 |
| Jeff Easley's BECMI Thief |
Roguish Background
One way to handle this dilemma is not through a separate
class at all, but through backgrounds. In this method you stick to the three
core classes from the original rules and allow players to pick (or roll
randomly) a background. Backgrounds like Burglar, Mountebank, Rogue, Spy, or
Scout paired with one of the three core classes could create a viable
thief-type character. Each of these backgrounds would give you a +1 to an “x in
6” chance roll based on relevant activities.
Using a variety of backgrounds like this would give
players a way to differentiate one thievish character from another, in both
tone and actual mechanics. Perhaps a Mountebank wouldn’t get a +1 to removing
traps, but they might get a +1 to reaction rolls when attempting to deceive
someone, something a Burglar might not get. A Spy might get a +1 to disguising
themselves. Maybe a Burglar gets a +1 to climb sheer walls where a Scout
wouldn’t. The Scout might be good at tracking in a way the other backgrounds
are not.
Each background would color the character differently
depending on which class they were. Fighting-men with a Burglar background
could be Conan. Magic-users with a background as a Mountebank, might use a
slight of hand to slip a sleeping or polymorph potion into someone’s drink, or
blur the line between street-magic legerdemain and real illusions. Clerics with
a Spy background might be part of an Inquisition-like secret society or
Internal Affairs-type cabal within a church, keeping tabs of the corruption of
the clergy. Mechanically, any +1 given as part of that background could
increase by one at the different class level tiers (Fighting-man in groups of three,
Clerics in groups of four, Magic-users in groups of five) at the referee’s
discretion.
What I like about this kind of angle as a solution is
that it’s very loose and up to the interpretation of the referee. The ref could
award the PC with these kinds of backgrounds a bonus to experience for a high
Dexterity score in addition to, or in lieu of an average prime-requisite. The
ref could give a +1 for any thievish “x in 6” skill rolls. Better yet, the ref
could call that certain rolls aren’t required in many cases if the player can
describe how they search for traps, hide in the shadows, etc.
Revised Greyhawk Thief
One issue with handling the Thief through a background is
that it still leaves out a certain character archetype. A Fighting-man with a
burglar background might produce a Conan, but it still feels like a fighter
first, and a thief second. It doesn’t quite get you a Gray Mouser or a Silk.
Gray Mouser is pretty well-known to most fantasy fans, but David Eddings’
character, Silk, will always be the quintessential Thief for me. Silk may be
good with his daggers, but he’s first and foremost a charming spy, acrobat,
master of disguise, assassin, as well as a burglar/lockpick/pick-pocket.
Calling Silk a Fighter seems just wrong. The Gray Mouser may have been a former
wizard’s apprentice but calling him a Magic-user or a Fighter feels inaccurate.
Enter the Greyhawk Thief. The GH Thief entered the game
in 1975 and (more or less) remained the same throughout the run of the Basic
game into the 90s. A few of the main gripes with this class is that it
introduced a new percentile sub-system of skills to the game, it started off
being lousy at things it was supposed to be a specialist at, and its early
lousiness meant that other classes were even worse at stealthy activities they
previously were competent at. While they advanced quickly, the low hit points
and poor skills made the first few levels a grind. Many of the skills start at
a base chance of 10 – 15% chance. This is lower than the 1-in-6 (16.667%) or
2-in-6 (33.333%) chance most things in the LBBs were given. The 1e AD&D
Thief got a little better skill increase, but not much. The Greyhawk Thief also
gains some level-specific abilities like reading languages, treasure maps, and
magic scrolls which are cool, but again, it’s too little, too late.
In recent years I’ve seen some good alternatives to the
classic Thief that are much closer to what I think is reasonable. Charlie
Mason’s White Box FMAG has a very good version that uses the “x-in-6” mechanic
under a broad, generic skill of “Thievery.” I like this because it allows for
referee interpretation of whether an activity falls under that heading.
Charlie’s Thief advances in ability in groups of 3 starting with 2-in-6, then
3-in-6, and so on. This means that the Thief starts with a base chance of 33.333%
which is in line with demi-human abilities from the LBBs. It also hews to that
“x-in-6” system for some skilled activity. It also leaves room for the other
classes to at least have a 1-in-6 chance to sneak or remove a trap which –
although difficult – is a better chance than the level-1 Greyhawk Thief.
