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Monday, June 25, 2018

House Rules for Thief Skills


There have been many posts and discussions about how low level thieves are not particularly good at their jobs. By that I mean their percentages in their class skills are nearly all pretty low. They even appear worse at hearing noises than non-thieves until they gain a few levels.

Along with this criticism has come many attempts to correct this, up to and including new skills tables, new mechanics, or even the whole class being scrapped. So I am suggesting possible ways to address this in my games. Feel free to use or ignore them.

Many of the thief skills are things that any person could reasonable attempt. Anyone can try to move quietly or climb something or hide in the shadows. The rules even allow non-thieves to check for traps and listen for noises. For my games, the only skills and abilities that are reserved as “thief only” are Open Lock, Pick Pocket, and Backstab. The rest allow for at least some chance of success to the non-thief, but thieves do have an edge when attempting them.

Find Trap: Everyone can try to spot simple traps (a trip-wire or snare, a covered pit, etc.). Only thieves can spot complex traps like tiny holes in the wall that shoot darts or vent gas. Thieves can also detect traps of a magical nature if there is something tangible to detect. e.g. a Thief might spot magical runes on a door (even if he can’t tell what they do), but he might not be able to tell there is a spell in effect inside a room.

Remove Trap: Non-thieves might be able to disarm simple devices by a player describing their actions and making a DEX check, like cutting a trip-wire, but a thief can disable a trap without destroying it. He can also disarm more complex traps like poison dart locks on treasure chests.

Move Silently: This isn’t a complicated one. As long as he isn’t wearing heavier than leather armor, any character can attempt to move silently at the same skill level as a 1st level thief. Non-thieves never improve beyond this ability.

Hide in Shadows: Like moving silently, the non-thief gets a base chance equal to a 1st level thief, but does not improve over time.

Climbing Sheer Surfaces: Anyone can climb “normal” surfaces like a steep hill, tree, or a rope. Thieves are the only ones trained in climbing nearly vertical surfaces like walls. In my game, thieves tools include things like “climbing claws” and shoe spikes. If a fighter wants up a cliff, he needs to get someone to lower a rope or find a ladder.

Hear Noise: This one is more about careful reading of the rules as written than an actual house rule. Everyone can roll to listen for noise behind a door (as per the rules on B21), and so can the thief. But the thief can hear noises in other circumstances; eg something slithering up behind them.

I haven’t put these house rules into practice in a game as yet, but they seemed a less invasive way to address low-level thieves lousy odds at success and the idea that other characters can try their hands at being “thiefy.”

6 comments:

  1. Thief as a class is a terrible idea. It was always a terrible idea. People get this erroneous idea that only the thief can do thief things and you need to roll for everything and it just results in a bad play experience.

    Scrap the thief class and you will find more enjoyment.

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    Replies
    1. I understand what you mean, but I don't know about "terrible." Is it a little jarring compared to the other class designs? Maybe. But D&D has always been sort of a glorious mess. The thief class is hardly the only wrinkle to it.

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    2. I’ve had great luck running a game without a thief class at all - no replacement or alternative, not an optional class. Just no thief at all.

      At first people are confused and upset. But people who wanted to play a thief just pick a different class and play like a thief!

      The main thing to remember is to treat these characters as generally competent and able to perform the duties necessary to not die in a dungeon or the wilderlands. If you’re not making them roll for everything, it becomes more like a parlor game.

      I made sure to make easy rules for hiding, sneaking, opening doors, finding hidden things. The only one that’s not perfect yet is pick pocket.

      If you look at the several common Demi-men, they all have some thieflike abilities. A fighter in leather armor is a fine sneaky scout; an elf or hobbit is even better.

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  2. I keep toying with the idea of Thief's simply having the best saving throws and no special skills.

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  3. I like thieves! Even if they do introduce the "idea" of character skill vs. player skill that ends in the breakdown of oldschool play ...

    But I play my low-level thieves sneaky without relying on their abilities. "Hide in shadows" and all that rot ... I "find traps" on a thing, and if I'm not rolling and find nothing, I'll let someone with better hp and saves open it.

    I'll negotiate "hiding" with referee to make sure I'm hidden behind something regardless of a roll--the "hide in shadows" skill is only for an idiot almost caught in the open.

    I like my archetype ensconced in a class--a light-armed skirmisher who lets others take the risks ... even if I do too often migrate up front into the melee like a fighting-man ...

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  4. And I should say, letting other characters have access to first level thievery like find traps and move silently is totally consonant with play; the abilities beyond that are meant to represent "extraordinary" abilities, so this post is a good compromise that I'll keep in mind when playing in the future if folks at the table bug me about "moving silently" or whatever

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