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The Sand Court
Ul'dah, Thanalan ✦ Criminal Organization
The Sand Court
The desert has always had its own law. This is simply the first time anyone wrote it down.
photo by Lux ✦ Birds Eye Photography
✦

Built from the ruins of what Sariel left behind, the Sand Court is Ul'dah's most elusive criminal network. Nobody can pin them down. What changed when leadership changed: the violence now points up. What stayed the same: everything else.

They do not advertise. They are found by those who need to find them.

📜Lore & ServicesHow it began, what changed, what the streets say about who runs it now, and what the Court actually does.Read more →📌Mission BoardActive contracts, open bounties, and threats that need handling. Work available for those with the right disposition.View board →🌙Join the CourtNo commitment required. Fellowship, Linkshell, and Free Company for those who want more. Contractors always welcome.Recruit →📋Info & AboutWhat this hub is, who it is for, how it works out of character, and the people behind it.Read more →
the court does not advertise ✦ it is found by those who need to find it
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The Sand Court ✦ Ul'dah, Thanalan
Lore & Services

What it is, how it started, and what it does.

✦
History

The Sand Court was built on what a man named Sariel left behind. He ran the lower district for twenty years, protection rackets, trafficking, contraband through the desert routes, and he did it precisely and without scruple. Sariel is dead. What replaced him is something with different terms.

No extortion of those who cannot afford the loss. No trafficking. No contracts that harm the lower city. The routes remain. The leverage remains. The violence still exists, but it points in a specific direction now, and that direction is not down.

The upper city cannot locate them, cannot hold them, and cannot fully account for them. The Sand Court moves through the city like desert wind, present everywhere and pinned down nowhere. The lower city knows its people on sight without ever having been told to look.

Who leads it is not confirmed. The older merchants know. They are not saying.

What They Say in the Lower CityUnconfirmed ✦ Street-Level Intelligence ✦ Treat Accordingly
  • A Viera woman runs it now. The same one who killed the man who built it. Nobody was there. Nobody is talking.
  • She grew up in the orphanage off the Steps of Nald. The same orphanage the Sand Court quietly funds now. Make of that what you will.
  • People who have dealt with her say there is a moment, before she answers, where the light in her eyes shifts color. Nobody agrees on what color.
  • The violence is calibrated. Every bruise intentional. Everything left unbruised intentional too. People find this the most unsettling part.
  • She has a Hrothgar partner. Large. Gunbreaker. The two of them together have taken contracts most would not touch at any price.
  • Brass Blades appeared at Zahira's funeral. Stood at the back. Did not interfere. Afterward, several had conversations they did not report.
Services
// Operating Principles

We do not steal from those who cannot afford the loss. We do not harm people who cannot defend themselves. We do not move product that destroys the communities we operate in.

The Monetarists extract wealth from this city and call it commerce. The Royalists extract obedience and call it order. We extract nothing from the lower city. What we take comes from those who have taken first.

Everything else is a conversation about terms.

🏜️Desert Route ControlManagement of contraband and cargo through the Thanalan desert routes. Merchants who want their goods to arrive intact pay for that assurance. Those already paying too much sometimes find their rates adjusted.
⚖️Lower City ArbitrationDisputes that cannot reach official channels come here instead. Debts, property, agreements made in the streets. The Sand Court mediates, and its decisions tend to be honored.
🔑Information & LeverageThirty years of ledgers and records that were never meant to exist. The Sand Court inherited all of it. What they know about the upper city's dealings is considerable and deployed with intention.
🛡️ProtectionThe kind that actually works. Vendors, workers, people who cannot afford to lose what little they have. The Court stands between them and those who would take it. This is not charity. It is the point.
🔥Counter-Monetarist ActionTargeted disruption of operations that extract disproportionately from the lower city. Supply chains interrupted. Records made available to parties who find them useful. Silence of the poor made noisier.
🌵Community InfrastructureGil redistributed from Monetarist operations finds its way into food, medicine, and support for the neighborhoods the sultanate considers beneath its attention. The lower city is not on that list. The Court disagrees.
RevolutionaryAnti-MonetaristAnti-RoyalistLower CityOrganized CrimeViolentTargetedDesert RoutesInformation Broker
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The Sand Court ✦ Ul'dah, Thanalan
Mission Board

Active contracts, open bounties, and threats that need handling.

