TSR 2111 PHBR2 The Complete Thief's Handbook

u Contraband: Illegal goods (stolen or Iby replacing valuable items (especially
prohibited by local law).
scene of each crime. He is very success jewelry) with worthless ones.
ful, and has overshadowedmany of the Fencing: Selling stolen goods. 'We Piece Man: Someone who trades
local guilds best thieves, on their own stole the duke's jewels and fenced them
territory. The player characters ( p r e later the same night: knowledge on where stolen property
sumably connected with the guild) are can be sold.
commanded by their guildmaster to The Fir: Ties with corrupt officials to
track down this unauthorized thief, ei- have criminal charges " f x d - t h a t is, Pix-eon:Victim of a con or swindle.
ther to coerce him to join the guild or to thrown out. This will usually require Pigeon Plucker: swindler, con artist.
leave the city, or if necessary, eliminate Racket: Any sort of larceny, from
him. bribes or favors.
General Subscription: Money col- pickpocketing and burglary through
The thief is, of course, "Bluehand embezzlement.
Ajathar. The characters may be very lected from the local underworldto free
surprised to find themselves up against a captured thief by bribing officials. Rootin': Committing crimes.
this strange, illusion-casting thief. Aja- Roper: Someonewho pulls in a mark
thar's description and level should be Hit Man: Assassin; an "executioner" for a con.
fleshed out suitably to challenge the for crime bosses, paid to kill their ene- Rounder: A good, professional bur-
character party. mies. glar.
Score: Loot from a theft. "We got a
Glossary of Thief Slang Lone Wolf: A solitary, independent good score from the duke."
thief. He is probably self-taught and Squeal: To identify one's partners to
Box-Man: Strictly speaking, a thief not d i e d with a guild. the local authorities, usually in return
specialized in cracking safes. for a lighter penalty for one's own
Made-Guy: A bwglar who is in good crimes.
Burn: To underreport the take in a standing with the local thieves' guild; a Tipster: Someone who has knowl-
job to one's partners. "Luigi burned us. guildsman. edge to share with burglars about good
He told us there were only three dia- targets
monds, and kept two for himself." Mark: The target of a confidence
game. "We have to bring the mark to
Cannon: Pickpocket, cutpurse. the Burnt Goose Tavern."

Mob: A group of thieves.
Pennyweighter: a thief who operates

50

CHAPTER 4: Thieves' Guilds

What is a Thieves' may be carried out or wholly avoided, dictory set of dice rolls, and shows how
Guild anyway? depending on the guild in question. to resolve them; the result is that the in-
triguesand tensionsin the resulting Guild
This is going to These various activitiesare laid out for structure can be a focus for adventures
be answered in heaps of useful detail in for any PCs. The Guild becomes far
this section. But it's useful to have a ba- the DM here to make guilddesigning more than just an anonymous body
sic working idea to start with. A easier Later on. Players may also get thiefPC pays dues to!
thieves' guild is a grouping of thieves ideas for sneaky and nefarious beha-
who agree to work together, in at least viours for their PCs here. Many "sec- A short section on unusual thieve
some ways. Often because of external ondary functions" will relate to the guilds (travellers on the road and otl
threat and danger, it makes better sense specialized thief kits presented earlier. ers such) is followed by a valuable DM
for them to cooperate a little. This This section does not make explicit use resource, a section on handling PC
group typically has a leader-a of these kits, since different DMs will Guildmasters.The straightforward sys-
guildmaster-or maybe a small r u l i i wish to handle these differently. How- tem laid out here handles guild income,
council. It has laws by which members ever, developing specialistNPCs to ful- hassles, arrests, trials and tribulations,
must abide; there can be many of these, fill these specializedactivitiesis greatly followersarriving and leaving, morale,
or few. A guild will usually only exist facilitated by using the kits. and the day-to-day business of running
in a reasonably-sized town or city, a thieves' guild. This should make life a
where there is enough work for thieves. Next, the relation of a thieves' guild lot easier for the DM!
'iIt will usually also have a central with other groups is considered. These
meeting-place, almost always secret; can vary from minimal to very highly A small number of selected "bluq
this is usually referred to as the guild organized indeed. The DM is briefed on print profiles" for major NPCs within a
house. Finally, it's also usually true that major associations (with merchants, guild follow; the DM can use these un-
the large majority of these thieves are the law, other guilds) and the general changed in game play or modify the1
not of good alignment-they tend to- social background to thief activities. as he wishes.
wards neutrality at least, if not towards
actual evil. Immediately before the section on Benefits of
designing guilds, there is the crucial is- Guild Membership
Developing the Thieves' Guild sue of the power at the top of the guild.
This is usually the Guildmaster-or "What do I get
This chapter sets maybe a small group of dominant out of it?" is a reasonable enough query
thieves, a ruling council. The personali- from aplayer with a PC thief when told
out to understand first what benefits a ties involved here will have a major ef- his character must join a guild, or if it is
PC thief will derive from membership in fecton the personality of the guild, and strongly suggested as a wise option b
a thieves' guild, and what responsibilities need careful design by the DM. the DM. By answering the questior
and dutieshe will have in return. Thisisa many of the functions of the thieve
good place to start, for two reasons. An extensive design section, com- guild which benefit its members bc
First, it briefs the DM on luring the PC plete with play-aid record sheets, is come clear. Below are detailed the mol
into guild membership so that instead of then provided to enable the DM to de- common benefits gained, althoug
being onerous, it becomesinterestingand velop a thieves' guild for the major ur- these will vary from guild to guild, wit
rewarding. Dragooning a PC thief into ban setting(s) in his campaign. This an example of one additional benef
guild membership isn't as good as the section usesa flexibleapproach to guild typical only of membership in a certai
lure of the carrot (with the threat of the design. That is, there are tables which kind of guild-a highly organized an
can be used for random determination resourceful one!
stick in the background . . .). Second, in of aspects of guilds, and dice-rolling
alone will generate workable guild It is not the case that every guild wi
lookmg at the "rights and responsibili- structures. However, the DM is encour- provide all the benefits listed belon
ties" guild members have, many of the aged to use a guidedsemirandom ap- but certainly almost all guilds will prc
functions of the thieves' guild-its mi- proach, tailoring or omitting certain vide training, access to necessar
sons detre-become clear in the process. dice rolls and choosing design options equipment, and the like.
This helps to showwhy such guildsexist. which produce the most suitable and
pleasing overall picture. This also cov- Training
This matter-what thieves' guilds ers the possibility that there is no for-
do-is developed further in the next mal thieves' guild, with design options The DUNGEON MASTER Guid
major section. The activities of the for very loose affiliations or even rela- (pg. 49) gives training (to gain exper
guild are divided into core functions- tive anarchy! ence levelsas an option for DMs. The1
what almost all guilds will do-and is much to recommend training as a nt
secondary ones. Secondary functions An example, the thieves' guild of Mal-
lain, showshow to use the designsystem.
Thisexampletakesan apparentlyconta-

cessity for level gains. Having a PC Equipment in key buildings, and the l i e .
train with a master, mentor, or tutor-
probably with others of his profession This is a major advantage for a Commercial: W h o is richer than he
around-allows many, many things to thieves' guild member. It goes without looks (and why and how), arrivals and
happen naturally without their obvi- saying that many items of use to a thief departures of valuable cargoes and
ously being spoonfed by the DM. Ru- are hardy available on the open mar-
mours and news can be caught up on. ket in almost any society! Armor and items, where certain valuables are
Hints and tips (e.g., concerning the use- weapons can be had, and likewise cached, hidden, disguised; and more in
fulness of some of the new equipment straightforward items such as ropes, this vein.
items reviewed elsewhere) can be ex- iron spikes, crowbars, and the like. But
changed. New friends and contacts can where does the thief get lockpicks, ti- Friends and Enemies: This will de-
be made. Intrigues and scams can be ger's claws, razor rings, silenced ar-
plotted, gossiped about, and initiated; mow, and suchlike? From the thieves' pend in a big way on the relationship of
employment can be offered; schisms guild, of course. the guild with other associations, dealt
and factions within the guild can be- with later. Sometimessuch information
come a focus for adventuring. All this In addition to being a s o m of equip- will be given to a novice thief for obvi-
is just for starters. Training is a natural ment for sale (and possibly even for ous reasons; "do not rob merchants X,
way for the DM to enrich the game in loan), he^ is an obviouschancefor role- Y, 2 or else. Understand?"(reasons-X
all sorts of ways. playing possibilities. The "blueprint pro- and Y pay protection money and Z is
He" for the ThievesQuartermaster(later actually Deputy Guildmaster; the novi-
Second, while certain skill gains can in thischapter)shows how a simple trip ce might be told some of this). But oth-
be seen as the result of practice, this er possibilities include which corrupt
does not apply to all the advances expe- to buy some new lockpicks at the guild officers of the law are in the pockets of
rience brings. New weapon and non- the guild (and therefore should not be
weapon proficiencies are the most can be turned into an encounter with a dealt with too harshly during a rob-
obvious example. How can a thief who very resourceful and entertaining NPC, bery), which servants of the rich are
has never used a short sword, for exam- one the player of the thief PC won't for- very happy to talk for what magnitude
ple (because he has not previously been of bribe, which barmen in the rough
proficient with it), suddenly develop a get! taverns in the docks will help thieves
proficiency in its use without training? In some powerful guilds, magical (e.g., by putting a little something in
This is obviously wholly unrealistic. someone's drink so they can be "helped
How can a thief learn an Etiquette pro- items may be available for exchange home" by the thief later), and so on.
ficiency, enabling him to pull scams on (for other magical items, obviously
the rich and haughty more easily, with- ones of superior value!) or even possi- GeneralInformation: This is a catch-
out a tutor to coach him in u p p e r a s t , bly for loan (with a fat deposit securing all category. To take but one possible il-
high society ways? He sure can't learn the item). Loaning allows thief PCs to lustrative example: a guild might keep
Etiquette from a dungeon crawl or wil- enjoy having a magical item without records of legal punishments for vari-
derness hike1 Likewise, if the player the DM letting them have it perma- ous thiefly crimes in neighboring (may-
chooses to pile most of the 30 "skill nently! It should go without saying that be even distant) locations ("Overthere?
points" gained for a level into one or absconding with the item will lead to Not if you value your hands, broth-
two skills only, the PC could well need relentless and murderouspursuits until
a specialist tutor to coach him in these the item is returned. er!"). These may not always be accu-
skills-a good way to bring in one or
two of the specialist thief kits as NPCs, Information rate and up-to-date, of course.
too.
The thieves' guild will make it its What the guild knows, who within the
So, training is an important element business to know about many t h i i guild knows it, and whether they will tell
of the game, and the thieves' guild is the which are of interest to its members, what they know obviously depends on
place where the PC thief will have the and that can mean just about anything, how "hot" the information is, the senior-
best chance of finding a tutor to train so a few examples are given here: ity of the person inquiring, and other fac-
him. He may have to wait a week or
two, or maybe a little longer if the DM Securify; The blueprints for sewer tors. These complicationsdon't need our
wishes this, but by and large the guild networks (allowing ingress and egress attention now; the important thing is the
will go to some lengths to make tutors through manhole covers), times of
available. changing guards at major guarded basic idea here, that the guild is a vital
buildings (the Treasury, t h e h h t , etc.), information source. And, to anticipate
times of watch patrols (in rich residen-
tial areas), the nature and positions of the responsibilities g d d members have
guards (warriors, dogs, etc.) and traps
to the guild, this is a two-way process.
The thief will be expected to report cer-
tain information to the guild seniors!
This is dealt with later.

~,:
Thieves' Guilds

often-overlooked aspect of msly, is that the thief gets "hot" p r o p helpful for the PC thief, possibly for his
guild. A PC thief may steal Frty off his hands quickly. It will friends as well, and can be very useful
things which he hasn't any xobably be out of town very fast, to be indeed if the thief PC wants to pull
so far as their price goes. He ;old in some distant location where its somejob away from the rest of his usual
the hidden safe in the mer- llicit nature will not be suspected. Ob- adventuring group, when he must have
e, so out he comes with a riously, fences never pay more than a some such extra help for success.
ng a jade statuette of a cat Taction of the market price for goods;
itation jade so it's mostly ?ut a fraction may still be a fair sum, Of course, a thief may simply need
a crystal vase (exceptional and the thief runs no risk of being a p
rk, worth a fair sum), a crude xehended. the assistance of others of his own kind
idol (an antique, and thus for some job he has planned. This may
r more than the thief thinks), Specialist Help be a simple decoy person to help with
pickpocketing in the streets, or an
more. . , . Indeed, in the absence Obviously, the fence is a form of spe- eagle-eyed lookout for a warehouse
iialist help, but the guild can also act to job. Either way, the guildhouse may be
any special nonweapon proficiencies put members in touch with specialists a better bet than hanging around dubi-
ch as Gem-cutting and the like) the to help them with certain ventures in ous taverns and hostelries. The flipside
ief may often have little idea how more direct ways. of this, of c o m e , is that an impover-
ished PC can hang around the
h nonmonetary treasures he has First, certain guild members will be guildhouse touting for offers of work
en are worth. Even with the Ap- specialists in themselves-expert lock- himself!
'sing proficiency, the thief's esti- pickers with exceptional Open Locks
ates may often be wrong, and a fair skill levels and others such. Multi-class Finally, a well-organized guild will
portion of items too unusual or sin- thieves are also important people for even be able to help its members if they
r for the thief to be sure anyway. many jobs-a mage-thief with such get into seriousdifficulties. A jailer may
s is one area where the fence can spells as invisibility, levitate, and be bribed, a magistrate bribed or black-
knock (to consider but second-level mailed, a man of law paid to plead the
A resourceful thieves' guild will have spells) is of obvious value. Having one thief's case in the courts (if the judge or
embers who can accurately value dif- accompany a thief on a robbery in- magistrate cannot be bribed). If the
rent sorts of items, and will also have creases the chances for success consid- captured thief is very senior in the
erably, but even if this isn't possible, a Guild, even a commando-style "libera-
tacts with certain specialists who simple invisibility spell precast on the tion" may be possible! Such actions will
actually thieves but who also hopeful robber gives an important edge leave the thief indebted to his guild for
terribly ethical either. They can for sneaking past guards and the like.
some time to come. . . .
e real rarities. The Fence thief kit Then again, other adventurers might
basic design option for fences, be called upon. Depending on the So, these are the main functions of
blueprint profile section (later guild's relations with other bodies, a the thieves' guild, as far as a PC thief
cleric (with find traps, among other entering the guild can see them. There
is chapter) also details a highly ex- spells) would be a most useful accom- are certainly other things the guild will
rienced and versatile fence who can plice for many tasks. If the DM's cam- do, and we'll look at them in due
used straight off the page (as it were) paign world has a deity which is an course. Before that, let's look at the
developed by the DM for use in his obviouspatron for thieves (suchas Oli- other side of the coin-the responsibili-
dammara of Oerth, or Mask of the ties the thief has to the guild. For all the
A special case is that of magical trea- Forgotten Realms), clerics of such a de- advantages, what does the guildmem-
e. A simple detect magic spell froma ity might well have very cordial rela- ber have to pay one way or another?
ge-thief specialist in the guild, work- tions with a thieves' guild. This is
with the fence, can tell a thief that considered in more detail below. Responsibilities of
nice gold signet ring he filched from
drunk fighter is a magic item, worth The guild can thus act as a clearing Guild Membership
far more than its value as gold. The house, with names and meeting places
e N I T can tell the thief (from an to assist a PC thief hoping to pull a job Guild Dues
ntify spell) that the ring is a ring of but needing help. Again, whether these
rotection +2, worth thousands. This contacts actually agree to help will de- The most obvious responsibility is
nly needs a 1st-level magic-user with pend on many things-notably the rep- that the guild member must pay dues to
e fence, but it's a priceless service for utation of the PC thief! However, the the guild. These will be variable. One
fact that they are there at all can be guild may include training costs in the
The other role for the fence, obvi- basic dues, which will then be fairly
high; another guild might not, charging
for t r a i n i i as and when the guild mem-

-

ber needs it, so their basic dues will be elude dungeon-bashing, wilderness developed into snitches to the guild.
that much lower. Of course, if the DM adventures, and the like! Rather, rob More likely, though, is that individual
doesn’t use training d e s in his game beries and break-ins which may net members can have their own snitches
then this element will be absent. When particularly good rewards or strike at who are regarded as sacrosanct by
the DM comes to design a thieves’ guild ”sensitive”targets (such as a temple, or other guild members. A guildsman does
using the system outlined later, this is a the warehouse of a notable merchant), not tamper with another thief‘s pet
important element to consider! particularly nefarious crimes such as snitch! This is obviously going to be
kidnapping, and major scams are ex- easiest if the identities of the snitches
In addition to a basic membership amples of crimes which a thief will al- are actually commonly known within
due, the guild may insist on taking a ways be expected to notify the guild the guild-how can you not poach a
certain percentage cut of the rewards seniors or guildmaster of. Many guilds snitch if you don’t know who is one, af-
the guild member gains from his thiev- will insist that such major crimes can ter all? But, because some thieves may
ing activities. Here, it islikely that there only be committed with the guildmac be very nervous about this, the identity
will be a “basicrate” for normal opera- ter‘s permission. This is especiallylikely of certain really important snitches
tions, with guild seniors considering to be true with a strong guild, and in a may be kept secret. The guild will pro-
special cases individually. For example, lawful or repressive society where such tect them by warning thieves away
if the guild provided the thief with cer- actions may stir up a hornet’s nest of from the key snitches indirectly (e.g.,
tain important information which trouble for the guild. with an edict that no one is to try to
made a big difference (and indeed with- ”make friends” with the staff of such-
out which a robbery would have been Feeding back general information to and-such an establishment). This does
unsuccessful), the guild may take a the guild will also keep a thief in good not make the identity of the snitch
larger slice of the goodies than normal. standing with his fellows. A thief casing known, but serves to warn other
What cut the guild takes will again be a joint for a later break-in might see an thieves away.
variable. Some guilds may discount the unusual number of guards around in
yearly dues (possibly in part) from later the courtyard of an adjacent building as Limited Territory
cuts from income. jome crates are being taken inside from
a wagon, and one crate splits slightly at The thief will almost certainly be told
Secrecy :he top revealing the glint of gold or that certain areas and activities are de-
finitely off-limits.This is likeliest to a p
This is just as important as paying ivory in the bright sun . . . The thief ply to major crimes and big heists when
dues. The guild member will be ex- junior thieves are the hopeful plotters
pected to keep the identity of the guild- knows that he cannot organize a rob- (the guild is unlikely to allow such inex-
master (if he knows it), the guildhouse, 3ery over there as well as in the place perienced people the chance to bring
and planned guild activities secret from le‘s casing already, so he reports the the wrath of the law down on every-
outsiders. He must never inform on a >leasant view to the guild. Doing so one’s head). But territorial restrictions
guild member. Nill certainly keep the thief in good fa- may be just as important.
tor. The thief will be expected to pro-
In a guild dominated by a lawfully- ride such information should he come The simplest form of this is that cer-
aligned guildmaster or group, secrecy moss it, but the guildmaster might tain thieves will have their “own
may be the most important of all com- Ne11 reward particularly helpful guild patch. Pickpockets are the most clear-
mitments the guildmember has to nembers, mark them for promotion, cut example. A notably busy thorough-
make. Some form of oath of loyalty is ~ v theem a sinecure role in some other fare, one where merchants and
very likely to be demanded of the nov- #Id job, pay a small percentage of the (especially) foreigners throng, is a
ice in almost any thieves’ guild. :uild take to the helpful informant, and patch which a skilled group of pick-
he like. pockets will fight determinedly to keep
Providing Information as their own, exclusive territory. Pro-
Snitches: These can be of special im- tection rackets are another obvious
There are two quite specific ways in ,ortance to a thieves’guild. Basically, a case of a demarcated territory where
which a thief will be expected to supply ,nitch is someone paid to provide “in- other guild members do not stick their
his seniors within the guild with infor- ,ideinformation.”A snitch can be a cor- nosesin. These will includewarehouses
mation. First, information concerning ‘upt officer of the law, a valet or and offices and homes which are off-
his own plans; second, general informa- .ervant of a rich man (or at a club of limits to burglars, because their owners
tion possibly of value to guild members. ,ome kmd), a nightwatchman, and so pay a sum to the guild to avoid being
robbed.
A thief will be expected to keep the m.
guild informed about important ven- A more complex example of this is
tures he has planned. This does not in- A few guilds might insist that only
he very senior guild members can have
heir own snitches: juniors must turn
)ver promising contacts who could be

Thieves’ Guilds

I havinghim see things, and meet people, often based on mutual interests and
that widen the scope of his future ad- spheres of activity, it makes sense to
where sub-guilds control definite sec- venturing. consider these interests and activities
tions of a city and expect that only their first, to make Sense of the associatio
own people are usually allowed any ac- The Recalcitrant PC Thief to be reviewed later!
tivity at all within that section. Excep
tions are allowed only after careful A player may decide that he doesn’t Importantly, the activities revi
consideration by the leader(s) of this want to have his thief PC join any here do not involve all the thieves o
group. This situation may happen if a guild; this may be especially likely with Guild. If PC Guildmembers find
guildmaster is weak and the second- Chaotic characters (and Chaotic play- activities run by a guild objecti
rankers start carving out territory for ers!). It‘s best not to pressure the player (e.g., because they are good-all
themselves, but it might arise for simple in this case, but as his thief PC gains ex- they shouldn‘t be forced to do so.
reasons of historical accident (in a perience he will inevitably tread on the idea here is simply to give an idea o
walled city with major internal divi- toes of the thieves’ guild (e.g., by rob- range of activities which guilds may
sions, gates between town quarters, bing someone they have an “under-
and so on-the City of Greyhawkis an standing” with). The guild will sooner involved with on more than an
example). At its most extreme, a city or later have to take action against the
might in effect (if not in name)have sev- PC thief. They will warn him first, and sional basis.
eral thieves’ guilds, each controlling stress the benefits of joining (as ex-
one section or quarter of the city, with plained above). Eventually he will have Core Activities
the boss of each splinterfaction meeting to join up, or ship out. Thereis also the
with the others at regular times to try to matter of training, of course; if he These are the bread-and-butter
co-ordinate efforts and defuse tensions. doesn’t get this from the guild, where ities of thieves. Virtually any guil
else can he come by it? have these as everyday activities.
Other Duties is, guild members will regularly indul
Some players may worry that their in them and they will provide much
Depending on the individual guild, thief PCs may have their freedom of the ”bread and butter” income for
the thief may have other responsibili- action massively curtailed, or their thieves (especiallylower-level thie
ties. These can vary considerably, but alignment may be compromised (espe-
some of the more common cases are de- cially if the PC is of Good alignment), Pickpocketing, burglary, robb
or their PC may simply be ripped off. street theft, street gambling, and mu
, tailed here. These are legitimate worries, and some ging are the most obvious core ac
Training: The thief may only be al- players may want to be reassured about ties. There’s little need to sa
1 lowed to train apprentices of his own them. The DM should be able to lure all more about them here. Almost
but the most uncooperative player into erswill have had their thieves
, with the knowledge and permission of guild membership without any strong- such behaviors, and will be fa
arm tactics, and then the full plethora with them. Standard AD&D@
the guild, and the guild will probably of the guilds nefarious activities can be rules, and many equipment items
want a cut of the training fee. Some unfolded.. . . Thief Kits presented in this
guilds will regulate the allocating of ap- give exhaustive detail about th
prentices to trainers. In busy times Activities of Thieves’
when the guild is expanding, middling- Guilds Other Activities
level thieves may have to give up a cer-
tain amount of time, demanded by the There are certain The DM can
guild, to train new apprentices. obviouscore activities of thieves which
will alwaysbe a staple of guild goings here as a menu fro
Legwork: Especiallywith apprentices on, but there are also more uncommon be made later on when design
and low-level thieves, the guild may re- activities which not all guilds will have thieves‘ guild. The list isn’t exhau
quire them to do some of the tedious d e a l i i with. Looking at the range of devious DMs can no doubt add to
day-to-day legwork, at least as backup possible guild activities is done here for unusual guilds in a campaign settin
reserves. This can involve collecting two reasons. First, it is a useful precur- The activities here are ones which
money from the victims of protection sor to guild design, to come later. Sec- involve the guild as a body, or man
rackets, collecting and carrying bags of ond, it is a natural lead-in to the issue of its members, on a systematic basis.
small change from illegal street gam- relations which exist between thieves’ turn, this will affect the nature of
bling, acting as a messenger boy, keep- guilds and other groups. Since these are guild significantly. Obviously, man
ing a part-watch on a warehouse, and the activities listed below may
so on. This shouldn’t be too oppressive, specialists, and the thieves’ k
but a sudden need for extra help on the lined earlier can be very useful i
part of the guild is a nice plot device for cases.
keeping a thief PC in town and maybe

