Professionals Guild

The Guild of Professional Locksmiths and Trapfinders – more commonly known as the Professionals – is one of Obsidian Bay’s oldest guilds. It’s also one of its most infamous.

Overview

• City: Obsidian Bay
• Country: Domain of Obsidian Bay
• Leader: Jasper Silverbreak
• Roster: 220

The Guild of Professional Locksmiths and Trapfinders – more commonly known as the Professionals – is one of Obsidian Bay’s oldest guilds. It’s also one of its most infamous.

The Professionals have in turns been the pride and scourge of the city, first as respected trapfinders exploring the interior of The Pomarj, and then as deplored rogues scheming for control of the city.

Traditionally, the Professionals have served a role similar to a Thieves Guild in other cities, attracting scores of pick-pockets, trap-finders, vault-crackers and other experts of the nefarious arts. However, it does have several important differences from a traditional Thieves Guild.

First and foremost, the Professionals form a publicly known guild that has nearly 250 members on its rosters, and which holds a chair on the city’s Council of Guilds.

While the primary activities of thieves and rogues have always been prohibited by law, they are also prohibited by the guild’s charter. No one who belongs to the guild can engage in illegal activities – those caught by the guild (rather than the City Guard) face dire consequences.

Skeptics say that this is all a show, and that criminal activity is allowed, but kept in sharp check by the leadership. It is further whispered that only the best thieves in the guild are allowed to engage in thievery in the city, and that even then, there must be absolutely no trace left behind. This maybe true, but it has never been proven conclusively.

The guild makes a very good show of apprehending non-guild members who attempt to practice their skills in the city. Those so caught are either turned over to the guard, or taught a very public, very humiliating lesson.

In addition to its strange tradition of apprehending thieves, the Professionals are also remarkable for the way they make their fortunes: by hiring out members to travel with adventuring bands who need someone with their particular skills in the Pomarjian wilderness. These missions range from exploring lost ruins to delving the depths of the Obsidian Maze to guarding a caravan to acting as bodyguards for a noble or wealthy merchant.

These activities have earned the guild considerable profits, but for various reasons, it never achieved the same sort of fame and respect as the Griffins Guild or Invincibles Guild. That lack of respect has had dire consequences, as disenchanted members of the guild decided to begin scheming secretly for the power that they could not garner publicly.

These evil plans led to the formation of a secretive cabal within the guild – The Dark Circle – that culminated with a failed coup attempt during the Greyhawk Wars of CY 583. The guild was disbanded after that debacle, and many of its leaders were tried and executed for treason, but that did not stop the Dark Circle. Enough of its members apparently survived to try again in CY 587. That coup was success, and led to the invasion of the city by the Scarlet Brotherhood and the subsequent fall of Obsidian Bay.

The guild was reformed in CY 589 by Lord Mayor Gabriel Longriver, who declared that the disbanded Professionals had fought well during the War of Exile, often joining up with heroes such as the Orcslayers Guild to launch attacks against the humanoid menace. He also argued that the skills of the Professionals were much needed in the city, and that their disbanding, while justified, may have contributed to the success of the second coup.

Some in the city question the Lord Mayor’s decision, but since their reformation, the Professionals have stridently upheld the law and seem intent on rising to glory on their own efforts.

The guild today is a hodgepodge of experienced professionals – locksmiths, vault-makers, trap-finders, engineers – mixed with thieves, ruffians and common rogues. They are held in check by the will of two men: the charismatic guildmaster Jasper Silverbreak, and his soft-spoken drow assistant Zilaznes.

Campaign Members: Additional information about this organization is available from your Dungeon Master.

People

• Ran Argent: One of the aliases for Malphas, master of the Blackrazor Guild.
• Corlag: A member of the Professional's Guild who disappeared after attacking his former employer, Goloda Kalier. whereabouts unknown.
• Gaiseric "Scrappy", The Rapscallion of Greyhawk: Unaffectionately known within the Blakrazor guild as Scrappy, he is an accomplished thief held back only by his hideous luck.
• Jasper Silverbreak, Guildmaster: The charismatic guildmaster of the Professionals Guild.
• Manteran: A low-ranking member of the guild.
• Zilaznes, Assistant Guildmaster: The second-in-command of the Professionals Guild.

Sites

• Professionals Guildhall: The guildhall contains offices for the Professionals' leaders, gathering places for their members, and extensive training facilities.

Statblocks

• There are no entries available in the database.