✦
// Out of Character — How This Works

All quests are picked up and delivered in character, at any narrative moment that feels right for your character. There is no hard deadline. Stories move at the pace they need to.

To take a quest, reach out on Discord first for OOC coordination. Once both sides are ready, the handoff happens in character: a conversation, a note passed, a meeting in the lower city. However it makes sense for the scene.

Reports can be submitted in whatever format works best for you. The story is what matters.

Discord RPTelegraphGoogle DocsWord / .txtFree Report
Browse the Board
MissionsCategory I

Recovery jobs, thefts with purpose, noble marks, and escort contracts. Work for those who are precise, discreet, and know when not to ask questions. The lower city generates the contracts. The Court handles the logistics.

View missions →
ThreatsCategory II

Monsters, supernatural disturbances, and djinn making problems for families and businesses around Ul'dah and Thanalan. The Immortal Flames will not come. The Brass Blades will not come. The Court steps in where they do not.

View threats →
WantedCategory III

People the Sand Court wants brought in or removed. Enemies of the organization, enemies of the poor, and those who made choices the Court intends to answer. Some for interrogation. Some for something else. The listing will say which.

View wanted →
In ProgressActive

Contracts currently assigned to a contractor. These listings are closed for intake. Check here to follow active work across all categories, see who is on what, and track what the Court has in motion.

View in progress →
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The Sand Court ✦ Mission Board
Missions

Recovery, theft, redistribution, and escort. Category I.

✦
The Merchant's Other Ledger
RecoveryOpen
Medium

A cloth merchant operating out of the Sapphire Avenue markets has been skimming from a collective of weavers in the Weaver's Quarter. The collective cannot file complaints. They have no names in the right offices. The Sand Court does. The ledger documenting the skimming exists. The merchant keeps it locked in a travel chest beneath his bed at the Hourglass. He is afraid someone will use it against him. He is correct.

How to IdentifyThe chest is lacquered black with a brass clasp shaped like a scale. The key is on his person at all times.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsReturn the ledger intact. A copy is acceptable if the original cannot be moved without raising alarm.
Reward42,000g+ weaver collective bonus
The Long Way to Limsa
EscortOpen
Hard

A dock worker from Vesper Bay witnessed something he should not have during an unloading three weeks ago. He has since been followed, had his home searched, and lost his position without cause. He needs to be in Limsa Lominsa by the end of the moon. He cannot travel openly. He cannot use his real name at any checkpoint. He has a daughter in Limsa. She does not know he is coming.

How to IdentifyMale Hyur, late forties, walks with a limp on the left side. Answers to Fossik. Do not use his full name in public.
Estimated RiskConfirmed private interest pursuing him. At least one tail active. Possibly contracted.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsWritten confirmation of safe arrival from the Limsa contact. Name provided on mission acceptance.
Reward47,000gupon confirmed arrival
Quiet Inventory at the Bronzeworks
Theft / RedistributionOpen
Easy

A metalworks warehouse near the Steps of Nald has been holding a surplus of basic tools confiscated from market vendors who could not make a single payment on inflated loan agreements. The tools are sitting idle. The vendors are not. The Sand Court wants the tools returned to the people they were taken from. The warehouse runs a skeleton crew at night. No one inside is owed harm. The tools are owed to someone else.

TargetGround floor storage, east wall. Crates marked with a yellow stripe. Twelve crates total.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsDelivery to the redistribution point. Location provided on mission acceptance. No broken bones on either side.
Reward31,000gcommunity rate
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The Sand Court ✦ Mission Board
Threats

Monsters, beasts, and supernatural disturbances. Category II.

