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Thieves Guild

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Thieves Guild — Complete Guide
Spoiler note: This guide explains how the guild works — how to join, how to rank up, how to make money, how heists play out. Specific scene reveals and character secrets are kept out of it. Discover those in-game.

What the Guild Is

The Thieves Guild operates out of a Hidden Chamber beneath the public-facing Thieves Guild building in the King's Demesne. It's run by Arestes, the Master Thief, with Shadow as one of her senior operatives.
The guild lives by a code: rob from the rich, protect the poor.
Once you join, the guild becomes a major source of:
  • Gold (from heists)
  • Faction reputation (called clout) which unlocks new districts, ranks, and story content
  • Romance and worker recruitment (Shadow becomes recruitable through this storyline)

Joining the Guild

Prerequisite: Find Shadow

Shadow does not appear anywhere in the game until you discover her. To trigger her discovery scene, enter the Back Alleys between 10 PM and 2 AM with Perception 45 or higher. Sharp eyes are required — without enough Perception, you walk right past her.
Once discovered, Shadow becomes available across her four nighttime locations (Back Alleys, Hovel District, Noble Quarter, and the Thieves Guild itself) on her rotating schedule.

The Initiation — Hide and Seek

Find your way into the Hidden Chamber beneath the Thieves Guild and trigger the Initiation scene with Arestes and Shadow present. The Initiation action requires Rogue 35 and Shadow at Known stage — train Rogue first if you're stuck. Arestes proposes the initiation test: a game of hide and seek. Shadow will hide somewhere in the kingdom and leave you a trail of clues. Find her, and you're in.
The first clue is given to you at the end of the initiation scene itself. The remaining clues are sealed envelopes you'll find at each successive location — they auto-trigger when you arrive at the right place.

Shadow's Trail — The Seven Clues

You must visit the locations in order. Each clue's answer points you to the next location, where the next clue is waiting.
# Clue Answer / Where to Go
1 "I am hiding in a place where even saying its name can break it." A place of silence → Whispering Woods
2 "Where it's never day, and steel sings. Where people roar for fallen kings." Combat arena under torchlight → Tournament Grounds
3 "I begin with the first, and end as I started. I look in the mirror, and find I'm not parted. The last is my second, the center is Me. Read me forwards or backwards, I'm all you will see." A palindrome — the name AZIZA (the arcane shopkeeper) → Arcane Shop
4 "What has roots that none can see, stands taller than the oldest tree. It reaches up beyond the sky, and yet it never grows more high." A mountain → Mountain Foothills
5 "ANGRY REACHER" Anagram of ARCHERY RANGE → Archery Range
6 "I have beds, but never sleep. I have rows, but never reap. I have roots, but cannot walk. I am filled with life, but never talk." A garden → Castle Garden
7 "Return to where our paths first crossed, where I was found and you were lost." Where you first discovered Shadow → Back Alleys
The seventh location is where you find Shadow herself and the trail ends. The scene that plays out is the major payoff for completing the recruitment arc — and is also where Shadow's intimate scene plays.

After the Trail — The Tutorial Arc

With the initiation complete, you're a member. From here, a series of short scenes walks you through how the guild operates:
  • Shadow's Rules — Shadow explains the guild's code and how ranks work. Triggers at the public Thieves Guild.
  • The Fox's Ears — Meet Kalb the fox merchant in the Grand Bazaar food stalls. He's one of the guild's information sources, and he has a problem — thugs ambushing his fish shipments.
  • Clearing the Road — Deal with the thugs at the Caravan Rest Stop after dark (8 PM – midnight). Combat encounter.
  • Good News Travels Fast — Report back to Kalb. He repays you with intel about the Gilded Row, a wealthy new district. The Gilded Row is added to your map.
  • The Art of Acquisition — Meet Shadow at the Gilded Row at night. She explains how Break & Enter works and leaves you to operate solo.
That's the recruitment arc done. From here, you climb the ranks by earning clout.

Faction Clout (Reputation)

Clout is the guild's reputation system. You earn it three ways:
1. Fencing valuables (the main source). Stolen goods are converted to clout by Arestes at the Hidden Chamber. The exchange rate is roughly 1 clout per 10 valuables, with some random variance.
2. Story plots. Several recruitment-arc and post-recruitment plots award fixed amounts of clout.
3. Pickpocketing. Successful pickpockets during random street encounters give +1 clout each (see Pickpocketing below).
Clout is never spent — it's a one-way reputation track that unlocks ranks and new districts. The only thing that reduces clout is getting caught. Failed Break & Enter attempts cost 1 clout (you can't drop below 5), and some failed pickpockets do the same.

