#shadow thieves

Bases of Operation

The Shadow Thieves are headquartered in Athkatla, the City of Coin. From 1303 DR to the time of Troubles, their headquarters was the Shadow House (C&D, p103 and 111). Although it no longer functions as the headquarters of the entire organization, it does still act as a decoy headquarters (LoD, p172). The Shadow House is the base of operations for "one part of the organization" (C&D, p104), or "just three of the guilds in Athkatla" (C&D, p111). The true headquarters is explicitly left up to the DM's discretion in Cloak & Dagger, but by 1372 DR, it is confirmed to be a large and well-protected underground complex underneath the Gilded Rose on the opposite side of town from the decoy (LoD, p172)

They also converted a building in Athkatla in 1303 DR into a training complex called Assassin's Run, and Gorion's Ward is able to visit two of their guildhalls in that city (C&D, p103; BGII)

Shades

In the highest tier of the Shadow Thief hierarchy exist the six Shades who have divided their territory amongst them (C&D, p104; LOD, p172). Together, they form the Shade Council (C&D, p104) or the Shadow Council (LoD, p172)

The current Grandmaster of Shadows, the leader of the Shades, is Rhinnom Dannihyr (C&D, p104-105; LoD, p172). Formerly a Guildmaster of Spies in Athkatla, he took over after Bhaal absorbed the life forces of his worshippers during the Time of Troubles and killed the entire Shade Council (C&D, p103). In addition to that, he was Iltarch of Amn's Council of Six which was the highest governing body in the country (C&D, p105). Rhinnom keeps his affiliation with both of these councils secret from the other (C&D, p105). Despite being human, he has lived for over a century but maintains the appearance of youth through magic (it is unclear whether the benefits of this de-aging magic extends past appearance) and is biding his time to push his way through the ranks of the Council of Six (C&D, p105)

As a note, it appears that the Council of Six has been replaced by the far less clandestine Council of Five sometime before 1479 DR, but House Dannihyr still holds a seat on the council (Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, p92)

Another Shade is Rheax Bormul. He rules over either the Alandor Sect (C&D, p105) or the operations in Amn (LoD, p172). This is likely just a matter of semantics between sources considering the Alandor Sect is described as including "Athkatla, Crimmor, Purskul, Keczulla, Amnwater, and northern Amn" (C&D, p105). He hopes to someday take Rhinnom's place as Grandmaster of Shadows (C&D, p105)

The wiki makes mention that Aran Linvail answers to Rheax Bormul, but it cites as its source "the Baldur's Gate novel". This is not something i would normally accept as a source, but i wanted to take a look anyway to see if i could make use of their wording. BG2 was not specified, but in the games, Aran only appears in Shadows of Amn, so i only checked that one. Admittedly, i did not read the entire book, but i did read Abdel receiving the mission to kill Aran Linvail, that fight scene, and when Abdel reports back to Bodhi after killing him as well as some smaller segments here and there. I could not find the source, but whatever. I should have known it would be a fruitless search from how it was cited on the wiki

Cloakmasters

Back to the sources i actually do intend to cross compare, it varies by source how many Cloakmasters answer to each member of the Shadow Council. One source claims that exactly two Cloakmasters serve each Shade for a total of twelve (LoD, p173). The other claims that each Shade has at least two Cloakmasters, with Athkatla alone having ten (C&D, p104 and 106). Every city with a population of 10,000 or more has at least one Cloakmaster as well as another Cloakmaster for the more rural areas around those cities, or a city where many foreigners trade may receive an Cloakmaster for the purpose of facilitating information from said foreigners (C&D, p104)

Due to their close proximity, the Cloakmasters of Athkatla are all careful to respect the authority of their Shade and the Council of Shades (C&D, p106). The Cloakmaster of Athkatla'd Bridge District, Dinnom Baraizal, is especially loyal to Rheax (C&D, p106)