Protection Rackets hibited item or items, and in troubled good meeting-place for underworld
lands the smuggling of weapons can be people, and the opportunity to rip off
Thieves and merchants may possibly particularly luaative.
come to some negotiated understand- large sums of money from patrons who
ing, in certain cities and towns. The Subtlevariants on this theme arepos-
thieves will agree not to burgle particu- sible. Consider a thieves' guild which am rich, drunk, stupid or usually all
lar establishments (warehousesand pri- has good connectionswith the rulers, in three. Organized crime will be strongly
vate homes)-that is, those which a weak country ruled by evil. The coun- involved in these operations.
belong to the merchants who pay a fee try might officially outlaw slavery (for
for this privilege. Merchantswho don't fear of offending neighbouring coun- Good Time Girls: Nothing much
pay will be fair game for future rob- tries which are not ruled by evil), while needs to be said about this, save that
bery, and may be specifically targeted. the thieves actually carry this on as a thieves often act as the "gentleman
subterfuge activity, smuggling slaves companions" of these girls. There is a
This kind of agreement will always into and perhaps through the country. much shorter word to describe this, of
be negotiated by the guild seniors, and This is done with the full knowledge course.
guild members will be told in no uncer- and connivance of the rulers, who take
tain terms that certain places are strictly a percentage of the profits. Selling the Bawds: A bawd is a character who
off-limits in the future. Such agree- slaves to another, more distant, evil knows the seamier side of lie, and
ments are most likely in places where land could raise plenty of funds for the makes an in-demand "tourist guide" for
the thieves' guild is strong, the rule of thieves and the rulers. In time, this evil the rich and bored (or the foreigner)
law is fairly weak (or corrupt), and land could flourish and become strong who seek to stimulate their jaded appe-
where the guildmaster is a lawful- on the profits of its wicked trade. tites in the seedy parts of town. Bawds
aligned individual. will often be freelancers, but they may
Forgery and Coin Clipping hand over a certain percentage of their
A notable consequence of such agree- clients to muggers and other thieves.
ments is that if a freelance thief burgles A strong thieves' guild may regulate This type of activity might well involve
a property which is owned by a mer- the activities of forgers and "clippers'', the thieves' guild, even though the
chant who pays the local thieves' guild, to keep the proportion of forgeriesand bawds themselves do their own work
that thief canexpect the thieves'guildof clippings within reasonable limits. If independently, and will frequently be
the town to make determined efforts to there are too many forgeries floating
find him and administer summary jus- around, the value of coin will sharply Chaotic Evil in a l i m e n t .
tice. This may be harsher than the pen- deteriorate, to no one's benefit (indud-
alties prescribed by the law! Also, the ing the thieves). Clipping is simply the LawW Operations
traditional meaning of the term "pro- art of shaving fine slivers from the
tection racket"-"pay up or we break edges of coins and using the salvaged A thieves' guild might actually turn
your legs"-is not exactly what is im- metal for subsequent coin-forging or to actions which do not conflict with
plied here, although thieves denied for other purposes. A shaved-off mar- therule of law for several reasons. First,
payment by a merchant might resort to gin of some5% from the original is usu- it might have many lawful members
the threat of violence to drive away the ally fairly undetectable, but coins may (this is implausible except in a very law-
merchant's customers, staff, and the be clipped several times during their ful society). Second, it might have
like. Only a guild dominated by evil lifetime! In advanced societies in the strong contacts with some outside
and top-heavy with thugs will be likely campaign world, the dies used to make group which makes some lawful opera-
to use actual violence, in most cases. tion a special case-having good rela-
coins may have milled or marked edges tions with merchants could lead to the
Smuggling protection scenario detailed below.
to prevent clipping. Third, it might just be good public rela-
This is most likely to be an organized tions. The guild does some "legal w o r k
activity in a port, or possibly in a major Entertainments to maintain a veneer of public respecta-
inland trade city built on a nexus of trade bility while blamingits really nefarious
roads. In the case of a port, there isa p a s This is a catchall term for a fairly activities (kidnapping, drug smuggling,
sibility that thieves might also be allied wide range of dubiousbehaviour. Some etc.) on rogue elements outside the
with pirates, both throughsmuggliiand examples of systematic operations guild. It might also be a temporary di-
through getting messages to the pirates which a thieves' guild might run are version to keep the heat off when the
regarding the sailing times, cargoes,and listed below. guild has over-reached itself or been
protections of sailing vessels leaving the blamed for some particularly spectacu-
port. The smuggling can be of any pro- Gambling: Thieves might well run lar heist or widced crime. Surprisingly,
casinos and similar establishments. there are lots of reasons why poachers
These provide a source of income, a may turn gamekeeper for a while. Two
examples a r e

Security testing: Thieves might be em- hamlet of 50 or so peasant fanners, wtive of thievery to the authorities.
ployed to test defenses of a secure m. most of whom are desperately poor, Tip for thieves: Find somewhere else.
who better, after all? Gemcuttemand jew- wouldn't support a single cutpurse, let
ders, pawnbroken, and rich merchants alone a thieves' guild. A busy working Neutral Good
who keep a lot of money around are obvi- town along a trade route, though,
ouspotential customers. Equally obviom might well attract several thieves, even Thievery will not be disapproved of
ly, they won't approach the thieves' guild if the actual population was fairly low. in the same way as in a lawful society,
unless they already have some under- If the village relied on monies passing but thieves are rarely good, and neutral
standing with them. They will also top up through the place (coaching inns, hos- good societies are unlikely to have
the defenses after the thieves have tested pitality, markets, etc.), it would be much regard for them. However, pun-
the first set, even if the thieves say the d e much richer in t e r n of money availa- ishment for thievery may not be so se-
fenses are very sound (ormaybe especial- ble for the thieves to filch than a place vere, and the rulers may feel there are
ly if they daim this!). with the same population but depen- better things to do, and more impor-
dent on the turnip harvest! In the de- tant social priorities, than persecuting
Of course, if freelance good-aligned sign process, some s@ic rules for thieves. Assassins, for example, will be
(or lawful-aligned) specialists in such d e t e r m i n i how many thieves various rated a much more important target for
work are available as independents, they communities can support are given. the authorities.

will be the most l i y to carry out this Social Alignment However, while the authorities (and
society generally) may tolerate a cer-
work. A thieves' guild is likely to go to The other factor tain level of thievery, there is likely to
great lengths to get these people to join which will always be of importance in be a "threshold level" above which
the guild, or else to eliminate them! determining the nature of a thieves' thieving will no longer be tolerated.
guild is the dominant social a l i e n t Over-powerful thieves may be deemed
Transportation: Sometimes, some- (see the DUNGEON MASTER Guide, a major social evil, and neutral good
one wishes to move something (a fabu- pgs. 25-26). Usually this will be reflect- societies may be less fussy about the
lously valuable gem, a religious icon, ed in the a l i m e n t of the rulers too, means (neutral) taken to achieve the
etc.) from one place to another by nor- but this may not alwaysbe so: the pos- ends (good). Do not forget that a viable
mal means (e.g., not teleporting)and is sibilityof a "dividedalignment" society interpretation of the neutral good phi-
fearful that it may be stolen en route. is discussed after the social a l i i e n t s losophy is "war on evil without remit-
Thieves are employed to create decoys have been considered. Also,the follow- tance or mercy," such that only direly
and diversions and to smuggle the ob- ing descriptions are tendencies, not ab- evil ends will be eschewed in the prose-
ject in secrecy. Since thieves are masters solutes. The final paragraphs on cution of good! Certainly, plants, spies,
of concealment, and also know a thing Special Social Factors shows how, for moles within guilds-all may be used
or two about stealing things in transit, example, two Lawful Good societies by the authorities against over-
their skills will be put to good use here. dominated by different religions could powerful thieves. Tip for thieves: Keep
In the case of a really important item have a very different view on thieves! a low profile and you can get away
being transported, a thief might be with it, but otherwise-watch out!
asked to submit to a spell such as Lawful Good
quest/geas to ensure his cooperation. Chaotic Good
Thievery will be strongly disap-
Thieves' Guilds in the proved of-thieving is by definition Such societies do not often have ef-
Campaign World unlawful, and few thieves are good. fective, strong law enforcement, be-
The penalties for thievery will be cause the people prize personal
A thieves' guild harsh, but will usually involve banish- freedom as a primary virtue. For this
doesn't exist in a vacuum. It will be ment, confiscation of goods, and long reason, thieves' guilds can grow strong
strongly iduenced by the sodety which sentencesof socially usefullabor rather in a Chaotic Good society. Even if the
it is part of. Consideringthis is an impor- than death, mutilation (e.g., amputa- will is there to do something about the
tant backdrop to the more specificmatter tion of a hand) or such other cruel thieves, the means may not be ade-
of how a thieves' guild gets on with other treatment. Lawful good rulers may go quate to the task.
associations and groups. to some lengths to extirpate thieves'
guilds, and lawful good people will cer- The attitudes of ordinary people will
Size and Wealth of tainly inform on thieves. There will be be complex here. Some may regard
Communities a strong sense of civic duty among such thieves in a heroic light, as individual-
people to report any observations sug- ists and nonconformists, and be posi-
A first simple tively disposed to them. Others will
point is that a thieves'guild has to have
enough work to support it! A small

57

regard thieves as taking the fruits of the that they aren't clearly of any other that thief has the muscle to back any
alignment: They're just pragmatic, do- threats he makes. Thieves' guilds in
, labors of others away, and that this cur- ing what they need to get by day to clay. suchlands may be very strong, but they
Most medieval societies were hardly must have an emphasis on the brutal
tails personal freedoms-the unde- rich; even the ''middle class" (until the and thuggish to survive. Assassins will
15th century in Europe)had a standard be stronger than thieves here, and the
~ of living which could barely be termed two may work closely together. Tip for
comfortable. Survival is the name of thieves: Walk loudly and carry a big
1 servedly poor have not the freedom the game, and clearly demarcated prin- stick.
'1 they should have. Reactions will tend ciples often go to the wall under such
to be individualistic(aswith most Cha- circumstances. The resulting blurred Neutral Evil
alignment can often be summarized as
otic societies)and somewhat unpredict- Neutral. Neutrals will tend to regard Neutral Evil is uncaring and uncon-
thievery as somethii they can't do a cerned. Such people-rulers or ordi-
able. Tip for thieves: Stick around! great deal about: thieves are mysteri- nary folk-are out for what they can
ous, dangerouspeople with secretorga- get. How one gets what one has in life
Lawful Neutral nizations. Neutrals look the other way; doesn't matter at all. Neutral Evil folk
they don't want to get involved. Cor- are often cleverer than Lawful Evil
This may be the most intolerant of all ruption can operate on a wide scale-it ones, being more flexible and less re-
societies. Thievery is the very antithesis can evenbecome a stapleof commercial specting of a dumb "superior" just be-
of law, and punishments for transgres- exchange. Tip for thieves: Good pick- cause he is in a position to push people
sion are likely to be harsher and more ings! around. They are also better organized
cruel and unforgiving (e.g., amputation by far than Chaotic Evil people. Neu-
of a hand, a long sentence of forced la- Chaotic Neutral tral Evil is a flexible, smart, highly dan-
bor) than in a Lawful Good society. gerous alignment.
Lawful Neutral rulers are likely to be Almost no societies, save for disor-
rather stern, and worst of all, law en- ganized anarchies and some frontier Thieves have excellent chances here,
forcers are likely to be as numerous and lands, are dominatedby this alignment. but they will have to watch their own
unbribeable here as anywhere. The A Chaotic Neutral ruler is unlikely to backs more than in any other society.
only bonus for the thief is that Lawful survive for any time at all-ruled by Rival thieves' guilds may be particu-
Neutral societies are appallingly bu- whim and caprice, his subjects will larly likely here. Since there is no stric-
reaucratic and its civil servants lacking likely rise up to put an end to such arbi- ture other than "don't get caught",
in imagination and initiative. tary rule. competing guilds and gang wars are
highly likely. Tip for thieves: Good
Lawful Neutral citizenswill snitch on Such societies, or ones comprised of prospects for the pragmatic amoralist.
a thief at the drop of a hat and, more- Chaotic Neutral people, will likely not
over, will do so out of a sense of real care a fig about thievery. Gambling, Chaotic Evil
civic duty. Tip for the thief: Very dan- corruption, bawdery, muggings, and
gerous, but definitely outsmartable. lowlife are likely to flourish in such so- Such societies are likely always to be
Faked papers and the like go a long cieties, and thieves may grow very in ferment, since the arbitary cruelty of
way, and fast talking helps a great deal. strong organizing such activities. Tip the rulers will drive even a passive pop-
for thieves: Excellent pickings, and a ulation to revolt before long. Only
Neutral strong guild can effectively rule such a Chaotic Evil societies with a powerful
society behind the scenes. clerical group, demonic presence, etc.,
Absolute Neutral rulers tend to be will have the sheer force needed to tyr-
rare, except in countries which border Lawful Evil annize for any length of time.
on extreme alignment societies. Here,
performing some kind of balancing act While, like all Lawful societies, Law- At all levels of a Chaotic Evil society,
may be the only way to survive. Such ful Evil will not care for unlawful acts, backstabbing and intrigue, treachery
rulers will probably ignore thievery m- Lawful Evil acceptswhat is necessary to and betrayal, is the basic coin of ex-
less it gets out of hand; they will have maintain the strong in power. Fear rules change. The strong take what they
too much else to worry about. When it here. If a Lawful Evil ruler uses thieves want however they like, and the rest are
does get out of hand, their instinct will to backstab (literally!) his enemies, so ground into the dirt. Since organization
be to take whatever steps are necessary be it. The ordinary people will cower if and cooperation are minimal, a thieves'
to restore the balance-more militia, a thief swaggers around-providing guild where the members don't spend
more watch, more nightwatchmen and all their time backstabbing each other
lamplighters in the streets, and so on.
They will be highly pragmatic in their
response.

While pure Neutral rulers may be
rare, ordinary people will often be of
this alignment. This reflects the fact

58

-- Thieves' Guilds

can grow to dominatebehind the scenes society might be dominated by priests Thieves' Guilds and
of a god stressing mercy, forgiveness, Other Groups
very swiftly. Tip for thieves: Trust no- and humility; another might be domi-
nated by priests of a stem wamor god at the general pattern of relationsh
body, sell your granny into slavery, and stressing protection, strength, and the
need for justice to prevail in all cirmm- guild and other social groups
have magic items allowing a fast exit. stances. Their attitudes to thieves importance-the law, merchants a
would be significantly different, to say their fellows, other guilds, and the 1
11Special Soclal Factors the least! The important word is "general." T
There are many broad patterns outlined will be u
possible unusual social factors which Historical Factors
are presented now for the DM to
will be an important backdrop to the Thieves may be especially notorious about in advance.
(ormaybe especially famous!)in a soci-
role of thieves and their guilds in soci- ety for some unique historical reason. dominating themes only; checking
The people may speak of how brave Complex/Mix entry at the end of e
ety. A few examples only are f-iven Edrain the master thief backstabbed the group will suggest many variat'
wicked tyrant Baron Higsel and the dominant themes.
here, since the possibilitiesa r e almost brought about the downfall of an evil
tyranny. Hence thieves are somewhat Thieves and the Law
1,I' infinite. better tolerated than elsewhere. Or
they may speak of how evil Edrain the the rulers of society will have a do
r Divided Alignments treacherousbackstabber foully slew the nating effect on this relationship. Ho
greatly loved and wise Baron Higsel, ever, there will be other factors
Some societies exist where the a l i i - the best ruler in the history of the land, importance, too. Here is a simpleexa
and since this time thieves are deemed ple: A lawful good state is at war wi
ment of the ruler(s) is sharply different especially wicked, base, treacherous powerful, evil neighbor. Almost al
fellows and death is an automatic pun- the country's resources will go into
from the general social alignment. For ishment for them! These are extremes, war effort-and able-bodied men a
but the DM can easily envisage many women who might otherwisebe law en-
example, a lawful evil dictator might variants on this kind of unique back- forcers putting down thieves will be
ground. fighting in battles instead. Thus,
rule over a society mostly comprised of thieves will find life mu& easier than
All these general social backgrounds usual in such a land. From the patterns
-freedom-lovina chaotics. enslaved bv can easily merge into personal obses- below, some will obviously tend to
military might. Here, while the agents sions or idiosyncracies of rulers, in dic- align with certain alignments, and this
tatorial countries. There are many will be reflected in the guild design
' of law enforcement would have a very idiosyncratic reasons why a particular process later. But nothing is ever cut
punitive attitude towards thieves, the leader might have an especially puni- and dried, and lOQ% predictable!
tive or lenient (less likely!) attitude to
I commonpopulation might regard them thieves than the general social align- Persecution
ment might suggest, but there should
1 as heroes, possibly giving shelter to a always be a good reason why. For ex- Typical of lawful and Ron-good so
thief on the run, or at the least not giv- ample, a paladin ruler of a city-state eties, officers of the law are vi
might be unusually lenient toward against thieves and their guilds.
ing the thief away. thieves because a (Neutral Good) thief are not easily bribeable, and therem
companion saved his life more than be rewards (money, medals, etc.) for
Racial Divisions once in their adventuring days. Un-
likely, admittedly, but possible! Such
Possibly the strongest antipathy be- oddities should be thought up individu-
tween the races in many A D & P cam- ally by the DM so that they fit with the
paigns is between elves and dwarves. campaign setting and history.
This can strongly affect guild struc-
tures. In the worst case, a city might
have an elven guild and a dwarven
guild, both vying for humans to join
their side, and with other races tending
to ally one way or the other (gnomes
might join dwarves, and halflings side
with elves, for example).The antipathy
of the two might override even align-
ment factors. This could break out into
open warfare between the factions, or a
long-running guerilla war could be the
result.

Religious Factors

Not all societies with the same domi-

nant alignment need have the same atti-

II11 tude toward thieves. One Lawful Good

watch officers arresting many thieves places have a proverb which (there are scenes, making it more deadly for the
or busting a guild. Penalties for thiev- several versions) runs along the linesof, unfortunate outsider who blunders into
ery are usually harsh. There will be "if you get round the comer you're a it. Lawfully-aliied PCs can arouse the
very few corrupt officers of the law. free man"-that is, get away from any ire (and even the violent attentions) of
Busting a captured thief from prison watch officer in the street with your pil- corrupt officers of the law they attempt
will be very difficult-prisons and fered gains and you won't exactly be to "assist" with their workb
gaols will be strongly built, heavily chased with real determination.
guarded, and tough to get into (cue for Complex/Mix
an exciting adventure here!). Tolerance
This covers a variety of more detailed
Hassle The picture here might seem to be or subtle relationships. An obvious ex-
similar to opposition, but the law is still ample is an opposition within the forces
The law comes down fairly heavily weaker in dealing with thieves. This of law, which can be exploited by thief
on thieves, and penalties for thievery may be for a variety of reasons. Under- PCs (or by a DM with lawful PCs too).
are moderately harsh. However, offi- funding and under-manning may be es- For example, in one aty the dominant re
cers of the law may feel they have better pecially important. Significant lationship between thieves and law offi-
hings to do than deal with thieves corruption may be p e n t (especially cers is corruption. Senior officers, and
(e.g., in a rough-and-tumble port city), higher up the scale).The society may be many of the watchmen, are corrupt, and
and with petty thievery in particular, a chaotic or anarchic. There may be a readily take b r i h . A small number of
hief may get away with handing over reason why thievery is not a major decentbut disillusionedjuniors have tried
he spoils, paying a spot fine, and get- worry (a weak thieves' guild, major ex- to get firmevidenceto nail their superiors
ing a gauntleted hand across the back ternal threats to a citystate so that and try to eradicate the corruption, but
of the head. In an odd way, the thieves most able-bodied men are in a fighting they haven't h e n able to manage this
may even have a sneaking regard for militia, a very rough port where serious
he law: the law is firm, but fair and not assaults and worse are a much bigger yet. Objectiveevidencehasn't been accu-
arbitary or excessively harsh, and the headache than thieves, etc.). mulated, andwitnesses are too scared to
hieves feel they are up against an en- talk. There is concern that even some of
emy worthy of their skills. In such situations, the law not only
doesn't do anything about all but the the judges and magistrates are in the
Opposition most serious thiefly crimes, but officers
of the law may even get testy and im- pockets of aiminal bosses or the Guild-
This is perhaps the commonest state tated with people who complain about
of affairs. The officers of the law do them too much, especially if they are master of thieves. Cue for lawful and/or
heir best to prosecute the law. How- foreigners!
ever, a small number are corrupt, they good PCs to help out in a dangerous ur-
don't have enough manpower, they Corruption
know their chances of recovering stolen ban jungle of intrigue and treachery. . . .
property are very low and this ad- Here, bribes and backhanders are
versely affects morale and motivation, paid to officers of the law on a regular Relationships may also be mixed.
and so on. The lawmen aren't uncaring, and major basis. Not all lawmen may Thus, in one city ward, the commander
they're just somewhat disillusionedand of the ward watch may be an iron-
their morale isn't so good. They will be corrupt, but a thief with serious fi- willed, ultra-lawful, dominating man
perk up and make a determined effort who drills his men to persecute thieves
to find out who has pulled a big heist nancial resources can manage to avoid night and day. In another, richer ward
when one takes place, and if thieves re- being charged with almost anything. If at the far end of the city, the inexperi-
sort to real violence they will really somehow he ends up in prison, he will enced new junior leader is a follower of
come looking for them. Otherwise, be smuggled out somehow. Law offi- a kindly, somewhat impractical faith,
they just go through the motions. One cers may actually be members of the and d w s not think that crime deserves
or two bright and enthusiastic younger thieves' guild, cooperating with smug- stern punishment unless violence is in-
officers may resent the cynicism and gling, protection rackets, and the like. volved. His men don't respect him,
world-weariness of their elders, but not though, because of his inexperience.
for long: they soon capitulate to the There is a tendency to overplay this, Morale is falling, and an increasing
prevailing attitudes. and to make it too obviousto PCs. Cor- number of watchmen leave public serv-
rupt law enforcers aren't going to ad- ice or else just don't care about enforc-
Many thieves with experience in such vertise the fact, even in a corrupt ing the law any more. One city, two
society, save for the most stupidly soci- radically different sets of possibilities
opathic. Corruption may be extensive, for thieves. There may be major ten-
but will still be significantlybehind the sionswithin a guild, as the thieves from
the "tough e n d of town start trying
their luck uptown!

Many possibilities exist in the

Complex/Mix end of the spectrum. The authorities to suppress thieves. Even they can to get by. Unless thievery gets
other themes can be mixed and varied small-scale pilferage will result in an of- wildly out of hand, they won't get up in
to create many possibilities themselves. fender being dragged off to face the arms, and they will pay off thieves, or
The only limit is the DMs imagination. sternest justice the merchant's advocate accept a certain level of theft, as th---
can plead for. must.
Thieves and Merchants
Under these circumstances, the Submission
The overall thieves' guild may react in a number of
wealth of a society will have an impor- ways. It may turn to other forms of Thii is a rare case. Here, the mer-
tant influence on this relationship. In a crime. It may turn to imported help to chants are running scared. Coercion is
poor society, merchants will not be likely crack the merchants (more thugs for
to be rich, and they will not be able to af- protection racketeering, more thieves rife; merchants pay a lot of money to
ford any regular thievery. They will not for daring robberies recruited from a avoid being robbed or having their
be able to bear such losses without going friendly guild from a nearby town). It homesburned down. Their profits may
bankrupt. Here, merchants will fight may use methods such as abductions be almost all eaten away by this. The
tooth and nail to minimize the depredi- and blackmail to forceits way back into law is of little help, usually because it is
tions of thieves. In richer lands, a little a position of strength. A really power- corrupt, maybe because it is ineffec-
"stock loss" (among other things) can be ful guild will effectively "declare war" tual. Thieves will have many spies in
tolerated rather better. on the merchants if it thinks that forc- the midst of the merchants. This is an
ing a few to cave in will lead to other unstabk state of affairs; it cannot per-
Alignment will somewhat modify this. merchantsgiving in also. Many options sist long. Either the commercial life of
In chaotic and/or evil sodeties which are exist. This situation is a real struggle of the society falls apart, or the picture
rich, merchants may be very greedy, and wills, and the l i e of a thief will be changes-often to Infiltration as d
may take many measures against thieves dangerous-but never dull. scribed below.
out of a love of money, not out of a need
to sunrive. There may also be an impor- Opposition Infiltration
tant element of pride in a society which
stresses individualism (chaotic) rather Somewhat like the state of affairs de- Here, thieves have so many dealings
than one where merchants form groups, scribed above, but the merchantsdon't with merchants that they actually start
ally with each other, and try to d a t e go to such lengths to protect themselves to get involved in commerce directly.
business practices (lawful). Over-proud or keep thieves off their backs. They This often happens as a natural evolu-
merchants may resent monies or goods don't like thieves, they don't accept tion from either a standoff or a submis-
being stolen not primarily because of the them as a part of society or a tolerable sion relationship. Thieves start to
loss of value-it may be negligible-but evil, but they don't go overboard about become merchants. They may have
them either. Such merchants are fairly been spies in merchantsemploy before,
because of the loss of face. Thiscan be an stoutly resistant to any attempt at coer- they may "take over" the businesses of
cion or blackmail, and they use their in- merchants they have bankrupted or
important factor in merchants putting fluencewith the powers-that-be to keep driven off,or they may enter businesses
pressure on authorities to suppress life tough for thieves. their talents suit them for (e.g., as lock-
thieves, and in their hiring PCs for sums smiths, gem-cutters,, moneylenders,
which exceed the value of their stolen Standoff pawnbrokers, and the like).
goods!
This is a fairly common state of af- This has several attractions for the
Warfare fairs. The merchants don't l i e thieves, thief. First, additional income can be
but they are somewhat fatalistic about produced. Second, the business can be
The merchants hate and fear the them. A strong element of pragmatism a simple exploitation of a skill or profi-
thieves. They go to extreme lengths to influences their attitudes. If it loses ciency the thief already has. Third, it
protect their property, and many able- them less to pay protection money than can provide a good cover for a thief.
bodied folk get jobs as nightwatchmen. to suffer the thievery they would other- Fourth, there may be a more nefarious
Even ordinary warehouses have traps wise have to tolerate, they will pay up. motive or two ("Ah, sir wants a combi-
and many secret hidey-holes, wall safes This is a major difference from the o p nation lock which will be absolutely
and the like, and some have magical positional state, where merchants will
traps as well. Merchants often have actually suffer extra loss rather than thief-proof1 I have just the thing. . . .");
bodyguards, and they won't pay pro- connive with thieves.
tection monies. They may even band why shouldn't a locksmith have the
together to form mutual "insurancepol- Merchants in a standoff will do what best lockpicks in town when appre-
icies" to help each other. Themerchants hended by the constables down a dark
exert all their political clout to get the alleyway at night?

