bumped for SHARK.

Quote from: HappyDaze;1118985This one's bumped for SHARK.

Greetings!

Excellent, HappyDaze! Yeah, reading over some of this...yeghh. Ravnica holds no interest for me, for certain. *Laughs* WOTC can keep their weird, hippy commune city!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK