Thief/WelcomeLetters

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Welcome Letters

When you join the guild, Kordane gives you two envelopes with letters from the Guildmaster/Guildmistress and from the Monitor of Prowlers. When you choose your spec he will give you the welcome letter from your new Monitor. For your convenience here are copies of the letters. They may not be the most current edition so do read the ones you receive.

Letter from Guildmistress Emily

~ ACVTVS ID VERBERAT ~

Tuesday 14th August Secundus, UC 2045. June 7, 2022 round world


Welcome Young Thief, to the Ankh-Morpork Guild of Thieves.

The Ankh-Morpork Thieves are not your typical lawless criminals. We are thieves who are licensed to steal. We have honour and rules that we follow. We do not steal from or attack fellow thieves. We have a quota which controls the amount of theft we do within the city walls of Ankh-Morpork. You will find that you have joined one of the most enjoyable and most profitable guilds.

THE THIEVES' GUILD RULES

From the inception of the guild we have had two very basic simple rules.

1. Respect your fellow thieves.

2. Do not bring heat down on the Guild.

NPC THIEVES

Each Guildmaster or Guildmistress has treated NPCs differently. I prefer that all thieves including NPC thieves should be treated with equal respect. There are a few exceptions, unlicensed thieves such as the pickpockets in Bes Pelargic and naughty children in Djelibeybi may try to swipe from you and I completely understand retaliation against those individuals. The guild house in Mad Stoat really is an extension office of our Ankh-Morpork guild and you will find that while they will take unkindly to non-thieves entering that guild, if you do not attack them they will treat you as a fellow thief with the same honour.

ILIK

Although Ilik has a licence and leaves receipts, he is considered by me to be a disavowed thief and you are welcome to attempt to kill him on sight. Be warned however that he is a very tricky bugger and can hide quickly and will likely steal your weapons when you attack him. Stealing them back will go on quota.

FIGHTING ON GUILD PROPERTY

Don't. You may of course use the training rooms, but for sparring with other players there are plenty of other arenas. Also if you are PK do not use the guild to run and hide after a PK interaction or to taunt other PKs. That is bringing heat on the guild and the guild should be a safe place for all thieves.

GETTING STARTED AS A THIEF

To begin with, read everything that Recruit Master, Kordane has given you... but you are doing that already by reading this letter right? The guide will give you a good overview of the guild. Get a talker and tune it to the thieves channel and listen in. You will learn a lot by asking questions there and by listening. A useful reference for the guild is https://dwwiki.mooo.com/wiki/Thief

Your first goal as a young thief is going to be to learn the skills and the commands of being a thief. Explore the guild. Find the lounge and the box where people leave useful items like backpacks and light sources (yellow stone ring or bamboo necklace) for young newbies such as yourself. (Hint: It is in the room description, not sitting out obvious.) Talk to all of the teachers. Ask them to tell you about their courses. Type 'help here' in the rooms, to see what you can do. Experiment and try to use the classrooms to learn. When your time is up in one classroom, move on to the next. These classrooms are the cheapest way to advance and a great resource for the young thief. Take advantage of your opportunities. That is the true essence of being a thief.

KORDANE

Kordane is the guy to talk to about a lot of stuff. In case you missed how to get to him, from the guild foyer (the room name is 'entrance hall' but all the thieves will refer to it as the foyer) go up then south. Kordane will help you with advancing skills, learning new commands, choosing your specialization, going off leave (to go on quota and be able to use theft commands in AM) and going on leave (off quota, unable to steal in AM without serious punishments).

ADVANCING SKILLS

In addition to using the individual class rooms to learn skills through practice, you can also advance your skills with experience points and money. Use 'help here' in Kordane's office (or most rooms in the guild) to get a rundown on the commands used to 'advance' your skills.

--Ways to increase skills--

Cheapest to most expensive in XP cost

1. Learn by doing, use the guild classrooms to train and/or use your commands. Costs no exp and might even give xp. Learning by doing uses the taskmaster system. ('help taskmaster') When you go up a skill level by doing an activity we call it getting a 'tm'. You will usually see a short line about doing better at something. To see a list of your recent tms you can use the command 'hskills'

2. Use the 'advance' command in the guild. This method will also cost coins. (Some older thieves may be willing to help out with coin cost if you are really stuck for cash.) The 'cost' command will let you know the cost in exp and coin for advancing a particular skill.

