Imagine magazine targeted young novice players, and its main legacy is the rich city setting, Pelinore. Venetia Lee’s take on Thieves Guilds stood out enough that I figured I would take a look.
What’s it about?
Lee presents a thieves' guild not as a centralized location—too vulnerable—but as a decentralized network of mutual aid and exploitation. A cell structure ensures survival even if a branch is eradicated. She explores the guild’s use of child thieves, drawing inspiration from Oliver Twist, and suggests pairing PCs with young apprentices.
She emphasizes the importance of a legitimate cover and examines how thieves operate in lawless cities, including the role of street gangs. The guild exists for training, information sharing, leadership enrichment, and organizing bribes. When designing a guild, she advises considering law enforcement strength, societal attitudes toward crime, city corruption, and the guild’s alignment.
Lee advocates a secretive cell system where members know only their immediate contacts. She estimates 5-15% of the population is involved in or adjacent to the guild, with most being child pickpockets or fences; only a small fraction are true thieves. She recommends detailing only the branch the party interacts with. The article also covers meeting places, spell use in crime, and how authorities counteract/control magic.
Finally, she provides a structured pickpocketing system with five tables covering opportunity frequency, target selection, failure consequences, pursuit mechanics, and hiding attempts. The system works well in practice.
Is this a keeper?
It’s fine. Some solid historical research and a useful pickpocketing system, but the article is long and padded. It’s not a ‘best of’.
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