The Whisper Syndicate

Silvergarde is our city. You may believe the militia, who say that nothing happens without their say, but we are the power here. By choosing to join with us, you will gain access to our knowledge, our assistance, our riches. And there are plenty of riches to be had, for the right kind of person. Are you the right kind of person? We shall see.

Character Requirements

The Whisper Syndicate first and foremost is a thieves' guild, so if you're a Rogue, you are in. But there are others who are welcome friends of the family, and we are happy to work with any of them as honorary members of the guild, assuming they prove themselves worthy.

Classes

Any rogue automatically gains membership upon entry into the guild. Any other trusted class may gain membership if they also have the Friend of the Family feat.

The non-Rogue classes each have a specific subclass associated with them. To be considered a trusted class, a character must be of appropriate level and have that specific subclass. Should a character have the Friend of the Family feat and then later gain a trusted class, they can petition for membership into the guild at that time.

The Purple Dragon Knight (Banneret) and Oath of the Crown Paladin must have allegiance to the Whisper Syndicate for them to be considered a trusted class. To be a trusted class, it is preferred that Clerics worship Mask, but any of the listed deities are acceptable alternatives.

Backgrounds

There are no backgrounds that automatically gain membership upon entry into the guild. Any trusted background may gain membership if they also have the Friend of the Family feat.

Any background requiring a faction must use the Whisper Syndicate to be considered a trusted background, and any reference to locations will be modified to reflect the current setting.

The Right of Entry

As with any thieves' guild, the Whisper Syndicate operates from the shadows. This means that their main base of operations is a closely guarded secret. Only trusted members will be granted the right of entry.

All rogues have the right of entry, as does anyone who has both the Friend of the Family feat and a trusted class or background. Anyone without the right may be granted an audience with the guild leadership, but must be blindfolded, knocked unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated in order to gain entry.

Character Requirements

The following are requirements for access to the Whisper Syndicate. You must have at least one of these from among Classes, Backgrounds, or the new Feat.

Trusted Classes

• Rogue (Any)
• Bard (College of Whispers) - XGtE
• Cleric (Trickery Domain)
• Fighter (Purple Dragon Knight) - SCAG
• Monk (Way of Shadow)
• Paladin (Oath of the Crown) - SCAG
• Ranger (Gloom Stalker) - XGtE
• Sorcerer (Shadow Magic) - XGtE
• Wizard (Enchantment)
• Wizard (Illusion)

Trusted Backgrounds

• Charlatan
• Criminal
• Spy
• Urchin
• Faction Agent - SCAG
• Urban Bounty Hunter - SCAG
• Gate Urchin - AL03
• Hillsfar Smuggler - AL03
• Secret Identity - AL03
• Black Fist Double Agent - AL04
• Iron Route Bandit - AL04
• Phlan Insurgent - AL04
• Stojanow Prisoner - AL04

Feat

• Friend of the Family

Those who are not members of the guild are considered independent contractors. They will not be granted the protection of the guild in case of trouble, and they may be executed without consideration should they prove themselves unreliable.

Friend of the Family - New Feat

You have been of assistance to the guild, and have been made an honorary member. You may or may not have the Right of Entry.

• Increase one ability score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You gain your choice of proficiency in Thieves' Tools or partial knowledge of Thieves' Cant. If you choose Thieves' Cant, you must make a DC 10 Intelligence check whenever you attempt to use it. On a failed check, you misinterpret the information or misspeak the code words.

Guild Rank

Members of the Whisper Syndicate will be ranked according to their level. Each two levels of non-Rogue trusted classes or any three levels of non-Rogue classes will count as one Rogue level for determining rank. This means that a Rogue 2/Trickery Cleric 3 will count as a 3rd level Rogue for rank, and an Open Hand Monk 3/Battle Master Fighter 2 will count as a 1st level Rogue. If, instead, it were a Shadow Monk 3/Battle Master 2 it would count as a 2nd level Rogue.

The simplest way to calcluate this Adjusted Rogue Level (ARL) would be to take the total levels of Rogue (R), add the total levels of non-Rogue trusted classes (NRT) multiplied by 0.5, and add the total levels of non-trusted classes (NT) multiplied by 0.34, then drop the decimal.

