Thieves are those who take what they want or need by stealth, disarming traps and picking locks to get to the gold they crave; or “borrowing” money from pockets, beltpouches, etc. right under the nose of the “mark” without the victim ever knowing.
Thieves fight better than Magic-Users but not as well as Fighters. Avoidance of honest work leads Thieves to be less hardy than the other classes, though they do pull ahead of the Magic-Users at higher levels.
| THIEF LEVEL | ATTACK BONUS |
|---|
| 1-2 |
+1 |
| 3-4 |
+2 |
| 5-6 |
+3 |
| 7-8 |
+4 |
| 9-11 |
+5 |
| 12-14 |
+6 |
| 15-17 |
+7 |
| 18-20 |
+8 |
SUPPLEMENTS
Effects of Armor
Thieves can use any kind of armor
shield butabilities based on what sort of armor is employed. Leather armor is the “default” type of armor, and applies no bonus or penalty to a Thief wearing such armor. Otherwise:
- wearing no armor imparts a 10% bonus
- wearing chain imparts a 20% penalty
- wearing plate imparts a 40% penalty
- wearing a shield imparts 10% penalty (cumulative with other penalties above).
Thief Abilities
Some players of Thieves or Assassins may wish to have more control over their Thief abilities. If you study the Thief Abilities table, you'll discover its secret: from levels 2-9, the Thief improves 30 percentiles (total) each level; from levels 10- 15, 20 percentiles; and from level 16 on, 10 percentiles. If you wish, a Thief is allowed customization, allocate these points as you wish rather than following the table. No more than 10 percentiles can be added to any single Thief ability per level gain. No Thief ability may be raised above 99 percent.
Ability Bonus or Penalty Adjustments
Each Thief ability is governed by an ability score (as given below). Add to each Thief ability the relevant ability score modifier times five (i.e. +1 gives +5%, +2 gives +10%, and so on). The dominant ability scores for Thief abilities are as follows:
| THIEF ABILITIES | ABILITY SCORE |
|---|
| Open Locks, Pick Pockets, Move Silently |
DEXTERITY |
| Remove Traps, Hide |
INTELLIGENCE |
| Listen |
WISDOM |
| Climb |
STRENGTH |
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Thieves have a number of special abilities, described below. One Turn must generally be spent to use any of these abilities, though the GM may amend this as he or she sees fit. The GM may choose to make any of these rolls on behalf of the player, at his or her option, to help maintain the proper state of uncertainty. Also note that the GM may apply situational adjustments (plus or minus percentage points) as he or she sees fit; for instance, it's obviously harder to climb a wall slick with slime than one that is dry, so the GM might apply a penalty of 20% for the slimy wall.
Open Locks allows the Thief to unlock a lock without a proper key. It may only be tried once per lock. If the attempt fails, the Thief must wait until he or she has gained another level of experience before trying again.
Remove Traps is generally rolled twice: first to detect the trap, and second to disarm it. The GM will make these rolls as the player won't know for sure if the character is successful or not until someone actually tests the trapped (or suspected) area.
Pick Pockets allows the Thief to lift the wallet, cut the purse, etc. of a victim without the victim noticing. Obviously, if the roll is failed, the Thief didn't get what he or she wanted; but further, the intended victim (or an onlooker, at the GM's option) will notice the attempt if the die roll is more than two times the target number (or if the die roll is 00).
Move Silently, like Remove Traps, is always rolled by the GM. The Thief will usually believe he or she is moving silently regardless of the die roll, but those he or she is trying to avoid will hear the Thief if the roll is failed.
Climb Walls permits the Thief to climb sheer surfaces with few or no visible handholds. This ability should normally be rolled by the player. If the roll fails, the Thief falls from about halfway up the wall or other vertical surface. The GM may require multiple rolls if the distance climbed is more than 100 feet.
Hide permits the Thief to hide in any shadowed area large enough to contain his or her body. Like Move Silently, the Thief always believes he or she is being successful, so the GM makes the roll. A Thief hiding in shadows must remain still for this ability to work.
Listen is generally used to listen at a door, or to try to listen for distant sounds in a dungeon. The GM must decide what noises the Thief might hear; a successful roll means only that a noise could have been heard. The GM should always make this roll for the player. Note that the Thief and his or her party must try to be quiet in order for the Thief to use this ability.
Finally, Thieves can perform a
Sneak Attack any time they are behind an opponent in melee and it is reasonably likely the opponent doesn't know the Thief is there. The GM may require a Move Silently or Hide roll to determine this. This roll will be made by the GM in private. The Sneak Attack is made with a +4 attack bonus and does double damage if it is successful. A Thief usually can't make a Sneak Attack on the same opponent twice in any given combat.
The Sneak Attack can be performed with any melee (but not missile) weapon, or may be performed bare-handed (in which case subduing damage is done; see the Encounter section for details). Also, the Sneak Attack can be performed with the “flat of the blade;” the bonuses and penalties cancel out, so the attack has a +0 attack bonus and does normal damage; the damage done in this case is subduing damage.
Advancement
A Thief who meets certain prerequisites can become an
Assassin.
When a thief reaches Name (9th) level, he is called a master thief (whether male or female).
Land-Owning Thieves
Name level thieves may construct a hideout (a fortified house in a city, a cave network, etc.). A thief who has constructed a hideout will attract 2d6 1st level apprentice thieves, who come to learn from a master. These will generally (though not always) be loyal to the thief, but will not automatically be replaced by others if they die or leave; the character will have to recruit new thieves himself.
At this point, a player character thief may want to consider setting up a Thieves' Guild. A thief who wishes to settle must contact the Thieves' Guild of the region where he wants to settle. If the thief has not been an enemy of this Guild (or, even if he has, if he can persuade or bribe the Guild to cooperate), the Guild will help establish the thief as a guildmaster. He may be the master of a new branch of the Guild, an expansion branch in a new neighborhood, or of an established Guild whose leader has stepped down or died.
The Dungeon Master will describe how many new thieves arrive at the new Guild, or will describe how the existing Guild is currently organized. The Guild will generate income from its illegal activities.
The character can, at some point, ask for control of a larger branch of the Guild (this is recommended when 18th level is reached), and may eventually become a powerful official in the Guild Headquarters.
Skilled (high level) thieves are always needed for difficult and unique adventures, and the Guildmaster thief is the person adventurers contact when such jobs are available. You, as the Guildmaster, may choose to take the jobs or allow one or more of the Guild members to have them—but you have first choice, in any case.
Traveling Thieves
A Name level thief who chooses not to establish any hideout or any station in the local Guild authority is a traveling thief, known also as a rogue.
1. A rogue must remain a member of a Thieves' Guild, though he need visit the Guild only once a year.
2. Once a character becomes a rogue, the character can never become a Guildmaster in an established branch of the Guild. However, if he later decides to settle down, and if the Guildmaster permits, he may set up a new branch of the Guild where none currently exists.
3. A rogue has a chance (checked by the DM once per game week) of discovering treasure maps or rumors about the location of great treasures. This chance is based on him keeping his ear to the thieves' grapevine.
4. Likewise, the rogue may visit any branch of the Thieves' Guild to see the Guildmaster and learn local information, tips, and rumors—if the local Guildmaster is willing to suffer his presence in the territory. If the Guildmaster is willing, it will only be under the condition that the character hire assistance from several low level thieves on a temporary basis.