3. Learn from other more advanced players. Usually you only want to do this after you have guildmaxed a skill. Remember also that guildmax for some skills will increase after you specialize. 'help teach'

4. Self teach. This is the most expensive in XP. Usually you only want to do this if you can't find anyone with a teach bonus high enough to teach you or you are sitting on a ton of XP and are worried you will die before you can get to a teacher.

COMMANDS

Most of our guild specific commands are taught by our Recruit Master, Kordane.

To learn commands from Kordane, you'll have to politely ask him to teach them to you once you've acquired the skills necessary to learn them.

He will teach you commands when you are eligible.

 sayto kordane teach me commands please

To see a list of guild commands and how many levels of which skills to be able to learn the command visit https://dwwiki.mooo.com/wiki/Commands for a complete list of commands and skills needed.

SPECIALIZING

You do not need to race to specialize the moment you join the guild. Try learning some commands and getting a hang of what it is like being a thief and learn something about each spec. Talk to thieves in each spec and see why they chose the one they did. Or ask on the talker and watch the fur fly, all in fun of course. You really can't fail in any spec you choose, but some may require more patience than others.

Before you reach guild level 50, and you are sure of which specialization you want be, return to Kordane.

He will help you to specialize.

sayto kordane specialize

He will give you a list of the specs.

sayto kordane specialise prowler

He will make you a prowler forever. (or whichever spec you choose)

After you specialize your primaries will change depending on the spec, unless you choose Prowler in which case your primaries will be the same but the guild max will be higher for those skills.

QUOTA - Getting Started

Once you're ready to start relocating goods, Kordane will also be the one you'll have to speak to if you want to go on, or return from, a leave of absence.

Being brand new to the Guild, once you're ready to start stealing, you'll have to politely tell Kordane that you'd like to return from your leave of absence. (You begin on leave.) He'll give you a licence (read 'help licence'), which you'll want to keep on your person, and your first quota period will begin. At this point, you'll be required to meet at least your minimum quota in relocated goods, and you'll have to pay the Guild its 30% cut before the the current quota period expires.

He will let you go off leave (on quota) and off quota (on leave).

sayto kordane I have returned from leave
sayto kordane I'm taking a leave of absence

QUOTA - your licence and you

You need a guild licence to keep track of your thefts in Ankh-Morpork. Kordane will give you a generic one when you return from leave.

When you are of sufficient level you can get a custom wearable one from Elusive Ron.

There are a couple of ways to check your quota on the licence.

'check quota'

My personal favourite, this method lets your read your licence with your fingers, it requires no light but you must have a free hand. It also works with a worn licence.

'read quota'

This method requires light, your hands do not have to be free, but you also can't twist your head around the read a worn licence and so must make an extra step of removing it.

Other helpful licence commands are 'check receipts' and 'check previous quota'. You won't need them often but they come in useful sometimes.

Checking your licence will tell you your minimum and maximum quota, how much you have stolen, how much you owe the guild, and how long you have until next quota period begins. A quota period is 12 roundworld hours of game playing time. Feel free to live your roundworld life and know that quota is not ticking down while you are logged out.

QUOTA - ARTAN aka Paying the guild

After having a fun time picking pockets and shoplifting shiny things, do not forget to pay the guild its cut. You can do this by speaking with Artan (From the Guild Foyer, go west six times to the kitchen, one up, and then one north). Once in the room with him, make sure you have the money you owe sitting out in your inventory and 'pay artan'.

QUOTA - FINES

Try very hard to take care of your minimum quota in the time allotted. And try just as hard to not go over your maximum. In your early days, if you go over quota by say a dollar or two it may be fairly easy to just raise your guild level and thereby increase your quota limits. As you become more advanced this won't be as easy.

When you go over quota, you will owe the guild the normal 30% for everything up to your max, and 100% of everything over your max. Plus you will have additional fines at the beginning of your next quota period. Those fines vary slightly but can be estimated to be about 150% of your overage.

When you have fines the guild heavies like to come after you with a club to collect them. They will bang you on the head, drop your unconscious body on the river and take all of your coins both foreign and domestic. They will only attribute the domestic coins towards your fines however. (Repeat offenders or those with extremely high fines may find they are heavied for inventory as well as coins.) To avoid being heavied, try to be at Artan at the beginning of your next quota period. If you need help getting to Artan undetected, ask on the talker. Some thieves have ways of getting you there safely.

