Dens and Hideouts

Of course, the guildhouse is the most common type of thieves' den, but nearly all thieves will require some sort of secret lair from which to conduct their illicit activities. Dens and guildhouses will vary by size, in relationship to the number of thieves living or working there; and by obscurity, appropriate to the level of secrecy the guild needs to maintain in the community.

Some societies expect thieves to flourish in their midst, and among these cities the guild will often be a large, perhaps even prominent building. Of course, it is not likely to have a sign posted, describing the building's nature, but a few discreet inquiries will usually allow one to discover the guildhall. Its location will certainly be known to the city watch or other law enforcers. Indeed, sometimes a watch captain or lord-mayor might allow a thieves guild to function in a known location simply to keep better tabs on it.

But more often the guildhall's location will be a secret, guarded jealously and ruthlessly by the guild. Likewise, a den or hideout serving as a shelter for a small group of thieves will have a discreet and carefully protected location.

Privacy can be found underground, of course. Subterranean thieves lairs offer the advantage that their presence is easily concealed from the outside world. However, many humans and demi-humans (excluding dwarves, of course) dislike the chilly, damp nature of underground living quarters. Thieves who risk their lives to gain objects of value are not likely to hide their wealth and themselves away in a hole in the ground.

Additionally, the underground lair presents problems in construction. Large amounts of dirt must be hauled away, much labor is required in order to create a lair of any size. Both considerations add major difficulties to the secrecy of lair construction. A wizard with a dig spell, on the other hand, can make the excavation a whole lot easier, but doesn't solve the problem of dirt disposal.

The easiest type of lair to set up is found in some already existing structure, or perhaps group of structures. A long row of town houses, for example, might be interconnected into a single, convoluted guildhouse. Or the attic of some merchant's shop can be taken by a small band to use as a hideout until they can get something better. Of course, if the merchant doesn't know about the thieves, chances of discovery increase dramatically. The best hideouts are buildings inhabited only by thieves, or by thieves and those who are in league with them.

In some cities it will be necessary for the hideout to maintain some kind of cover. Perhaps it is enough that the neighbors think it abandoned. Maintaining this appearance requires diligence on the part of the thieves, however, for a pattern of noise or light detected from the "abandoned" house will be sure to arouse suspicions.

If a cover is necessary, often a cooperative merchant or craftsman will labor in part of the house, maintaining the pretense of a place of business. Such a worker might even be a thief, but unless he can put forth a reasonable appearance of knowing his cover occupation, the craftsman and the hideout can both be in danger.

Guildhouses and dens may also be maintained as private residences. Such locales are not so likely to be visited by strangers as are cover locations in places of business. However, the residents of the house will probably be known to the neighbors, at least by sight. Large numbers of strangers may give rise to suspicion.

The hideout should ideally have several entrances, at least one of which is a block or two away from the actual den. A large guildhouse will have several such access points, usually connected via underground passages or secret corridors passing through surrounding buildings.

Thus, in a secret guild, the number of people entering and leaving the hall will not be visible to neighbors or other observers. Indeed, if an access route is sufficiently torturous, a visitor can be brought into the guild without being shown the building's exact location. He might know nothing more than that the guild is within several blocks of a certain alley where he stepped through a secret trapdoor in the ground.

A major guildhall will also have several built-in traps to deter unwelcome intruders. If enough thieves man the lair (more than a dozen or so), a full-time watch will be maintained.

Only the most permanent of thieves' dens will have a built-in vault or storage chamber for the loot. When such a chamber exists it is only used for the temporary storage of objects that cannot quickly be fenced. Thieves know only to well that such storage sites are all too easily penetrated. It is much more likely that the thieves will maintain their hoard in some other, nearby but secret location. Of course, thieves who are very brazen about their activities, or very confident that they face no competition in a given locale, may well keep large amounts of valuables in their guildhall. Such a hoard might even be a source of pride to the guild, a sort of challenge to the unwary.

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