Pilferer

Pilferers are thieves who use the Cant to invoke the powers of gemtkhereg to obscure, steal, escape, and otherwise engage in theft. They wear special hoods which give them sight and stealth, and they carry special lockpicks and pouches.

The Cant

There is an ancient cant, a variation on language, a secret code and a dialect and a pidgin, a set of rhymes and ciphers, that only those who have been pushed outside the law may wield. The Cant derived from the first people who had to steal from other mortals to survive, and it grew into a complex, panlingual cryptological esoteric puzzle. The Cant commands the energy gemtkhereg, the shebvic energy of crime, and thus it can be used to make crime easier. However, few know this; many can speak the Cant. Few can wield it.

Legality

To access it, one must have committed a crime in a place one has been, knowingly, and one must have done so without other esoteric power. One must have committed this crime for purposes neither related to upholding the oppressive structures nor overthrowing them. The crime must violate a law existing on the books in the place it was broken, and it must be knowingly committed. If the crime is later decriminalized, it will still empower the pilferer. If the crime is unknowingly committed, but the criminal later discovers it was/is illegal, they have a brief window to take advantage before they lose access to the cant (until they commit a crime again). Gemtkhereg is the energy of the conflict between crime and law, and thus, it is as short-lived as other conflict-based energies.

Mentorship

And one must then be mentored by another who already knows the Cant. It is rare that a user of the Cant finds someone in time to teach them to wield their own gemtkhereg with the cipher, but when it does happen, there is a connection between mentor and mentee that is defined by their personal relationship. If the mentor is brutal and abusive, the connection becomes a whipcrack. If the mentor is fatherly or brotherly, the connection becomes a coil of protection and guidance. If the mentor is manipulative, or impassive, or determined, or... then so is the connection. Eventually, regardless of the connection's nature, it must be broken in order for the mentee to gain full access to their own gemtkhereg.

Training

A pilferer in training must be taught the five secerts of the Thieves' Cant:

1. First, they did not tell them anything, and so they learned that to speak not and was to be unseen.
2. Next, they spoke in whispers, such that one could not hear. They leaned in, and so they learned that to speak quietly was to gain access and take what one would.
3. Next, they spoke from back to front, such that few understood. In the following confusion, they learned that to speak backward was to escape.
4. Next, they spoke boldly, such that all were surprised. In the stunned silence, they learned that to lie was most effective with a grain of truth, but to lie outrageously was to make it true.
5. Finally, they spoke words anew, such that none understood. So they learned that to keep some things to oneself was the best defense.

Each of these "secrets" varies by culture or focus, but the pilferer learns from them, via the Cant, that they can make themselves unseen, that they can pick locks, thay they can find ways to steal, that they can slip free from bonds or jail cells, that they can tell bold-faced lies and be believed, and that they can hide what is theirs, all with the power of the Cant.

The training varies by mentor, culture, and focus, but the general gist is that the mentor tells relevant stories, gives direct advice, and sends the mentee out to try out the Cant until they get the hang of it. The mentor is always there to use their powers to slip the mentee away if trouble arises. Whether they then beat the mentee, give them extra homework, or just encourage them varies. Eventually, the mentee learns the five secrets and is tested. During the test, the mentor's bond must be severed. If it is not, the test is failed and must be done again. If the test is failed five times, the mentor vanishes and is never seen again, and the mentee is left without powers.

There are ways to later learn to use the Cant, but they involve more crime and challenging oneself as one's own mentor.

Severance

To sever the bond, the mentee must use one or more of the powers of the Cant in a contest against the mentor, which is designed to be in the mentor's favor (by the mentor). If they can find a way to outwit the mentor and sever the bond, all of their gemtkhereg will be theirs to use, and they can use their Canting magic at full strength.

Canting Magic

Canting magic is the wielding of the Cant either for the five basic powers or for more complex uses. It is done via the Cant, special materials, and the violation of law.

Rhyme

The Cant is a rhyming cant in most languages. Each rhyme offers a layer of obfuscation that makes it so only those who know the code can follow it. The more obfuscation, the more obscure, the more powerful. The rhymes are further obfuscated by association (rhyme rhymes with thyme, which is an herb, which rhymes with verb...).

Note: examples of cant are given in English because I don't speak any other language, but other linguistic trickery can be used in other languages so long as obfuscations can be followed.

Hooding

Hooding is the most basic use of the Cant, and it comes from intentionally not speaking the Cant, nor anything else. To wield one's hood, one must first make one. This is the step that matters most. The hood is not visible, not physical, but drawn over the head (or equivalent) of the canter during a moment of stealth. If a pilferer learns to do this, they can draw their hood at any time in order to make themselves harder to see, and to give themselves the power to see valuables to steal, dangers such as the police, and more. It gives them better stealth and it gives them the thief's eyes.

Glinting

Glinting is the skill learned next by the mentee. It is the ability of the canter to draw an object to them such that no one else sees, or the ability to open a lock, door, or other obstruction designed to be opened without sound or noise. This canting spell is done by using the gemtkhereg invoked to entice the object toward one or the lock open. The rhyme must have three layers of obfuscation (steal - (1) reel - (2) rod - (3) odd). Then this rhyme must be whispered near to the object or lock, such that the object or lock cannot "hear" it. It will then lean in, opening or slipping into the possession of the pilferer.

