Who Makes the Best Thief?
Joining the Thieves' Guild
Becoming A Well-Equipped Thief
Etiquette: How To Survive as a Novice Thief In Closing
Who Makes the Best Thief?
Joining the Thieves' Guild
Becoming A Well-Equipped Thief
Etiquette: How To Survive as a Novice Thief In Closing
Gor Togs make good Barbarians. Elotheans make good Moon Mages. Elves and Humans are adapted to a Ranger's life; the best Thief is a Halfing.I have one word to say regarding stereotypes -- a loud and resounding BAH!
Who makes the best Thief? A person who is resourceful, quick-thinking and clever, that's who. Oh, it's true enough that Halflings, because of their great agility, have a bit of an edge when they start out, but it all evens out in the long run. I myself had only a middling agility until I was tenth circle, and even now (at the time of this writing, I'm 30th circle) my agility is still under 30.
"All right, then, Meriwythr," you say,"So a person of any race can make a good Thief -- but what abilities should I train?"
This is more a matter of personal choice than anything else. Of course, Kalag will tell you when you first attempt to join whether you need work in specific areas, but after that you're on your own. I have found that for the first few circles, balance is the most important thing -- that is, try to raise each and every skill, even if it's only by one or two ranks. By the time you hit fifth circle, make sure you don't have anything under a 9 (I had a frightfully low wisdom for ages, and it greatly slowed my progress).
Which abilities are the *most* important? Agility, to be sure...and reflex, to help you dodge the arrows shot at you from botched marks (yes, you'll be shot at...there are an annoyingly large number of people in the Realms who simply aren't understanding about finding another person's hand in their pocket). Once you get up to a certain circle, you'll want a good bit of discipline, too, so it's best to get started on that as soon as possible. Charisma, too, is important, and I'd recommend training it up to a 12, at the very least. If you're going to spend time hunting, or if you plan to specialize in disarming, then you'll want a fair amount of stamina as well.
Unlike many Thieves, I really enjoy a nice hunt now and then, so my highest ability is strength. After that comes Agility, then reflex and stamina, then discipline and charisma, then intelligence and last, wisdom. This may not be the best setup for you, but it's worked out rather well for me.
ADDENDUM: I'm now 30th circle, and have realized that I made more than a few errors in judgement in the course of my training. So, for what they're worth, here are some additional tips.
From what I can tell (though no one seems to know beyond a shadow of a doubt), it's best to train wisdom and discipline HIGHER than intelligence. This is in accordance with the "bucket theory" of learning -- and no, I'm not going to explain it, because I can never keep the blasted theory straight. Suffice to say that I found a marked improvement in how quickly I learned things when I trained wisdom and discipline up.
My stats are now in the following order, from highest to lowest -- strength, agility, reflex, stamina, discipline, wisdom, intelligence, charisma.
Ordinarily, when one wishes to join a Guild in Elanthia, one has only to trot through the front door of the Guild Hall, make the appropriate noises at the Guild leader, and voila! one is a member of that Guild. This procedure is all well and good for those Guilds who prefer quantity to quality...but we of the Thieves' Guild would rather have one smart and industrious chap (or lady, as the case may be) than a hundred well-meaning but lazy ones.For this reason, and as you probably already know, our Guild is hidden. The first step, then, to joining the Thieves' Guild is to find the Guild. My advice is that you do not wander around yelling "WHERE IS THE THIEVES' GUILD!", because you will find that very few people are willing to spoon-feed you directions. Additionally, keep in mind that our Guild does not "officially" exist, and you will no doubt run into many who simply look at you as if you are crazed.
I once saw a young chap standing outside the bank begging for someone to give him directions. Taking pity on him, I gave him a small hint, just a nudge in the right direction. He immediately became irate, stating that hints weren't enough, that he had spent hours trying to find the Guild and just wanted step-by-step directions. When I explained that I simply could not indulge his laziness, he flailed his arms about and stated "It's just too hard...I'm going to join the Barbarian Guild." (And I suspect that he is now doing a bang-up job as a Barbarian).
If finding the Guild proves too difficult for you, then you need to reconsider. P'raps that sounds a bit harsh, but if one is going to survive as a Thief, one must have wits. And in all honesty, the Guild is pathetically easy to find.
Keep in mind that merely finding the Guild does not enable you to become a Thief. You must gain entrance to the Guild, and, once you do, you must learn our password. Do not believe people on the street who express willingness to "reveal" the password -- there are many intentionally false passwords floating around, and your best bet is to discover it for yourself. Good luck.
First and foremost, keep in mind while equipping yourself that you need to pay off your debt as soon as possible. Having a debt is annoying, and it can be deadly -- if you're caught stealing from someone, they are unlikely to be understanding about the fact that you can't return the coins due to a debt (and yes, you should return coins when caught -- see my section on "Etiquette").
