The Guild
The Guild is the secretive organization that controls and influences the vast majority of illicit activities in Baldur's Gate. The Guild unities cutpurses, loan sharks, killers, thugs, con artists, grave robbers, cat burglars, and every other type of criminal in the city. The Guild opperated in every district in Baldur's Gate, under the noses of both the Watch and the Flaming Fist.
Structure
The Guild is highly organized and holds sway over nearly every aspect of Baldur's Gate, its people and even the Baldurian government. While it is led by the solitary Guildmaster, it lacks a centralized location. Rather, the Guildmaster communicates to their subordinates by means of their private bodyguards or, if absolutely necessary, speaks directly to the Guild's kingpins. Each neighborhood of Baldur's Gate falls under the control of one or more kingpins, crime bosses that report to the secretive Guildmaster. The kingpins style themselves elite criminals, often adopting memorable nicknames and distinctively decadent dress. Scores of criminals work beneath each kingpin, with the most competent and cutthroat members rising to favored status. While some kingpins keep strictly to the shadows, others chose to operate more openly. Beyond the walls in the Outer City, most citizens knew their local kingpin and often petitioned them for help dealing with unauthorized crime, such as a thieving neighbor. Kingpins track these favors and debts, calling them in when it suits them, and often with interest.
Public Agenda
The Guild's agendas and operations differed depending on where in the city.
In the Outer City, the Guild focuses on smuggling and gambling rackets. Some violent crime and theft does occur, but overall Outer City residents were too poor to draw much attention from the Guild. Travelers and visitors do often fall victim to pick-pocketing and mugging though. While the Guild has historically operated in the Outer City without resistance, in recent years the interference of vigilantes and hired adventurers has been on the rise.
The Lower City serves as the heart of the Guild's operations. The locals have enough money to make burglary and protection schemes worthwhile, and the Flaming Fist is spread too thin to address every instance of petty crime. The Guild's operations also include numerous commercial venues, such as gambling dens, animal fights, races, and brawling tournaments.
In the Upper City, the Guild engages in burglary, extortion, blackmail, and confidence games. Patriars even occasionally hire Guild members to gain (or plan) information about their rivals, involving the Guild in Upper City politics. To maintain safe working conditions, kingpins in the Upper City pay Watch officers large bribes to look the other way should a member get caught.
History
The Guild began operating in Baldur's Gate at some point before the 15th century, as members of the criminal underworld began uniting with one another to improve both their own earnings and better evade the patrols of the Watch and the Flaming Fist.
Following the Bhaalspawn Crisis, much of Baldur's Gate's underworld was thrown into disarray. Seizing on this chaos an independent crime lord name Lysara the Grin began taking over large swaths of the Lower City, weakening the Guild's hold. The Guild continued to exist, but found many of its former members join what appeared to be the winning side.
In 1491, a few days before the Baldur's Gate Uprising, Lysara the Grin was neutralized by the future Breadwinners, alongside forces of the Watch and the Flaming Fist. Before the city had time to recover, the Cult of the Dragon launched the Baldur's Gate Uprising, throwing the entire Lower City into chaos and nearly destroying the entire Baldurian government. Though it was stopped within a day, the damage caused to the city was incredible.
Learning their lesson from the Bhaalspawn Crisis, the Guild began rapidly and aggressively expanding following this period of chaos. Newly established kingpins promised safety and security in exchange for secrecy. Baldur's Gate's involvement in the Great Dragon War also involved a great deal of Flaming Fist members being moved away from the Lower City to the front lines, furthering the Guild's resurgence.
By 1497, the Guild had once again fully reclaimed its position of the preeminent crime organization in the city. However, the Guild began facing a unique threat in recent years from vigilantes and hired adventurers, leading to harsher crackdowns on any perceived "do-gooders."
The Damnation of Elturel in 1497, which involved the presumed death of Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, and the Flaming Fist Succession Crisis that same year greatly destablized Baldur's Gate's underworld. Rather than working in coordination to take advantage of the chaos, many of the Guild kingpins began making aggessive plays on each others' territories, mirroring the civil war facing the Flaming Fist.
Type
Illicit, Gang
Location
Notable Members
Comments