The Thief. The profession of thief is not dishonourable, albeit is neither honourable nor highly respected in some quarters. Thieve are principally meant to take by cunning and stealth. Thieves have 18 hit points per point of constitution and are the next most skilled in combat, next to fighters, using their backstabbing ability to comence a fight. Due to their need for light quick attacks, a thief is not permitted to wield weapons in two hands, or wear a shield as they hamper his ability to move and strike. If the thief is also a fighter, however, he is permitted to wield two weapons simultaneously. Also, due to the nature of his dexterous needs, any other armour, other than leather, tends to hamper the thieves skills. Therefore, no thief will wear armour that is more bulky or heavy than this. The primary functions of a thief are: 1) Steal - Picking pockets (or folds of a garment or a girdle), which also includes such activities as pilfering and filching small items. It is done by slight of hand. Stealing excessively is discouraged, and looked down upon by players and Creators alike. Usage: steal <item> from <where> Note, however, the successful stealing of wielded and worn items does not mean the player has attained them - he has mearly removed/un wielded them from the victim. Another successful attempt indicates the thief has removed them. Failure to steal an object usually means that an NPC will attack. Those who are noticed will usually find themselves in greater trouble by the law enforcement officers of that area. 2) Locks - Openning locks includes figuring out how to open sliding puzzle locks and foiling magical closures. It is done by picking with tools and by cleaverness, plus knowledge and study of such items. A player may attempt at pick a lock as many times as he wishes. Usage: pl <item> 3) Traps - This pertains to relatively small mechanical devices such as poisoned needles, spring blades, some magical spells and the like. Finding is accomplished by inspection, and they are nulified by mechanical removal or by being rendered harmless. Only one attempt per 'reset' may be executed to detect a trap. Failure to disarm a trap usually results in its activation. Usage: ft <item> Find trap rt <item> Remove trap. Note that a trap must be found first before it can be removed. 4) Stealth - Hiding in shadows is the ability to blend into dark areas, to flatten oneself, and by remaining motionless when in sight, to remain unobserved. It is a function of dress and practice, as well as experience. Usage: hs Hide in shadows Moving silently is the ability to move with little sound and disturbance, even across a squeaky wooden floor, for instance. It is an ability which improves with experience. Usage: ms Move silently 5) Backstab - Back stabbing is the striking of a blow from behind, be it with a club, dagger, or a sword, before combat has been initiated. The damage that occurs increases with this skill. If the opponent is suprised (usually a 2 in 6 chance, but can vary on the situation), then the damage is substantially and considerably increased. Usage: bs <opponent> 6) Appraise - With bargaining and charisma, often the true value of items is never really acertained. A thief can determine the approximate value of certain items with greater efficiency as this skill increases, as is his ability to negotiate prices for items is also increased; buying for less and selling for more. Thieves cannot build a stringholds as some other classes do. They can, however, set up a head quarters for a gang of thieves, and he will accordingly attract NPC followers, typically other thieves. This construction is usually under cities, in old abandoned warehouses, and the like. Table 1: Thief levels and titles by Experience -------------------------------------------------------------- Level Thief Titles Experience For Level -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 the Utter Newbie 0 2 the Apprentice Rogue 1014 3 the Aspiring Rogue 1522 4 the Apprentice Footpad 2283 5 the Aspiring Footpad 3425 6 the Master Footpad 5138 7 the Apprentice Locksmith 7707 8 the Aspiring Locksmith 11561 9 the Master Locksmith 17341 10 the Apprentice Cutpurse 26012 11 the Aspiring Cutpurse 39018 12 the Master Cutpurse 58527 13 the Apprentice Robber 87791 14 the Aspiring Robber 131687 15 the Master Robber 197530 16 the Apprentice Burglar 296296 17 the Aspiring Burglar 444444 18 the Master Burlgar 666666 19 the Apprentice Filcher 1000000 20 the Aspiring Filcher 1500000 21 the Master Filcher 2000000 22 the Apprentice Sharper 2500000 23 the Aspiring Sharper 3500000 24 the Master Sharper 4000000 25 the Apprentice Magsman 4500000 26 the Aspiring Magsman 5000000 27 the Master Magsman 5500000 28 the Aspiring Thief 6000000 29 the Master Thief 6500000 ------------------------------------------------------------- 500000 exp required per level beyond 29th.