ARL = R + ( 0.5 x NRT ) + ( 0.34 x NT )

Shadow Monk 3 / Battle Master Fighter 2

ARL = 0 + ( 0.5 x 3 ) + ( 0.34 x 2 )

ARL = 0 + 1.5 + 0.68 = 2.18

ARL = 2

Guild Rank

Guild Member Responsibilities

Each different rank of members in the Whisper Syndicate have their own responsibilities in order to maintain the stability of the guild.

• Member - Members are entry level, and are responsible for carrying out the day to day operations.

• Lieutenant - Lieutenants are responsible for organizing the members into individual assignments. They also may go on special assignments too difficult for members to complete.

• Boss - Bosses are responsible for creating assignments, or relaying assignments from the council. They will also occasionally take on assignments in the field that deal with the aristocracy.

Accepted Deities

This is a list of deities we deem worthy of worship, should you as a Trickery Cleric desire membership in the Whisper Syndicate.

• Mask, God of Thieves

Human Pantheons

• Asmodeus, God of Indulgence
• Cyric, God of Lies
• Hiddukel, God of Lies and Greed
• Kol Korran, God of Wealth
• Leira, Goddess of Illusion
• Olladra, Goddess of Good Fortune
• Shinare, Goddess of Wealth
• The Traveler, Deity of Chaos
• Tymora, Goddess of Good Fortune

Dwarf Pantheon

• Abbathor, God of Greed
• Roknar, God of Intrigue
• Thautam, God of Lost Treasures
• Vergadain, God of Luck

Elf Pantheon

• Erevan Ilesere, God of Mischief
• Fenmarel Mestarine, God of Outcasts
• Gadhelyn, God of Outlaws
• Kirith Sotheril, God of Illusion

Drow Pantheon

• Malyk, God of Chaos
• Vhaeraun, God of Thieves
• Zinzerena, Goddess of Assassins

Gnome Pantheon

• Baravar Cloakshadow, God of Illusions
• Garl Glittergold, God of Thievery
• Nebelun, God of Luck

Halfling Pantheon

• Brandobaris, God of Thievery
• Charmalaine, Goddess of Luck

• Council - The council shares the same responsibilities as the bosses. Most keep their identies secret from all but other council members, and will act as bosses in front of other members. There are a set number of council members, but that number is unknown.

• Leader - There is only ever one leader at a time, and the identity is a closely guarded secret. Elected from the council by the council, the leader is a tenuous position at best. Should the leader take actions detrimental to the Syndicate, they can be deposed or otherwise removed. A leader may also choose to retire.

Character Creation

Level

Newly made characters will start at level 5. This is to give non-Rogue characters the opportunity to start as a guild member. Multiclassing is allowed, with no level restrictions and a maximum of three classes.

Allowable Resources

All officially published materials will be available for use, with the exception of DMG races and classes (no UA or 3rd party materials). There are no restrictions on race, although some races may find difficulty operating in the open. Variant humans are not allowed.

All characters will be granted one free feat, with which you may select Friend of the Family or any standard feat.

Ability Scores

You have two separate options for generating your ability scores. Once you select your method, you must keep it.

Point Buy Method

You may purchase your ability scores using the table below. You have 35 points to spend on your ability scores.

Ability Score Point Cost

Dice Roll Method

You may generate your characters six ability scores randomly. The first two ability scores you will roll 3D6 and drop the lowest die, then add 6 to the total. The remaining four ability scores you will roll 4D6 and drop the lowest die.

Hit Points

You start with maximum hit points for level 1. For each additional level, you roll the appropriate hit die for the class in which you are leveling up. The minimum for this roll is the average value for the class, as shown in the table below.

Hit Point Minimums by Hit Dice

Starting Equipment

You get the starting equipment associated with your class and background, plus an additional 1d10x50 + 500 gp to spend on anything in the Player's Handbook. You may sell your starting equipment back at full price (during character creation only) to customize your character to your liking.

You will also be able to start with one Major Uncommon magic item or two Minor Common/Uncommon magic items, plus two Common/Uncommon potions or scrolls. Minor magic items are listed in XGtE, or tables A through E in the DMG. Major magic items are listed in XGtE, or tables F through I in the DMG.

Wizards can purchase up to 1d4 + half their Wizard level in extra levels of spells, at the normal scribing cost of 50gp per level. Any spellcaster can also use starting gp to purchase any desired material components.

Credits

Thank you to The Homebrewery for this amazing template, allowing me to create an easy guide!

Resource Reference