The Chelon Rose

Act 1: the Exile

Fact File 5: Thieves' Guilds

There are a number of thieves' guilds in Palace. Some are highly organised criminal syndicates, while others are little more than street gangs.

Advantages of large guilds include good contacts and plenty of work to choose from. Disadvantages is that they tend to be set up to make the people in charge rich while heavily exploiting the rest. Young or new members are often considered expendable.

Advantages of a smaller guild or gang is that they offer protection and loyalty. However, there is a much smaller territory to work and a limited range of contacts.

Some guilds that characters may know include:

The Nightingales:

This is the second largest thieves' guild in Palace. Also, the Nightingales have guilds and contacts in many towns beyond Palace.

The Nightingales are heavily involved in organised crime. The run a variety of gambling halls, brothels and other money-making activities.

Additionally, they have a number of territories in which their thieves work. They do not appreciate thieves working solo in their territory.

Their symbol is a skeleton key.

The Tiepans:

This is the largest guild in town, however, they do not have many out of town contacts.

The Tiepans are heavily involved in politics. Loyal to the old king, they work to undermine the current ruler. They have many important members and contacts in town, including noblemen.

The Tiepans make most of their money buy running the black market at rabbit island, the undisputed center of illegal activity.

The Tiepans symbol is two intertwined snakes.

The Black Rose:

This is a local gang of thieves and thugs. They run a handful of money lending schemes and one gambling room at the back of an inn. They have a couple of territories which they work. The are currently being squeezed out of the best parts of their territory by the nightingales.

Their symbol is the black rose.

Arakor:

The Arakors specialise in fencing stolen goods. The members rarely steel, preferring to buy from others and then selling at the black market. They are good contacts for stolen or illegal goods and poisons.

Thier symbol is an eagle.

The Drakes:

The drakes are a small and specialised assassin group. When someone has to be threatened with death, kidnapped or eliminated, the drakes are well regarded. They are known to use deadly poisons including Morgul.

Their symbol is a swamp foul.

There are many other small groups of thieves in Palace. A thief has to decide if he is a member of a guild or merely has contacts within guilds.

created: 14 February 1998 | Last Updated: June 23, 2001

© Skabo