Thief

A Rogue remort class with backstabs, poisons, traps, locks and larceny.

Thieves build on Rogue training with locks, larceny, traps and attacks on targets that have not seen them coming. Their utility skills cover shops, purses, doors and ledgers as well as disguise and information gathering. Supplies and preparation matter, and most thefts can fail or be seen.

Thief is a remort class. A Rogue can be reborn a Thief at level 1 when the Thieves invite them and they have 4 remort points to spend: from level 50 as a half remort, or at level 100 as a full one. The guild takes no applications, and join thief is refused everywhere. Type remort thief to see what you still need, and accept when the invitation comes. See Remorting.

A finished Thief life is one of the three lives the Assassins ask for.

Resources#

Thief abilities use SP, shown on score; some also spend supplies from the pouch. A cost of None in the tables below means the skill takes no SP. Scout and Shadowstep cost 5 EP (stamina) instead. Set Trap is the one variable cost in the class, from 50 SP for a tripwire up to 190 SP for an explosive.

Passives are equipped, not simply learned. You hold two at a time and swap them with passives, and the level on a passive row is the level at which passives equip accepts it.

The class also carries a physical pouch, shared with the Rogue and listed by the Thief Supplies skill at level 4. Trade tools and poison vials both live in it, and a skill with an empty slot behind it fails. Type supplies to see what you have, and restock at the Thieves Guild Supply Counter with list and buy. Carry limits rise with level. Unlike the Rogue, the Thief has no passive that raises them further.

The supply counter also sells one real weapon, the leather cosh, for 60 silver. Mug only works with a blunt weapon in your hand, and the club family (coshes, cudgels and blackjacks) is the one blunt family a Thief can wield. Clubs also drop now and then. A cosh can sit in the off hand beside a blade, so offwield cosh keeps one ready.

Pouch item	Feeds
Leather gag	Gag
Disguise kit	Disguise
Smoke bomb	Smoke Bomb
Blinding flash	Blinding Flash
Poison vials	Poison

Thieves wear leather. Plate, mail and cloth are closed to you, though gear with no armor category carries no class restriction.

Heat and luck#

Most fallible things a Thief does run through the same pair of rolls: one for whether the attempt works, and then, only if it failed, a second for whether anyone saw you. Luck is the largest stat in the success roll and the main one in the caught roll.

Working the same victim over and over stacks heat on them, up to five points. Each point costs twelve points of success chance and adds eight to the chance of being seen. One point sheds every thirty seconds, twice as fast with Cold Trail equipped from level 20. Getting caught marks you for a minute, and while that mark is up shadow refuses to hide you; Sneak and Skulk still work.

Talent trees#

You earn a talent point every ten guild levels, ten in all, and a tree holds ten at most. Each point in a tree makes every skill in it 2% better: its hits and heals land 2% harder and it is ready again 2% sooner, so ten points give 20% of each. Passives are untouched. Each point in Skirmish also makes your own weapon blows 2% stronger. talents shows your trees, talents <tree> shows what one holds, talents spend <tree> puts a point in, and talents reset takes every point back. A reset is allowed once a real day and never in a fight; your first reset ignores the wait.

Skirmish#

Melee burst and dirty combat. Backstab is the first skill you learn and stays the center of the class, with Blindside, Shiv and Shank around it, Kidney Shot for a moment of stillness, and Quietus Strike to finish fights at the top end. Evasion and Blind Fighting are the defensive entries, and Dagger Mastery at 90 rewards fighting with two daggers.

Dirty Fighting at 15 has no command of its own; it unlocks a combat stance, switched on with style dirty. Rogues do not have it. The Duelist style at 25 sits in this tree as well.

Stealth#

Concealment and quiet movement. Sneak and Shadow get you into position, Detect Hidden finds whoever else is hiding, Skulk gets you past aggressive creatures, and Cold Trail and Nightcraft make the whole trade quieter. Higher up come Hobble, which works only on players, and Shadowstep.

Subterfuge#

Theft and social manipulation: picking purses, lifting shop stock, stealing from a person, disguises, fast talk, bribes, threats, eavesdropping and forged ledgers. Silver Tongue is the passive that makes Fasttalk and Threaten land more often.

Tradecraft#

The tools of the trade: your supply pouch, lockpicking, oiling a hinge, finding, setting and disarming traps, and poison. Venomed Edge stretches every dose you apply across half again as many strikes, and Blinding Flash and Smoke Bomb blind a room or fill it with smoke.