61

At its most extreme, thieves can actu- over to the thieves youngsters who ers patrol the distant countryside to
ally come to dominate commercial life, seem to be highly dextrous and capable give advance warning of marauding
or at least to play a major role in it. Or- of developing into thieves, given suit- humanoids or bandits. Within the city,
ganized crime becomes big business. able training. In special instances (e.g., the thieves use their skills to tip off the
The thieves may even become impor- thieves allied with seafaring smug- powers-that-be about unsavory types
tant figures in society, and have politi- glers), other alliances (e.g., with the arriving from outside, conspiring rob-
cal power. The City of Greyhawkis one seamen's guild) may be of note. bers and thugs, and the l i e (and may
notable example of this. deal with a few of them themselves).
If there are unusual thiefaaftsmen Bandits beyond the town have spies in-
ComplexlMix side it; the thieves tip the rangers off
alliances (or oppositions), the DM about this, and pass on intercepted
Again, examples of complicated or messages. The thieves trade a magical
tense, oppositional relationships can should script them individually; they shield (which they cannot use) they got
will need individual rationales, which from one of the thugs they dealt with to
easily be developed by the DM from the should be explained and noted! the rangers (who can use it). The rang-
ers hand over a magical shortsword
examples above. One group of mer- AdventuringGuilds they took from a hobgoblinleader in re-
chants could be trying desperately to turn. Half-elven thieves and rangers
fend offthievery, while a second faction In some cases there may be an unu- share a drink together in an elven tav-
argues for accommodatingthieves and sual reason why thieves are strongly ern, sharing the latest dwarf jokes. The
paying them off. This leads to a major opposed to (oralliedwith) anadventur- two groups then save money by a joint
schism; with the more principled mer- ing guild (including temples, etc.) in a bulk purchase of leather armor, and so
chants accusing the pragmatists of col- city. The most notable example is a cor-
lusion with crime; insults start to fly, dial alliance with clerics of a deity fa- it goes on. . . .
then a few fists, then somebody's ware- voring thieves (e.g., Erevan Ilesere for
half-elven and elven thieves, or Olida- Having an unusual, unexpected alli-
house suffers a small fire. . . . Involv- marra, in Oerth; or Mask in Faerun). If ance like this spices up any adventure
some particular typeof multi-classthief
ing the PCs in what will fast become a is common in a city for some reason, locale. It's well worth a DMstime to d e
triangular conflict (two sets of mer- then there will obviously tend to be a
chants at each other's throats with the stronger link between the two relevant vise such a backdrop, to make a town
thieves gleefully picking up the spoils guilds than usual. For example, if mage- or city unusual and particularly memo-
from anyone they can get at) leads to thieves are common, then the Guild of rable.
endless adventure possibilities. Wizardry will take a definite interest in
the activities of thieves. Under such Thieves and Assassins
Thieves and Other Guilds conditions, the mages will probably not
attract unwanted attention from liiht- Assassins are not a separate charac-
There are two fingered thieves ( a l t h o M few sane ter class (in A D & P2nd Edition rules).
guilds which are most important here: thieves try stealing from mages any- They are simply people who are aw-
Assassins and beggars. These are dealt fully good at killing other people. But
with separately below, as are bards. All way). the skills of the thief are valuable for
the other guilds are dealt with in But other possibilitiesexist. Consider this, above the natural skills of any
groups, below. other character class, because they are
a burgeoning frontier town, which is skills of stealth and sneaking about un-
Craft Guilds close to wild hills and forests with detected. Many assassins will be
bountiful resources. Furs, gold from thieves, multi-class thieves, or charac-
These are the myriad guilds of g e m prospectors, meat from hunted ani- ters who began their adventuring life as
'cutters, barbers and dentists, butchers mals, even some gems from a small thieves but then changed to another
and bakers, and so on. Thieves will not mine; all these and more pour into the character class.
have dealings of note with many of town, which grows rich and attracts
them, but there are one or two excep- many new settlers. Unfortunately, it at- The assassin kit earlier in this volume
tions. Pawnbrokersare an obviouspos- tracts humanoidsand bandits (as exter- adds detail to this natural affinity. Go-
sible "front" for thieves and fences, nal threats) and many thugs and foreign ingfurther, the multi-class thief is prob-
likewise moneylenders (with their safes cut-throats and evil thieves (as opposed ably the strongest option for assassins.
and secure chests and the like). Thieves to the neutral-aligned indigenous Combining the skills of the thief with
may thus cooperate with many such, thieves). The rulers of the town grow spells such as invisibility, jump, knock,
and minimize robberies of the rest! levitate. rope trick, and sleep, just to
Guilds which take young apprentices fearful. . . consider a few low-level spells, makes
may be paid small.sums for handing for a potent assassin indeed. The
A twin alliance springs up to defend
the town by stealth and cunning. Rang-

62

63

1 Thieves' Guilds

fighter/mage/thief has all these advan- job. the grateful beggars can be given i exhaustive, and someclearly shade into
tages, of course, plus the bonus of addi- little percentage of the take. others. But these patterns are perhaps
tional hit points, and is thus an the commonest, and any DM can de-
especially attractive option, although Beggary can even be semi- velop them to suit his campaign. One
progress is slow. professional, in large cities in particular. factor which isn't considered here, but
Dominant beggars control lucrative which will be looked at in guild design,
SO, given that many assassins are patches of territory, where they know is how many solo operators, non-guild
likely to be thieves, there will alwaysbe that pickings are richest. Fit and able. members, are around. This will affect
a fairly strong link between the two bodied people, their senses undulled by the strength of the guild, but won't af-
guilds. Cool relationships are possible iunessordrink, canposeasbeggamfora fect its style oforganization so much.
if the thieves have "gone respectable" better living (in a rich city) thanthey can
(become merchants themselves, etc.), make by honest means (e.g., as farm la- How a guild is actually led will be
or if the assassins are espedally evil, borers). Such people would make excel- dealt with straight after this section, but
ruthless sorts under a truly heinous for now we'll assume that all guilds are
guildmaster. Not unusually, though, lent spies. A Guild of Beggars is by no led/ruled by a guildmaster. This won't
the two will have at least moderately always be so, but using this convention
friendly relations. Information is quite means unlikely in many city settinps. saves a lot of tediously repeated qual"'
likely to be exchanged between the two And, since childrenmake very appealing
guilds, the guild seniorsmay meet occa- en.
sionally to fraternize and discuss pros- beggars as they look soulfully up from
pects, thieves may be paid to do spying Centralist
groundwork for an assassin setting up a their sad little eyes and beg for a penny
kill, apprentices of one guild who may for a poor orphan, such a guild will find This is a strongly organized gui
be suited better to the tasks of the other where all guild members have a powN-
may be exchanged; there are many and trainsuch rapscallions. The more tal- ful primary loyalty to the guildmaster.
ways the guilds can cooperate. Loyalty is mostly hiph, the guildmaster
ented (dextrous and/or intelligent) ones is usually a powerful and dominant fii-
Thieves and Beggars may well be sold on to the thieves' guild, we, and the guild house is a major
for a consideration,to become apprentice meeting place. Thieves from such a
Beggars can be excellent spies. Their thieves. guild will work with a notable degreeof
presence anywhere outside of the co-ordination.
higher-class areas of cities and towns Thieves and Bards
will go unmentioned, if they are seen at Cohesive
all. Beggars ply their trade everywhere, Although thieves and bards are both
and some of them may just be sleeping rogues, they have no need of extensive Again, there is a fairly strong central
off the effects of drink. If one is contacts. While bardic colleges train organization and authority. The guild is
hunched up against packing boxes by a bards in somerogue skillswhich thieves a unified body and its rules are readily
warehouse, so what? Anyway, no one also possess, this is really to be seen as accepted by all. However, there is room
wants to get too close to beggars. They part of the jack-of-all-trades range of for some 'local latitude." This may take
have an unpleasant range of startlingly talents the bard possesses. Bards don't the form of senior thieves below the
contagious diseases, and approaching think l i e thieves, and they don't be- guildmaster being able to make a few
them is an open invitation to lice to in- have l i e them. Perhaps the dosest important decisions about affairs on
fest your person-just for starters. these two groups come to direct deal- their own patch (own quarter of the
And, of course, beggars are harmless ingsis when a neutral evil bard becomes city, etc.), or the central rulership delib-
(in the sense that they are too feeble, an assassin and the assassins' guild has erately restricting the use of its author-
dim-witted, drunk, etc., to cause any- good relations with the thieves' guild! ity in some cases, and so t
one any harm). For all these reasons,
well-trained beggars are a real boon to Guildmasters and Fractionated
the enterprising thief. They can get into Guild Structures
places where other people would look In therethis case, 13 a C C L L L I a J Ll"CV.2,
suspicious, they often go unnoticed, How a thieves'
and they don't have a lot to do apart guild is organized, and how it is led, is guild still. However, individual figures
from keep their eyes peeled. Just the crucial to the success of thieves in any
people to have hanging around the town or city. Usually, unless there is at within the guild have taken pqwer unto
places a thief intends to rob. After the least some honor among thieves, life
will be verv hard for them! themselves in important ways. Local

Guild Organizations thief leaders may insist on almost com-

Five basic pat- plete discretion to do what they want in
terns are suggested here. These will be
used in later guild design. They aren't their areas,while agrreing not to intrude

on other local leaders' territory. Power

! struggles within the guild will be com- may seem that anarchy rulesamong the placements from senior ranks as and
monplace under these circumstances. thieves of one town, but many are se- when necessary to maintain or expand
cretly organized behind the scenes. Or, their number.
~ a guild might seem to be centralist
whereas in fact local leaders are hiding Democracy
Oppositional: much of their activity from others, so
that the guild is in reality fractionated. Rather unusually, the rulers of the
~ A complex situation could exist guild are elected by the guild members.
whereby the guild looks centralist at This does not mean that these rulers
The guild has been burst asunder by first sight, then looks fractionated (as need be weaklings, or afraid of using
above), and then is seen to be part of their powers sternly and firmly when
~ each (a couple of the strongest local they need to (imaginea ruler elected for
leaders are secretly allied to carve up a 10-year term for example!). The ”elec-
tensions within it, and there may well be more territory while other leaders are tions”may be the source of notable cor-
fractionated)-a really complex op- ruption, bribery, fixing, and
~ tion. Ample scope for DMs to develop vote-rigging of all sorts. The devious
intrigues and onion-skin puzzles here! DM can imagine dozens of ways of em-
several competing guilds in the same broiling PCs in the kind of scandals and
town or city. Thiscan happen becausethe Guild Leaders scams such a state of affairs will throw
guildmaster is weak, because of ambi- up!
tious young Turks seceding from the Clearly, how a
guild is organized will influence how it Leaderless
~
is ruled (and vice versa). This is taken This is mostly a temporary state of
guild, or for specialreasonsof many sorts affairs, when the guildmaster has just
into account in the rules for designing died, the ruling council been arrested,
~ and developing guilds. At this stage, and the like. However, in a very few
we’ll just consider the commonest pat- guilds this may be a permanent state of
(e.g., racial enmity between a guild of terns of leadership, which again can be affairs. Here, the guild will carry on
developed by the DM as he wishes. only a few of the usual functions, and
~ will primarily act only as a practical re-
Guildmaster source. Thus, the guild house will be
dwarven thieves, and one of elven and somewhereto find a trainer, buy equip-
half-elven thieves, in the same town). This is by far the commonest style of ment, and gossip with fellow thieves.
leadership; the single leader. His style Guild dues will not be excessive, and
Relations between the different sub- of leadershipmay vary considerably, of they will be paid for reasons of pragma-
guilds can vary considerably. If there is course. He may be a stem, harsh des- tism. However, regulation of thiefly ac-
still the shell of a central guild, then the pot, r u l i by force and fear. He can tivities will be minimal or non-existent.
differentguildsmay be on fair terms still. also be a kmdly despot, a firm but wise
ruler. He might also be a weak, queru- A leaderless guild is ripe for a coup,
~ lous, but kindly leader-rather ineffec- of course, and again this be a good op-
tual, having lost his old strength and tion for the DM!
IHowever, at another extreme, the ten- daring, but still smart enough to elimi-
sionsand oppositionscan degenerateinto nate young pretenders to his rulership Complex/Mix
when he sees them preparing a bid for
~ power. Styles of leadership will be In this context, this means some kind
looked at right after this section. of power struggle in most cases. A
street warfare and gang assaults. guildmaster may have had an ultima-
Council tum put to him by powerful seniors
If there are, in effect, several guilds, within the guild-accept a ruling coun-
then the DM will have to determine the The guild is ruled by a number of in- cil or else. Likewise, an ambitious and
organization and leadershipof each one dividuals, usually fairly small, who act smart thief may be trying to take over a
as a central conclave, Praesidium, rul- democratic guild and install himself as
~ ing council, or under any one of a vari- the undisputed leader.
ety of titles. This is often the equivalent
separately. of an oligarchy in government-a self-
perpetuating elite, who appoint re-
~

Anarchic

There is no guild organization to
#speakof, although there may be the
remnants of a once-strong guild or per-

~

~ haps a young, slowly developing guild.

~

how ever, the large majority of thieves
i work as unregulated individuals. This

~

may lead to a dog-eat-dog outlook with

~

lots of backstabbing, both metaphori-

cal and literal. However, it’s equally
possible that thieves get by with indi-
vidual one-to-one agreements, helping

~

each other out as and when the need

~

arises (this may be especiallylikely in a

~

Chaotic Good society with an anarchic

~

guild, for example). Anarchy doesn’t

~

preclude enlightened self-interest and

~

cooperation; it just tends to preclude

~

this happening on a systematic and or-

~

ganized basis.

~

Complex/Mix

As usual, this covers a range of op-

~

tions. There may be a facade of one or-

~

ganization, whereasbehind the scenesa

~

, quite different organization presides. It

65

Special Ertraplanar Creature: Denizens from WeMtrong
evil planes make excellent guildmas-
Because the ruler(s) of the guild are of ters. They like having power, gaining This is an obvious distinction. A
such major importance, many DMs information, and wealth isn't some. guildmaster can be strong and authori-
will be prepared to put some extra ef- thing they are wholly indifferent to. tative, so that his commands and rules
fort into designing them in some detail. Plus they have lots of time on theu are obeyed (willingly or otherwise). Or
For those who don't want to have to go hands to indulge themselves by being a he may be weak, with his edicts increas-
to the trouble, the blueprint profiles thieves' guildmaster. Their powers of ingly challenged by his underlings. Fac-
(later in this chapter) can be used for disguise and concealment make it easy tors such as Charisma,experiencelevel,
guildmasters. For the more industrious, to maintain the pretense of humanoid notable achievements, age, and the like
why settlefor the usual option of (say)a form. will affect the guildmaster's perceived
human or half-elf guildmaster with the strength. The most important, how-
usual high skills and appropriate magic Intelligent Monster: A troll as guild- ever, is likely to be the general percep-
items, or the sourpuss old dwarf with master is not terribly likely. But how tion of the force the guildmaster has up
his smelly leather armor who is the se- about a beholder? efreet? rakshasa (a his sleeve.
cret behind-the-scenes master thief? particularly good choice)? a faerie
Guild design does include such natural dragon using its many spells? There are CrueuJUst
racial possibilities, but there are other, many possibilities1
more exotic, options. This is of most importancewithin the
If the DM decides on a special guild guild. The guildmaster may be cruel,
The DM will always want to design ruler, there are several questions which handing down stiff (and sometimes ar-
these cases individually, but a few ex- he needs to consider: bitary) punishments for infringements
amples won't go amiss-these can be of guild rules. He may punish any signs
ripped off with or without DM devel- * Can the ruler pass itself off as a nor- of over-ambition among juniors very
opment, or used as a spur to DM mal race? This will usually be impor- sternly. A cruel guildmaster rules his
imagination. tant for retaining the loyalties of guild by fear of what he does-this is
guildmembers. A spell, magical item, crucially different from a strong guild-
Dragon; A dragon makes an excel- innate power, or plausible reason for master, who may rule in part by fear of
lent guildmaster. Some can polymorph seclusion will be needed. what he could do if opposed. A just
selfinto human (half-elf, etc.) form as a guildmaster is the opposite of this, but
natural ability, others can use the spell * How did thecreatureget to the top? is not weak. That is, he is known to act
of the same name, others still might Either it must have thief skills, or be swiftly and decisively to opposeany en-
have a magical item permitting this able to simulate these (with spells, mag- emies within the guild, and to enforce
change of appearance. Dragons are ical items such asgauntlets of dexterity, important guild rules and rulings.
vain and love treasure, so what more etc.), if it has worked its way up However, his punishments are seen as
ilatural than a stream of junior thieves through the ranks. Or, it must have fair and justified ("he's harsh but he's
bringing pretty treasures to the "guild- been able to replace someone at the top fair"). While the opposite of cruel
master" as a tithe? The guildmaster can of the guild (through assassination, would, strictly, be "kindly," nice guys
also, of course, have many charmed etc.). 50 not get to be guildmasters.
servants from charm person spells.
* Why does this creature want to be DespotidPopulist
Deepearth Creature: Drow and 11- guildmaster? The possible reasons are
lithid are the best candidates. Appear- money (tithes), information (thief spy This is a rather high-sounding term
ance can be disguised with an illusion reports), power, amusing itself (a faerie or a simple dichotomy. A despotic
spell, the use of a mask (imagine cow- dragon, or an evil denizen with a few Zuildmaster is one who decides on
led, masked thieves protecting their decades to kill), and the l i e . ules, punishments, policies, and im-
identities in a council meeting-a very Iortant guild matters for himself. He
sensible set of precautions), a hat of dis- If the DM is prepared to think loes not consult others (much), and
guise, or in other ways. The guildmas- through such issues, then a special ruler while he may listen to advice from his
ter could aim at gaining wealth, power, type can be great fun. uniors he doesn't take any notice of
information, all for nefarious purposes t-he listens, he does not attend. How-
which PCs should want to stop. Com- Guild Rulership ver, this does not mean that the guild-
batting such a guildmaster (or even a naster is a tyrant, nor that he is cruel or
ruling council) is an excellent introduc- It's vital to know
tion to deepearthing, a pleasure no what style of rulership the guildmaster
player should be denied. brings to the guild. This section covers
styles of rulership, and can be applied
to guilds which are ruled in other ways
(by councils, etc.).

‘evennecessarily strong (a weak despot This section is also not just for the modifiers ashe seesfit, to reflect special
DM. Players can be asked by a DM to circumstances.
Itis in real trouble, however). It means do some work for him1 A player can
that the guildmaster thinks that he roll up a guild for the DM to usein some What Isn’t Covered
other setting, or some distant city
knows best, and this doesn’t imply (which the PCswillvisit sometimelater Some of the idio-
wickedness or cruelty. The guildmaster after the DM has tweaked the players‘ syncratic guild details aren’t covered
may be very intelligent, wise, and far- dice rolls a little!). Also, a DM can al- here. For example, any oaths of fealty
seeing. Also,just because the guildmas- low a player to roll up detailsof a guild the thief may have to pledge, and the
ter is a despot doesn’t mean that the which the PC is about to take over as exact rules and constitution (if one ex-
guildmaster, if he trusts the player ists) of the guild isn’t covered here. If a
g guild members don’t like this state of DM wants this kind of depth of detail,
enough! There is also a special section he will surely want to write such details
affairs-a truly smart guildmaster will for himself.
gain the loyalty of the guildmembers on PC guildmasterslater on.
through his wisdom and the way his Also, infrequent reference is made t
rulings clearly benefit the guild. Using the Tables any of the kits, proficiencies, or magic
items introduced in this book. This is
A populist guildmaster is one who There are quite a deliberate, ensuring that DMs who
goes to some lengths to listen to all (or lot of tables on the following pages. wish to be cautious about introducing
most) opinions within the guild. He is This shouldn’t be intimidating; the s y s such new elements are not prevented
ready to listen to advice, and may dele- tem is detailed, not overlycomplicated. From being able to use the design sys-
gate some of his authority and decision- tem.
making to others within the guild. Using the tables which follow can be
Again, this need not necessarily make done in more than one way. Random In summary, all the really importan.
the guildmaster popular. A common dice-rollig is OK, and will not give stuff you are going to need is here, and
problem for a populist guildmaster is silly combinations of results. Some- for any frills you want to add-go
that he will be perceived as weak, espe- times odd-appearing combinations re- head1
cially if the affairs of the guild are not in sult, but these can often be a spur to
good order. He may leave himself wide DM creativity and generatethe most in- Guild Background
open to backstabbing (quite literally). teresting guilds! The DM may also ig-
nore the dice-rollii and deliberately First, we need tt
These styles of guildmaster rulership select results from the tables which he stabliih the background of the guild
can be combined to generate individual feels will fit his campaign needs. such details of the guild as size, rule1
styles, such as strong-cruel-despotic ship, and the like will be affected by so
and (at the other extreme) weak-fair- The system which follows is detailed, Jial factors, alignment, and so on
populist, and all points inbetween. as noted. This for DMs who like lots of I’herefore, this background is devel
Combining these should be fairly detail! For those who don‘t, the best bet >pedfirst. In this way, later dice roll
straightforward for the DM, but the de- may be to combine the dice-roll and o r aspects of the guild can be give1
veloped case of The Thieves‘ Guild of deliberate-design approaches; use dice nodifiers for previously establishe(
Mallain (pg. 76) gives an example of rolls, and alter one or twowhen the DM >ackground.
how to combine these different ele- especially wants some result or wants
iments into an overall picture for a to maximize consistency. Or can’t be Many of the tables to follow will re
guildmaster’sstyle of leadership. bothered to do all the dice-rolling! er to background elements already de
Also,a few sectionsof design do not use ailed in the previous section, so th(
I tables. 3M will know what brief entries mean
his obviously aids the process of Dh.
Designing a Lastly, the tables mostly have sug- election, if dice-rolling is not beins
zested modifiers for basic dZ0rolls. For lsed.
~ sample, the attitude of the law isdeter-
mined on a d2.0roll which is modified i o d d Alignment
Thieves’ Guild by social alignment (more hostile for
Lawful societies,etc.). It is quite impos- This is an optional step. In somi
Introduction sible to list all the possiblemodifiersfor Fame settings, communities will havr
?achtable. This would eat up masses of lefinite dominant social alignment:
This section cov- ;pace and no system can foreseeall pos- see WORLD OF GREYHAWK@Fan
ers the design of a thieves‘guild. As you jible modifiers anyway, so only the key asy Game Settting). Sometimes, whili
flesh out the details of your own guild, nodifiers have been listed in each in-
you‘ll want to record them on paper for stance. The DM can easily add further
referenceduring play. Following the de-
tails of the system, a worked-out exam-
ple is given to show how to build up a
well-detailed, atmospheric guild from
the bare bones of the tables.