UNLICENSED THEFT

Be warned, anyone caught stealing in Ankh-Morpork without a licence will be clubbed over the head, relieved of all their possessions, and dumped head-first into the river. When you are on leave, you are considered to be unlicensed, so if you attempt to use any theft commands in Ankh-Morpork without returning from leave, you'll be heavied just the same as non-thieves. If this happens to you, be sure to check out the heavy shop to the north of the Guild Museum (four west from the Guild foyer and down the stairs). You'll have the opportunity to buy at least the majority of your equipment back through there.

TALKER - GUILD BONDING AND HELP

Thieves guild talker channel can be a bit spammy noisy but stick with it. It really is where we bond as a guild, we have a tradition of silly banter and silly games that you miss out on if you keep the channel turned off. The guild channel is a great place to ask questions. Often better than asking a single person because the Disc is such a large place and things are always changing. By asking on the channel, we thieves are able to update one another on changes. By listening in you will also get answers to questions that you didn't even know to ask. The guild talker channel is one of the things that makes the thieves guild more cohesive than most.

REARRANGE

Don't race to rearrange your stats. Take time and learn how you really use your skills and which skills really end up mattering to you. The initial all 13s has some benefits which includes a 4hp regen rate instead of the usual 3. Most thieves go for a lot of Dex, Strength and Intelligence. To see how different rearranges might affect your play go to http://bonuses.irreducible.org/

NEWBIE BOX

There is a box tucked away in the guild research room, south, southwest from Artan. You will find clothing, weapons, and wearable light sources (yellow stone rings and bamboo necklaces), and packs to carry your stuff. Take what you need to help you get started and remember to contribute useful items for the next newbie when you are a bit older.


Again, welcome to the Guild of Thieves. May you find true friends and prosperity with us.

Lady Emily von Schaf Guildmistress of the Thieves' Guild

Monitor of Prowlers Letter

Welcome Young one

On behalf of all the thieves, we would like to welcome you to our guild! You have joined one of the friendliest and most active guilds on the disc. We hope you stick around and choose the prowler spec as your specialisation, as it has a lot of perks. The Prowler spec is one of the most respected and oldest spec in the guild. The foundation of this spec builds upon friendly people just like you who want help and be part of a large family in the disc. This welcome letter will help guide you in the direction of what this guild has to offer, and where you can pitch in to help.

The first place to visit is our most excellent guild wiki https://dwwiki.mooo.com/wiki/Thief. You can find out about our guild Rules, Theft 101, 201, Equipment, the Guild Hall maps, Aliases, and Playerkiller. This should be your first stop. Next, check out Quows excellent client https://quow.co.uk/mushclient.php , it would be very difficult to play without it, it has a quota counter as well.

The next best place to get information is any thief in the guild! Just ask away on the talker and we will help you the best we can.

Now, you may ask, what do I advance first, fighting or stealing. That would be up to you, I would recommend you read the guild wiki first, ask lots of questions then proceed as you wish. I had a lot of fun going down the stealing road first and learning to fight later! In case you need some equipment to get you on your feet, there is a newbie box just south and southwest of Artan on the top floor, you can find all the basics to help you get started, do not hesitate to call me if you need any specific items that I can acquire for you. Type Refer Swiper for all my services to you.

Now the fine details! Basic rules: 1. Show respect to everyone in this game, not just guildmates. 2. This is a family guild with all ages of players. 3. Be as helpful as you can. 4. Do not bring heat down on the Guild.

Enjoy yourself and have fun! Your fave Prowler - Swiper

Monitor of Cutpurses Letter

A warm welcome to you, young Cutpurse!


If you're a very new thief, it's to be expected that you will have a lot of questions, and that's one of the things I'm here for, as your Monitor. You're always welcome to speak to me privately if you need guidance, either by MudMail at the Post Office, or by Tell, in addition to the help you'll find from your comrades on the talker channel (Thieves).

However there are a few common questions that usually come up. Read on to find out the answers to some of the most frequently asked queries:

1) What Should I Do First?

It's up to you, but what I'd advise is to have a look around the Guild, familiarise yourself with a few key areas, and key people. Check out the training rooms for freebie skills. Even the not-obvious places can give you some useful knowledge. I can recommend the library, for instance...

