What the hell are Thief Catchers?

From: Jim Garrison 


Date: Friday, February 23, 2001 5:50 AM





Hey Gang...



I thought I would drop you all a line and try to explain what is a

"Thief Catcher". I wanted to get this to you all sooner, but I have

been a little busy as of late.



(The following is all common knowledge that anyone would be able to find

out without attracting attention.)



For those of you who have lived or are familiar with Greyhawk, there is

a POWERFUL guild called the Royal Thief Catchers Guild (there are

similar organizations in other cities- but none have as much political

power as the one in Greyhawk). If you see the Mayor at any function,

you will see an older man in the purple and gold trimmed cloak of the

Royal Thief Catcher Guildmaster. Now the Council of Eight is no more,

you would see even more of this organization taking high profile part in

official government functions.



The members, roughly 300 or so, are (to put it in 21st Century terms) a

combination: Police Officer, Private Detective, Tracker, Hunter,

Woodsman, Newspaper Reporter, Rumor Control and Paramilitary. The

regular militia of Greyhawk maintain order, keep the peace, investigate

crimes against persons (e.g. assaults, fighting, murder), and control

the borders of Greyhawk. They are the soldiers who keep the buildings

from burning down and keep the people from killing each other. The

Thief Catchers Guild fills in the void and provides a more personalized

service for those who can pay (and sometimes pro-bono for those who

cannot).



They are not official members of the Greyhawk Government, but act as a

defacto internal stabilization force. When the Council of Eight fell,

many feared mobs of rioters, looters, criminals, etc. taking over the

City of Greyhawk and gangs running the out laying villages. The Royal

Thief Catchers Guild prevented this from happening because they were NOT

part of the government.



They are independent contractors. If one business or individual

suspects someone is stealing or has stolen, they can contract for a

Thief Catcher to investigate and either bring to justice, obtain stolen

merchandise, extract financial retribution, or a combination there of.

The Thief Catchers are paid by the business or individual and NOT the

City of Greyhawk (unless Greyhawk contracts for their services like in

our current adventure).



If called upon, as is well known policy, the Thief Catchers will fight

to defend Greyhawk and they are known for their fighting skills.



They always work within the law and are of impeccable, high morale

fiber. It is extremely difficult to get into the guild (at present,

only three new apprentices are accepted each year) and there is an

extensive investigation into each applicant's background.



The Royal Thief Catchers Guild are at constant odds with the Thieves

Guild. No one will acknowledge a Thieves Guild exists, but it is the

goal of The Royal Thief Catchers Guild to get inside of the Thieves

Guild and shut it down, hanging all of its high muckity-mucks.



Mothers and Fathers try to keep their children in line a lot of ways.

They try to frighten them or use coercion to get good behavior from

them. One of the stories told to little ones who lie or children found

stealing is to tell them that a Thief Catcher could be called to "put

you to THE QUESTION". No one really knows what is meant by "THE

QUESTION", but speculation it is some form of EXTREMELY PAINFUL

procedure used in order to get the truth out of someone.



Thief Catchers NEVER talk about this (it is one of those trade secrets)

nor will you hear a Thief Catcher off handily make reference to it.

This is something used in the gravest of situations when all else has

failed. Only then would the phrase "put you to the Question" might be

uttered by a Thief Catcher.



But because of this mystique, the general populace has picked up on it

and put their own spin and speculation what this might be. You could

ask fifty different Greyhawk citizens what The Question was, and get

fifty different answers. Answers which would show you whatever THEIR

worst fears were. In short, it is NOT something anyone wants to have

happen to them.



Thief Catchers HATE Goblins. It goes WAY BACK to a time when there was

a "Great Goblin War" and the country populace was virtually wiped out by

these evil denizens.



You might see two or three Thief Catchers at one place, but seldom, and

only under a time of crisis would you see more than that. However, on

any given day, each shop visited might have a Thief Catcher standing in

it. Just standing there, watching. Or if you ride into a village, and

see a Thief Catcher in his purple cloak just sitting astride a horse,

watching.



I hope this sheds some light as to why I might play "The Thief Catcher"

how I do, and where he is coming from. Like I "said" it is all common

knowledge to anyone who has spent anytime in the Greyhawk Lands.



-Jim