I

a specific alignment cannot be stated, a Table lo:
general trend (for example, to good
rather than evil) can be given. Social THIEVESAND OTHER GUILDS
alignment along the good-neutral-evil,
and lawful-neutral-chaoticaxes, should d20 Lelationship of Thieves Guild wi
be recorded if the DM is happy that he
knows them. RoU ssassins

If the alignment is divided, the align- 7-8 Hostile
ment of the rulers should be used for 9-10
later dice roll modifiers, but the fact Indifferent
that the common people are different
should also be noted. Indifferent

In ent 1 Indifferent
1 Indifferent
N<

Special Social Factors

These include racial divisions, reli- 20 Close
gious persecution of thieves, unique
historical factors, and the like. The DM Modifiers to d20 Rolls:
should note any of these which are im- Law attitude is persecutory or hassling: +1 to assassins/bega
portant. Since such factors will always Social a l i m e n t is good: -2 to assassins, +1 to beggars
be unique, there is no way the design Social alignment is evil: +2 to assassins
system here can accommodate them.
The DM will have to ascribe modifiers paigns are moneypoor, others almost Port: + 3
to certain dice rolls for these factors as swim in gold. So, Table 7 uses relative On Major Inland Trade Route: +2
he sees fit1 divisions of wealth. A simple du,roll Purely Agricultural Economy: -2
on this table will determinetheeffective Population of 500 or Below: -1
Size of Community wealthof thecommunitytheguildislo-
cated in. There are many modifiers to What is important to remember here
The DM should have a reasonable this dice roll, and these are shown di- is that this dice roll does not actually in-
idea of how many people live in the rectly below the table. dicate how wealthy the average citizen
town or city where the thieves' guild is is. What the dice roll indicates is how
located. Most sourcepacks give such Table 7: much money is whizzing about which is
figures, and if the DM has designed his WEALTH OF COMMUNITY up forgrabs (literally).Thus, in a port a
own campaignworld then he should a c lot of trade passes through, much
cribe a suitable figure. For DMs uncer- WITH THIEVES'GUILD money changes hands, and the passing-
tain about this, in medieval times only through trade (and wealthy merchants)
capital cities in Europe had a six-figure dZO Realtive Wealth makes the city much richer in effect
total of inhabitants, and many villages RoU of Community than the average income would sug-
and hamlets had but a few score. Pros- gest. The effective wealth level is an-
perous major towns would have in the 1 Very Poor (subsistence)" other important factor in determining
order of 440,000or so, and important 2-5 Poor how many thieves will be guildmem-
cities perhaps 20-60.000 (depending on 6-9 Fair bers in the city.
which century is taken for reference). 10-14 Average
There is no need for the DM to be ultra- 15-17 Comfortable Attitudes of the Law
accurate, but population will greatly 18-19 Wealthy
affect the number of thieves in the 20+ Rich This is a major factor affecting any
guild, so the DM should record this. thieves' guild. Roll d20 on Table 8 to de-
Maximum population around 1,000. termine the attitude of the militia,
Wealth of Community watch, police force, etc., in the city or
Modifiers to d20 Roll: town where the thieves' guild is located.
No absolute figures are given here, Capital City: +5, never less than Modifiers to this d20 roll are listed be-
because different DMs will work on dif- Average low the table as before.
ferent absolute scales-some cam- Major Town: + 3

i68

~ ~~~

Thieves' Guilds

Table 8: Society is Rich: +2 (but a roll of 1still sassin has slain the thieves' guildmas-
LEGAL ATTITUDES means Warfare!) ter). Indifferent means the groups have
Law is tolerant of thieves: + 1 few dealings; Neutral differs in that the
d20 Attitudes of Law is corrupt: +2 two groups have more dealings, maybe
90ll the Law for practical reasons, although they
Relationship with Merchants have neither fondness nor enmity for
1 1-3 Persecution each other. Favorable means that the
4-7 Hassle This will also have a slight effect on two guilds get on well enough, though
8-11 Opposition the number of thieves in the guild; the they may not always trust each other
12-13 Complex/Mix easier it is to extort the goodies from too well! Cooperative means that the
14-17 Tolerance merchants, the more light-fingered groups enjoy a good relationship, may
18-20 Corruption thugs will sign up to be part of the orga- plan together, and that a fair level of
nization responsible for extracting the trust exists between guildmembers.
vlodifiers to d20 Roll: shiny gold stuff from them! Roll on Ta- Close means that the two guilds work
-awful social alignment: -2 ble 9 to determine the relationship the closely together, exchanging informa-
Zhaotic social alignment: +2 thieves have with the merchants. tion, helping with common-interest
Zood social alignment: Reroll 1s and tasks, with one guild even prepared to
Relationships with other Guilds help the other if it is under threat or at-
?Os tack (at least until the bodies start to
Table 10 is provided for DMs who drop!).
h i 1 social alignment: -1 need for some reason to determine, at
random, the relationship between Details of the Guild
Table 9: thieves and the guilds they are most
MERCHANTS' ATTITUDES likely to cooperate with: assassins, beg- Having estab-
gars, and bards. It is strongly suggested lished these background details, it's
TOWARD THIEVES to the DM that these relationships down to the nitty-gritty. The first, cru-
should be scripted, rather than dice- cial, determination is how many
d20 rolled, but if a DM needs to develop a thieves there are in the city or town
Roll Merchants' dominant guild and its background quickly a dice where the guild is. This is not necessar-
roll will do the job. Separate d20 rolls ily the same number as are in the guild,
attitude to thieves should be used for each guild. but working out how many light-
1-2 Warfare fingered gents (or ladies) are about
3-6 Opposition A Hostile result doesn't mean open town is a necessary precursor to that.
7-13 Standoff aggression unless the DM wants a run-
ning feud as a storyline! For example, if Table 11does not use a d20 roll. In-
~ hostility exists between thieves and as- stead, it is a matrix from which the DM
sassins this is most unlikely to explode only needs to read off one figure. If the
14-15 Complex/Mix into open aggression (unless, say, an as- DM knows the population of the town/
city, and the wealth level, a single read-
~

, 16 Submission

17-19 Infiltration

~

20 Submission
vlodifers to d20 Roll:
,awful social alignment: -2

Zhaotic social alignment: +1

Society is Poor (or worse): -4

Society is Wealthy: +1

Population Table II:
THIEVES IN TOWNSAND CITIES

Economic Level

y' odifiers t o totals rolled. Add the following percentages to the total rolled, rounding fractions over one-half upward:

' Social alignment is chaotic: +10%
Attitude of law is tolerant or corrupt: +10%
+lo%
* Merchants are infiltrated or in submission:
'>r fraction above 2,000.

off gives the range for the number of Modifiers to die roll: Table 15: GUILD ORGANIZATION
thieves. After each dice roll indicated in Social alignment is lawful: -1
a column, a bracketed figure is given- Social alignment is chaotic: + 2 d20
this is a (rounded) average which the
DM can use if he hasn’t the time to roll Table 13: Roll Guild Organization
dice on the table. UNUSUAL GUILD RULERSHIP 1-6 Centralist
7-12 Cohesive
Totals from Table 11are not cumula- d20 13 Complex/Mix
tive, save for populations of over Roll Guild Leadership 14-17 Fractionated
1-2 Leaderless 18-19 Oppositional
10,000(where the ”per extra . . .”num- 3-8 Complex/mix 20 Anarchic
9-10 Special Guildmaster(dragon,
ber, or a multiple, is added to the Modifiers to dice roll:
”5,001-10,000 number). etc.)
11-12 Special Council (concealed -2 if social alignment lawful
We now know how many thieves
there are in the town or city, but how Drow, etc.) +1if social alignment chaotic
many are actually in the guild? This de- + 2 ( +1) if Guild rulership is weak
pends in large part on the rulership of the At this stage, the DM can also deter-
guild, which should now be determined. mine the rulership style of the rule&). (fairly weak)
Table 14 can be used for all cases in -1 if Guild rulership is strong
Guild Rulership which the guild has a guildmaster, and + 2 if Guild is Leaderless
also for council leaderships. It is not
A roll on Table 12 determines the na- suitable for democratic guilds, where A major shake-up of what the DM
ture of rulership of the guild. The DM there is no real rulership as such. On has rolled may be indicated if a dice roll
wishing to select, rather than roll, this Table 14, three d20 rolls are needed. indicating Oppositional or Anarchic
rulership might want to look through guild organization is rolled on this ta-
the following section to look at the ef- The final step is to determine guild ble. Oppositional means there are com-
fects of rulership on the guild before organization, and this is done with a peting, small guilds (and Fractionated
making his choice. single d20 roll on Table 15. Some of the means there are sub-guilds within the
results from this table may need partic- guild); Anarchic, that there is no real
Table 12:GUILD RULERSHIP ularly careful thought, because some guild at all. The worked example later
odd-looking results can emerge. The shows that the combination of such re-
d2O DM can crop out such oddities if he sults that at first seem at-odds (e.g.,
Roll Guild Leadership wishes. guild rulership by a single guildmaster)
1-13 Guildmaster is actually workable, although the
14 Complex/Mix overall picture which emerges may be a
15 Democracy strange one!
16-19 Council (d3+ 2 members)
20* Reroll on Table 13

*Natural 20 (regardless of modifiers)
only.

Table 14:RULERSHIP STYLE

Strong-Weak Rulership Cruel-Just Rulership Despotic-Populist Rulership
Strong Cruel Despotic
d20 Roll Fairly Strong d20 Roll Fairly Cruel d20 Roll Fairly Despotic
1-5 Failry Weak 1-4 Fairly Just 1-4 Fairly Populist
6-12 Weak 5-11 Just 5-10 Populist
13-17 12-16 11-16
18-20 17-20 17-20

Modifiers to dice roll Modifiers to dice roll Modifiers to dice roll

-1 if social alignment lawful +1if social alignment lawful -1if social alignment lawful
+1 if social alignment chaotic
- 2 if social alignment eveil + 2 if social alignment chaotic
-1 if welth level poor or fair
+ 2 if social alignment good +1 if social alignment good
-1 if social alignment evil
-1 if rulership style weak
-1 if rulership style strong

- 4 (-2) if rulership style cruel (fairly

cruel)

70

Thieves' Guilds

Some results may need re-rolling, Hostility means that the guildmem- ally close link between guildmembers
owever. The one notable case is the bers will make it very clear to a non- and outsiders. The example of the
)ppositional structure if the absolute guildmember working in the guilds Thieves' Guild of Mallain gives an ex-
umber of thieves in town is small. You territory that he isn't welcome. They ample of how this can be scripted by the
m't really have a plausible collection may rough up the offender, send him
f competing guilds with only six threatening messages, play an unpleas- Table 17below shows the experience-
iieves in town, for example (but ant and only half-joking practical joke level ranges of thieves as a function of
iaybe two very small gangs could ex- on him, and the like. The message is, how many there are in a guild. More
join up (or get out of town), or else. If populous guilds, which will always
t, after all . . .) Persecution is added to this, the of- tend to be in major cities and towns,
fender will be given an even starker and rich places, are the ones which will
The final step is to determine how choice:Joinup or die. Neutrality means attract more experienced thieves to
[anyof the thieves in the town or city that the guildmembers may try to per- them.
-e actually members of the guild. suade non-guildmembers to join up,
but they will tend to stress the benefits Table 17should be used as follows. 111
luildmembers and The Rest to all concerned rather than using the left-hand column is shown the num-
threats. A determined freelancer will ber of thieves (thisis the total number in
The base per- probably be left to go his own way by town, not just in the guild). The next
mtage of thieveswho will be members such thieves, but they will certainly not five columns show dice rolls which
assist him or have any fellow-feelingfor need to be made for the five highest-
:the thieves' guild is 75% .The follow- him. The guild will not sell equipment level thieves in town. The following
or offer training to the freelancer, ex- column shows numbers, and levels, for
g modifiers are applied to this num- cept perhaps at exorbitant prices. If a the middle-echelon thieves; those
?r: guild is neutral to foreign thieves, it above the level of apprentice, but not
may allow them to work on the guilds members of the senior ranks. All re-
10% if social alignment is lawful patch providing that only small-scale maining thieves will be first-level ap-
20% is social alignment is chaotic operations are involved and a fee is prentices.
10% if the attitude of law is persecu- paid to the guild.
The seniors should be taken as the
'ry Cooperation suggests that freelan- top echelon of the guild. The highest
10% if merchants are submissive or cers may work with the guildmembers, level rolled will be the guildmaster (if
filtrated maybe on a special-case basis. The there is one), or the most powerful
10% ( + 5 % ) if guild rulership is guiId may take the attitude that if these guild-affiliated thief, The other seniors
rong (fairly strong) people won't join, it's better to keep can be used to make up a ruling council
10% ( -5% ) if guild rulership is weak them friendly. Equipment and training
airly weak) is charged at a premium, though. Spe-
cial Relationship suggests some unusu-
What of the other thieves (assuming
lere are any)? What is the attitude of Table 17:EXPERIENCE LEVELS OF THIEVES
le guild to the residual freelancers?Ta-
e 16 gives a die roll for determining No. of Seniors Middle Echelon
lis attitude, which may also be taken Thieves B CD
1 reflect the guilds attitude to outsid- A E
s who stray onto its patch. Thus, a
iild which is punitive to indigenous
In-guildmembers ("joinup or we'll cut
w r hands off")will likely be hostile to
itsiders as well.

Table 16: GUILD ATTITUDES 16-20 +2 4 d2 + 2 2x(d2+ l ) , 5xd2
fOWARDS GUILDLESS THIEVES 21-25
26-30 d6+3 ( dz + 2 5xd3, 5xd2
d20 d8+3 (
d4+1 4x(d3+1). 4xd3. 6xd2
toll Dominant attitude ~
1-5 Hostility and persecution
6-10 Hostility 76-100 d8+8 ( ;16+4 d6 + 3 15x(d4 +l),20xd4, 30xd3
11-15 Neutrality 101+ d10+8 L .
16-18 Co-operation . d6+5 d6+4 10%ared6+1,10%ared4+lt
19-20 Special relationship 25% are d4,25% are d3

(if there is one), or used for key posi- Table 18: THIEF RACES Table 19: THIEF CLASSES
tions such as accountant, quartermas-
ter, deputy guildmaster, subguild- dlOO Dwarves
master (for one quarter of town), or Roll Thief Race d2O
others. The number of seniors can be 01-06 Elf Roll Character Classes
slightly increased (at the lowest experi- 07-14 Half-elf 1-8 Fighter/thief
ence level) for really sizeable guilds. 15-44 Human 9-20 Thief only
Freelancers will come equally from the 45-50 Gnome
middle-echelon and apprentice levels. If 51-58 Halfling Elves
the DM wants any middle-to high- 59-62 Human, dual-clas d20
level freelancers, these should be 63-93 Human Roll Character Classes
scripted as individualized NPCs and 94-99 Dwarf 1-6 Magelthief
not the result of any dice roll! It is im- 00 Special (natural 00 only)* 7-8 Fighter/thief
portant to separate out guildmembers 9-10 Fighter/mage/thief
and freelancers at this stage in the thief a per-capita basis. For example, if 70% 11-20 Thief only
listing the DM makes. of the inhabitants are elves, then for
each thief a roll of 1-7 on d10 will indi- Half-elves
Experience Levels: A Note cate that he is an elf. Modifiers can also d20
be used: for example, if elves dominate Roll Character Classes
The levels from Table 17 will be low dwarves in a mixed society, a dice roll 1-4 Mage/thief
to medium, except for guildmasters of modifier of -5 could be applied to the 5-7 Fighter/thief
major guilds. This is designed to be suit- dice roll on Table 18. 8-10 Fighter/mage/thief
able for campaigns which are not top- 11-20 Thief only
heavy with over-powered, high-level Table 19 contains sub-tables which
characters. If you have PCs running can be used to determine whether the Gnomes
around at 15th level, or even higher, thief is multi-classed (nonhuman) or if d2O
and you want a thieves’ guild as a the thief is dual-classed (human). Roll Character Classes
source of enemies, you will need to up 1-4 Fighter/thief
the levels somewhat. You could always Given the race and possible multi- 5-8 Illusionist/thief
consider resting these PCs and playing class nature of each thief, the final step 9-20 Thief only
at more reasonable levels, of course. is to adjust the levels from Table 17 for
multi-and dual-class thieves. Halflings
Multi-classed thieves d20
For multi-classed nonhuman thieves, Roll Character Classes
Table 17 will do for determining reduce the thief level by 1d2 from the 1-5 Fighter/thief
single-classed thieves, but dwarves and original dice roll from Table 17 if the 6-20 Thief only
elves in particular may be likely to be character has two classes, and by
multi-classed. To determine this, the Humans
DM needs to know how many thieves Id2 +1levels if the character is a triple- d2O
are nonhuman. Roll Previous Character Class
classed fighter/mage/thief. No reduc- 1-12 Fighter
Rolling on Table 18 will determine tions can take an NPC below 1st level, 13 Ranger
the race of each thief in the guild. One of course. The character will have the 14-15 Mage
roll is made for each thief (freelancers same level in his other classes, if this is 16 Specialist wizard
can be determined at this stage too). possible (in some cases it may not be; 17-18 Cleric
This table is a generic one, and assumes e.g., a multi-classcharacter cannot usu- 19-20 Bard
a definite human dominance (which ally be a 2nd-level thief/2nd-level
most campaign locations will have). mage. Check the EPs needed for prog-
However, this is obviously unsuitable ress in each class!).
for determining, say, the composition
of the thieves’guild of the core commu- With dual-class human characters,
nity of an elven heartland, where virtu- experiencegained in the ” o l d class will
ally all the thieves will be elves or be ld4 levels lower than that gained as a
half-elves. In such cases, the DM can thief (but never below 2nd level). The
bypass Table 18and just decide race on thief level rolled from Table 17 is not
adjusted in this case.

This all looks fairly horrendous. In
fact, it is fairly simple, albeit a little
time-consuming (but if voii want a

72

I Thieves’ Guilds

paladin could demean himself to thiev- the DM wants more goody-goody some detail to their basic profiles:
ery, likewise that an ex-druid could so types or lawfuls then these options can Physical Factors: Simple details like
totally alter his entire framework of be fudged into the table in place of (or
thought. If the DM wants such an ex- via) the ”Dominant social alignment” age, height, weight, and appearance
otic possibility, there would have to be entry. can be determined. Senior thieves can
a truly extraordinary reason for it.
Table 2 0 NPC THIEF ALIGNMENTS be taken to be 25 +ld20 years if a ran-
Non-Thief Guildmembers
d2O dom determination is needed. Sex can
The guild may well have very close Roll Thief Alignment be determined randomly also.
affiliations with a small number of
NPCs-especially tough fighters-who 1 Neutral Good Exceptional Ability Scores: Thieves
may be ”honorary guildmembers.” 2-3 Chaotic Good of high or medium level should have
These men may guard the guildhouse, 4 Lawful Neutral fair abilities to have survived so long.
go on planned jobs as look-outs and 5-10 Neutral Allow a flat 1-in-4 chance for each non-
muscle, provide the muscle to enforce 11-12 Dominant social alignment
protection rackets, act as bodyguards, 13-14 Chaotic Neutral Dex ability to be rolled on 2d4 +10 and
and the like. However, they will not 15-16 Lawful Evil
usually be full members of the guild. 17-19 Neutral Evil record exceptional (15+ ) scores.
The DM should design such NPCs as 20 Chaotic Evil Magic Items: Senior thieves will cer-
the need arises.
Modifiers to dice roll: tainly have magic items suitable for
Fleshing out Guildmembers + 2 if social alignment is evil thieves. Different campaigns vary
-2 if social alignment is good (But a hugely in the amount of magic knock-
You now have a bare-bones list of natural roll of “20”still means Chaotic ing around. A good guide is to sneak a
guildmembers and other thieves in the Evil) look at thief PCs (and NPCs) in cam-
town. How far you go beyond this paigns you think are well-run, and/or
point depends on how much extra in- Note: For ”dominant social align- the blueprint profiles given later, and
formation you need for the campaign. ment,” if the DM is uncertain, take neu- take hints from these about the nature
tral. If dominant social alignment is and number of magic items possessed.
Alignment lawful good, take neutral good (1-4 on When in doubt, always be stingy.
ld6) or lawful neutral (5-6 on d6) in- Magic can be added to a magic-weak
This is worth determining for all stead. campaign; it’s hard to retrieve it when
thieves in the guild, because it will have too much is floating about.
a powerful effect on the way the guild Prime Requisite
operates, on guild intrigues, and so on. Guild Position: Non-guildmasters
The alignment of the guildmaster and All thieves will have Dexterity of at will still likely be important and occupy
the top senior thieves should always be least 9. You can roll NPC thief Dexterity key positions (especially if council
selected by the DM to fit the needs of members). A shrewd guildmaster, for
the campaign. The rulership style dice on 8+Idlo, adding +1for characters example, will keep the second-rankers
rolls should be strongly suggestive of happy with important things to do.
certain options in any event. A fairly of 4th or higher level and + 2 for char- Quartermaster, deputy guildmaster,
strong, cruel, and fairly despotic guild- acters of 8th or higher level. Elves and chief of blackmail, chief of espionage,
master looks like a good candidate for halflingsgain + 1 to Dexterity scores. It liaison officer (with other guilds), and
neutral evil, whereas a fairly strong, is strongly recommended that no scores many other options can be written in
just, and populist member of a ruling above 18 be allowed, and certainly ab-
council would be closer to chaotic here.
good. surd scores like 20 + should be reduced Other Stuff: Personal idiosyncrasies

For other thieves (juniors and mem- to 18. Other ability scoresare discussed are always a nice, characterizing touch.
bers of the middle echelons) a dice roll below. Dexterity scores should be re- Cover identities are also important;
on Table 20 can be used to determine corded for all thieves, since it affects what face does the thief present to the
alignment. This table is biased away AC and their skills. public? Does he have a trade, is he a
from lawfulness and towards neutral- merchant, is he perhaps the Constable
ity, which is probably an accurate re- Senior Thieves of the Watch or a trusted tax official?
flm-tion of most thieves. However, if
Such thieves-including the The most important case, obviously,
guildmaster!-should be designed with is the guildmaster himself (or the ruling
a little more detail. The following council). Such an NPC must be individ-
points can be kept in mind when adding
ually designed by the DM to suit the
campaign. The blueprint profiles which
follow the guild design section give a
couple of examples of fully fleshed-out
mid-to-high-level guildmasters, and
these can be used by the DM as they are

I Thieves’ Guild!

or as an indication of how to go about The dues and other payments due
desi-gnin-g a g-uildmaster NPC. should be recorded by the DM, to-
gether with a brief note on what the PC
Junior Thieve thief gets in the way of special benefits
for his dues.
These will not need the kind of detail-
ing the seniorswill, unless the DM is de- Normal Resources
termined to have complete details of
everything! Race, class, prime requi- A roll on Table 21 can be used to de-
site, and level will be sufficient to begin termine the availability of standard,
with, especially for mere 1st- or 2nd- non-magical equipment items. This re-
level apprentice types. The addition of flects how well the Guild is equipped
names should round off these basic de- with illegal items, or equipment which
tails. is of dubious legality (and which may
be illegal in highly lawful societies).
A Final Record Add + 1 to the dice roll for every 10
thieves in the guild to a maximum of
Now that the initial die rolls for num- + 4 for a guild with 40 or more thieves.
bers and levels of thieves have been
rounded off (and modified) by race, Table 21:
and dual/multi-class options, the basic
details for the guild thieves can be AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES
determined-summaries of guild sen-
iors, minor magic items for juniors, the d20
odd exceptional ability score, hit points Roll Equipment Availability
if the DM has rolled these up, and the 1-5 Poor
like. 6-10 Fair
11-17 Average
Cash and Carry 18-20 Good

Ha A roll indicating Poor means that il-
lated the guild, the final step is to take legal items (as shown in Table 31) cost
care of a few practical details.
50-80% (40+ [d4x101)more than usual,
Guild Dues
and are at least 50% likely not to be
Guildmembers have to pay fees to available at any given time. Items
belong to the guild, and they may also which are noted in Table 31 as being
have to pay cuts of their take on jobs rare will be almost impossible to ob-
which are “licensed by” the guild. The tain. A thief wanting an illegal item
DM should fix these levels to suit his which is “out of stock” can only try
campaign. For guild dues, a sum equal again after a gap of 2 weeks to see if
to about one month’s living expenses fresh supplies have been obtained. If
for the thief PC is reasonable. This sum the availability of resources is Fair, the
will increase with the gaining of experi- item costs 10-40% more than usual and
ence levels, which is reasonable. Guild- there is a 30% chance that it is unavail-
members get cheaper training, and able, but the thief can make a weekly
training is longer and more expensiveat check.
higher levels, so higher dues reflect this.
Fixing a cut needs to be done on a case- A roll indicating Average allows
by-case basis. If the guild has tipped off items to be had for the usual price, with
the thief with a lot of information im- only a 15% chance that an item is un-
portant to pulling a robbery, it could available (a check for fresh deliveries
well ask for a quarter or even a third or being made weekly). If the roll shows
more of the take, for example. Good availability, prices are 10% be-
low normal, and items are only 5%
likely to be unavailable at any time
(checkfor fresh deliveries weekly).