Other Ways to Earn Clout

Before the heist system fully unlocks, you can earn clout and valuables by pickpocketing during the Search action in medieval areas. Several random encounters offer a Pickpocket option:
Encounter Where Requirements
Alley Bard Back Alleys, streets Always available
Lost Noble Castle district streets Sleight of Hand skill + 10 clout
Wandering Merchants Grand Bazaar, streets Sleight of Hand skill + 5 clout
The roll is your Rogue stat against a target number (120 for most, 150 for the alert Bard). Success gives 1–5 valuables and +1 clout. Failure can lose you 1 clout if you're above 5.
There's also a rare hooded girl encounter that behaves differently depending on your standing with the guild. At low clout she'll target you; at 10+ clout she recognizes you as a guild member — and turns out to be Keira, a guild rooftop runner, who challenges you to a parkour race to the bell tower. Winning the race (an Ability check — the higher your Ability, the better your odds) earns +3 clout and unlocks Keira as a full character (see the Keira section below). Losing is harmless; she'll offer the race again on a future encounter.
Why bother? Pickpocketing supplies repeatable clout and valuables while you work through recruitment; story rewards can also contribute. You can stockpile valuables during the Seek quests, then dump them all into Arestes once Fence Valuables unlocks for an instant clout boost.

Ranks

Promotions happen automatically. As soon as you have the required clout and walk into the Hidden Chamber, the rank-up scene fires. Each rank is a one-shot conversation with Arestes.
There are 8 player-accessible ranks. Two more exist above for guild leadership but aren't earnable.
Rank Title Clout Required
1 Initiate 0 (start)
2 Cutpurse 10
3 Burglar 25
4 Prowler 50
5 Infiltrator 80
6 Shadowblade 120
7 Phantom 170
8 Shade 230
Most ranks are story-only — flavor scenes that develop your relationship with Arestes. Two have major mechanical effects:
  • Rank 5 (Infiltrator) unlocks the Noble Quarter on the map. Without this rank, the Noble Quarter icon does not appear at all.
  • Rank 8 (Shade) has additional gates beyond clout — Sophie must be recruited and active as a brothel worker, at Friend stage or higher with you. The scene involves her directly.
Each rank-up has a 3-choice response (caring, funny, flirty) with small Arestes relationship rewards.
Clout keeps mattering past rank 8, too — two of Arestes' most dangerous offers only appear at 350 and 500 clout (see The Assassin's Path below).

Vixen and the Guild

If you've recruited Vixen as a brothel worker, she becomes part of the guild storyline too. Vixen has her own connection to Arestes from before she came to the brothel.
Two scenes unlock:
  • The Velvet Approach — Vixen joins the guild scene. Visit the Thieves Guild after she's at Known stage with you and you have at least 5 clout.
  • The Arrangement — Triggered at the Thieves Guild after you reach Shadowblade rank (rank 6). Vixen, Shadow, and you cook up a scheme together. This scene also opens up Shadow's path to becoming a brothel worker.
After The Arrangement, two follow-up scenes with Arestes fire at the Hidden Chamber (Known+ with her): The Guild Pretends Not to Know, and later — after her Private Ledger heart-to-heart — A Seat Beside the Master. Both are pure Arestes character moments with choice rewards.

Keira — The Rooftop Runner

Keira is the guild's parkour specialist, unlocked by winning her bell tower race during the hooded girl street encounter (see Other ways to earn clout above). Once unlocked, she's found in the Back Alleys from midnight to 4 AM.

Keira's Actions (Back Alleys, 12 AM – 4 AM)

Action Cost Time Points Daily Requires
Talk to Keira — 10 min +1 3× Stranger+
Route Intel — 20 min +2 1× Known+, after The Roofroads
Roofline Drills 25 energy 45 min +8, +1 Ability, +1 clout One-time Known+, Ability 35, after The Roofroads
The Good Ledge H2H 15 energy 60 min (H2H) One-time Acquaintance+, after The Roofroads
A Quiet Favor 150 Valuables 45 min — One-time Friend+ — rewards Thieves Gloves
Stop Moving H2H 25 energy 75 min (H2H) One-time Close Friend, after Loose Tiles + Good Ledge
Night Bazaar (date) 35 energy 120 min (date scene) One-time Close Friend, 12–2 AM, after Stop Moving
No Escape Route 20 energy 75 min (H2H) One-time Crush, after Night Bazaar

Keira's Auto Plots

  • The Roofroads — auto at Known, Back Alleys 12–4 AM. Her proper introduction to the guild's rooftop network. +5 points, +1 clout, choice rewards.
  • Loose Tiles — auto at Close Friend (after The Good Ledge H2H), same window. +6 points, +1 clout.
  • The Early Watch — auto at the Hidden Chamber once both Arestes and Keira are at Friend+. A three-way scene; +5 to each, +1 clout.
Keira also matters beyond her own story — her Thieves Gloves are one of the two key items needed for the guild's endgame (next section).

