Thieves are a new class introduced in Supplement I, Greyhawk and therefore presumably are a character type also played in the original Greyhawk campaign prior to their inclusion in the supplement. Theives, and their class abilities, are the introduction of percentile based task rolls in the game and as such seem to be very similar to, if not the same as, introducing the concept of skills as found in the later editions.
Listening at doors, forcing open stuck doors, and avoiding (or falling into) traps of all kinds - these are abilities listed in Volume 3 of the original little brown books titled Underworld and Wilderness Adventures. They represent typical underworld hazards which presumably may be dealt with by any character of any class pre-thieves! We are told here that traps are sprung on a roll of 1-2 on a d6 whenever a character passes over them. If the die comes up 3-6 does this imply the trap has malfunctioned? Is it accidentally bypassed? Or is said trap noted and avoided through careful movement of the character? Like many aspects of play, the authors do not explicitly tell us what they are thinking in the original edition texts and we are left to our individual interpretations - which I believe is the intent.
As anyone who has read this blog may know, I am a huge fan of the original edition three little brown books (which were packaged in a small white box - hence the title of the blog!) Many fans of the original edition like to include material from the first supplement - Greyhawk - in their game. I generally do not, preferring to make up my own supplemental material as I need it. Such "do it myself" material is reflective of my preferences, which in itself is a satisfying thing, and is consistent with the milieu and the home-brew setting which I like to run my games in.
In the Greyhawk supplement, we are introduced to a new character class, Thieves and with them a new way of thinking about the milieu and the game. The character class description of thieves in Greyhawk includes a list of abilities and a table of (mostly) percentage dice rolls needed for successfully using those abilities. The full list of abilities is as follows:
– open locks by picking or foiling magical closures– remove small trap devices (such as poisoned needles)– listen for noise behind closed doors– move with great stealth– filch items and pick pockets– hide in shadows– strike silently from behind– climb nearly sheer surfaces, upwards or downwards
Listening for noise behind closed doors, really? But, humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves, or halflings may listen at doors for noises in the original edition as discussed in Volume 3, so we already have rules for listening at doors, rules which apply to all characters, before thieves! Volume 3 says to a roll of 1 on a d6 to allow human characters to hear noises beyond a door. A roll of 1-2 is sufficient for dwarves, elves or hoblings to hear such noises. Greyhawk says starting level thieves (who may be humans, dwarves, elves, or hoblings) may hear noises on the roll of 1-2 on a d6 - does this sound familiar? By the way- this is the only thief ability using a d6 roll mechanic rather than percentile and it is preferred by some who use the d6 as a substitute mechanic for the percentile system of the other thief abilities (Lamentations of the Flame Princess being one such system).
It seems odd to me that thieves specialize in abilities ("skills"?) which other character classes may already perform as a matter of normal exploring, adventuring and fighting? I get the class archetype and inspiration/desire to have a character modeled on Gray Mouser, but I am uncomfortable with the implication that the listed thieves abilities should now become the sole domain of the class of thieves as a character class.
In Greyhawk it states that a level one thief has a 20% chance to move silently. Are we also saying that any non-thieves have even less chance to sneak quietly across a room while attempting to move silently? Thieves are given 10% at first level to hide in shadows (a roll hardly possible to achieve). Are we saying our non-thieves have virtually no ability to conceal themselves in a doorway hidden down a dark alley? Both these circumstances seem more dependent on the peculiar environmental conditions than on "skill". I also question whether a locked door is similar to a stuck door which, as it states in Volume 3, can be forced open by any character on a successful die roll? What about striking silently from behind? Would not a fighting man who stabs an unsuspecting victim in the back have an increased chance to hit - and do more than normal damage as well?
In later editions of the world's mot popular game, "skills" are included which apply to all character classes as well as some skills which are more class specific. Thieves become "rogues", although they retain much of the character which originally defined their thiefly role in the game. The specialized role of the class as scout and trap handler during exploration and as back-stabber during combat is now part of the game's lore and is an expectation of players. As a player of the original edition, however, I see the inclusion of thieves as a player character class as both optional and up to the referee.
The inclusion of thieves is a perfectly rational decision in some campaigns, original edition or later. It depends on how you as referee would like to shape the milieu in your campaign. Usually I prefer to leave them out and allow all adventurers to tap on floors and walls in search of traps, force locks open and climb. If I am going for a campaign of urban shenanigans prominently featuring a thieves guild, I would encourage thief characters because their inclusion supports the sort of story I am hoping will emerge during play. (I also usually avoid monks and assassins in the milieu, but I will leave that topic for a future post.)
No comments:
Post a Comment