This section is for DMs who have a PC in a campaign who has become a Guildmaster of Thieves. Holding a similar position (e.g., the most powerful member of a ruling council) can be handled with minor modifications of the system outlined here for determining guild numbers, activities, economics, brushes with the law, and similar events in the everyday story of thieving folk.
Determining Guildmembers[]
This can be done in three ways. First, the tables in the Player's Handbook can be used (with tweaking to reduce the proportion of non-humans if this is too large for your campaign). Second, you can use tables (71, 12, 13) earlier in this book (the 11-15 row is suggested from Table 17). Or you can use one of the systems, and introduce a few pet, individually scripted NPC thieves of your own into the results from the dice rolls. In particular, you may wish to design the deputy (assistant) guildmaster since this will be an NPC the PC will need to lean on a lot.
Guild Income[]
Table 22 below lists economic modifiers for societies of different wealth. These modifiers should be applied to all monetary sums referred to later—guild dues, cuts from planned jobs, and the like.
| Social Wealth | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Very Poor | x 0.25 |
| Poor | x 0.5 |
| Fair | x 0.75 |
| Average | none |
| Comfortable | x 1.2 |
| Wealthy | x 1.5 |
| Rich | x 2.0 |
The income the guild receives will come from two sources; guild dues, and the cut the guild takes from planned robberies, burglaries, heists, and the like. The system given here is a simple one for calculating month-by-month income; some optional extras are documented later.
Dues: These will be fixed as a yearly sum, payable anywhere from monthly to semi-annually (the thieves will prefer the latter). A reasonable base sum to work from is 30 gp per level as a yearly due, to a maximum of around 300 gp/year (for thieves of 10th or higher level). The guildmaster can take 5% of these dues as a personal fee, and his assistant will take the same (these two do not pay fees, nor do members of a ruling council unless democratically elected). The guildmaster can take up to 15%, but for every 1% above the 5% standard the morale of the guildmembers drops by -1. Extorting over 15% leads to immediate revolt! The rest of the income goes to the expenses of running the guild (bribes, buying equipment, paying fines, etc.).
Cuts: The guild is entitled to exact a levy on robberies and burglaries which it has some role in planning. The guildmaster doesn't have to plan these activities; his right- (and left-) hand men take the leading role in this. The levy can be taken as a base 10% (this is pretty much standardized. If a PC guildmaster wants to extort more, every extra 1% leads to a decline of -1 in morale; over -10 leads to immediate revolt). Of this 10%, the guildmaster gets 10%, as does his assistant—that is, 1% of the gross.
Table 23 shows how much money is gained per 10 thief-levels by a guild from this kind of guild-guided activity. The standard economic multiplier is used, and the dice roll result is multiplied by the total number of experience levels of guild operatives, divided by 10 (the guildmaster and his assistant, and any guildmembers not actively thieving, are excluded). So, a guild with six 3rd-level, six 2nd-level, and eight 1st-level thieves gets 4 dice rolls (total levels= 18 + 12 + 8 = 38. Fractions below one-half are rounded down, others up). Table 23 gives the gross; the guild gets 8% of this, the guildmaster and his assistant 1% each.
| d20 Roll |
Income per 10 Thief-levels |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 5d6 gp |
| 3-5 | 5d8 gp |
| 6-9 | 5d10 gp |
| 10-11 | 8d10 gp |
| 12-15 | 2d6 x 10 gp |
| 16-18 | 3d6 x 10 gp |
| 19 | 4d6 x 10 gp |
| 20 | 6d6 x 10 gp |
| 21 | 6d10 x 10 gp |
| 22 | 10d10 x 10 gp |
| 23+ | 12d12 x 10 gp |
Modifiers to Dice Roll
- -2 if the attitude of the law is persecutory
- -1 if the attitude of the law is hassling
- +1 if the law is corrupt or tolerant
- -1 if the merchants attitude is one of warfare
- +2 if the merchants are submissive or infiltrated
Income Multipliers (see below)
- Easygoing operations: x 0.5
- Routine operations: x 0.8
- Average operations: x 1.0
- Pushy operations: x 1.5
- Aggressive operations: x 2.0
Levels of Operations[]
These are referred to in the multipliers following Table 23, above. They refer to the following instructions given by the guildmaster:
Easygoing: Guildmembers take life very easy. No morale modifiers.
Routine: Guildmembers take life fairly easy, but keep their hands in. A +1 modifier applies to morale for the first month (after this some of them get bored and touchy).
Average: The standard level of operations, no effects on morale.
