AD&D 1E Redesigned and Rebalanced Thief for 1e AD&D

When I got the chance to play I almost always played a thief. I didn't really think hard about balance or optimizing until I was well into college with a lot of years of experience behind me. And when I did think about it, I realized how frustrating, stupid, and underpowered the thief class had been compared to fighters, paladins, rangers, M-U, and to a lesser extent clerics, druids, and illusionists as well. Not only were they terrible in combat after 2nd level, but their abilities lived in an uncomfortable space where they were too unreliable to utilize at lower levels, but they were too easily overshadowed in all regards by spells at higher levels. Invisibility is just better than a chance to hide, and flight is just better than a chance to climb. Divination is better at finding traps than a thief, picking pockets almost never came up except in a way that was anti-social, and so forth. At higher levels you just become all but useless. Even if you backstabbed every round you'd do less damage than a fighter, and the UA rules only made the problem worse by introducing the barbarian, specialization, cavaliers, and a real end game for druids.

The full extent of how bad the class actually is, is not I think appreciated even to this day.

But I present the following rebalanced class done in the 1e AD&D style as an example of how studly and awesome the class could and should be, and needs to be if it is to keep up in power per XP point.

Table 1.1: Thief Advancement Table

220,000 XP per additional level beyond the 15th. Thieves gain +2 hp per level beyond 10th.

Table 1.2: Thief Revised Saving Throws

Table 1.3: Base Thief Skills for Starting Thieves

Table 1.4: Racial modifiers to thief’s skills.

The profession of thief is not dishonorable, albeit is neither honorable nor highly respected in some quarters. The major ability for a thief is dexterity and a character must not have less than a 9 to become a thief. High intelligence is also desirable. A thief character with dexterity greater than 15 gains a 10% bonus to experience points awarded to him or her by the referee, as well as certain benefits in the performance of their thief skills.

All thieves are neutral or evil, though there are rare sorts that are neutral good who devote themselves to catching and thwarting their evil brethren. These later are the more numerous, for the profession is not productive but parasitical.

Thieves are principally meant to take by cunning or stealth. Thieves use a six sided die for HD. Thieves beyond 10th level gain 2 h.p. per level. They are able to wear light armor and employ a fair number of weapons of the common sort. Although they do not fight as well as fighters, they are able to use stealth in combat most effectively by back stabbing and surprise attacks.

Thieves improve in a wide variety of movement and skullduggery related skills, collectively called thief skills. Thieves begin with exceptional skill in these areas and gradually improve as they gain levels. At first level they can basic skills in these areas above that of the common individual, and additionally 80 points which they may distribute to the skills of their choosing to improve their percentage chance of success by 1% per point spent – but no more than 10 points to any anyone skill. For each level after the first, thieves receive an additional 40 points to distribute – but again no more than 10 points to any skill. Humans are exceptionally versatile and so receive an additional 4 points to spend at every level, while demi humans have racial bonuses or penalties to such skill that alter their base chances of success as shown in table 1.4. Additional, individuals of high intelligence receive 1 bonus point to distribute for each point of intelligence above 11, at each level they obtain including the first.

Table: 1.5: Dexterity decreases or increases base skill as follows:

Note that thieves must have at least nine dexterity to qualify for or advance in the class. Lower scores are given for use of thief skills by other class or in the event of temporary loss of dexterity from some calamity.

Table: 1.6: Intelligence increases or decreases base skill as follows:

Table: 1.7: Strength Adjustments for Jump Distance:

Dwarves and gnomes have their base high jump (whether standing or running) reduced by 1’, and their base broad jump likewise reduced by 1’ (whether standing or running. Halflings have the same penalties, but further have their base running broad jump reduced by 2’ to 5’.

Pick Pockets: 20% - This includes pilfering, filching or producing small objects unobserved and minor acts of prestidigitation including palming cards, fixing dice, cheating at shell games and the like as well as the obvious use of taking an object from the purse or pocket of a victim. For each level of the character above the 3rd, the chance of success is reduced by 5% and a failure of 21% or more indicates the thief has been caught in his dishonesty. A thief may even attempt to filch items from an aware and observant opponent in combat, but the chance of success is halved before penalties are applied for the level of the target, and in such cases a failure of 21% or more means that the intended victim may make a free attack on the impudent thief. Normally, drawstrings, latches, buttons and other fasteners require two successful checks on different rounds before the attempt is successful, as one check must unfasten such latches. However, tools are available for slitting purses or drawstrings and may be employed for a single check when circumstances warrant it.

Open Locks: 20% - Picking a lock requires suitable tools. Some locks are more difficult than others, reducing the chance of success by 10%, 20% or rarely even more in the case of the most elaborate and expensive locks. A lock may be only attempted once and if failed the lock may not be attempted again until the thief has gained a new level in the class.

Find/Remove Traps: 20% - This is the skill of recognizing subtle mechanical traps and hazards as well as the knowledge of how to safely disarm them in cases where the mechanism can be reached or the trigger jammed. A separate roll is required to find and then to remove the trap. Each roll checks a 10’x10’ surface or a single object, portal or device. Normally these rolls have a flat difficulty, provided there is clear illumination and viewing of the trap. The same find roll can also be used to detect secret doors if it is higher than the base 1 chance in 6.

Move Silently: 15% - Move silently implies the ability to move in utter quiet, as an owl or cat, undetectable to even the most sensitive of ears, and not merely moderately stealthy. Armor and encumbrance negatively affects all thief skills.

Hide in Shadows: 10% - While anyone may hide with suitable cover or perfect concealment (as in total darkness), the thief may hide in mere deep shadows or other partial concealment with a successful check and is thereby concealed from most casual observation almost as if they have blended into the darkness. Though of course, a bright light source, or close observation (within 10’) may reveal the thief if no other concealment is employed. A thief may hide in daylight in a similar manner if some equivalent form of concealment to a deep shadow is available, such as a partial screen of foliage or the like.

Hear Noise: 10% - This is the chance to hear remote, concealed, or quite stealthy sounds that are short of complete silence – such as whispering on the other side of a door, the approach of a pack of wolves, or a distant battle some miles from the location. Quite loud sounds may be readily heard at much higher percentage chances, and some sounds are of course loud enough to be obvious when at closer range. A full minute of listening intently without nearby noise or distraction is generally necessary to employ the skill, though other subtle sounds may be heard passively at the DM’s discretion.