Guildmasters

Every Cloakmaster is served in turn by 10 Guildmasters (C&D, p104; LoD, p173). Whereas the ranks above Guildmasters are defined by geography, the Guildmasters each control a number of smaller guilds within a single speciality (C&D, p104; LoD, p173). Lords of Darkness gives as examples: smuggling, extortion and blackmail, theft and burglary (LoD, p173). Cloak & Dagger presents what seems intended to be a more complete list: "assassins; beggars; bounty hunters; burglars; con artists and tricksters; cutpurses and pickpockets; enforcers and thugs; racketeers; scouts and spies; and fences, smugglers, and pirates" (C&D, p104). These are the middle managers of the guild

Silhouettes

The final noteworthy tier are the Silhouettes. There are dozens of Shadow Thieves who bear this title, but they are all decoys for the true powers within the guild (LoD, p173). They may hire out external groups, guilds, and individuals on a contractual or permanent basis (C&D, p104). They may pose as guildmasters, but in truth they report to and act to obscure the true Guildmasters (LoD, p173)

Sporting a name that makes you question his mother's love, Renal "the Bloodscalp" is a Silhouette of Burglars based in Athkatla who enjoys donning a disguise to join teams on their missions (C&D, p108). Additionally, he hides Aran Linvail in his base of operations, labelled on the map as simply Shadow Thief Guildhall (BGII). Him being as Silhouette also checks out as he is Gorion's Ward's main point of contact for the Shadow Thieves after properly entering the city and before they might conditionally receive an offer to join (BGII)

Oryal Forestal is a Silhouette of Spies based in Athkatla (C&D, p108). He joined at the same time as Renal Bloodscalp, and the two have long been close friends and partners (C&D, p108)

(Cloak & Dagger, p104)

Most information indicates Silhouettes and Guildmasters are two distinct ranks, but the above quote could not be completely ignored. An important piece of additional context for the above quote is that it comes immediately after describing the roles of Guildmasters, blurring the lines between the two. The segue is somewhat unclear as i'm sure the Shadow Thieves prefer, so there are a number of potential interpretations of this. The one that i think is most internally consistent is that, as part of their role as decoy Guildmasters, Silhouettes are only called by their proper title while in private or are even sometimes considered a subgroup of Guildmasters

After all, part of the role of the Silhouette is to be the fall guy for the real powers, and "[o]stensibly they are 'guildmasters,' but in actuality they control nothing and have no authority." (LoD, p173)

Any other interpretations i will leave to the floor as i've got enough going on here already and could make a whole post on that alone

The Rank and File

The average rank and file Shadow Thief is unaware that they are part of the guild structure at all and is largely irrelevant to the goals of this post

Shadowmasters

The Shadowmaster is a rank which i can only find evidence for in Baldur's Gate II. This is a problem. Aran Linvail, chiefly, is identified as a "Shadowmaster" (BGII). Although she is heavily implied to be lying about her rank to lure you into her ambush, the Shadow Thief Ama claims to be the Shadowmaster of eastern Esmeltaran (BGII). While the validity of the claim is highly dubious (if not outright stated to be false in a line i don't remember), we can still glean information from it. Firstly, Shadowmaster is an actual title within the context of BGII. There's no reason to make up a new rank if your goal is to have people believe you. Secondly, this Shadowmaster rank is tied to geography rather than specialization. This means the Shadowmaster is not meant to correlate to a Guildmaster or Silhouette but rather a Cloakmaster or possibly even a Shade. These greater titles are also more accurate to the scale and scope that Aran is implied to be operating at

The wiki states Aran Linvail dies in 1369 DR. This is likely to align with the events of the novelization, but it does technically allow for him to be replaced by Rheax Bormul by the time of Cloak & Dagger if we are to believe he was a Shade. However, the way Rheax is described in Cloak & Dagger lends itself to an image that he has been in the position for some time

I believe Shadowmaster is more likely meant to analogue to Cloakmaster. There are likely multiple Cloakmasters in the city. Additionally, Shadow Thieves generally only know the one superior they report to, those that report to them, and a small number of equals (C&D, p104). While Silhouettes such as Renal Bloodscalp are said to report to Guildmasters, it isn't unreasonable to assume that there is some wiggle room there, and some may report to Cloakmasters instead

Also, it counts for literally nothing, but i'm still holding onto that unsupported line on the wiki about Aran Linvail reporting to Rheax Bormul, which would make him a Cloakmaster

All in all, i will be considering him as a Cloakmaster moving forward

The Ward's Guildhall and What is Going on There?