The Assassin's Path & The Phantom Stone

Endgame content — clout keeps counting long past rank 8, and this is what it's for. Kept spoiler-light.
  • Assassin (Arestes, Hidden Chamber, 350 clout) — a one-time, five-hour training session (base costs: 150 Energy and 150 Calm; no extra relationship-stage gate on the training action) where Arestes teaches the killing art beneath the guild code. This unlocks the Assassin combat path, one of the game's three combat disciplines.
  • Dark Consolador (Arestes, Hidden Chamber, 500 clout) — Arestes gifts you her favorite assassin blade as a key item.
  • The Phantom Stone Raid — auto-triggers at the Thieves Guild once everything aligns: Shadow recruited and active as your worker, Arestes, Keira, and Shadow all at Romantic stage, and both the Thieves Gloves (from Keira's Quiet Favor) and the Dark Consolador in hand. The raid yields the Phantom Stone and +3 clout.
  • The Phantom Stone Awakens — auto-triggers at the Hidden Chamber once you hold the Stone. For the upgrade mechanics and per-level effects, see Soul Stones. The scene's narrative details are left for the game.

Shadow as a Brothel Worker

Shadow is recruitable as Worker #8 at your brothel. Her recruitment is tied to the guild storyline rather than a separate quest — keep progressing through the ranks and her path will open up.
Once recruited:
  • She works the night shift (8 PM – 4 AM)
  • She lives in Room 8 (requires room level 2 or higher)
  • Her starting loyalty is low
  • Her favorite skill is Fleet Footed, which doubles all relationship points she earns
She's one of the harder workers to keep loyal — neglect her and she'll refuse clients more often than anyone else in the brothel. See Shadow for her worker route and Brothel Stats and Calculations for current loyalty and earnings rules.

Break & Enter — The Heist System

The main gameplay loop after the tutorial arc is breaking into wealthy houses under cover of darkness. There are two districts: the Gilded Row (intro tier) and the Noble Quarter (advanced tier, rank 5+ only).
A heist has three phases: Surveillance, Approach, and the Steal.

Phase 1: Surveillance (Daytime)

Before you can break in, you have to scout. The Surveillance action is available during the day (6 AM – 6 PM) at each district.
Gilded Row Noble Quarter
Time cost 60 min 60 min
Energy cost -20 -25
Surveillance cap 150 250
Minimum to attempt B&E 51 80
Each surveillance session gains points based on your base Perception + half your modified Luck. The exact gain is randomized — you'll get somewhere between half and one and a half times your stat-based base. Surveillance carries over day to day until you use it (or fail and lose it).
Worked example: Perception 80, modified Luck 30 → base of 95 per session. The integer-rounded gain is 47–142, limited by the district's surveillance cap.
The closer you get to the cap, the better your odds on heist night. Scouting at the bare minimum (51 / 80) is a near-certain bust.

Phase 2: Break & Enter (Nighttime)

The B&E action is available at the same district between 10 PM and 4 AM. Once per in-game day per district. Midnight resets the daily attempt flags; the night window spans the late evening and early morning. Surveillance points are consumed regardless of outcome.
The action fires off a multi-stage screen:

Roll 1 — The Approach

Your odds of slipping past the patrols depend on your surveillance points and Luck. Before item bonuses, the approach chance is capped at 90%: minimum of 90 and the rounded-down value of (Surveillance − 50 + modified Luck ÷ 10).
Worked example: 150 surveillance, Luck 40 → effectively 90% (capped). 60 surveillance, Luck 20 → roughly 12%.
If you fail: a guard patrol spots you, you flee, lose 1 clout, surveillance resets to zero, and the night's attempt is consumed. No loot.

Roll 2 — The Lock

Your Rogue + Ability vs. the lock's difficulty (200 for Gilded Row, 300 for Noble Quarter).
Worked example: Rogue 80, Ability 70 → 75% on Gilded Row, 50% on Noble Quarter.
Same penalty as the Approach roll if you fail.

Roll 3+ — Inside the House

You're in. You're now in a randomly selected room with 5 separate steal actions available. Each room is themed:
  • Gilded Row Rooms: Merchant's Bedroom, Dining Room, Study, Vault, Workshop
  • Noble Quarter Rooms: Noble's Chambers, Gallery, Library, Parlor, Treasury
For each steal attempt, success depends on Rogue vs. an escalating difficulty:
Attempt # Gilded Difficulty Noble Difficulty
1st 80 100
2nd 100 140
3rd 150 200
4th 200 300
5th 250 400
Worked example (Rogue 100 in Gilded Row): 1st attempt is auto-success. 3rd is 67%. 5th is 40%. The drop-off is steep on purpose.
On success: gold and valuables are added to your run total. Reward sizes depend on your Luck + Perception, and degrade per attempt (gold -20%, valuables -25% per stage). The Noble Quarter pays 30% better across the board.
On failure inside the house: you knock something over, the household wakes up, you bolt. You lose 1 clout, surveillance resets, AND all loot from earlier successful steals in this run is forfeit. This is the worst outcome in the system — failing late hurts the most.

