Griffins Gang

The Griffins

Membership

Common Descriptors: Underhanded, charismatic, cunning

Primary Classes: Rogues, fighters, bards

Alignments: N, NE, CG, CN

Locations

Trades Ward bleeding into the North Ward, centered on the Griffin Roost neighborhood.

Ranks

• Fledglings: Rank 1+. Those working to prove themselves are usually under the sponsorship of a member of the gang, who also acts as guide for them. • Griffin: Rank 3+. Only full members of the gang have the right to call themselves "Griffins," and they receive their bracers from the Wing. • Wings: Rank 7+. The gang's lieutenants are called "Wings," and they usually divide leadership of the rank and file between themselves. • Griffin King/Queen (Rank 10): Head of Gang. The leader of the gang is referred to as the "Griffin King or Queen," or sometimes just "the Griff" for short.

Supposedly founded thirty years ago by a pair of bored nobles, the Griffins are a gang who focus their efforts on giving folk the illegal things they want, rather than victimizing folk. They deal drugs, fence, sell smuggled goods, and arrange for illegal gambling dens, all with the aim of thrilling rich folk and parting them from their coin. The Griffins maintain the northernmost territory of any other gang, bleeding slightly into the North and Sea Wards.

Symbols

• Badges: Brown leather bracer, with three slashes as though from talons, on left forearm. Many of the Griffins get tattoos of the gang's sign (the griffin) as well.
• Signs: A stylized griffin symbol, usually painted outside of establishments hosting Griffin Gathers.

Activities

Drug dealing, confidence games, fencing, middlemen for smuggler sales, host illegal gambling dens (in events called "Griffin Gathers"), illegal pit fighting.

Members

	Valesta Griffin Queen (Rank 10) The unassuming Valesta is often underestimated – which is just how she likes it. She is a capable fighter, and a decent tactician, but most of all her manners and comportment are up to the standards of the nobles who most often frequent her Gathers. Though clearly from the streets, she knows how to dress up to meet the standards of the highnoses she's out to fleece. According to rumor, one of Valesta's ancestors was one of the last Waterdhavian griffin riders.
	Saembesta Tumn Wing (Rank 9) Acrobatic and utterly ruthless, Saembesta is Valesta's main bodyguard. The two women are fast friends, though one couldn't tell by their behavior in public: Valesta is the gregarious, charming one out in front, and Saembesta watches with sharp eyes from the shadows.
	Whiteveil Wing (Rank 8) A moon elf with a distinctively acid-scarred face, Whiteveil does not discuss where he got his horrific scars. For all his aloof appearance, Whiteveil is best of companion with all the other Wings, and with a good many of the rest of the gang. Though composed, he is very good at seeming to cut loose in the company of his gangmates, and they love him for it. He is also a magician of some talent.
	Grother Wing (Rank 7) The newest of the Wings, the hobgoblin Grother oversees the security concerns for Griffin Gathers. As such, many of the Griffins who act as security are under his command. He is a former pit fighter himself, and sometimes oversees the training of some of the Griffins' own fighters.

Former Members

Brivitil Flummeth Former boss of the Griffins Though retired for a few years now, Brivitil still seems to be subtly in touch with the criminal underworld of Waterdeep. He often acts to advise Valesta – the two have dinner at least once a tenday – and he also is known to act as a fixer of some sort.

Hangouts

• The Roost: Tavern. A ratty local drinking hole, the Roost has been the defacto headquarters of the Griffins since their founding. Most nights Valesta can be found there, with her lieutenants and whoever else has business with her. The back part of the tavern has basically been claimed by the gang, who urge others trying to sit there to move on.

Relationships

• Enemies: The Drunkard's Own have remained antagonistic with the Griffins for quite a while now, although that antagonism is mostly confined within each gang's boundaries. Recently, the gang of hoodlums raided a Griffin Gather and made off with several thousand gold pieces in coin, plus the jewelry of the attending nobility, and Valesta has sworn to get her revenge for it.
• Allies: None, though the Griffins have hired the Squires to provide extra protection in the form of additional fighters in recent days.
• Treaties: Arulembar's Shields and the Griffins have a non-aggression pact, and both are careful to observe the niceties. Rumors say that the Shields may have struck up an alliance with the Drunkard's Own, however, so it may just be a matter of time before that treaty is broken.