Gilded Claw
The Gilded Claw is an extensive and secretive thieves’ guild that operates within the major cities of the Inner Sea Region. To the outside world, it appears as nothing more than a well-connected criminal network. However, its highest-ranking members understand that the guild serves a mysterious and powerful benefactor known only as Garseras.
Garseras is a patron of power, secrecy, and wealth, whose influence ensures that the guild’s prosperity and reach never wane. His will is felt through subtle guidance, whispers of opportunity, and unexplained strokes of fortune. Those who earn his favor find themselves untouchable, while those who defy the Gilded Claw meet swift and silent retribution.
Structure
Coin Lords & Coin Ladies
- The highest-ranking members of the Gilded Claw, each controlling a city’s guild operations.
- Personally selected through Garseras’s influence, though the method remains unknown even to them.
- They oversee the guild’s wealth, recruitment, and enforcement of its principles.
- They alone communicate with the Benefactor through secret rituals and omens.
Silkfingers
- Elite assassins and enforcers within the guild.
- Responsible for eliminating traitors, infiltrators, and those who disrupt operations.
- Their identity is a closely guarded secret, and few, even within the guild, know their true numbers.
Thieves & Spies
- The core members of the guild who carry out robberies, smuggling, espionage, and information brokering.
- Many believe that the Coin Lords are the true rulers of the guild and remain unaware of Garseras’s influence.
Clawlings
- New recruits who must prove their worth before becoming full-fledged members.
- They undergo trials to test stealth, cunning, and loyalty.
- Upon passing, they receive a Ring of Garseras, binding them to the guild.
Culture
The Ring of Garseras
- Every member of the Gilded Claw carries a unique enchanted ring, customized for each individual member.
- +1 Stealth, +1 Sleight of Hand bonus.
- Cursed: Cannot be removed; if forcibly taken, it disintegrates instantly.
- Higher-ranked members have ornate rings with additional magical properties.
Colors & Insignia
- Black and gold, symbolizing secrecy and wealth.
- While no standard insignia is worn openly, the ring serves as a hidden mark of membership.
Public Agenda
- Most commoners know of the Gilded Claw’s existence, but few dare to seek them out.
- The upper class fears and covertly employs them for discreet jobs.
- Merchants and black-market traders work with the guild under strict conditions.
Territories
Guild Presence in the Inner Sea Region
The Gilded Claw operates across the Inner Sea Region, maintaining guild houses in major cities such as: Absalom – The City at the Center of the World- Guild House: Hidden beneath the Puddles District, its entrance is disguised as a sunken warehouse.
- Interesting Fact: The Claw has influence over Absalom’s black-market auctions, ensuring stolen relics often pass through their hands first.
- Coin Lord: Vashara Alvess, a calculating and ruthless figure who uses political intrigue as much as crime to expand the guild’s hold.
- Guild House: A lavish villa hidden behind a false front of a silk trading company.
- Interesting Fact: The Gilded Claw is deeply entrenched in the illicit trade of pesh, using their wealth to manipulate drug cartels and smuggling rings.
- Coin Lord: Dhamir Qasif, a merchant prince whose control over the pesh trade ensures both his wealth and the guild’s dominance in the city.
- Guild House: A ruined noble estate in the Rego Cader district, abandoned to the outside world but teeming with hidden tunnels and chambers beneath.
- Interesting Fact: The guild secretly funds rebel movements in the city, playing both sides to keep their enemies divided and distracted.
- Coin Lord: Luranna Veltharn, a former noblewoman turned criminal mastermind, who still maintains contacts in Cheliax’s aristocracy.
Mythology & Lore
The Legacy of Garseras
The Gilded Claw is shaped by the mysterious will of the Benefactor, ensuring its continued dominance in the shadows. Many seek his favor, yet none claim to understand him fully. Those who fail him vanish, and those who serve well find opportunity beyond their wildest dreams. While the truth remains unknown to most, one thing is clear—the Gilded Claw is eternal, and its reach is absolute.Tenets of Faith
There are three core principles of the Gilded Claw:
- Honor Among Thieves – Do not betray a fellow member unless ordered by a Coin Lord.
- Brotherhood – The guild is your family; to turn against it is death.
- Commitment – Once you don the ring, you are bound to the Gilded Claw. There is no escape.
The Silent Hand of Greed and Shadows
Leader
Currency
Tribute & The Tithing System
The Tithe Box of Garseras- A black and gold lockbox enchanted with arcane magic.
- Only Coin Lords can open it; if tampered with, it incinerates the thief in a burst of energy.
- Every seven nights, the tithe is magically transferred to a hidden vault controlled by the Benefactor.
- Gold Tribute – 10% of all major earnings must be deposited.
- Relic Tribute – Any magical artifact found must be offered if demanded.
- Blood Tribute – If a guild chapter fails to meet its quota, a sacrificial offering must be made.
- Whispers in the Dark – Coin Lords who fail to deliver suffer visions and paranoia.
- The Vanishing – Members begin disappearing mysteriously.
- The Crimson Hand – A Silkfinger assassin is dispatched to "correct" the issue.
Notable Members
