the Brotherhood of Urchins
The Brotherhood of Urchins pays no monetary tribute to the Thieves' Guild-although the Guild does occasionally offer some support to the Brotherhood and jealously guards its independence of action. As its name implies, the Brotherhood is composed entirely of urchins:
orphans, runaways, and street children, all under the age of 16. All have been "stooled to the rogue,'' swearing a blood-freezing oath to support and defend the Brotherhood ... with their lives if necessary. The oath is binding for life, although a member must leave the Brotherhood on his or her sixteenth birthday. There are many street children in Lankhmar and even with its official retirement policy, the Brotherhood's recruitment rate is high (and continually growing).
The leader of the urchins-a semi official "guild-master"-is usually the eldest and largest among the group (the leader is usually female, although male leaders aren't unheard of). Her leadership depends entirely on the support of the others. The group allows no leader to become a tyrant, where she can rule against the wishes of the group. Indeed, in the past, when certain leaders have wished to stay on past their sixteenth birthday, their bodies inevitably ended up floating down the River Hlal.
The Brotherhood of Urchins operates as a junior version of the Thieves' Guild; so much so, in fact, that some people think that the Guild set up the Brotherhood as a "training camp." On the contrary, the Brotherhood evolved as an independent group in much the same way as the Guild itself. Many urchins, once they reach their sixteenth year, move on to join the Guild, bringing with them the considerable talents they developed with the Brotherhood. It's for this reason that the Guild protects the Brotherhood: where else could the thieves find such well trained recruits?
The Brotherhood is most active in pick-pocketing and small snatch and grab raids, at which its diminutive members excel. From time to time, however, the urchins will plan and stage surprisingly large-scale and complex operations. They have an innate benefit denied to adult thieves they're only kids-and they play it to the limit. Urchins are much less likely to get arrested (they can claim that they were just playing a game that some adult talked them into) and are less likely to get cut down by an irate victim. Even if they are arrested, convictions are rare and any sentence will usually be mild or waived.
Some people think that the urchins are a laughing matter; this opinion does not last past their first face to face run-in with the Brotherhood. The urchins are ruthless and many of them are armed (usually with daggers or knives). In a scrap, they fight with a total disregard for personal safety (Scholars speculate that this is because they're too young to conceive of their own deaths).
Structure
junior version of the Thieves guild
History
No matter who you are, no matter where you are going ...we all start in the streets.
Remember the Street
Type
Illicit, Gang
Alternative Names
Punch
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members
Comments