THE THIEVES' GUILD:

The Thieves' Guild is just that...the organization of all petty and not-so-petty crime in Telgard, with the exception of assassination--the province of the Assassins' Guild. The Thieves and the Assassins have an agreement; neither invade each other's turf.

Like the Rangers, the Thieves are led regionally. They meet occasionally in highly-protected abandoned buildings, the meeting generally being known as the Thieves' Council and which settles disputes between regions, trades the occasional member, and brainstorms for new ways to make money.

No one knows the names of the regional leaders; they all go by aliases. Skaven, in Korresh, has the strongest hold over his people than any other regional leader. He is a force to be reckoned with. The Raven in Lirynn rules over a positively pitiful region; the communistic history of the elves has led to the near non-existance of thieves in Lirynn. Mirg has the highest population of thieves besides Korresh, and they are ruled by the Adder. Garr is ruled by a delfae known as the Bat; it is said the Bat knows more information than anyone else. Tahnn is ruled by the Scorpion, so called for her sting is death even if one does not feel it.

The Guild rules over theft, larceny, prostitution (where it is illegal), spying, forgery, trade in illicit goods, and fraud. Most of the other crimes, such as begging in some areas, are considered minor though the Guild will have ties to those crimes as well. Not all of these crimes are the responsibility of the Guild; crime is inherent in every race and as likely to happen without the Guild's help as with it. However, the Guild controls all those who make a career of crime; while they will ignore the one-timer, the person who steals on a regular basis will be noticed by the Guild and will be taken to task--harshly. He will then be forced to join, or to desist. Most see the profit in joining.

Tested Skills:

The Thieves test in sleight-of-hand, stealth, pick locks, disguise, performance, scholar, knives, darts, martial arts, brawling, tracking, and herbalism. They are not a magical guild and do not test in magic, but they, too, know the secret of focuses to protect from Surges.

Entrance into the Guild:

Entrance into the Guild requires being noticed by the Guild. Being noticed usually means being 'asked' to join. It's that simple.

Advancement within the Guild:

An apprentice is given jobs and told who to target; he has no discretion. Most apprentices resent this intrusion when they previously had the freedom to choose whoever they wanted, but the Guild makes it most clear that a lack of discretion endangers the Guild. They make it so clear that the apprentice usually agrees hurriedly to avoid an explanation of the consequences of endangering the Guild. The PC recieves a percentage of gold dependant on how much he makes for the Guild.

An apprentice who has proven his ability to follow the rules begins to be told information about possible heists or weaknesses that might avail the Guild. His Guild Trial consists of giving his opinion on the risks and values of each possible heist. He will get three chances; of the three, he must make an average profit. That is, if two of them bust and threaten to risk the Guild, the third heist must be enough of a success to balance the other two and still make profit on top of that. The Guild is aware that crime involves the potential for failure; what is important is that there is more profit than failure. A candidate who succeeds begins to be able to choose his own marks and targets and gains a leadership position above others. He may also be given 'special' tasks, requests that have been made of the Guild and which the Guild want handled specially by him.

A character who demonstrates incredible skill for crime and profit, the Guild will involve him in more worldly and widespread operations and again test him. This time, the test involves only one possibility; the widespread operations are too important to be risked so easily. The test functions just like the last one, and must involve an increase in profit to the Guild. Failure, and he returns to his previous role; success, and he gains access to the operation in question and begins to help lead it, possibly taking it over completely.