Be sure to take a look at my "Tips for Novices" to find out the many ways in which you can equip yourself with little or no cost.
Because one of the main skills of a Thief is hiding and stalking, it's best to start off with leather armour. Some Thieves use a shield, but I've found that they merely get in the way, and I don't suggest ever using one (I have exactly 0 ranks in shield usage, and plan to keep it that way). You'll eventually want the whole kit and caboodle -- helm, greaves, vambraces, gloves, etc, but for now they'll only hinder your hiding attempts, so I suggest holding off for a few circles.
Thieves need two weapon skills to advance, so you'll want to get one melee (hand-to-hand combat) weapon and one ranged weapon. I swear by the crossbow, which takes a bit longer to load than other bows, but which does a splendid bit of damage when fired from melee or pole-weapon range. You might also consider using a short bow, which doesn't do much damage but which enables you to get several shots off in a very short period of time. Another alternative is light thrown, such as throwing daggers...but keep in mind that if your stamina isn't up to par, you'll tire quickly. I've never cared much for longbows, though I use one on occasion.
For a melee weapon, most Thieves use light edged (such as a short sword or katar) or medium edge (such as a rapier or scimitar). These weapons require less strength and stamina to wield, and have a shorter roundtime -- that is, it takes less time to slice or jab with them. In keeping with my general habit of non-conformity, I have always used a heavy-edged weapon, but I had a hard time of it until I could get my strength and stamina up.
As far as other equipment goes, less is more. You don't want to have to deal with a heavy burden while you're trying to survive as a Novice. Get a backpack (the sturdy backpacks available at The Crossing's general store are more than adequate -- I used the one I bought at first circle for ages), a quiver to hold your ammunition, a carving knife (for skinning and whittling), a couple of lockpicks and a sheath for your weapon. You can, if you wish, hold off on the sheath and quiver and keep your weapons in your backpack, but you'll have less room for skins, etc.
As soon as you can possibly afford it, buy a mortar and pestle from the Alchemist, Chizili. Mechanical Lore is a bloody annoying skill, but we have to have it and a mortar's the best way to get it.
Finally, you need to give some thought as to your disguise, if indeed you wish to conceal the fact that you're a Thief. As a safety precaution, I recommend hiding your profession until you're at least third or fourth circle (you can do this by typing "set !prof"). I pretended to be a Barbarian for my first two circles, and it was amazing how many people believed me (though I did have several people wonder aloud what a Barbarian was doing trotting about in a red taffeta cape and a gold crown). Pick a Guild that can't be obviously disproven -- Rangers, Paladins and Barbarians, and possibly Clerics, are the easiest Guilds to fake at low circles.
One of the weakest, most vulnerable things in all of Elanthia is a Novice Thief. We have no special abilities until 3rd circle, and the special abilities we get before 10th circle don't do a thing to protect us. As if this weren't enough, we also have all manner of hotheaded, rude people who think the only good Thief is a dead Thief.I have done some rather extensive research into the requirements of various Guilds, and it's my opinion that, with the exception of the Bard Guild, the Thieves' Guild has the strictest requirements for advancement. It's not an easy ride, and if you don't have some measure of patience then you're liable to burn out quickly.
The requirements for advancing in our Guild center around what I call "The Big Four" -- that is, Hiding, Stalking, Lockpicking and Disarming. Just below that is Mechanical Lore. We need a lesser amount of weapons (two different weapon skills are required, as I mentioned earlier), climbing, appraisal, swimming, multi-opponent and evasion. Naturally, stealing is a required skill, but any Thief who can't circle due to lack of Stealing skill is not, in my opinion, a terribly good Thief.
There may be other requirements for circling, but these are the only ones I have ever been short in.
Please take a look at my "How to Get Those Pesky Ranks" section to find out the best ways (in this humble Elf's opinion) for raising various skills.
"There is no honour among Thieves."Utter rot, I say.
Without honour, there is nothing. This has been my personal motto since I first set out from my home village of Lomari, and it has served me well. However, I am not so thickheaded as to believe that all Thieves and would-be Thieves value honour as much as I do. No matter. Whether you personally have a code of honour or not, it is in your own best interests to behave honourably, or you will greatly increase your chances of taking an interminable stroll down the Starry Road.
Here are a few tips to get you started. Keep in mind that as you advance, you may slough off some of your more honourable behavior if you so choose, as long as you're willing and capable of defending youself. But always behave honourably toward your brothers and sisters of the shadows. Separately, we are a mass of sneaky little pickpockets -- but band us together, and we can be a force unlike any other in the whole of Elanthia.
