Union of Shadows
Rogue
The Union of Shadows is the foremost collection of roguish guilds on Starhelm. There are six guilds in the union and each of them hold substantial power on the continent and have presence in most cities. The six guilds are as follows; the Black Talon Assassins Guild, the Midnight Winds Thieves Guild, the Puppet Masters Masterminds Guild, the Closed Book Information Brokers, the Shade Walkers Spy Guild, and the Golden Mask Con Artist Guild. Each of these guilds are distinct and separate and have their own leaders, structures, and rules. The Union is a partnership of these guilds; they trade intel, resources, even members, and affiliated street gangs. The only thing they never trade with one another is actual gold. To the Union, if you can’t generate your own coin you aren’t worthy of being a part of the Union of Shadows. The Union rarely meets, and they will only do so if one of the guild leaders feels that there is something happening big enough for the Union’s full involvement, or if there is a need for Starhelm to shift in a certain direction.
History
The Union of Shadows began in the year 193 PF, when the Black Talon, Midnight Winds, and Puppet Masters decided it would be better to work together, and share their resources rather than continue to fight amongst themselves for power. When the Union was created, it began a new age for the criminal underworld. Over the years new guilds would rise and fall in power but only guilds that the Union believed would add value to the group would be invited to join. In the past 800 years only two guilds seemed worthy of an invite. First was the Closed Book, a guild of information brokers, blackmailers, and liars. If you wanted to get information or spread lies these were the people to go to. The second to most recently join the Union was the Shade Walker guild; a group of the best spies and tails across all of Starhelm. The sixth guild to form part of the Union of Shadows was the Golden Mask, a guild of con artists. This guild was not invited to join but instead the founder was offered to make her own guild after accomplishing something that even the Union couldn’t do.Current Membership
The Union of Shadows consists of a number of smaller guilds as well, as the 6 major guilds, but they all flow up through the Union hierarchy. Many criminal guilds don’t even realize they are under the auspices of the Union of Shadows. All manner of rogues, including Assassins, spies, cutthroats, burglars, bandits, or con men make up the majority of the membership, but some other members might include politicians, lawyers, or even scribes. Even though the Union of Shadows is a massive organization and can seem like the only criminal element on Starhelm there are many smaller guilds and street gangs. Some of these street gangs are actually connected to certain guilds in the Union of Shadows, while these gangs aren’t official members of the Union they are part of different guilds within it, which gives them certain perks. One of these street gangs is a local gang in Stonebridge called the Shadow Fox Gang. The Shadow Fox are connected to the Closed Book who supply the Shadow Fox with some protection from the guards of the city. In return, any information they come across goes to the Closed Book and if the Closed Book needs some muscle in the city of Stonebridge they go to the Shadow Fox gang.Goals
The ultimate goal of the Union of Shadows is to have their hand in every aspect of life on Starhelm, particularly the criminal parts. However, each sub-guild my have their own agenda or methods of accomplishing their individual objectives. Below are the list of guilds and their specific details.The Black Talon Assassins Guild
The Black Talon Assassins Guild is the oldest and most powerful criminal organization on Starhelm. It was founded in 3529 by a powerful Dragonborn sorcerer named Drakin Eggbarer. Drakin was referred to as the Scaled Disease after his ability to come into a city or town and being able to kill anyone. He founded the Black Talon to help him in his mission to elevate Drakova to the most powerful force in all the realms. He would kill anyone he wanted, then pass a message throughout claiming the lack of reverence for Drakova was the reason. Throughout the years he would take money to target certain people in his mission. The current leader, or Master of Death, as they are called, is a Fallen woman named Gabriella. A ruthless killer with a passion for blades, Gabriella leads the Black Talon with a steely blade in a silken sheath. She will stand by and protect any of her members, but she expects their loyalty and honesty whenever she calls for it. Those that abuse her faith suffer public consequences. Each Black Talon member is branded with a red dragon tattoo on the shoulder; the symbol of a recruit. The ranking within the organization is as follows; a