Pushy: The guildmembers are pushed into doing some extra jobs here and there, and grand, ambitious activities are eagerly pursued. This gives +1 to morale for the first month (excitement), but -1 per month after the first if sustained, cumulative to a maximum of -4).
Aggressive: Guildmembers are told by the guildmaster to steal anything which isn't bolted to the floor. This has an immediate effect on morale of -2, to which -1 is added per month (cumulative) to a maximum of -10; at this point, a revolt is automatically triggered.
The more active the guild is, the more likely thieves are to be apprehended by the law, however!
The sums of money gained by the guildmaster this way will not be great, unless the guild is a large one, the community is rich, and/or the guildmaster uses aggressive thieving tactics. This is likely to be ale money for guildmaster-level thieves, so other activities must be used to generate income. These will need planning by the player in consultation with the DM. Reference should be made to the Player's Handbook when considering the money side—how much shopkeepers can afford to pay as protection money, for example. These sums are usually lower than most players think! Making sure the target one strikes at is rich is a shrewd step in any thiefly activity.
The Long Arm of the Law[]
A monthly roll is made on Table 24 to determine whether there has been a confrontation with the law.
| d20 Roll |
Result |
|---|---|
| 1-16 | No confrontation |
| 17-20 | Confrontation |
Modifiers to Dice Roll
- +4 if attitude of law is persecutory
- +2 if attitude of law is hassling
- -2 if attitude of law is tolerant
- -4 if attitude of law is corrupt
- -3 if activity of guild is easygoing
- -1 if activity of guild is routine
- +2 if activity of guild is pushy
- +5 if activity of guild is aggressive
- +1 for each group of 10 thieves (round up) past the first 10 (maximum modifier +5)
Note that when rolling on the table above, a roll of natural 20 means a confrontation with the law, no matter what the modifiers may be.
If a confrontation arises, roll on Table 25 to determine the nature of the confrontation. Apply the same modifiers to the dice roll as for Table 24, except for the last one (the number of thieves modifier). Also, natural rolls of 1 and 20 are not subjected to modifiers on Table 25.
| d20 Roll |
Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest of 1 thief (1st-level apprentice) |
| 2-5 | Arrest of 1 thief (level 1d2) |
| 6-9 | Arrest of 1d2 thieves (1st-level apprentices) |
| 10-15 | Arrest of 1d2 thieves (level 1d2) |
| 16-18 | Arrest of 1d2+1 thieves (levels 1d3) |
| 19 | Arrest of 1d3+1 thieves (levels 1d3) |
| 20 | Reroll, but thieves are killed |
| 21-23 | Arrest of 1d2+3 thieves, rolled at random from the active guildmember list |
| 24+ | As above, but there is a 50% chance for each thief of being killed |
Any arrest of three or more thieves will reduce the morale of guildmembers by -1.
Clearly, it is useful if a guild can manage to corrupt the law somewhere along the line. It is up to the player of a PC guildmaster to set about corrupting the law, if it isn't corrupt already, and up to the DM to determine at what point the corruption has gone far enough to apply dice modifiers in the tables above.
Arrested Thieves: Different campaign worlds, and countries within the same campaign world, have very different legal systems and degrees of punishment. If the guildmaster wants to try and get his followers back by paying their fine, this is acceptable unless the DM rules otherwise (e.g., the country is Lawful Neutral and very punitive, the attitude of the law is persecutory or hassling, etc.). The fine payable is variable. The base fine is 30 gp, but modifiers can readily be applied. If the thief is of 3rd or higher level, double the fine (he probably has a record). If the guild's activity level was pushy, double the fine. If the guild's activity level was aggressive, multiply the fine by five. Finally, roll 1d4 and multiply the fine by this figure to get a final sum.
This is a fair shorthand rule which many DMs will want to detail further for themselves, but for an averagely active guild in an average sort of game milieu (if there is such a thing) an average fine of 75 gp, or 150 gp for a seasoned criminal, is not so much to pay. The guild can afford to pay half the fine (part of running expenses) up to 250gp, but the guildmaster has to fork out the rest from his personal wealth. A guildmaster who gets a thief out of jail by paying the fine, or by busting him out, gains the confidence of his followers, who add +1 to their morale for the next month. On the other hand, if the guild suffers a loss of several (3 or more) members there may be a morale drop of -1 or more (but the DM may waive this for large guilds).
