Thieves' Quarter - how to use it?

[blargney the second]

I'm interested in picking up The Game Mechanics' sourcebook, either in PDF or printed. I haven't seen it yet, so I have NO idea what to expect from it!

For what kind of campaign is the material in Thieves' QUarter best suited? How is it best used? Any success or failure stories for integrating it into a campaign?

I'm thinking of using Liberty as the main setting for a campaign that will start this summer. The PCs will be younger scions of minor nobles/gentry enrolled in a military academy located in the city.

I recently acquired Green Ronin's Arcana: Societies of Magic sourcebook, and I intend to have one of the major conflicts in the city be between Liberty's Thieves' Guild (which I have not seen) and the Dragon Gang as the latter tries to horn in from their power base in another city.

Is the material from the two books compatible in this regard? Any suggestions on how best to pull off such a concept in a way that generates good adventures for the PCs?

Note: this is my first time DMing EVER, so any and all advice is extremely welcome!!

Thank you to any and all who reply!
-blarg

 

[BrooklynKnight]

www.thegamemechanics.com

ask the authors yourself on their boards :-D

 

[Crothian]

If you are familiar or can get the books (collections of short stories) called Thieves World it might be enough to get your mind working.

 

[Mac Callum]

Have you ever had to get in touch with the Upright Man?

 

[JoeGKushner]

Have you ever had to get in touch with the Upright Man?

Ah, is that a reference to the good old Jimmy the Hand from Raymond Feist and his old Riftwar series?

 

[Pramas]

I recently acquired Green Ronin's Arcana: Societies of Magic sourcebook, and I intend to have one of the major conflicts in the city be between Liberty's Thieves' Guild (which I have not seen) and the Dragon Gang as the latter tries to horn in from their power base in another city.

Is the material from the two books compatible in this regard?

Yes. Arcana was designed to be quite modular, so you shouldn't have any trouble using it and Thieves' Quarter together. A thieves' guild war sounds like a great premise for a campaign too.

I don't know if you have any of the Freeport material, but if you do, I wrote a short section for the print version of Thieves' Quarter with some suggestions on integrating it with the Freeport setting. Thieves' Quarter should be in stores in just a few weeks.

 

[Mac Callum]

Ah, is that a reference to the good old Jimmy the Hand from Raymond Feist and his old Riftwar series?

Indeed Sir, indeed.

The back streets of Krondor are home to interestingly capable gentlemen. Former pirates driven from the sea, old scoundrels on the run from old debts. Most things can be arranged, including smuggling a princess out of the city while her uncle searches every ship departing from the peers. Don't worry about their selling her into slavery - a Duke's son in your debt is worth far more than even a nobleman's daughter on a Quegian slaver. You can always count on the Upright Man to pursue his interest.

My answer Blargney II's question is: read some good books. I haven't read the supplement you're asking about, so I can't give you any specific advice. However, in Feist's Riftwar books Arutha, youngest son of the Duke of Crydee had several dealings with the underworld of Krondor - and the book made up some good explanations for how & why noblemen might have interactions with the Thieves Guild outside of a Court Room. I thought it somewhat similar to your situation, so I mentioned it (somewhat obtusely, I admit).

Also, the flavor is just superb.

And if you don't know anyone who's read them; just remember this: Sometimes a street rat can get himself adopted into the Princes' household, enrolled with the other Squires, and even end up the Duke of Rillanon himself one day - and as long as a former street rat has access to the palace and the trust of the prince, adventure hooks will come thick and fast.

 

[JDWiker]

I'm interested in picking up The Game Mechanics' sourcebook, either in PDF or printed. I haven't seen it yet, so I have NO idea what to expect from it!

For what kind of campaign is the material in Thieves' QUarter best suited? How is it best used? Any success or failure stories for integrating it into a campaign?

We conceived Thieves' Quarter (and the City Quarters series in general) as a generic, medieval city presented in great detail. "Generic" so that anyone could drop it into their campaign--even just for a short visit to Liberty (or whatever you decide to call Liberty in your campaign--and "great detail" so that you have enough information to go on to present not just a few interesting locales and NPCs, but so that you could build relationships between places and people. We also made the book intentionally "granular," meaning you can use the entire city, just the Thieves' Quarter, just the Thieves' Guild, just a tavern, just an NPC, or just a poison. You get to cherry-pick whatever you like best, and none of it requires that you use the rest of it.

I'm thinking of using Liberty as the main setting for a campaign that will start this summer. The PCs will be younger scions of minor nobles/gentry enrolled in a military academy located in the city.

Though we haven't written much about it yet, Chris West and I put a military academy in the Mercenaries' Quarter of the city--which is adjacent to the Thieves' Quarter (also known as the "Old Quarter"). A lot of the students slip out of their barracks in the evening for a night's carousing in the Old Quarter (sometimes to their regret).

I recently acquired Green Ronin's Arcana: Societies of Magic sourcebook, and I intend to have one of the major conflicts in the city be between Liberty's Thieves' Guild (which I have not seen) and the Dragon Gang as the latter tries to horn in from their power base in another city.

A great idea! And another coincidence: Chris West invented a rival to the Thieves' Guild, known as the Kunarath Syndicate, who are just moving into Liberty from another city to the south. (Liberty is located between two major powers--one to the north, and one to the south--and maintains its independence/neutrality in order that its merchants can profit from trade with both powers.)

Is the material from the two books compatible in this regard? Any suggestions on how best to pull off such a concept in a way that generates good adventures for the PCs?

Both books are modular, so I'd have to concur with Chris Pramas that they're compatible. And as someone else suggested, to get an idea of the best way to use the Thieves' Quarter, browse some of the Thieves' World series of books, edited by Robert Asprin. (I personally recommend the first two: Thieves' World and Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn.) Thieves' World was an influence on the design of the book, as was the HBO series The Sopranos.

Our next City Quarters book, The Temple Quarter, will examine the effect the city's major religions have on the city, and vise versa.

 

[blargney the second]

Arcana was designed to be quite modular, so you shouldn't have any trouble using it and Thieves' Quarter together. A thieves' guild war sounds like a great premise for a campaign too.

I don't know if you have any of the Freeport material, but if you do, I wrote a short section for the print version of Thieves' Quarter with some suggestions on integrating it with the Freeport setting. Thieves' Quarter should be in stores in just a few weeks.

I picked out Arcana specifically because each module was well-detailed. I think I ought to elaborate the relationships between each of the organizations in order to better understand the dynamics of the region.

I don't have any of the Freeport material, put I've seen it at my local game store. What's a good place to start?

-blarg

 

[blargney the second]

Sometimes a street rat can get himself adopted into the Princes' household, enrolled with the other Squires, and even end up the Duke of Rillanon himself one day - and as long as a former street rat has access to the palace and the trust of the prince, adventure hooks will come thick and fast.

*yoinks*
I've read the Riftwar series, thanks for the reminder!
-blarg