Infamous 1e Class Guide: Thieves

 Introduction

The 1st edition Thief is a typical scoundrel, scallywag, and swindler. Thieves are often seen in the act of theft itself, as the class name would suggest. They are quite adept at the following tasks: picking pockets, opening locks, finding and also removing traps, moving in silence, hiding in shadows, hearing the faintest of noises, climbing walls, (though never trees*,) and deciphering languages. They often survive theft even if it would normally be extremely dangerous, as they are usually protected by the local Thieves Guild. One of these guilds is often found in a town, and it will come with a list of benefits and restrictions dependent on the individual guild in specific. They have their own language in which they discuss business in, a language that cannot be chosen by a character with intelligence, as this language is granted only to thieves regardless of intelligence. This language, called Thieves' Cant, is a combination of ciphers and small verbal effects such as clicks, sounds, and odd pauses. It takes longer to communicate in this way, much like communication through Morse Code. Lastly, a Thief has a special backstab ability that will be discussed later.

*Rule #1 of playing Infamous... Nothing good has ever come from climbing a tree.

The Good Thief

Unlike in standard AD&D, Infamous Thieves are allowed to be good in alignment, as both sides of the alignment chart do need access to the core abilities of the game. A Thief who is good in alignment has its own restrictions, much like how evil Clerics have theirs. Firstly, a good Thief will not steal from anyone who can't afford to be stolen from. This means that a Thief will not simply walk into the markets picking the pockets of everyone who passes by. Thieves of good alignment must steal from people of evil nature, such as merchants who make their money using dishonest methods. For instance, a merchant swindling people out of their hard earned coin by use of useless trinkets is fair game for a good Thief. Of course, other evil characters may be stolen from also, but never if they are too poor to survive it. The Thief may attempt to steal the weapons from an evil barracks, or take the enemy Magic-User's spellbook while he sleeps.

Your Thief Table

Thieves have a list of tasks which they can perform as their class. Most of these abilities are improved through Dexterity, so it is highly recommended that a Thief have 18 or higher in this stat. While Thieves with lower than this are still somewhat competent, you will be very unlikely to survive an early game with Thieves that are too unreliable. High Dexterity grants you the refined talents of a slightly higher level Thief, allowing you to effectively have achieved a higher level ability than what you normally possess. Dexterity will also increase your experience gain, as does the primary stat of other classes, however Thieves make exceptional use of this. They have the fastest level gain of any class, needing around half the experience gain required as the Magic-User. This is because they are expected to die easily, as you will find tends to be the case with the Thief class.

Picking Pockets is the first ability on the list of Thief skills, and it is used, as the name would suggest, in the pilfering the pockets of the unaware. This skill is enhanced by your Dexterity. All characters that are above 3rd level do have a slight resistance to this skill, as they are more aware of their surroundings and more experienced in dealing with Thieves. Characters of 4th level or higher reduce your chances of success by 5% per level beyond 3rd, meaning your chances at level 1 of picking a high level characters pocket are next to 0! On top of this, in Infamous the chances of success are further reduced by 1% per point of Intelligence the target has. However, you have a degree of safety in surviving a failed pickpocket attempt. Since the Thief skills success rate is written out in percentages, the safety net of where you won't necessarily fail, but will not gain a possession of the target either, is precisely 20%. So if you were to roll slightly above your success percentage, you won't be noticed by your target. Note that if you are noticed, you will need to start using that high Dexterity to run as fast as you can, otherwise, your character will meet an early fate. Should you succeed at picking your target's pocket, you will receive a random item in their possession, unless you know exactly where the item you want is kept.

Opening Locks may be attempted by a Thief once per lock. This is a simple roll that will just determine whether a lock is too complicated for your skills, or can be picked by your knowledge of the innerworkings of the lock. This skill is also affected by Dexterity. A Thief that fails this roll may not attempt picking this lock again, until a higher level is reached, (although perhaps a second Thief would have better luck.) Opening Locks is not a skill that is used in complete silence, as the lock with in fact open as if unlocked via a key. This means that any alert creatures in the locked room with know that the door is at least now unlocked.

Finding and Removing Traps is another ability of the Thief affected by Dexterity. It is very similar to Opening Locks in that a Thief may only attempt this once per trap. Each function of this skill will be rolled separately, meaning a trap must first be located before being removed. A character with high Intelligence may assist in locating these traps, as a successful perception roll might reveal the location of a trap in the room. Making the roll to disarm the trap is simple, as if you succeed, the trap is rendered harmless. If you fail... you may end up triggering the very trap you attempted to disarm.

Moving Silently may be attempted each time the Thief moves. This skill is also affected by Dexterity. At any time when the Thief is moving, he may attempt to do so in complete silence. This can be used to approach for a backstab, attempting to sneak past a guard or watchman, or simply attempting to gain a surprise round in combat. This is a very simple skill, as whenever the roll is made, you move in complete silence should you pass your roll. If you fail, you make as much noise as your normally would while moving. Simple as that.

