The City is a sprawling medieval metropolis bisected by a wide river. If it has an actual name, it remains one of the series greatest mysteries. Almost all of the canon missions and fan missions take place within its walls.
Navigation
I. Geography
II. Governance
III. Culture
Geography
The player gets few opportunities to explore the City in the earlier games. In Thief: The Dark Project, these include the streets around Bafford’s Manor and the Hammer Temple as well as the north end of New Market which contains a several rooms and passages to explore.
Thief II: The Metal Age offered more by way of the area surrounding Shoalsgate Station and the Truart Estate, in which some of the adjacent buildings are open to plundering. Most notable are the streets of Wayside and the rooftops in Dayport.
Districts
South Quarter
Old Quarter
Stonemarket
Dayport
Auldale
Shalebridge
Shoalsgate
The Docks
In Thief: Deadly Shadows, one of the major new features is the ability to explore the City. While previous games sent Garrett straight from mission to mission, now he can walk the streets and engage in a number of activities:
- Complete side quests in addition to major story missions
- Break into civilian homes and City Watch stations for loot
- Pickpocket, mug, attack, knock unconscious or kill passersby
- Spy on the townspeople and gain valuable information
- Pass through Keeper passages by activating Glyphs
- Work towards an alliance with the Hammerites
- Work towards an alliance with the Pagans
- Make enemies of either Faction by stealing from or killing them
- Retrieve mission maps from certain areas
- Alert the populace by leaving a dead or unconscious body in view
- Get imprisoned in Pavelock Prison for being caught by the City Watch
- Get killed by Thugs, Pagans, Hammerites, or the City Watch
The City in this game is not one large continuous map, but rather several small neighborhood maps connected by loading screens.
Governance
The City is an autonomous city-state ruled by a Baron who is in charge of its trade, taxes, and laws. The Baron is also supreme commander of the City’s army and leads it to war.
The City is currently at war with another city-state called Blackbrook. The games provide little information about the rest of the world in which the city resides, or the war the City is fighting.
Below the Baron are representatives who are in charge of the different departments, including the Sheriff, who is in charge of the City Watch. The Law and its enforcement is a central piece in the life of the City. Typical of the justice system in a medieval setting, it is seen as unjust and corrupt.
Before Gorman Truart took control of the City Watch, the streets were patrolled by two entities: the Barons’ Police and the Order of the Hammer. Individuals arrested by either would be sent to Cragscleft Prison..
The old police force was rife with corruption. Many of its members would receive regular bribes from the Downwind Thieves’ Guild. But when Truart stepped in he made many reforms:
- Hiring women
- Use of new Mechanist technology
- Prohibition of drinking on duty
- Centralization of uniforms, ranks, and codes
- Clean and orderly Watch Stations
- Tougher measures and new tactics on street crime
- Dedicated divisions to fight major crimes
- Creation of crime labs and autopsy procedures
Corruption was still a problem, as some Wardens would be prosecuted more than others, evidence would go missing and Truart himself would indulge in prostitution. The Watch also assisted in the genocidal campaign against the Pagans set by the Mechanists.
However, many of these additions were created alongside the rise of the Mechanists, such as similar uniforms, new technology, and street cleaning for the Servant Project.
After the fall of Karras, the Watch lost nearly all of what Truart created. Some things, like central uniforms, crime reports, and city-wide cohesion remained. Some things like the Mechanist technology and female officers were gone by the time of Deadly Shadows.
Culture
The majority of the City’s population do not seem to be deeply religious. Guards and commoners may utter “God” as an oath, but it is not clear what god they are referring to. Hammerites and Pagans that interact with guards. commoners, and nobles will often comment on their lack of faith.
Hammerite
The most prevalent religion is the Order of the Hammer, a techno-theological authoritarian religion whose various inventions have made the City into the economic powerhouse it currently is. The Hammerites themselves are extremely pious and efficient, with harsh penalties for misdeeds.
Mechanist
The splinter group known as the Mechanists led by former-Hammer Karras sought to drive the Hammerite agenda further and farther to the point of eradicating all organic life.
They were briefly popular with the City Watch and Nobility because of their impressive technological advances. The religion quickly disbanded and became very unpopular, however, after Karras’ demise at Soulforge Cathedral.
Pagan
The Pagan presence in the City rose steadily following the death of the Trickster. Pagans have an affinity for nature and a hatred of civilization and progress. They inhabit abandoned buildings and fields, often displacing the surrounding residents and conduct their operations in secret.
They do not seem interested in preaching to the local townspeople, although there are some cases of conversion, most notably that of Alfred Hurley.
Language
English is the main language spoken in the City, and is stratified into distinct dialects. The Hammerites and Mechanists speak in a sort of archaic English, similar to the style of speech seen in King James Bibles. Pagans speak in a fractured pidgin.
Modern English is spoken by all citizen classes. Commoners and guards speak with American or British accents, or posh American or British accents for the upper class. Even pirate slang is used by sailors and fishermen.
Cuisine
Meals are normally cooked at home out of necessity. Most taverns serve only ale. Venison, once the most plentiful meat in the City, becomes scarce toward the end of the Metal Age and is rarely seen after.
Mutton and Rabbit are a staple of the commoner’s diet, while Burrick meat is available to the adventurous type. Fruits and vegetables like apples, potatoes, and carrots are available and are often eaten with cheese or bread.
Wealthy nobles dine on finer meats like lamb, poultry, or pork with various prepared sides. Tea is also a beverage common to the upper classes and may be consumed with cakes or scones.