blue dragon on the bicep for a guard; a green dragon on the wrist for specialist; a black dragon on the forearm for a captain; a white dragon on the back of the hand for a lieutenant; and finally the Master of Death has a silhouette of Drakova on their palm. Each member’s title is that of the dragon they branded with, In addition, the length of time in that rank confers an adjective prefix to their title, as follows: new recruit to rank is Wyrmling, 1 year is a Young, 5 years is an Adult, 10 years is an Ancient, and finally 25 years or more is a Drakon. For example if you have just joined the Black Talons you are a Red Wyrmling, where as a captain that has been a captain for 7 years is referred to as an Adult Green. Whenever someone moves up the ranks they become a Wyrmling for that dragon rank. Additionally, there are only 5 White Dragons at one time and each White Dragon has their own responsibility that is unique to them, ensuring the Black Talons run smoothly. The symbol of the Black Talon is that of Drakova eating her own tail. The Black Talons have many notable kills, but their most famous assassination is of a man named High King Balthasar in 839 PF. The High King was one of the most hated kings in Essillion’s history but was also one of the most well protected. He was extremely paranoid, and had magical wards, some of the most well-trained royal guards, and a personal guard of the finest League of Swords members of his time. There was never a moment of this man's life that he was alone, and yet the Black Talons managed to sneak into the castle, avoid all the wards, traps, guards, and the greatest swordsmen to walk the continent, and kill the king while he was on his throne in the middle of the day. After all that they managed to escape the castle before anyone had realized that the king had died. This assassination is the stuff of legends and many people to this day are still trying to figure out how it was accomplished.The Midnight Winds
The Midnight Winds are the most prominent Thieves guild on Starhelm. It was founded in 298 AE by a Halfling named Bodlebon Springfoot, Bodlebon would travel the lands stealing from anyone and everyone he wanted to and made a name for himself as a master thief. When he got older he couldn’t steal as well as he used to, and that’s when he started the Midnight Winds with his family. His 4 sons and 3 daughters were the first members of the Midnight Winds and very soon after, up and coming thieves would join to make a name for themselves. Ever since that day a Springfoot has been the leader of the Midnight Winds, with the current leader, or the Star as they are called, being a man named Fiddlement Springfoot. When Fiddlement inherited the guild it was already falling from grace and unfortunately, Fiddlement hasn’t helped it much. Recently, they have had a large streak of bad luck ending with a lot of members being arrested and the loss of a lot of clients. If Fiddlement doesn’t do something soon the rest of the Union may decide to remove him from his position, something the Springfoots do not want to have happen. They may do something drastic before that occurs. Despite all the pressure and failure that he has to deal with Fiddlement is an exceptional thief, a master of picking locks and has an uncanny ability to cancel out sound, whether it is him or others that make the sound. He is able to break into almost anywhere, and often does even if he doesn’t steal anything. Some days he will break into one of the council member’s abodes and do what he likes, just to blow off some steam. Inevitably he will leave a calling card to let them know he was there just to annoy them and cause paranoia. The Midnight Winds hierarchy is very simple, and there are 5 ranks that can be acquired, each rank coming with different perks and resources to aid members in their job. To go up in ranks a member has to have brought in a certain amount of gold, in order to petition the council of judges. These judges will then interview the candidate and potentially their colleagues and other members to determine readiness to move up in rank.- Rats (Rank One) gain access to street-level safe houses and equipment as well as a map of the sewer lines for the Wind Tunnels. In order to be considered for membership, the candidate must show evidence of previous jobs and requisite skill by bringing in gold equaling at least 500 gp.
- Weasels (Rank Two) gain access to better equipment as well as aid from higher members and contact to the rest of the Union of Shadows. In order to achieve the rank of Weasel, 5000 gp needs to have been brought into the guild. The judges look at what jobs were done, what the success rate is, and assess basic skill level. It is rare for someone applying for the rank of Weasel to not get their promotion because of how basic this promotion is, but it does occasionally happen.
