history
Just like in real life, every fantasy world has a dark side - an underworld element of organized crime. Of course there are independent thieves who try to make it on their own but they will find life doubly difficult as both the authorities and the guilds will be trying to track them down. So it makes sense, that most thugs and beings of dubious nature, find themselves attracted to a guild.
Just like there are independent thieves, there are smaller and independent thieves guilds that range across Thran, but those smaller organizations face a similar problem: get too big, or expand a little too far, and you bump into one of the larger guilds, and conflict can ensue, or more likely absorption into the larger criminal family.
Just like there are independent thieves, there are smaller and independent thieves guilds that range across Thran, but those smaller organizations face a similar problem: get too big, or expand a little too far, and you bump into one of the larger guilds, and conflict can ensue, or more likely absorption into the larger criminal family.
Major guilds of thran
Penumbra Guild
This guild was founded and run by Drow. It has operations in every major city in Thran, though it's headquarters is in the city of Windred, the capitol of Thayol. As such, their power and influence spreads from that epicenter. Drow hold key positions but every race is accepted and utilized. This guild specializes in assassination and has a particular martial thuggery about it which lends itself to be notable loan sharks.
Neeble Guild
There is no specific family or race that leads this guild. The Master Thieves that make up the round table vote, sometimes with their voices, but often times with their daggers, on who the Grand Master will be. Whoever is the most feared, holds the coveted position, and of course as long as money and power are plentiful, the Grand Master can count on that to help keep the others in line. The Neeble members tend to be agile acrobats, that specialize in burglary.
Witchers
No specific race dominates this guild, but Witchers are ruled by thieves that specialize in magic as part of their repertoire. As part thief, and part mage, or illusionist, they tend to be non-fighters although they aren't shy about hiring thugs to do their dirty work. But don't let their lack of martial skills lull you into thinking they aren't able killers or thieves. Their spells can get them places other wouldn't dream of going and also deliver devastating magical attacks that can kill or incapacitate even the most veteran warriors.
This guild was founded and run by Drow. It has operations in every major city in Thran, though it's headquarters is in the city of Windred, the capitol of Thayol. As such, their power and influence spreads from that epicenter. Drow hold key positions but every race is accepted and utilized. This guild specializes in assassination and has a particular martial thuggery about it which lends itself to be notable loan sharks.
Neeble Guild
There is no specific family or race that leads this guild. The Master Thieves that make up the round table vote, sometimes with their voices, but often times with their daggers, on who the Grand Master will be. Whoever is the most feared, holds the coveted position, and of course as long as money and power are plentiful, the Grand Master can count on that to help keep the others in line. The Neeble members tend to be agile acrobats, that specialize in burglary.
Witchers
No specific race dominates this guild, but Witchers are ruled by thieves that specialize in magic as part of their repertoire. As part thief, and part mage, or illusionist, they tend to be non-fighters although they aren't shy about hiring thugs to do their dirty work. But don't let their lack of martial skills lull you into thinking they aren't able killers or thieves. Their spells can get them places other wouldn't dream of going and also deliver devastating magical attacks that can kill or incapacitate even the most veteran warriors.
points
Every guild runs on points. Every task, every job, is assigned points. The more risk and the more potential reward, the higher the points are for a given task. Complete the task/job without any issues, and you get the points. But screw it up, or create a mess for the guild to clean up, including getting you out of jail, or some other situation, and you can LOSE up to that many points as well. So, in order to succeed in the guild, you have to be successful. Failures will make it impossible to advance, so every job is critical and a good thief is careful and thoughtful about every aspect of a job.
Yes, it is possible to lose rank in the thieves guild and it happens all the time. Once a new level is achieved, the arrangements are made, and a grace period of 1 year is awarded. If after 1 year and points have been lost, the individual is demoted, or sometimes killed, depending on the circumstances. A thieves guild is a bleak place for those who fail.
Yes, it is possible to lose rank in the thieves guild and it happens all the time. Once a new level is achieved, the arrangements are made, and a grace period of 1 year is awarded. If after 1 year and points have been lost, the individual is demoted, or sometimes killed, depending on the circumstances. A thieves guild is a bleak place for those who fail.
guild hierarchy
Over the eons, the 3 major guilds have evolved and adopted a similar hierarchy. They found it beneficial when working with, or against, another guild to understand who they were dealing with and what level in the organization. It was never written down, never agreed to, but over time the following structure became ubiquitous amongst the three guilds:
- Shitbirds (0 to 99 points)
- This is where everyone starts. It's the grunts and the worker bees of the guild. Life expectancy isn't long, but if you're skilled and lucky, you will make it past this touch and go level.
- Capo (100 to 299 points)
- Capos are assigned 1 to 20 shitbirds. Even small towns and villages may have a capo, with a crew performing devious tasks. The capos are capable thieves and have proven they have what it takes to survive the dangerous tasks a thief goes through every day to make a living.
- Agent (300 to 499 points)
- Agents have 3 capos and 1 to 20 shitbirds assigned to them. in larger cities there can be many Agents, but in in smaller towns and villages, there may only be one, or none. It just depends if there are enough "opportunities" to support a larger organization. If the area is rural, an Agent may have capos in several different towns and villages.
- Thief (500 to 999 points)
- Thieves are true villains. They are excellent at what they do and very hard to catch as they have a wide array of protective layers between them and any of the actual dirty work being done in the field. A Thief will have 3 Agents assigned to them, and up to 30 shitbirds working directly for them, to handle mundane administrative tasks. It's never a great assignment for a shitbird because the Thief rarely wants to risk the direct contact with the deeds going on.
- Master Thief (1000+ points)
- Master Thieves are at the pinnacle of their game and are nearly untouchable. They oversee large regions, or in very large cities, specific districts and are assigned 3 Thieves and have a troupe of up to 50 shitbirds that attend to their daily and administrative needs. They have considerable clout both in the physical and political landscape in which they operate and you likely would never know they were a guild member. It could be a Reeve, a High Priest, a noble, or a wealthy business owner. It could be anyone.
- Grand Master
- The Master Thieves vote for the 5 Grand Masters of the Guild every 5 years. Of course, if a "vacancy" occurs mid-term, another vote is held to appoint a replacement for the remaining term. These Grand Masters dictate the direction and large scale initiatives of the guild.
- Overlord
- One of the 5 Grand Masters is know as the Overlord. This position is held by fear alone. If another Grand Master wants to be Overlord, they must kill, displace, or cause the downfall of the current Overlord. Of course, that is a dangerous game to play, but can and does happen. The name of the Overlord is highly guarded, and typically only the 4 other Grand Masters know which one of them is truly the Overlord.
Oath stones
It's difficult to trust anyone in the guild completely...it does tend to attract a nastier crowd of people. As such, all the guilds have accepted the concept of the Oath Stone. Once an individual makes it to the Capo rank, they are given one stone that has their initials and chosen symbol inscribed on it and it's magically connected to them. They guard this stone with their life because it's like a bearer bond - whoever has it, has the right to ask one favor that the stone's owner must accept. The only caveats are that the return favor/request cannot exceed double the value of the points involved in the trade and it cannot require the life of the stone's owner either by suicide or certain death in whatever is being asked.