✦
The White Mare of the Salt Flats
Supernatural / HauntingOpen
Medium

Traders crossing the outer salt flats northeast of Ul'dah have been reporting a white horse at the edge of the road after dark. It does not move when approached. It does not flee. Three separate caravans reported animals going silent in its presence. One trader followed it off the road and was found two days later, dehydrated and unable to account for the time. He recovered. He refuses to discuss it.

How to IdentifyAppears only after sunset. Leaves no tracks. Reports consistent on appearance: white coat, no saddle, stands perfectly still until it does not.
Field NoteUnknown nature. May be bound to a specific location. May not. Approach after dark only with protection and a witness.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsDetermine origin and resolve the disturbance. Method at contractor's discretion. Report required regardless of outcome.
Reward52,000gsafe passage restored
Nest in the Aqueduct
Beast / MonsterOpen
Hard

Something has taken up residence in the eastern branch of the lower aqueduct system. Workers sent to clear a blockage did not return. A second crew confirmed signs of a large nest and something moving in the dark before they ran. The blockage is affecting water flow to three residential sections of the lower city. The Brass Blades have assessed the location and declined to enter.

How to IdentifyDescribed as fast, low to the ground, and quiet until it is not. Smells of rot. Nest built from debris, cloth, and things that were once people.
LocationEastern aqueduct branch, lower city access point near Nald'thal's Embrace. Entry restricted to contractors.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsClear the nest. Restore access to the aqueduct. Proof of kill if possible. Water flow confirmation required for payment.
Reward66,000gfamilies + Sand Court fund
The Bleating That Does Not Stop
Supernatural / DjinnOpen
Easy

A small livestock enclosure outside the city walls has been producing sound that should not be possible. The animals inside are not the source. Three goats died without visible cause. The farmer's youngest has not spoken in two weeks, only listening to something no one else can hear. The local conjurer consulted briefly and left without explanation. The family has been sleeping outside.

How to IdentifySound is most present between the second and fourth bell past midnight. Not audible from more than thirty yalms. Comes from the ground, not the air.
Field NotePossibly something small and opportunistic rather than dangerous. Bring something to listen with. The child may be useful, with the family's consent.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsSilence the disturbance. Return the child to normal function if possible. Farmer requests no lasting damage to the land.
Reward28,000g+ share of next season
← Back to Board← Back to Home
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The Sand Court ✦ Mission Board
Wanted

Enemies of the Court and enemies of the poor. Category III.

✦
Mares Duvaine
Extortion / Capture PreferredOpen
Medium

Duvaine operates as a mid-level debt collector for an unnamed consortium working out of the Goblet. His method is to target recently widowed women in the lower wards with fabricated loan documents tied to their deceased spouses. Most pay. One did not and was removed from her home with three days notice. She is currently living with neighbors. Duvaine is not aware the Sand Court has the fabricated documents. He should be made aware in a controlled setting.

How to IdentifyMale Elezen, early fifties, thin build, always carries a document case. Grey coat, formal. Never raises his voice.
LocationGoblet residential ward. Conducts business at a private table in a wine hall near ward four. Tuesdays and Thursdays, midday.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsBring him in for a conversation with the documents present. If capture is not viable, evidence of his full client list earns a separate bonus.
Reward48,000galive / 22,000g deceased
Veth of the Lower Market
Trafficking / EliminationOpen
Hard

Veth runs what appears to be a labor placement service near the lower market. She places workers, mostly migrants and those with no documentation, into contracts with no exit terms and no wages beyond debt repayment for the placement fee she charged them. Three of her placements have disappeared entirely. Two others escaped and gave consistent descriptions. Her placement office is legitimate on paper. Her secondary operation is not.

How to IdentifyFemale Midlander Hyur, forty to fifty years of age, heavy-set, wears the same green headscarf regardless of weather. Always has a ledger open.
Last Confirmed LocationLower market, south corner. Office hours mid-morning to late afternoon. Does not work evenings.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsElimination or permanent removal from operation. The ledger is worth more than she is. Bring it either way.
Reward79,000g+ ledger bonus
Pip Ashvane (assumed name)
Traitor / CaptureOpen
Easy

Pip spent four months embedded in a Sand Court distribution network under a false identity. She was not planted by official forces. She was collecting information to sell to a private bidder and has since vanished with a list of three names and two locations. No one has been harmed yet. The emphasis is on yet. She has no organizational loyalty, only financial interest. The right offer may be more effective than force.

