Gameplay: Professions unique to the leadership of thieves' guilds

Professions that are unique to the leadership of thieves' guilds.

Unless you are portraying characters that form part of the leadership of a thieves' guild, you don't need to bother with these professions at all.

These skills are only really relevant when a player character is part of the leadership of a thieves’ guild or at least a fellowship of thieves. Though freelancers and thieves who are members of these organizations can also invest in these skills if they like to, they’ll be completely or largelly irrelevant as long as they’re not running a guild or a fellowship.

 

 

GUILD BOSS

There's this widespread romanticised ideal, this myth, floating around in people's heads almost whenever professional thieves and thief guilds are mentioned… The myth that all organisations of professional thieves are some sort of idealistic, meritocratic communes of brave and cocky rogues who have no place for the power structures of the outside, mundane world. Well, forget it ! Like in every group and every society, thieves too aren't exempt from the necessary evil that is hierarchy. Granted, the nature of most well-run thieves' guilds is rather informal and familial. But for things to work, especially if a guild is long-lived and has up to several dozen members, there needs to be some sense of order, of leadership. Of older, wiser thieves overseeing and advising the younger generations, whether they be complete rookies or already have a few years of hard-earned experience. People often ask what's the main difference between a fellowship and a guild. Aside from the larger number of members, a guild also has a more formal and official structure than the “club”-like nature of thief fellowships, and last but not least… it has a well-defined leader. Simply put, a Guild Boss. Unsurprisingly, male or female Guild Bosses are often picked among the older and more seasoned members of a guild. Just as every guild is its own little world, so does the choice of Bosses depend on a guild's overall nature and inner traditions. Some guilds have direct elections of Bosses, though under supervision of its leadership. In others, the existing leadership forms a small elective council which, together with advice from lower-ranking guild members, eventually chooses a new Boss. Either of these two election types can be held regularly or only occassionally. And some guilds are practically dynastic, “family-run businessess”, with most of their Bosses simply inheriting the leadership position. Being a Guild Boss sounds privileged and powerful, but it's a somewhat ungrateful position to be in. Whether you like it or not, you have potentially tens of people under you, with all of them looking up to you, many of them possibly not exactly being fond of your's truly… And despite that, you're expected to grind your teeth, remain charismatic and clever, and be a guild's true “head of the family” that doesn't lose his or her cool that easily. A tall order, ey ? Well, once the weight of the (thieving) world falls on your shoulders, you either buckle and learn to take it (and enjoy it !) or you don't. It can be your choice, it can be the choice of the people who expect you to not let them down… Choices, choices, and so many variables…

Type: Guild Management
Specialisation in a nutshell: The leader of a thieves' guild, with all the privileges and responsibilities that come with the position.
Recommended combos with: Heist Planner
See also: Managerial skills, Diplomatic skills

AIDE
Since ancient times, every ruler or leader of a sizable group of people, whether a nation or a band of thieves, has needed someone competent to act as his right hand man (or woman). In other words, he's needed someone to aid him - an Aide, if you will. In the civilian sphere of Melza, the Lord Mayor has several of these, though one stands out in particular, in the form of the Mayor's trustworthy chancellor. Why should the criminal underworld of Melza be any different, then, especially among the established thieves' guilds ? Such was the thinking in many of the guilds, and coupled with a naturally arising need for an auxilliary to the main guild leader, the position of Aide was gradually born. So, what does an Aide actually do on a mundane basis ? Many hold this romantic idea that he wields as much power as the Boss, or even more, and secretly works on backstabbing him behind the scenes. In actuality, while some examples like that have occassionally occured in guild history, the vast majority of Aides are effectivelly economic managers of a guild's day-to-day running. They act as overseers on whether the thieves are fed and in good morale, whether the mundane supplies are coming in, the loot is getting fenced and moving on, whether a guild's compound or safehouses haven't become revealed or compromised, and so on, and so on…

Type: Guild Management
Specialisation in a nutshell: Deputy to a Guild Boss and main overseer of a guild's inner economic and political stability. All Cooks-quartermasters and Smugglers are his or her's direct underlings.
Recommended combos with: Gentleman Thief
See also: Managerial skills, Diplomatic skills

