Underworld Guide: Creating Criminal Elements for Fantasy RPGs

Behind every throne lurks a shadow court...

In the flickering shadows beyond torchlight and behind respectable facades, a second world exists in every fantasy realm — a world with its own unwritten laws, complex hierarchies, and unique economies. The criminal underworld thrives in these spaces, threading through society like dark roots beneath seemingly pristine soil.

Underworld Guide provides Game Masters with comprehensive frameworks for creating criminal organizations that feel authentic, dynamic, and deeply integrated with your campaign world. Far more than simple antagonists, these shadow societies offer endless storytelling possibilities—as employers, informants, allies of convenience, or complex moral challenges for your players.

This 40-page supplement includes:

• Criminal Ecosystem Creation - Build interconnected criminal networks that respond dynamically to player actions
• Organizational Structures - From hierarchical thieves' guilds to cell-based smuggling networks to family-run protection rackets
• Economic Models - How fantasy crime functions in magical economies, complete with pricing structures and resource flows
• Four Complete Criminal Organizations - Ready-to-use groups with notable NPCs, motivations, methods, and plot hooks
• Adventure Seeds - Engaging scenarios featuring criminal elements as central narrative components
• Campaign Integration Guidance - Methods for involving players as victims, unwitting participants, infiltrators, allies, or criminals themselves

Whether you're creating a sophisticated thieves' guild with political connections, a smuggling network trafficking in forbidden magical components, or an assassination league with noble patrons, Underworld Guide transforms criminal elements from one-dimensional villains into complex, dynamic campaign features.

Important Information

This is a digital download only. No physical item will be shipped.
After purchase, you will gain instant access to the PDF file.
Please note, that some of the artworks were created with usage of Photoshope AI tools. If you are strongly against any usage of AI, please consider it.
For non-commercial use only

Perfect for GMs seeking nuanced adversaries beyond monsters and dungeons, and players who enjoy navigating morally complex situations where violence isn't always the answer.

Because every master thief needs a worthy vault to crack, and every criminal mastermind deserves heroes clever enough to unravel their schemes.