74

61 I I

Physician/Courtesan/Bimbo Princess. Major Activities The Guildhouse
Subtly different from a government
snitch, and more suited to a swash- Here, the DM should determine and This is going to be of major impor-
buckling rogue campaign or guild. make a record of the secondary activi- tance to almost all thieves' guilds, and
ties which are important to the guild. there are four important points re
Friends in other Guild(s): The guild These include (but aren't limited to) to it:
has very cordial relations with the protection rackets, smuggling, kidnap-
thieves' guild in a major city, even the ping, slavery, forgery, clipping, "enter- Location and Cover: Where IS t
capital, for reasons of blood relation, tainments," and similar fun and games guildhouse, and what does it look like
old friendships and co-adventuring, reviewed earlier. The DM should deter- upfront? The DM must choose a loca-
etc. mine which activities the guild is tion and cover suitable to the town or
strongly involved with to suit the social city, and the nature of the guild. It could
These special resources clearly open alignment, the campaign, and the na- be a fortified large buiiding among
up all kinds of adventure possibilities. ture of the guild rulers. For example, a warehouses or down by the docks, an
Getting a message to the important strong-cruel-despoticneutral evil guild- underground cellar complex below the
NPC is a standard option, obtaining a master is a lot more likely to get the private home of a senior thief, entered
reward for them is another (e.g., the guild involved with slavery and kid- via the sewers, or the basements and
tame mage wants that nice wand of napping than a just, populist good- cellars of a tavern in a shady part of
aligned guildmaster. Some DMs may
lightning his enemy has and could the also wish to exclude certain activities town. A small guild may only meet .
guild steal it for him?), rescuing them such as slavery or kidnapping because
from imprisonment is a third. Subtler players of good-aligned thieves might the back room of a shady tavern,
possibilities could include finding out not want their characters part of such course, but any significant guild needs
who has found out about the guilds activities. However, it is up to the PCs somewhere fairly secret and strong.
Government Snitch and is blackmailing to do something about such evil goings-
him for a fortune, and the like. on if they cannot accept them-a spur Contents: What's in the guildhous
to their creativity and s Is equipment kept hidden there or
the quartermastercarry it with him
likely unless he has a bag of holding
Are there hidey-holes?How many exits

?

TS

Thieves’ Guilds

-

Guards: Who protects the rolls a 7 on Table 7. To this is added +2, ginning to come together fairly nicely,
guildhouse? Can reinforcements be because the town is on a major trade but there is lots still to do. How about
summoned quickly? If there is a build- route. The DM adds a further +2, since bards? The DM rolls a 1, hostility! Very
ing which is a front for the place (e.g., a Mallain is a large town, if not a major odd, and at this stage the DM just re-
tavern above the cellars of the one. This gives an adjusted total of 11, cords this without thinking about why.
guildhouse below), can extra help so the wealth level is average. He decides to come back to this prob-
(hefty fighters) be had quickly? lem later.
The attitude of the law is resolved on
Traps and Protections: The Table 8, and a dice roll of 17 indicates From Table 11, the DM makes an ini-
guildhouse will almost certainly have tolerance. Why? One clear reason tial recording of how many thieves live
magical and mechanical traps-the en- sticks out a mile: under-manning. The and work in Mallain. The population is
trance may be a very strong door, with DM has already recorded that the ruler 17,000. The DM rolls in the “5001-
a couple of locks (and only guildmem- of the land is weak, and his militia is 10,000 row, and twice in the ”Perextra
bers have keys). Down a passage, a se- small in this safe, secure land. There 5,000” row, in the Average (wealth)
cret door may be placed to allow simply isn’t the manpower to go around column. These rolls are 2d6+2, and
entrance-following the passage leads chasing the thieves. ld6 + 2 (twice) respectively-a total of
into very unpleasant traps. Magical 4d6+6. This is rolled as a total of 19,
traps may have been paid for, or placed The attitude of merchants is resolved but the DM adds 10% to this because
by mage/thieves. Mechanical traps will on Table 9. A roll of 14, modified to 15 the law is tolerant, for a total of 21.
be of many kinds, but will often use by the tolerance of the law, indicates a They need not all be guildmembers, of
disabling/paralyzing attacks just in complex/mix. The DM isn’t sure course; the DM needs to know about
case a novice makes a mistake and takes enough of how to script a complexity
the wrong turn somewhere! the guild rulership to determine this.
here; he isn’t clear enough in his own Recording the figure of 21, the DM
Bearing all these points in mind, the mind about the detailsof Mallain. So he moves on.
DM should design the guildhouse, opts for a mix, and makes two more
hawing floorplans and maps. dice rolls on the same table to see what A roll of 5 on Table 12 shows that the
the mix is (adding + 1 to each roll for guild is ruled by a guildmaster. From
The Thieves’ Guild the tolerance of the law). He rolls 12 Table 14, the die rolls produce a picture
of Mallain (13, with a + l ) , which indicates a of what this guildmaster is like. A first
standoff; his second roll is 1, and even roll of 18 shows he is weak. A second
An Example of Guild Design with a + I modifier this indicates war- roll of 12, reduced to 11because of this
fare! How to synthesize this into a weakness, makes him fairly cruel. A fi-
Our DM is script- whole? The DM reasons that most mer- nal roll of 12, reduced to 10 because of
ing the thieves’ guild for the large town chants are described by a standoff- this cruelty, makes him fairly despotic.
(or small city) of Mallain. The DM they put up with the thieves in a fairly In summary: Weak, fairly cruel, fairly
knows some basic social facts about resigned way. A minority, though, are despotic. A rather pathetic creature, all
this place, having placed it on the map furious about thievingfor some reason; told. This comes to the rescue of the
in his campaign world, and records maybe they have suffered particularly DM when he rolls on Table 15 and
these facts for future reference. The is- heavy losses. This place isn’t rich, after comes up with a 20-Anarchy!
sue of weak rulership is something the all. They try hard to persuade the inef-
DM had decided in advance, likewise fectual militia to do something about The DM is taken aback. There is a
the fact that Mallain is in a civilized the thieves. guild here, with a guildmaster, and now
area of the country, and on a major in- he is plunged into a real complication.
land trade route. The DM determines Deciding on thieves and other guilds, He is about to re-roll the dice, but
the population at somewhere around the DM does not roll on Table 10for as- spends a minute or two in imaginative
17,000 (not too large, not too small!) sassins and beggars. The DM isn’t reverie. Perhaps, after all, this is work-
and decides that 5% are halflings and happy handling assassins,so he decides able. An old, feeble, weak, guildmaster
5% are half-elves; there are no full there aren’t any in town, obviating the has lost his authority. He has resorted
elves, and a smattering of dwarves and need for a dice roll. With beggars, the to cruelty and despotism to try to hold
gnomes. The DM considersthat there is DM wants to choose Close Coopera- on to his guildmaster status, but lacks
a slight tendency toward lawfulness in tion, details of which he records. This is the strength even to do this effectively.
the community, but not a strong one, so a plot element he wants to exploit later Guildmembers have drifted away in
the overall social alignment is recorded on. If the beggars spy on the merchants, open contempt, but have not yet
1s neutral. facilitating robberies in a place of only formed a separate guild (that would be
average wealth, it could help explain Opposition, not Anarchy). They don’t
why some of the merchants are at the have the heart to kill the old thief, either
end of their tether, too. Matters are be- (guildmastersappoint their own succes-

76

Thieves’ Guilds

I makes die rolls to detail these thieves. form) will accept. (The DM notes them
There are 5% half-elves and 5% half- in brackets.) A similar consideration
sors, the DM decides, so he’d have to be lings in Mallain, but no full elves or applies to normal resources, but the
killed). gnomes, so the DM decides in advance DM also notes the present availability
to replace any elf rolled up with a half- (poor)by way of an update. Special re-
The DM rolls on Table 16 before all elf, and any gnome with a halfling. Two sources are important-the DM deter-
this has sunk in-if there isn’t a guild, thieves were not rolled randomly; the mines that the thieves’ guild has a
how can it have relations with outsiders 8th-level human guildmaster, and the government snitch, a personal friend of
and freelancers?But the roll of 19, Spe- 6th-level half-elven thief the DM wants the guildmaster, and this stool-pigeon is
cial Relationship, stimulates some fur- to use as a plot element to advance the used to prime the military to arrest the
ther thoughts in the DM’s head. theme of anarchy within the guild. hapless half-elf, driving him further un-
derground, and making him an even
The DM decidesthat the guildmaster The half-elf is a dashing, romantic more elusive and mysterious figure.
has managed to hang on to a small rogue-figurewho is the focus of the op- The war between old Halradur and
rump of the guild-1d6, he decides,and position to the ailing old guildmaster. Evlarel gets hotter by the moment.
rolls just 4. Later on, he will select these He has musicianship skills, and a
as being primarily senior and compati- brother who is a bard-hence one rea- As for major activities, the DM de-
ble with the guildmaster’s alignment. son for the guildmaster’s hostility to cides that in such a fairly boring town
There is no need for the standard per- bards (this detail is added to the record as Mallain there is no scope for any-
centile roll to determine the percentage sheet). This DM sees this character as thing especially unusual. The declining
in the guild, because this is a special and very chaotic, and one who doesn‘t wish guildmaster would not have had the
very unusual circumstance. The other to be guildmaster.But the old guildmas- strength of will to maintain any really
16 thieves all work independently, ter hates his charisma, youthfulness, nefarious activities. Individual thieves
maybe allying with each other in small and character, and has always blocked may kidnap, but the guild doesn’t orga-
groups for the odd job now and then. his progress. Now he sees him as the en- nize such actions. The guildhouse is lo-
Perhaps a lack of coordination among emy who has drawn away the other cated in the cellars of a local tavern, the
them means that some targets are hit thieves-a special relationship indeed, DM decides; the Baron of Beef, run by
too often, which wouldn‘t happen if the a very tempestuous and intrigue-ridden one of the few thieves left who stays
guild was coordinating matters prop- state of affairs. Added to this is the fact loyal to Halradur. This isn’t a particu-
erly.Maybe this is why some merchants that the half-elf doesn’t want to be larly creative design element, but the
are so desperate that they want warfare guildmaster, but the juniors who have DM knows that matters are likely to be
declared on the thieves-this makes deserted the guild are begging him to all-changein Mallain soon, and so can’t
very good sense. It also explains why lead them in a coup against the old be bothered to think up anything espe-
the law is tolerant-they know it’s go- guard. He alone has the experience and cially unusual. The tavern will make a
ing to be hard to track down and deal charisma to do this. The DM has been good location for a final shoot-out in
with any central organizationwhich re- watching a few Errol Flynn movies of any event.
ally cuts the mustard in Mallain, and late. However, while Evlarel the half-elf
the DM adds this detail to his notes. is chaotic good, the old guildmaster is What began as a short exercise in
Neutral-it is too obvious and unsubtle rolling up a thieves’ guild has now
The “Special Relationship” is that to make him evil, which would sub- turned into a powerful intrigue which
holding between the rump of the guild, merge many of the intrigues into a sim- could cast a long shadow over most as-
and the freelancers still in town. To plistic good-versus-evilbattle. But most pects of life in this town. The central
complete the picture, though, the DM of those staying loyal are evil-if they struggle between an old guildmaster,
rolls another d20-giving a result of 6, have to be eliminated, the DM prefers with a small evil coterie, and desperate
hostility. This is the attitude of all the them to be evil than to encourage his young thieves looking to a reluctant
thieves of Mallain (or most of them!) to PCs to attack and kill neutrals. new leader is going to enmesh the un-
outsiders from beyond the town, to wary PCs as soon as they enter the
complete the picture. After this flight of fancy the DM place!
comes back to earth. The guild is in a
The DM now has to determine the state of uproar and anarchy, but there Unusual Guilds
levels of the thieves in Mallain. There are still some practical details to attend
are 21 thieves in the town, and from Ta- to. Guild dues still have to be decided- The guild design
ble 17 the DM determines the levels of these will be the old rates, which ap- system gives a wealth of detail on the
the seniors as 8th, 6th, 4th (two), and plied when the guild was not torn traditional (in the AD&D@game) town
3rd. From the 5xd3 and 5xd2 rolls, an- asunder, but they are useful as a guide or city thieves’ guild. However, there
other two 3rd-level and four 2nd-level to what the reformed guild (if it does re- are other possible guild structures
are added. The remaining 10 thieves
will all be apprentices. The DM records
these figures on some rough paper.

Cj From Tables 18, 19, and 20 the DM

!\ I I

which can be used iby the DM in the monsters on show, then there is a ration- Some type of organization and regu-
campaign world. Tl)ese are unlikely to larity would have to be imposed to
ale for having other character classes make this a guild at all. Meetings half-
4be suitable for P thieves (in most yearly, with a quorum for votes and de-
along for the ride who help the thieves cisions to have any binding quality at
cases), but they add diversity and spice all, would be a possibility. These could
and give the NPC band some diversity. take place in the major piratical port,
to any campaign. 1 perhaps a town or city of unparalleled
Thus, clerics can be on hand to snake iniquity (whata place to send somePCs
to track down the wicked pirates and
charm and speak with animals while stop their evil trade in pressganging/
slavery/drug smuggling, etc.). Certain-
The Traveling Guild mages could charm monsters (if of high ly, some mechanism for obtaining
equipment and training (at the least)
I enough level; arguably a 7th-level mage must exist.

A group of travking thieves, who has lots better to do than traipse around For a notably more structured and
stable rulership of a piratical-type oper-
work as a body and are effectively a with a circus). Thieves with specialist ation (slaving), see the adventure mod-
ule 1$1-4,Scourge of the Slavelords.
guild on the road, makes an interesting skills such as acrobats, cat burglars, etc.,
variantsencounter. Three The Guild of Honorable Gentlemen
on this will fit well into such a group.
As a really unusual guild, which
theme include: Players with any d could exist in parallel with the estab-
lished thieves guild in a large city, this is
Gypsy Folk: This group travels in experience will have a splendid option.

horsedrawn wagons1 The community is well away from circ The members are aristocrats, men of
learning, education, and exalted social
such as having evil, high-level NPCs position (preferably by birth). They are

polymorphed into monsters or animals dignified gentlemen of impec-
anners and superior Charisma.
are well-known to such devotees of the They are a small group, and they thieve
for the excitement of it all. They are
game. So, it may be more enterprising bored with their life of sybaritic self-
indulgent possibilities,
to use some other group of entertain- and gold-digging memb
site sex. They steal for the thrill of it.
FortuneTelling/Astrqlogyproficiencies if ers, such as a traveling troupe of actors What motivates these people is a chal-
lenge to their skill. They steal things not
gPappropriate). The sies will be ex- and musicians. They can perform the because they are valuable or important,
but because they are there to be stolen
tremely loyal to each other, and will usu- equivalent of passion plays, act and (which doesn’t mean that they are value-
less or banal-they usually aren’t). The
ally be of Neutral r chaotic neutral) sing charming ethnic curiosities (espe- Emerald of Kummkqvaat will be stolen
alignment. If such are a common by such a thief not because it‘s worth a
sight on the roads of the land, then the cially elves), sing madrigals, and the fortune, but because it is believed to be
impossible to steal it.
gypsy people may hpve extended clans like. A group of light-fingered expert Such thieves will usually be of nota-
related by bly high level, and they will tend to
thief choir elves could make for a lot of have exceptional Intelligence and Cha-
risma scores. They will very rarely be
fun (they look so swe innocent, Evil, and will also tend away from Cha-
otic alignment. For these reasons, they
how could anyone sus em?).

Piratical Guilds

River Folk: A vaiiant on the gypsy Also travelers in some fashion, a
guild of thieves who
theme is to have a gdoup (or groups) of their time engaged in
plex and shifting st
traveling folk who d o r k the waterways careful thought by t
obviously not be any form of
of the country. Thise people will al- guildhouse for such thieves, although a
small number of secret guild hidey-
most certainly have merchanting inter- holes (caves in the cliffs, deserted
coves, desolate gull-haunted islands)
ests, or convey calrgoes for others; could exist where spare equipment and
vital emergency supplies might be
thieving would not e an adequate in- placed at strategic locations. guildmas-
ters couldexist, but much more likely is
come for them. Th will supplement a loosely-affiliated structure where sev-
eral senior thieves, maintaining their
their income in and positions by force in most cases, are
equipotent. They might well all call
around the rougher1 ports, usually in-

land or estuarine. IThey are signifi-

Ycantly more like1 to be of evil

alignments than are,road-travelers. In

the campaign world of Oerth

(Greyhawk), the 4 e n n e e folk are a

good example of sudh river folk.

The Circus: This ii a somewhat hack-

neyed theme, but shauld always be used

in a campaign at so& time. Thieves can

make up the bulk ofl a traveling circus, would have a ve
wards chaotic

cheerfully robs

I

Thieves' Guilds

can become excellent mentors for a PC lands (in Oerth) or Thay in the In particular, you may wish to design
thief if this is appropriate to the Forgotten Realms (FR6, Dreams of the the deputy (assistant) guildmaster since
campaign-for example, a PC thief can Xed Wizards),a secret urban organiza- this will be an NPC the PC will need to
come across one of them at work, or tion with underground, hidden lean on a lot.
find evidence of the person's true iden- meeting-places and fearful helpers in
tity as a renowned master thief. high places-a superb setting for in- Guild Income
trigue. A rural equivalent, with scout-
The Good-Aligned Guild type thieves allied with tough rangers Table 22 below lists economic modi-
and others combining their skills to fiers for societies of different wealth.
This is a rarity. It has to be. Remem- chip at the edges of a strong evil state, is These modifiers should be applied to all
ber the Player's Hundbook definition of another example, more suited to play- monetary sums referred to later-guild
a rogue; someone who feels "that the ers who like lots of combat and tactical dues, cuts from planned jobs, and the
world (and everyone in it) owes them a skirmishgaming than political intrigues like.
living." Thieves are "the epitome of and tense urban chases and the like.
roguishness." Most thieves want to do Table 22:
as little work as possible and live as Other good-aligned guild possibilities
well as possible off the efforts of others. exist, certainly, but require more careful MODIFIERS TO GUILD INCOME
This is not exactly a definition of good thought by the DM. They are possible in
alignment. The major problem with a a fractionated or oppositional guild Social Wealth Modifier
good-aligned guild is simple: The large structure, in a country where the good/ Very Poor x 0.25
majority of thieves are not of good evil division mirrors or parallels some Poor x 0.5
alignment. If a good-aligned guild other (e.g., good-aligned elves and pre- Fair x 0.75
comes into being (e.g., a good-aligned dominantly evil-aligned humans), and Average none
guildmaster comes to power) then possibly in super-goody-goody nations Comfortable x 1.2
many, if not most, thieves will actively where they exist as security consultants Wealthy x 1.5
seek a non-good (preferably neutral) and the like (buthow do they accumulate Rich x 2.0
guild if the guildmaster seeks to impose their experience points for practicing
the values of good on them. their skills in earnest?). The income the guild receives will
come from two sources; guild dues,
What the intelligent good-aligned Player-Character Guildmasters and the cut the guild takes from
guildmaster will do is not to impose or planned robberies, burglaries, heists,
accentuate the values of good within the This section is and the like. The system given here is a
guild. Rather, he will quietly squeeze evil for DMs who have a PC in a campaign simple one for calculating month-by-
thieves out, put them at risk, and try to who has become a Guildmaster of month income; some optional extras
make sure that evil activities (slavery, Thieves. Holding a similar position are documented later.
etc.) are downgraded or made to fail. (e.g., the most powerful member of a
Eliminating evil is much smarter than ruling council)can be handled with mi- Dues: These will be fixed as a yearly
trying to establish good. nor modifications of the system out- sum, payable anywhere from monthly
lined here for determining guild to semi-annually (the thieves will prefer
However, some good-aligned guilds numbers, activities, economics, brush- the latter). A reasonable base sum to
can certainly exist in the campaign es with the law, and similar events in work from is 30 gp per level as a yearly
world. A classic example is the "free- the everyday story of thieving folk. due, to a maximum of around 300 gp/
dom fighter" guild, a guild which year (for thieves of 10th or higher
stresses the values of chaotic good, in a Determining Guildmembers level). The guildmaster can take 5% of
Lawful Evil country or state. Such a these dues as a personal fee, and his as-
guild will attract thieves of CG, NG, This can be done in three ways. First, sistant will take the same (these two do
and CN alignments, and pure Neutrals the tables in the Player's Handbook can not pay fees, nor do members of a rul-
will go along as usual. Even chaotic evil be used (with tweaking to reduce the ing council unless democratically elect-
thieves might join, hating the repres- proportion of non-humans if this is too ed). The guildmaster can take up to
sive lawfulness of the state (especiallyif large for your campaign). Second, you 15%, but for every 1%above the 5%
the guild rulers have the sense to play can use tables (17,12,13)earlier in this standard the morale of the guildmem-
up Chaos and freedom in their pitch). book (the 11-15 row is suggested from bers drops by -1.Extorting over 15%
Such a guild is one with the classic Rob- Table 17). Or you can use one of the leads to immediate revolt1 The rest of
in Hood (robbin' hoods?) spirit. It systems, and introduce a few pet, indi- the income goes to the expenses of run-
could exist "underground in an evil vidually scripted NPC thieves of your ning the guild (bribes, buying equip-
land such as the Scarlet Brotherhood own into the results from the dice rolls. ment, paying fines, etc.).

entitled to exact a -1 if the merchants attitude is one of tation with the DM. Reference should
warfare be made to the Player‘s Handbook
burglaries which +2 if the merchants are submissive or when considering the money side-
infiltrated how much shopkeepers can afford to
The guild- pay as protection money, for example.
Income Multipliers (see below) These sums are usually lower than
master doesn’t have to plan these activ- Easygoing operations: x 0.5 most players think! Making sure the
Routine operations: x 0.8 target one strikes at is rich is a shrewd
ities; his right- (anti left-) hand men Average operations: x 1.0 step in any thiefly activity.
Pushy operations: x 1.5
take the leading rolf in this. The levy Aggressive operations: x 2.0 The Long Arm of the Law

dcan be taken as a base 10% (this is Levels of Operations A monthly roll is made on Table 24
to determine whether there has been a
pretty much stan ardized. If a PC These are referred to in the multipli- confrontation with the law.
ers following Table 23, above. They re-
?guildmaster wants t extort more, eve- fer to the following instructions given Table 24:
by the guildmaster: CONFRONTATIONSWITH
ry extra 1%leads t9 a decline of -1in
Easygoing: Guildmembers take life THE LAW I
morale; over -10 leags to immediatere- very easy. No morale modifiers.
d20
volt). Of this IO%, t k guildmaster gets Routine: Guildmembers take life Roll Result
fairly easy, but keep their hands in. A 1-16 No confrontation
l o % , as does his assistant-that is, 1% +1modifier applies to morale for the 17-20 Confrontation
first month (after this some of them get
of the gross. bored and touchy). Modifiers to Dice Roll
+ 4 if attiude of law is persecutory
Table 23 shows h w much money is Average: The standard level of oper- +2 if attitude of law is hassling
ations, no effects on morale. -2 if attitude of law is tolerant
gained per 10 by a guild -4 if attitude of law is corrupt
Pushy: The guildmembers are -3 if activity of guild is easygoing
from this kind of guild-guided activity. pushed into doing some extra jobs here
and there, and grand, ambitious activi- -1if activity of guild is routine
The standard econhmic multiplier is
ties are eagerly pursued. This gives +1 + 2 if activity of guild is pushy
used. The number Cjf dice rolls equals
to morale for the first month (excite- +5 if activity of guild is aggressive
the total number of qxperience levels of +1for each group of 10 thieves (round
ment), but -1per month after the first
guild operatives, divided by 10 (the up) past the first 10 (maximum modi-
if sustained, cumulativeto a maximum fier +5)
guildmaster and his ‘assistant,and any of -4).
Note that when rolling on the table
aguildmembers not actively thieving, Aggressive: Guildmembers are told by above, a roll of natural 20 means a con-
the guildmaster to steal anything which frontation with the law, no matter
are excluded). So, a guild with six 3rd- isn’t bolted to the floor. This has an im- what the modifiers may be.
mediate effect on morale of -2, to which
level, six 2nd-level, nd eight 1st-level If a confrontation arises, roll on Ta-
thieves gets 4 dice r/olls (total levels= -1is added per month (cumulative)to a ble 25 to determine the nature of the
maximum of -10; at this point, a revolt confrontation. Apply the same modi-
18 + 12 + 8 = 3t4. Fractions below fiers to the dice roll as for Table 24, ex-
is automatically triggered. cept for the last one (the number of
one-half are rounded down, others up). The more active the guild is, the thieves modifier). Also, natural rolls of
1and 20 are not subjected to modifiers
Table 23 gives the gqoss; the guild gets more likely thieves are to be appre- on Table 25.
hended by the law, however!
8% of this, the guildmaster and his as-
The sums of money gained by the
sistant 1%each. guildmaster this way will not be great,
unless the guild is a large one, the com-
table^ 23: munity is rich, and/or the guildmaster
uses aggressive thieving tactics. This is
GUILD MONTBLYINCOME likely to be ale money for guildmaster-
level thieves, so other activities must be
d20 ~ used to generate income. These will
need planning by the player in consul-
Roll Income per k0 Thief-levels