Climb Walls: 70% - The normal percentage chance of climbing a wall assumes a fairly smooth and non-slippery surface. If the surface is slippery such as wet, icy or oily, the chance of success is halved. If the surface is smoother – such as polished stone or glass - or rougher than normal, with good hand holds, the chance is modified by up to +/-40% depending on the circumstances. Overhanging ledges increase the difficulty by further 20%. Both adjustments are made after halving the chance of a slippery surface, if present. Generally a climber will make progress equal to 1/3rd of their normal movement rate. A simple failure does not indicate a fall, but rather progression only to the halfway point of their move, at which point they become stuck. Only failure by 21% or more results in a fall from whatever height the thief has attained. Note that for many surfaces a thief cannot fall and so no check is required if the thief is not under time pressure and the climb is relatively short. A climb that requires more rounds than thief’s CON score has an additional 5% chance of failure for each round past that point. Various gear specialized in the aiding of climbing exists, each with its own employment and rules.

Decipher Text: 0% - This is the ability to decode a cryptic, obscure or arcane text. The chance assumes that the reader is familiar with the original language – it is not the ability to understand any language, but rather the ability to read archaic, dialects, jargon, trade languages, slang, ciphers and encoded passages in some language one is familiar with or some closely related ancestor of it. The difficulty may generally be modified +/-20% depending on the strength of the cipher, the obscurity of the dialect, or the antiquity of the message. A thief of at least 10th level may read and employ magical scrolls excluding those of a clerical, but not of a druidical nature with a chance of success equal to their Decipher Text skill less 20% and further minus 5% for each level of the spell beyond the first. A failure by less than 21% indicates that the magic was dangerously performed almost correctly, which is far worse than not being performed correctly at all, for in such cases the spell will perform with an opposite or perverse effect compared to that intended by caster.

Tightrope Walking: 20% - This is the ability to engage in normal movement on a narrow surface such as a tight rope without falling. The chance is halved for engaging in vigorous activity like combat, tumbling or running, while the chance of success is doubled for relatively wide surfaces like wooden beams. Wind and other hazards can decrease the chance of success by up to 20%. On a failure by 21% or more, the character topples off the narrow surface. On a lesser failure, the character must cease moving halfway through their move or halfway across the surface (whichever is less) at which point they lose their dexterity bonus as they try to regain their balance. New attempts may be made on successive rounds.

Tumbling: 0% - This versatile acrobatic skill allows superhuman feats of agility. Three different modes of operation are available

Catfall – At the basic difficulty of the tumbling skill, attempt to reduce the height of a fall for the purposes of damage by 10’. At a 20% penalty the height of the fall can be reduced by 20’, 40% the height by 30’, at a 60% reduced chance of success the height reduced by 40’ for the chance of calculating damage, and so forth up to a maximum penalty of 100% to reduce a fall by 60’. Successful falls may also reduce the chance of striking spears, spikes or other obstacles, but not the damage from such hazards if they are not evaded. In general, if the number of hazards struck is determined randomly, on a successful fall only the minimum number will have effect. If the hazards make attack rolls, the thief may attempt additional tumbling checks to evade each, and if the hazards have a percentage chance of hitting it is halved for thieves that successfully make a controlled fall.

Evasion – At a base difficulty of half the thieves tumbling skill, the thief may evade any weapon like attack which the thief is aware of and which is made by a character with a lower initiative than themselves. These include attacks by magical missiles and ray like spells, including those that normally always hit, but not those with a considerable area of effect such as dragon breath or fireballs. For each HD of the attacker above the 3rd level, the chance of success is modified downward by 5%. By the same percentage chance, a thief may pass out of melee combat as if withdrawing without receiving the normal attack upon their back for doing so, again provided the foe has a lower initiative.

Acrobatic Attack – At a base difficulty of half the thieves tumbling skill, the thief may make a single attack on a target for the round which is treated as an attack on the target’s back (or whatever vulnerable spot the thief chooses). This may be the only attack performed in that round, but it negates the advantage of the shield, and so forth. Iterative attacks are not allowed, but the thief may make a backstab attack. On failure, normal attacks may be performed, but a failure by 21% or more indicates no attacks may be performed in the round.

Athletics: 10% - This is the ability to push ones athletic ability far above the normal. On a successful check, the thief may soar on a jump 50% further than would be ordinary. At a -50% chance penalty on the skill, they may jump twice as far as normal. They may also add their athletics skill to the chance of successfully laying out when on broad jumps or flopping when on high jumps, so that these feats become automatic at higher levels of skill. The rules on jumping are as follows:

• High Jumps, Standing: A normal person may jump a base height of 2 feet vertically.
• High Jumps, Running: With a run up of at least 20 feet, a normal person may jump a base height of 3 feet. A person may lay out or flop, in order to get over a height with a 75% chance of success and thus gain an additional foot of height; however, if they do so, 5 segments are required to regain one's feet and unless the landing surface is soft 1d4 damage is taken.
• Broad Jumps, Standing: A normal person may jump a base distance of 4 feet from a standing position. If the character wishes to leap in an extended position, 2' of additional distance can be gained, but the character will then land prone and take 2 full segments to get back on his or her feet. A 3' extension can be attempted, but this has but 75% chance of success and a 3-segment period of recovery; a 4' extension has a 50% chance of success and a 4-segment recovery; an extension of 5' has a 25% chance of success and a 5- segment recovery period. Failure on an extension results in a jump of no effect extension.
• Broad Jumps, Running: A normal person my jump a base distance of 7 feet after a run up of at least 20’. The same rules for extensions apply as for the standing broad jump.
• Pole Vault: As an alternative for clearing a distance, a pole of up to 9’ in length which is light enough that it may be grasped and carried may be used to add 2/3rds its length to a broad or high jump with a successful athletics check. A pole of up to 12’ may be used with the same efficiency but at a 25% penalty on the chance of success. And a pole of up to 18 feet may be used with the same efficiency but at a 75% penalty on the chance of success. Failure results in a jump of the normal length. Each percentage of skill a thief has in athletics reduces the chance of failure by 1%.

As an example, a thief with a 75% in athletics wishes to leap a 15’ gap. They may extend their normal jump by 5’ by laying out with 100% chance of success, giving them a jump of 12’. They have a 75% chance of soaring 50% beyond normal for a full jump of 18’. In extremis, they could attempt a jump of 24’ with but a 25% chance of success. A thief with 150% chance in athletics may reliably clear a jump of 24’ without difficulty, and jumps of 14’ without breaking stride (this is before the effects of high strength or racial benefits is accounted for).

Any character leaping a gap which fails by a distance of less than their arm length may attempt a climb check to arrest their fall provided that there is a lip or handhold which they may grab on to. Success leaves them dangling from the edge in or over whatever hazard they wished to cross.

