The Thief

The cities of the Old World provide some refuge from the dangers of the wilderness, but they also breed perils of their own. Survival in the streets is by no means guaranteed, and some resort to shady tactics in order to make a living.

The Thief is one such human who has developed skills of stealth and trickery, able to fare well in the back alleys of the cities and to make use of his abilities in the dangers of the dungeon as well. The Thief may have a shady past and stands a chance of being unwelcome in Settlements where his unsavory background is known. Still, it is possible for a Thief to decide to take the path of adventuring, to become a true hero, albeit an unconventional one. There are traps to be disabled, locks to be picked, and enemies to be stealthily avoided or ambushed.

The Thief starts out with a Short Sword (1d6 + Str-1 wounds) and a Parrying Dagger (If your roll beats the Attack roll from enemy’s melee weapon, you have successfully parried the attack! A Warrior may not parry attacks made with double his Strength - they are simply too powerful to be stopped!)

The Thief can use his tools to open any lock of non-magical nature. The Thief must spend a turn attempting to pick the lock and roll 1d6. On a 4+ the lock is successfully picked. On a 2 or 3 nothing happens, and the thief may try again next turn. On a natural 1, the tools snap off in the lock and are useless.

The thief tools can also be used to disarm traps. Whenever a trap is encountered, roll a d6. On a 5 or 6 the Thief notices the trap and disarms it before anyone can take damage. On a 2, 3, or 4 the Thief does not notice the trap and it goes off normally. On a 1, the Thief notices the trap and in an attempt to disarm it, it goes off in his face! The Thief takes an additional d6 wounds as well as the regular effect of the trap.

A Thief is very good at ducking and dodging, and is most useful when scouting ahead. The Thief can use his excellent hearing and sight to Explore, just as is he had the Lantern. He only has to be within 2 board sections of the Lantern to avoid being lost in the dark, rather than 1 board section.

The Thief also has the ability to backstab his opponents. If he sneaks quietly behind his opponent, he may be able to land a dagger in his foe’s back. This attack ignores an enemies armor, but not toughness. This attack cannot deathblow, but has a better chance of hitting and does extra damage. No enemy can be targeting the Thief for this attack to be a Backstab. Use the following chart:

The Thief may use any treasure usable by the Barbarian with these exceptions... Two-handed melee weapons, bludgeoning weapons, axes (except for throwing Axes), shields, and helms. Thieves can only wear leather, furs, and cloaks as armor. Excepting the above restrictions, a Thief can use an item that only another class can use on a 6+.. This includes Wizardly items such as scrolls!

When visiting settlements, a Thief may visit all the standard locations such as the various traders and the following special locations: The Alchemist, Gambling House, Temple , Fighting Pit (on a 8+), Alehouse (no modifier), and the Outlaw Trading Post. In addition, there is a new special location, the Thieves Guild. He also can attempt to make some extra money “pocketing”. Thieves roll again on a result of Uneventful day, simply because they seem to draw trouble. Only if that result comes up again is it truly an Uneventful Day.

When in a settlement, rather than visit a special location or trader, the Thief may attempt to work the crowded streets and earn a little gold. Roll 2d6 on the following table to determine the outcome:

2	Caught by the town guard! The Thief must roll on the punishment table, with a -1 in a village and a +1 in a city.
3-4	Caught by the local Thieves Guild. If the Thief does not have a license, they fine him 1d6 x 20 gold. Otherwise, treat as a bad day.
5-6	Bad Day. You spent the day roaming about, but find no good prospects.
8-9	Leads. You spot a few good prospects, but never have a good shot at any. If you pocket the next day, you get a cumulative +1 to this table.
10-11	Not a bad day’s work. You make 1d6 x 20 gold.
12	Great day. You make 1d6 x 50 gold.

1	Chop off his hand! A Thief with one hand is at -1 WS, and -1 to any tests to pick locks or disarm traps, as well as on any Pocketing attempts the Thief might be foolish enough to make! A Thief with NO hands cannot fight or use most of his skills; indeed, he will be at pains to wipe his own buttocks the rest of his life!
2	Jail. The Thief must spend 1d6 days in jail. He does not need to pay living expenses or roll hazards during this time.
3	Run out of town. The Thief must immediately leave this settlement.
4	Fine. The Thief is fined 1d6 x 50 gold.
5	Detained. The Thief spends the day in jail. He need not pay living expenses or roll an event.
6	Slap on the wrist. The Thief is sent on his way, but further punishments on subsequent days will be at -1 on this table.