- Cats (Rank Three) gain access to magical equipment and are provided a personal contact to another member of each of the other guilds in the Union of Shadows. Cat members have a lot more responsibilities within the guild. Not only are they required to lead teams, but they are also in charge of their own safehouses. Because of the additional responsibilities the interview process to get to the rank of Cat is a lot more thorough and has a much higher occurrence of rejection. To become a Cat requires stealing 20,000 gp worth of coin or treasure, as well as having at least one job that brought in 5,000 gp or more. Additionally, it requires a job where the candidate has led a team of at least four other members.
- Spiders (Rank Four) gain one of the most sought-after perks in the guild; access to the vault. This extremely well-hidden collection of the most precious items that the guild has ever stolen, as well as one of a kind magic items, is what allows many Rank Four members to accomplish the most difficult tasks. In addition, they can seek council from the Star and give out guild favours. Rank Four members are in charge of full cities or large areas and lead multiple crews and teams at one time. They do most of the biggest jobs for the guild but also get paid the most. Understandably, Rank Four is the most difficult rank to acquire. In order to achieve Rank Four at least 100,000 gold needs to have been stolen, a minimum of 3 jobs bringing in 10,000 gold each must have been successfully completed, and a full bank job needs to have been run.
- Owls (Rank Five) are the judges and advisors to the Star. There are only ever between five and nine members that gain this rank, and this rank can only be acquired by a recommendation from another Rank Five or the Star and a unanimous agreement from the other Rank Five members. Since there can never be more than nine Rank Five members if there is a candidate that is ready to achieve Rank Five but no slot available they will have to wait until a slot becomes available.
The Puppet Masters
Considered the brains of the Union of Shadows, the Puppet Masters are the third oldest guild, founded in the year 99 PF by a Human named Garthin Forlan. He started off as a member of the Black Talons, and he was a good assassin but an unparalleled planner. If the Black Talons needed to solve a problem they would inevitably go to Garthin to do it. He got so well-known for this that in the years before he left to start the Puppet Masters he was just planning missions for other members. Many people would take impossible jobs just to see what plan Garthin would come up with, and every time they followed his plan they would succeed. Even the Midnight Winds would ask him to plan heists for them. His final job before setting off on his own was the assassination of the Blue Illusionist, a Water Genasi mage who specialized in trickery and illusions. He had made a lot of enemies, most of which wanted him dead, but whenever someone thought they had done the job, he would pop up again unharmed, his illusions always protecting him. Unfortunately for him, Garthin was tasked with the planning of his assassination. It took him a whole week to come up with his plan, but when he did he handed it off to the member that was completing the job. A couple days later the member returned, paid from a completed job, and that was when Garthin knew this was his calling in life. He left the Black Talons with a couple apprentices in tow and started the Puppet Masters. They spent years building themselves up in size and power until they were well known in the underground community as the people to go to if you wanted something planned. The current leader, or Grandmaster as they are called, is Randel “the Blind Master” Araltin, a Forest Gnome who, as his nickname would suggest, is blind. Randel is a master of anticipation and reading his mark. Ever since he was a kid he was able to read people and guess what they were going to do and now after 300 years he is unparalleled at it. A method he uses to get into people’s heads is to speak what they will say a word before they are going to say it. Some people assume that he has the ability to read the minds of others but that is just rumour, he is simply a master of anticipation. The Puppet Masters have a very strict and rigid hierarchy that is determined by a definitive score. This score has three determining factors; factor one, how long have you been part of the Puppet Masters; factor two, how many missions you have completed; factor three, what rank mission did you complete. For factor one, one point is awarded for every year that at least 5 missions are completed; for factor two, every three missions that you complete nets 1 point, for factor three however, it is a very complicated process of ranking missions. Different missions have different values as follows; an E rank mission awards 1 point, a D rank mission awards 2 point, a C rank mission awards 5 points, a B rank mission awards 10 points, an A rank mission awards 25 points, and an S rank mission awards 100 points. The total of all points determines the ultimate rank. Points from 0-499 achieves the rank of rook; points from 500-999 achieves the rank of bishop, and points from 1000 or higher achieves the rank of knight Leaders