They moved swiftly through the streets, blending in with the crowds as they went about their daily routines. Their eyes darted back and forth, taking in every detail of the bustling marketplaces, alleyways, and taverns that made up the busy city center. They made mental notes of comings and goings, what goods were being traded, and who seemed particularly wealthy or vulnerable. As they moved from one area to the next, their hands were always busy, deftly picking pockets, slipping items into their own, or exchanging coin for notes with beggars, street performers, and other street urchins who's marginalization made them the perfect informants. Always they were on the lookout for opportunities, and they knew that success in their profession often came down to being in the right place at the right time. They continued their rounds, always alert, an unseen tendril of a larger force lurking in the shadows of the city.
A Thieves Guild is a criminal organization comprised of thieves, pickpockets, and other unlawful individuals who work together for mutual benefit and profit. The guild operates secretly, often outside the reach of the law, and its members specialize in theft, burglary, and other illegal activities. The guild is usually run by a leader or council, and membership often requires initiation or proof of skills. The guild may also have its own set of rules and codes of conduct, and may offer protection and support to its members in exchange for their service to the guild. The thieves' guild may also have connections to other criminal organizations, as well as to powerful individuals and groups. While typically run by rogues, assassins, bards, and the like, a Thieves Guild can be run by anyone with a penchant for subtlety and a willingness to work on the wrong side of the law.
As the leader of a Thieves Guild, a player stands to benefit in multiple ways for their efforts. Thieves Guilds deal in political favors, intelligence, and money. Whether it be a steady stream of gold, inside knowledge of the movements of enemy forces, or support from another organization in their endeavors, there are many perks to running a guild.
Resources
In addition to the
Gold and
Manpower resources common to all organizations, Thieves guilds also deal in
Intel and
Favor.
Gold
Vital to the continued operations of a Thieves Guild is a steady flow of money. As an organization, gold is tracked on a macro level, and thus all dealings with gold are measured by the thousand, or k. All costs related to guild operations are either dealt directly in 1k gold increments or rounded to the nearest thousand. As a universal currency, gold can be transferred to and from the owning player with some limitations.
A player may contribute any amount of gold they possess towards guild coffers (in 1k gold increments), but may only withdraw up to 1k gold per cycle per guild level. Additionally, gold cannot be withdrawn if it would reduce the guild coffers below 10k gold.
A player is limited on how much gold from their organization they can spend on equipment for themselves and their party members. They can spend up to 1k gold per character level on themselves, and an additional 1k gold per level on their party members. This cap is reset each time the player gains a level, and only applies to money spent on items for player characters and cohorts.
Gold that has accumulated in large enough quantities can be subject to loss, whether from theft, accounting errors, or corruption. If a guild ends its cycle with more gold than its resource loss threshold (determined by its level), then it loses 1k gold for each 20k it possesses. Some guild actions can reduce or prevent this loss.
Manpower
In a Thieves Guild, manpower is largely represented by the guild's member base. Added help can be hired or loaned by other entities, but such help is usually temporary and comes at a cost. Manpower is replenished at the beginning of each cycle unless otherwise specified. If the Player Character leading the guild has the Leadership feat, they can apply some or all of their followers and cohorts to their Thieves Guild to increase their manpower. As long as they are so committed, the guild gains 1 additional manpower for every 3 levels of followers, and their cohort provides a +1 bonus per 4 levels to the skill most relevant to their class (decided by the DM). This manpower does not count towards the base manpower of the organization, nor does it count towards requirements to level up an organizaion.
Intel
Intel is a broad resource that represents the level of knowledge the guild possesses to matters relevant to themselves and the Player Character. Intel is a source agnostic resource, and so the manner in which it is collected has no bearing on how it may be spent (for example, Intel collected in a local tavern may be spent to determine troop movements in a neighboring kingdom).
Intel is a time-sensitive resource, and is subject to loss over time. If a guild ends its cycle with more Intel than the guild's resource loss threshold (determined by its level), then it loses 1 Intel for every 10 Intel it possesses. Some guild actions can reduce or prevent this loss.
Favor
Favor comes in many forms, from political power to influence over other organizations, to blackmail and owed favors from powerful individuals. Like Intel, favor is source agnostic, and may be spent independently of how it is earned.
Favor, like Intel, is a time-sensitive resource, and is subject to loss over time. If a guild ends its cycle with more Favor than its resource loss threshold (determined by its level), then it loses 1 Favor for every 10 Favor it possesses. Some guild actions can reduce or prevent this loss.
Skills
Each Thieves Guild possesses the following skills:
Strategic
a measure of business and tactical savvy, strategic represents the guild’s ability to make smart choices, invest their capital wisely, and make sound tactical decisions in hostile encounters.
Diplomatic
This represents the guild’s ability to handle political figures and organizations through communication and above-board (or at least seemingly so) dealings. This represents the capabilities of the face of the guild.
Clandestine
All the sneaking, stealing, and subtlety that is so characteristic of a thieves’ guild is represented by their clandestine score.
Aggressive
Blunt, brute, violent, and intimidating actions all fall under the Aggressive umbrella. If Diplomatic is speaking softly, Aggressive is the big stick.
Levels
A Thieves Guild begins at level 1 with the following characteristics:
Resources: 1d4 Intel, 4 manpower (not counting leadership or other outside sources).
Skills Points: 6 skill points, max skill rank 4.
Actions Known: All 1st level actions.
As a guild levels, it grows according to the following table:
Perks
Each time a Thieves Guild gains a new level, it can add one perk from the list below. Each perk can only be chosen once, unless it is marked as repeatable.
- Better lucky than good: increase critical success range by 1 (repeatable up to 5 times for up to 15-20 critical range)
- Contingency plans: on a critical failure, roll again. Negate the effects of the critical failure unless the new roll is also a critical failure
- Masters of Strategy: +2 on Strategic checks
- Silver Tongued Devils: +2 on Diplomatic checks
- Shadow in the Night: +2 on Clandestine checks
- Blunt Instruments: +2 on Aggressive checks
- Dragon's Hoard: +5 to resource loss threshold per guild level (repeatable)
- Versatile Vagabonds: You gain an additional action known each time you unlock a new action level (Applies retroactively to levels already obtained).
- Personal Enrichment: Guild withdrawl limit increases by 1k gold per cycle per guild level.
- Take the Initiative: The first DC check rolled on a repeatable action in a cycle gains a special modifier: A failure is treated as a success, a success is treated as a critical success, and a critical success has its yield quadrupled rather than doubled.
- Fortune Favored: The guild gains 1 favor token. This token can be used to re-roll any skill check. This token replenishes at the start of each cycle. (repeatable up to 3 times for up to 3 tokens)
- Talented Thieves: On a critical success, you gain back the manpower spent on the action (in addition to the normal critical effects).
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