The Thief cannot enter this guild without a license, which costs 1d6 x 50 gold. This license entitles the Thief to work the settlement. This also offers him some protection from the other guild members in this settlement. Whenever the Thief encounters someone in the settlement who either robs him, swindles him out of money, or sells him useless equipment, roll on the following table:

1- You give the right signal but this thief is a freelancer and not part of the guild!

3-5 - You give the signal and the con man grumbles and leaves to seek another dupe.

The Thief may attempt to locate goods stolen from himself or his companions. On a roll of 4+, he has found it, and can repurchase it at 25% of its value. If the warriors leave the settlement and find their mule or horse stolen, the Thief can immediately relocate it and buy it back, again at 25% its value.

If the Thief has something stolen from him, he can attempt to snitch on the freelancer who did it. Roll on the following table:

3-4: The freelancer is caught, and the bounty hunters take your stolen goods as payment.

Flash powder can be set off at any time to confuse the Warrior’s enemies. Enemies that have already been surprised by Flash Powder will not be affected again. After it has exploded, any Warriors who have not already fought this turn get +1 Attacks.

Blade venom is a poison that may be applied to weapons. It takes one turn to apply the venom to a weapon in which the Warrior can perform no other actions. One dose is enough to cover one weapon’s blade. It will then inflict +2 Wounds per successful hit until the poison wears off. At the end of each subsequent turn roll 1d6, on a roll of 1 the poison wears off.

Roll 1d20 to determine what skill you have improved in after your experiences and training. Thieves are naturally curious and tend to excel at those skills most interesting to them, so you may pick a skill before or after the number you have rolled. If the Thief has all three skills already, you may reroll.

Realizing that in your current state you are the "weak link in the chain" as far as the party is concerned, you find an opening and disappear into the darkness until this matter has been settled.

Your Warrior may attempt once per turn to leave the battle entirely. Roll1D6. On a 1, your Warrior tries to escape, but is blocked; he only succeeds in wasting any opportunity to act or move this turn. Otherwise, he may make a full move in any direction that would lead him out of the room, bypassing interposing models, so long as his movement takes him into an unoccupied space. (This may not be used to take him past models which are guarding a particular character or treasure, nor past obstacles which the Warriors have no means of quickly bypassing, such as a locked door.) If he disappears from the battle, he of course forfeits any chance at gaining any special treasure acquired at the end of the fight.

This ability also allows the Thief to add +1 every time he uses the Escape table at the back of the Adventure book, whether he’s Lost in the Dark or trying to flee the dungeon entirely.

Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, you turn tail and dash past your foes.

On any given turn, the Thief may try to Run. To do so, just roll a 1d6 and on a 5+ the Thief can use double his Movement. However, there is a reason most characters don’t run in the dark, and if you roll a 1, then the Thief model moves 5 squares (or Move +1) in the intended direction and is placed prone in that fifth square. The Thief has tripped and fallen in his haste! He remains prone (following all rules for that) until his next Warrior’s phase at which point he can rise and act as normal.

Against your instincts of self-preservation, you realize that the Wizard is a goner if that Monster lands another blow, and decide to take action. You loudly call into question the Monster's breeding, and make references to its mother (as if it had one!) Whether or not the Monster understands a word you say, your jeering seems to be effective, as the creature turns its head and (gulp!) heads your way!

Once per turn, the Thief may attempt to taunt a single Monster into attacking him instead of another target. If the Monster fails an opposed Initiative test, it is so enraged by the Thief's insults that it must attempt to engage the Thief in hand-to-hand combat in preference to all other targets, and may ignore Pinning in an attempt to reach him. After this turn, unless the Adventure Book says otherwise, the Monster will keep attacking the Thief with an extra Attack but at -1 to hit.

The thief’s dexterous fingers slid deftly about the deadly poison-loaded trap, disarming the mechanism and safely opening the chest.

Whenever rolling for lock-picking or trap disarming, you may reroll the result, however, the second result must be kept no matter what the score.

The orc sneered as his blade clashed with the old wizard’s, knowing his strength could never be matched. Suddenly, a look of shock overcame his face and he slumped to the ground, the thief’s dagger buried deep in his back.

‘The battle is going well’, the thief surmised from his concealed vantage point in the shadows.

Once per turn, the Thief may attempt to hide from his attackers in the depths of the shadows. Roll 1d6, on a 2 or greater the Thief slinks into the darkness; he may not move or attack from this position, but he also may not be attacked during the Monster’s phase. Monsters are not pinned by him and all he can do is drink potions and the like. On a roll of 1, the Monsters notice his attempt and the Thief simply loses his attack(s) this turn. He may not attempt to hide again this battle. Once hidden, he may stay hidden as long as he likes, but must still roll to see if he is discovered.

