Thieve's Gyde

Welcome to the Thieves' Guild

The purpose of this guide is to help new members of the Thieves' Guild to get a grip on the exciting possibilities offered by participating in this guild (including getting a grip on others' things).

Advancement

Your level in the Thieves' Guild goes up as you advance certain skills intrinsic to the Guild, known as primaries. You can determine which skills these are by typing "skills primaries", but note that some outer level skills may not be displayed until you start advancing. While these skills are most important for a thief, others can be useful as well. You can advance a skill up to the maximum level that the Guild will teach, which is quite high for the primaries, but will need to go elsewhere for others after you reach the maximum. You can advance your skills within the guild at almost any guild NPC (such as guard thieves, or Kordane) and can see how much this will cost with "cost primaries". To advance a skill, you will need to have the required experience and money. The syntax is:

       advance <skill, ie covert> by <number of levels>

Specialisation

The Thieves' Guild actually contains a number of specialisations; prowler, smuggler, cutpurse, safecracker and mugger. The different specialisations have slightly different primaries but all thieves gain access to the same commands. All thieves start off as prowlers and must choose a specialisation before they reach guild level 50. To do this, a thief must go to Kordane and ask to specialise in one of the fields mentioned above. If this is not done, the thief will remain a prowler once reaching guild level 50.

Theft

Theft is not only an enjoyable pastime, it is also mandatory when one is a thief (See The Whizz-bang Quota System below). Your targets can be either NPCs (AKA monsters, mobiles), or players, although both you and your target must be registered player killers for the latter. The most important skill to know when it comes to stealing is covert.manipulation.stealing; the higher your bonus is in this, the more successful you will be in your attempts.

Fencing Stolen Items

Disposing of your ill-gotten goods is not a problem in Ankh-Morpork. There are three fences in the city and two of them - Sol and Shifty Jim - reside inside the guild itself. It is in your best interest to keep on the good side of the various fences who will buy your suspect inventory. More experienced thieves may be interested in laundering stolen items in the special room provided in the guild. A properly laundered item can be sold to repubtable shops for a handy bit of profit. Quite a bit of money can be made by selling stolen items; the Guild naturally expects a cut of the worth of the items you've stolen within the city.

The Whizz-bang Quota System

Stealing in Ankh-Morpork is legal for guild members and is strictly regulated by the Thieves' Guild. The Guild expects a cut of the worth of the items a thief has stolen within the city and thieves must steal a certain amount. Both amounts vary depending on the thief's level within the Guild. You can obtain a guild licence upstairs in the Thieves' Guild. See Kordane about it. At any time, you can use this card to check your quota to find out how much you have stolen, how much you owe the Guild, and how much more you need to steal in order to meet the Guild requirements for your level. Not paying the Guild, or not meeting your minimum quota is apt to get you in a lot of trouble (you fortunately won't live long enough to regret it). All members new to the guild will start out on leave, and so cannot legally steal within Ankh-Morpork. See the next section for more information about leaves of absence.

Leaves of Absence

The Thieves' Guild will grant you a leave of absence if you wish to travel to places outside of Ankh-Morpork. During your leave, your quota will be suspended so that you will have the same amount left on your quota period when you return. While on a leave of absence you cannot legally steal within Ankh-Morpork To qualify for a leave of absence, you must be in good standing with the Guild. This means that you must not have any outstanding debts or fines, you must have met your minimum quota, and you must not have exceeded your maximum quota. Tell Kordane if you would like to take a leave of absence and he will tell you if you qualify. When you are ready to come off leave, or start stealing for the first time, simply say that you would like to return from leave to Kordane.

Summary

Being a thief in the Ankh-Morpork Thieves' Guild is a rewarding and exciting occupation. Remember that while stealing is encouraged within Ankh-Morpork, the Guild will not be able to protect members who steal in other cities. In some places they have quite barbaric penalties to a harmless theft or two. Good luck to you in your future endeavors.