How to IdentifyFemale Dunesfolk Lalafell, appears young, short red hair, has a habit of counting her fingers when she is nervous. Speaks three languages.
Last Confirmed LocationLast seen boarding a ferry toward Vesper Bay. May have continued toward Horizon. She does not stay still.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsBring her in unharmed. What she knows matters more than what happens to her afterward. No permanent harm before delivery.
Reward35,000gdelivery only, unharmed
← Back to Board← Back to Home
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The Sand Court ✦ Mission Board
In Progress

Active contracts. Contractors assigned. Board updated on completion.

✦

These contracts are no longer available for open intake. Contact the board if a contractor has gone unreachable.

Safe Passage to Vesper Bay
EscortIn Progress
Easy

A healer and her two children need to reach Vesper Bay before the full moon. She has treated people certain nobles would have preferred to see dead, and the knowledge she carries is inconvenient for more than one prominent name. The desert route is too short to be safe. She needs a quiet escort. No banners, no questions asked.

How to IdentifyMiddle-aged Hyur woman, grey hair in braids. She goes by Marne. Introduce yourself as a friend of the Alley.
Estimated RiskPossible hired muscle. No confirmed affiliation with official forces.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsReturn with a writ of safe arrival confirmed by Marne herself.
ContractorSkala Heemora
Reward29,000gupon confirmed arrival
The Thing in the Quarry
Beast / MonsterIn Progress
Medium

Workers at a quarry between Ul'dah and the Zanr'ak Gate have been reporting nightly attacks from a creature moving through the tunnels. Two dead, five injured. The Immortal Flames were contacted and declined, citing the location as not strategically viable. Workers' families pooled what they could. The Sand Court adds the rest.

How to IdentifySurvivors describe something large, four-legged, multiple eyes, moving without sound. Possibly drawn to the heat of the night braziers.
LocationQuarry tunnels between Ul'dah and the Zanr'ak Gate, eastern Thanalan.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsA recognizable part of the creature. Claw, fang, whatever is available. Bring it back.
ContractorJhou'li Majiad
Reward44,000gfamilies + Sand Court fund
Captain Harwick Drenn
Capture PreferredIn Progress
Medium

A corporate guard employed by the Monetarists' Consortium, Drenn coordinated the forced removal of three families from Date Palm Alley under false claims of debt default. The documents were forged. He knew. A six-year-old child was injured during the operation. Drenn was promoted. The Sand Court has a long memory.

How to IdentifyMiddle-aged Roegadyn male, horizontal scar across the chin, grey Consortium uniform with double silver insignia. Known to frequent the Goblet on days off.
LocationOn duty in the Ul'dah business district. Off-duty presence confirmed in the Goblet residential ward.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsBring him in alive for questioning. Elimination authorized if capture is not viable. Do not execute in civilian residential areas.
ContractorDharkis Nix
Reward63,000galive / 40,000g deceased
The Collector
EliminationIn Progress
Hard

Known only as "the Collector," this operative works for a debt syndicate that preys on migrant workers in Thanalan. Her method: locate debtors, seize their children as collateral, then sell them before any payment can be made. Her true identity is unknown. Three separate mothers described her in identical terms. That is enough.

How to IdentifyTall Elezen woman, short black hair, always dressed in black with a leather vest bearing gold metal clasps. Travels with two armed companions at all times.
Last Confirmed LocationOutskirts of Little Ala Mhigo. Follows seasonal migration routes. Pattern suggests she will return within the moon.
Trophy / Bounty RequirementsBring proof of elimination. Any information on the syndicate structure earns a separate bonus.
ContractorMeduil Holte
Reward85,000g+ syndicate intel bonus
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The Sand Court ✦ Crystal — Diabolos
Join the Court

What we are looking for. Where to find us.

