No one ever said leadership involves only public activities. With a state-sanctioned paramilitary thieves guild available to you, the possibilities are endless. What may not be possible through war or magic may still be possible with deceit and deception. Never underestimate the power of the underground unknown.

The power of your guild will be determined based on its reach. The more thieves you have hired, the more effective your guild will be. In addition, the more thieves you send on any given operation, the more damage you will be able to do. However, the larger your province's lands, the more difficult time you may have in keeping your guild well-organized and efficient. As your province grows larger, be prepared to keep training additional thieves to keep your network intact and effective. Because of a lack of experience and familiarity, thievery operations against provinces substantially smaller or larger than yourself are less effective.

Thieves are professional soldiers, trained in the arts of the elite underground. Thieves, just as other military personnel, can only be trained through your military. Like military troops, thieves rely on training to be successful. Their training, measured in a Stealth Rating, can only be gained over time. Each operation will expose your guild a little through rumors and hurt your Stealth Rating. Your thieves will not carry out missions without at least a 10% Stealth Rating. Your guild's Stealth Rating affects its ability to conduct operations, the effectiveness of those operations, and your own protection against opposing thieves.

The Thieves' Toolbox
Infiltrate Because of the elite underground nature of these Guilds, it is difficult to learn the reach and size of an enemy's guild. By sending your thieves to infiltrate another guild, you can learn the details of opponents' guilds. Sending many thieves will simply result in more accurate information.
Survey The key to winning a war is to destroy an opponent's ability to fight. To do so, it is vital that you know your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. By taking a survey of your opponent's lands, you can learn of their current structure and future plans.
Spy on Military Sometimes, it may be vital to get detailed information on another province's military. Sending in spies may be your best strategy. Similiar to the infiltrate option, the more thieves you send, the more accurate your numbers will likely be.
Spy on Sciences Understanding the technology behind another province can often be vital to making decisions regarding attacks and strategy to defeat them. This operation will give an estimate of the strengths of an opponent's science levels. The more thieves you send, the more accurate your numbers will likely be.
Sabotage Wizards
WAR ONLY
Thieves & Wizards have never been friends, but while wizards have a great sense of honor, your thieves have no qualm with attempting to go in and sabotage them. A province with a strong Thieves' Guild can level the magic playing field by sabotaging an opponents' wizards and reducing their ability to cast spells.
Rob the Granaries If you're in need of food, this might be the quickest way to get it. Outside of plundering an opponent, there are few other ways to get food immediately.
Rob the Vaults What better way to hurt an opponent than to go after his or her coffers, a basic need for survival. By robbing an opponent, not only do you hurt your enemy, but you help your own cause. This operation is far more effective against opponents with which you are at war.
Rob the Towers Need some runes? If you have a strong Guild of Thieves, this may be a good way to get them. Sending your thieves in to opposing towers, they can capture a small number of runes and bring them back for your use.
Kidnapping A difficult challenge for any individual, you can order your thieves to go out and kidnap peasants of another empire. Your Guild is trained in the art of kidnapping, but never do these operations go right. While you may kidnap many people, few will actually survive long enough to return and populate your lands.
Arson
WAR ONLY
Peasants are the vital cog that makes a province go round... Without proper housing, peasants will likely emigrate to a better land. By sending your thieves to burn down a province's homes, you can fundamentally disrupt their economic structure.
Night Strike
WAR ONLY
At the heart of the thief is the assassination. By sending a small army of thieves into your opponents' barracks, you can assasinate a small portion of their army during the night. Because of tactical considerations, thieves can only target basic soldiers who have little training.
Incite Riots By starting riots amongst the people within an enemy's province, you can cause all sorts of disruptions in their economy. For several days during the riots, tax collection efforts of the province will be hampered.
Steal Horses Stealing opponents' Horses helps protect your lands in war. By reducing your enemy's supply of horses, you reduce their ability to steal your land in a successful attack.
Bribe Thieves
WAR ONLY
Halflings Only
Having an operative within an enemy's lands is an excellent way to increase the success of future operations. Bribing an opponent's thieves will help increase your chance of success in other thievery ops as well as hurt your opponent's ability to conduct operations of their own. Double Agents will function until caught by an opponent -- the likelihood of being caught depends upon how many thieves you send to conduct the operation.
Bribe Generals
WAR ONLY
Halflings Only
By bribing an opponent's General, you cause havok from within. By using flawed battle strategy, the bribed General will occasionally manage to cost your opponent more forces in combat. Double Agents will function as they do in the Bribe Thieves operation.
Assassinate Wizards
WAR ONLY
Rogues Only
More effective than sabotaging wizards, this operations sends your thieves deep into the heart of your enemy's lands to go and eliminate as many enemy wizards as possible. This helps to permanently weaken opposing mages and hold off their evil spells.
Burn Forts
WAR ONLY
Rogues Only
Forts protect an enemy's land from being overrun by attacking forces. By burning these structures to the ground, your thieves can open the doors of war and gain far more lands from combat.
Torch Farms
WAR ONLY
Rogues Only
Food is a core necessity to survival, and farms are the primary source of food for any province. Laying waste to an enemy's farms can wreak havoc, starvation, and destruction upon even the most-prepared provinces.