The stranger walked away, chuckling to himself at the small fortune he made selling a worthless piece of junk. Checking his pouch, he was horrified to find iron slugs instead of gold, and his beautiful golden ring missing.

When in a settlement, the Thief not only avoids all events which indicate he was swindled or sold useless equipment; but on a roll of 4, 5, or 6 on 1d6 he has pulled a con of his own gaining 1d6 x (10 x Battle-Level) in gold.

Grabbing the dwarf by his shoulder, the thief stopped the fool just before he stepped on the mechanism for a deadly trap. ‘Hmm’, he thought, ‘perhaps the bolt could be rigged to shoot in the opposite direction...’

The Thief is an expert trapper. When rolling to disarm traps, he is successful on a roll of 3+, and takes no additional damage if he fails. On a roll of 5 or 6, the Thief rigs the trap to his benefit, causing it to go off if a Monster event occurs in this board section. Target a random Monster if applicable.

The Minotaur slashed wildly at the nimble thief, cursing as the wiry human dodged from side to side, always scant inches from the Minotaur’s blade.

The Thief is an expert at dodging blows and opponents. This skill allows the Thief to dodge an attack if he rolls a 6 on a d6. This skill can be rolled again, in which case the chance improves by 1 each time.

The thief jumped about swiftly, one moment jabbing at the skaven, the next sinking into the shadows.

The Thief has learned to make a quick attack followed by retreat. During his turn, he may move half his movement rate, attack an opponent (no more than 2 Attacks!), and then use the remainder of his Movement.

The Thief can quickly scale a wall, then descend upon his enemies. It takes one turn to climb a dungeon wall, at which point all enemies are at -1 to hit him. Doing this allows the Thief to take the first Initiative next turn, as he jumps at (or away!) his enemies with full momentum. However, using this skill in different situations allows the Thief to scale nearly any sheer surface or wall if he makes a successful roll on the table below.

Stealth is a virtue, and if that is so, the Thief is a saint. He can quietly maneuver himself to get a better strike at his opponent. From BLs 1 to 5, the Thief must roll a 6 or above to gain a +1 to hit his opponent. Then, from BLs 6 to 10, the Thief must roll a 5+ to gain this bonus. This is rolled once for every turn the Thief declares he is moving silently. This ability can only be used if there are not any monsters currently targeting the Thief. In addition, he is at half Movement so that the surprise attack is a sudden burst of motion.

Thieves that can move silently can also use this ability to sneak through rooms inhabited by Monsters/enemies. The bonus to do so is shown in the chart below. First, the Thief makes his roll to see if he thinks he is moving silently, then the Monsters have to roll an Initiative check equal to Dif. 7 + the Thief’s skill as shown in the chart. Of course, the GM /players may decide that certain creatures can sense life or simply smell the hapless adventurer with their enhanced senses!

Agility is on the side of the Thief. He now gains a +1 to his pinning rolls. This skill can be rolled more than once and the effects are cumulative.

Moving quietly, the Thief may ‘relieve’ a person/monster of an item. This skill gives the Thief a bonus to his Initiative check. Normally stealing is at a -2 Init check. The Thief no longer has this penalty. In addition, from levels 6-10, the Thief gains a +1 bonus to this check.

Using this skill, the Thief is able to hear/espy what is going on in the next tile set without opening the door, rolling on Event/Monster tables if necessary. The party may then opt to take a different route or take necessary precautions. In roleplay situations, a Thief with this ability gains a bonus to any rolls he might make involving the gathering of information.

This Thief knows people in nearly every city he encounters. When rolling to find the Thieves’ Guild, he may re-roll a failure. Also, he can even find enough Thieves to train or trade with on a 6+ in a Village.

Standing quietly and steadily aiming, the Thief delivers a devastatingly placed shot. For every Attack the Thief gives up, he may add 1d6 to Damage done with a single missile attack. A Thief may choose to aim at a single target for any number of rounds he wishes. For every full round of attacks he gives up, the Snipe is at +1 to hit.

The two warriors walked side by side down the busy city street. “How is it that you are able to stay in a fine inn while I must sleep in a hostel?” the Barbarian asked. “We always split the gold evenly in the dungeon.” “I do not know my friend, perhaps I am simply a more thrifty man than you” the thief smiled.

When rolling for Pocketing (see Settlement section) roll 2d6 (3d6 in a City) instead of 1d6 whenever you successfully gain money.

“Bring me that sniveling thief that I might chop his hand off for his insolence!” the Captain ordered. The guardsman nervously responded “I cannot!” “Why is that?” the Captain insisted. “He vanished from his cell this morning.”