✦
// No commitment required

You do not need to join anything to work with the Sand Court. The mission board exists for anyone who wants to take a contract, whether they are a member, a passing contractor, or someone who simply found the board and saw something worth doing.

The missions cover three types of work: threats to the people of Ul'dah and Thanalan that the official forces will not handle, enemies of those who prey on the lower city, and bounties and recoveries that need resolving. None of that requires a Fellowship tag, a Linkshell invite, or a Free Company application.

The Fellowship, Linkshell, and Free Company exist for those who want ongoing involvement, a community, and a place in the Court's structure. They are options, not requirements. Take a job, get paid, walk away. That is a perfectly valid relationship with the Sand Court.

// Who we are looking for

Characters who operate outside the law in Ul'dah's lower city. Thieves, mercenaries, runners, revolutionaries, apothecaries, information brokers. Anyone who has decided that the sultanate's version of order is not for them and whose work does not come at the expense of the people at the bottom.

You do not need to be a criminal by trade. You need a reason to be in the lower city and a willingness to operate in morally complex space. The Court has a code. Members are expected to keep it.

// How it works

The Sand Court has three points of entry depending on how involved you want to be: a Fellowship open to the full Crystal datacenter, a Cross-World Linkshell for active contractors and Court-adjacent characters, and a Free Company on Diabolos for those who want full IC membership.

All of it can be arranged in-game IC or through our Discord. There is no required format. Find us in Ul'dah, reach out through the lower city channels, or join the server and introduce yourself. We will figure out the rest from there.

Find us on DiscordFellowship ✦ Linkshell ✦ Free Company ✦ all coordinated here
Join Discord →
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The Sand Court ✦ Out of Character
Info & About

What this is, who it's for, and the people behind it.

✦
OOC Rules
// What is the Sand Court

The Sand Court is a roleplay hub and quest concept set within the world of Final Fantasy XIV. It is an independent fictional space with no direct affiliation to any existing RP community, free company, linkshell, or server group.

It exists to provide quests, work, and narrative hooks for characters who live in or pass through Ul'dah and operate outside the law: thieves, mercenaries, revolutionaries, information brokers, desert runners, and anyone who has decided that the sultanate's version of order is not something they intend to uphold.

// Who it's for

Characters who would naturally find themselves in Ul'dah's lower city looking for work, protection, contacts, or a fight pointed at the right target. The Court operates on the principle that the Monetarists and Royalists take too much and that someone should be taking it back.

You do not need to be a criminal by trade. You need to be someone with a reason to be in the lower city and a willingness to operate in morally complex space.

// 18+ Content Warning

This hub is intended for players aged 18 and older. The Sand Court deals in organized crime, political violence, morally ambiguous scenarios, and adult themes consistent with an underground criminal network in a fantasy city-state.

Discretion is expected. Participation implies familiarity with and consent to the themes involved.

// Conduct & Expectations

IC conflict is welcome and encouraged. OOC conflict is not. What happens in the Court stays in the Court unless both parties agree otherwise. Separation of IC and OOC is mandatory.

The Court does not exist to harm real players, only to create story. If something is uncomfortable out of character, say so. That takes priority over everything.

// Disclaimer

All characters, events, and organizations are entirely fictional and exist solely within the context of Final Fantasy XIV roleplay. Not affiliated with Square Enix, RPHub, or any official platform or community.

About
Yucca Al'SahraViera ✦ Mercenary ✦ Proprietor

The Hare of the Desert. Thief, apothecary, the most sociable person in the room and the most dangerous one too. Grew up in the orphanage off the Steps of Nald. Built everything she has from what the streets offered.

View RPHub Profile ↗
Levthgar YorvaschHrothgar ✦ Gunbreaker ✦ Field Operative

Precise, patient, a body that has made its peace with large things that could kill it. Brute force when required. The force multiplier that ensures encounters end on their terms rather than anyone else's.

View RPHub Profile ↗
✦ Find us elsewhere ✦
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