TG Newbie

Questions are natural when you're new to a Guild - such as what the rules are and how they affect us. To help anyone who may have questions to answer but are afraid to ask over the talker this page should provide information to most.

Surviving the flat world can be tough as a young thief, a few useful items can make a difference in starting out as a pleasant than limited experience. 6 west, up, southwest from the foyer of the Ankh-Morpork Thieves' Guild, there will be a newbie box in the research room stocked with various items donated by fellow thieves. Take what you need, be it a yellow stone ring as a light source, a bag/pack to carry things or a weapon.

Quota System

The quota system only applies to Ankh-Morpork where, due to the Patrician, stealing has been regulated and turned into an easier line of work. Basically everything you steal in Ankh-Morpork leaves a receipt for the owner of the item, be it a person or shopkeeper, which when taken to the Thieves Guild in Ankh-Morpork allows the Guild to keep track of how much you've stolen.

Every 12 hours you must steal a certain amount determined by your Guild Level plus a base-line amount everyone must steal. Failure to meet the "Minimum Quota", which is 30% of your Guild Level, for example level 100 players have a minimum quota of around 30 dollars, results in you being fined by the Guild. Exceeding the "Maximum" on your quota, which is your Guild Level plus 100, then you will also be fined. This means you must be careful what you steal and how much of it you steal.

To pay your quota, you have to see Artan who is 6 west, up and north from the foyer. You can check the status of your quota by having your licence in your inventory and "check quota". Also "check receipts" is available to give a detailed account of your quota.

Breaking your quota

By either exceeding or not fulfilling your quota you will be fined a set amount based on how much you violated your quota by - over or under it.

The only way to avoid fines if you exceed your quota is an ancient method attempted by many a thief known as trying to advance so your GL moves your quota up. Note that this method rarely works and more often than not causes stress. There is a method of delaying paying fines too - covered later called a "Leave of Absence".

Please note that you have a whole quota period to pay your fines - if you choose not to for _any_ reason then the Thieves Guild "heavies" are likely to grab you on-site, take any money you are carrying and finally give you an up-close look at the River-Ankh. For this reason it is advisable to pay your fines as soon as you get them.

Leave of Absence

When you join the Guild, you'll recieve a licence from Kordane but are placed on a leave of absence, where your quota is turned off but you cannot steal inside Ankh Morpork while it is on.

It is however advised that as a new thief you learn some co.ma.st before taking a licence - because as soon as you do you have a set amount to steal per 12 hours online and it is better to be able to steal before you try - or fulfilling the quota can prove troublesome.

Note that before you acquire a licence from the Recruitment Office, any stealing within Ankh-Morpork will be seen as unlicensed and you will be punished. Your quota and licence only is needed within Ankh-Morpork. The rest of the Discworld does not require a licence to steal from places. Do bear in mind however that there are punishments in places around the Disc though if you are caught stealing.

Major areas and punishments

For more indepth details of locations, stealing and punishments, see Stealing - Crime and Punishment section.

Ankh-Morpork: Unlicensed stealing within the city will be prompted a heavying.
Djelibeybi: In times past, theft here would get you thrown to the sacred crocodiles. These days, however, the punishment for stealing is to be thrown out of the city. You will end up in a random area outside the city in the desert. A good sense of direction and a little effort should prevent this causing too much of a problem, and learning to cast your own portals will negate this almost entirely. Be warned, however, that killing a priest or cat in Djelibeybi is still grounds for the crocodile-throwing.
Sto Lat: Expect to be knocked out cold here and face ejection from the city, being fined or arrested and sent to jail if caught here. If you're sneaky though these punishments do not matter so much.
Bes Pelargic: In Bes Pelargic, as of yet no punishments have been decided for theft as a whole, however it has been suggested that some shopkeepers have long memories so if a punishment does become available beware! One thing though with BP is that you'll find it quite alot harder to shoplift, this is a form of defence in itself.
Genua: Stealing from the shops under the protection of the Coffee Nostra will effect your reputation with them, which may eventually result in them sending hitmen to kill you. These shops are marked with symbols in the room description.

NPC Thieves

As by decree of the Thieves Guildmaster, killing fellow Thieves counts is an offence punishable via sanctions. However several exceptions to this rule - for one it only applies within Ankh-Morpork and any of it's Guild-Houses in forn territories such as Mad Stoat, Bes Pelargic and Sto Lat to name a few.

The second exception is in the form of rogue thieves within Ankh-Morpork such as Muggers within the Shades and of course the quite infamous Ilik Tankalot who has the nerve to leave you a receipt should he steal from you.

In these cases it is permitted to kill thieves - with the additional exception of anywhere outside Ankh Morpork, as the Guild has less control outside of it.

Note: Killing fellow PK thieves is strictly forbidden unless it is consensual sparring.

Specialisation

You must specialise by Guild Level 50, see the page Specialisation for more information. To specialise you go to Kordane's office (one up and south from the foyer) and say words to the effect of "I want to specialise as a <specialisation>"

Maps

The very first map released was on the guild site, done by Cold, which can be found in the "guilds" section on the site.

Two of the other first maps of the new Guild come from Sythyr, who's map can be found at: http://sythyr.tripod.com/tguild.html
Then there's Amorsh's version which can be found at: http://home.pacbell.net/tgolly/tgm.jpg

However no doubt there are plenty of other copies out nowadays too so feel free to look wherever you wish for one!