Hiding in Shadows also is affected by the Dexterity of the Thief, as it allows you to maintain complete and total "invisibility" until you decide to move, as if you move your hiding place is no longer of use to you. This means it cannot be used at the same time as Move Silently, but can be very well used in combination with the skill. Keep in mind that when attempting to Hide in Shadows you must not be under direct observation, as it is very difficult to successfully hide when being directly watched. The effects of the See Invisibility Spell will also result in the Thief being seen, as that spell detects heat signatures. The True Seeing spell will also result in the Thief's detection.

Hear Noise is not affected by the Dexterity score. It is simply an ability involving the Thief listening intently. This can be attempted as many times as the Thief desires, though this skill requires a full minute of concentration. The Thief himself along with his companions must be themselves quiet in order for this skill to function, though this does not mean perfect silence. This simply means none can be in speech while the Thief is listening. This can detect and translate faint speech in the next room, determine whether or not a creature is in the next room, and can decern much more useful information.

Climbing Walls is a skill that can be attempted whenever desired or needed. It is usually has the highest likelihood of success, though can be costly if you should fail your roll. This skill is not affected by Dexterity, though it has a base success chance of 85%, meaning that it will normally be an easy thing to accomplish. When a Thief attempts to Climb Walls, it is assumed that he will always make it halfway up the climb. Once at the halfway point, the roll is made. If you succeed, you reach your destination without fault. If you fail, you fall down from the halfway point, and the referee will inform you of the damage that you take. At higher levels the chanced increases to 99%, but increases in decimals from that point forward. A third d10 might be required in this instance.

Read Languages is a skill unaffected by Dexterity, and it involves the deciphering of languages unknown to the Thief. This may be attempted only once per language or cipher, as if the roll should fail, the Thief is not skilled enough in deciphering for the particular language, though this may be attempted again at a higher level. The Thief may only decipher one particular instance at a time, as deciphering a single mural or document will not give the Thief proficiency in a language. Note that if the Thief does not possess the Literacy skill, he is unable to decipher any languages other than what he can speak.

The Art of the Backstab

So far, we've shown many of the utilities the Thief possesses, but have not shown the Thief's impressive martial ability. Thieves have this incredible tool they may use at their disposal, being the legendary backstab.

The mechanics of this ability are actually rather complex. When attacking an opponent from behind, specifically when you have a surprise attack, your attack roll is made at +4, and you may ignore the Dexterity bonuses to the targets Armor Class. This may be done with any Club, Dagger, or Sword. The damage of the attack is also increased dramatically, as initially backstabs will deal double the damage that they normally would. In addition, every 4 levels this bonus increases further. At levels 1-4, the damage is doubled. At 5-8, the damage is tripled, quadruple at 9-12, and so on and so forth.

There are some strategies that can be employed via the use of backstabbing. If you have a Fighter in the group, you can allow them to be the center of combat in order to secure a backstab. One way to do this, is to have your Fighters face their opponents from the front while you attempt to use a sneak attack. Then, after this is accomplished, let the Fighters attempt to flank them, or fight them from a different angle, allowing you to sneak around them and attempt to backstab again.

Battle Thief

Another strategy involving backstabbing is that of the Battle Thief. When a Thief takes Florentine Combat as one of his proficiencies, and takes a Longsword as his weapon proficiency, he gains a very special ability to backstab multiple times in a single round. Note that "backstabbing" is not exactly stabbing someone in the back, but rather attacking the weak point of an opponent. This means that attacking an armored target with multiple backstabs is not really going to work, as there isn't likely a chance that you will find multiple weak spots. Thus, you cannot backstab a medium or small target twice in one round. However, this is not the case for large opponents. Large creatures, such as giants, are large enough to realistically have multiple weak spots that can be attacked, so it is actually worth backstabbing the same target twice in that circumstance.

The main benefit to Florentine Combat on a Thief is that firstly, you have the Dexterity to use the skill without much problem, and secondly, that the penalties you impose upon yourself while using two Longswords are basically removed by the modifier you gain from backstabbing. This allows for some really high damage, even at the lower levels. The only downside is that this particular Thief strategy is rather unreliable, and won't easily work unless you're playing a Thief/Fighter class.

All the Options!

One of the things that makes Thief such a good class is that it can be played by any race. While nonhuman races usually have a limit on the number of levels that can be gained in each class, all races may play unlimited levels of Thief, aside from Half-Orcs. (They have unlimited Assassin levels instead.) This means that generally, it isn't actually worth playing Humans as Thieves when you could be playing as an Elf or Half-Elf with all the benefits that come with that. Also, nonhuman races have their own unique benefits to Thief Tables, so there's even more incentive to playing nonhuman Thieves. In addition, there's also Halfling Thieves. This is one of the most powerful race/class combos, as Halflings gain +1 to their Dexterity by nature (but also -1 to Strength,) allowing them to become even better Thieves. In addition to this, they have one of the best racial Thief bonuses around, so it is further incentivized to play Halflings.