If one is playing as a Thief in Baldur's Gate II, then they have the option of taking over a Shadow Thief guildhall for their stronghold, but as mentioned, the CRPGS can have a sometimes contentious relationship with the lore books. This leads to the question: if Gorion's Ward accepts the thief stronghold and takes over management of a guildhall, what exactly is their rank?

The obvious answer is that this would make them Guildmaster, but no one loves misdirection quite like a Shadow Thief, so i'm hesitant to accept that off the bat. Also, i would not be who i am today if i did not overthink every inconsequential detail

The key evidence (all sourced from BGII) is as follows:

The Ward's guildhall is labeled as a guildhall, and they are referred to as a guildmaster

This same was true for their predecessor, Mae'Var

Mae'var intended to work his way up the ladder by assassinating Renal Bloodscalp

You report to and pay your quotas to a Silhouette

Your immediate underlings operate a diverse range of specialities*

*(Specifically: house-breaking and safe-cracking; assassination and racketeering; pickpocketing; smuggling; and blackmails and possibly also racketeering again)

Now all of this can be waved aside as the game simplifying and altering the structure for the better gameplay experience for the player, but let's take this at face value

The Ward and Mae'Var are labeled as guildmaster(s) yet report to a Silhouette, the position that most traditionally hires outside aid, even up to permanently contracting entire guilds. They view him as their superior to the point that one of them intended to assassinate him to take his place, but if they are Guildmasters, then he should be reporting to them. Taking his place would be a definite downgrade in both power and security if Mae'Var were truly a Shadow Thief Guildmaster

Why replace Mae'var's guild with more contractors once he's been dealt with? Well simply put, there's power in numbers and money in that power

What of Aran Linvail then? Why would a Cloakmaster show his face to an outside contractor? Because i lied, and he's a Silhouette. The fake title that is not substantiated by any other source is to deploy an illusion of power. He and Renal are operating on multiple layers of nonsensical chicanery

But why would the Shadow Thieves go through all the work of hiring outside help only to disclose who they work for anyway. That's begging for problems. At that point, why not do what they say they're doing and make you an actual Guildmaster? This is all so bizarre and convoluted, even for the Shadow Thieves

Because the job of a Silhouette is to make you think they are a powerful figure in the Shadow Thieves and to take the attention from the actual powers that be

So here's how we're gonna justify Gorion's Ward being a Guildmaster and not just some outside contractor. Basically my personal guide to smoothing out the differences between the lore books and BG2

Firstly! They call the Ward and Mae'Var guildmasters? Guess they're guildmasters then! This one, we can take at face value

Why then did Mae'Var want to assassinate Renal Bloodscalp? Well, his INT and WIS are both positive, so it's not that he terminally did not think this through. More likely, he intended to "discover" who murdered him and display his oh so genuine loyalty and intelligence. Silhouettes are there to take the fall for their higher ups after all

(Admittedly that point is one that would benefit from the research of a replay)

The next two points are both ultimately changes made to guild structure for improving the gaming experience for the desired medium

The Doylist reason you report to and pay your quotas to Renal is that he's the guy you met first. The Watsonian reason is that it's safer for the Cloakmaster if you deliver payments to the Silhouette who shares his base instead of directly to him. (Although the point of the Silhouette is to attract attention and take it away from the real powers, so maybe it's not the best idea for him to be the go-between for a Guildmaster and Cloakmaster. Maybe that's just the game lying to you, and we can pretend you're really reporting to Aran Linvail)

The Doylist reason all of your immediate underlings have a diverse array of specializations is so that it doesn't feel too samey and blend together in an undesirable way for the player, and it makes the player feel like a more powerful guildmaster if they're doing more than sending out five groups of all pickpockets every week

The only possible Watsonian reasons i could see are that you're actually a Cloakmaster which does not otherwise make much sense or that you are outside contractors which is clunky and also is the reason i got mad enough to make this follow-up in the first place. Instead, we're looking at that through the lens of gameplay and story segregation (or at least something similar to it, but that's the term that's coming to mind). Sometimes, the two are just at odds with each other. The player then can just pretend they all do whatever specialization they deem most fit