Most of the factions in Skyrim are not at their best. Because unlike in Oblivion, these organizations are in shambles before the Dragonborn steps in to straighten things out. The Thieves Guild is no exception, in fact, they’re even some of the worst in the game because they keep breaking their own rules and have no shortage of transgressions even to themselves. Suffice to say, they’re far from the Robin Hoods of Skyrim.
In hindsight, they’re even the opposite and there’s not much integrity among them. Sure, their skills and equipment are some of the most sought after by players, but there’s no denying the muck they have to go through just to obtain those. You’ll have to tough out the Thieves Guild and all their negative traits just to get the best stealth gear in Skyrim. Just to make things easy though, here’s a list of what to expect from the Thieves Guild.
10 All Manners Of Theft
Well, it’s the name and it’s a given but there’s usually a big difference between stealing with a cause and stealing because you’re a deplorable hind-wipe. Sadly, the Thieves Guild fall in the latter category since as stated earlier, they’re no Robin Hoods.
On the contrary, they actually steal from the poor in order to give the rich more power in Riften, which is their home turf. That doesn’t exactly put them in a positive light. Even Brynjolf himself demonstrated early on in the recruitment process that they’re willing to rob small businesses and merchants on their whim.
9 Murder
They even condone the players’ actions for murdering some witnesses in the event that they get caught in a heist. The Thieves Guild simply doesn’t mind and you can bribe them if they ever get sore about it. Also, with the way they’re robbing poor people and upstart merchants, they might as well kill them.
8 Desecrating Tombs
Even the Draugr are not exempt from the transgressions of the Thieves Guild. Some of the Thieves Guild quests unsurprisingly involve dungeon hopping in Skyrim except this time around, you get to sneak your way in and avoid combat if you want.
Still, that doesn’t make the Thieves Guild any nobler than graverobbers. Robbing from the dead and not respecting the traditions of Skyrim and their fellow Nords doesn’t make them better than other factions although, at a certain point in Skyrim, everyone would have been guilty of desecrating Draugr tombs.
7 Business Shakedowns
The Thieves Guild in Riften and Skyrim has long moved on from its glory days and during the game’s timeline, it functions more like a gang of enforcers and private muscle for some powerful monopolizers in Riften. The Thieves Guild, for that matter, is no stranger to bullying the merchants of Riften.
If there’s anyone who has the growing power to directly oppose the Thieves Guild’s allies, then they nip them in the bud. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor the business is in Skyrim; if it threatens the monopoly established by the Thieves Guild’s benefactors, then an “accident” will happen to their business.
6 Alliance With Maven Black-Briar
Maven Black-Briar is one of the most notable Jarls in Skyrim since she’s one of the few women in power and she’s also ill-tempered which doesn’t help her image one bit. She’s constantly condescending toward the Dragonborn and is a certified power-hungry control-freak.
She’s the one who runs the show in Riften and runs the city like some crime mob, gaining full control over the riches and commerce. The Thieves Guild often bend over backward just to get on Maven Black-Briar’s good side to the point that they’re one of her tools. That doesn’t exactly make them independent now, does it?
5 Letting The Dragonborn Do All The Work
This might not seem like much as it does provide plenty of gameplay opportunities for players but in hindsight, it’s actually quite offensive later on. Most members of the Thieves Guild seem to do nothing other than looking cool and acting smug in their dank stinking sewer hideout.
Brynjolf always has an excuse that he’s busy somewhere else and other members are too abrasive to ask for some assistance in some missions even if the errand is of the utmost importance to the guild. Sadly, this doesn’t change regardless of the Dragonborn’s standing…
4 Treating The Dragonborn Badly
Sure, the Dragonborn can easily become the leader of the Thieves Guild and theoretically one of the most powerful and influential people in Skyrim, but that doesn’t matter to other Thieves Guild members. They’re all still judgy and caustic towards you.
More than that, they also still let you do all the errands and the grunt work in the Thieves Guild. As the leader of the guild, some privileges were to be expected but that’s not the case with the Thieves Guild members since like in other factions in Skyrim, titles are just words.
3 Greed
What, you ask, made the Thieves Guild ally with such a deplorable authority figure and made them betray the ideals that their counterparts in Cyrodiil championed? Money. It seems that the Thieves Guild member is more concerned about making a buck rather than setting themselves apart from the local cartel or thugs.
That’s why they all lick Maven Black-Briar’s boots and prey on the poor and independent merchants of Riften. All they did was maintain the corrupt status quo of the city and the hold which doesn’t do much for their reputation.
2 Bad Rules And Morals
Of course, with poor ideals, you can’t expect the Thieves Guild to uphold their rules and goals decently. They constantly break their own tenets and are hypocrites, like some of the other factions in Skyrim.
These guys will easily turn a blind eye to injustices against innocents just to earn Maven Black-Briar’s favor. They can also be bribed rather easily, making their beliefs and trustworthiness wonky at best.
1 Backstabbing Galore
Then there’s the most dangerous part of being a member of a glorified group of bandits, the betrayal. Turns out being a member of the Thieves Guild is no safer than getting absorbed within the Dark Brotherhood’s web of lethal lies and insidious intrigues.
Mercer Frey is at the forefront of this betrayal and spins the Thieves Guild around on his finger. Then he sets out to kill the Dragonborn and it was eventually revealed that the whole guild has been betrayed as well. So much for honor among thieves.
Next: Skyrim: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Astrid
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