If you feel a little under-equipped, need a light source, some weapons or armour, or perhaps a warm cloak, there's a box in one of the rooms in the heart of the guild. Just go west from the entrance until you see the cook, then go up and then south-west. Look at the box and take what you need.

You've already found Kordane of course, but you would be wise to locate Artan - upstairs from the cook and then north - who is the guy to whom you'll pay the Guild's cut of your quota.

And speaking of quota: Look at your licence. It'll show you how much you need to steal, how much you've already stolen, how long you've got to pay dues and how much you owe. Get into the habit of checking it! Read or check your quota on your licence often. If you're still on leave, you mustn't steal in Ankh-Morpork, or the heavies will come after you...


2) So When Do I Start Stealing?

It's essential to first get some skills in hiding and stealing. You can advance your skills directly from Kordane, or Artan, or any room containing a Guild teacher or guard. Kordane will teach you commands - such as 'steal' and 'shoplift' and 'snatch' - if you ask him nicely, but don't try any of them in Ankh-Morpork until you're ready to return from leave! As soon as you return from leave, you will have a limited period in which to steal at least the minimum amount, and pay the Guild cut to Artan. Going over quota will result in fines and possibly heavying, so be careful and keep checking your licence. Not stealing enough for your minimum quota will also incur fines.

--Psst! Don't ignore your skills in dagger and also some dodge, as you're likely to attract negative attention from your quarry if you fail that steal!


3) Help! I'm lost, where am I?

There are a lot of rooms in the Guild. Don't panic! You might find this map useful: https://dw.daftjunk.com/AM_Thieves.png


4) Help! I left the guild and now I'm completely lost, where am I?

The Disc is a mighty big place! Thankfully, explorers have put together maps which you will find here: https://dw.daftjunk.com/


5) I've got a hole in my sock!

Sorry, we can't help you with this. But we advise that you don't assume the Guild of Seamstresses can.


Welcome once again to this worthy specialisation, and don't forget to make a noise if you have a problem. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

Enjoy yourself. Examine everything. Take pride in your stealth and in your Guild.


ACVTVS ID VERBERAT !

Ordeith Cutpurse Monitor

Monitor of Muggers Letter

Congratulations on choosing the very best specialisation: Muggers! You are now a part of a rough and tumble group of boys and girls with hearts of gold. The guild is your home, and Muggers are now your family.


Muggers are a unique spec who get the very best of both worlds: we are lethal at combat, with many of our spec using swords or maces to their advantage, and our covert skills are second to none. We can slice, slash, bash, crush, hide, and steal with the best of them.


You will need some basic gear to start off with and you can help yourself to the contents of the newbie box. Go down from Kordane's office, go all the way west, past the guard thieves, and up. From there, head southwest, and look at the box to see what it contains. It is constantly stocked and monitored, so it will have yellow stone rings (light), containers (bags and packs), clothes, weapons, and warm clothes during the winter. Take what you need.


Turn your Pumpkin Town voucher in at Krazzander's shop on Filigree Street for a talker and add thieves to the talker list. To talk on the talker, simply type thieves followed by your message and every thief that has a talker will see it and respond. If you're not already using Quow's plugin-loaded MUSHclient, I recommend going to https://quow.co.uk/ and downloading one. It has everything set up and it will completely change your gaming experience. The wiki can be found at https://dwwiki.mooo.com/wiki/Main_Page and is a very helpful place to read up about the entire game. Simply search for anything there. The MUD's website is at https://discworld.starturtle.net/lpc/.


Now to get down to brass tacks: you really need to put yourself out there and earn XP (experience points) for you to spend on your skills, which also cost some real money. If you are ever struggling for money, there are many ways for you to make some. There is a job market on God Street (go south down Short Street and turn west and south into the job market) where Mr Werks will let you apply for various jobs. You have to start with the easier ones and move on the moderate and hard jobs, but this will pay you with both XP and money. Do enough jobs and you will start saving a decent chunk.


Another way for you to make money is, of course, to steal. Once you have enough money saved up from the jobs, invest in your stealing skills. Once you have those up to about a hundred levels or so, you can start stealing. Tell Kordane you would like to return from leave and you will be given a licence. Once you have one, 'check quota' to see how much you can steal in Ankh-Morpork. Your quota will increase steadily as your guild level increases. Now it's time to hit the shops and see what they have. You won't be able to steal expensive things from the get go, but you can steal small things. Once you max your quota (please don't go above it, because if you go above quota you may be heavied whilst you head to Artan to pay your fines), take your ill-gotten goods to Jim (clothes) and Sol (jewellery) and fence it to them. syntax fence is your friend here. You'll get some money from both fences. Head to Artan's office (west past the guards, up, and then north) and 'pay artan'. The rest you can keep for yourself.


