Thieves Guild (Skyrim)

The Thieves Guild is one of several factions that appear in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

History
As the Fourth Era continued onward, the Thieves Guild slipped further and further into obscurity. Prior to the time of the Dragon Crisis and the appearance of the Dragonborn, their influence had shrunk almost to the point of non-existence. So much so actually, that they now operate solely in Riften, working almost exclusively for Maven Black-Briar. They are now perceived by the rest of Skyrim as nothing more than common criminals & thugs, as they traditionally were in the Iliac Bay region. Even Riften itself has acquired a shady, sinister reputation, due to the Thieves Guild's presence beneath it's streets.

Joining
First, enter Riften and find Brynjolf. He should be in the town square at his stall during the day and at The Bee and Barb at night. He will usually approach the player to offer the quest A Chance Arrangement, in which he asks you to frame another merchant, Brand-Shei. Speak with him and complete his quest, by stealing Madesi's Silver Ring and reverse-pickpocketing it to Brand-Shei, (it does not matter whether you succeed or fail) and Brynjolf will ask you to meet him in the bar called The Ragged Flagon, located underneath Riften, in the Ratway. Fight your way through the thugs hired to defend the Thieves Guild, avoid the booby-traps, and make your way to The Ragged Flagon. Alternatively, you could pick the lock on the door when hopping down at the raised bridge section to avoid going through the entire Ratway. Talk to Brynjolf in the Flagon to initiate the Taking Care of Business quest. Complete this quest and return to Brynjolf and you will be the newest member of the Thieves Guild.

Here can be seen how to join the thieves guild.

Thieves' Guild Main Questline

 * 1) A Chance Arrangement
 * 2) Taking Care of Business
 * 3) Loud and Clear
 * 4) Dampened Spirits
 * 5) Scoundrel's Folly
 * 6) Speaking With Silence
 * 7) Hard Answers
 * 8) The Pursuit
 * 9) Trinity Restored
 * 10) Blindsighted
 * 11) Darkness Returns
 * 12) Under New Management

Side Quests

 * Deliver Moon Sugar to Ri'Saad (Unlocks Khajiit Caravans as Fences for Stolen Goods).

Small Jobs
Delvin and Vex offer an unlimited number of radiant quests known as "jobs." The target item(s) and location are generated randomly. Jobs can be accepted and quit at will and it is possible (and efficient) to run a job for Delvin and one for Vex simultaneously. The reward for each mission is between 100 and 500 depending on how many main quests of the thieves guild were completed, as each quest adds 50 to the amount of the reward. A Special Job will be unlocked for each, after performing five small jobs in Whiterun, Markarth, Windhelm, and Solitude. If you kill any related people during the mission, you will not be paid and the quest will come up as failed.

Delvin Mallory's Jobs

 * The Bedlam Job - Steal enough items or gold to reach a given value within the assigned Hold. Can keep stolen items. (Can be time consuming.)
 * ​The Fishing Job - Pickpocket an item from a given character. (Can be difficult, but the quest item has usually a higher success percentage for pickpocketing than its usual kind, hence it is great training for this skill)
 * The Numbers Job - Modify the ledger book at a given business. (Fast, very easy.)

Vex's Jobs

 * The Burglary Job - Steal an item from a house. (Can be done during the day or night easily, as the owner either sleeps or is at work)
 * The Heist Job - Steal an item from a business. (Bit more difficult than the Burglary Job, if tried during the day as the shopowner will most likely follow you around)
 * The Shill Job - Plant a stolen item in an NPC's home. (Easier than stealing.)
 * The Sweep Job - Steal three items from a house. (Usually easier located than the items from the Heist and Burglary Job)

Special Jobs
After performing five total Small Jobs in a city, Delvin will offer that city's special job. It may be less time-consuimg to quit jobs in cities in which you have already completed the Special Job. In order to restore the Thieves' Guild to its former glory and assume the title of Guildmaster, you must perform these four special jobs. Each Special Job will add a new merchant to the Ragged Flagon and add 1000 to the total gold of all fences in Skyrim, up to the maximum of 4000. Once all special jobs are complete, speak to Brynjolf to be officially named Guild Master.