1-2 5d6 gp

3-5 5d8 gp

6-9 5d10gp

10-11 8dlO&

12-15 2d6 x 10 g~

16-18 3d6 x 10 gp
~

19 4d6x10gp

20 6d6x10gp

21 6d10x10g ~

22 lodl0 x 10 i p

23 + 12d12 x 10 gjp

Modifiers to Dice Rbll
-2 if the attitude of the

tory

-1if the attitude of lthe

+ 1 if the law is corrbpt or tolerant

m

Thieves’ c.“ds

Table 25: the fineby five. Finally, roll ld4 and mul- If morale falls to 5 or lower, how- I
CONFRONTATIONSWITH tiply the fine by this figure to get a final ever, the guildmaster will be the subject
sum. of an open revolt and attempted putsch
THE LAW I1 (and, at the DM’s discretion, this may
This is a fair shorthand rule which happen sooner if the PC is being cruel,
d20 many DMs will want to detail further arbitary, reckless, or otherwise abusing
for themselves, but for an averagely ac- his position).
Roll Result tive guild in an average sort of game
milieu (if there is such a thing) an aver-
1 Arrest of 1thief (1st-level ap- age fine of 75 gp, or 150 gp for a sea-
soned criminal, is not so much to pay.
prentice) The guild can afford to pay half the fine New Followers
(part of running expenses) up to 250g,
2-5 Arrest of 1thief (level ld2) but the guildmaster has to fork out the
rest from his personal wealth. A guild-
6-9 Arrest of I d 2 thieves (1st-level master who gets a thief out of jail by New followers may arrive, and a
paying the fine, or by busting him out, monthly check should be made for this.
apprentices) gains the confidence of his followers, The chance is 10% for each 10 (or part
who add + 1 to their morale for the thereof) thieves already in the guild-
10-15 Arrest of ld2 thieves (level next month. On the other hand, if the for example, a guild with 27 thieves has
guild suffers a loss of several (3 or a 30% chance each month of attracting
ld2) more) members there may be a morale a new follower. Modifiers to this base
drop of -1 or more (but the DM may percentage chance are shown in Table
16-18 Arre S waive this for large guilds). Table 26.

ld3) Guild Morale

19 Arrest of l d 3 +1thieves (levels Unless there are special reasons to the
contrary, the base morale for guildmem-
ld3) bers will be 15 to begin with. If morale
falls below this level, a morale check is
20 Reroll, but thieves are killed called for. Failing the check means that Table 26:
Id2 thieves leave the guild, to become MODIFIERS TO FOLLOWERS DICE
21-23 Arrest of Id2 +3 thieves, freelancers elsewhere. This number can
be modified. For each 2 points that mo- ROLL
rolled at random from rale fallsbelow 14, add l extra deserter.If
the 2d1O roll is 19 or 20 (natural; this is
the active guildmember list but a 3% chance), add an extra ld4 de-
serters. Do not add alignment modifiers
24+ As above, but there is a 50% (for the PC) to these morale checks;
standard morale checks (Table 71,
p chance for each DUNGEON MASTER Guide) give bo- Morale, per point above 15: + l o %
thief of being killed nuses for being lawful/good and this is
ny arrest of three or more thieves extremely implausiblewith thieves! Morale, per point below 10: -10%
will reduce the morale of guildmembers
As an alternative, rather than leaving Guildmaster’s Charisma: +2 % per
by -1. the guild, the thievesmay put their griev-
ances to the guildmaster,if a secret check point above 12
Clearly, it is useful if a guild can man- against the guildmaster’sCharisma is suc-
cessful. They may ask for lower dues or Society is Rich: +10%
age to corrupt the law somewhere along cuts from their income, more resources
from the guild, or as the DM determines. Society is Wealthy: +5%
the line. It is up to the player of a PC Thisis a fair step, if morale has fallendue
to ill-fortune (arrestsand other problems) Society is Poor: -5%
rather than to the guildmaster having
been reckless or careless. Society is Very Poor: -20%

guildmaster to set about corrupting the Whatever the final percentage
chances, no more than two new thieves
law, if it isn’t corrupt already, and up to will arrive in any single month. New
arrivals are 1st-level apprentices, with
the DM to determine at what point the the usual chance for being nonhuman
and possibly multi-classed. The DM
corruption has gone far enough to apply may allow greater chances for new re-
cruits if the guildmaster goes on a re-
dice modifiers in the tables above. cruiting drive after the guild has been
weakened by arrests or some similar
Arrested Thieves: Different campaign misfortune.

worlds, and countries within the same

campaign world, have very different le-

gal systems and degrees of punishment.

However, if the guildmasterwants to try

and get his followers back by paying

their fine, this is acceptable unless the

DM rules otherwise (e.g., the country is Special Events and Occurrences

Lawful Neutral and very punitive, the at-

titude of the law is persecutory or has- These are the annoying unforseen
happenings which make life far from
sling, etc.). The fine payable is variable. boring for any guildmaster. Allow a flat
1in 6 chance per month of one event
The base fine is 30 gp,but modifiers can (rolled from Table27) to take place. The
DM must be prepared to do some neces-
readily be applied. If the thief is of 3rd or sary work fleshing out the event,

higher level, double the fine (heprobably

has a record). If the guilds activity level

was pushy, double the fine. If the guilds

activity level was aggressive, multiply

I 12 guildhouse is burgled!I I Bril- inspiration for the DM to devise his
liant NPC outsider gets away own NPCs along the same lines. These
and may add his own occurrences to with valuables (as recorded)I NPCs are also characters who will hold
those in the table. If an event is irrele- dominant positions in any thieves
vant, then no special event occurs that 13 A mid-level thief, plus an ap- guild.
month. prentice, disappear; have they
been kidnapped (no ransom), To give these NPCs a rounded, full
Table 27: murdered, eaten by alligators
SPECIAL EVENTS IN THIEVES' in the sewers,polymorphed, character, each has been given a history
plane shifted or suffered some and location within one of TSRs game
GUILDS worse fate? worlds; Oerth, the world of
Greyhawk, or Faerun, also known as
d20 14 Failed assassination attempt is the Forgotten Realms. If the DM does
Roll Special Event made against guildmaster-by not wish to use these histories and loca-
whom? tions, he can change them as he wishes,
1 Senior Thief from next town relocating the NPCs as desired.
defects to your guild, asking 15 Thieves accidentally (or in
for protection, brings minor panic) kill guards when com- Stats: Thief skill values listed include
magic item gift mitting robbery-attitude of all bonuses from dexterity, race, non-
the law will be persecutory use of armor, and magical items, as ap-
2 Randomly selected guildmem- (maybe gaining reinforce- propriate.
ber kidnapped by evil adven- ments) for next month
turers, ransom note dispatched Guildmaster Septien
16 Novice thief leaves guild (fami- Selfareine, the
3 Freak success with burglary: ly moving, marries girl/boy "White Lily"
Guild gets extra income (d6 x from next village, etc.)
100 gp) but a good fence is AC 1 (cloak of
needed 17 Relations with Beggars' guild displacement, ring of protection +3,
worsen (if good)or improve (if
4 Junior thief managesto acquire bad)-actions of junior thieves boots of striding and springing);T 10/ M
a "Police Snitch (as determined by DM) are in-
strumental in this 9; hp 32; #AT 1;Dmg by weapon type;
5 Deputy Guildmaster is Str 9, Int 17, Wis 16, Dex 17, Con 9, Cha
diseased/cursed/ kidnapped/ 18 Burglary turns up magic item 16; TI-IACO seebelow; AL CG; SA quad-
caught by the authorities unusable by any guildmaster ruple damage on backstab, thief skills,
(for example, a clerical item)- sword of dancing, spells; SD thief skills,
6 l d 3 dumb thugs offer services the guild needs to trade it to get magical items (listed below), spells. Lan-
to the guild for a "retainer"; its value (with a temple) guages spoken: Common, no align lan-
these fighters may be loyal, or guages, elven, gnome, halfling, thieves
are they stool-pigeons for 19 l d 3 thieves beaten up and
some other organization? robbed returning from a bur- cant. Thief skills: PP 60,OL 80, FRT 75,
glary, reduce guild income by MS 85, HS 80, DN 40, CW 70,RL 30.
7 Powerful NPC (a mage, per- 25% this month
haps) commissions tough Experience Point Total: 212,465 (in each
break-in and burglary from the 20 PCs identity as guildmaster is class).
guild known to an outsider, who at-
tempts to blackmail the PC (he Spells usually memorized: charm
8 Guildhouse is located by the has some physical evidence to person, feather fall, protection from
authorities; 50% chance a jun- back his blackmailing) evil, sleep, forget, invisibility, knock,
ior thief finds this out before dispel magic, fly, spectral force, dimen-
the raid. DM must do much Blueprint Profiles sion door, wizard eye, teleport.
work here!
It's time to meet a Weapon Proficiencies: dagger, long-
9 Local assassins guild requests select body of august personages from sword, short bow, shortsword.
simple manpower help with a diverse thieves' guilds. The NPCs here
"little j o b (that turns out to are presented with fine-grain detail, Nonweapon Proficiencies: artistic
and they can be used in several ways. ability (Wis; composition), disguise
not so little . . .) They can be used by any DM as "off the (Cha; double proficiency, checks at
r a c k NPCs ready for play, they can be + I ) , etiquette (Cha), musicianship
10 NPC specialist of some kind slightly modified to suit the DMS ongo- (Dex; stringed keyboard instruments).
(mage/thief, quafitermaster, ing campaign, or they can be used as an
brilliant cat burglar) arrives Combat Stats: Melee: Base THACO
and applies for guild member- 16. Uses shortsword +2, +4 versus
ship dwarves (THACO 14/12, Dmg ld6 +2
(+4)/ ld8+2). Also has longsword of
11 Randomly selected junior
guildmember suffers accident
which leaves him unable to
thieve

Thieves' Guilds

dancing, THACO 14 if hand-held, 16 if Septien was born the illegitimate son much in demand for concerts and as an
used in nondominant hand, 15 de- of a minor female elven noble in Ce- accompanist) brings him good fees,
scending to 12 if used as a dancing lene, where such a birth is no stigma. public acclaim, and a steady rate of ar-
weapon; Dmg l d 8 + 1 to +4/ld12 + 1 The half-elf's quick wits and skill soon rival of hopeful females at his secluded
to +4. brought him private training in magic town house. There is word of his being
from his doting mother, and he began made a Court Companion, the formal
Combat Stats: Missiles: Base THACO adventuring early in life. The evils of title given to an adviser to the Prince,
the Pomarj, so close to Celene, offered who is thought to seek his views on el-
14. Uses shortbow + I (THACO 13, ample opportunity for a mage to gain ven and cultural affairs.
experience and prosper. But Septien's
ROF 2, Dmg l d 6 +1)and has 15arrows light-fingered talents found employ- Septien in Game Play: As "White
ment in the tolerant, liberal capital of Lily," Septien is the classic mystery fig-
+2 (THACO11,Dmg ld6+3). Celene as well. ure. PCs may have a wild range of ad-
Additional Magic Items: amulet of ventures trying to find him, stop his
Septien made happy progress as robberies, foil his schemes, etc. Putting
proof versus detection and location, mage and thief, all the while cultivating PCs up against an enemy who will only
his social graces and musicianship. It wish to outsmart them, and will never
periapt of proof versus poison +4, took the ravages of a broken love affair kill unless he is forced to, will make a
Nolzur's marvellous pigments (6 jars), with a haughty grey elf ballerina to nice change of atmosphere. A medium-
rings of chameleon power and water drive Septien first to drink and then to level thief needing training in Ulek
walking, wand of secret door and trap exile. Septien grew lazy, fat, and de- might find that only Septien can train
location (52 charges). pressed in the lands of Ulek, until the him, and part of the guildmaster's
day his second love entered his life- terms might be that the PC will have to
Physical Details: Age 37 (human the White Lily Diamond. Found in the find him first! Given his concerts, his
equivalent approximately 28), height Kron Hills, bought by the Prince of U1- liking for female company, and his ac-
5'11", weight 131lbs, silver-blond hair, ek and exhibited at the Gryrax Palace tivity as a mage (although he is not a
light blue eyes, very clear and some- of Culture, the heavily-guarded dia- member of the Mages guild of Ulek),
what pale skin, high cheekbones, long mond was irresistible. Septien brought there are severalways in which PCs can
and slender limbs. off a daring robbery, and left a flower meet Septien while, at the same time,
behind; the origins of his name. He pri- hunting the infamous White Lily!
Key Idiosyncrasies: Septien has an vately sold the gem back to the Prince
infamous "'ego signature," as explained for 25,000 gp, a fraction of its value, Tactical Notes: With his amulet, Sep-
below. He also has a real loathing of later. Septien does not want riches. He tien is almost impossible to scry. Add-
dwarves, and his shortsword is his does not steal for the wealth. He steals ing his ring of chameleon power to his
most treasured magical item. He does for the joy of being skilled and smart thief skills makes this no easier. His ma-
not attempt to expel dwarves from his enough to get away with it. jor advantage is his amazing ability to
guild, but they do not advance easily, get into and out of places, and with
and Septien has even shopped one or Septien avoided joining the thieves' spells such as wizard eye he does his
two to the law by anonymous tip-offs. guild for some years, but bumped into best to scry places in advance. NolzurS
the acting guildmaster when the two marvellous pigments are ideal for get-
Cover: Septien is a well-known and decided to rob the same place at the ting into places (hey presto! a door!) if
appreciated musician who gives well- same time. Septien was just putting his Septien's half-elf skill and wand don't
attended public performances of his flower in place when the second thief find the secret doors.
playing on harpsichord-like instru- arrived! The old guildmaster had just
ments. died, and to have the famous White Septien does not use aggressive, dam-
Lily as guildmaster was a decision aging evocation-type spells and the like if
Guild and Leadership: The Gryrax which unified the squabbling and di- at all possible. He prefers subtlety and
Guild has a complex/mix structure; the vided membership and ruling council. guile, and a spell such as spectral force to
guildmaster co-rules with a ruling council Septien was drafted in, and somewhat cover his escapes (using teleport to his
of three. Septien's style of guildmastering regrets this. In truth, there is little bur- villa in dire necessity). Septien is not
is slightly weak (he shares power), just, den on him, since the council makes all strong and has few hit points, and so he
and fairly populist (thecouncil attends to the day-to-day decisions and his free- will avoid melee combat if possible. If he
general feelingswithin the guild and Sep- dom of action is little curtailed. But must fight, unleashing his longsword of
tien listens to them). Septien regrets the day his identity was dancing while he fights with his magical
discovered. On the other hand, his in- shortsword can make him quite formida-
History: Septien Selfareine is Guild- creasing success as a musician (he is ble. However, his cloak of displacement
master in Gryrax of the Principality of makes it virtually certain that he will
Ulek, of Oerth (in the World of
Greyhawk). His identity as guildmaster
is known only to the three members of
the ruling council of this guild; he is
known to everyone else as "White Lily."
This pseudonym comes from a weak-
ness he has for leaving a fresh white lily
at the scene of his audacious burglaries.

II

a first blow in Additional Magic Items: Bag of hold- violence, but Tulmara’s brutishness is

r ing (250 cu. ft. capacity), censer of more coldly controlled. Her gauntlets
summoning hostile air elementals, oil of ogre power aid her considerably in

of etherealness, other minor magical this respect; if she strikes or flails some-

emagical boots also nable him to make potions ( E S e healing, etc.) as desired one, they h o w they’ve been hit! Im-
portantly, Tulmara has never picked a
fast escapes. by the DM. pocket in her life. Such vulgar street
Physical Details: Age 38, height 5’5”,

I weight 107 lbs., short-cut curly black crime is beneath her.

Guildmaster Tulmara hair, very dark brown eyes, tanned ol- Soon after poisoning her parents to

Zir Bharann, ive skin, dark complexion, ear-lobes advance her inheritance, Tulmara be-
“Cruelty’s Mask” virtually absent. gan thieving. From her commercial
work, she learned of the activities of
AC -5 (bracers Key Idiosyncrasies: Tulmara suffers other merchants, and began to plan
periodic blackouts, about once a

month, each lasting ld8 hours. She is and execute robberies of their premises.

wholly amnesic for what happens dur- Expanding into blackmail and kidnap-

ing this time. In her conscious personal- ping, she was recruited into the thieves’

ity, her most striking feature is her guild by an early paramour, Arkail

dead-eyed, emotionless mask of a face Rhassan. These two became rising stars

when listening to others. in the guild, arranging for the old guild-

Cover: Tulmara is well-known as a master to have an ”accident” and then

merchant, dealing in staple commodi- taking over the Guild themselves. The

ties. Cloths, foodstuffs, and livestock Guild prospered, and became wealthy;

are her major business interests. She the junior thieves and apprentices, sub-

has many people working for her and is jected to harsh discipline, could accept

rarely seen herself; this is not unusual it if the rewards were good. And they

in her homeland. were.

Guild and Leadership: The Zazes- However, Arkail was killed, mur-

spur thieves‘ guild has a traditional dered by an assassin; Tulmara has not

single-guildmaster leadership. been able to find out why (it was on the
orders of the Shadow Thieves of Amn,
Weapon Proficieicies: dagger, hand Tulmara’s rule is strong, cruel, and des- who feared the rise of the Zazesspur
crossbow, longsword, quarterstaff, Guild). Since this time, Tulmara has be-
short bow, short sword. potic. come more withdrawn and harsh, more
cruel and evil, and more paranoid; the
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Apprais- History: Tulmara Zir Bharann is killing destroyed what little humanity
ing (Int), Disguise (Cha), Jumping remained in her. Now she strengthens
(Str), Lip Reading (Int; double profi- Guildmasterof thieves in the city of Za- the guild, and indulges herself in a few
ciency, + 1 to checks), Rope Use (Dex),
Tightrope Walking (Dex). zesspur, one of the “Big Four” cities of

Tethyr in Faerun (see FR3, Empires of

the Sands, for some further details on

Zazesspur). She rules tyrannically over

Combat Stats: Melee: Base THACO a large guild in this trade city, with big heists, to pass the time; her heart is
13. Usually uses gauntlets of ogre power some 140 thieves who are full-time empty, her zest for life almost wholly

together with longsword +2, +4 versus members of the guild. gone. Her odd nickname in certain

Good-aligned creatures in dominant Tulmara was born into opulence. quarters-”Cruelty’s Mask”-comes

(right) hand; gives ‘I’HACO 8, 6 versus The Bharann family is one of the older, from a middling-rank guild member
more important ones in Zazesspur, and who knew of her cult sympathies (see
Good enemies; Dmg ld8 +8 ( +lo)/ Tulmara received an extensive training below), contrasting them with the life-

Id12 +8 ( +lo). Also possesses dagger of

venom used in secor.dary hand; THACO in commerce and merchant life when less persona and deadpan facial expres-

10, dmg l d 4 + 7 (+!J)/ld3+7 (+9)plus young. Her naturally greedy and selfish sion of his Guildmaster.

special (lethalpoison). temperament was exacerbated by being Tulmara is a devotee of Loviatar, and

Combat Stats: M.ssiles: Base THACO spoiled as an only child, and made attends secret ceremonies and rituals of
10; uses short bow .+1 (THACO9; ROF more strident by this early coaching in that faith. She rules her guild abso-

2; ranges 5/10/15; Dmg ld6 +1) and personal greed. Her physical brutality, lutely, and she rules it through fear. She

also has normal hand crossbow however, is something of an oddball respects only force and power in other
(THACO 10, ROF 1; ranges 2/41 6; characteristic, perhaps a throwback to people; intelligence, wisdom, and other

Dmg ld3/ ld2). her great-great-grandfather. Old Sul- gentler qualities are held for nothing.

mair Bharann suffered fits of maniacal She has the force to back her cruel

Thieves’ Guilds

11 edicts, and while the Guild juniors alarms (magicmouths and the like)and detect magic, friends, hypnotism,
suffer-and no few flee the land-the numerous mechanical traps are present. identifu, message, protection from
fear of her is so widespread that she A permanent stinking cloud in a corri- evil, spider climb, unseen servant; alter
dor leadingdirect to her personal cham- self, detect invisibility, ESP, forget, in-
stays in control of her guild, at least for ber can be bypassed by her with the visibility, know alignment, magic
magical necklace she wears, but could mouth, rope trick, scare, wizard lock.
the time being. be a problem for PCs! Tulmara favors
the use of many secret doors in her per- Weapon Proficiencies: dagger, long-
In Zazesspur, there are some notable sonal lair, below her private villa. sword, quarterstaff, one unlearned.

political intrigues involving royalists of In combat, Tulmara always uses the Nonweapon Proficiencies: Apprais-
sneak backstab when she can, but is not ing (Int; triple proficiency, all checks at
various persuasion (see Empires of the scared to slug it out toe-to-toe even +2), forgery (Dex; DM may use Int for
with a plate-clad warrior. With her ar- detecting other people‘s forgeries), her-
Sands).Tulmara doesn’t get involved in mor class and her magical gauntlets, aldry.
she is a fearsome fighter. Her escape
this; and alliedwith her guilds predom- routes (notably oil o f etherealness and Additional Magic Items: bags of
her magical cloak) are important, like- holding (2 x 250 cu. ft., one of 150 cu.
inant preying on outsiders and for- wise her protections against certain at- ft., one of 70 cu. ft.), wand of identifi-
tack forms (the ring of free action cation with 44 charges (seebelow).
eigners, this has allowed the Zazesspur makes her immune to hold spells, the
necklace of adaptation protects against PhysicalDetails: Age 41, height 5‘8”,
guild (and Tulmara) to grow strong and gases, and so on). Tulmara often spies weight 132 lbs., long and lank stringy
on people in the form of a bat, and the fair hair, green-blue eyes, weathered
powerful without the authorities get- powerful webs she can cast from her pale skin, slightly hooked nose, long
cloak of the bat don’t affect her (ringof fingers with knobby, large knuckles.
ting too fearful. free action). Tulmara has a fortune
stashed away in various businessprem- Key Idiosyncrasies: Marmel has a
Tulmara in Game Play: Tulmara ises, and can summon up a bunch of paranoid belief pertaining to servants
thugs to attack her enemies at very of a long-dead master seeking him out
makes for excellent intrigue adven- short notice, both guildmembers and to kill him, as explained below. More
hired mercenaries. mundanely, he has an inordinate fond-
tures, and is a good nemesis figure if ness for humbugs and will cheerfully
Quartermaster suck his way through a large bag of
crossed (paranoids always fit the bill on Marmel Raveiz them given the chance. As a result,
most of his teeth have fallen out, and
this count). It may take the PCs many AC 7 (unar- his speech contains many breezily gum-
mored) or 4 (leather armor + I ) ;MV less sibilants.
adventures even to realize she is at the 12; M 4/ T 8; hp 26; #AT 1; Dmg by
weapon type -1 (usually l d 4 + 1 / Cover: None; Marmel spends his
centre of activities they are fighting time in hiding; see below.
l d 3 +1with dagger + 2 ) ;Str 7, Int 17,
against. It should be very hard to find Guild and Leadership: The Mon-
Wis 14, Dex 17, Con 11, Cha 10; murg thieves’guild has a complex/mix
her, even harder to pin her down and THACO 18 (16with dagger +2);AL N; structure-specifically, it has a ruling
SA triple damage on backstab, thief council (of 4) elected by allegedly dem-
overcome her. PCs might be terrorized skills, spells; SD thief skills, ring of ocratic elections from the guild mem-
blinking, ring of immunity to enchant- bership for 7-year terms. The
by Tulmara’s servants, hired to recover ment (see below), spells. Languages leadershipstyle of this council is strong,
spoken: Common, thieves cant. Thief just, and populist. Marmel isn’t much
someone kidnapped by her, paid to act skills:PP 45, OL 45, FRT 30, MS 40, HS affected by all this, because he doesn’t
40, DN 45, CW 70, RL 70 (skill values get involved in guild politics and coun-
as bodyguards or couriers who are later not adjusted for armorless state). Expe- cil members (of whatever persuasion)
rience Point Total: 12,045 (as mage), appreciate his loyalty and usefulnessto
attacked by thieves instructed by 94,130 (as thief). the guild.

Tulmara, and the like. Tulmara strikes Spell books (usually memorized History: Marmel Raveiz is quarter-
spells in bold): cantrip, charm person, master of the thieves’ guild in Mon-
ruthlessly at those who thwart her, and murg, capital city of the Hold of the Sea
Princes in Oerth (see World o f
sincethe scope of her operations is very Greyhawk for some additional details).
He keens the magical items the guild
wide, she can be thwarted in many

ways!

The key element is always to make

PCs work hard to get closerto the iden-

tity of their nemesis. Tulmara’s identity

as guildmaster is known to few, and the

familiarworking up the ladder from ap-

prentices or thugs, to middle-rank peo-

ple, and then closing in on the heart of

the operation should be the PCs‘ goal.

Even then, gaining any proof of

Tulmara’s activities should be very dif-

ficult.

