Relationships with other Guilds

Table 10 is provided for DMs who need for some reason to determine, at random, the relationship between thieves and the guilds they are most likely to cooperate with: assassins, beggars, and bards. It is strongly suggested to the DM that these relationships should be scripted, rather than dice-rolled, but if a DM needs to develop a guild and its background quickly a dice roll will do the job. Separate d20 rolls should be used for each guild.

Table 10:

THIEVES AND OTHER GUILDS

d20



Roll
Relationship of Thieves Guild with

Assassins
Beggars
Bards
1-2
Hostile
Hostile
Hostile
3-4
Indifferent
Hostile
Indifferent
5-6
Indifferent
Indifferent
Indifferent
7-8
Indifferent
Neutral
Indifferent
9-10
Neutral
Neutral
Indifferent
11-12
Neutral
Favorable
Neutral
13-14
Neutral
Favorable
Neutral
15-16
Favorable
Co-operative
Neutral
17-18
Favorable
Co-operative
Neutral
19
Co-operative
Close
Favorable
20
Close
Close
Co-operative

Modifiers to d20 Rolls:

Law attitude is persecutory or hassling: +1 to assassins/beggars

Social alignment is good: -2 to assassins, +1 to beggars

Social alignment is evil: +2 to assassins

A Hostile result doesn't mean open aggression unless the DM wants a running feud as a storyline! For example, if hostility exists between thieves and assassins this is most unlikely to explode into open aggression (unless, say, an assassin has slain the thieves' guildmaster). Indifferent means the groups have few dealings; Neutral differs in that the two groups have more dealings, maybe for practical reasons, although they have neither fondness nor enmity for each other. Favorable means that the two guilds get on well enough, though they may not always trust each other too well! Cooperative means that the groups enjoy a good relationship, may plan together, and that a fair level of trust exists between guildmembers. Close means that the two guilds work closely together, exchanging information, helping with common-interest tasks, with one guild even prepared to help the other if it is under threat or attack (at least until the bodies start to drop!).

Details of the Guild

Having established these background details, it's down to the nitty-gritty. The first, crucial, determination is how many thieves there are in the city or town where the guild is. This is not necessarily the same number as are in the guild, but working out how many light-fingered gents (or ladies) are about town is a necessary precursor to that.

Table 11 does not use a d20 roll. Instead, it is a matrix from which the DM only needs to read off one figure. If the DM knows the population of the town/city, and the wealth level, a single read-off gives the range for the number of thieves. After each dice roll indicated in a column, a bracketed figure is given—this is a (rounded) average which the DM can use if he hasn't the time to roll dice on the table.

Totals from Table 11 are not cumulative, save for populations of over 10,000 (where the "per extra . . ." number, or a multiple, is added to the "5,001-10,000" number).

We now know how many thieves there are in the town or city, but how many are actually in the guild? This depends in large part on the rulership of the guild, which should now be determined.

Table 11:

THIEVES IN TOWNS AND CITIES

Population
Economic Level

Very Poor
Poor
Fair
Average
Comfortable
Wealthy
Rich
Up to 5000
0
1d2-1(1)
1d2-1(1)
1d2-1(1)
1d3-1(1)
1d3-1
1d3
501-1000
1d2-1(1)
1d3-1(1)
1d3-1(1)
1d3(2)
1d3
(2)
1d4+1(4)
1001-2000
n/a
1d3(2)
1d4(3)
1d3+1(3)
1d4+1(4)
1d3+2(4)
1d4+1(5)
2001-5000
n/a
1d4+1(4)
1d6+1(5)
1d6+2(6)
1d6+3(7)
1d8+3(8)
2d6+2(9)
5001-10,000
n/a
1d6+2(6)
1d10+2(8)
2d6+2(9)
2d8+2(11)
2d10+2(13)
4d6+2(15)
Per extra







5,000*
n/a
1d4+1(4)
1d6+1(5)
1d6+2(6)
1d6+3(7)
1d8+3(8)
2d6+2(9)

Modifiers to totals rolled. Add the following percentages to the total rolled, rounding fractions over one-half upward:

Social alignment is chaotic: +10%

Attitude of law is tolerant or corrupt: +10%

Merchants are infiltrated or in submission: +10%

* Or fraction above 2,000.

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