Kissing

Kissing is the ability of the pilferer to escape the law or other authorities. It is the ability to slip from bonds, step away unnoticed, or remove onself from a cell. It is the power of being unbound. To do this, one must first unbind oneself. While hooded, the pilferer must cant a rhyme of three obfuscations (escape - (1) tape - (2) ticker - (3) flicker), then speak it backward (rekcilf). Note that it is not that the word must be read backward, but spoken - so that the syllables as they are pronounced forward are pronounced backward. Thus it is not rek-lif, but ruhckilf. Once spoken backward, bonds dissolve, cages open, and policemen look the other way.

Spooking

Spooking is the ability of the pilferer to make outlandish claims and be believed. "I was in a personal audience with the King when that crime happened, officer." It is the power to make the authorities believe innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence. While hooded, the pilferer must cant a rhyme of five obfuscations (truth - (1) Ruth - (2) Babe - (3) Gabe - (4) angel - (5) angle) and use it in a bold-faced lie. "That's the wrong angle of entry. If someone were to do that, they would fall and break their neck. I know, because my uncle designed that building. He was the Royal Architect." If they are bold enough, if their cant is subtle enough, if they are hooded, if their gemtkhereg is strong enough, they will be believed just long enough to get away with it.

Mourning

Mourning is the ability of the pilferer to hide things that are theirs. This is as much to keep other thieves from exploiting them as it is to keep the law from finding it. It is the power to make pockets deeper, bags have hidden pockets, or hiding spots remain unseen. While hooded, the pilferer must cant a rhyme of five obfuscations (pocket - (1) hock it - (2) pawn - (3) chess - (4) less - (5) lest), then turn it into a nonsense word by twisting it inside out ("slte", pronounced as they please) such that none understand them. They must say this word in earshot of others while secretly hiding something. To do this well, they usually use hooding or even kissing in tandem to keep anyone from being suspicious. If they do this right, their hiding place will mask the item(s) they put there.

Rolling

Rolling is the use of any of the above in conjunction with further canting trickery in order to create new effects. Some examples include

• Switching two objects' locations, a variation of glinting called nixing.
• Placing blame for a crime on someone else, a variation of spooking called going.
• Picking a pocket of someone distant by picking the pocket of someone near, a mixture of glinting and mourning called younging.
• Walking through walls, a mixture of kissing and spooking called ranking.
• Distracting the law with fake noises or images in the corner of their eye, a variation of spooking called pawing.
• Aide in climbing, a variation of kissing called pocking.
• Cleaning evidence away, a mixture of kissing and spooking (and sometimes glinting) called passing.

And so on. Player and GM can develop other skills as circumstance and cant permit.

Inventory

Some common tools of pilferers include

Hood

The invisible hood of the pilferer is often complemented by an actual one, usually made of special cloth. This makes it easier for the pilferer to pull their invisible hood, both as a form of practice and as a way of masking their actions.

Pouch

Most pilferers have a pouched that is permanently mourned so that it holds and hides things they have stolen. Their pouches are usually made from the hide of a vole.

Knife

Most pilferers have a knife for cutting purse strings, rope bonds, and so on - it pays to not always rely on the Cant, after all. Knives used in conjunction with the Cant can be used for stealth attacks as well.

Lockpicks

Lockpicks are useful for when the lock is better than the power of gemtkhereg wielded by the pilferer or for when it is too easy to bother with gemtkhereg. Thus, they carry a set when they can. One made of quickcobalt is especailly prized.

Grips

Climbing is a skill every pilferer needs. Some use special gripping tools, which can also be used to steal things. Gripping tools can be grapnels, gloves, or other tools.

Gloves

Fingerless gloves are especially useful to a pilferer who must feel their way through things. Only experts who know how to use the passing power of gemtkhereg use them, though, as fingerprints will give a thief away easily. But fingerless gloves enable certain Canting spells by letting the pilferer feel what can't be seen.

Patched Clothes

Never one to look to fancy, a pilferer will always have patched clothes that can have secret pockets, look innocuous, and keep them from seeming too flash in the eyes of the law.

Variations

In some places, pilferers vary slightly due to lingual differences or different challenges from the law:

• Luccichio : in central Jesenya, the pilferers are flashier and use glinting flagrantly when they can. Their Cant includes a lot of missing consonants.
• Lunthatasiri: in eastern Palhur, they rely upon word games connecting types of plants or animals to form many Cants. They often use spooking even when it is not necessary, due to their tradition of mocking those they fool.
• Mannanakaw: repetitive syllables are important to the Cant in eastern Dabusen. They are some of the greatest at hooding there is.
• Omubbi W’abantu: in eastern Taggarus, pilferers use mourning to hide things in the ground or nooks and crannies, as they are often searched brutally by the colonial police and their clothing torn to shreds. Their Cant is based often on children's songs.
• Saariq: in Mahad, they rely upon linking words via shared syllables to form many Cants. They are known for their kissing skills.

