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Share Your World's/Campaign's Thieves Guilds and Assassins Guilds
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<blockquote data-quote="Levistus's_Leviathan" data-source="post: 8274279" data-attributes="member: 7023887"><p>Okay, simple premise, but I hope this will make way for a larger discussion.</p><p></p><p>Thieves Guilds and Assassins Guilds are different. One is a bunch of thieves that work in an underground network to transport and sell stolen and/or illegal goods, while the other is filled with hitmen/hitwomen that can be hired to do the dirty work of those with the means to pay for it. A great example of the differences between the two are the <a href="https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Brotherhood" target="_blank">Dark Brotherhood</a> and the <a href="https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Thieves_Guild" target="_blank">Thieves Guild</a> from the Elder Scrolls video game series. There is a bit of thematic overlap, as they tend to be <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/rogue" target="_blank">rogue</a>-ish characters adept in sneaking, persuasion, and fighting, but there are big differences and can both exist separately in a fantasy setting.</p><p></p><p>This thread is to share what Thieves Guilds and Assassins Guilds you have included/(or came across if you're a player) in your campaigns and worlds, and if you have both types, how you uniquely differentiate them. My world's examples will be in the spoiler below:</p><p></p><p>[SPOILER="My Examples"]In my world, Tor-eal, the Thieves Guild is called the Night Lotus, which is a shadowy organization that trades in all manner of activities and items that are considered dark or taboo, mostly including drugs, illegal types of animals, weaponry, and spells, sex-work, cannibalism, and so on. They're very much a darker take on the Thieves Guild than the version in the Elder Scrolls, while also having a slightly expanded use than just thievery. Members of the Night Lotus typically wear ornate clothing that is a mixture of black, red, and silver.</p><p></p><p>The Assassins Guild, on the other hand, is called the Emerald Viper. They're always very well dressed, typically wearing silver jewelry with emeralds, and dresses and suits that are emerald green and black. They're more like a "mafia for hire", where they all treat each other as close family friends and interact friendly with both those that hire their services and those that they are hired to hunt down. They're very much "<a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AffablyEvil" target="_blank">Affably Evil</a>" and "<a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagnificentBastard" target="_blank">Magnificent Bastards</a>" (apologies if TV tropes ruins your life), and make it clear to their targets that it's "nothing personal, just business". They don't take joy in killing or inflicting pain on others, so they make sure to coat their weapons in painless, but lethal, poisons to get the job done quickly. [/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p>So, what are your world's versions of these common guilds? I'm excited to hear them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Levistus's_Leviathan, post: 8274279, member: 7023887"] Okay, simple premise, but I hope this will make way for a larger discussion. Thieves Guilds and Assassins Guilds are different. One is a bunch of thieves that work in an underground network to transport and sell stolen and/or illegal goods, while the other is filled with hitmen/hitwomen that can be hired to do the dirty work of those with the means to pay for it. A great example of the differences between the two are the [URL='https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Brotherhood']Dark Brotherhood[/URL] and the [URL='https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Thieves_Guild']Thieves Guild[/URL] from the Elder Scrolls video game series. There is a bit of thematic overlap, as they tend to be [URL='https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/rogue']rogue[/URL]-ish characters adept in sneaking, persuasion, and fighting, but there are big differences and can both exist separately in a fantasy setting. This thread is to share what Thieves Guilds and Assassins Guilds you have included/(or came across if you're a player) in your campaigns and worlds, and if you have both types, how you uniquely differentiate them. My world's examples will be in the spoiler below: [SPOILER="My Examples"]In my world, Tor-eal, the Thieves Guild is called the Night Lotus, which is a shadowy organization that trades in all manner of activities and items that are considered dark or taboo, mostly including drugs, illegal types of animals, weaponry, and spells, sex-work, cannibalism, and so on. They're very much a darker take on the Thieves Guild than the version in the Elder Scrolls, while also having a slightly expanded use than just thievery. Members of the Night Lotus typically wear ornate clothing that is a mixture of black, red, and silver. The Assassins Guild, on the other hand, is called the Emerald Viper. They're always very well dressed, typically wearing silver jewelry with emeralds, and dresses and suits that are emerald green and black. They're more like a "mafia for hire", where they all treat each other as close family friends and interact friendly with both those that hire their services and those that they are hired to hunt down. They're very much "[URL='https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AffablyEvil']Affably Evil[/URL]" and "[URL='https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagnificentBastard']Magnificent Bastards[/URL]" (apologies if TV tropes ruins your life), and make it clear to their targets that it's "nothing personal, just business". They don't take joy in killing or inflicting pain on others, so they make sure to coat their weapons in painless, but lethal, poisons to get the job done quickly. [/SPOILER] So, what are your world's versions of these common guilds? I'm excited to hear them. [/QUOTE]
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