Marquis

Marquis (plural: marquises) is a title borne by an individual who individually leads one of the major cities of the Clovis Concord and runs the merchant guilds of each city. The marquis work together to maintain consistent rule of law between all the cities.

Description
Each of the eight independent city-states under the Clovis Concord is ruled by a marquis. Within each city, the marquis is responsible for overseeing shipping and trade, as well as the guilds that manage import and export, and managing the handful of guildmasters that comprise the backbone of local commerce. When a marquis dies or is impeached by other members of the Concord, the remaining members choose a successor.

Each marquis leads a guard force of Zhelezo that police their respective city.

Brokenbank is the only city under the banner of the Clovis Concord that is not led by a marquis; rather, it is de facto led by the Portcaller.

Behind the scenes
In the real world, "marquis" is French for "marquess". The real-world definition of a marquis is a nobleman of the rank above an earl or count, but below a duke. Matthew Mercer once listed the marquis rank as an example of pulling titles and terms from the real world to ground his Wildemount setting.

In the Heroic Chronicle of Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, one of the Prophecy Inspirations is "My actions will lead to the death of a marquis of the Clovis Concord. I will know exactly who killed them, but no one in power will believe me."

Appearances

 * Critical Role
 * Campaign 2: The Mighty Nein