The Welcomers
The Welcomers are Phlan's local Thieves Guild and are the effective monopoly are almost all the town's illicit activities and members are identified by their clipped left ear. Based in the town's docklands, they have control over most of the goods entering or passing through allowing them to steal, smuggle and interfere as they see fit, activities which often put them in direct conflict with the other local Guilds whom they charge a steep price to ensure the "protection" of their trade. However, the Welcomers have managed to avoid a crackdown by maintaining a historic compact with the Ruling Council and the people themselves which they describe as such; never take too much and always give back. As such, they are restrained in their dealings, careful not to disrupt trade and active in dealing with anyone who they perceive as a danger to the town, politically, economically or simply in their way.
Said to be as almost as old as Phlan itself, they are understood to be a loose organisation of different gangs and individuals all united under a common banner around the Guild's laws which are ruthlessly enforced through brute strength and violence. Guild members are allowed to operate in the town and the region's beyond as long as they continue to pay tribute as a percentage of their earnings and never interfere with the Compact they have with the town's factions. This means that a lot of the criminal activity is focused on new comers to the town and over time has lead to their name sake as the "Welcomers" of Phlan.
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