Specializations

Some pilferers specialize in types of theft

• Égzist : in the Reever Sea, there are pilferers who specialize in complex heists.
• Páshǒu: in the major cities of Unbul and Wuordon, the pilferers specialize in picking pockets.
• Rahakott: in some parts of Ranu, the pilferers specialize in being cutpurses.
• Shesveneba: in western Dabusen, the pilferers are often safe-crackers.
• Tahae: in the southern Island Bridge, the pilferers often engage in robbery more directly.

Cat Burglar

Cat burglars are mostly female or non-male pilferers who specialize in house-breaking. A cat burglar is empowered by gemtkhereg and the Cant, but also by her role as a young woman (or non-male), and thus her connection to the matriarchal power. This usually results in her being able to rob men more easily and protects her from the predations of men. A mature cat burglar is a whiskered lady and an elder cat burglar is a grimalkin's foot.

The Brotherhood

The Brotherhood is an international guild of thieves with an intricate criminal organization that controls major parts of the world underground trade.

Risher

A captain in the Brotherhood. See risher.

Other Criminals

Some pilferers have a different criminal focus than theft:

Compartmenter

Compartmenters are a type of smuggler who uses the Cant to mourn objects. Hooding and spooking are also commonly used, but they are master mourners, hiding objects in the strangest places in order to sneak them past borders or customs officers. They are not usually thieves, though they are not above it.

Kisi Olturguk

The kisi olturguk are assassins from western Dabusen and southern Ranu who use hooding and glinting to help sneak into places to kill their targets. They are known to wield their skills mercenarily, but they never target anyone in the criminal community who is not a significant player.

Lithera

In southern Ranu, the street urchins are skilled with the sling. They use gemtkhereg in their defense of their territory or themselvs, using hooding to sneak up on targets, kissing to get away from enemies, spooking to lie about their whereabouts, and mourning to hide their stashes of bullets and stones. They tend to belong to street gangs, but not always, and they are ferocious when it comes to protecting what is theirs.

Red Thomas

While gemtkhereg is an energy not attuned to liberation, there are those who engage with revolutionary struggles more mercenarily or for reasons of their own, such as personal reasons, and there are those who fight bourgeois revolutions against feudal overlords whose motivation is profit. These figures are not associated with celestial powers - they don't generally develop liberation power through their actions - but they still violate the law. Thus, they gain access to the Cant, and therefore, some draw upon it for spooking, kissing, and glinting in the fight against the ruling class. They are called red thomases as a particularly obscure piece of Cant referring to a legendary figure.

S̄xdnæm

In Nandja in southeastern Dabusen, there are information brokers called sxdnaem who operate as spies-for-hire or simply for their own benefit. They use mourning, kissing, hooding, and spooking to gather information rather than valuables, which they then sell to any who can afford it. They are well known agents in the big cities of the country, where they build networks and become major players in the criminal underground.

Umhambi

In the streets of the sprawling cities of southern Taggarus, there are vagrants who have taken to using the arts of the Cant not to steal, but simply to survive. Though they aren't above a picked pocket or shoplifted bit of drink, they primarily use their powers to evade the police via kissing, hooding, and spooking. This is because vagrancy is a major crime punishable by death on the third offense in some areas, and thus, they have evolved to survive in spite of it. Their Cant is also used to entice donations from strangers via glinting and spooking.

Related Criminals

Other criminals who are not pilferer specializations:

• Bagman: an agent of a drug cartel who uses mourning and kissing to transport drugs.
• Enforcer: a warrior who enforces street law, the written and unwritten rules of life outside the law.
• Fleecer: a con artist who uses spooking, hooding, and other skills in their craft.
• Forger: a counterfeiter who uses gemtkhereg, especially spooking, to fake documents and valuables.
• Ge-Gyrnan: a member of a criminal organization tasked with investigating intracriminal crimes to keep the law off them.
• Klepht: a bandit who uses gemtkhereg, usually spooking and mourning.
• Raglaw: a lieutenant in an organized crime family who uses gemtkhereg, usually the only one(s) in the family to do so.
• Reiver: a pirate who uses gemtkhereg to hide their treasure and intimidate foes.
• Rogue: a bard who wields spooking to speak truth no matter what.
• Watchman: a vigilante who enforces a special code among criminals.

Similar Occupations

Criminologer

Crimonologers wield the power of gemtkhereg in order to further their study of crime. They join the ranks of the criminals they study in order to know the Cant and use it to gain insights into their work, and sometimes, they use these powers to engage in their study by stealing research, lying to clients or bosses, or hiding their own work.

Persecution

As they are defined as existing outside the law, pilferers are criminalized auotmatically. In some places, use of gemtkhereg is specifically targeted in laws. To be a pilferer is to exist always outside the law, and thus, to have no protection of it.

Skills

Some common skills include

• Thievery
• Lockpicking
• Sewing
• Rhyming
• Poetry
• Burglary
• Safe cracking
• Pocket picking
• Prestidigitation
• Legal knowledge

Stats

Modifiers from base of nation/species:

PRO +1
ATH +3
STR -1
AWA +2
WIL -1
STH +6
PRS +2