are not determined by points but by a system designed to ensure the smartest person is selected as the Grandmaster of the guild. Every year on the date that the guild was founded a chess tournament is held, with the winner being declared the Grandmaster of the Puppet Masters. This guarantees that the smartest and most tactical member is the person leading the guild. Incidentally, it is considered a point of pride to last more than ten moves when facing the Blind Master. The most famous job that the Puppet Masters have accomplished is a job that only rogues know about. In the year 803 PF all the members of the Council of Avandar died in a freak accident, with everyone suspecting foul play. The investigation went on for years trying to find any amount of proof that anyone had something to do with it but they found nothing. After seven years of searching for evidence they had to call it quits and close the case. Following that, it just became a tragic day in the history of Avandar. Most people moved on believing that in fact it was just a freak accident, while others did not and still try to find someone to blame, but after 200 years many assume those people are crazy for not accepting the truth. The truth is that The Puppet Masters planned the perfect murder and worked toward it for three years making sure everything was in place. They managed to kill all the members of the council in a “freak accident” and even managed to make sure that the Military Council member replacement was under the thumb of the Union of Shadows. They made it a Black Talon member so if it was ever revealed that they were corrupt that it wouldn’t trace back to the Puppet Masters. In the past 200 years the Union has amassed enough power in the city that it would be near impossible to remove them from the city without it spiraling into chaos.The Closed Book
The Closed Book are information gatherers, the fourth great guild, and in the year 214 PF was the first guild to be invited into the Union of Shadows. They were founded by a Sangorian woman named Shetor Kotori, who travelled to Starhelm from Sangor during the beginning of the age of Aerith. The trip took several months, and while she was on the ship she would listen to what the crew were talking about. She learned all their secrets and desires, and she used that information to improve her situation on the ship, making the long trip more bearable. When she made it to Starhelm she headed to the city of Essillion, where she continued to listen. Soon enough word got out that if you wanted to learn something about anything that goes on within the city you would go to her to get it. Even the Ironbran family would go to her to get some of their information, and before long she began hiring people to go out and get more information. Slowly but surely she founded the Closed Book, which on the surface is a legitimate news and information depot but under the surface is the real roguish guild. After a decade of success at building the group, the Union of Shadows invited them to join their organization. With all the resources that the Closed Book now had at hand they extended their reach to almost all major cities on the continent. They are the masters at gaining and spreading information, true or not. The current leader is Travis Forebare, a Human with the unique ability to know where to apply the most pressure to get the most information out of his target, both physically when he fights, but also mentally when he extorts his targets. Travis grew up in the Closed Book, his mother was the right hand to the leader before him and he always had a love for knowledge. He read as much as he could, and when he had no more stories to read he made up stories. He got so good at making up stories he was able to convince a lot of the other kids that they were true. That was when his predecessor saw the greatness in him, and from a very young age he was being groomed to take over the leadership of the Closed Book. As it happened, Travis took over the mantle of leadership sooner than most people would have thought, and he has been running the Closed Book for the last 15 years, making him currently the longest-sitting leader of the Union. The Closed Book have two major jobs that they do; they gather information to blackmail people, or sell that information; and they spread misinformation. These two aspects are what most of the members do, and each aspect is organized very differently, almost acting like two different guilds. The first group are called Investigators. Investigators do exactly what it sounds like, they investigate. They are the ones hired to learn the information and then return it to the buyer. The second group are called Storytellers, and they are the ones who make up the ‘truth’. If you need to change people's opinions, throw people off your tail, or get a new identity, these are who you go to. Each aspect has their own hierarchy. Investigators work mostly alone, occasionally in pairs, and they will report to a regional captain, who in turn reports to one of the lieutenants, who ultimately reports to the leader. Very simple, if you need resources you go to your regional captain who will supply you with what you need. Storytellers have the same upper structure with the regional captains and the