SCRIBE
In the years and years long path towards a higher position within a guild, the Scribe of a Guild Boss is one of the culminations of a guild's “desk jockey” managerial professions. The Scribe is, in a sense, the further evolution of a Pencil-pusher or an Accountant. Functionally, the Scribe is primarily the archivist of a guild, and also the personal secretary and archivist to the Guild Boss. Also, if a guild includes at least a small library in its main compound (many guilds do), the Scribe usually acts as the librarian of the organisation. Finally, the Scribe's relation to the profession of Guild accountants and pencil-pushers is not at all accidental - technically speaking, all of the Accountants and Pencil-pushers in a guild are the Scribe's subordinates. They ultimately answer to him, then secondarily to the Guild Boss (though the latter is only in major cases or when he sends for them).

Type: Guild Management
Specialisation in a nutshell: A Guild Boss's primary bureaucrat and record keeper. Also the archivist, librarian and main scholar of a guild. All Accountants and Pencil-pushers are his or her's direct underlings.
Recommended combos with: Pencil-pusher, Accountant
See also: Managerial skills, Diplomatic skills

COUNSELLOR
Guilds are larger organisations, and owing to their size, they’re also more vulnerable to accepting strangers into their ranks, as new recruits. As much as a thieves' guild needs new members from time to time, there is also a need for a screening process. Though guilds are far more welcoming of error than more typical crime gangs, there are still limits to their patience. The counsellor’s primary duty is to screen new recruits into a guild, in order to ensure they won’t pose a threat to other members and can be relied upon as long-term associates. Recruiters can provide new apprentices if needed, but the final decision rests with the Counsellor. After also doing some consulting with a guild’s Boss, of course. If the Counsellor decides against recruiting someone, that person is simply not recruited. Furthermore, the counsellor also has the invaluable duty of providing professional advice to individual guild members. Not only established ones, but also rookies or relatively skilled but still learning thieves. It's not unusual seeing a counsellor cooperating with guild bureaucrats or with stealth and combat skill trainers, while explaining things to guild newcomers. Though this can vary from guild to guild, the general practice is to have several veterans working in conjunction to advise or instruct a guild member. More people educating, warning or explaining is seen to have greater impact than leaving it all to a single person. All guild members working as Recruiters are subordinates to the Counsellor. They ultimately answer to him, then secondarily to the Guild Boss (though the latter is only in major cases or when he sends for them).

Type: Guild Management
Specialisation in a nutshell: Oversees the enrollment process of new members into a thieves' guild and is always ready to provide professional advice for individual guild members and even freelancers. All Recruiters are his direct underlings.
Recommended combos with: Recruiter, Dogsbody, Pencil-pusher
See also: Managerial skills, Diplomatic skills

FRONT MANAGER
Obviously, not every company is that well-suited to concealing a thieving guild's operations behind its own facade. Things like shops and other small businesses are understandable, but certain other types of companies don't lend themselves too well to being a front (either for a guild itself, or just some loot fences). Antique shops, theatre troupes, brothels. Fronts don't need to be just fancy. Some are, obviously, but most tend to be low-key. Whether a front will ever be successful depends on several factors, one of the most crucial being whether they feel believable in a local context. Per logic, a theatre troupe will probably not have its domicile in the worst slum, but on some slightly better street. Particular circumstances of the business operation are also crucial, as any dubious incomes, expenses, supplying, and so on can draw supsicion if left unchecked for a longer time. A front manager's duty is to oversee that the front remains a functioning shield for shady dealings of the thieving underworld, in addition to the usual economic matters that go along with its upkeep.

Type: Guild Management
Specialisation in a nutshell: Oversees the working of the various businesses that serve as fronts for a thieves' guild, in order to conceal it from the prying eyes of either the law or upstanding citizens. All front lead employees are his direct underlings.
Recommended combos with: Smuggler, Dogsbody, Pencil-pusher
See also: Managerial skills, Diplomatic skills

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