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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 9376706" data-attributes="member: 7635">So this is my conspiracy theory (get out your tinfoil)So OD&D started with the fighting-man, magic-user, and cleric and no discernable skill system. A few skill-like rules were hidden here-and-there (secret door detection, surprise as sneaking, etc) but everything was handled ad-hoc by the DM. Thief Skills were thus seen as abilities that could bypass things the DM otherwise had planned: a find traps roll could eliminate the need to pick-and-poke at traps, for example. As such, they were afraid thieves would dominate the exploration game and make dungeon crawling a breeze, so they put every possible restriction possible to make sure they couldn't override the game. A fair amount of "verisimilitude" got added to the mix as well, such all the caveats about backstabbing only working in very specific situations. The net result though was a class whose primary features were hobbled both by low % chances of working at low level, numerous stipulations that limited how and when they could be used, and harsh penalties for failure. Coupled with the fact magic was often easier, reliable, and easily accessible enough that right when your % chances started getting reasonable, your group had access to enough magic via spells and items that you were superfluous anyway. I'm honestly surprised it took until 5e for rogues to actually be good at their primary function. Expertise and Reliable Talent may make most checks trivial, but it's a far cry better than having a 20% chance to pick a lock (and if you fail, you can't try again until you put more points in Open Lock next level).</blockquote>

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