lieutenants, however below the regional captain there are different positions and rankings that fill out the lower tier. From the lowest rank to the highest rank, Disputers are people who discredit the real truth, Authors are people who write the new ‘truth’, and Proselytizers are people who disseminate the new ‘truth’. The symbol for the closed book is a blank book with an open eye on it. Their most famous job was learning who the Shroud was and being able to “convince” them that it would be best to work with the Closed Book. The Shroud was a vigilante in the city of Essillion, who was a massive thorn in the side of the Union. The Shroud always seemed to know what the Union was planning and how to put a stop to it. The Shroud was always able to escape the clutches of the Union, regardless of how careful they were. No one knew who the Shroud was, which made dealing with them impossible; that is until the Closed Book put a lot of their time and effort into it. A couple months, and a lot of bribes later they learned that the Shroud was none other than Lady Cassandra Starshield, daughter to the king and the Princess of Essillion. Having gathered all the information they could, they managed to blackmail the princess into joining the Black Talons, giving the Union immense power in Essillion, for a short time. Sadly, the Shroud ended up contracting a disease and died a couple years later, but for a short time the Union had almost full control of Essillion.Shade Walkers
The Shade Walkers are the guild of spies and tails, founded by Khovost, a Krysin who made his way to up to Avandar with a small group of his brothers and sisters. The five of them made deals with the Puppet Master guild to be the first people they go to if the Puppet Master guild needs to get information or tail anyone. After a couple of years and hiring many other people to get more jobs done, the Shade Walkers Guild was founded. Over the years the Shade Walkers grew and grew until they were the foremost guild for spies and tails. If you need to know what anyone is currently doing you go to the Shade Walkers. The current leader, known as the Shade, is still a Krysin, named Temota. She is like a ghost, and is only seen when she wants to be seen. She has spied on each of the other leaders of the Union to make sure they are actually working together. The Shade Walkers don’t have a common hierarchy. They have a leader, their appointed lieutenants, and the majority of the guild are specialists. The only way to get higher in the guild is to have more specialties. There are five specialties in the guild, and to become leader you need to have mastered all five specialties. Until someone gains all five specialties there would be no leader for the Shade Walkers. The five specialties are as follows; a Shadow is a member who can stick to someone no matter where they go. This specialty has less to do with stealth and more to do with mobility. A Whisper is someone who can be heard but not seen. This specialty is all about keeping out of sight and being able to throw and manipulate your voice. A Cloak is someone who can blend in with a crowed, be seen but forgotten. This specialty focuses on not drawing attention to yourself; about being there but having everyone not remember you being there. A Mute is someone who can be completely silent. This specialty focuses less on being unseen and more on being unheard. Finally, a Thought is someone who no one knows about. Someone who can walk down the street in open daylight and everyone they cross would have no clue who they are. This specialty focuses being unknown. No information is known or can be gathered about a Thought, you can see or hear a Thought, but you don’t know the intentions of a Thought. The symbol of the Walkers is a series of lines that connect to be the word Ten. Ten is the Krysin word for shade. This was a common Krysin symbol that they would leave to mark that they are on the lookout for something or someone, which is why the Shade Walkers use it; to note that they are always on the lookout for something or someone. Their most famous job is one that they were not hired for. Temota, the current leader managed to spy on each of the other leaders of the Union of Shadows without being detected; a nearly impossible task that she was able to accomplish. Within the Shade Walkers it is well-known, but to the outside world this would be an impossibility. The leaders of the other guilds are known for their ability to see what no one can see, and over the years they have each killed an uncountable number of freelance spies sent to thwart them. It is not uncommon for all of the guilds to spy on each other, but because of the level of difficulty, the best most of them can do is spy on some minor lieutenants. The other leaders don’t even suspect that Temota has accomplished this. Their sheer arrogance makes it easy to believe that no one would be able to spy on them. This is why Temota is the greatest spy on all of Starhelm; no one is safe or secure from her, which is exactly how she like it.The Golden Mask
