The Thieves of Frankia
The Thieves of Frankia is the leading thieves guild in Frankia, and any others are usually subsumed into them after time. Based out of Parisius, they have spread with the growth of the Frankish Empire.
Structure
This Thieves Guild is made up of a single Master at the top that has the power to delegate jobs, titles & ranks to lesser thieves and direct the general comings & goings of the guild. They are based in one city in a country or nation, and all other charters answer directly to them. A charter is set up when an area or region is wealthy and/or large enough to make multiple jobs easier to run. The Master is answerable to no-one except him or her self. The Master is quite capable of running any type of illegal operation.
Below the Master is the rank of Expert Thief. These thieves are usually specialists that concentrate on one or two types of jobs, whether pickpocketing, bait-and-switch, robbery etc. They answer only to the Master and have a charter when not in the region governed by the Master's charter. In this case the Master governs all of Parisius, and gives charters to smaller guilds like the one found in Wien. There are usually two to three such Experts at the head of each charter.
Below them are the Freemen. They make up the bulk of the organisation carrying out the day-to-day jobs. They can specialise or carry out general jobs. They also maintain, and guard, the Guild quarters.
At the bottom are the Initiates. They are usually the unmarked new bloods that are only starting to learn the skills of thievery.
Culture
The Guild has charters in every major city, town and region throughout Frankia. They look to make coin quickly, both for themselves and the guild. Their rules state that each rank can and should teach the skills need to all members. The higher ranking members should regularly check how lower ranks are getting on in training. They have safe houses scattered through each region in which to lie low and share information, as well as drop off points for both loot and guild payments. The Guild takes 10% of all jobs and can securely bank the rest in secret stashes throughout the land, and it is bad practise not to pay the 10%.
If captured the Guild will look to either spring the member from jail, and supply the member with a new identity and send them somewhere else. The only time they won't is if murder, rape or excessive violence took place. Also, the thief can be driven out if they get on the wrong side of the organisation.
They generally avoid theft from religious organisations as these are generally seen as being bad luck jobs and have very powerful allies in multiple different forms.
Each thief can draw money, items, favours or training from the Guild as and when needed. This is only supplied at a 10% return on the investment or a high one-off payment. In the case of items, these have to be returned in working order or replaced if lost or damaged with an equal or better form of the same item. If not the thief could get thrown out, beaten severely and/or work off the debt accrued (which can be prohibitive to most).
In nearly every case it is bad form to leave a 'calling card' or equivalent, or talk to outsiders about the Guild. This due to them not wanting any information being leaked out about members or activities.
The Guild has a series of handshakes where the thumb is placed over the bottom knuckle of the ring finger. Thieves Cant is spoken regularly and scraps of it are sometimes used with or without the handshake to determine if the two persons are Guild members.
Assets
The guild has large hidden caches spread throughout major Frankish settlements, along with safe houses. They have hundreds if not thousands of gold, silver and copper coins stored away, along with precious gems and rare items. They act as a bank for the members too. Many also have equipment caches too, supplying lockpicks, rope, grapples, lamps, disguise kits, and forgery kits. Each region will also have access to a variety of weapons and armour, usually with a small amount of magical gear and items. Each charter will have access to fences that can buy and sell illegally obtained goods, and smiths & militia, as to produce gear and bribe accordingly.
History
The guild started in the early 500s AD. It was the intention of the original guild to offer safe haven for thieves and provide services that they would need. as well as protection. The first place it started was in Parisius, and gradually spread with the establishment of the other major settlements of Frankia.
Constantly having to hide not much is know at present about the guild due to its secrecy.
Founding Date
425 AD
Type
Guild, Thieves
Leader Title
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Comments