The Calling of the Rogue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Practitioners of the skills of stealth and intrigue are known in general parlance as rogues. This vague coverall term hides within it a variety of many different roles and behaviours including robbery, burglary, espionage, reconnaissance, sabotage, smuggling, extortion, hustling, kidnapping and assassination. Many of the ‘thieving skills’ utilised in these roles are deemed criminal in most states but the purposes for which they are used can cover the entire gamut of morality. Many rogues are entirely self-serving but some serve particular causes whether for good or ill. Rogues are most commonly found in areas of concentrated population. One can find both men and women and even boys and girls in the many different roles of the rogue and at all levels of strata of society. They usually work alone but sometimes thieves are known to band together in underground gangs.
Bards
The term bard is frequently used interchangeably with other words like ‘minstrel’. However correctly the name Bard refers only to the members of a clandestine network of rogues who present themselves to the world as storytelling musicians but who have covert motives over-and-above those of garden-variety minstrels. They do look like minstrels however wandering and playing on lute or fife or drum. The Bardic movement has members in all nations and city-states. It lacks any formalized structure or written rules but rather is governed by an oral tradition preserved by all members of the movement. Many of its mores are preserved and conveyed in the form of songs and tales and the more experienced a Bard becomes the fuller a sense they will have of the purposes of the movement to which they belong. One common theme that seems to unite Bardic tales and songs is the dangers inherent in power. Many tales tell of the exciting but ultimately corrupting days of long-lost empires which have long since been replaced by a disparate array of nations and city-states. It is speculated that the Bards intention is to preserve the present world of many small powers.
The Bardic movement originated in the Brethic Hills and Deben Wood and as a result today Bards regardless of kin sport some trappings of the Brethic culture such as torcs and tartan. More can be known on the origins of Bards by examining the tales of the Royal Dagger of the Brethic Overlord (see in Sage Scrivenings). In addition to thieving skills the Bards also use mnemonic skills (utilised in memorising tales and songs) in memorising magic spells for later casting. This is something other Rogues cannot do (they depend on the haphazard use of spell scrolls). Bards count humans, Halflings and Half-Elves among them.
Relations with Warriors
Rogues sometimes dismiss the combat prowess of warriors in preference for the ‘dirty tactics’ of a street-fighting rogue. This they do however at their peril. Smarter rogues recognise the danger represented by an experienced warrior and do what they can to keep on the right side of warriors or keep away from them altogether.
Relations with Mages
Rogues tend to both respect and envy mages for the magical talent they possess. Many rogues regard magic as a kind of short-cut to power while others find its status as a form of secret knowledge enticing. As such many rogues play at studying the scrawlings on spell scrolls in the hope of using the power represented by them. They can only haphazardly cast spells and can never memorise spells (with the exception of the Bards whose movement has developed secret ways of tutoring its members in successful spell-casting mnemonics). Needless to say mages find this all very frustrating and are dismissive of rogues as hopeless try-hards. They also recognise, however, that the non-magical skills of rogues are sometimes as or more effective than magic in getting the job done.
Relations with Clergy
There is much resentment between rogues and clergy as rogues defy too many of the conventions of behaviour that churches tend to advocate. An exception to this is the clerics of Urala who can understand some of the motives of rogues (endorsing however is another matter). These are all generalizations as it will always depend on the particular rogues and clergy in question and the actions and interests of these characters. Needless to say rogues will worship all or none of the gods and goddesses as whim or need dictate but are particularly attracted to Urala. Some are also keen on Linesa and Elchemar.
Races of Rogues
Rogues can be found among all races in one form or another (except for Bards among whom one only seems to find humans, Halflings and Half-Elves). The skills of stealth and secrecy and the desire for the ‘quick path’ to wealth and power characterise members of all races.
There is a tendency for members of one race who live among members of a different race to fall into roguish ways (the Halfling thief among humans is more common than the Halfling thief among Halflings). One can speculate then that roguish behaviour is partly the product of isolation or anomie.
Important Groups of Rogues
The tradition of the Bards is so old as to have taken on the status of a distinctive roguish calling. However there are other groups of rogues in the Lands that are also worth noting.
Guild of Acquisitors
Many cities have thieves 'guilds' or 'clans' (usually there is only one such group per city but that guild can be riven with bitter factional rivalry). At one time the most rich and powerful of such over-blown gangs was the Guild of Acquisitors in Nartellfar. Recently however the Guild (which incidentally is not recognised as a guild of the city Assembly) has found itself squeezed between two other groups which compete for its secret territory. One is the Ratkin Clan who have taken residence in much of the City sewers. The other is a newly established Chimney Sweeps Guild (which is recognized by the Assembly) who actively thwart usage of the secret pathways over the rooftops of Nartellfar. The Guild of Acquisitors strongly suspects that this new guild is itself just a front for the Tapestry…
The Tapestry
The Tapestry is the secret service of the Sea Cities and is managed directly by the Council of Eight (the group who determine combined decisions of the league cities of Nartellfar, Delmisar and Orvilia). It draws on persons of thieving skills but puts those skills to use in ensuring the internal and external peace and security of the Sea Cities. It is likely that the Tapestry has agents placed in all key aspects of life in the three cities and knows many secrets.
The Adamantine Network
The power of the Warlord of Port Grazia is such that his government has succeeded in smashing any thieves guild in the capital. However many former thieves have been rehabilitated by involvement in a new body known as the Adamantine Network – the secret police of the Grazian Confederacy. These operatives use all the skills associated with thievery including the usage of spell scrolls (particularly important since the Warlord never succeeded in coopting former mages guild members into the state apparatus when all guilds of Port Grazia were abolished).