Escape Artist: 10% - Escape artist is the ability to contort the limbs and body so as to escape confinement that would seem secure. Some examples of such usage follow:

• With a normal check, the character may free their hands from ropes. One such check is allowed per day of confinement.
• With a normal check, the character may free themselves from a whip, net, lasso, grab, grapple, or constriction attack by an opponent or monster. However, a 5% penalty on such checks applies for each HD of the opponent above the 3rd. One such check is allowed per round.
• At a penalty of 20% on the check, the character may free their hands and wrists from iron manacles or shackles, or from full torso bindings such as a strait jacket. One such check is allowed per day of confinement.
• With a normal check, the character may pass through a portal which is barely wide enough to fit through as if the portal did not pose an obstacle, slipping through as part of their normal movement. In the case of a passage, wiggling or crawling in a tight confine is normally at the rate of but 1” per full round of focused movement, but a with such a check the thief may move at up to 1/3rd their normal movement rate which belly crawling or squeezing up or down a chimney (climbing checks also may apply in such circumstances).
• With a penalty of 50% on the check, the character may squeeze through portals in passages which are big enough for their head but not as wide as their shoulders. Such movement requires a minute for each 5’ of progress, and a successful check for each additional phase of progress. However, success by more than 50% allows movement as in normally confining space as described in the previous entry.
• At half of the normal percentage, the character may free themselves from the confinement of such spells as entangle, snare, web which create imperfect physical confinement.
• At half of the normal percentage and an additional penalty of 20% on the check, the character my free themselves from spells such as Hold Person, Hold Monster and the like which immobilizes the character by magical means or mental control.
• At half of the normal percentage and an additional penalty of 30% on the check, the character may free themselves from a cursed item which may not normally be removed, if they react as soon as they are aware of the curse – such as a cursed ring, cursed gloves, cursed boots, or the like. In the case of cursed armor, for each round it would be required to remove the armor, increase the difficulty by 10%. By the same chance, the character my free themselves from cursed items that cause confinement such as a rug of smothering.

There is no upper limit to the skill a thief may obtain in a particular skill, though there may be practical limits to how high a skill may be usefully raised, these are often quite high. For example, a 20th level thief having obtained 200% in the Tumbling skill has a 100% chance of dodging any attack they are aware of by creature of 3HD or less if they have the higher initiative. However, this chance drops to just 15% against a foe of 20HD.

Should any member of a different class wish to attempt thief skills they perform with a chance equal to half the base chance of a 1st level thief. Bonuses for dexterity, race, intelligence and armor are added before this chance is halved, while penalties for the like are applied after the base chance is halved. Rough fractions down. Thus an 18 intelligence M/U has a 7% chance of deciphering script and a 13% chance to find or remove a trap, while an 18 dexterity human fighter in leather armor has a 37% chance of climbing a typical wall but just a 2% base chance reduce a fall by tumbling, and a 1% chance to evade an attack by doing so (and no chance at all versus attacks by foes of 4HD or greater). If a player character seeks to attempt such marginal acts too often, playing as it were a rather incompetent thief rather that first seeking to solve problems after their present calling, they should be encouraged to take up the class.

Thieves gain iterative attacks with weapons they are proficient in as a fighter of ½ of their level, rounded down. If a character is both a thief and a fighter, if they are a higher-level thief than they are a fighter, then they may add ½ the difference between their thief levels and their fighter levels, rounded down, to their effective fighter level for determining iterative attacks. However, this calculation does not change the attack matrix that the character attacks on.

Thieves attack on the same matrix as Clerics.

Since they lack proficiency with the shield and have high dexterity, thieves frequently fight with two weapons, normally a dagger in their off hand.

Thieves begin with proficiency in two weapons and gain an additional proficiency every four levels. All thieves may gain proficiency in the club, sap, (jo) stick, dagger, dart, garrote, or sword (short or broad). Human thieves may additionally gain proficiency in the longsword, quarter staff, or light crossbow. Elven thieves may additionally gain proficiency in the longsword or short bow, while half-elven thieves may gain proficiency in the weapons from the lists of both parentages. Dwarven and gnomish thieves may gain proficiency in the hand axe and light crossbow, while gnomish or Halfling thieves may gain proficiency in the sling. The rare neutral good thieves may gain proficiency in the net, lasso and mancatcher.

Each time a thief gains a level, roll a d20 and add the result as a percentile to the thief’s dexterity score. When this score exceeds 100, increase the thieves’ dexterity by 1, carrying over the remainder. This may continue up to the maximum for their race.

Thieves begin with 3 NWP and gain a new NWP every 2nd level thereafter.

While a thief is not as skilled at arms or pressing an attack as a fighter, when a thief strikes a foe from behind, they are able to make the most of it doing double damage on the attack. Only a dagger, club, sap, or sword may be used for such attacks. The damage from a backstab increases to x3 at 5th level, x4 at 9th level and x5 at 13th level or higher. At 10th level or higher, the master thief may also backstab any creature that he or she has surprised during the surprise round, irrespective of the angle of the attack.

All thieves may speak the “Thieves Cant” in any language that they know, an argot or dialect of the language known widely among thieves in which the profession and things related to it may be discussed cryptically in a manner that the uninitiated will not be able to follow, thus allowing plans to be done in secret and likewise affirming to other thieves that you are initiated and skilled in the trade. However, while they may not be able to understand the cant of thieves, many magistrates of the law and even some shopkeepers will recognize it from its cadence and patter, and so identify the speaker as a thief. Knowledge of the “Thieves Cant” does not count against the number of languages that may be known.

A thief that has attained 10th level may create for themselves a small castle or fortified home within or not more than a few miles from a city. If they do so, the renown of the thief is such that they will attract 6-24 admiring thieves as loyal followers who may then form a new guild of thieves. However, this is sure to bring the enmity of any against existing thieves in the area who no doubt have a prior claim on the area as their exclusive territory. Such a feud cannot end until all the master thieves on one side have been eliminated, the player character removes themselves to a distant locale. The operations of a thieves’ guild and the potential earnings thereof are beyond the scope of this book but are sure to bring a wide scope for daring, foul deeds, and adventure.

Some Revised Thief Non-Weapon Proficiencies

Acrobat, DEXTERITY: A NWP test may be performed to entertain a small audience with artistic displays of acrobatics and tumbling.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to tumble in stressful situations. If the character is not a thief, there base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully tumble by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Alert, WISDOM: On a successful NWP test, the base chance of the character to be surprised surprise improves by a degree. This never results in a 0% chance of being surprised. In the event such a reduction would, increase the size of the dice by increments (1 in 8, 1 in 10, etc.) to a minimum of 1 in 20.

Animal Mimicry, CHARISMA: A character with this proficiency is capable of imitating noises made by various animals. A successful proficiency check means that only magic can distinguish the noise from that of the actual animal being imitated. A failed die roll means that the sound varies from the correct noise in some slight way.

If the die roll fails, this does not mean that all creatures hearing the noise know that the sound is fake. While the animals themselves, some hunters and other naturalists, or those with the Animal Mimicry NWP themselves, that are very familiar with cries of birds and beasts will sense this automatically, most creatures or characters in earshot still require contested Wisdom checks to determine if realize the sound is wrong in some fashion and likely has some intelligent origin (that is they must succeed in a wisdom ability check to a greater or equal degree than the one making the noise failed it by).