Tactical Notes: Tulmara‘s own lair is

protected by her rod of alertness (used

as a magical alarm)and by her censer o f

summoning hostile air elementals

which is used as a trap (opening a cer-

tain door causes a lever to fall, oil to

pour along a narrow channel and be set

alight, and then the oil runs into the

CI cpnser, lighting it). Other magical

’

I Thie~ves’Guilds

possesses as a group, stocksof specialist items for use by guild members. The
thief equipment, and ledgers and ac- availability of supplies is always good,
counts of the guild (membership dues due to Marmel’s lines of supply and me-
and the like). These are all retained in ticulous checks on his stocks. He also
his bags o f holding. Marmel is not an evaluates items brought in to the guild
expert fence, although he may use his house by thieves, who must pay a 10%
Appraising proficiencyto purchase and flat tithe of all earnings to the guild.
check items for the guild. Marmel’s tripled Appraising profi-
ciency makes him highly valuable in
Marmel began life as an apprenticeto this respect. He routinely uses detect
a Furyondian mage, and had to suffer magic on anything which looks even re-
ill-treatment as the mage developed an motely interesting. He can use an iden-
insidious form of insanity. His master tify spell, and also has a wand of
refused to allow Marmel to make his identification (duplicates the effects of
own way in the world, but the unfortu- an identify spell, with no Con loss to
nate apprentice got his chance when the the mage) if several items turn up at
mage was forced to accompany a Fu- once and the ”owner” is in a hurry for
ryondian naval foray against some of any reason (he is reluctant to use his
the declining piratical force of the Sea wand, since he can’t recharge it, and
Princes. Their ship was sunk, and Mar- charges 150gp per charge for this serv-
me1 took the opportunity to kill his ice). If he is curious or suspicious about
hateful and cruel master, grab a couple a guild member, or a seller to the guild,
of travelling spell books with low-level he will use investigative spells (or hyp-
spells, and levitate to safety. The pirates notism) to learn more.
decided to capture him rather than
shoot him down, their own flying mage Marmel is a gentle enough soul,
bringingdown the unhappy apprentice, rather other-worldly at times. He likes
and Marmel became a reluctant pirate. a spot of haggling, although it’s almost
impossible to get the better of him. He
As piracy declined in the Sea Prince’s has a strange fondness for heraldry, and
lands, Marmel stayed with bad com- may purchase itemswith unusual heral-
pany in the form of thieves. His magic dic design for himself. He has a modest
helped them, and they trained him. fortune from his own thieving days,
Marmel got safety and obscurity, stay- and is paid a good salary by the guild.
ing in the guild house, in return for He rarely leaves the guild house, and
learning the skills of the thief. Marmel when he does it is in the guise of a mer-
was very fearful that his old master chant’s clerk (often accompanied by a
might have been raised; his mage’s guild guildmember who has a cover identity
might come looking for him; the old as a merchant).
mage‘s relativesmight come for him; in
short, obscurity suited Marmel per- Marmel in Game Play: Meeting Mar-
fectly. It even overcame his fear of go- me1 is obviously easiest for guildmem-
ing robbing by night, and Marmel bers. They pay their tithes to him (10gp
began an adventuring life anew as a per year for an apprentice, 50 gp per
thief, not wanting to work further as a level per year from others to a maxi-
mage, lest those he feared would be mum of 500gp),may bring items to him
looking for a hapless young mage to be valued, and come to him for sup-
should find him and punish him for kill- plies, or even the loan of magical items.
ing his master. Non-guildmembers can meet him for
the sale or exchange of items, come
Marmel is not now an active, adven- across him at a sale of heraldic items, in
turing thief. He is too valuable to the an antique shop, or even possibly for
guild to be allowed to risk this. Hap- training (for thief PCs)-at a very steep
pily, he has retired to a life of quarter- price!
mastering. He maintains and
administers the finances of the guild, A major role for any quartermaster is
and shepherds supplies and magical as a source of supplies. The DM can use

86

Thieves’ Guilds

~~ ~~~

__ quartermaster to introduce new Thief skills: PP 40, OL 40, FRT 50, MS tricks, small black rock lizards, and a
15 (95+*),HS 30, DN 45, CW 50, RL pair of small flightless birds from
equipment items (the guild needs cash 15. Experience Point Total: 19,620. Nesme which are brightly colored and
and the quartermaster is on a sales awesomely stupid. Nasher is often in
drive). “Hot”magicitems (e.g., a sword Weapon Proficiencies: dagger, broad Durdlan’s waistcoat pocket or in the
with a non-erasable and unique design sword, quarterstaff. kitchen hunting scraps (PCs are warned
feature) can be sold to the quartermas- not to eat any of Durdlan’somelettes or
ter. New magic items could be had for Nonweapon Proficiencies: Apprais- anything else prepared here). Durdlan
sale (rarely),or exchange (morelikely), ing (Int; double proficiency, checks also has a horrible collection of pottery
or even borrowed for a security de- made with + 1 bonus), Forgery Detec- and ceramic halflings in a large glass-
posit. The DM should arrange these tion (useInt), Gather Information (Int). fronted display cabinet.
practicalities as he sees fit. You don’t
need tables of random determinations; Additional Magic Item: Boots of Cover: Durdlan has a primary cover
you should use a quartermaster to bring eluenkind *. and a secondary cover; this is a com-
in pet ideas, items you think are nifty, plex business, explained fully below.’
as you want to. Marmel has placed a Physical Details: Age 144 (human
magic mouth on each of his bags of equivalent 52); height 4’4”;weight 162 Guild and Leadership: The thieves’
holding, of course, so that if anyone lbs; long wavy black hair, thick beard guild of Mirabar is ruled by a single
other than him even touches them the plaited with gold threading, very large guildmaster, whose style of rulership is
magic mouth will scream out, ”Get hands with thick, sausage-like fingers, strong, moderately cruel, and moder-
strikingly bad breath. ately despotic. Durdlan operates inde-
your paws off!I’ Of course, maybe af- pendently of the guild, and is a
Key Idiosyncrasies: Durdlan has an consultant to them, so this doesn’t un-
ter all these years a relative of the Fu- amazing number of pet animals and is duly trouble him.
ryondian mage wants to know where very fond of them. He does use them to
the apprentice who killed his uncle smuggle things inside and to send mes- History: Durdlan Silverpalm is a
(say) has gone with those spell books, sageswith, but he also simply likes ani- fence who works closely with the
and the PCs are hired to do the job. mals a great deal. In cages in his back thieves’ guild of Mirabar in the north-
Who would expect to find him in a yard, attic, etc., he has pigeons, ferrets, west of Faerun (see FR5, The Savage
thieves‘ guild?? guinea pigs, chickens (Durdlan likes Frontier, for details). The guild hero i s
omelettes), hamsters, a sleek black rat
Tactical Notes: Marmel is protected named Nasher which does tumbling
against undue influence. His ring of im-
munity to enchantment makes him im-
mune to enchantment/charm spells of
4th level or below. His ring of blinking
helps to protect him. Marmel isn’t
much of a fighter, and the guild will
usually have some bodyguards with
him in the event of major transactions
or trips into the outside world. Marmel
does not take his bags of holding out-
side the guildhouse with him!

Durdlan Silverpalm, 87
Master Fence

AC 4 (dwarf-
sized leather armor +2); MV 9; T 5; hp
28; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon type + 1
(usually 2d4+2/ d 6 + 3 with broad-

sword +I); Str 16, Int 15, Wis 11, Dex

16, Con 16, Cha 11;THACO18(17with
magical sword); AL N; SA triple dam-
age on backstab, thief skills; SD thief
skills, 60‘ infravision, rings of mind
shielding and invisibility. Languages

sPoken: Common, dwarf, gnome.

I

I

~

VI Thie es’ h l l d s

small-some 25-40 thieves at any given wrong, allow him an Int test. If this is trade in human cargoes. That is, he will
time will be in this large city-but trade made, he knows his estimate is uncer- conceal people in his home (locking
through Durdlan is brisk. Durdlan tain and he will state a value some 50% them into a cellar), and smuggle them
owns a couple of moneylender and of his originalestimate. An incorrectes- out of Mirabar (usually in barrels or
pawnbroker shops, and lives in a small timate will be from 10-40% above the boxes bound for Luskan). Durdlan is
terraced house in a street of granite true value or 10-50% below it (per- believed to have helped one or two as-
houses all occupied by dwarves (there ceived value= 50% of actual value, sassins in this way in his time.
are some 4,000 dwarves in Mirabar).
His primary cover is as a moneylender, plus dice roll x10% . A roll of 0 is taken Durdlan in Game Play: Durdlan has
and his family has long been engaged in only a handful of contacts from the
this trade, hence their surname. Other as zero). thieves‘ guild, almost all dwarves. He
family members are moneylenders, Durdlan offers a percentage of the never trusts elves (he denies vehe-
pawnbrokers, and locksmiths, and mently that his boots of elvenkind are
Durdlan has a share in several of these, true value of a hot item to his supplier. anything of the sort, claiming they are
including his brothei. Glengar’s famous This is usually approximately 30-50%, boots of silent dwarfcraft) and he
Rig-A-Mortice locksmith’s shop. depending on the ”hotness”of the item, avoids direct contact with almost any-
Durdlan thus has a primary cover as a its absolute value (it is harder to sell one, working through intermediaries.
moneylending small businessman. very pricey items in many cases), the He will try to stay invisible during a
Charisma of the seller (no more than meeting if he can. He certainly doesn’t
Durdlan also has a secondary cover, +4% for this), and the like. If the DM like the location of his home being
a screen cover. He has been seen in dis- is very uncertain, simply offer known.
reputable company in Mirabar once 30+ld20%.
too often in his 144 years, and the wily Durdlan is a fine fence to sell mblly
dwarf realizesthat he cannot escapethe Durdlan can dispose of hot property items to, and he rarely attempts to
scrutiny of the law all the time. So, fast because he has connections with swindle his customers. He is the person
Durdlan runs a small numbers racket many merchant families in Mirabar to see for a fast escapefrom the city. He
(illegal and unlicensed gambling) bet- who aren’t too fussy about where their is also a moneylender, of course, and
ting on various evenits-rat races (liter- secret treasures come from. Indeed, the can be encountered in that guise. His
ally), ship sailingrates and arrival times strongly competitive nature of these love of animals or bizarre fondness for
and the like. The aulhorities thus know families means that they are often eager ceramic halflings could also be ex-
that Durdlan is a bad sort, but believe to have better relics and treasures than ploited to bring him into contact with
that he is just a small-timegambler and other families, or even to steal their ri- PCs (not necessarily as a fence).
thus don’t bother hi? much. Durdlan’s vals treasures and enjoy them in illicit
screen cover (a petty/ crook to cover for secrecy. One of Durdlan’s favorite Durdlan also has connections;
his real big-time croiok identity) works memories is of selling a sapphire and wealthy merchant families, the thiei
perfectly. The thieves Durdlan meets emerald brooch from Evereska to five guild, other merchants, the dwarven
now and then in b a d alleys (seenby the different families, for ever-increasing community, an assassin or two, and
agents of the authok-ities) also see the profit margins, within the space of a amongst officers, guards, and similar
dwarf in the reinfokced cellars of his single year, as each family in turn com- men who will look the other way if
home-unseen by the authorities. missioned thievesto steal the item from enough gold is put in their pockets. If
There, they bring goods for sale and their neighbours. Durdlan made sure Durdlan can’t do something for a pay-
trade. that when the brooch was secretly held ing customer, the odds are that he
by one family, the next rival along the knows a man who cap. This makes him
Durdlan’s prima4 specialty is gem- social line got to hear of it. a very versatile walking game mechanic
stones and jewelerp Appraising such for any DM.
items, Durdlan is 95f% likely to have an Durdlan has many friends in the
accurate estimate of their value. His dwarven merchant community who
secondary specialty,is barbarian relics regularly dispatch wagon trains to
and icons-items of lantique nature, re- Luskan on the coast. These caravans
ligious significancb, or exceptional rarely get thoroughly searched; the
workmanship. Wit4 such items, from guards have scruples which are
the Uthgardt barbajians of the north, alcohol-soluble provided a few gold
Durdlan is 90% likely to estimate their coins are put their way. This access to a
value correctly. With all other items a major coastal port (where again the
customs guards can easily be bought
standard Appraising test (Int +1, roll off) gives Durdlan the chance to sell his
goods for export, where their identity
16 or below) is made. When he is as stolen goods will not be known.

Durdlan is also ready, for a fat fee, to



Chanter 5: Tools of the Trade

pipment f o r Locks skill is an obvious example. different ways. Going on a job with an
,.re Thief's Skills However, there are also many miscella- NPC thief who uses one or two spe-
neous items which thieves are particu- cialty items is one way of educating a
Zondervan larly likely to find useful in their work, PC thief. A second possibility is regular
leaned away from the thick oaken door and there is a full listing of these items attendance at the informal "semin
regretfully. "I can't hear a word o f also. A tabular summary of likely of the Thieves' Guild-make that
what's being said in there," he said rnis- prices and encumbrance values can be
found at the end of this chapter. back to high school! A third possibility
erably. His mentor Raimen smiled at
All this isn't to say that only thieves is during training; part of a thief's train-
him and reached into the voluminous should be allowed to use the items de- ing by a higher-level thief may include
folds of his robe. Hardly the time for a tailed here, of course. In some cases, being told about a small number of
conjuring trick, the miserable appren- other characterscannot use these items items relevant to thief skills. If the PC is
tice thought. But Raimen swiftly flour- effectively. Lockpicks are useless for allocatinga large slice of his 30percent-
ished a polished bronze hemisphere picking locks in the hands of anyone age points for improving one skill (of-
topped with a cone, the open surface of but a thief, for this skill is specifically ten the case), then information about
the hemisphere wrapped about with a (and exclusively)a thief skill. However, ld3 itemsrelevant to the use of that skill
thin metal mesh. Withonly the hint o f a many other items do not necessarily and also I d 2 miscellaneousitemscan be
flourish, he placed the end of the cone have such restricted use. For example, regarded as part of what the PC is pay-
to his right ear and leaned closer to the the use of tar paper (see below for a full ingforduringhis training. Afourthand
door, gently placing the mesh-covered detailing of this) could potentially be final possibility-an entertaining one-
surface to the wood. A smile with just useful for charactersother than thieves. is that the PC hears about such items
the slightest hint of smugness beamed But such an item isparticularly likely to from popular stories and tales concem-
from the older thief'sface. "Try again," be encountered in the subculture of ing a legendary master thief NPC in t
Raimen urged his apprentice. Zonder- thieves, and to be used by them when campaign world, or even from ov
van craned his neck closer and placed going about their nefarious activities.
the cone against his own ear. Now he Also, taking a lively interest in equip- hearing- some officersof the law discus-
could hear the Guildmaster's voice- ment items which assist stealth, con-
faintly, to be sure, but the words were cealment, silent break-ins to places >&sing such matters at
where you shouldn't be, and suchlikeis
clearenough. . . . naturally part of the role-playing of tavenit!;
thieves. Brave, hardy warriors and pi-
''lust one thing, Master," Zondervan ous priests really shouldn't be inter- 3.1 ,
said in a newly-respectful tone on the ested in such matters!
way to the Footpad for an ale, "what is Skill Modifiers
the wire mesh for?" In the full equipment listing below, it
is entirely for the DM to determine Many equipment
"To keep the ear seekers out, o f whether certain items may or may not items detauea below will be stated to
course." Raimen said mildly. "The be available in the campaignworld. For give a modifier to the chance for success
Guildmaster is very fond of wing them example, as noted in the Player's Hand- for a skill check. The skill modifiers
as a defense against snoopers." book, combination locks may well not should be treated as suggestions only,
exist in a world based on medieval although for game balance it's probably
"But-but before you gave me the lis- times, and thus the use of a small listen- best not to give bonus modifiers to a
ing cone to assist in opening such locks thief much greater than those sug-
tening cone I . . . I tried to listen any- would be irrelevant in such a game gested. In any event, a central rule
world. Then again, certain items may which always operates is that the maxi-
way, I placed m y ear against the well be available but not openly so. mum chance for success after all modi-
Only from shadowy, illegal sourcesand fiers are applied (for race, dexterity,
door. . . ," cried the apprentice, sud- supplierswill such items as lockpicksbe conditions, equipment, etc.) is 95%; a
available. Availability of many items "natural" roll of 96-00 on dlOO always
denly aghast. will depend on the nature of the society fails!
"Indeed you did," Raimen replied the thief operates within, as detailed in
the chapter on Guilds. You might also wish to allow an anal-
coolly. "Better nip offand see the clerics ogous 1% chance for success-a natu-
for a cure diseasespell. I get ten per cent Sincethe items detailed below are not ral 01 always succeeds, regardless of
of their fees in such cases, you know. included in the Player's Handbook, modifiers. The poor 1st-level thief try-
they can be introduced to PC thieves in ing to pick a masterful-quality lock in
See you later, I trust. . . ." the dark with improvised lockpicks
rolls-O1! He's done it! The lock clicks
A wide variety of special equipment
items are available for thieves if they open.. . .
know where to look for them. This
chapter details many such items. Many In some cases, different items of
of these will be specific to particular
thief skills and are listed for each skill. equipment may each add to some
The use of lockpicks with the Open

90I

1

Tools of the Trade

hance for success when climbing arm can plausibly need for healin blade, this needs two pick pockets rolls
ialls, opening locks, etc. In the case of ter all. for success (oneto open the puse, one to
onmagical items, a general rule should get at the goodies-and two rolls for be-
e that no more than a total of +2O can Mini-Blade ingobserved, as well!
e added to any chance for success in
uch a skill test, no matter how many term for a very small Opening Locks
ems are employed to assist the thief's sharp) blade which
atural talent. The DM may also not al- care!) between the Lockpicks
)w additive modifiers if items have a "edge of the hand.
imilar function. An obvious case edge, filed down, These are essen-
iould be the use of climbing daggers way, and has the tial for the thief to use this skill at any-
nd spikes for assisting the climb walls thing like his "natural" ability level. It is
kill; the thief could not add the indi- very sharp blade within. these items which are listed in the Pfuy-
idual modifiers for these two equip- er's Handbook as Thieves' Picks, cost-
lent items together and claim an extra container-most obviously a ing 30 gp. They are usually short
onus, since they both do the same lengths of rigid wire and flat, narrow
ling (although they have important, insideit. It is the most effective t plates of iron or steel, especially de-
idividual, additional uses). for getting at coins, gems, etc., signed and made for dealing with locks,
and there will be a dozen or so to a set.
'icking Pockets They will be supplied either on a ring
(likekeys) or in a cloth or leather wallet
This skill is usu- which unrolls. These items will never
be freely available on the open market.
Ily practiced by simple manual dexter-
.y and swiftness. Even so, there is a Improvised Lockpicks
mall number of simpleitemswhich can
elp the thief in this art. Lockpicks are
made for the job, but it is possible for a
irm Sling resourceful thief ta improvise a lcrG

This is simply a
loth sling; the thief wears it to appear
s if he has a broken or injured arm,
nd speedily withdraws his hand from
:for the pocket-picking attempt.

This actually reduces the chances of
licking pockets by 5%, but the payoff
j that the chances for being discovered
re halved (but a natural 00 on dlOO al-
vays means discovery). This reflects
he fact that people simply do not ex-
kect to see a man with a broken arm
lickingpockets and the expectation de-
ermines the perception. The use of this
lnusual strategy is only useful-but it
5 really useful here-when the priority
5 not to be discovered, rather than to
)esure of success. A thief working in a
,itywhere he is not a guild member, or
)ne where legal penalties for picking
)ocketsare very harsh, might favor the
ise of this ruse.

A thief obviouslycannot use this ruse
or an extended period of time in the
.ameplace (savepossibly by posing as a
jeggar). There is a limit to how long an

Tools of the Trade

pick from a iengtn of wire, a hairpin or alternative. Such acids will eat through Cutters, Files and Hacksaws
hat pin, or some similar ready-to-hand locks if the locksfail a savingthrow (for
item. Obviously, this will never be any- metal) vs. acid (this save is 13). If the These instru-
where as good as the specially-crafted save is made, the lock cannot be ments may have to be resorted to if a
item, but it's better than nothing. As opened, but it will be ruined (and un- thief cannot pick a lock, but thinks he
stated in the Player's Handbook,a pen- openable!) if a second save (metal vs. has the time to try these desperatel-
alty of anywhere from -5 to -60 can acid) is failed. Use of such acid is diffi- slow methods for bypassing the lock
be applied to the use of such improvised cult and avoided by most thieves, for With a file or hacksaw blade the thief
lockpicks. The following suggestions various reasons. can try to saw through the lock appa-
are given for the DM to select within ratus; a pair of small wire cutters ma
this range. Use of metal-eating acids is difficult also be useful for disabling some part or
because only acidsof great strengthwill the internal mechanism. Usually, only
To create improvised lockpicks the do the job effectively. The DM should reasonably small locks can be cut
thief must make an Intelligence check, greatly restrict the availability of such through in this way. It may also be pos-
modified (positively!)by his experience acid; acids of the strength of black sible for the thief to cut around a loc
level-reflecting the resourcefulness dragon acid and thessalhydra acid (pos- with a hacksaw blade.
greater experience brings. If this check sibly also giant slug spittle) are among
is successful, the improvised items can the few known effective metal-eaters. Again, use of such instruments is 01
be used with a penalty of -5 to -30 Thus, availabilityis very low (and cost ten fairlynoisy (althoughnowhere near
(ld6x5) to the open locks roll. If the very high). as noisy as using a lock chisel). The
modified Intelligence check is failed, main drawback to cutting through or
the thief can bodge up something, but it Thieves usually avoid such acids in around locks is that it takes a very, very
is a feeble effort-the penalty is -35 to any event. First, the acid is very hazard- long time. However, in most cases the
-60 (ld6x5, +30) for the Open Locks ous to carry. While it may be contained attempt will be certain to succeed, UI
attempt. Locks which are of Masterful in glass containers (and possibly ce- less there are special circumstances-
quality, however, cannot be opened ramic), such vessels are fragile. Imagine e.g., the thief has only one small rust
with improvised lockpicks (unless the falling down a pit and hearing the file and the lock is a huge combinatio
DM allows the 01= success rule here). sound of breaking glass as double- lock device!
strength acid begins to seep through
CriticalFailure:When opening locks, Magnifying ClassLens
either with lock picks or with impro- clothing and over one's back. . . . Sec-
vised lock picks, the DM may rule that At the DM's diF-
ond, if the acid does not do the job it cretion, using such an item to inspect
j on a skill check roll of 96-99 the tool may ruin the lock and any hope of lock may add 5% to a thief's chance to
snaps but can be wangled out of the opening it in another way, as described. open the lock. This only applies if the
lock if a Dexterity check is made; on a Third, it is a calumny on the profes- thief has someelement of the lock appr
roll of 00 the snapped tool is wedged in sional reputation of a thief to have to ratus exposed to his view-if he can see
the lock and cannot be removed (save resort to such means as acids! something of the inner workings of the
for disassemblingthe whole lock!). lock.
Special Rule, Combination Locks: Chisels
The DM may wish to allow the exist- Oil and Funnel
ence of these complex locks in his cam- A thief may at-
paign world. If he does, then such locks tempt to force a lock open with a lock Some locks may
are always of Superior or Masterful chisel and a small hammer. This is not grow rusty with age and disuse, and be
quality, As an optional rule, a thief who really a highly skilled activity, and the harder to pick than new locks of the
makes a successful detect noise roll DM might consider extending this to same quality of make would be. Sea-
when trying to open such locks can non-thieves. The base chance for suc- soned thieves know only too well that
halve the usual negative modifier to his cess is equal to the open doors percent- the locks of doors in dungeons are all
skill for such formidable locks, as he is age (which is Strength-based, of too often of this sort. The DM may a p
able to detect the sound of tumblers course).A thief may add one-fifth of his ply modifiers ( - 5 , -10, etc.) to the
falling! open locks chance to this base chance- open locks chance for such doors as he
knowing something about locks does sees fit. However, rusted and even
If a thief is faced give a slight advantage here. Obvi- fairly dirty locks may have a little ligl
..ith a lock which his best efforts can- ously, forcing a lock is a noisy activity oil applied to their insides, usually witn
not pick open, metal-eating acid is one and any hope of subtlety and surprise the use of a long-necked funnel (and
evaporates with the first blow. maybe with a short length of rubbei

92

Tools of t h e Trade

ubing on the end of that). The negative Lockpicks cost of increasing its encumbrance by
nodifier may itself be negated, in one-third above that of normal elfin
vhole or in part, by such lubrication. It considered as necessa chain. It is also fiendishly expensive,
akes 1 round to apply the oil and 5-10 costing more than plate mail. Of
d6 +4) rounds for the oil to have its ef- find traps skill no course, it is even rarer than ordinary
ect on the mechanism. skill for dealing with such traps. elfin chain itself. Finding a craftsman
and persuading him to make such a suit
Of course, using oil to lubricate a vised lockpicks have a -30 of armor could be a challengingadven-
ock helps the thief to open it silently. If ture in itself for a thief. The total profile
he DM wants to make a silent move- both skill rolls. The kind of for silenced elfin chain is shown in Ta-
nent check for lock-picking, it should volved here are small poisone ble 28 below.
)emade at +10if oil is used. Oil is also inside drawers
iseful when it comes to rusty door Table 28:
tinges in this context. tainers; and so on. SILENCEDARMOR (ELFINCHAIN)

Picking a lock Moving Silently EFFECT ON SKILL
akes l a i d rounds, as stated in the Play-
trk Handbook. If the thief has no lock- Footpads Pick Pockets -
icks or is using improvised lockpicks, Open Locks
his duration becomes ld20rounds. equipment items have even h Find/Remove Tra -25
of robber named after them, Move Silently
Other ways of bypassing locks take Footpads can be improvised Hide in Shadows -
,ather longer. Using a lock chisel and or cloth tied to the feet, or Detect Noise
iammer takes one turn; metal-eating footwear-the latter obviou
icid takes 3d6 rounds; cutting around a any risk of cloth falling off! Climb Walls
ock takes 2d6 turns (assumingthat the Read Languages
ioor is a wooden one of average thick- Footpads are not consid
less); cutting through a lock takes 3d6 ard equipment worn by t Bonuses for moving silently and
urns. The DM may roll randomly for cause of the disadvanta hearing noise above those which apply
ime needed, or may select a value Their advantage is that t for normal elfin chain are somewhat
within the range shown which reflects the chance for moving s offset by penalties to picking pockets
he quality and size of the lock. Sizewill responding disadvant and climbingwalls. Silenced elfin chain
nost affect acid and cutting round a pads reduce traction, is particularly useful to a thief for
ock, whereas quality will affect cutting whom subterfugeand sneaking around
hrough a lock, as regards time needed. move silently chance assumes unobserved are very important, but
who suspects that there is a high proba-
Finding and hob-nailed boots or the like bility of combat at some stage during
Removing Traps may readily apply a penalty m his mission!

