Aeternia Thieves' Guild

The Aeternian Thieves' Guild is a large connection thieves who "borrow" items for others at a price. People may purchase protection from the Guild. This protection prevents them from being stolen from, unless the Guild will be payed a lot of money for an item in the person's possession. The Guild will accept contracts to take items from people, organizations, and locations. These missions usually take place in the city of Aeternia, but the Guild will extend its reach farther if the payment is good. The Thieves' Guild does not do assassinations, only thefts. But, the Theives' guild has been known to work with Assassin groups.

Thieves' Code

Even the trickiest of thieves must have a code to live by, or else the Guild would collapse, everyone taking from one another. The code, spread by word of mouth and expected of every thief in Aeternia in the Guild, even new ones, is as follows:

A thief musn't borrow from other thieves of the Guild.
A thief musn't borrow from shopkeepers who have purchased protection, least the client pay double the price of protection.
A thief must give the borrowed item to the Guild, who will give the thief their cut.
A thief musn't reveal the location of the Guild to ANYONE.
A thief who accepts help of another theif must decide on how the cut is shared before the item is taken, never after. If the payment is not split properly, then the thief has lost his honor, and is exiled from the Guild. If a conspirator is dead not by the thief's hand, the cut split to them is given to their famil. If there is no family, then to the Guild. _{Guild takes the possessions of exiled theif}

— Thieves of the Aeternian Thieves' Guild

Profit

The Aeternia Thieves' Guild makes money using a variety of methods. The Guild accepts contracts to take particular items from individuals, businesses, organizations, and more. The Guild will also offer protection to a shopkeeper, business, etc. Finally, the Guild feels it has free reign over items of people who talk badly and tarnish the Guild's reputation.

Contracts

Contracts are the piece of the Guild that keeps its reputation and generates a lot of funds. Most contracts are given by wealthy individuals or groups of people who wish for a stolen item back. The Guild decides on the payment depending on the value of the item, difficulty of the heist, and whether or not the target has protection. These calculations are usually estimated by the current Guildmaster. If the Guildmaster is busy, then usually their second in commands would negotiate contracts. The minimum of a contract's payment is double the protection paid, if there is any protection. The money that will be paid must be shown to the Guild, or the contract will not be taken. Half of the expected price must also be paid upfront as insurance in case the client does not pay the rest, or if the thief dies, is jailed, or a worse fate befalls them. If the client does not pay the rest of the money after they have received the item, the Guild decides that thieves have free reign over their belongings, and can take whatever they want from them. Those who don't pay the full price often find themselves stripped of their belongings, or forced to leave the region.

Someone can request a contract by talking to the Guildmaster. The Guildmaster presides in a large, lavish house. The Aeternia Thieves' Guild base is never far from the manor, but far enough that one cannot search the perimeter of the property to find the Guild's base. The Guildmaster's manor is also the home of a few of their most trusted thieves who can also take a contract to the Guild in the Guildmaster's absence.

Once a contract has been made, the Guildmaster or other person who made the contract will instruct one of the stealthy thieves who also preside in the Guildmaster's Manor to enter the Aeternia Thieves' Guild and instruct the Contract Master of the job. The portion of the payment given upfront is kept by the Guildmaster and divided as they see fit. The payment given at the end of the contract is given to the thief.

Protection

Protection can be purchased from the Guildmaster. It serves as a way to protect the shopkeeper from being stolen from, to an extent. Clients can pay an amount of money monthly to the Guildmaster. This amount is half the minimum of the price to steal from the client. Often having protection is enough to discourage most people from hiring the Guild to steal from the person, depending on how much money the client spends on protection, but sometimes, the high base price isn't enough to discourage the people who really, really want the item.

Hierarchy

The Aeternia Thieves' Guild follows a standard, five level ranking system for its thieves. The ranks follow the system below.

Requirements of Joining:

1. Finding the Guild
2. Their word that they will follow the Thieves' Code

Rank 1: "Robber"

Requirements:

1. Joining the Guild
2. Accepcts and completes contracts

Perks:

1. The Guild will give you contracts of a low level ( <50gp)
2. The Guild offers free protection worth 50 gp

Rank 2: "Burglar"

Requirements:

1. Rank 1
2. Has earned the guild 250gp in contracts. This does not include money given to the thief, only the first cut of the completed mission
3. Has completed said contracts without breaking the Thieves' Code.

Perks:

1. The Guild will give you contracts of medium value ( < 100gp)
2. The Guild offers free protection worth 100 gp

Rank 3: "Pilferer"

Requirements:

1. Rank 2
2. Has earned the guild 1,000gp. This does not include money given to the thief, only the first cut of the completed mission.
3. Has continued to follow the Thieves' Code.

Perks:

1. The Guild will give contracts of high value ( < 1000gp)
2. The Guild offers free protection worth 500 gp

Rank 4: "Thief"

Requirements:

1. Rank 3
2. Has earned the guild 10,000gp. This does not include money given to the thief, only the first cut of the completed mission.
3. Has proved them self worthy of the Guildmaster's trust.

Perks:

1. The Guild will give contracts of the highest value (no maximum value).
2. The Guild will not accpet contracts to steal items from you.
3. Expected to work full time for the Thieves' Guild, whether that means working on keeping track of things, guarding the Guildmaster, or thieving valuable items. If they don't want to steal, they will be granted an administrative position in the Guild.
4. The Guildmaster will pay you depending on what they believe your worth to be.

Rank 5: "Guildmaster"

There is only one Guildmaster at any given point. The Guildmaster is chosen by the previous Guildmaster. If the previous Guildmaster did not choose a successor, then the Thief who has given the most money to the Guild becomes the Guildmaster. The Guildmaster runs the entire Guild. They decide what happens with the money gained, and which contracts to accept. Being the Guildmaster of the Aeternia Thieves' Guild is one of the most paying jobs known to the civilized world.

Current Contracts

The following are the contracts and the amount of money they pay. The following list changes often.

Steal the Tart Recipe: 50gp

The Bakery Bros have been having a lot of success with their tarts. One of the competing bakers, who wishes to remain anonymous, wants to take their tart recipe. During a visit to their bakery, the client has saw a table on which a small box with cards sticking out of lay. The client presumes this is where they keep their recipes. We decided the price was to be 50gp, 25 paid up front. Bring the tart recipes to us, and you get your cut.

Steal Incriminating Document: 100gp

Apperently this client was caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing. This person has a letter that contains some information about the client that they don't want the world knowing about. Who knows whether or not the person who currently possesses the letter knows it or not, but the client wants the letter back, preferably seal unbroken. The letter is at Larry's Leatherworks. The letter is likely not in plain sight, so it may be a good idea to find his desk or wherever he keeps his important documents. We decided the price was to be 100gp, 50 paid up front. Bring the letter to us, and you get your cut. (The letter is: Letter to Mr. Skeleton from Wendle Opdinlop)

Type

Guild, Thieves

Alternative Names

Thieves' Guild

Leader Title

Guildmaster

Location

Aeternium