kate_nepveu | Bittercon panel: Thieves Guilds and Other Criminal Societies

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Last one; I really hadn't meant to spend my night doing this.

Thieves Guilds and Other Criminal Societies

The Thieves Guild is a common staple in fantasy novels. Terry Pratchett's Discworld books parody it; Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora critiques it; and Steven Brust's Taltos novels examine a more modern Mafia-style version. What's good, bad, interesting, boring, otherwise worth talking about when it comes to this idea?

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From:

papersky.livejournal.com

The thieves and beggar's guild stuff in it is historical. Well, except for the magic bit.

I wonder if it's a way of having rules to break. So there's a guild and there are rules and it gives you a real dilemma if you have to go over those lines -- I was thinking about this in the context of Vlad, but it's more widely true. If you're a criminal character, then what limits have you, and how can you be sympathetic? Maybe.

From:

kate_nepveu

If you have characters who are members of the guild, and law enforcement isn't a realistic threat, sure, why not?

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Bittercon panel: Thieves Guilds and Other Criminal Societies