Another reason why other races are so useful as the Thief, is simply that nonhuman races are allowed to multiclass fairly easily. There will be a future guide to multiclassing in greater detail, but for now, I'll briefly go over the usefulness each multiclass has for Thief.

Cleric/Thief - This combination may be played by Half-Orcs, and in Infamous, Half-Elves. Cleric/Thieves gain both stealth and support potential, and they are very good at making use of all the detection spells that Clerics get. In addition, the ability to remain hidden until healing spells are necessary in combat can very well prove essential in the face of danger, as there won't be a support target for the enemy to attack until the last moment. And if healing isn't required, you can always attempt to backstab the opposing Magic-User.

Fighter/Thief - This combination may be played by Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, and Halflings. (So basically everyone.) This is a very effective combination, as it combines the utility of the Thief with the power of the Fighter. Fighter/Thieves make incredible Battle Thieves, as between Florentine Combat and the Fighter's weapon specialization, your backstabs will be dealing an immense amount of damage. In addition, this class is able to hold its own in combat, even after a backstab is attempted. 

Fighter/Magic-User/Thief - This class is actually kind of an absurd combination, exclusive to Elves and Half-Elves. This combination makes advancement in level incredibly slow, but it has many of the benefits that are given to each class. Fighter allows for power in combat or the out of combat use of many proficiencies. Magic-User allows for a lot of utility to synergize with either Fighter or Thief. Thief grants the utility of all the Thief skills, as well as stealth ability to help with the abilities of the other two classes. I would personally advise against this class unless you don't happen to have the advantages any of these classes provide elsewhere in the party.

Magic-User/Thief - This combination advances much faster than Fighter/Magic-User/Thief, and allows for a very useful utility character, making excellent use of Magic-User's utility spells, and the skills of the Thief. In combat, having the Magic-User of the group hidden as a Thief is also very useful, as this gives you a good opportunity to cast a powerful spell from a hidden position.

If you are intending to play a Human Thief, you must consider the fact that playing a Character With Two Classes as ruled in the Player's Handbook is a valid form of the Thief. Playing something like an archer (Dexterity Fighter) and switching over to Thief immediately after 1st level might be a good plan, as you suffer almost no drawbacks from switching classes and gain a higher hit die and 4 additional proficiencies. Another option would be playing Thief up to a point where you aren't gaining much from levels (as Thieves do eventually stop benefitting from better tables,) then switching class over to Magic-User or Cleric, a class with much more longevity as they level up. Note that in order for this to be possible, you must have at least 15 Dexterity (more, if you want to be a better Thief,) and 17 Intelligence or Wisdom respectively. This is hard to achieve, which is why Human Thieves aren't usually a good option. But if you can afford the high stat requirements, it is usually worth it.

Useful Proficiencies

One of the drawbacks that Thieves tend to have is that there aren't a wide variety of skills that Thieves tend to want to take. Generally, Magician helps out when using Pick Pockets, or in stealing in general. This would allow you to switch someone's fancy jewelry for a worthless trinket. Rope-Use is also very useful if you can get creative, as there are many possibilities that rope tricks could be helpful for. For instance, if you tie a stone to a long rope, you can use it as a sort of projectile, or as an anchor should you be able to swing it around a dungeon column.

As previously stated, Florentine Combat is a skill that is generally useful for Thieves to take, as it strengthens your backstab capabilities. Other than that, there aren't a lot of skills that a Thief can make use of.

Master Thieves: The Founding of a Guild

At high levels, (starting at 9th) Thieves are capable of researching their own Thieving class, however, Thieves don't quite leave enough room for class development when compared to other classes. They do not require access to a magic item or artifact as the spellcasters do, nor must they have some kind of martial training ground. Instead, Thieves must have access to some form of Thieves' Guild from which they can teach other Thieves their own masterful art. This could be some advanced Thieving specialty, focusing on one particular aspect of the Thieving Table, or something more focused on a hybrid class.

It is also specified in the Player's Handbook that Thieves do not often construct a stronghold or dungeon, and that they would rather build some form of tower or other small castle-like structure for their own safety. This must always be within 1 mile of a town or city. From this tower some form of Thieves' Guild is often established, and can very well be where a Thieves' refined art may be founded and practiced.

Conclusion

Thieves make use of a lot of their own personal skills that come with the class. They are experts of stealth and ambushing, and can very well use these things to their advantage. They are of utmost importance within a dungeon, as their lockpicking and disarming skills are incredibly valuable to have in that circumstance. They die quickly, but can gain levels at a very quick rate. They might not be as essential to the success of a party as other characters such as the Cleric or Magic-User, but they certainly have their moments to shine. Get creative with your Thief builds, and make your class your own.