Because the na- Silenced Armor Strapping
ure of traps can vary, a wide range of
2quipment might conceivably be help- A special foi F A thief may use
:ul on different occasions; a magnifying lengths of strapping-usually of stiff,
glass, for example, might help with Isilenced elfin chain is available t tne hardened leather-to improve his
ionceded traps. There are many items chances of moving silently if these
:or which a DM might allow a +5% thief. Such armor has each indiv dual would otherwise be reduced by such
nodifier to the find/remove traps roll. link of chain armor wrapped in thin factors as squeaky floorboards (but not
rhis needs a DM decision on a case-by- leather or light cloth binding. T is to otherwise).These straps will usually be
:ase basis. There is one exception: lock- some extent "silences"the armor, t the 30 to 36 inches or so in length, and they
picks, which are important in a wide help djstribute the thief's weight over a
range of cases. 93 wider area. Their use negates any nega-
tive modifier arising from squeaky
floorboards, but the thief has to pick up
the strips and move them before him as
he walks along. This reduces his move-
ment rate to only one-half of that which
normally applies for attempting to

move silently-i.e., one-sixth of nor- Charcoal with a ring offire resistance) he suffers
mal walking move ratel ld4 points of damage per round while
Even wearing a holding the weapon.
Hiding in Shadows darksuit, the glint of moonlight on a
pallid white face can give a thief away. Detecting Noise
As the Player's Blacking up the face (and neck) with
Handbook explains, this ability is not charcoal adds a further 2% to the hide Listening Cones
literally just the knack of hiding in areas in shadows chance for concealment in
of shadow while not moving. It also shadows, dim light, etc. Burnt cork and The simplest ver-
covers hiding in bushes, shrubs, behind soot are alternatives. The thief should sions of this item are cones of bronze or
drapes, in alcoves-anywhere where not forget to blacken the backs of his brass or some similar material, with the
there is a chance of skulking about im- hands either! wide end placed against the surface
mobile in some location which offers through which the thief wishes to hear
cover and the hope of staying unseen. Plant Dyes and the narrow end placed against his
Considering appropriate equipment ear. Such listening cones add +5 to the
needs to be considered in this light. Analogous to the chances for detecting noise. A generous
use of charcoal in dim lighting, a thief
Camouflage Clothing can use plant dyes (crushedleaves, ber- DM may allow a thief to improvise
ries, certain oily barks, etc.) to disguise
There may be ex- his exposed face and hands and add a such an item from the humble wine
ceptional variants on this-for exam- further +2% to his hide in shadows
ple, if a thief knows that he needs to chance in suitable outdoor settings. glass. As noted, with such a hollow
hide in shadows amongst the crimson Such plant materials are usually rather
curtains of a lady's boudoir he might sticky and smelly, however! cone it is wise to use mesh over the
use a crimson set of clothing. Apart broad end to exclude ear seekers!
from such singular special cases, there Weaponblack
are two general types of camouflage If such an item is used for a combina-
clothing the thief will find useful in var- One common tion lock (listening for tumblers falling
ious situations. problem for the thief attemptingto hide to assist the open locks roll), the thief
in shadowsis the glint of a steelweapon may well need a special miniaturized
Darksuit: This comprises black or in moonlight, torchlight, and the like. cone to assist him. The proto-
very deep blue clothes, usually fairly The way to avoid this is to use
voluminous robes or what might be weaponblack, a thick, oil-based emul- stethoscopemay be born here. . .
termed a "utility suit:' Such clothing sion. Weaponblack can be coated on to
will usually be lightweight so it can be any metal surface and renders it almost Climbing Walls
carried about easily, and worn under completely matte black and reflection- Clawed Gloves and Shoes
free. If the DM wishes, use of
normal clothing if needs be. It will al- weaponblack can give the thief a +5 Clawed gloves
bonus to hide in shadows. A superior will be familiar to Oriental Adventures
ways include significant facial cover- rule, though, is that use of this sub- players as tiger's claws, but the DM
ing. If such a suit is worn, it will add stance saves the thief having to make a may allow their availability in any fan-
+5% to a hide in shadows chance in second hide in shadows roll if he draws tasy campaign. Clawed overshoes, sim-
any area which is shadowy, has a light a weapon while hiding, or saves him ilar in design to clawed gloves, also
level equal to dusk or early dawn, or from any penalty modifier if he has a existedand may be permitted (although
equivalent. weapon already drawn when he at- they are a lot less common). The over-
tempts to hide in shadows initially. shoesare slippedover the thief's normal
Woodland Suit: This has a similar footwear. The thief uses these clawed
Once the weapon has actually struck items for extra grip on small nooks and
basic design to a darksuit but is made of a blow, the weaponblack will be wiped crannies of whatever surface he is
light clothing dyed in irregularpatterns off. Because it is oil-based, it is also climbing, so the bonus to the climb
of greens and browns. It adds +5% to highly flammable. If ignited it will burn wallsroll dependson the type of surface
the hide in shadows chance when the brightly, turning the weapon into the being climbed.
thief attempts to conceal himself in any equivalent of a flametongue (although
suitable outdoors setting such as wood- it does not count as a magical weapon) On very smooth surfaces where al-
land, a field, or the garden of a town for l d 4 + 1 rounds. However, if the most no nooks and crannies exist,
houF thief is not protected from fire (e.g., clawed gloves and boots will not add
anything to the climbwalls chance for a
thief. For smooth/cracked surfaces,
clawed gloves add +5 to the climb
walls chance, boots add +5 also, the

two together add +10%. For any other

type of surface, clawed gloves add

94

---ToolsoftheTrade
+ l o , clawed vuut:, dud +lo, and the Grapples

:ombination adds +20% to the climb are relatively heavy i
walls roll. Rates of movement are not with three or four
iltered. branching from the
tached to a length o
The use of clawed gloves reduces si- The hook is design
ent movement rolls by -5%. the use
)f clawed boots by -lo%, and the ing the iron for another attemp
:ombination by -15%, if the thief is failure takes ld4 rounds. The
ittempting to move silently during his
:limb (e.g., trying to evade detection ble 29 below:
)y guards atop a parapet).

Clawed gloves can be used as a melee
veapon-no weapon proficiency is re-
luired for their use. A successfulhit in-
licts 1 additional point of damage to
hat normally delivered by a fist blow.
3awed overshoes may similarly be
ised as a weapon, adding damage to a
tick attack, if the DM allows such at-

Tack options in me1 .

Xmbing Daggers

Daggers have
peen used to aid climbing by thievesfor
:enerations,so it is to be expected that a
nore specialized form has been devel-
)ped for this task. Climbing daggers
lave relatively short blades (some6 to 8
nches long)which are stiff, strong, flat,
md very sharp. This allows the dagger
o be inserted into wood or between
ricks with greater ease than an ordi-
iary dagger. They can be used in all
urfaces other than very smooth ones.
:he handle is also flat and quite broad,
md usually bound with leather strips or
hick string to give the hands a good
;rip, or even to allow feet easy pur-
hase when the dagger is used as a step.
ilso, in place of a normal pommel is a
road, smooth iron ring. This allows a
ope to pass through, or it can be at-
ached to one of the straps of a house-
weaker’s harness (see Miscellaneous
kpiprnent, below).

Climbing daggers may add +10 to
vall climbing chances at the DMs op-
ion, although their main use is with a
iousebreaker‘s harness. They may be
[sed in combat, but because of their
rery different design from that of a nor-
nal dagger a separate weapon profi-

Tools of the Trade

tNoise Grappl s make a moderately (and incurs penalties of -2 to hit and width. This is usually shot through a
loud soof unnedarwshileeTpcteh,eay land. In condi- window, over a palisade, etc., in much
tions successful grap- damage rolls if the arrow is used in
the same way as a conventional grap-
ple landing can bit heard as much as 400 combat for any reason). It also means p l i i iron is thrown.
that the bow shot, being less accurate
yards away (dedending on the size of and powerful, is less likely to provide a Major Grapple: The rxl-,!urgrayyI,
good purchase on the target. a far more complex piece of apparatus
the grapple, etp.); an unsuccessful than the minor grapple, and because of
The second method is the two-rope its method of use it can only be em-
throw (with the1 clang as the grapple method. Here, a light string is threaded
through a loop attached to the arrow, ployed with the one-rope method (see
?lands on the gr d) up to 800 yards and both ends of the string are kept by
the thief. The string is liiht enough not above). The head of this arrow at first
away. Obvious1 these are ideal in- to affect the flight of the arrow. When appearsto be a fairly 10% arrowhead of
the arrow has struck the target, a stout normal width. Its true function is shown
stances and in aost cases the effective rope is attached to one end of the string only when fired. The rope must be se-
and the string pulled through to play curely fixed at one end by the thief, and
range will be lconsiderably lower. out the rope, thread it through the loop, as the major grappIe arrow closes in on
and extend it fully in place of the string, its target and reaches as far as the rope
Whatever range 1s deemed appropriate This method is obviously more time will allow, the sudden tension pulls at
consuming than the one-rope method; the head of the arrow, which opens out
Pby the DM, a added grapple-one it takes one round to play out 20 feet of into a large three-pointed grappling
rope in this manner. Twice the length of
with sacking or some similarly heavy rope is needed, of course, since the rope hook. This is some 6 to 8 inches in
goes from the thief to the target and
but coarse cloth Lovering almost all of back. However, this method is more width, fully the equal of most ordinary
likely to obtain a firm fixing of the ar- grapplii irons. The majm grapple has
the surface of thk iron-will reduce it row into the target. better aerodynamics than the minor
grapple anda better chance of gripping,
by half. Either of these two methods can be but a considerably reduced range.
used with any of the specialfunction ar-
Surprise!: Whjle this chapter is not rows below, with the single exception Table30shows modifiers to dice rolls
stated. Table 30 gives rules for their us- on Table 29 made when using a special
concerned with dounter-measures, one age. function arrow.

instance is irresi/stible: the cruel DM Wood Biter: This has a broad, flat
head with backward-facing barbs. It is
should be advisep that shards of glass specificallydesigned to give a good grip
when shot into wooden surfaces.
set into walls w$ sever the rope of a
StoneBiteG The stonebiter has a nar-
grappling line iri 2d6 rounds. Broken row, heavy head of metal, with small
ridges rather than barbs. Careful crafts-
glass is best set into the tops of walls, of manship is needed to produce these ar-
rows, with high-quality metal being
course. A really Ljrutal DM may allow a used and the arrow sharpened to the
greatest possible extent. It isdesigned to
thief near the top lof the wall a Dexterity give a grip when shot into stone, but
will only work on relatively soft stone
check to avoid fglling as the rope sev- such as sandstoneor brick.

ers, success meaning that his hands are Stone Biter (Adamantite): This is as
the above arrow, save that adamantite
now impaled on gavagely sharp wedges is used in its manufacture. This makes
the arrow capable of biting into all but
of glass which are coated in dust and the hardest stone surfaces, but also Table 30:
makes it extremely expensive.
filth, probably g/iving him blood poi- SPECIALRJNCnOM ARROWS
Minor Grapple: This has a small,
soning if he lives long enough to worry three-pointed grappling hook as its Arrow Type Special Efkcts
head, perhaps some 3 inches in total
about it. Wood Biter +15 for Tree Branches

I and Wooden Walls

Special Function Arrows Stone Biter +10 for Stone Parapet

Throwing grap- and Stone Wall Top,

i"ples is by no me ns the most efficient + 5 to Wooden Wall

way of attaching a rope to a wall, bat- Stone Biter +20 for Stone Parapet
tlement or similbr structure. Greater
(Adamantite)and Stone Wall Top,
Prange is ensured y the use of arrows,
+5 to Wooden Wall
and many special arrowheads have
Minor +10to Stone Parapet,
been developed to help the thief's
Grapple Tree Branches; +5 to
chances with such operations.
all others
rope is simply af

1when the arrow
Two distinct ethods are used with Major +15 to Stone Parapet,
Grapple
special function arrows. The first is Tr& Branches; +10 to

known as the o e-rope method. The Rocky Ledge, Wooden
Wall; + 5 to Stone Wall
'aesdfotounthdeitasrrmoawr,katnhde
thief merely clim s directly up the rope.
TOP
LThis method is si ple, but the rope at-
tached must be qtrong enough to bear Other Rules

the thief's weight, and this considerably One-rope method: halve all bow
ranges, -5 to all modifiers above save
reduces the effeckive range of the bow for major grappIe.

96

' Burglary and The leather armor. Attached to

ipikes and Line Crowbar of these straps are small metal rings,
upon which many different devices can
To be effective, This is a s i r i e be affixed: tools can be hung, climbing
,limbing spikes need to be used to- all-purpose tool which can be use for daggersfixed, and suchlike. The princi-
;ether with a line. Hammering in a pal uses of the harness are as follows:
pike takes ld4 rounds with a small picked, and for similar
iammer; spikes cannot usually be ham- DMs option, use of (i)If the thief is climbing a wall using
nered into very smooth surfaces (or
hey will not take, etc.), with the excep +10 to any bend bars r or more of the rings of the
ion of an ice wall (where spikes offer moving any chance of fallin
he only hope of climbing safely).Ham- end slightly crooked and oft ting go of the rope.
nering spikes into surfaces can usually snake-tongue division in it.
)e heard a long way away-even up to may allow a thief to use a crow in, two of the straps can be fixed to ei-
L mile in silent, windless, outdoor con- ther side of him (usually with climbing
litions. inflicts damage as a club. I daggers, or perhaps with wedges in a
Glass Cutter window frame, etc). This provides the
Usually spikes are used as an insur- thief with a firm base and allows him
mce policy against falls-if a character instrument is usually the free use of his hands to open a lock,
iammers in a spike, ropes himself to it, cut glass, check for traps, and for simi-
;limbs 20 feet above this with the rope lar actions.
lied to his waist, and falls he will o d y
Fall 40 feet (20 feet down to the spike Imaginative thieves will be able to
nnd a further 20 feet taking up the slack think up many other uses for this handy
>f the rope). A spikeused to arrest a fall and versatile piece of equipment.
in this way has a chance of coming
loose, though! This chance is 10% per Keymaking Set
;haracter supported on the climbing
line (15%per character for ice wall as- This expensive
cension). item allows a thief to make duplicates
of keys he holds in his possession or
Miscellaneous Equipment cutter is highly useful. from impressions of keys made using a
wax pad (available as a separate item:
Many more Tar Paper (seebelow). see below). The keymaking set is a
Housebreaker's Harness number of molds, files, small blades,
equipment items are detailed here, metal-working instruments and the
yvhich may be used by thieves going piece of equipment like. It also uses a small oil-burning ap-
bbout their business. Virtually none of burglar or paratus for softening and molding
these are restricted to usage by thieves metal, so its use is usually restricted to a
only. However, as before, thieves are safe, secure lair where the thief will not
he most likely characters to use them be disturbed. Duplicating a key takes
ld4 hours, depending on the size and
to know where to find those that are intricacy of the original. A skeleton key
t legally available. The DM can de- (see below) cannot be duplicatedwith a
rmine which items may be available keymakii set.
his campaign, how PC thieves may
ecome aware of them and the like, as The keymaking set permits the man-
ith the previously described items. ufacture of poor-to fair-quality soft-
The miscellaneous items have been metal replicas of keys, which are rough
in appearance and do not resemble the
ped into various categories de- work of a professional. However, the
ding on their main application. This duplicate key will open the same locks
sometimes just for convenience, and as the original if the thief makes a SUC-
some items have several potential u s , cessfd Dexterity test (the DM should
so the list is worth perusing carefully.
There is a final catchall miscellany, pre-
ceded by a section devoted to the sev-
eral uses thieves can find for modified
poles and staves!

I Tools of the Trade

iroll this in secre ). If the thief made his affixed to a surfacewith hooks pointing substitutefor a bunch of keys, although
downward can be used to keep tools
duplicate from wax pad impression, and such in place. Items can simply be it saves time having just one key to use.
there is a penalt of +2 to this dice roll. pressed down on the surface of the
The thief alwayd thinks his duplicate is sharkskin, and they will effectively A more interesting variant on this
stick to it. This is most useful for a thief
1a successful pie e of workmanship, of climbing a wall and has utility in other theme is to have a skeleton key which
circumstances. Sharkskin-coated
course. Only wh n it is actually tried on gloves can be used to assist in climbing can open all the locks commissioned
walls, in which case they can be treated
the appropriate 1 lock(s) will the thief as clawed gloves (see above) in all re- from a particular locksmith (in the last
spects.
find out for sure^. few years, perhaps). If the locksmith
Skeleton Key
The keymakilg set does not preempt was well thought of and often hired,
These were not
Tthe role of locks iths or their skill. Pro- considered earlier under the pick locks there could be adventures built around
skill because the DM will almost cer-
fessional locksm ths will duplicatekeys tainly wish to restrict the availabilityof just finding out which locations he had
with a 99% chadce of successand have these items drastically, if they are al-
superior tools to1 the keymaking set de- lowed in the campaign world at all. built the locks for, let alone going
scribed here. Each locksmiths set of
A skeleton key is one which is capa- around opening them all!
itools are individ ally crafted and modi- ble of opening many locks of several
different types, in its most versatile Fourth, a skeleton key can be rated as
fied to suit the ocksmith and are too form. The very best designs will open
complex for thiebes who are not them- virtually any lock, but it is certain that a minor magical item, and removed
selves locksmithg to employ. the DM will not want any PC thief ac-
quiring such an item1 Rather, four ways from the realm of mundane equipment,
Limewood Sirips of dealing with skeleton keys are sug-
gested here. if the DM wishes to restrict the avail-
These are strips
of wood, usually around 4 to 6 inches First, any individual skeleton key1 ability of such a key without banishing
long and an inch or so high, and very may open locks of up to a certain com-
thin. They are also very tough, how- plexity level. Skeleton keys may be of it from game play. In this case, rating
ever, being mad$ of very resilient wood good, excellent, or superior quality
(likelimewood, blthough other, similar (wretched and poor don't warrant the key as equal in skill to a high-level
woods can be used) and often coated on them), and a skeletonkey of any partic-
one or both sides with a very thin coat ular level of quality can open all locks thief and/or adding major bonuses to
of toughening I varnish. Limewood with a quality the same as, or lower
stripsare slippedbetween a door and its than, that of the skeleton key itself. pick locksskill for locks up to ma
door frame so that the thief can raise a
latch on the other side of the door and Second, a skeletonkey can be treated quality is the best way to use th
open it normally1(possiblyafter picking as being equivalent to a thief of a cer-
a lock). A norm91latch can be opened, tain level; this can be determined by the Finally, note that a skeleton ke
but a bar is too strong for a limewood DM to suit the level of play in the cam-
strip to lift. paign world. If a purely random deter- open a particular lock, but it does not
mination is required, level 7-14 (6+d8)
Sharkskin , may be used. The open locks chance - .disarm anv trads) attached to the lock
can be taken as 20%, plus 5% per thief or portal unless the original key
Sharkskinismade level.
from thick clotq, into which are sewn do so. 8:*tar
Third, a skeleton key can be treated
7rhundreds of ti curved and barbed as a "master key"-that is, it can open Tar PaDer
all the locks in some particular area
hooks, rather ike miniature fishing (suchas all the non-residentialrooms in This is simply
the east wing of the vampire's castle).In any kind of heavy paper or (more usu-
hooks. These h oks are very sharply this instance it is really only a glorified ally)clothwhich has been soaked in tar,
honey, treacle, or anything suitably
curved, and are 1 sewn with the hooks sticky. The thief usually uses it by slap-
lying in the sam direction. Thus, when ping it on a window before breaking the
stroked in one direction the cloth feels glass in a window-pane. The sticky sur-
perfectly smooth1but in the other it grips face keeps all the fragments together as
the glass breaks. Noise is considerably
Etightly and eveh tears skin or cloth. reduced, both from cushioning the im-
pact of a hammer on glass and by pre-
Sharkskin is so alled, fairly obviously, venting broken glass from scatteringall
because it resem les the skin of a hark, over the floor beyond the window. If
there is someone within fairly close lis-
which is coated . hooked scales. tening distance, the DM may make a se-
cret move silently roll for the thief w
Sharkskin cad be used as a form of using this stratagem.

Tar paper can also be used wit
glass cutter (seeabove), being affixedto
the center of the area of glass to be cut
out, so that it can be simply pulled
when the cutter has done its work.

Wax Pad throw vs. poison will enable save is Wed, the p u ~ ~ u ecar n only
dog to evade the aniseed to move at 0ne-tk-d normal rate for 2
This is a small tent, but the sense of smell is hours (oruntilthe damage is magidly
dock of wax usually kept in a rigid
:ontainer to keep it in one piece-the for ld4 +1turns. A spell su healed).
quivalent of a large snuff-box will do An bgenkws t h i can wm impro-
qicely. The thief uses the wax to record tralize poison or slowpoison
m impression of a key he wants to have affected dog will eliminate vise caltrops-in m e infamous in-
iuplicated later. Obviously, the thief but the dog will still have to pi
:an only do this if he has access to a trail further along, somehow, ing throws ofpQ&nfid victimscan be
tey, at least for a short time, and if he tinue tracking. The effect of allowed for such
doesn’t wish to take a chance on bor- any other kind of trained tra
rowing the key for a while. From the mal is up to the DM, earthed A r m , the rules abam are
rvax impression, the thief can have a have a detrimental based on the entry tor tetsu-bishi in
lbcksmith make a duplicate of the origi- anything‘s sense of smell.
talkey, or attempt to make one himself Oriental Ahoeffturss,which has some-
Caltrops what @or &ta those in the Un-
ising a keymaking set,if he has one.
come in different emthed Arcana entry for caltrops.
With very soft wax, which may need the basic form is that
ieat-softening on the spot, the thief Catstink
nay even be able to make a wax im- to it. When a c
wession of such items as heavy seals, ground it always lands with o n the best-
rvhich may be capable of being dupli- standing more or less upright.
:ated later-but an expert will be need- may throw small caltropsto the trairmed tr=h3clogl
?dfor this kind of duplication/forgeryl
finds it

traded when &exease wts abmut. This

IlEvasions is expb&edby the* 2%khN* &swho
Thieves often
‘ravereason to evade detection or pur- ever. have the recipe dm& man- of
suit. Some of their skills (hiding in The effect of caltrops
shadows, moving silently) are tailored catstink. Thew few me webpaid by
:oward this end. Equipment detailed how many are thrown d
here includes further aids to evasion, thief. The base number is thieves’guildsfor heir we&, Mending
items to assist in avoiding detection, down in an area of 25 square
md even an item or two to enable the one entering the area must make various liquids abtained from diverse
hief to whistle innocently if he is found ing throw vs. paralyzation
md apprehended at the scene of the parts of cats w&h a kw secret ingfedi-
xime. acter has stepped on o
points of damage, and arts to praduce a thirbr, fod-smekg,
ment. If half the number of
Pniseed Aniseed is a sim- smell, no mat- how highly trained.
save is made at +4; Speb (dm, nerctrrdize poison) are on-
ple plantderived natural flavoring. A dropped in such an area,
made at an additional -2 (up normal.
small quantity of aniseed extract can be total). A character moving at
camink can also be used to delay
used by a thief to ruin any effort to one-third his normal mov

have dogs track his scent, if blood- doesn’t need to make a save.
saving throw must be madefo
hounds (or similar) are used by pursu-
have been dropped.
ers. Dropping a vial of aniseed down at
can continue.Thistakes one r
a suitable place (e.g., by the bank of a so, the pursuer must make
save vs. paralyzation to see if
stream the thief crosses, by the base of

a wall he traverses, even at a cross-

roads) will ensure that the dogs’ sense

of smell is utterly ruined for l d 4 + 1

hours if they reach the spot where the

aniseed has been dropped. A saving

99