Thieves Guild (Skyrim)

"Our access to those bits of luck are what separates us from common bandits."

- Gallus Desidenius

The Thieves Guild is one of several join-able factions that appear in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Stationed in The Ratway beneath the city of Riften, members of the Thieves Guild are renowned for causing trouble in the city. Members of the guild specialize in stealing objects of varying value or loaning septims. Most citizens view them unfavorably; Mjoll the Lioness has made it her duty to maintain order in Riften and pledges to dismantle the guild. Maven Black-Briar, the affluent owner of the popular Black-Briar Meadery, consorts with the guild in exchange for their aid.

History
Little is known about when the Thieves Guild was founded, but it is rumored to have been around as long as Riften has. As the Fourth Era continued, the Thieves Guild slipped further and further into obscurity and the members and regular clients began to leave (with the exception of Maven Black-Briar).

Joining
To join the Thieves Guild the Dragonborn must enter Riften during the day, and speak to Brynjolf, a red-headed Nord male, who can be found in the Riften Marketplace between 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Once the Dragonborn is within proximity, Brynjolf will automatically attempt to strike up a conversation in which the Thieves Guild prerequisite quest A Chance Arrangement can be started. Alternatively, in the evenings past 8:00 p.m., the Dragonborn can encounter Brynjolf at The Bee and Barb inn, at which time he will tell the player to speak with him during the day at his stall in the Riften Marketplace.

Main quests

 * 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
 * This is a side quest that becomes available after completing three of the City Influence quests given by Delvin Mallory. Upon completion, all merchants within the Khajiit Caravans will be available 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. After performing five small jobs in Whiterun, Markarth, Windhelm, and Solitude, a special job will be unlocked for each. Killing those crucial to the job results in a failure, and no payment is given.



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) scrolls or potions are easy at night.
 * A very effective method is stealing an expensive item, going to a secluded location, then dropping it and picking it up a few times. Each time the item is picked up it counts as theft.
 * ​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.
 * Save before pickpocketing the item to prevent getting caught and paying bounty.
 * The Numbers Job - Modify the ledger book at a given business. (easiest one to complete.)



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 best time to do this sort of job is around 7:30 PM, as there is no one at home or on the street
 * The Heist Job - Steal an item from a business.
 * If tried during the day the shopowner will most likely follow the player around.
 * The Shill Job - Plant a stolen item in an NPC's home.
 * Similar to Bulglary. May be easier since the only "illegal" part of it is trespassing, and getting caught by the guards any time during it doesn't cause it to be failed.
 * The Sweep Job - Steal three items from a house.

City influence quests
After completing five Small Jobs in a city, Delvin Mallory will offer a special job to restore Thieves Guild influence in that city. These quests can be taken in any order. The city influence quests are necessary in order to complete Under New Management and assume the title of Guildmaster. Becoming Guildmaster allows access to the Guild Master's Tribute Chest.

Each city influence quest that is completed will add a merchant stall to The Ragged Flagon. In addition, the gold available to fences throughout Skyrim gradually increases as these quests are completed, up to a maximum of 4000. The third and fourth city influence quests will each add a new recruit to the Guild as well: first Garthar, and then Ravyn Imyan.

Conditions and tips
Players seeking to complete these city quests as fast as possible should quick save before getting a new job and then ask for Numbers Jobs from Delvin and Heist Jobs from Vex. If it is in a city whose influence quest has already been completed, quick load and try again. Another way is to quit the job Delvin and/or Vex assigned, then asking for the job again. The same job will be granted, but in a different city. This can be repeated until the desired city appears in one of the jobs. There are no negative repercussions for quitting jobs, excluding the multiple failed missions in the quest log and the short disapproving dialogue after each quit job.

Larceny Targets
Various unique items can be stolen during the Thieves Guild quests and sold to Delvin. As each is collected and sold to Delvin, they will be displayed on the shelves behind Mercer's Desk. By following the questline, the items appear in the following order:
 * Queen Bee Statue in Goldenglow Estate
 * Honningbrew Decanter in Honningbrew Meadery
 * East Empire Shipping Map in East Empire Company Warehouse
 * Model Ship in Snow Veil Sanctum
 * Dwemer Puzzle Cube in Calcelmo's Laboratory in the Dwemer Museum in Markarth
 * Bust of the Gray Fox in Riftweald Manor in Riften
 * Left Eye of the Falmer in Irkngthand

As each of the jobs that Vex and Delvin gives are finished, trophies begin to fill the shelves too: After completing 125 jobs, a safe is added next to the shelves which contains random loot and potions that improves the Dragonborn's stealth skills. The Crown of Barenziah is placed on the bust in the center of the shelves upon completion of the mission No Stone Unturned.
 * Jeweled Candlestick appears after 5 jobs are completed.
 * Ornate Drinking Horn appears after 15 jobs are completed.
 * Golden Ship Model appears after 25 jobs are completed.
 * Golden Urn appears after 35 jobs are completed.
 * Jeweled Goblet appears after 45 jobs are completed.
 * Jeweled Pitcher appears after 55 jobs are completed.
 * Jeweled Flagon appears after 75 jobs are completed.

