An OD&D Thief Rewrite

A bit ago I saw a discussion on twitter where Idle Cartulary and Marcia B were discussing the design differences between the original thief class - which anyone familiar with OSR discourse knows creates limits on other characters that didn't previously exist - and the paladin which largely creates new abilities only that class has. Marcie later posted her own thoughts on the original version of the thief, but I thought I'd weigh in not with thoughts on the thief but my third(!) attempt at a rewrite of it.

Note: unlike the version on my patreon, this is written with OD&D - or FMC or DD or whatever very close retroclone you want to use - in mind.  I wanted to make sure the mechanics either added things a thief could do better than another character and that tied into existing mechanics where possible.

Thieves

A player in the Nightwick campaign may wish to play a thief. This character type is open to  all races and any race may advance to any level as a thief. 

The prime requisite for the thief is DEX. If a character has a 16 DEX or higher they may opt to level as a thief for a given dungeon expedition in the same manner as an elf may switch between fighting man and magic user. Characters who do so retain their abilities from their original class but may not wear armor heavier than leather and still utilize their thief abilities.

Thieves may use any weapon and shield, but may only wear leather armor and no magic sword will ever deign to be used by you unless you also have attained at least the 4th level of fighting man.

Thieves possess a number of special abilities described below.

Hear Noise: Unlike other human characters, or even demihumans, thieves advance in their ability to hear noises as they level.

Hide in Shadows: While the thief will always be surprised if the party is, the referee must check separately to see if monsters are surprised by the presence of the thief even if they are not surprised for the party, for a thief may hide in the shadows cast even by a torch. At level four a thief gains a 3 in 6 chance of surprise and at level 9 they may attempt to slink back into the shadows even if they reveal themselves during combat.

Open Locks: If the referee determines a lock on a chest or door may be picked, a thief may attempt to pick a lock during a combat round by rolling the number indicated on the table below. They may also spend 1d6 exploration turns to automatically open a  lock given.*

Move Silently: Thieves whose party would not otherwise be given away by torch light or the clink of armor, may surprise opponents or otherwise move without being detected based on a roll described on the table below. This ability increases as they level.

Sense Traps: Thieves may intuit the existence of traps on a 1-2 on 1d6, much as elves do with secret doors.

Remove Traps: A thief has the same chance to disarm a trap per turn as they do Open Locks per round. No attempt to automatically disarm a trap may be attempted in a time segment shorter than an exploration turn. The referee may determine that a failure to disarm a trap automatically sets it off.

Sneak Attack: A thief attacking an opponent who is unaware of their presence gains a +4 to hit and does additional damage based on the table below.

Read Languages: If a thief is literate as determined by the referee based on their intelligence score, they may read treasure maps and other mysterious scripts without the use of a spell starting at the third level of experience. Once they reach level 9 they may then cast spells from magic user scrolls.

Thief Advancement

Level	Experience Required	Hit Dice	HN	OL/ RT	MS	SA	D	W	P	B	S
1	0	1	1-2	1	1	2d	11	12	14	16	15
2	1,200	1+1	1-2	1	1-2	2d	11	12	14	16	15
3	2,400	2	1-3	1-2	1-2	2d	11	12	14	16	15
4	4,800	2+2	1-3	1-2	1-2	2d	11	12	14	16	15
5	9,600	3	1-3	1-2	1-3	3d	9	10	12	14	12
6	20,000	3+1	1-3	1-3	1-3	3d	9	10	12	14	12
7	40,000	4	1-4	1-3	1-3	3d	9	10	12	14	12
8	60,000	4+1	1-4	1-3	1-4	3d	9	10	12	14	12
9	90,000	5	1-4	1-4	1-4	4d	6	7	9	11	9
10	125,000	5+1	1-4	1-4	1-4	4d	6	7	9	11	9

*Non-thieves have a 1 in 6 per exploration turn of opening a lock, provided they have the proper tools, but cannot make an attempt to do so within a combat round.

