The True Goal of the Brotherhood

If only Nerof really stopped to think about this, he would learn the lessons of history. The Brotherhood aims for the top. It seeks to replace Nerof by deposing him and his cronies from their positions as Master Thieves and Guild Leaders. The Brotherhood’s tactic is to get as many district Master Thieves of Greyhawk as possible under its thumb, to enable a puppet ruler to be installed. The target of the Brotherhood is not merchants, nor rabble-rousers, but rather, Master Thieves.

Ghrigiel is entirely pragmatic as far as how this can be done. His favored strategy is to assemble as much information as he can about the various Master Thieves (see FFF, pp. 39-42) and their vulnerabilities, then exploit them. These weaknesses might be amorous, financial (swindling the Thieves’ Guild, massive gambling debts), criminal (dealing in drugs, slavery, or contraband that would infuriate Greyhawkers and force Nerofs hand against the culprit), or anything else Ghrigiel could use. He also favors creating such weaknesses, by use of hypnosis, alkaloid drugs from Hepmonaland, framing his victims, kidnaping their loved ones, and suchlike.

The plans Ghrigiel has for his Master Thief targets are not specified here, for good reason. First, Ghrigiel has been in the Free City for only a few months, and he's in no hurry. He wants to get every piece of useful information possible before initiating actions, and when the Brotherhoos acts, it tends to act swiftly and decisively. This takes time. Second, each DM will want to work out plausible targets and Ghrigiel's tactics to suit his individual campaign.

The key agent for Ghrigiel is none other than Ulrik Nessarien, who smuggles himself out of the ambassadorial residence using his magic talisman, and then goes to work with an impressive array of magical devices, skills, and equipment he possesses. He can break in to almost any place undetected, and he goes about his business of collecting information in a variety of ways. His detailed profile below shows how very dangerous he is in this role.