Assassin

Thief

Progression

Description

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.

Weapons and Armor

• Any Weapons
• Leather Armor

Features

• 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
• Remove Traps
• Pick Pockets
• Move Silently
• Hide
• Climb Walls
• Listen
• 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. 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.

Restrictions

• Must have a Dexterity score of 9 or higher
• Cannot use shields or metal armor without ruining thieving skills