How big is a Thieves' guild?

[der_kluge]

Sorry for the necromancy. But I thought this was hilarious. I googled this topic. I was curious how big the thieves' guild should be in a town I'm currently working on. And there I am, right above me, giving sage advice on this topic nearly 14 years ago. lol

 

[Thunderfoot]

Sorry for the necromancy. But I thought this was hilarious. I googled this topic. I was curious how big the thieves' guild should be in a town I'm currently working on. And there I am, right above me, giving sage advice on this topic nearly 14 years ago. lol

And honestly, isn't that the way it should be? LMAO.

Also, I always used the 2e supplement Den of Thieves. It was probably the best written of the campaign style supplements of that era. Really gives you a lot to think about the Canting Crew activities in your cities.

 

[Hand of Evil]

To add to the topic some and my comment about its nature, what is the history of the city and the city overall alignment? Does the city have a nick-name, like The City of Thieves?

 

[JiffyPopTart]

For a town of 10k my gut tells me there couldnt be more than 5-10 career thieves. If you wanted to make the guild a focus and have it be bigger a suggestion would be to make it more of a grey market sort of organization that involves all sorts of businesses, even legitimate ones.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

It should be big enough that the watch cannot go around arresting them because it would take all day.

 

[Jer]

For a town of 10k my gut tells me there couldnt be more than 5-10 career thieves.

"We're less of a guild and more of a thieves club. We go hang out at the tavern and play darts on the weekends."

 

[Dioltach]

Presumably it will be smaller if they're mostly halflings.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

In a small city of about 10,000 people- how big should the thieves' guild be?

Relevant information- there is only one thieves' guild in town, they've worked pretty hard to run any competition into the ground- and participating in a non-guild job is a very risky. The Thieves' guild is pretty well-integrated into reputable businesses, so the line between cutthroat business tactics and just cutting throats is pretty thin. They also control two seats on the 7-seat town council.

The town isn't lawless by any stretch, it has your typical town guard contingency and maintains its own (albeit small) military force. The Thieves' guild is simply good at bribing, hiding, and extorting.

For those of you who have it, I'm using the Restenford thieves' guild affiliation from PHBII if that matters. It's also a 3.5 campaign.

I want this to be a force to be reckoned with, but I want this to be realistic too. A guild too large (or too small) wouldn't make sense, so I'm searching for that perfect number. if you can give it to me, perhaps you could also help with the distribution of forces? Assuming the leader (and most powerful member) is about CR 12, how does the breakdown happen from there? (i.e. how many first, second, third lvl NPCs, of what general classes, etc.)

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

25

12 x 1st level
6 x 2nd level
3 x 3rd level
2 x 4th level
1 x 5th level
1 x 6th level

YMMV.

 

[dogoftheunderworld]

11 guys. Or one guy /really/ good at disguises. Or possibly /everyone/ is a guild member. You will never know....

 

[Thunderfoot]

Again one of the reasons I liked Den if Thieves was that so many of the members of the guild weren't DIRECTLY involved in theft, per se.
The fence used to quietly exchange and sell purloined goods. The mechanic that altered gear and provided locks for the members to practice on. The prostitutes that could provide tips on places to hit amd provide..activities. that could keep marks occupied during a theft. Street urchins and beggars that provided eyes and ears for tips, marks and lookouts for the guard during heists. Assassin and fighters for muscle and extortion. The local gravedigger in the pocket of the guild to get rid of messy evidence. The guild is more than the sum of its cutpurses.