The Thief Kits[]
Following are several types of thieves represented by thief kits. Before allowing his players to choose kits for their characters, the DM should review each kit and make notes for himself about them.
For each thief kit, the DM must determine:
1. If he will even allow this kit in his campaign.
2. What additional information he needs to give the players about each kit.
3. What changes he might wish to make to each kit.
Let's take the Beggar kit as an example. In most fantasy campaigns this kit would be acceptable, at least in concept; although it is not inconceivable that one state might be so benign as to provide for all its needy—or so harsh as to keep them off the streets forcibly.
Assuming the DM says that yes, the Beggar kit will exist in his campaign, he needs to decide which details are specific to the Beggars of his world. What causes people to be Beggars? In a predominantly lawful evil society, for example, there may be a class of people that is systematically oppressed. (This sort of society, by the way, is a perfect setting for thief player characters, whose campaign goal can be to overthrow the oppressive system.) The DM should inform the players of all these details specific to his campaign.
Finally, after the DM has decided on all the details, he should go back through the thief kits as they are presented here and adjust them as he sees fit.
Thief Kits and Thieving Skills[]
(Optional Rules)
Because of their specializations, thieves of the various kits differ in their aptitudes for various standard thieves' skills. A Spy, for instance, would need to be better (or at least would have more practice) at detecting noise than a Fence. To reflect the predispositions of the various kits, use Table 4 for beginning thieves. This table is just like Tables 27 and 28 (Thieving Skill Racial Adjustments and Thieving Skill Dexterity Adjustments) in the Player's Handbook, and is cumulative with any bonuses or penalties derived from those tables.
After the adjustments have been totaled, the thief may distribute his discretionary points. There normally are 60 discretionary points to distribute (see Player's Handbook, p. 38). Some thief kits may not have as many discretionary points to distribute as beginning characters. The Assassin, for instance, gets only 40 points instead of 60.
| Thief Kit | Pick Pockets1 |
Open Locks |
F/R Traps2 |
Move Sil. |
Hide in Shadows |
Detect Noise |
Climb Walls |
Read Lang. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrobat | +5% | -5% | -5% | +5% | — | — | +5% | — |
| Adventure | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Assassin | —3 | — | +5% | — | — | — | — | -5% |
| Bandit | -5% | — | +10% | —4 | +5% | — | -5% | -5% |
| Beggar | +10% | -5% | -5% | — | +5% | — | — | -5% |
| Bounty Hunter | —3 | — | +5% | — | — | — | -5% | — |
| Buccaneer | -5% | — | — | — | — | — | — | +5% |
| Burglar | -5% | +5% | — | — | — | — | +5% | -5% |
| Cutpurse | +10% | — | — | — | — | — | -5% | -5% |
| Fence | — | +5% | +5% | -5% | -5% | — | -5% | +5% |
| Investigator | -5% | — | — | — | — | +5% | — | — |
| Smuggler | -5% | -5% | — | +5% | +5% | +5% | -5% | — |
| Spy | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Swindler | — | -5% | — | — | — | — | — | 5% |
| Thug | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Trouble- shooter | -10% | +5% | +5% | — | — | — | — | — |
NOTES TO TABLE 4
- 1. Includes similar feats of manual dexterity, such as legerdemain and slipping poison (see also note 3, below).
- 2. This ability may also be used in the placement of traps.
- 3. Assassins and Bounty Hunters are adept at slipping foreign substances (poison, sedative, etc.) into the food or drink of their targets. Success in such a feat of manual dexterity is determined by a pick pockets roll, and the Assassin or Bounty Hunter gets +5% on the roll. This special bonus does not apply, however, to pickpocketing or other tasks covered by this ability.
- 4. In the wilderness, the bandit gets +5% to this ability.
Example: Urlar is a beginning gnome thief with a Dexterity of 17. He decides to adopt the Burglar kit. Using Tables 26, 27 and 28 from the Player's Handbook and Table 4, above, Urlar computes his skills as shown in Table 5.
| Skill | Base Score |
Racial Adj. |
Dexterity Adj. |
Kit Adj. |
TOTAL BASE SKILL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick Pockets | 15% | 0% | +5% | -5% | 15% |
| Open Locks | 10% | +5% | +10% | +5% | 30% |
| Find/Remove Traps | 5% | +10% | 0% | 0% | 15% |
| Move Silently | 10% | +5% | +5% | 0% | 20% |
| Hide in Shadows | 5% | +5% | +5% | 0% | 15% |
| Detect Noise | 15% | +10% | 0% | 0% | 25% |
| Climb Walls | 60% | -15% | 0% | +5% | 50% |
| Read Languages | 0% | 0% | 0% | -5% | -5% |
Urlar now may distribute an additional 60 discretionary percentage points among the total base scores, with no more than 30 such points being assigned to any single skill, as explained in Chapter Three of the Player's Handbook.