Save or Die Podcast Adventure #27: Cyclops Smash! March 15, 2011 Off By Executive Producer Vincent Join Vince, Glen, Julie and Chrispy as they explore the world of Classic D&D. Designing a guild for a thief, and do a review of X14, a module done by thorkie. http://media.blubrry.com/saveordiepodcast/saveordie.info/wp-content/uploads/SOD27.mp3Podcast: DownloadSubscribe: RSSShare this:TwitterLinkedInEmailMoreFacebook Related
I have played mostly Rogues/Thieves and I was interested in your take on Thieves Guilds.
In some of the campaigns I have played in, in smaller cities and towns the “guild” is sometimes non-existent or just a few thugs that have loosely banded together for mutual protection. Sometimes they are associated with a larger overall Guild that spans many towns and cities.
Some of the best thieves have an alternate identity in “normal” society. They can even work for or have friendly contacts among the authorities.
In general, in games where I DM, those that try to take up the trade w/o being a member of the Guild are eventually visited and given “an offer they can’t refuse” to join the Guild. If they purposely try to run afoul of the local guild, they will be turned in to the local law enforcement or end up in floating in the sewers or something 😉
Not every game needs a fleshed-out Rogues Guild, but whatever one exists, unless it is a slipshod operation, the Guilds are very concerned with keeping a low profile, no matter how powerful they are. An exception may be openly corrupt cities or places where the Guild has grown more powerful that the official law enforcement.
It is really up to the DM, but these are some ways I have played such Guilds in the past.
Just my two cents worth (actually, yours, as I just picked your pocket!)
See ya! 😀
-Jeff
“DM Retro”
[…] Click here to access the Save or Die! Podcast Adventure #27 Cyclops Smash! […]
Great show, as usual.
Mention of the cyclops made me laugh as I am developing a new project (read: adventure) called THE LEGEND OF ONE-EYE JOE. I’ll keep you all updated on that (hehe).
2 & 1/2 is a fair assessment. Its wonky, fer sure. I don’t normally do sandbox adventures, and I never got a good grip on the X14. But in the right hands, I think it would be “fun” (like Glen says).
Perhaps some big breasted mermaids would have helped!
Julie’s observation of missing art is spot on. I was developing about 6 projects at the time, and the X14 suffered in that regard, as I had to beg and plead with the artists I was working with for covers of my early G modules.
Anyway, again–nice show.
Loved the Podcast! Glens bad jokes make me laugh, I think that means something bad about myself but….
Nice Flow to the podcast and loved the Clops talk.
The Thieves guild action was fun. I normally only do background on it if I see a need to. Otherwise much like Vince I just make a few notes.
PS-Keep Chrispy away from the Sheep!!
Loving listening to the show. The content is spot on and I enjoy the natural feel of the conversation. One thing I hope you might be able to improve on is the sound quality though, there is often quite a lot of variation with the volume levels between the hosts, which makes is hard on the ears!
An interesting take on thieves guilds is in Jack Chalker’s And the Devil Will Drag You Under. The guild provided assignments (rated for danger), specialized equipment and health insurance.
Here’s an easy reference, Julie: The Odyssey is named after Odysseus (Ulysses).
C’mon, Glen – Cyclops is on page 164 of the Rules Cyclopedia (presuming this as your reference of choice).
Cyclops can also be found in Cook Expert.