The Thieves' Quarter

"The buildings of the Thieves’ Quarter are slightly less run down than their Slum Quarter equivalents, and its people are marginally better off."

Though outwardly as squalid as the Slum Quarter, the Thieves’ Quarter wields far more influence than its crumbling façades suggest. While the Directing Oligarchy governs from the High Quarter, true power often shifts in the shadows of Old City Hall, where the Guild of Thieves quietly shapes city policy far from public scrutiny. Here, decisions are made that affect the entire Free City—decisions driven not by law, but by profit and control.

Crime is the lifeblood of the quarter, but it follows a code. Petty swindles, shakedowns, and burglary are commonplace, yet the Guild frowns upon violent crimes that draw too much attention. Murders and other reckless acts that threaten stability are swiftly investigated—not by the City Watch, but by the Guild itself. Justice, when meted out, is often swift, brutal, and final, ensuring that order in the Thieves’ Quarter remains under their control rather than the city’s.

The quarter’s inhabitants live slightly better than their counterparts in the Slum Quarter, though wealth remains relative. A handful of silver can make a man feel like a king for a day—or mark him as an easy target. Here, survival depends not just on strength, but on knowing whom to cross, whom to pay, and when to disappear into the shadows.