A few other versions I think are pretty good are Delving
Deeper’s V.5 version and LotFP’s Specialist class both of which use an “x-in-6”
mechanic as well. The LotFP version allows for some customization, including
some undefined skills the player and GM may agree upon outside of what’s
listed. Delving Deeper keeps the Greyhawk Thief’s level-abilities (like reading
languages and magic) but gives it the weakest of hit dice progression of the
game (though because they level faster are perhaps on par with Magic-users). Swords
& Wizardry Continual Light is also decent, however, like Delving Deeper,
the thieving abilities are maybe a little too good right out of the gate for me.
None of these versions are quite what I’m looking for,
partially due to how all those versions deal with the Thief’s combat
advancement. White Box FMAG has Thieves increasing their to-hit roll along with
the Cleric in not-quite groups of 3 (as opposed to groups of 4 from Greyhawk).
Delving Deeper lumps Thieves combat in with Magic-users in “smoothed” groups of
4 (as opposed to groups of 5 from Greyhawk). LotFP’s Specialist never increases
their combat ability, which makes for a greater distinction between the classes
but doesn’t have the feel I’m looking for. In order to find the Thief I want I
return to Greyhawk.
My revised Greyhawk Thief would use the combat charts of
the cleric (in groups of 4, per Greyhawk), saves and hit die of magic-users (in
groups of 5, per Greyhawk), and mix in FMAG’s Thievery skill advancement mirroring
the Fighting-man’s combat advancement (in groups of 3). I think I would use the
XP advancement in Greyhawk and the hit dice advancement of Magic-users from Men
& Magic. This way the Thief’s hit dice would advance faster than the
Magic-user, but not quite as fast as the Cleric. The Thief’s attack ability
would actually increase a little faster than the Cleric, but lacking their defensive
advantage of heavier armor and shields, the Thief’s attacks would still most
likely come as ranged attacks or backstabs (which I would run as-is from
Greyhawk). I would give Thieves the Fighter’s use of high Dexterity to lower
their Armor Class that was ushered in with Greyhawk as well as the reading
languages and magic ability at higher levels.
Depending on how this works in actual play, I could tweak
this setup by adjusting the XP amounts to be the same as Cleric perhaps, or by
going with the Greyhawk d4 hit die, but otherwise, I think this is pretty close
to what I’m looking for. I’ve kept things in the non-smoothed out advancement
below, but I may find I prefer something a little more gradual. We’ll have to
see. There are still other things to work out in terms of how much of the other
supplements I’d like to bring in, but this is a good start. I also have a whole
host of house rules I want to use particularly related to 1st level
character creation, but that’s maybe for another day.
Advancement in Experience, Hit Dice, and Thief Abilities
Level
|
XP
|
Title
|
Hit Dice
|
Thievery
|
1
|
1,200
|
Apprentice
|
1d6
|
2 in 6
|
2
|
2,400
|
Footpad
|
1d6 + 1
|
2 in 6
|
3
|
4,800
|
Robber
|
2d6
|
2 in 6
|
4
|
9,600
|
Burglar
|
2d6 + 1
|
3 in 6
|
5
|
20,000
|
Cutpurse
|
3d6
|
3 in 6
|
6
|
40,000
|
Sharper
|
3d6 + 1
|
3 in 6
|
7
|
60,000
|
Pilferer
|
4d6
|
4 in 6
|
8
|
90,000
|
Master Pilferer
|
5d6
|
4 in 6
|
9
|
125,000
|
Thief
|
6d6 + 1
|
4 in 6
|
10
|
250,000
|
Master Thief
|
7d6
|
5 in 6
|
11
|
375,000
|
Master Thief, 11th
Level
|
8d6 + 1
|
5 in 6
|
12
|
400,000
|
Master Thief, 12th
Level
|
8d6 + 2
|
5 in 6
|
13
|
525,000
|
Master Thief, 13th
Level
|
8d6 + 3
|
6 in 6
|
14
|
650,000
|
Master Thief, 14th
Level
|
8d6 + 4
|
6 in 6
|
Combat Table (Cleric/Thief):
Level
|
AC 9
|
AC 8
|
AC 7
|
AC 6
|
AC 5
|
AC 4
|
AC 3
|
AC 2
|
1-4
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
5-8
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
9-12
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13-16
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
17-20
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
Saving Throws (Magic-user/Thief):
Level
|
Death/Poison
|
Wands
|
Turn to Stone
|
Dragon Breath
|
Spells
|
1-5
|
13
|
14
|
13
|
16
|
15
|
6-10
|
11
|
12
|
11
|
14
|
12
|
11-15
|
8
|
9
|
8
|
11
|
8
|
16-20
|
5
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
3
|
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