Classes of Nightwick: The Rogue

It was big in the blogosphere a couple of weeks ago to post your version of the rogue/thief/whatever.  I couldn't find my houserules document until just now... so here's mine.

Rogue

Rogues in the World of Nightwick are ne'er-do-wells who live by their wits. They are, unfortunately for the World and its people, quite common.

Rogue Advancement

XP	Level	HD	ST	Skills	Sneak Attack
0	1	1	15	1-2	x1
1,250	2	2	14	1-2	x1
2,500	3	3	13	1-3	x2
5,000	4	3+1	12	1-3	x2
10,000	5	4	11	1-3	x2
20,000	6	5	10	1-4	x3
40,000	7	6	9	1-4	x3
80,000	8	6+1	8	1-4	x3
160,000	9	7	7	1-5	x4
320,000	10	8	6	1-5	x4

Rogue Class Abilities

Weapon and Armor Restrictions: Rogues can use any weapon and wear any armor; however, they cannot use their skills if wearing armor heavier than leather.

Skills: Rogues possess skills that aid them in their attempts to gain precious lucre.  These include Climb, Hear Noise, Open Doors, Pick Lock, and Search.  The chances given on the chart above are for a d6.  In the case of skills that have their own attribute based chart, such as Open Doors, the rogue uses either the skill chart or the attribute chart - whichever is higher. Rogues also use this x in 6 chance to determine the chance that they surprise an opponent when sneaking off alone.  Note that rogues carrying lit torches or lanterns still cannot surprise monsters in a dungeon.

Sneak Attack: If attacking a surprised or otherwise unaware opponent, a Rogue multiplies any damage dealt with a melee weapon by the number indicated on the chart above.

Saving Throw: Rogues gain a +2 bonus to saves against poison and death effects.

Grave Robber (Rogue Bonus Class)

Grave robbers are those members of Dark Country society that have been forced to make their living through various nefarious means.  As the title says, this typically involves looting the corpses of the dead.

Grave Robber Class Abilities

Prerequisites: Constitution 12+, Charisma 8-

Strike to Stun: If undetected, a Graverobber can attempt to stun a human or humanoid opponent that is vulnerable to such an attack using a blunt instrument.  The Grave robber must make a to hit roll against the opponent they wish to stun.  If the hit is successful, the opponent must make a saving throw or be knocked unconscious for 1d6 turns.

Mountebank (Rogue Bonus Class)

Mountebanks are the flimm-flamm men of the World of Nightwick. While typically more at home in urban areas, they may be found anywhere were gold can be acquired.

Mountebank Class Features

Prerequisites: Wisdom 8-, Charisma 15+

Spell Casting: Mountebanks may attempt to cast spells found on magic user spell scrolls; however, in order to do so successfully they must make a successful saving throw with a penalty equal to the level of the spell.   If the saving throw is failed, the opposite of the intended effect of the spell occurs, usually in a way that is reflected back on the mountebank.  A mountebank may also attempt to cast a spell directly from a spellbook; however, a second saving throw must be made or else the spell disappears permanently from the book. 

Roll 1d10 to determine you're previous career and some of your starting equipment.

Rogue

d10	Career	Equipment
1-2	Beggar	Bottle of cheap whiskey, begging cup
3	Bunko Artist	Deck of cards, hand mirror
4	Cattle Rustler	50' rope, torn burlap mask
5-6	Dung Gatherer	Bag of dung, shovel
7-8	Footpad	Cudgel, 1d6 missing teeth
9	Gambler	Deck of marked cards, loaded dice
10	Minstrel	Lute, puffy shirt
11-12	Outlaw	Bow, 12 arrows, leather armor
13-14	Peasant	Wooden hoe, a pig
15	Pedlar	Small push cart
16-17	Ratter	Stick with 1d6 dead rats tied to it, “trained” potato bear
18	Smuggler	Chest with secret compartment
19-20	Thief	50' rope, black domino mask