Practitioners of the skills of stealth and intrigue are known in general parlance as rogues. This vague coverall term hides within it a variety of many different roles and behaviours including robbery, burglary, espionage, reconnaissance, sabotage, smuggling, extortion, hustling, kidnapping and assassination. Many of the ‘thieving skills’ utilised in these roles are deemed criminal in most states but the purposes for which they are used can cover the entire gamut of morality. Many rogues are entirely self-serving but some serve particular causes whether for good or ill. Rogues are most commonly found in areas of concentrated population. One can find both men and women and even boys and girls in the many different roles of the rogue and at all levels of strata of society. They usually work alone but sometimes thieves are known to band together in underground gangs.
Bards
The term bard is frequently used interchangeably with other words like ‘minstrel’. However correctly the name Bard refers only to the members of a clandestine network of rogues who present themselves to the world as storytelling musicians but who have covert motives over-and-above those of garden-variety minstrels. They do look like minstrels however wandering and playing on lute or fife or drum. The Bardic movement has members in all nations and city-states. It lacks any formalized structure or written rules but rather is governed by an oral tradition preserved by all members of the movement. Many of its mores are preserved and conveyed in the form of songs and tales and the more experienced a Bard becomes the fuller a sense they will have of the purposes of the movement to which they belong. One common theme that seems to unite Bardic tales and songs is the dangers inherent in power. Many tales tell of the exciting but ultimately corrupting days of long-lost empires which have long since been replaced by a disparate array of nations and city-states. It is speculated that the Bards intention is to preserve the present world of many small powers.
The Bardic movement originated in the Brethic Hills and Deben Wood and as a result today Bards regardless of kin sport some trappings of the Brethic culture such as torcs and tartan. More can be known on the origins of Bards by examining the tales of the Royal Dagger of the Brethic Overlord (see in Sage Scrivenings). In addition to thieving skills the Bards also use mnemonic skills (utilised in memorising tales and songs) in memorising magic spells for later casting. This is something other Rogues cannot do (they depend on the haphazard use of spell scrolls). Bards count humans, Halflings and Half-Elves among them.
Relations with Warriors
Rogues sometimes dismiss the combat prowess of warriors in preference for the ‘dirty tactics’ of a street-fighting rogue. This they do however at their peril. Smarter rogues recognise the danger represented by an experienced warrior and do what they can to keep on the right side of warriors or keep away from them altogether.
Relations with Mages
Rogues tend to both respect and envy mages for the magical talent they possess. Many rogues regard magic as a kind of short-cut to power while others find its status as a form of secret knowledge enticing. As such many rogues play at studying the scrawlings on spell scrolls in the hope of using the power represented by them. They can only haphazardly cast spells and can never memorise spells (with the exception of the Bards whose movement has developed secret ways of tutoring its members in successful spell-casting mnemonics). Needless to say mages find this all very frustrating and are dismissive of rogues as hopeless try-hards. They also recognise, however, that the non-magical skills of rogues are sometimes as or more effective than magic in getting the job done.
Relations with Clergy
There is much resentment between rogues and clergy as rogues defy too many of the conventions of behaviour that churches tend to advocate. An exception to this is the clerics of Urala who can understand some of the motives of rogues (endorsing however is another matter). These are all generalizations as it will always depend on the particular rogues and clergy in question and the actions and interests of these characters. Needless to say rogues will worship all or none of the gods and goddesses as whim or need dictate but are particularly attracted to Urala. Some are also keen on Linesa and Elchemar.
Races of Rogues
Rogues can be found among all races in one form or another (except for Bards among whom one only seems to find humans, Halflings and Half-Elves). The skills of stealth and secrecy and the desire for the ‘quick path’ to wealth and power characterise members of all races.
There is a tendency for members of one race who live among members of a different race to fall into roguish ways (the Halfling thief among humans is more common than the Halfling thief among Halflings). One can speculate then that roguish behaviour is partly the product of isolation or anomie.
Important Groups of Rogues
The tradition of the Bards is so old as to have taken on the status of a distinctive roguish calling. However there are other groups of rogues in the Lands that are also worth noting.
Guild of Acquisitors
Many cities have thieves 'guilds' or 'clans' (usually there is only one such group per city but that guild can be riven with bitter factional rivalry). At one time the most rich and powerful of such over-blown gangs was the Guild of Acquisitors in Nartellfar. Recently however the Guild (which incidentally is not recognised as a guild of the city Assembly) has found itself squeezed between two other groups which compete for its secret territory. One is the Ratkin Clan who have taken residence in much of the City sewers. The other is a newly established Chimney Sweeps Guild (which is recognized by the Assembly) who actively thwart usage of the secret pathways over the rooftops of Nartellfar. The Guild of Acquisitors strongly suspects that this new guild is itself just a front for the Tapestry…
The Tapestry
The Tapestry is the secret service of the Sea Cities and is managed directly by the Council of Eight (the group who determine combined decisions of the league cities of Nartellfar, Delmisar and Orvilia). It draws on persons of thieving skills but puts those skills to use in ensuring the internal and external peace and security of the Sea Cities. It is likely that the Tapestry has agents placed in all key aspects of life in the three cities and knows many secrets.
The Adamantine Network
The power of the Warlord of Port Grazia is such that his government has succeeded in smashing any thieves guild in the capital. However many former thieves have been rehabilitated by involvement in a new body known as the Adamantine Network – the secret police of the Grazian Confederacy. These operatives use all the skills associated with thievery including the usage of spell scrolls (particularly important since the Warlord never succeeded in coopting former mages guild members into the state apparatus when all guilds of Port Grazia were abolished).
posted by Daniel | 8.5.06
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