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 four 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. This is the easiest of Delvin's three jobs to complete. Near the ledger book you will often find the business's safe box in which you will normally find over 250 coins



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 Burglary. 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. If the player wants to avoid quitting jobs, he may also utilise quicksaves by quicksaving right after the job is accepted, then quickloading if the city is not the desired one. This is also a faster method to complete the required 5 jobs in each hold.

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 Flagon appears after 55 jobs are completed.
 * Jeweled Pitcher 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 - Appears around the Bee and Barb before Speaking With Silence, hangs wanders the Cistern after.
 * Cynric Endell
 * Niruin - also serves as Master Archery Trainer
 * 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. It respawns over a period of time.

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 any 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 the Thieves Guild members can be married. This is also true with the Dark Brotherhood.
 * Unlike in Oblivion, the Thieves Guild of Skyrim seems to be indifferent to the poor, who no longer serve as their eyes in the world.

Bugs

 * At some points in the Thieves Guild, you may enter the room with the chests of various levels that are good for raising your lockpicking. However, any guild members who enter the room will say to you, "You're really not supposed to be here," and the lock will be reset after every broken lockpick. This makes it very hard to get into the harder chests. There is no known cause. On the PS3 it can be avoided by sneaking and waiting until you are hidden before attempting to pick the locks.
 * While not game breaking, the Civil War Quests Defense of Whiterun or Liberate Whiterun can render some houses in Whiterun inaccessible for the Special Jobs. If this is the case, just quit the job and get another.
 * Sometimes, Larceny Targets quests are impossible to complete.
 * If the Dwemer Puzzle Cube is not turned in to Delvin as the last of the unique items found in the quest line, then the other items will not trigger in Delvin's dialogue, thus cannot be sold.
 * Selling the original Thieves Guild armor can trigger a bug in the Thieves Guild quest tree, preventing Tonilia from upgrading the player's armor at the end of Scoundrel's Folly. This action also prevents future interaction with Tonilia 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 if you complete the unmarked quest to rebuild the Guild before completing the main questline, the Guild Masters chest may not spawn random gems and gold.
 * After the quest Trinity Restored is started and the Dragonborn does not follow Brynolf and Karliah, straight away, they will go to the Nighingale hall by themselves and then go back to Riften. Brynolf can be found walking around the Ragged Flaggen Cistern and if spoken to, says either "I think we can trust Karliah, lets see what she's on about" or "I'm just as baffled as you lad". This makes the main quest line impossible to continue and can only be fixed by loading an old save.
 * If the Dragonborn collects all of the larceny targets, in order, without speaking to Delvin about any of them (doesn't sell any to Delvin before all are obtained), all of the quests to return the larceny targets will immediately be resolved upon obtaining the Eyes of the Falmer, causing them to become normal objects, not quest objects (thus able to be dropped), but Delvin will not offer to purchase any of them, and thus none of them can be displayed on the shelves beside the Crown of Barenziah mount. (Perhaps a new glitch in v1.5)
 * Even after completing the entire TG Questline (unlocking all cities, caravan, and becoming GM) it is possible that the fences in the other four cities will refuse to open dialogue with your character and that the fencing booths set up inside the Ragged Flaggon will refuse to purchase stolen items. This has been brought to Bethesda's attention but as of update v1.5 there is no known resolution.
 * The Jewled Candlestick can sometimes be found on the shelf behind Mercer's desk, even if you haven't collected it yet.