The Smart Play — Leave Safely

At any time, you can hit "Leave Safely" and walk away with everything you've stolen so far. Stopping at 2 or 3 successful steals is often better than greeding for the 5th. Knowing when to leave is the actual skill.

Successful Exit

  • Gold goes to your wallet
  • Valuables go into your inventory (for fencing)
  • That district's nightly attempt is consumed; surveillance resets

Noble Quarter Bonus — Rare Item

On a successful Noble Quarter exit, there's a 1% chance per successful steal attempt to find a Worker Ring — a rare equipment item for your brothel workers. The Luck buff doubles this chance to 2% per attempt.

Thieves Gloves and Current Heist Rewards

Chance bonuses

Keira's A Quiet Favor costs 150 Valuables at Friend+ and awards the Thieves Gloves. Carrying them adds 5 percentage points to the heist's approach, lock and steal checks.
If you also carry Phantom Stone, add 0.1 percentage points per Stone level to that Gloves bonus. The approach remains capped at 95% with the bonus; lock and steal checks are capped at 100%.
For example, an 80% lock chance becomes 85% with the Gloves. At Phantom Stone level 50, the total bonus is 10 percentage points, so the same lock becomes 90%. This is an additive chance bonus, not a percentage increase to Rogue.

Loot on a safe exit

Each successful steal uses a separate random roll for gold and valuables, from a base range of 20 to max(21, modified Luck + base Perception). Later attempts reduce the gold multiplier by 0.20 and the valuables multiplier by 0.25 per attempt, starting from 1.00 on the first. Noble Quarter multiplies those rewards by 1.30 before rounding.
The fifth steal's valuables multiplier is zero. It can still add gold, but does not add normal valuables. Decide whether that smaller reward justifies risking the whole run's accumulated loot.
A successful exit also rolls a 10% pickaxe chance: Copper Pickaxe in Gilded Row, Diamond Pickaxe in Noble Quarter. The Noble Quarter separately rolls for a Worker Ring, with chance equal to the number of successful steals in percent, doubled by an active Luck buff: three steals means 3%, or 6% with Luck. These are exit rewards, not guaranteed rewards for completing all five steals.

Phantom Stone's separate combat drop bonus

With both Thieves Gloves and Phantom Stone, successful combat can also roll an additional dungeon material drop. The chance is 0.002% per Phantom Stone level, capped at 100% at level 50,000. At level 500 the chance is 1%. This roll is separate from heist loot and from the Gloves' +5-point skill-check bonus; it awards one item from the implemented material pool.

Fencing Valuables

Once you've collected at least 10 valuables, head to the Hidden Chamber and use the Fence Valuables action. Arestes appraises and pays out:
  • Clout: roughly 1 per 10 valuables, with random variance
  • Gold: roughly 1–3× the valuable count, plus a small Luck-based bonus
  • Arestes relationship: +1 to +3
  • All your valuables are consumed (you cannot fence a partial stockpile). Reserve 150 Valuables for Keira's Gloves if you are planning that purchase.
Worked example: 100 valuables stockpiled, Luck 30 → about 7–13 clout and 100–330 gold.
Fencing is steady but slow. Pushing from rank 5 to rank 8 takes many successful Noble Quarter runs.

Strategy Notes

  • Cap surveillance before attempting B&E. The minimum threshold is just to enable the action — your odds at the minimum are terrible. Always scout to (or near) the cap.
  • Know when to leave. The 4th and 5th steal attempts are statistically bad bets unless your Rogue is exceptional. Walking away with 2-3 successful steals is the smart play.
  • Get Pickpocketing Lessons from Shadow. At Known stage with Communication 40, Shadow can teach you a lesson at the Thieves Guild that gives +1 permanent Rogue. Improves every roll in this entire system.
  • Choose the district your stats support. Noble Quarter pays 30% more before rounding and offers Diamond Pickaxes and the Worker Ring, but its lock and steal checks are harder. Gilded Row can remain the safer income source.
  • Stockpile pickpocket valuables during the Seek quests. Once Fence Valuables unlocks, you can dump them all at once for an early clout spike.


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Text adapted from the community-maintained Chronoromancer Wiki under CC BY-SA 4.0.