Do the Imperium know about Theev?

[MonkeyX]

I think I have it right that in the Theev PDF it mentions that the Imperium know about Theevand have even been welcomed to the high class hotels there. Sun & Shadow in Drinax seems to suggest that Theev is a myth. How are people handling this?

My attempt to get around this is that the Imperium know of Theev as a smuggling hub but not as the launch spot for the PCs wave of piracy and as they wish to destroy that world they tolerate its existance until they are sure that’s the origin world.

 

[CaladanGuard]

The first adventure in the actual Drinax book, Honour Among Thieves, does suggest very strongly that the Imperium has at least some concrete information about the workings of Theev (From one source at least)

IMC there are elements of the Imperium who know exactly what Theev is, but they keep it pretty close to their chests for their own reasons. Either credits from a corporate source, or just the ability to use assets there to solve Imperial problems in a deniable way.

I haven't run Sun & Shadow yet, but the way I intend, the Imperial Intelligence services proper, certainly won't be sharing that sort of information with what is to their minds essentially a jumped up colonial flotilla. So it will be known as some shady planet, as most every planet is out in the Reaches, but nothing any normal person would think twice on.

 

[RogerMc]

How can the Imperium (or at least the commanders of whatever fleet defends the Trojan Reaches) not know about Theev?

It is more of a question of can a few pirate gangs do enough damage to imperial commerce for them to act on this knowledge?

The answer to which is obviously no - until the point that the players start doing their stuff and piracy in general becomes not just a minor nuisance but a significant annoyance requiring a squadron is sent out.

In my Drinax campaign I'd also have some unwritten rules governing piracy that the main gangs followed and which kept the Imperium and other powers from swatting them:

1) you steal cargoes not ships.

2) you generally don't kill or seriously mistreat crews as long as they hand over their cargo.

3) you don't destroy or disable or irradiate ships as ultimately you want them to carry on carrying more cargoes for you to loot in future.

4) you stay out of interstellar politics and don't try building up an independent pocket empire that will destabilise the frontier zone.

As long as Theev's pirates follow these rules losing a few cargoes to piracy is just an additional cost that merchants and corporations have to factor in if they want to do business in that part of The Trojan Reaches.

And then along come the PCs and break all these rules.

 

[JMISBEST]

At a guess I'd say officially no and unofficially yes

After all Darokyn is 1 of its greatest living pirates, maybe its greatest or even 1 of The Pirate Lords of Theev) and he is seemingly 1 or both of A Spy or Agent for Imperial Intelligence and in several campaign's I've had friends tell me of The Players have arranged A attempt to kill Tobia's Duke and his entire family, have Darokyn foil it and have The Zhodanni manipulate The Dukes mind to get Darokyn A Pardon and made The Baron of a planet whose original Baron was part of the plot