Thieves' guild (original) (raw)

In popular fiction, a thieves' guild is the concept of a formal association of criminals who participate in theft-related organized crime. The trope has been explored in literature, cinema, comic books, and gaming, such as in the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser story "Thieves' House" by Fritz Leiber and the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Though these more modern works are fictitious, the concept is inspired by real-world examples from history, such as Jonathan Wild and his gang of thieves.