Guild Morale[]
Unless there are special reasons to the contrary, the base morale for guildmembers will be 15 to begin with. If morale falls below this level, a morale check is called for. Failing the check means that 1d2 thieves leave the guild, to become freelancers elsewhere. This number can be modified. For each 2 points that morale falls below 14, add 1 extra deserter. If the 2d10 roll is 19 or 20 (natural; this is but a 3% chance), add an extra 1d4 deserters. Do not add alignment modifiers (for the PC) to these morale checks; standard morale checks (Table 16, Player's Handbook) give bonuses for being lawful/good and this is extremely implausible with thieves!
As an alternative, rather than leaving the guild, the thieves may put their grievances to the guildmaster, if a secret check against the guildmaster's Charisma is successful. They may ask for lower dues or cuts from their income, more resources from the guild, or as the DM determines. This is a fair step, if morale has fallen due to ill-fortune (arrests and other problems) rather than to the guildmaster having been reckless or careless.
If morale falls to 5 or lower, however, the guildmaster will be the subject of an open revolt and attempted putsch (and, at the DM's discretion, this may happen sooner if the PC is being cruel, arbitrary, reckless, or otherwise abusing his position).
New Followers[]
New followers may arrive, and a monthly check should be made for this. The chance is 10% for each 10 (or part thereof) thieves already in the guild—for example, a guild with 27 thieves has a 30% chance each month of attracting a new follower. Modifiers to this base percentage chance are shown in Table 26.
| Morale, per point above 15: | +10% |
| Morale, per point below 10: | -10% |
| Guildmaster's Charisma: | +2% per point above 12 |
| Society is Rich: | +10% |
| Society is Wealthy: | +5% |
| Society is Poor: | -5% |
| Society is Very Poor: | -20% |
Whatever the final percentage chances, no more than two new thieves will arrive in any single month. New arrivals are 1st-level apprentices, with the usual chance for being nonhuman and possibly multi-classed. The DM may allow greater chances for new recruits if the guildmaster goes on a recruiting drive after the guild has been weakened by arrests or some similar misfortune.
Special Events and Occurrences[]
Special Events and Occurrences
These are the annoying unforeseen happenings which make life far from boring for any guildmaster. Allow a flat 1 in 6 chance per month of one event (rolled from Table 27) to take place. The DM must be prepared to do some necessary work fleshing out the event, and may add his own occurrences to those in the table. If an event is irrelevant, then no special event occurs that month.
| d20 Roll |
Special Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Senior Thief from next town defects to your guild, asking for protection, brings minor magic item gift |
| 2 | Randomly selected guildmember kidnapped by evil adventurers, ransom note dispatched |
| 3 | Freak success with burglary: Guild gets extra income (d6 x 100 gp) but a good fence is needed |
| 4 | Junior thief manages to acquire a "Police Snitch" |
| 5 | Deputy Guildmaster is diseased/ cursed/kidnapped/caught by the authorities |
| 6 | 1d3 dumb thugs offer services to the guild for a "retainer"; these fighters may be loyal, or are they stool-pigeons for some other organization? |
| 7 | Powerful NPC (a mage, perhaps) commissions tough break-in and burglary from the guild |
| 8 | Guildhouse is located by the authorities; 50% chance a junior thief finds this out before the raid. DM must do much work here! |
| 9 | Local assassins guild requests simple manpower help with a "little job" (that turns out to not so little . . .) |
| 10 | NPC specialist of some kind (mage/thief, quartermaster, brilliant cat burglar) arrives and applies for guild membership |
| 11 | Randomly selected junior guildmember suffers accident which leaves him unable to thieve |
| 12 | Guildhouse is burgled!!! Brilliant NPC outsider gets away with valuables (as recorded)! |
| 13 | A mid-level thief, plus an apprentice, disappear; have they been kidnapped (no ransom), murdered, eaten by alligators in the sewers, polymorphed, plane shifted or suffered some worse fate? |
| 14 | Failed assassination attempt is made against guildmaster—by whom? |
| 15 | Thieves accidentally (or in panic) kill guards when committing robbery—attitude of the law will be persecutory (maybe gaining reinforcements) for next month |
| 16 | Novice thief leaves guild (family moving, marries girl/boy from next village, etc.) |
| 17 | Relations with Beggars' guild worsen (if good) or improve (if bad)—actions of junior thieves (as determined by DM) are instrumental in this |
| 18 | Burglary turns up magic item unusable by any guildmaster (for example, a clerical item)—the guild needs to trade it to get its value (with a temple) |
| 19 | 1d3 thieves beaten up and robbed returning from a burglary, reduce guild income by 25% this month |
| 20 | PC's identity as guildmaster is known to an outsider, who attempts to blackmail the PC (he has some physical evidence to back his blackmailing) |