Shadow Thieves The Shadow Thieves was a thieves ' guild based in Athkatla , a large port city in Amn . They were formerly the most prominent thieves ' guild in Waterdeep , but have since been all but routed from the city by the Lords of Waterdeep . It is alleged they had some arrangement with the Council of Six , as the merchants of Waterdeep are the main trading enemies of Amn . Leadership . The Shadow Thieves were ruled in Athkatla by a group called the Shadow Council . Marune " " The Masked " " , who reported to the Shade of Baldur ' s Gate , thereby the entire Shadow Council , led a sect of the guild still operating in Waterdeep . Organization . The Shadow Thieves were a strongly structured organization , using this as advantage to avoid any action that desegregated the whole organization . The supreme leader of the guild was the Grandmaster of Shadows , that led the Shadow Council , previously known as Shade Council . The Council divided the Realms territory in region , each member of the council act as supreme leader of that territory , there were two members of the council as leader of the no - Amnian regions . Under the council ' s members were the Cloakmasters . One Cloakmaster administrated a territory that comprised maximum 10 , 000 people , so a rural area usually had only one Cloakmaster and metropolis had various Cloakmasters ( usually divided for the districts or quarters of the city ) . Under the Cloakmaster there were the guild masters , or Silhouette . Usually there were ten guild masters , one for each different criminal activities in which the Shadow thieves deal : Assassins , Beggars , Bounty Hunter , Con Artist and Tricksters , Burglars , Cutpurses and Pickpockets , Enforcers and Thugs , Racketeers , Scouts and Spies , Fences , Smugglers and Pirates . The Guildmasters administrated their criminal activity in autonomy , although under supervision of the Cloakmasters , and usually law enforcers arrived to capture only to those level ; by the name ' s status usually law enforcers believed to had dismantled the guild capturing a guild master but in truth was only a moderate rank . History . The Shadow Thieves began to operate in Waterdeep in 1255 DR . After the guild was infiltrated by Lhestyn , a Lord of Waterdeep , in 1298 DR , it was destroyed , its leaders were unmasked or killed , and the Shadow Thieves were banished from the city . They resettled in Athkatla . They have since grown to be one of the most prosperous thieves ' guild in Faerûn . With the exception of Waterdeep , they currently hold the lion ' s share of criminal activity along the Sword Coast and Amn . Ever since their expulsion , the Shadow Thieves have long attempted to reestablish themselves in Waterdeep . Until around 1372 DR the constant vigilance of the Lords of Waterdeep had kept the guild at arms length . But as Waterdeep fell on hard times , the Shadow Thieves got an opening they were quick to exploit . For over five years , the guild slowly came to dominate criminal activity in the docks , southern and trades wards with the northern ward of the city being at risk as well . In 1370 DR , Marune unveiled a grand scheme for giving the Shadow Thieves an unassailable edge over the Lords of Waterdeep . The necromancer began distributing slippers of shadowwalking to the guild ' s highest - ranking thieves . These agents could then effortlessly navigate Waterdeep ' s shadows , beyond the reach of the city ' s Lords .