Quodethi Thief

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Most cities in Thule are plagued by highly organized thieves’ guilds, but nowhere are the thieves so bold or numerous as they are in the rich city of Quodeth. You belong to one of the Quodethi guilds, whether it’s a powerful guild of hundreds controlling entire quarters of the city or an upstart gang fighting for a single street to call its own. You grew up poor and desperate, but your guild gives you the things you could never have achieved on your own: money, power, and prestige. You’re expected to answer the call when your guild needs a job done or foot sol- diers for a street war, but the rest of the time you’re free to do as you please.

Many thieves are content to serve as loyal rank-and- file guild soldiers, taking their orders from more senior thieves and rising or falling with the guild’s fortunes. You are more ambitious than that; you’re willing to take orders for now, but some day you intend to be the one giving the orders. If that means climbing the guild ladder with hard work, sharp wits, and a keen eye for opportunity, well and good. If it turns out that your advancement is blocked, then maybe you’ll just have to strike out on your own and establish your own guild somewhere.

The people of Quodeth are humans of Kalay descent, although there are sizable communities of Atlanteans, Dhari, Nimothans, and a small number of nonhumans present in the city. Consequently, the majority of Quodethi thieves are Kalays born in Quodeth, but a Quodethi thief might come from any race or nationality. The vast majority of guild thieves are men and women of the lower classes—nobles and high-ranking priests or panjandrums have all the power and wealth they need, and don’t have to turn to street crime to improve their lots in life.

Key Identity: Human (any), rogue, fighter, bard.

Quodethi Thief Benefits

The streets are your home. You can disappear in a crowd or around a corner in the blink of an eye, blending perfectly into the teeming masses of humani- ty that throng the city streets. News and rumors come your way like water flowing downhill—if it’s worth knowing, you know it. While the authorities are not your friends, the common people of Quodeth know who you are and what you are a part of, so they are careful to treat you with respect.

Quodethi Thieves in the World

Thieves have few friends and many enemies—the forces of law and order, rival guilds, even members of your own guild who are jealous of your success or who, like you, intend to be the man or woman in charge someday. In territory controlled by your guild, you command the respect (and the fear) of the common people. Outside your territory, you are regarded as a thug and a villain. Your only allies are the other mem- bers of your own guild. Individually you are weak, but together you are an army, a force that can overwhelm all but the most determined foes.

Personalising the Quodethi Thief

Major guilds in Quodeth include the Seven Knives, Red Furies, Muggers, Beggars, and Bargemasters, but there is no reason you couldn’t belong to a small upstart guild—or even a guild with similar power in another city of Thule.

Red Fury Acrobat

The Red Furies are a bold sisterhood of burglars, pickpockets, and robbers who rule the Temple Quarter of Quodeth. They are not above blackmail or assassination when the stakes justify these tactics, but they are renowned as cat burglars. Many Red Furies are climbers and acro- batics of amazing skill, and they roam the rooftops and spires of Quodeth like other thieves roam the streets and alleyways. As you might guess, all Red Furies are female—men are not welcome in this guild.

Seven Knives Assassin

You are a member in good standing of the Seven Knives, the strongest thieves’ guild in Quodeth. You have hundreds of broth- ers and sisters ready to fight by your side, secret strongholds and safehouses where you can lie hidden as long as you need to, and a vast network of informants, fences, and specialists who can equip you for almost any escapade imaginable. The only drawback is that the Seven Knives demand your loyalty and obedience. Will you seek greater autonomy, or will you fight your way up the ranks and take your place as one of the Seven who lead the guild?

Thranish Juggler

In a city ruled by black sorcery, thieves must take steps to disguise their true activ- ities. You pose as a juggler or a fool, always ready with a jest or a pratfall to entertain the masses, but behind your painted smile, you are a spy and burglar of peerless skill.

Role Benefits

You are a member of a major thieves’ guild in one of Thule’s major cities. You have dozens (sometimes hundreds) of allies in the form of your guildbrothers and guildsisters, plus a city full of safehouses and boltholes where you can lie low whenever you want to drop out of sight. The streets belong to you.

D&D 5th Edition

Skill Bonuses (1st level): You gain training in Acrobatics and Deception. No one can lie like a thief born and raised in the streets, and at an early age you learned the value of sure feet and a good sense of balance.

Thief’s Feint (1st level): When you make a melee or ranged attack on your turn, you can perform a thief’s feint. You gain tactical advantage on the attack roll, and after the attack, you can use a bonus action to disengage.

You can use Thief’s Feint once, and then you must rest before you can use it again.

Reputation (6th level): When you make an interaction skill check with criminal elements in your home city (or other areas where you spend a lot of time), you gain tactical advantage—you’ve earned a reputation that other thieves and outlaws respect. Your bonus also applies to checks made to intimidate or blu common citizens, who are likewise aware of the fact that you mean business. On the down side, the authorities know your name and are generally hostile toward you.

Guildmaster (10th level): You become the leader of your thieves’ guild or establish a new guild of your own. You gain a hidden guild stronghold protected by secret entrances, deadly traps, and trained guard- beasts. You gain enough followers to provide you with a company of enforcers who are equivalent to bandit captains, plus a high income from your cut of the guild’s activities (see Followers and Income under narrative benefits). Your thieves are initially very loyal, but if you fail to provide strong leadership, you may face challenges from the lower ranks.

Pathfinder

Skill Bonuses (1st level): You gain a +2 bonus to Acrobatics and Knowledge (local) checks. No one knows a city like a thief born and raised in the streets, and at an early age you learned the value of sure feet and a good sense of balance.

Thief’s Feint (1st level): When you spend a hero point to gain a bonus before you make an attack roll, you can perform a thief’s feint. Instead of the normal bonus, you gain a +2 bonus to the attack roll, and the target is flat-footed against the attack. After the attack, you can take a free action to move up to your speed.

Hero points you spend to perform a thief’s feint are not permanently expended, and are regained at the end of the day.

Reputation (6th level): You gain a +4 bonus on skill checks to interact with criminal elements in your home city, or a +2 in other civilized areas—you’ve earned a reputation that other thieves and outlaws respect. Your bonus also applies to checks made to intimidate or bluff common citizens, who are likewise aware of the fact that you mean business. On the down side, the author- ities know your name and are generally Unfriendly or Hostile toward you.

Guildmaster (10th level): You become the leader of your thieves’ guild or establish a new guild of your own. You gain a hidden guild stronghold protected by secret entrances, deadly traps, and trained guard-beasts. You gain enough followers to provide you with guards in the form of thugs, mercenaries, and enforcers, plus a high income from your cut of the guild’s activities (see Followers and Income under narrative benefits). Your thieves are initially very loyal, but if you fail to provide strong leadership, you may face challenges from the lower ranks.