If the Thief is caught Pocketing (see Settlement section) he may roll 1d6 to attempt to escape. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6 he vanishes from his cell in the middle of the night. He must now wait outside the settlement for his friends’ return.

With a disgruntled sigh, the warriors turned from the dead end back toward where the tunnel forked. “Hold, you fools,” the thief stopped them, “No one builds a passage that goes nowhere.” He dusted his fingers across the stone, and with a click the stone wall itself heaved to the side, revealing a secret passage.

In any board section the Thief may attempt to find a secret passage. He must spend one turn doing this and nothing else. On a roll of 4+ has found a passage in the wall next to him; place a door there. Divide the dungeon deck and treat this as a normal forking. When the Thief is in the party there can be up to two secret passages found in this manner as opposed to the normal one, but the Thief can only find a second passage on a 5+.

In a moderated game with a pre-planned dungeon, this skill can still be used for the Thief to find secret passages and doors with ease, and the GM may even allow the character to alter his dungeon in this manner. In addition, a character with this skill should get a bonus to any Spot checks he may have to make.

The orc swung his heavy axe at the thief, sure to kill him in a single blow. He never expected the thief to step so swiftly to the side, burying his blade into the orc’s belly.

The Thief’s footwork is nothing short of amazing, allowing him to avoid even the most accurate of attacks. This skill adds a 6+ save that can only be used if there is an adjacent square to move to. This skill can be taken more than once, upping the save by 1 each time. If the Thief also has the Dodge ability, he must try to use that first.

A Thief with this skill can hurl throwing knives and daggers with pinpoint accuracy, giving him a bonus of +1 to hit and adding +2 Damage to each successful strike to represent his deadly aim. He can throw these at a rate of his Attacks characteristic and must spend a turn after each battle they were used doing nothing but retrieving his weapons if he wants them back.

*Note: The correct starting Initiative, and therefore, BL 1 Initiative is 4 not 5. The above table is a picture file that the webmaster is currently unable to edit.

I called this “Thief 6.0” because there are already so many versions of the Thief for Warhammer Quest on the web. Kinda makes you wonder why GW in their wisdom never created a rogue character pack (and only sold the Halfling Thief via mail order). Anyway, I adapted this character to be a balanced alternative to the Assassin from Deathblow #1, the Outlaw from Citadel Journal #33, and my Ninja class. I paid attention to all the opinions I saw on the web, and weighed them against my own, and hereby acknowledge that I used liberal samples from “Greywolf” Peacock and that unknown personage with the unlikely name of “Meat Bop”; and used the version written by William Matthews as a resource.

However, I made some big changes to create the “Quintessential Thief”: I don’t view Thieves as damage machines (unless they’re Backstabbing) and so my Thief starts with a Str 2 weapon and never gets the heavy hitting Skills that the other rogue classes get. However, the mark of a Thief has always been versatility and skills, as this is a character that lives by his wits. Therefore, my skill system gives the player a large amount of leeway to customize his character, whether it be to create an urban legend, or a dungeon crawler without equal. And if you look at the skill chart, you’ll see that the Thief gets a ton of these skills as befits his wily nature.

One thing I don’t do is include roleplay guidelines, as everyone knows what a thief does, and has their own conception of how such a character should fit into a campaign. However, if you would like to generate a background for your character, then you can use William Matthews’ background chart; those ideas are compatible with mine even if the skills and stats are not. For my own players, I won’t have guards on the lookout for their characters until they’ve actually gotten caught preying on communities or are behaving in a suspicious manner. If I have characters that are wanted for escaping prison or some other crime, I will treat the Thief as the Outlaw character and use those charts.

Also, in case you’re wondering, the reason I include Saves vs. Death and Spell in the stats is because I adapt the saves from AD&D 2nd Edition to WHQ in the event of possible Critical Hits and such. I adore crits but don’t let them bog down the action!

Wounds:	1d6+6
Move:	4
Weapon Skill:	3
Ballistic Skill:	5+
Strength:	3
Toughness:	3
Initiative:	4
Attacks:	1
Willpower:	2
Pinning:	3+
Save vs. Death:	13
Save vs. Spell:	15

Level	Damage Bonus	To Hit Bonus
1-3	plus 1d6	+1
4-7	plus 2d6	+2
8-10	plus 3d6	+3

Level	Roll Needed
1-3	4+
4-7	3+
8-10	2+

Thief's Level	Roll	Enemy's Initiative Dif. to Notice
1-3	6+	8
4-6	5+	9
7-10	4+	10

The Thief (version 6.0)

written and adapted by Art Franklin