Note: After completing three of the four special jobs, Tonilia's side quest becomes available. If this quest is left ignored, it will be very difficult to pick up any side job for the last city.
 * Imitation Amnesty. Whiterun. Unlocks an additional fence.
 * Summerset Shadows. Windhelm. Unlocks an additional fence.
 * Silver Lining. Markarth. Unlocks an additional fence.
 * The Dainty Sload. Solitude.

Larceny Targets

 * Larceny Targets are a series of unique items that can be sold to Delvin for an extra bit of coin.
 * Most are found in dungeons, houses, and keeps during the completion of the Thieves Guild main quest series, and during the Special Jobs.
 * Currently bugged...

Trainers

 * Delvin Mallory: Master Sneak trainer
 * Niruin: Master Archery trainer
 * Vex: Master Lockpicking trainer
 * Vipir the Fleet: Master Pickpocket trainer

Armor Sets
When completing quests in the Thieves guild, the player can obtain four different armor sets.
 * Thieves Guild Armor (Obtained after Taking Care of Business)
 * Part of the main Thieves Guild questline
 * Nightingale Armor (Obtained during Trinity Restored)
 * Part of the main Thieves Guild questline
 * Guild Master's Armor Set (Obtained after Under New Management)
 * Linwe's Armor Set (Obtained during Summerset Shadows)

Reparations
In the event that you get caught stealing from or attacking another guild member or one of their associates, you will be removed from the guild and none of the members will speak to you. To rejoin the guild you must speak to Vex, she will then provide you with a quest called Reparations where you must pay her 1,000 Gold to rejoin the guild.

Members
Thieves Associates
 * Mercer Frey - Guild Master
 * Brynjolf - Second-in-Command
 * Delvin Mallory - Member, Gives the player Small Jobs and Special Jobs, also serves as Master Sneak Trainer
 * Vex - Member, Gives the player Small Jobs, also serves as Master Lockpicking Trainer
 * Tonilia - Member, Also serves as a Fence
 * Sapphire (Character)
 * Cynric Endell
 * Niruin
 * Rune
 * Thrynn
 * Vipir the Fleet - Member, also serves as Master Pickpocket Trainer
 * Garthar - Member, joins after completing three Special Jobs for Delvin Malory
 * Ravyn Imyan - Member, joins after completing four Special Jobs for Delvin Malory
 * Etienne Rarnis - Only if completed the Diplomatic Immunity quest under certain circumstances
 * Dragonborn - assumes guildmaster after Mercer's betrayal
 * Vekel the Man - Runs The Ragged Flagon


 * Dirge - The Ragged Flaggon's bouncer, the brother of Maul

Bugs

 * While not game breaking, the Civil War Quests Defense of Whiterun or Liberate Whiterun can render some houses inaccessible in Whiterun for the Special Jobs. If this is the case, just quit the job and get another. (All Platforms)
 * Sometimes Larceny Targets are impossible to turn in. (All Platforms)
 * Selling your original Thieves Guild armor can trigger a bug later in the Thieves Guild quest tree, preventing Tonilia from upgrading your armor at the end of Scoundrel's Folly. This also prevents you from interacting with Tonilia and therefore using her services as a fence.
 * Sometimes selling your original Thieves Guild armor can prevent you from getting the quest "Under New Managment" even after competing all 4 special jobs.
 * Sometimes you will not get the quest 'Dampened Spirits' after completing the quest before that. Saving + Reloading doesn't seem to work. (PS3, Jan 8 2012.; XBOX, Jan 11, 2012)
 * If after finishing planting the ring for Brynjolf, there is a person who you can talk to that will reactivate the quest to talk to Brynjolf to plant the ring. But at this point, Brynjolf will stand in the market place in his armor (as if he is still distracting to people) and you will be unable to get him into the Ragged Flagon. When talking to him he will only say to talk to him in the Flaggon, but he will never appear there thus making it impossible to join the guild.