As the song from Cabaret goes, money makes the world go 'round. And in Ravnica, there is one guild that controls the flow of money. A strange mishmash of urban power structures, the Orzhov Syndicate is simultaneously a church, the mafia, and the tax collectors for the city. The Orzhov can always help you out, for a price.
As a powerful elite of the city, the Orzhov are excessive and extravagant, yet despite their eager willingness to exploit the rest of the city, they do take care of their own. Once you're in, you're in, and they'll take care of you, for better or worse.
And that care lasts long past your own death - Orzhov members get to live on as ghosts, while their bodies are repurposed as strange necromantic creatures known as Thrulls.
Alignment:
The Orzhov are an excellent fit for the Lawful Evil alignment - they like to keep things civil and keep the money flowing into their coffers, but any pretenses of piety and righteousness are a rather thin veneer to simply maintain their authority in the eyes of the public. That Lawful aspect to them is somewhat ironic, given that they are in part a crime syndicate, but much like the glorified versions of the Mafia we've seen in things like the Godfather, they're not about petty theft and murder, and prefer more systematic and ultimately safe enterprises.
Yet their commitment to the stability of the city can result in their members falling backward into heroism should some threat emerge that would endanger civilization. They are also less prone to backstabbing within the organization than you might expect - though this might shift as one gets closer to positions of leadership. Indeed, leadership of the guild is shared by a council of ghosts, rather than one individual.
In Magic, Orzhov is the Black and White guild. If you're more familiar with D&D, you might associate these colors with Evil and Good, respectively, though Magic's use of the colors allows for a bit more nuance (even if those moral alignments often wind up that way.) The guild is a good blend of the ironically complementary forces of altruism and selfishness - in some ways, Orzhov is a Black (selfish) guild that uses the trappings of authority and order (White) to legitimize itself, but it's also an organization that truly believes in its (White) purpose as an order-maintaining guild that seeks to serve its members while believing that anyone outside the Orzhov are fair game for manipulation and exploitation (a Black quality.) One could argue that it takes the self-centered and self-interested aspects of Black and applies it to a broad organization that is internally close-knit, reflecting its White nature.
The Classes:
Barbarian:
Path of the Zealot might work for the Orzhov, but generally I think Barbarians are going to be somewhat rare amongst them.
Bard:
College of Whispers is not a bad choice here, allowing them to maintain various criminal enterprises around Ravnica.
Cleric:
Death domain works pretty well for them, especially given their use of Necromancy. Light domain might also be a good choice if you're one of the members more concerned with maintaining a respectable air. Order can also work.
Druid:
Druids are unlikely to be involved with the Orzhov.
Fighter:
Given the need for muscle, Fighters of most types would fit decently into the Orzhov, including the Brute from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
Monk:
I think that several Monk ways could work here, from Long Death to Sun Soul, as long as you maintain the idea of them as committed to maintaining the Orzhov's position of privilege and power.
Paladin:
Given the cynicism of the Orzhov, I would say that you're probably going to only really work with the darker Paladin types, like Conquest or Oathbreaker. An Oathbreaker pretending to be Oath of Devotion would be a strong fit. Oath of the Crown is probably also a good fit, as a less morally-focused lawful option.
Ranger:
Not a very Ranger-friendly guild, I'd think.
Rogue:
The Orzhov presumably have lots of Rogues running around keeping tabs on things. Masterminds and Assassins are probably pretty common, and perhaps some Arcane Tricksters. In a way, I think Thieves are less likely as the Orzhov is generally going to acquire what they need through force and intimidation.
Sorcerer:
Divine Soul is a good option here, given the religious bent of the guild. Shadow Sorcery is also a good option.
Warlock:
Undying patrons (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide) are probably the best option here, given the guildmasters of the Orzhov, but I think Celestial could work as well. Indeed, the idea of making a transactional deal with a holy being is actually very on-brand for the Orzhov (to the extent that it may make better sense than having Clerics or Paladins attaining power through genuine faith.)
Wizard:
Necromancers are probably a big presence in the Orzhov syndicate, but Abjuration might also be a common practice, as well as anything that makes it easier to manipulate people, like Enchantment.
Putting the Sin in Syndicate:
Cynicism runs through the heart of the Orzhov, and as such, they likely don't consider their actions evil, but simply practical. There is a culture of contempt for non-Orzhov, but one that also trains them to put on a friendly smile in order to better extract wealth from the rubes.
That being said, members of the Orzhov are given a certain degree of security and protection that might be very appealing to those who join. Sure, the religious veneer is primarily just that, but if you ever wanted to truly experience a life of ease and luxury, getting into the Orzhov would have a great appeal. And hey, if the people feel better once you've provided them with the comforts of your religious narrative, isn't that a service in itself?
A corrupt Orzhov bishop makes for an excellent adversary for a party - they're powerful enough to be untouchable until the party gets strong. On the other hand, with their deep pockets, the Orzhov would likely be willing to hire adventuring parties in order to perform various functions - from shaking down those late with their tithe payments to perhaps taking down criminal gangs who are interfering with business.
Ten Guilds Down!
Well, that was a bit of whirlwind of posts about the various Ravnica guilds and ideas for characters in each of them. I don't have the book yet, and most of what I know of Ravnica is just from playing the game (primarily in the original block,) so there's a good chance I've gotten some of the lore wrong or left things out.
Ravnica revolves around its guilds, but one thing I really love about it is that, even for a Magic the Gathering setting, it's not always obvious who the bad guy will be. For Dungeon Masters, I highly recommend waiting until your "session zero" and finding out which guilds your players belong to before deciding on the master plot of your adventure or campaign. Playing Guild and Party loyalties off of each other might make for some really interesting drama.
I'll be really interested to watch how Ravnica develops as a setting for two games. Theoretically this means we could see entities like Demogorgon and Asmodeus interacting with stuff from Magic. I am a bit concerned about replacing Magic's color wheel with D&D's alignment system - White is not Good and Black is not Evil - but I think getting to explore Ravnica in greater detail as you can with an RPG should be a ton of fun.
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