Cormyr and the Dalelands

A while back there was talk of maybe getting some sort of Thieves Guild going, with Bella bringing the issue of Factions etc up, I thought it was time to return to that idea. So shock horror, Erliza started to make steps towards that, but a few of the people she spoke to then took a break, but I would like to see if there is any interest in picking it back up again. (Indeed Erliza's Tea Shop was to be the front of this Collective)

As a brief guide, as much as Erliza would be given free reign very picky on how they operated, I don't think we have the numbers right now to be that picky, I don't want to do this if it means half the people who might be interested don't join because of my Chars restrictions, if this was a few years ago in NWN and the server could handle two competing factions for the same basic PC type it'd be different but.... yeah. Maybe in time it will grow that way in which case, yay! For now through...

So what's my idea, this is not a 'Take over the underworld' Guild, this is a group of people who have banded together to share tips, to work on jobs when their styles mesh, to make money. The main focus is to share tips and to be strong enough that the real 'Guilds' such as say the Shadow Thieves decide it's too much hassle to force this group to play ball, that while they would win any war against this group, the cost of fighting it would be bigger than any gains they would make. 

There's no force to make someone do something, so if someone in the collective is happy doing a B+E and killing they can get together with others with that, if someone else is not they can refuse the job etc. In theory anyone setting up a job basically gets to set the conditions for the job, and what they are looking for.

Nooow something like this is still very much being worked out, but I'm curious if there is interest through I'm aware some people may wish to keep which PC is interested in joining a thieves collective to themselves. So if your interested but don't want it public I'm happy to get a PM and post any comments you want to say here for you.

There is more but I'd rather not set everything out as I see it without other people getting a chance to give input.

I have no shortage of rogues in my vault and rarely need an excuse for making new ones.  I'll try to get in touch with you in game to discuss possibilities.

I have a roguely fellow who could use some roguely connections.

If you guys plan on a rogue faction I would be happy to make some thieving / assassination events for the lot of you. Just let me know what you plan.

I've got a couple of roguery peeps in my vault.. one already rather infamous in the Arabel underground though he has not been seen or heard from in some time. His trade name was Silk. A deadly dark clad elven.

The other a quiet soft spoken hin.

I've got a Weapon Master who is roguishly inclined in the "every thieves' guild needs someone to be the Muscle" way.

I'd have Cara join in, but she is a bit higher than everyone else...

Alternatively, Shayla's an option.

Haze might be interested.

If Serra is approved, she might join. There are ways for thieves to still be morally good...

Bela might be interesting in shenanigans, but she's aloof and not particularly active at the moment.

~BR

Okay wow this is already more than I feared, I had this vision of me speaking to crickets I have to admit. Okay I'll try to grab people and we can brainstorm the sticky bits such as folks finding out about each other which is the hardest part of such things. It's not like we can advertise for 'Dodgy people wanted' in game;)

I and my sneaky Silence are trapped in pc repair heck.

Nina might be interested. Would depend on the feel of it all, due to past reasons. Ect.

Cara's public persona is pretty well known, at least for being a trapspringer/lockpick type.

I dunno, guys, there might not be enough interest.

I have a rogue that you might be able to interest after a few successful jobs.

True enough, hehe there are a few who are known as Trapspringer/Lockpicker but it's spotting the folks who would be willing to do that maybe outside a dungeon that is always the hold up. That said there are a few options, one I've been considering is well, the old standby of a NPC 'Fixer' type putting together a core crew and from that expanding to draw in others. It's easier to oocly arrange how to add individual people I think, that's just someone sending an ooc tell and then coming up with a scenerio that works then. It's getting the first few people together the mass incident. 

For that I was thinking of as I said a NPC Fixxer getting folks together for a job, and picking people for said job. Added advantage? It's sort of a cool thing in my eyes.... That's what I came up with off the top of my head anyway. Other options include we fudge a lot of recruitment conversations that could work too actually on thinking of it as I type this. Arabel is after all a strange network of connections Person A may not get on with Person B but C could be both their friends, it does make it possible that just a small group could very easily get in touch with everyone who is interested without anyone person needing to ICly know everyone.

And I'm rambling, I think it might be good to try and get together in person if only in the ooc room sometime maybe next weekend to try and work these details out? 

Probably won't be able to get "everyone" online at the same time.  Better to try and work out details via the forums.    Or at least that's been my impression from prior experience.

What she said =)

True, heh I sometimes find in game to just give a better flow but your likely right, so Forums it is.

*gnaws on her cage bars*

Don't do that you'll hurt your teeth, the cage will be unlocked soon...I hope

You may come across a gentleman in Arabel who goes by the name Alaric. A faithful priest of the Golden Lady, he would certainly be open to helping those who wish to put valuable items that have been secreted away for far too long back into circulation. After all, wealth that is hoarded and not put to good use is a pity.

In other words, if you need a fence or fixer or some such, lemme know.

Hm, on second thought, Isra might be a better fit for this group's aims. Haze is less interested in the thief aspect than she is beating the challenge of a lock or trap.

I have a rogue... who is not very sneaky and hits things with hammers.

Also he is half-rock.