Such sounds are frequently used as pre-agreed upon signals by those coordinating stealthily in the wild, so as to identify their parties, to signal whether or not all is well or if the plan has been compromised, or to order the start of an ambuscades or stealthy tactical movement.

Appraising, INTELLIGENCE: This proficiency is highly useful for thieves and merchants, as it allows characters to estimate the value and authenticity of antiques, art objects, jewelry, cut gemstones, or other crafted items they find. Appraising very rare and exotic items have a -5 penalty on the check, though in the event that the failure is by less than 5 (that is they would have succeeded in a normal check), the character at least realizes that they don’t know the value of the item. Magical items always constitute rare and exotic items, unless they have successfully been correctly identified by some other means (such as legend lore or the identify spell). The character must have the item in hand to examine. A successful proficiency check (rolled by the DM) enables the character to estimate the value of the item to the nearest 100 or 1,000 gp and to identify fakes. On a failed check, the character cannot estimate a price at all. On a roll of 20, the character wildly misreads the value of the item, always to the detriment of the character.

Athlete, DEXTERITY: The NWP also grants the ability to contend in various sports and athletic competitions which are not directly modelled by other actions (example: attack rolls), such as catching an errant ball, accurately bouncing a ball off of your hip, etc.

The long range of thrown javelins, clubs, javelins, hammers and basically aerodynamic thrown objects not otherwise treated as weapons (rocks, disks, etc.) is extended by 1' + ½' per damage bonus of the character from exceptional strength.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to use athletics. If the character is not a thief, there base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully use athletics by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Bandit, CHARISMA: A NWP test may be performed to know about the habits of magistrates that patrol and enforce the law on roads, the merchants and caravans which pass by on the roads and how they are typically guarded, and where bandits gather in ambush or to whence they commonly retreat. A penalty of -5 applies if the region is remote from the character’s normal habitation and hitherto unknown or little known, and a further -5 if it is isolated or the dominate language is unknown to the character.

A character with this NWP gains weapon proficiency with either the light mace, heavy mace, footman’s flail, warhammer, or morningstar. The remaining weapons are then added to the character’s class list of allowable weapon proficiencies.

Blind-Fighting, WISDOM: A character with this proficiency has trained himself to respond to sound, smell, and touch stimuli, and thus is less hampered by completely dark conditions than normal characters are. Blind-fighting proficiency is available to all character races, but is obviously most useful to those not possessing infravision. This proficiency can be used whenever a character cannot see, whether the reason is darkness, a blindfold, or some kind of natural or magical blindness.

A character with blind-fighting proficiency suffers only a -2 on all attack and damage rolls, and saving throws, instead of the standard -4. Such characters suffer no penalties to their Armor Class because of darkness, and retain special abilities that would normally be lost in darkness. Thus, a thief with blind-fighting proficiency could still score extra damage for a backstab in the dark, and likewise, a ranger would still inflict extra damage on giant class creatures.

In addition, the chance of the character stumbling over a drop off or falling from a sheer surface because of darkness is reduced to half that of a non-proficient character (i.e., the Dexterity reduction is only 1, and the Climbing Rating penalty is only -5%).

Climber, WISDOM: A NWP test may be performed to estimate the time and difficulty to scale a surface, or to properly employ pitons, climbing knives and other advanced climbing gear – which are always 75% likely to fail under stress otherwise.

This NWP adds +20% to the character’s base chance to climb walls. If the character is not a thief, there base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully climb by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Contortionist, DEXTERITY: A NWP test may be performed to entertain a small audience by feats of contortion, folding themselves into surprisingly small boxes or the like.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the characters escape artist chance of success. If the character is not a thief, their base chance of success is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully apply escape artist by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Cryptographer, INTELLIGENCE: On a successful NWP test, the character my devise a cypher that encodes a message such that it can’t normally be read except by those that possess the key or extraordinary skill and take the time and effort to decipher it.

This NWP also adds +20% to the character’s chance to decipher script. If the character is not a thief, their base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully decipher script by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Diplomat, CHARISMA: { NOTE: It is assumed that there exists a chance that a character can successfully parlay with an NPC equal to 25% + ½ of the character’s reaction adjustment roll, rounded down. A penalty of 20% applies to such rolls if the character has generally ill will toward the PC or is otherwise wary, while a bonus of +20% applies to such rolls if the character has generally good will toward the PC and is otherwise unwary. If hostilities have already begun, a further 20% penalty may be applied, and an additional 20% penalty is applied of the battle is apparently going against the PC’s side.

In order to parlay successfully, the character must offer the NPC side at least something that they desire in exchange for whatever the PC desires.

Success on a parlay check means that the NPC is interested in the terms offered and willing to further discuss how the exchange is to be made and what assurances can be made tending toward a successful outcome. A failure by less than 21% indicates that the NPC while interested, demands the pot be sweetened. If the PC in the parlay is then willing to offer sufficient incentive a new check may be made. While a failure by 21% or more indicates that the NPC is tired of negotiations and will tender no more offers.

The DM should feel free to apply a situational modifier of +/- 20% in addition to those specified, depending on how generous or stingy the offer being made is. Finally, the DM is well empowered to simply accept a diplomatic offer if it is legitimately in the interest of the NPC and they are intelligent enough to see that, while likewise rejecting by fiat an offer that is entirely against the interests of the NPC and they are intelligent enough to see that. PC’s that insist on attempting bargains that are entirely selfish or utterly harmful to the NPC should be encouraged to try intimidate or deception as strategy.

Not that attempts to parlay require a shared language. If no more than gestures are available, parlay attempts may still be attempted (such as by producing a large treasure and making signs that it is a gift or throwing down weapons to show one has no desire to fight), but with only gestures there is a high chance of misunderstanding and generally a lower chance of success.}

You gain a +20% chance of successfully parlaying with an NPC. Further, each time you gain a new highest level your chance of success goes up by a further +4%.

Disguise, CHARISMA: On a successful NWP check, the character can assemble their own disguise kit from make-up, used clothing, costume jewelry, wigs and the like which can be purchased through legal means at any large cosmopolitan city. With the same check, they can also preassemble a costume which can be changed into quickly (in roughly 1 minute) from articles worn and concealed on their person.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to disguise (as per the revised assassin class ability). If the character is not an assassin or entertainer, their base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a class other than assassin or entertainer the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully effect a disguise by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Fence, INTELLIGENCE: Those with experience as fences are familiar with the black-market and its ways. On a successful NWP check, they are able to find someone willing to deal in stolen goods if one is not already known to them, and convince them that they are someone trust worthy to do business with. However, on a roll of 20, not only does the person recognize the goods as stolen, they become hostile and either (if generally evil or chaotic in tendency) attempt to take the goods for themselves without payment or (if generally good or lawful in tendency) take steps to report the crime to the authorities. Possession of this NWP grants a +1 bonus to the Appraising NWP or a +2 bonus to the Appraising NWP for the purposes of appraising the worth of stolen goods or contraband, as well as a +1 bonus to Haggling with another Fence.

