The Traveling Guild

A group of traveling thieves, who work as a body and are effectively a guild on the road, makes an interesting encounter. Three variants on this theme include:

Gypsy Folk: This group travels in horse-drawn wagons. The community is just that—complete with many sniffling children, goats, snarling dogs, a few chickens kept for eggs, and lots else. In towns, the gypsies sell dried herbs and pressed flowers, and the wise woman of the group may read fortunes (using the Fortune Telling/Astrology proficiencies if appropriate). The gypsies will be extremely loyal to each other, and will usually be of Neutral (or chaotic neutral) alignment. If such folk are a common sight on the roads of the land, then the gypsy people may have extended clans related by intermarriage, so that if any violence is done to one of them an entire horde can be assembled to track down and punish the offender.

River Folk: A variant on the gypsy theme is to have a group (or groups) of traveling folk who work the waterways of the country. These people will almost certainly have merchant interests, or convey cargoes for others; thieving would not be an adequate income for them. They will supplement their income with thievery in and around the rougher ports, usually inland or estuarine. They are significantly more likely to be of evil alignments than are road-travelers. In the campaign world of Oerth (Greyhawk), the Rhennee folk are a good example of such river folk.

The Circus: This is a somewhat hackneyed theme, but should always be used in a campaign at some time. Thieves can make up the bulk of a traveling circus, which comes to towns and cities and cheerfully robs them. If the circus has monsters on show, then there is a rationale for having other character classes along for the ride who help the thieves and give the NPC band some diversity. Thus, clerics can be on hand to snake charm and speak with animals while mages could charm monsters or speak with monsters (if of high enough level; arguably a 12th-level mage has lots better to do than traipse around with a circus). Thieves with specialist skills such as acrobats, cat burglars, etc., will fit well into such a group.

Players with any degree of gaming experience will have learned to keep well away from circuses. Old tricks such as having evil, high-level NPCs polymorphed into monsters or animals are well-known to such devotees of the game. So, it may be more enterprising to use some other group of entertainers, such as a traveling troupe of actors and musicians. They can perform the equivalent of passion plays, act and sing charming ethnic curiosities (especially elves), sing madrigals, and the like. A group of light-fingered expert thief choir elves could make for a lot of fun (they look so sweet and innocent, how could anyone suspect them?).

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