Footpads[]
These useful equipment items have even had a type of robber named after them, of course. Footpads can be improvised from rags or cloth tied to the feet, or built into footwear—the latter obviously negates any risk of cloth falling off!
Footpads are not considered standard equipment worn by the thief because of the disadvantage they have. Their advantage is that they add +5 to the chance for moving silently; the corresponding disadvantage is that footpads reduce traction, and so their use adds a -5 penalty modifier to any climb walls roll the thief has to make while wearing them. Cat burglars are advised to use detachable footpads which can be donned after getting over the wall on the way in!
As an aside, the normal, unmodified move silently chance assumes that the thief is wearing normal, everyday footwear. If for some reason he is wearing hob-nailed boots or the like the DM may readily apply a penalty modifier of -10, -20 or so to any attempt to move silently.
Silenced Armor[]
A special form of silenced elfin chain is available to the thief. Such armor has each individual link of chain armor wrapped in thin leather or light cloth binding. This to some extent "silences" the armor, at the cost of increasing its encumbrance by one-third above that of normal elfin chain. It is also fiendishly expensive, costing more than plate mail. Of course, it is even rarer than ordinary elfin chain itself. Finding a craftsman and persuading him to make such a suit of armor could be a challenging adventure in itself for a thief. The total profile for silenced elfin chain is shown in Table 28 below.
| Pick Pockets | -25 |
| Open Locks | -5 |
| Find/Remove Traps | -5 |
| Move Silently | — |
| Hide in Shadows | -10 |
| Detect Noise | — |
| Climb Walls | -25 |
| Read Languages | — |
Bonuses for moving silently and hearing noise above those which apply for normal elfin chain are somewhat offset by penalties to picking pockets and climbing walls. Silenced elfin chain is particularly useful to a thief for whom subterfuge and sneaking around unobserved are very important, but who suspects that there is a high probability of combat at some stage during his mission!
Strapping[]
A thief may use lengths of strapping—usually of stiff, hardened leather—to improve his chances of moving silently if these would otherwise be reduced by such factors as squeaky floorboards (but not otherwise). These straps will usually be 30 to 36 inches or so in length, and they help distribute the thief's weight over a wider area. Their use negates any negative modifier arising from squeaky floorboards, but the thief has to pick up the strips and move them before him as he walks along. This reduces his movement rate to only one-half of that which normally applies for attempting to move silently—i.e., one-sixth of normal walking move rate!