Forgery, INTELLIGENCE: This proficiency enables the character to create duplicates of documents and handwriting and to detect such forgeries created by others. To forge a document (military orders, local decrees, etc.) where the handwriting is not specific to a person, the character needs only to have seen a similar document before. To forge a name, an autograph of that person is needed, and a proficiency check with a -2 penalty must be successfully rolled. To forge a longer document written in the hand of some particular person, a large sample of his handwriting is needed, with a -3 penalty to the check.

It is important to note that the forger always thinks he has been successful; the DM rolls the character's proficiency check in secret and the forger does not learn of a failure until it is too late.

If the check succeeds, the work will pass examination by all except those intimately familiar with that handwriting or by those with the forgery proficiency who examine the document carefully. If the check is failed, the forgery is detectable to anyone familiar with the type of document or handwriting—if he examines the document closely. If the die roll is a 20, the forgery is immediately detectable to anyone who normally handles such documents without close examination. The forger will not realize this until too late.

Furthermore, those with forgery proficiency may examine a document to learn if it is a forgery. On a successful proficiency roll, the authenticity of any document can be ascertained. If the die roll is failed but a 20 is not rolled, the answer is unknown. If a 20 is rolled, the character reaches the incorrect conclusion.

Funambulist, DEXTERITY: A NWP test may be performed to entertain a small audience by walking on a tight rope or wire and performing various small feats of daring and skill.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to walk tightropes or other narrow surfaces successfully. If the character is not a thief, their base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully walk tightropes by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Gamer, INTELLIGENCE: The character knows most common games of chance and skill, including cards, dice, bones, draughts, and chess. When playing a game, the character may make a proficiency check, with success indicating victory. If two proficient characters play each other, the one with the highest successful die roll wins.

A character may cheat by rigging dice, palming cards, unfair shuffles or other means as is suitable to the game in question (not all games provide opportunity to cheat). Doing so if successful gives the character a +5 bonus on their proficiency check. Cheating is done by means of a pick pockets check. Characters with gaming NWP gain +10% bonus to the chance of success when using that skill to cheat, and characters which are not thieves no longer half their base chance at pick pockets when using it in this manner, and gain a further +4% to the chance of cheating successfully each time they gain a non-thief level.

Gymnast, STRENGTH: A NWP test may be performed to use various gymnastic apparatus such as springboards, trampolines, rings, pommel horses, bars, trapezes and the like whether for some practical purpose or to entertain an audience.

The Gymnast gains +1’ bonus to base high jump distance, +2’ bonus to base broad jump distance, and +4’ bonus to base running broad jump distance.

Intimidating, CHARISMA: {NOTE: It is assumed that there exists a chance that a character can successfully intimidate an NPC equal to 25% + ½ of the character’s reaction adjustment roll, rounded down. A penalty of 20% applies to such rolls if it isn’t obvious how the character could carry out the threat, and of +20% if it is immediately apparent that the character could. For each HD the character has above three, there is a 5% reduced chance of intimidation being affective. Further note, that intimidation is not a skill that pertains to merely be frightening, but rather is a skill that pertains to successfully controlling someone’s fear to get them to do what you want. Thus a failed intimidation check does not necessarily mean that a character isn’t afraid, but rather that instead of acting in the way desired, they call the bluff of the character mocking or deriding them, or they flee, or go berserk and attack, or become too panicked to perform the desired action successfully, or pretend to cooperate but are plotting against the PC to betray them at the first opportunity whether it is rational or not. Exactly how the NPC should depend on the intelligence, wisdom, and personality of the NPC and the prevailing circumstances.

As an example, a party encounters a hill giant. The hill giant is currently uncertain how to react, but the party spokesperson a character with an 18 CHR attempts to intimidate the hill giant into fleeing. He would normally have a 42% chance of doing this, but the hill giant being 8HD applies a -25% chance on the check, and further being rather dim it sees only puny humans standing before it, applying a further -20% chance on the check, leaving no chance of success. If instead, before attempting to intimidate the giant, a M-U in the party cast lightning bolt targeting a nearby tree, the evidence of a dangerous foe with an unknown ability would have given a +20% chance of success on the check, for a total chance of 37%.

DM’s are encouraged to apply any modifiers for special circumstances, such as the party has previously defeated this same opponent, as they see fit and which seem reasonable, though these should generally not be more than an addition +/- 20% on the check.

Regardless of the outcome of the intimidation, the intimidated party will react more negatively in the future.}

You gain a +20% chance of intimidating an NPC. Further, each time you gain a new highest level your chance of success goes up by a further +4%.

Juggler, DEXTERITY: A NWP test may be performed to entertain a small audience by throwing and catching small objects.

The juggler ignores the non-proficiency penalty when throwing basically any small hand held object, including rocks, bottles, darts, knives, clubs, hammers, and so forth. The juggler can make a NWP check to catch any object thrown for them to catch that they otherwise would not have caught, effectively dropping things only if two rolls to catch something have failed.

If the juggler is a thief class, they have a 7% chance per level of thief of deflecting a thrown weapon that they are aware of, and a 4% chance per level of deflecting a small missile weapon that they are aware of such as an arrow or quarrel. The chance of success drops by 25% for each such weapon after the first to be deflected in a single round. If the thief beats the chance by 21% or more, and they have a free hand they may elect to catch the weapon instead.

Keen Ears, WISDOM: This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to hear noise. If the character is not a thief, their base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully hear noise by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Knife Thrower, DEXTERITY: If the character has a willing assistant, a NWP test may be performed to entertain a small audience by throwing knives accurately at a target.

A knife thrower uses the fighter table for the purposes of determining THAC0 when throwing knives and daggers, and may throw knives and daggers as if they were specialized in the use of such weapon for the purposes of determining the number of attacks per round. The knife thrower however gets none of the bonuses to hit or damage that a true specialist may have; however, if the knife thrower is a thief, they may backstab with a successfully thrown knife provided they would otherwise qualify to perform a backstab and they are within 10’ of the target per level of thief they have.

If a character is both specialized with a weapon such as a knife or dagger and has the knife thrower NWP, then their THAC0 and attacks per round are calculated as a character two levels higher.