Never, never -- I repeat, never...and one more time, to implant it firmly in your brain -- NEVER steal from another Thief outside of our Guild. If you mistakenly steal from a Thief (everyone makes mistakes), immediately return the coins, even if you are not caught. Having a brother or sister apologize and return coins you didn't even know you'd lost helps promote goodwill between us all, and believe me when I say that you want to have the goodwill of your Guildmembers.
If you witness another Thief behaving in a snertish manner, take him or her aside and have a quiet chat with them. One rude Thief can negate the actions of twenty polite Thieves. Never threaten another Thief unless he or she is being so unreasonable and disruptive that you are left with no choice. As for your own actions, try to always be soft-spoken and polite to others. Offer to help those in need of advice or information, and let them know that you're a Thief, so that they leave with a better impression of our Guild. Find out as soon as possible who the Elders in our Guild are (and no, I'm not an elder) and mark their names down (that is, highlight them in your Wizard configuration) so that you'll never mistakenly rob them or be rude to them. Spend as much time as you can in the Guild itself -- not only will you greatly heighten your perception, but you'll also be able to freely practice stealing without repercussions.
When looking for a teacher, never shout or demand that someone teach you -- ask politely, and give profuse thanks. Someone who enters the Guild yelling "I'VE GOTTA GET STALKING SO I CAN CIRCLE, SOMEONE TEACH ME!" is undoubtedly going to be ignored at best; someone who steps in, says Hello, and then asks "Is there anyone here who would mind teaching me a bit of stalking? I'm close to circling, and it's holding me back" is more likely to get an immediate response.
Now, on to other things -- the etiquette of stealing.
Never steal from Empaths. Period. Only the lowest dwellers in slime would even consider stealing from an Empath. Don't do it. When you are healed, always tip the Empath as much as you can afford -- if you have a debt, or are completely out of money, go out and kill a shipyard rat and bring its skin along with you to give to the Empath who heals you, and make sure you thank them.
Try not to get caught stealing from Clerics or Paladins. They come in handy when one dies and needs a glyph (to protect items from being stolen) and a rejuvenation (to keep memory loss to a minimum). My suggestion: stay away from Paladins and Clerics until you're high enough circle to rob them without risk of getting caught. I try to avoid stealing from them altogether, unless they're hopelessly rude.
Be careful when pickpocketing Rangers...they usually have a high perception. Also, make sure you aren't carrying anything when you're on the job, because those nasty mages (both Moon and Warrior) have spells which can cause you to drop whatever you're holding -- and they may not shirk at picking it up and keeping it.
"Well, then, who do I rob?" you ask. Anyone you like, actually (except Empaths and other Thieves, of course.), but your best bet is Traders and Barbarians. Bards are usually rather easy prey, but they're so blasted broke all the time that I tend to leave the poor fellows alone.
When you are caught stealing, return the coins you stole. If there are other Thieves about, or if the area is crowded enough that there could be other Thieves about, then it isn't necessary to return every last copper. Just smile and insist that what you returned is all you took. I know, I know -- it's bloody hard to return coins, and even harder if you've just made a spectacular nab, but trust me when I say it's necessary. If you run off, your name will be remembered as "That sneaky little so-and-so who's going to die the next time I see him/her"...if you stand your ground, apologize, and return the coins, you'll be remembered as "that thief who politely apologized and returned what he/she stole". Returning coins when caught goes a long way toward thinning the ranks of "thief-killers" and fattening the ranks of those who think stealing is not a killable offense.
If you're caught trying to pick someone's pocket (they catch you, but you don't get anything), hold your ground. Apologize sincerely, remind him/her that you didn't get anything, and try to make a joke of it (i.e., if the mark is well-known for being rich, say "Oh, I just had to give it a shot" and grin at them). If the mark persists in being angry, or if you discover that he/she is an Empath, give them a few coins by way of apology. Believe me, nothing cools tempers like the clink of coins. I've done this on several occasions and it produces remarkable results.
There are, unfortunately, those who are simply incapable of listening to reason. If you've tried your best to apologize and they continue to threaten you, hide and sneak away. Also do this if they begin preparing a spell or pull out a weapon. Etiquette is all well and good, but it's rather difficult to be polite when one is dead.
Well, I daresay I've babbled on long enough, and anyone patient enough to have read this far should have a pretty good understanding of how to start on the path toward becoming a good Thief. If you have any further questions, feel free to write me or to contact me in the Realms (though please don't make references to words I don't understand when I'm in Elanthia, such as "website"). If there is anything which you feel should be added to this guide, please suggest it to me.May Faenella's grace shelter you, and may you find all pockets open and full.
Meriwythr Truefriend
Beloved Citizen of Elanthia
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This page last updated 04/20/99