The Thieves' Guild

Description
Onkh-Morpark is unique in that stealing is not illegal if it was performed by a licensed member of the Thieves' Guild. Rich people who own things worth stealing pay a yearly stipend to ensure they don’t receive uninvited visits, instead. For the poorer (but not penniless) citizens who do not arrange for premiums and appointments, the Thieves quite politely rob them in the streets, in their business premises, or in their homes, not badly injuring them, and always leaving them a receipt which guarantees that these people will not be inconvenienced with another official robbery for the rest of the year.

The Guild also plays a role in law-enforcement in the city, as it ruthlessly and vigorously weeds out any thieves who aren’t members (which usually ends on the bottom of the river Onkh). The fatal fate for an unlicensed thief will be to meet Thieves' Guild enforcers, who will capture him, kill him, and hang his body somewhere in the city. The Thieves Guild is led by Mister Boggis, the Master Absconder. He is noted as being particularly hardline about the Guild receiving the respect and voluntary donations it is due.

In recent days it is asked quite loudly why people should endure being robbed at all. However, as the Guild system has proven to keep crime under control (with the introduction of the Guilds crime has actually gone down), it is not be expected that the Guild will vanish anytime soon. There is another good reason why the Guild suits Vetinari in its current form. A significant proportion of what it reaps every year via its criminal activities is paid on to the city as Guild Tax.

The Thieves' Den
The guild house of the Thieves Guild. Thieves are not much for maintenance, so the Thieves Guild is the most dilapidated of all the guild houses, with moss and vines covering most of its outer walls and the inside being a rather dusty affair with plenty of rats (which, to be fair, are often used as eyes and ears by the Guild). While the Thieves' Den is generally mostly used as a clubhouse where its members can hang out, it does contain a pawn shop where less scrupulous adventurers can get rid of valuables obtained in less than savoury ways. This is provided they are acquired from the previous owner posthumously, as this technically does not break the Guild's rules.

Notable People

 * Mister Boggis