Lampoonist, CHARISMA: The possessor of this skill has the ability to mimic the voices of other persons, whether to satirize them or disguise themselves as that person. On a successful check, anyone hearing the lampoonist is unable to distinguish the sound of their voice from the actual person except by some other means than sound – such as seeing the voice originate from someone who is obviously not the person in question. Close friends, relatives and lovers however, always may make an opposed Wisdom check to detect the fraud, and those with the most intimate and longest acquaintances (parents and spouses, for example) get a +5 bonus on such checks, and always detect a failed check. In all other cases, even failure doesn’t mean the cheat is necessarily exposed, and opposed Wisdom check is required for the person to recognize the sound as sufficiently different from the real voice.

Of course, it is a necessary precondition to the use of this skill that some significant period is spent listening to the person to be so imitated speak, not less than one hour, and longer if the opportunity to assess the person in various moods is not available – for a person often speaks differently in public or private, or when calm or angered.

A Lampoonist attempting to disguise themselves as a particular person gets a +20% bonus on the check.

The successful use of this skill combined with basic props (such as a costume) or a well-crafted satirical skit allows the character to entertain a small audience.

Locksmith, INTELLIGENCE: A successful check allows a character with this NWP, along with proper tools and raw materials to manufacture locks.

This NWP also directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to hear noise. If the character is not a thief, their base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully open locks by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Observant, INTELLIGENCE: Characters with this proficiency have cultivated exceptionally acute powers of observation. The DM may ask for a proficiency check (or secretly roll it himself) anytime there is something subtly askew; he may also allow characters with this NWP to increase their chance of finding secret or concealed doors by 1 in 6. The character also has a 4% chance per their highest class level of detecting an illusion. The proficiency covers all the senses but is not a power of reasoning or deduction. At best it simply notes something is out of place or unusual; any explanation for why it is out of place must be left to the reasoning or investigation of the player.

Pick Pocket, WISDOM: A NWP check may be made following a period of stealthy observation of a potential victim, to determine where the victim is keeping his valuables and in some cases what the nature of the valuables are whether, coin, jewelry, documents, or the like.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to pick pockets successfully. If the character is not a thief, there base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully climb by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Poacher, INTELLIGENCE: A NWP test may be performed to know about the laws pertaining to hunting in the region, the magistrates that enforce these laws, and how to go about evading such laws. A penalty of -5 applies if the region is remote from the character’s normal habitation and hitherto unknown or little known, and a further -5 if it is isolated or the dominate language is unknown to the character.

The poacher gains certain benefits when hunting animals, whether normal or of the dire sort. If the character has achieved surprise, they gain a +1 bonus to damage per level up to the level of their highest obtained class other than an M-U class or subclass, when attacking an animal with a missile weapon. Further, if the character is of a thief class, they may apply their backstab damage when attacking an animal with a bow or crossbow when within 10’ of the animal per level of thief they have obtained if they are in a situation they would otherwise qualify for backstab damage.

Porter, STRENGTH: On a successful NWP, the character may quickly and efficiently pack items away, taking about half the time as normal. Likewise, a character by way of organization and efficiency may search his own pack or person for an item and produce it in about half the usual time by a successful check.

The weight allowance of the character is increased by 20% owing to improved balance with loads, tighter packing, better distribution of weight, and general tolerance for burdens. Likewise, overland travel speed while encumbered is increased by 20%, owing to improved tolerance for burdens and conservation of energy through improved posture and better selection of paths to travel.

At a tactical scale, with a successful NWP the character may move as if they were one degree less encumbered for that round, that is heavy gear can be treated as normal gear, very heavy gear as merely heavy gear and so forth.

Owing to the general utility, Porter is the most common NWP to be found among mercenaries and professional soldiers.

Raconteur, CHARISMA: You have a storehouse of stories, witticisms, and japes picked up from a lifetime in alehouses and wild parties, and you have a confident outgoing demeanor that suggests fun and the relaxation of inhibition. You have a +20% reaction roll if you are first encountered in a party or celebration or other jovial social occasion, and further, you may after an hour carousing with someone attempt a second reaction check with them with a +20% modifier on the roll. You must however accept the second result of this roll, even if it is inferior to the first – not everyone likes an extraverted convivialist or a tippler. If a character’s reaction to you is favorable, you may extend this benefit to another character for each additional hour (provided you stay conscious), regaling the person with the character’s exploits and your admiration of them and thereby hopefully improving who they are viewed. Additionally, you may imbibe alcohol as if you had 2 higher CON for the purposes of saving throws against intoxication an alcohol poisoning (though of course, depending on your character’s personality this may not prevent over indulgence).

Scout, DEXTERITY: A NWP test may be performed to quickly and accurately access and remember the type, numbers, and equipment of a travelling party and also gain general sense of their competency.

Scout grains a +5% bonus to move silently, hear noise, and hide in shadows when in natural environments, and if the character is not a thief their base chance to perform these skills successfully is no longer halved so long as they are in natural environments. Additionally, a scout gains a +1 bonus to wisdom when attempting to penetrate a disguise.

Smuggler, INTELLIGENCE: A NWP test may be performed to know about the laws pertaining to contraband, customs, tariffs, and the laws and norms pertaining to gaining legal entry into municipalities and other administered regions. Further, the smuggler with have some knowledge the magistrates that enforce these laws, and how in a particular region it is most common to go about evading such laws – whether through bribery, hiding or disguising goods, or transporting goods via stealthy entry, for example. A penalty of -5 applies if the region is remote from the character’s normal habitation and hitherto unknown or little known, and a further -5 if it is isolated or the dominate language is unknown to the character. Note that a successful check pertaining to a particular region that succeeds by 5 or more implies that the character has seen such passports, permits, licenses, and visa pertaining to local customs for the purpose of forgery or detecting a forgery.

On a successful NWP test, the smuggler may conceal a small amount of contraband on their person or a larger amount in a suitable transport. If the check succeeds, the work will pass casual examination but not necessarily a thorough and deliberate search – opening up containers and perhaps using dogs or the like. If the check is failed, the contraband is detectable to anyone who does more than a cursory check. If the die roll is a 20, the contraband is immediately detectable to anyone who normally does such inspections and the would be smuggler will not realize this until too late. If a thorough search is made, a smuggler succeeds in hiding the contraband only if they win a contested ability check (Int vs. Int) with the lead searching party (the head guard or custom’s agent for example), and further they have a -2 penalty for each assistant (including trained animals) as well as a -2 penalty for each member of the search party who themselves has the Smuggler, Observant, Tracking or other relevant NWP that aids in gathering of clues.

Sneaky, DEXTERITY: A NWP test may be performed to determine the penalty or bonus that applies of moving silently on a particular piece of ground that the character can observe, whether because of dry leaves, standing water, squeaky floorboards or the like, prior to attempting such a check.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to move silently. If the character is not a thief, their base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully move silently by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Spy, INTELLIGENCE: A successful NWP allows a character to skim quickly and memorize up to a page of information that can be recalled verbatim at a later point.

The spy also gains a +5% bonus to disguise and a +5% bonus to decipher script checks.