Thieves

 * Mercer Frey - Guild Master
 * Brynjolf - Second-in-Command
 * Delvin Mallory - Senior Member, Gives the player Small Jobs and Special Jobs, also serves as Master Sneak Trainer
 * Vex - Senior Member, Gives the player Small Jobs, also serves as Master Lockpicking Trainer
 * Tonilia - Senior Member, Also serves as a Fence
 * Sapphire
 * Cynric Endell
 * Niruin
 * Rune
 * Thrynn
 * Vipir the Fleet - also serves as Master Pickpocket Trainer
 * Garthar - joins after completing three Special Jobs for Delvin Malory
 * Ravyn Imyan - joins after completing four Special Jobs for Delvin Malory
 * Etienne Rarnis - Only if completed the Diplomatic Immunity quest under certain circumstances
 * Molgrom Twice-Killed- Located in the Riften Jail.

Associates

 * Vekel the Man - Runs The Ragged Flagon
 * Dirge - The Ragged Flaggon's bouncer, the brother of Maul.
 * Syndus - Arrows and weapons merchant
 * Herlium Lothaire - Alchemy merchant
 * Arnskar Ember-Master - Blacksmith
 * Vanryth Gatharian - Armor and weapons merchant

Trainers

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

Fences
Fences buy stolen goods. There are a total of nine different fences throughout Skyrim, including each Khajiit caravan:

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


 * A full set of Thieves Guild Armor can be found in the training room in the Cistern.

Reparations
Thieves caught stealing from or attacking other guild members or one of their associates are removed from the guild and none of the members speak to them. To rejoin the guild, speak to Vex, for a fee of 1,000, the guild can be rejoined.

Trivia

 * Unlike the Dark Brotherhood, there is no quest to destroy the Thieves Guild.
 * Occasionally a random event occurs where an unnamed Thief will attempt lockpick a door in a city. Guards will attack the thief until he's either dead or he escapes. The thief will never attack the player, but he can be killed without any repercussions.
 * Normally this random thief has:
 * Gold (random amount)
 * Random houseware (candlesticks, platters, plates, etc.)
 * Gems (random assortment)
 * In the small training room in the Cistern, there are chests for each level of difficulty. These chests contain leveled loot, and will respawn after a few in-game days, providing the player with a good source of money and training.
 * A book written by Delvin Mallory can be found in the Flagon, called Shadowmarks. Shadowmarks are carvings into buildings near their main doorways, and are very handy in pointing out locations around cities that have good loot.
 * If married to a merchant, such as Ysolda, the player may get a job to place stolen goods in their house which may be the player's house if they chose to stay in their spouse's house instead of one of their own.
 * Unlike the other factions, namely The Companions and the College of Winterhold, none of their members can be married any of their members. This is also true with the Dark Brotherhood.
 * Small jobs that send the Dragonborn to Markarth (other than Bedlam) appear approximately half as frequently (due to fewer locations and targets) as all other cities. Jobs taken may be dropped without penalty, however, making it possible--if time-consuming--to focus on Markarth jobs exclusively until the special job is offered.

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.
 * Sometimes Larceny Targets are impossible to turn in.
 * If Dwemer Puzzle Cube is not turned in to Delvin last out of the unique items found in the quest line, the other items will not trigger the option to sell to Delvin in his dialogue.
 * Selling the original Thieves Guild armor can trigger a bug later in the Thieves Guild quest tree, preventing Tonilia from upgrading the player's armor at the end of Scoundrel's Folly. This also prevents interaction with Tonilia and therefore using her services as a fence. *Fixed in patch 1.4. Go to the training room in the Cistern to find Thieves Guild Hood and Gloves. The player can now take these to Tonilia to get the upgrade.
 * Sometimes selling the original Thieves Guild armor can prevent the player from getting the quest "Under New Managment" even after competing all 4 special jobs. *Presumably fixed under patch 1.4 (see above). Not confirmed.
 * Sometimes the player will not get the quest 'Dampened Spirits' after completion of the prerequisite quest, 'Loud and Clear'. Saving and reloading doesn't apepar to work. (PS3, Jan 8 2012.; Xbox, Jan 11, 2012) Discovered cause: not fully getting "inducted" into the guild. If this has occured, the player will notice a few things: 1. chests in the cistern will simply be tagged as chests rather than guild chests. 2. first speech option for Tonilia will say "What can I get for these" as opposed to "What do you have for sale". All guild members will speak to you as though you are part of the guild, but for some reason you won't actually be in the guild, hence not being allowed to start the quest. No fix has been discovered yet.
 * 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 people) and the player will be unable to get him to 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.
 * If the player reaches stage 4 vampirism while being a member of the Thieves Guild and are seen by Maven Black Briar, the player will have "assaulted a member of the Thieves Guild" and will have to pay 1000 gold to the Doyen.
 * Game Breaking bug - Brynjolf will stand on a blacony which is inaccessible through normal means. It may be possible with Whirlwind Sprint though it has not been tested. This is before the player starts the Thieves Guild Questline and therefore cannot start the questline.
 * If the player is banned from the guild, some fences that are not in the Cistern will still buy stolen goods.
 * During the quest The Pursuit, the instructions say 'meet Karliah in the Ragged Flagon', but she is still standing in the cellar of the Frozen Hearth in Winterhold, with the quest arrow over her. She has no dialogue available, so cannot interact with the player. Meanwhile in the Thieves' Guild HQ at Riften, everyone is awaiting her return, knives in hand, and all other conversations are suspended, rendering the rest of the Thieves' Guild mission unable to be finished.
 * If the player fights Mercer Frey while he's in the Cistern after joining of the Thieves Guild, he will start attacking the other members if the player stands in the water.
 * The Numbers Job: Helga's Bunkhouse points at an upstairs location, even though the books are downstairs through the doors behind the counter. Will not allow to interact with books.
 * Sometimes the earned larceny targets will not appear after the given number of jobs has been completed.