The Golden Mask is the newest guild to join the Union of Shadows. A guild of con men and grifters, the Golden Mask has a very unique history in its founding and its joining to the Union of Shadows. Founded by Syldra Thistlebrook in the year 753 PF, an infamous woman all over Starhelm for her ability to con anyone. She was known as the Doppelganger because, like a Doppelganger she was able to change who she was almost instantly. It was for this reason that, for the longest time, people thought she was a Doppelganger. During her time in Avandar, The Golden Mask, a keepsake of the Sale and Trade councilman Marcus Joylight, caught her eye. This mask was the pride and joy of councilman Joylight, and because of that he had put it under extreme security. He had claimed that it was impossible to steal, almost daring the Union to try. And try they did. The Midnight Winds, the Puppet Masters, and the Closed Book all worked together for years to steal this mask. They made dozens of attempts but to no avail. Eventually they had to give up, concede defeat, and claim that is was impossible to steal. Word got out about this ‘impossible to steal’ mask that eventually reached Syldra. Unaware of the previous attempts by the Union of Shadows she thought that it would make a good addition to her collection. One day she waltzed into Councilman Joylight’s manor, sweet talked him, and waltzed out with the mask, with the councilman none the wiser. It was not until a few days later that he noticed the mask was gone, but by then the damage was done. This display of skill was more than enough to impress most of the Union of Shadows, and they offered her to start her own guild of conmen and grifters. The Closed Book and Puppet Masters’ pride were a little sore because of her actions, but they couldn't deny what she had accomplished. The Midnight Winds on the other hand were outraged that she was offered to start her own guild, and was already considered part of the Union. They were embarrassed that they couldn’t steal the mask, the audacity of this woman showing up and do what they could not was too much for them to bear. In a seemingly purposeful attempt to pour salt on the wound, Syldra named her guild The Golden Mask. To this day the Midnight Winds still hold a grudge against the Golden Mask, and it doesn’t look like it will be going away anytime soon. To the Midnight Winds a conman is just another name for a lazy thief. After Syldra retired from the game, she chose a successor to be both the leader of the guild, and also take on the role of the Doppelganger. Since this time, the leader of the Golden Mask has always been known as the Doppelganger. The current Doppelganger is a man named Kurvar of the Smile. There was a lot of contention when he became the new Doppelganger because he wasn’t part of the guild beforehand; his predecessor took him off the streets and chose him to lead. Many members took insult that they were not chosen for that role, but it appears the right choice was made. Kurvar is a very special man; an Air Genasi of overwhelming charisma, he can convince anyone of anything. He made a name for himself by conning his way onto the council of Essillion for a few months before he got bored of that and revealed that he was a fraud and left. Now he is in Avandar, living a double life as the Doppelganger, and also as Kuvar, an up and coming merchant selling his wares. The Golden Mask is a very different guild, and has a very unique structure. Aside from the Doppelganger, there is no hierarchy for the guild as a whole. The leader of any job is the one who secured the job in the first place. Most members of the Golden Mask rarely see each other, and seem to be part of the guild in name only. The members of the Golden Mask see no reason to contact each other unless they need help on a con they are running, and when that happens members are more than happy to help each other out. The symbol of the Golden Mask is a black and white mask split down the middle. As noted previously, the most famous job in the Golden Mask guild was the con of the Golden Mask. Members of the guild are always looking for ways to top that con and it is considered an honourable pursuit. None have come close to performing a better con, but the effort keeps the members engaged in improving their craft to the highest level.Resources
As a whole, the Union of Shadows has almost untold access to resources and magic, but individually the guilds or members cannot always get what they need. Union of Shadow leaders like it that way, as it forces their members to always be hungry, be resourceful, and do whatever it takes to succeed in their endeavour.Notable Personalities
- Gabriela – Black Talon Master of Death (f/fallen)
- Fiddlement Springfoot – Midnight Winds Star (m/halfling)
- Randel Araltin – Puppet Master Grandmaster (m/gnome)
- Travis Forebare – Closed Book leader (m/human)
- Temota – Shade Walkers Shade (f/krysin)
- Kurvar of the Smile – Golden Mask Doppelganger (m/human)
Type
Guild, Thieves
Subsidiary Organizations
Membership: Rogues of all types, notably Thief, Assassin, Con Men, Tails, Bandits
Base of Operations: Widespread but notably Avandar and Essillion
Symbol: Six shadowed figures in a circle on a field of grey
Notable Members: Gabriella (Black Talon leader Travis Forebare (Closed Book leader Fiddlement Springfoot (Midnight Winds leader Randel Araltin (Puppet Masters leader Temota (Shade Walkers leader Kurvar (Golden Mask leader)
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