Head out of Ankh-Morpork to the Sto Plains and beyond and set up daily stealing runs; bring the stuff back to Jim and Sol and fence them. You're only on quota in Ankh-Morpork. Some places react badly to thieves; in Djelibeybi priests and priestesses will toss you in the desert, in Ephebe, hoplites will start attacking you (and they are *lethal*, so if you're in a room with one, please leave right away), and in Ohulan-Cutash you will have to serve some prison time for stealing if you walk into the prison.


Once you get into a thieving routine, you will notice that you start getting TMs from stealing and filching. Keep up with the job market jobs for XP, and do quests and chase achievements (the website has a quest list for you to follow, and it's a good way to check the bulletin boards as well, and take part in conversations). Spend your XP on more stealing and fighting skills. Get your character's skills honed and build yourself up. It's a labour of love, but it's your character, and it's worth it.


Last but certainly not the least, I am always available to talk to you; you can send me a tell when I'm online and I will respond. Chances are, I've already reached out to you; I make it a point to greet every Mugger online, and talk to all newbie Muggers. If I'm not online, send me mail; go to the post office on Widdershins Broadway and mail Gracie to send me mail. I will always respond; I care about you and your experience as a Mugger and as a thief. I want you to be happy and safe here.


Be proud of who you are: you are first and foremost a thief, the best guild on the Disc, and you are a Mugger, the best spec in the best guild. You are where you need to be. You are home.


I wish you the very best. Make me proud.


Gracie LeBeau Monitor of Muggers

Monitor of Smugglers Letter

Welcome to the Smugglers, the best, and smallest, specialization in the guild!

My name is Rakah and I am the monitor of our specialization. I am here for you, if you have any questions, need advice, some help to obtain something or anything else, please feel free to send me a tell, write a letter or yell at me on the talker.

Many people notice Smugglers lack stealing as a primary and think that for that reason, we are a lesser thief than some of our counterparts. However, fear not. It advances very well through practice, and you'll be that much more admired for rising to the challenge!

As you're no doubt aware, our most famous advantage lies in knowing the value of goods. To this end, Smugglers in general possess more intelligence then your average thief. Not only do we use it for valuing loot, but it also comes in handy for a whole range of extra-curricular mayhem. Some would point out that all Thieves have valuing gems and jewelry as primaries, which may lead you to wonder just why you're so special anyway. While most other Thieves are focused on stealing jewelry, they're leaving the armour, clothing and weapons and other expensive items not made out of gold, an under-exploited market. Only we can take full advantage of this, keep your eyes (and mind!) open for these and other types of opportunities. Also, it's a good idea to have guild maxed your stealing prior to specializing as a Smuggler.


Tips:

The Quota, and How do I pay?

You start on leave. When you are ready to start stealing in Ankh-Morpork see Kordane and tell him "I have returned from leave". Only you will know when you are ready but I would advise having snatch and steal at the minimum. You pay your quota to Artan, he hangs out above the kitchen area. So if you were in the entrance hall head six west, up, and then north. This puts you in the quota room where Artan will gladly take your guild fees and fines. Just pay Artan and you will be good to go!

The Newbie box:

There is a box, placed out of the way, for new thieves. It contains a random assortment of stuff for you to use in any way you see fit. Please be considerate of others, taking everything is not very nice. To get to the box go to the entrance hall and then head 6 west, up, southwest and then 'look box"

Also once you are comfortable in your skills give a moments thought to that box and pay it a visit, out of respect.

The talker is also a great resource, once you cut past the silliness and outright lies(TM). Be yourself and ask questions most thieves will do whatever it takes to get you the help needed.

If have not already, go check out the Thieves' Guild wiki at Thief It has a great collection of information for players of all skill levels.

Also don't forget about the Discworld MUD Wiki https://dwwiki.mooo.com/wiki/Main_Page and Kefka's Maps and Item Database https://dw.daftjunk.com/ both of which are very very useful.

Regards Rakah

Monitor of Safecrackers Letter