Further, a spy gains the deep cover ability, and so gains magic resistance equal to ½ there disguise skill check, less 50 (thus a spy with a disguise skill of 100% or less gains no spell resistance), to all spells of the divination school that would attempt to reveal their location, any information about them, or any even detect magic of any magical auras (such as disguise self or polymorph self) that are cast upon their person. And, should this magic resistance successfully thwart the spell, not only is no true information revealed but the spell caster is deceived into receiving information that would be accurate for the guise that the spy has assumed.

This spell resistance is added any existing spell resistance that the character may have.

Stealthy, INTELLIGENCE: On a successful NWP test, the base chance of the character to achieve surprise improves by degree. This can never result in a 100% chance of surprise, nor increase the number of segments of surprise possible beyond that of a 4 in 6 chance. In the unlikely event this improvement would result in a 100% chance of surprise, instead increase the dice size by degree (7 in 8, 9 in 10, etc.) to a maximum of 19 in 20.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to hide in shadows or other concealment. If the character is not a thief, their base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully hide in shadows by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Swindler, CHARISMA: {NOTE: It is assumed that there exists a chance that a character can successfully deceive an NPC equal to 25% + ½ of the character’s reaction adjustment roll, rounded down. A penalty of 20% applies to such rolls if the character has generally ill will toward the PC or is otherwise wary, while a bonus of +20% applies to such rolls if the character has generally good will toward the PC and is otherwise unwary. For each HD the character has above three, there is a 5% reduced chance of deception being effective.

If the deception would result in grave harm to the deceived party if they acted on it as it if were true, they may be allowed a wisdom check to demand some plausible evidence and proof of the claim before they act on it.

DM’s are strongly encouraged to apply any modifiers that they see fit according to the plausibility of the deception, within a general range of +/-75% chance where a -75% chance is applied to the most fabulous and implausible claims (“This frog is actually a polymorphed prince.”, “Those that bathe in the fire are blessed with invulnerability to flame.”) where as much as +75% applies in cases where the truth is more unbelievable than a lie and the lie is completely credible and the sort of thing the person would be inclined to and prefer to believe anyway.

As an example, if you are a spy sneaking about a palace at night when you are caught by a guard, and you improvise a lie that you are the mistress of the King’s chamberlain and were on your way to a nocturnal rendezvous with him in the gardens, and it is the case that the chamberlain is a pious and happily married octogenarian whom presently in the room with his wife as is always his custom and the way to the gardens are nowhere near the direction you were going, then this lie is perhaps too implausible for even the dimmest guard to believe as a fully 75% penalty should be applied. Whereas, if only one these things were true, then perhaps a lesser penalty of 20% would suffice. On the other hand, if the chamberlain is a known lecher whose wife recently departed for the country, the character seems to exactly his type, and the guard himself not only personally heard a rumor that the chamberlain had a new mistress but say the chamberlain sneaking off to the gardens then the lie is so plausible that almost anything else would be harder to believe, and a full 75% bonus should be applied to the check. Whereas, if only one or these things were true, perhaps only a bonus of 20% would apply. When several things fit and don’t, the DM weigh the preponderance against each other.

Just because a deception roll fails does not mean that the NPC necessarily knows the truth, but merely that they recognize the character is lying. How they react depends generally on their existing reaction to the character. Those that are already hostile and have ill-will against the PC remain so, where as those there was waffling or undecided now lean more toward a hostile reaction. However, those with a friendly attitude, remain friendly until they can satisfy their curiosity regarding why the character is lying, hoping that there is some underlying reasoning that they can sympathize with, and only react negatively when they are convinced the lie was for they deem a harmful or dishonorable purpose. Those that were enthusiastically friendly may even go along with the lie in so much that they think it may be entertaining or enlightening to do so. In any case though, they will be wary against further lies and a 20% penalty should be assessed for each time the character is caught in a deception.

Conversely, just because the deception roll is successful does not necessarily imply that the NPC will immediately go along with any suggestion as if they had been Charmed or Dominated, but rather that that believe that you think you are telling the truth and that your story has at least some merit, in as much as someone else may have told it to you even if you are deceived about it. NPCs will typically improve their reaction if the deception alleviates any concerns they had about you, and otherwise act according to their intelligence and personality – with some more immediately trusting or deferential than others. }

You are skilled confidence man and liar. With a successful NWP check, you may recognize any well-known hustle in action provided you yourself are not the target of it, for example, you would recognize a con artist trying to swindle a merchant regarding making change in a complex fashion, a hustler that is cheating at a game of three cups (even if even if he is so skilled you are not catching him at it), a pool shark in action, a found money scam, and so forth and no the basics of how the hustle works.

You gain a +20% chance of deceiving an NPC. Further, each time you gain a new highest level your chance of success goes up by a further +4%

Tailing, WISDOM: Tailing resembles tracking, except tracking is associated with following someone beyond visual range by following their trail, and tailing implies following someone within visual range while being unobserved or unobtrusive enough that the tailed person takes no notice. Typically, tailing is used in major urban centers (i.e., cities and large towns) where the spoor of an trail would become quickly too confused to follow and obscured by the innumerable crossing trails of other inhabitants, though it may be used in the wild as well typically this requires a greater distance as a person is likely to immediately become suspicious of a tail in a way that they would not in an urban setting. The skill of tailing someone therefore involves keeping a certain distance from them so that they cannot be lost in a crowd or as soon as they make a turn, without being so close that the person is aware someone is following them or becomes suspicious that they are there.

A proficiency check is first made to see if the thief is able to tail without being noticed. If the person followed has the Alertness proficiency, then the thief suffers a -5 penalty. Additionally, a -3 penalty applies if the person followed has the Tailing proficiency as well (and, presumably, knows better how to foil the tricks of his own trade).

If the thief is noticed, the person being followed may attempt to evade. To keep from losing the tail, the thief must make another proficiency check. A modifier from -3 to +3 (varying from first time in a foreign city to the thief's home neighborhood) may be used, if the DM so chooses, to reflect how well the thief knows the area.

The DM should feel free to use situational modifiers on these rolls. For example, if a street is relatively clear, the thief should get -1 or -2 on an attempt to follow unnoticed, but +1 or +2 if he has been seen and is chasing after his subject. The opposite numbers could be used for exceptionally crowded situations, or at night.

Thug, STRENGTH: A thief with this NWP may use a club or sap – provided they are proficient with the weapon - with the same attack matrix as a fighter. This does not alter the number of attacks made per round, nor does it allow the thief to become specialized with the weapon. If the character also has or acquires the Bandit NWP, they may use the weapons on the Bandit list on the same attack matrix as a fighter provided they are proficient with the weapon.

Trap Finder, WISDOM: A NWP check may be made in secret by the GM. If successful, the GM informs the player that their character senses the presence of a trap in the environment through intuition, but does not know exactly where it is. Multiple checks may not be made.