I'm sure there can always be found a use for such things, we do have another person who has offered to help provide a front but that should be of benefit here. As an aside Erliza herself is pretty good at trade through she's never ran the under the table side of things, so it could be a good mix. Erliza can help people with the legitimate side of things, along with the offered front, and Alaric would make someone along with the other person who can handle the true stuff. (Erliza has a pretty good appraise but she learnt the legitimate side of things in that field)  

Allatum heh as was said earlier every group of rogues needs someone to beat other folks over the head if only to stop said other folks trying to make them pay fees. I see no issue with a few extra toughs for that purpose:)

Ladybug heh it's weird because in many ways Erliza is very similar, she likes making money of course but to her the bigger thrill is proving she can do it. That she can sneak past peoples security and take what she wants without being caught. On the otherhand she does like her money, take your time to work out the best fit for you of course.

Anyway Hmm Okay I admit I'm still a little surprised so many people where interested, so it's a very good surprise but it's a bit of a shock. Hmm I suppose the first step may be a simple one if a few people want to be spotted in the pits Edge by a few others it may get brains working in game? I don't think we need everything worked out before things get started and in fact that would feel a little... forced in the roleplay. 

Okay so here's a very rough draft of the main principles here the 'Rules' if you will. Through presented mainly for discussion.

1.) No one is forced to take jobs for the collective, except in the common defence of it's members from outside forces through with some provisions on that.
2.) No Politics against Cormyr, the guard may frown on thieves and come after us, but that can be handled, but acting against Cormyr itself, brings down the War Wizards and we cannot deal with the War Wizards. If you do take a job that acts against the crown your on your own.
3.) Assassination well this one is tricky, if you do it clumsily, charging at a target in the middle of a busy street for example, then your on your own. Especially if the target is a Noble. If you do take your time to do it carefully and get discovered anyway then we can deal with that as it arises.
4.) Tips, if you hear of a good target but your skill set doesn't match it, you can leave tips for the other members to take up. If they do so a cut of the profits is due to the tip giver based on how detailed a tip was left. (EG leave just a location and a object and your not going to get much leave a detailed guide on the guards rota and security features present and your likely going to get a much bigger slice) ((In regards to this, I have some ideas on the how the tips would be left ICly, Erliza has two of the illusion journals in a gemstone she uses one as her spell book but the second would be left somewhere, if the place is raided, it is easy enough to hide as it's pretty much a gemstone.)
5.) Any fences etc are responsible for their own profits, they set their cut etc but are also not paid anything by the collective as a whole, what they get is the common defence and a customer/supply base.

That's a rough guide wanted to keep it simple.


Added in edit. I admit Assassination is something I'm iffy on if it has a place at all, Erliza's not a fan herself, and I think it can open up a bag of worms but... I am trying to not make this just Erliza's wants and wishes and make sure everyone who wants to get involved feels like they have a place.

Working on my roguey bits, hope it will be approved of soon!

Oh as a explanation by what I mean by tips. Tips are basically mainly a DM has an idea for a quest the group could do and passes it on to one of chars ideally someone maybe who wants to roleplay more of a fixer style guy, who can then pass it on to the group. This would also mean that if they can't make it they can still feel part of events. Anyway that the main way I saw it working.

I made Kelvin with the specific intent that if there were no rogues' guild on this server, he would one day make one.

Yes, pl0x.

Dayre ain't no lawman.

So yeah to get this started I will next week (so the second Sat of October) have Erliza make a few visits to the Pits Edge, over the course of the day, for anyone who wants to have that first meeting in game where folks see each other.

I will be completely and utterly away from the computer that day.  Crown Tourney for our SCA Kingdom, and our group is helping out with activities.  I'll have to meet up with you later, I do believe.

Feel free to poke me this is really just to get things going in game, before all the momentum dies away when we spend forever talking in the forum;)

I am trying to get this off the ground. I will be running a test run of quests here in the next couple of weeks.

Sweet!

I'm not sure if everyone has actually met up yet in game, either.  That might be a good thing to do, too.

Starting with a few people meeting and then expanding.

Sadly I do not have a rogue now that would be into being in a thieves guild type of thing

Dismus, you're my new best friend

Don't say that yet! I am hoping to not crash and burn... Going to watch all the Oceans movies and the italian job to prepare!

Doesn't have to be a rogue! This sort of thing is way more up my theurge's alley than my arcane trickster's.

Ocean also had hackers, just saying

So totally interested!

Fenix would want to get involved with this or Sarah would

Dismus - Leverage is another good source of material for these.  

Maybe fast and furious with cormyrian charges instead.

and Antman! I mean that's a Heist movie with superpowers! Also as said doesn't have to be a rogue! This is for those who walk the dodgy side of the street the guild I mean not just Rogues, after all you need fences, and fixers and faces and so on in any successful organisation like this. Sure everyone thinks of the rogues but.... without everyone else they are just people who collect a lot of junk that used to belong to other people.

Ooh, if we draw from Ant-man, we're going to have problems with Baskin Robbins.

They know everything.  Seriously, who needs S.H.I.E.L.D when you have them?!

There should be a tavern named "Barskyn Robin." And it should be a guild that happens to know everything, in disguise. 


~Arya

...Very tempted to build it.

You also need muscle.. for making sure things "go smooth".

 I used to play on a server ages ago where one of the best groups as a gnome bard who acted as a fixer and his two half orc thugs. The RP with them was great. bella and Edge should remember them  .

Back in the day I had a rogue guild house that was fronted as an "Art shop" complete with painters and sculpters. Large sculptures were convenient places to hide goods and an excuse to have a good sized warehouse attached from which to operate.