IRL Thieves Guild?

[Lovelocke]

Silly question, but have you ever heard of a Thieves Guild in the USA? I recently discovered there are guilds for guys that do ringmail "historically accurate", guilds for guys that dress in period correct Cowboy clothing, so y'know... where's the Thieves Guild?

We could have a dagger collection, or show off our sneak suits, pop practice locks, hold workshops to show how to hotwire older vehicles (in junk yards) and so on.

Before you say "This sounds potentially devastating for the public", remember, there's a National Rifle Association. BET.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

I like my rifle's But I don't think it is possible most thieves are to needy to work together.

 

[Colonel Alzheimer's]

I remembered that there was a National Rifle Association.
This still sounds potentially devastating for the public.

 

[Snarky Username]

We have that. It's called prison.

 

[Zirat]

Thieves Guild, eh? Sound's like a recipe for disaster, even if everyone is on the straight and narrow the cop's will never be lenient around you and will take anychance to try to bring them down

 

[Badger Kyre]

Thieves guild...?
lets see... La Costra Nostra, Crips, Bloods, Hell's Angels, MS-13, Mexican Mafia, Aryan Brotherhood, shall i go on?

 

[Lovelocke]

I just asked this same question to my friend, and he comically went off the wrong path too. Allow me:

Kommissar Raborn: Well, I believe they're called "gangs" and "Mafias"
Kommissar Raborn: Organized crime of any fashion seems appropriate
Lovelocke 2000 - Moues Edition: Nah... see, the NRA doesn't have the goal of making you buy guns to kill people
Lovelocke 2000 - Moues Edition: It's simply to be all about the gun itself
Lovelocke 2000 - Moues Edition: This would be like... a Tae Kwon Do class
Lovelocke 2000 - Moues Edition: You just kinda go there and do the things in-house
Lovelocke 2000 - Moues Edition: I'm sure there will be sly little codes and crap
Kommissar Raborn: Ah okay
Kommissar Raborn: Hmmmm
Lovelocke 2000 - Moues Edition: The public will think we're not allowed to practice our lockpicking out in the world

 

[Jfswift]

Thieve's guild huh. Sounds sneaky, I like it. I'm in. XD In all seriousness I wouldn't be surprised although I've never openly heard of any such organization.

 

[ArMartinez02]

What? there's such a thing in IRL? *faints*

 

[Badger Kyre]

"... although I've never openly heard of any such organization."

OF COURSE YOU HAVE.... ( see my last post )

All jokes and candor aside, read this - the " a long history" part, since you seem interested in the medieval versions of organized crime.
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/orgcrime/lcnindex.htm

You might also try looking up "Ninja" - not the myths, but the actual Shinobi training/traditions of Koga and Oda provinces.
That's more "spy" than organized crime, per se, but may well be closer to what you had in mind so as to not recognize the "IRL" thieves guilds all around you.

Go south of the border and you see a nation that is danger of various thieves guilds OPENLY over-throwing the overt government.

" Did you think it was a GAME? "

 

[Jfswift]

"... although I've never openly heard of any such organization."

OF COURSE YOU HAVE.... ( see my last post )

All jokes and candor aside, read this - the " a long history" part, since you seem interested in the medieval versions of organized crime.
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/orgcrime/lcnindex.htm

You might also try looking up "Ninja" - not the myths, but the actual Shinobi training/traditions of Koga and Oda provinces.
That's more "spy" than organized crime, per se, but may well be closer to what you had in mind so as to not recognize the "IRL" thieves guilds all around you.

Go south of the border and you see a nation that is danger of various thieves guilds OPENLY over-throwing the overt government.

" Did you think it was a GAME? "

Mmmm, yea you're right, I wasn't even thinking about any of those. I blame lack of sleep.

 

[Badger Kyre]

Mmmm, yea you're right, I wasn't even thinking about any of those. I blame lack of sleep.

Fair enough, and no insult intended! You shouldn't "just" blame lack of sleep, the "just a game" joke isn't... entirely a joke... people... let's say, we tend to forget that what is safe fantasy - all play - is almost always ( to some degree ) influenced by something real.

Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson ( the parents of Dungeons and Dragons, which is responsible for popularizing/seeding SO many tropes ) - were both historical wargamers...

But hey, when you get a bit more sleep, I would really recommend looking into some of that stuff I mentioned. And if you don't mind a bit of sensationalism in your documentaries, try the series " Gangland USA ", nice for research if you're planning running an RPG or such ( the show surprised me with some things I didn't know)

 

[gigastrike]

It'sh jusht a fayry tayl ta put the beggas down. /bad begger voice

 

[Badger Kyre]

I just asked this same question to my friend, and he comically went off the wrong path too.

My apologies, OP, I didn't read your post as thoroughly as i thought I had, and got side-tracked by some of the amusing other posts - and/or stuck with the words "thieves guild".
on re-reading your original post, i missed the reference to the hobbyist "guilds", and then missed your second post altogether...
thread-jacking not intended... I think this shows us, right off the bat, you owuld have to come up with another name for such.
I can all but guarantee you such exists already, at least in part, amongst the various LARP and SCA type folks out there...

 

[SimuLord]

Thieves guild...?
lets see... La Costra Nostra, Crips, Bloods, Hell's Angels, MS-13, Mexican Mafia, Aryan Brotherhood, shall i go on?

"Never kill anyone on the job. This is not the Dark Brotherhood." - Armand Christophe, doyen of the Thieves' Guild in the Imperial City. I'd say the abovementioned are far closer to the Dark Brotherhood.

 

[Lord Devius]

I'd love to learn how to pick locks or pockets. Might need it someday, though hopefully not.

If you ever do start something like this, the leader/teacher of all the meetings/classes needs to come to them wearing a grey cowl.

 

[Harrowdown]

You could always apply for a job in a bank. ZING!

 

[Yokai]

So, you don't mean a criminal gang. Because everyone knows a Thieves' Guild has to be ruled by a benevolent scoundrel who's just looking out for the little guy.

 

[Blemontea]

I thought we abonded "guilds" along time ago and divided them into Clubs, Associations, Parties.

 

[Badger Kyre]

Thieves guild...?
lets see... La Costra Nostra, Crips, Bloods, Hell's Angels, MS-13, Mexican Mafia, Aryan Brotherhood, shall i go on?

"Never kill anyone on the job. This is not the Dark Brotherhood." - Armand Christophe, doyen of the Thieves' Guild in the Imperial City. I'd say the abovementioned are far closer to the Dark Brotherhood.

well, Simulord, I got caught up in his usage of that term, as well.
I'm not sure what you're quoting, but IRL, the turned-american mafia's had a code against killing police ( whereas south of the border that is most assuredly not the case )...
which i find amusing in light of their origins. ( or is it because of their origins, not wanting a repeat? )