The Underhand

The Underhand refers to itself as the only free organisation on the Isle. Its members are bound by no code, moral or otherwise, and possibly the only reason that its members choose to keep secret the Cant and location of their hideout is because it is to their own benefit. The guild has only one rule and this is; Let there be no action without profit, how this is interpreted is up to the individual.

The thieves of The Underhand have five basic skillsets from which to learn, these are ; Subtlety (the art of disguise, lies and shadows), Survival (the art of conquering one’s environment), Poisons (where to purchase such poisons and what they do) , Light Weaponry (Daggers, throwing knives and blowpipes), and the bow(skilled and accurate ,the use of poision arrows and rope arrows). Members of the guild will study all five skills to a modicum of proficiency.

Likewise there are four levels with the guild itself;

1) Apprentice thief or ‘Packrat’ – this is the entry level of the guild and accorded the least trust (not that a thief ever really trusts), so called because they are little more than a peasant scrabbling for scraps. A packrat has one main duty to the guild and that is to develop their alter ego, a known thief is rarely a good one, especially in such a closed environment. Hence the packrat must become a functional member of society, good choices would be as servants to the nobles, apprentice to any of the village craftsmen (perhaps especially the blacksmith), anything so they can seem to be just another peasant. Minuet is for example, to all intents and purposes, an honest Trapper and supplies the community with respectable amounts of meat, furs and leather.
The Packrat will be given certain quests so that he can better these skills to best prepare himself for the next rank.
The Packrat will also be taught, and encouraged to practice with; simple traps, climbing, swimming, stillness (holding position for hours possibly), reading, cutting purses, pickpocketing and basic mimicry.

2) Journeyman Thief or ‘Jack of Knives’ – Once a thief has proven their ability with the basics they are brought into the fold and shown the location of the hideout which they can then use as a sanctuary, hide their ill begotten goods or just practice their ‘craft’. They are also taught of the ‘Cant’, not a full language but a code of symbols and gestures that the thieves can use to communicate with each other secretly. At this level the thief can also be given simple contract work.
(Contracts can come in many forms, from a simple theft, to an assembly or breaking of a trap, surveillance and possibly assassination)
The Jack of Knives continues to learn and becomes more adept with; larger and more elaborate traps, acrobatics, shadow stepping (learning to use the shadows to hide within), use of special made poisons (applied to small darts and blown through blowpipes or arrow heads dipped), lockpicking and basic proficiency with daggers(hand and thrown), use of the bow and the skills required for it(normal arrow,rope arrow and poison arrow).

3) Master Thief or ‘Shadow Hand’ – At this point in their career the thief will understand the great truth, that everything has a value, and everyone values something, when you know what this is, then there is nothing you cannot take. As the thief has grown in ability so now they must choose their speciality to their own, and that of the guild’s profit.
The specialities available are;
A) Decoy – The decoy is a master of disguise, both in body and voice. A superb liar they can convince even the most sceptical, are unmatched with sleight of hand and can disappear into the shadows before anyone realises that they have been robbed.
B) Pathfinder – If there is a way in or out the pathfinder will know, no fortress is truly impenetrable and no trap foolproof. They can manipulate their body to climb, crawl and ‘dance’ around any obstacle. Likewise, with the simplest of tools they can open any door and break any lock (non magical).
C) Dark Alchemist – A true knowledge of what poisons do, the best ones to use for a spacific task and what way to administer them(cloth,dart,arrow,food) and how to obtain them from the relevent people that make them.
D) The fine art of small arms and the bow - Be totally skilled in the arts of throwing daggers,hand to hand combat with the dagger, the use and accruacy of a blow dart and the use of arrows,poisonous arrows and rope arrows.

4) Master or Mistress of Thieves or ‘Dark Hand’ – This is the position of the leader of The Underhand. This is the one who makes the rules, gives out contracts and assigns apprentices to the Master thieves. Any Shadow Hand who fancies this position for themselves will have to gain it through their own skill and guile.

You are welcome to join both the Underhand and the Peasants group as the Underhand, like the witches is a secret group -
for more information please contact Rickester Little  - the Dark hand of dark isle, for more infromation and a series of challenges for you to prove your skill.