This NWP directly adds +20% to the character’s chance to find or disarm traps. If the character is not a thief, there base chance is no longer halved, and further for each level in a non-thief class the character attains they may increase their chance to successfully find or remove traps by 4% as if points were allocated to the thief ability.

Two Sword Style, DEXTERITY: Normally, a character may only fight with a shield, dagger, or handaxe in their off-hand. A character with this NWP may also fight with a bo stick, scimitar or short sword in their off-hand, provided the do so as part of a matched set with similar weapons in both hands.

This NWP can be taken alternately be taken with a weapon proficiency slot.

Ventriloquism, CHARISMA: The character has learned the secrets of "throwing his voice." Unlike the real world skill, such ventriloquism is nigh magical and capable of fantastic feats, being not wholly based on deception and misdirection, but having some literal skill to cause sound to be focused and bounce and appear to come from unexpected sources. When using ventriloquism, the supposed source of the sound must be relatively close to the character. The nature of the speaking object and the intelligence of those watching can modify the character's chance of success. If the character makes an obviously inanimate object talk (a book, mug, etc.), a -5 penalty is applied to his ability score. If a believable source (a PC or NPC) is made to appear to speak, a +2 bonus is added to his ability score. The observer's intelligence modifies this as follows:

Intelligence Modifier
less than 3 +6
3-5 +4
6-8 +2
9-14 0
15-16 -1
17-18 -2
19+ -4

A successful proficiency check means the character has successfully deceived his audience. One check must be made for every sentence or response. The character is limited to sounds he could normally make and thus depending on the deception, a successful Lampoonist or Animal Mimicry check must also be made.

Since at least part of the skill involves misdirection, skill checks are at -2 If the character cannot be seen, but conversely are at -6 if the person to be deceived is within arm’s length of the person and is being observed, for this makes it difficult to hide the source of the sound. Finally, such checks are at -6 if the creature being deceived generally has no understanding of speech and mannerism (such as an animal), since the ventriloquist must in this case rely only on their ability to throw their voice.

The successful use of this skill combined with basic props (most commonly a puppet or manikin) allows the character to entertain a small audience.

I dont disagree that the thief is underpowered. But, I also played the heck out of them.

Not sure i like weapon proficiency by alignment, also not sure why only good thieves would use those weapons. Evil thiefs have just as many reasons to capture folks alive. Slavers, bounty hunters, kidnappers, ect.

I see the UA and 2e influences, but in short how is this thief better?

The percentages on the Thief class really do stack the deck against them. And that's compounded by the fact that frequently failure has a real risk of death (Find/Remove Traps, Move Silently & Hide in Shadows), especially at lower levels.

TerraDave said:

I see the UA and 2e influences, but in short how is this thief better?

Click to expand...

This thief is competitive in play with a fighters or M/U at higher levels (10th+). Maybe not better than those classes, but at least not so inferior that you'd always prefer to replace the thief with a fighter or M/U with the same XP. A 23rd level thief might not be nearly as powerful as an 18th level M/U or Paladin or a 20th level fighter but they won't feel useless either.

a) Saving throw progression is improved so as to not lag. Existing thieves have very good saving throws at low level, but lag other classes by name level. They don't gain levels fast enough to make up for how bad their saves are.
b) This thief stays competitive with classes through mid-levels by having a slightly faster progression, meaning more time where it's 1 HD higher in level than its peers.
c) This thief has improved combat options that allow it to deal a meaningful amount of damage once most things have 90 or more hit points which is what you'd expect once characters are past name level. It's THAC0 is better, it gains iterative attacks like a fighter, and it has more ways to successfully utilize backstab.
d) The thief skills here are vastly more useful at high level. They effect more situations and have higher top end effects.

This also solves a few minor problems as well. Multiclassing into thief as a demihuman is the only way to have long term power as a demihuman fighter or M-U since you level cap so quickly. But then you still have to split XP between the two-classes, and 440,000 XP per thief class feels terrible and like you never should have played an elf in the first place. But with the improved thief, an elven gish or a dwarven fighter/thief doesn't feel so sucky. In fact, you feel I think rather swashbuckling at higher levels since this thief isn't useless in combat but has things like attack evasion and adds to your fighter levels in terms of attacks/round progression, enhanced mobility, and so forth.

sevenbastard said:

Not sure i like weapon proficiency by alignment, also not sure why only good thieves would use those weapons. Evil thiefs have just as many reasons to capture folks alive. Slavers, bounty hunters, kidnappers, ect.

Click to expand...

I personally don't like having the Rogue archetype limited by alignment, but the 1e AD&D class is tied heavily to being a thief and I can't really deal with that without making it feel more Rogue and 3e D&D.

I could totally see adding the very marginal weapon proficiency options that no PC is going to take before 13th level anyway to the general list though. My reasoning though is slavers, bounty hunters, and kidnappers are more likely to be fighters in 1e AD&D terms, or multi or dual classed. And my intention is to support a greater degree of class hybridization through the non-weapon proficiency options. One seemingly minor change is that this thief has gone from having the worst NWP progression of any class (other than like illusionists) to the best one. That's in part because I intend to use NWP more like feats than they were at the time of late 1e or 2e.

One way the Thief gets hosed is in the saving throw tables: for Thieves, Poison should be broken out from Paralyzation and Death into its own category, with Thieves - and Assassins - getting the best odds of saving of any class (rationalized as being better trained with poisons and-or having built up a bit of immunity through repeated exposure). For my game I broke those into three separate categories and tweaked which classes got better or worse saves against which hazard.

And, does any of the above tweaking also apply to Assassins?

I find higher-level Thieves - say, about 9th+ - are quite able to hold their own, if nothing else by that point they've almost certainly got some rockin' magic gear to help them out, and their thief-skill percentages are high enough to be at least somewhat reliable. It's the 4th-and-lower level range where they really have issues.

Interesting ideas! I really like the exceptional actions listed for the skills.

I also gave the thief class a boost in my campaign but not as extreme. The key ideas are:
1. A thief is never penalized for attempting their skills and failing the roll, unless the skill description specifies one (PP, Climb). For example, failing MS does not mean you are automatically noticed, failing RT does not mean you set off the trap.
2. Some skills are passive in common situations, e.g. the DM can roll Detect Traps for you if the party walks towards a pit trap.
3. A wider list of skills to choose from, and the possibility to replace the standard skills with others.
4. All thieves get Evasion (the one useful ability of the Acrobat IMO)
5. If the thief is single-classed, bonus skill points at some levels.
6. If single-classed, gain an "advanced study" at 6th level, such as Arcanist which gives you the ability to read low-level scrolls or Swashbuckler which gives you +2 to hit in melee. The ability improves/expands at 11th level.