Thieves Guild

An occasional feature of fantasy settings, a Thieves' Guild is something of an odd duck, historically.

While the authorities would probably not tolerate such a "Guild", organized crime has been a thing since the days of ancient Rome; once Guilds became a thing, it wouldn't be surprising that some might style themselves after a Guild. (Exceptions to the lack of toleration have existed; historically, the Ottomans tolerated something like a thieves guild, but they were expected to police their fellows and hold to a code of conduct that made things more "civilized". The Japanese Yakuza are another example--although they are weirdly Japanese in their nature.)

That being said, the way Thieving works councils against organizing as a Guild: the relevant organization is the Fences, the people who pay the thieves for stolen goods; thieves have little reason to organize beyond a given job or gang. And even then, without the ability to call on the authorities, things get nasty really quick.

Some notable Thieves Guilds in either /tg/ connected or related properties include:

• The stories of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser have one in the city of Lankhmar; this is probably the example that caused all of the below.
  • Note that it's not the first example of a "Thieves Guild"; Miguel Cervantes lesser known work "Rinconete and Cortadillo" featured the protagonists joining such an organization.
• In Discworld's Ankh-Morpork, the Thieves Guild is, for a time, what replaced the City Watch as a Law-Enforcement body (along with the Assassins, who policed murder). The Watch, after resurging under Carrot and Vimes, are the "Good Cop" to the Thieves "Bad Cop" when it comes to thieves in the city. Put it this way: the Assassins Guild have a stylish weathervane styled in the shape of a sneaking man; the Thieves Guild has an actual body (living or dead unspecified) as a weathervane.
• Dungeons and Dragons had a few. Generic cases include the 2nd edition era "Complete Thieves Handbook" listing rules for handling one. Specific cases include:
  • The Thieves Guild of Amn, from Forgotten Realms.
  • The city of Greyhawk has one, sufficiently part of the city's structure that the Lord Mayor is a member.
• The Empire in The Elder Scrolls has one, as one of the more disconnected arms of Imperial power. Effectively, they're just the Cyradilian native organized crime group, modeled after the official Fighters and Mages Guilds. Places where Imperial Power waxes are also places where the Thieves Guild is strongest; places where Imperial Power is at its lowest ebb are also the places that the Thieves Guild is at its weakest.