A Guild of Thieves

I've been working on my C&C adventure and starting to edit Rob's product he is planning to publish soon. Keep an eye out for the announcement at Bat in the Attic. Here is an example of a thieves guild I developed for a section of my campaign. Enjoy.

Background
The Knights of the Coin (KotC) is a mockery of the trend where noble families would name themselves after a virtue or some symbol that represented their family such as Knights of Mercy, Paladins of Valor and Warriors for Freedom. Noctum, founder of KotC, was amused by the nobility's hypocrisy and decided the thieves' guild would join in the fun.

The Initiate
The first tier of KotC is the initiate. An initiate must be sponsored by a third tier member, a Burglar or Cutthroat. The initiate must give their money and valuables to the guild before they begin. For a year they must survive on the streets without buying or trading. A sponsor may offer relief at times, but for the first year an initiate is to fend for himself. If an initiate is caught buying or trading they forfeit all their valuables and must start their year again if they still want to be a member.

Within this year the sponsor will have the initiate tested in several ways. One will include the person being arrested and questioned about his superior or possible plans. The initiate may be left to be tortured to see how far their loyalty goes. Depending on the sponsor the year can be brutal. Other tests will include the a friend's betrayal and choosing the guild over family.

Upon the completion of the year on the streets an initiate is give a dagger with a copper coin embedded in the hilt and is now considered a...

The Rogue
The second tier of the KotC is the Rouge. The main responsibilities of a Rouge is performing manual labor, provide distractions, acting as soldiers,and watching the initiates. Rouges usually spend two to ten years at this tier depending on the influence of their sponsor and the talent of the Rouge. The death or disgrace of one's sponsor can trap a member at this tier for many years.

When a Rogue is elevated into the third tier of the guild they must decide which path he will follow, a Burglar or Cutthroat. A Rouge is given a curved dagger if he chooses the path of a Burglar or a kryss dagger if he chooses the path of the Cutthroat. Both daggers have a silver coin embedded in the hilt.

The Burglar
A Burglar specializes in theft, gathering information, organizing merchants to sell their stolen goods and to recruit initiates.

The Cutthroat
A Cutthroat specializes in infiltration, intimidation, deception and assassination. There are fewer Cutthroats due to the extreme training and high fatality rate, but they are well paid and feared by all including other members of KotC.

The Masters
There are six Masters at any one time. This is a lifetime office. Only death or disgrace can end a Master's reign. When s Master's reign ends the other Masters choose the replacement.

Masters decide the direction of the guild, policies, punishment and membership. They make arrangements with merchants, nobles and other guilds or as they call it, the practice of night politics. They do not usually get involved in day-to-day operations, but can if they wish. Masters are not subject to the same punishments as other members. Only a vote from the other Masters can sanction any punishment. This is a rarity unless the confidence of the guild is at stake.

Each Master wears one of the Daggers of Noctum as a symbol of their office. These daggers have magical abilities and can be identified by the ancient gold coin embedded in each of the hilts.


Verdelay of the Silent Knives
Verdelay was one of the most feared Cutthroats for over two decades. He completed more contracts than any other member in the history of the KotC. He is an expert of languages, disguise, acting and making his targets feel at ease.

Verdelay has been a Master for seven years and was responsible for the death of his predecessor, Aramon. Aramon was providing information of membership to a rival. The other Masters secretly gave Verdelay the position as long as he disposed of Aramon. It took two days to penetrate the Aramon's defenses. The next day he arrived covered in blood with Aramon's dagger at his side and wearing blood stained Aramon wore when he was murdered. He'd hung Aramon's mangled body over the gate letting the others know traitors within the guild will not be tolerated.

Verdelay is a good natured man who is often the voice of reason when the other Masters get into arguments. Often listening more than talking. He enjoys the simple things in life especially his pair of hunting dogs which do very little hunting. He is not a man of extreme passions, but rather one of calculated control. When he complete contracts he felt no exciting it was just a job.

He has no favorites in the guild. He makes sure the needs of the Cutthroats are not neglected because they have a smaller membership.

The other Masters fear Verdelay and he knows this. He understands the delicate balance between fear and respect. He is not motivated by money or power, but the health and prosperity of the members of the KotC.

Verdelay prefers the peaceful quiet of the graveyard to hold meetings with his henchmen. Within the catacombs of Lord Malendor's crypt Verdelay and his most trusted men meet to discuss the month's business.

Verdelay has possession of Noctum's favorite dagger, Obscurity. This small dagger allows the user to walk through a crowded street without anyone noticing. People will move out of the way without thinking. Only an act of violence against a person (i.e. punch, slap, kick, stab or slash) will bring notice upon the wielder. Because of this power the wielder has complete surprise for the first attack.


I give only one of the six masters. If you're interested in the other five and more details about the Knights of the Coin let me know. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.