Skills#

Skirmish#

Level	Skill	Type	Cost	Cooldown	Effect
1	Backstab	Combat	5 SP	None	An opening strike that deals a share of the target's total health plus damage from your level. You must be out of combat and wielding a cutting or thrusting weapon, and the target must be unhurt or barely scratched. It can miss, more often against a higher level target, and a miss starts the fight.
5	Blindside	Combat	5 SP	6s	A blow from an angle the foe does not see, landing after your normal attacks that round. Damage grows with your level.
9	Evasion	Combat	15 SP	None	A toggle lasting five minutes at low level and ten at 100. While it is up, roughly four hits in five are partly slipped, for 30 to 40 percent less damage.
10	Shiv	Combat	10 SP	10s	After a 2 second windup, a thrown blade. A critical, likelier as you level, ignores defenses and leaves a wound for a while: no eating, no fleeing, frequent misses, no weapon swings or no breath to fight, depending on where it lands, and very rarely a heart strike that kills (never on a boss). The cooldown is 8 seconds against a studied foe.
13	Kidney Shot	Combat	10 SP	15s	A strike that stuns for 2 seconds, 3 from level 50.
15	Dirty Fighting	Utility	None	None	Unlocks the dirty combat stance, switched on with `style dirty`.
25	Duelist Style	Utility	None	None	Unlocks `style duelist`.
29	Feint	Combat	10 SP	15s	A false strike the foe guards against. The next blow you land on it, swing or skill, deals extra damage equal to your level, and it is left off balance, its armor stopping less of every weapon blow.
31	Shank	Combat	55 SP	30s	Drive a blade deep into one target, leaving a gut wound that stops it eating for a while. Needs a cutting or thrusting weapon.
38	Dirty Trick	Combat	10 SP	20s	A blunt blow that always lands, plus one trick at random: a blind, a brief stun, deafness, choking, a slow from a kick to the shins, or a bite that can infect.
40	Smoke Cut	Combat	55 SP	45s	Snap a smoke pellet at your feet and cut from the haze. It makes its own cover, so no smoke bomb is needed.
50	Opportunist	Passive	None	None	15% more damage against stunned, rooted, downed or blinded foes.
55	Quietus Strike	Combat	55 SP	10m	A two phase finisher against a foe you are fighting. After a wait of a few rounds the first phase stuns and roots the target for 6 seconds; the second, a few rounds later, hits harder. Moving or eating while you wait breaks it off.
59	Flurry	Combat	30 SP	30s	A combo of three weapon swings, rising to five at high level.
60	Blind Fighting	Passive	None	None	From level 59 smoke never makes your blows miss or stops you finding the exits. Equipped as a passive, it also lets you see normally through smoke and blindness.
61	Riposte	Combat	10 SP	60s	Bank counter strike charges, six at level 61 rising to nine at 100. Each combat round has an 80 percent chance to spend one on a free extra weapon swing.
80	Executioner	Passive	None	None	Backstab, Shiv, Shank and Quietus Strike all land 15% harder.
90	Dagger Mastery	Passive	None	None	While you wield two daggers, every blow you land is 15% harder.

Stealth#

Level	Skill	Type	Cost	Cooldown	Effect
3	Sneak	Utility	10 SP	None	Move without being heard until you attack. Lasts 2 minutes at level 1, up to 20 at level 100. Cannot be started in combat.
6	Detect Hidden	Utility	5 SP	30s	Sweep the room for hidden exits and hidden or shadowed creatures, and learn whether something here rewards a careful search.
19	Shadow	Utility	30 SP	None	Slip into shadow and stay hidden until you attack, for 2 minutes at first and up to 30 minutes at level 100.
20	Cold Trail	Passive	None	None	Heat from your thievery fades twice as fast.
36	Quick Escape	Utility	5 SP	None	Break off a fight and dash through two random exits, four at level 100. It fails three times in ten.
42	Hobble	Combat	55 SP	120s	From shadow, spend ten seconds tying another player's ankles. The next time they try to move they fall for 8 seconds and their stamina is drained. Players only.
45	Skulk	Utility	5 SP	None	Move one room in a crouch. Creatures that would attack on sight ignore your arrival, though the crouch can fail and leave you in plain view.
53	Scout	Utility	5 EP	None	List every creature you could attack within two rooms, numbered, with its direction, distance and condition. `mark <number>` then picks one for Shadowstep.
58	Shadowstep	Utility	5 EP	120s	Step through the shadows to stand behind the creature you marked, unseen by it. A backstab in the next few seconds hits harder; wait too long and it notices you.
70	Nightcraft	Passive	None	None	Backstab and Skulk succeed more often, and Shadow and Eavesdrop last twice as long.

Assassinate is filed in this tree but belongs to the Assassin; no Thief can use it at any level.

Subterfuge#

Level	Skill	Type	Cost	Cooldown	Effect
2	Peek	Utility	5 SP	30s	Look into the next room in a direction you name, seeing its description, exits, items and creatures. Nobody on either side sees you do it.
8	Filch	Utility	20 SP	None	Lift an item from a shop's stock while the shopkeeper looks elsewhere. Use the shop's `list` to pick it.
11	Palm	Utility	None	20s	Pick an item up from the floor without anyone seeing it go.
11	Slip	Utility	None	20s	Pass an item to someone in the room, or set it down on the floor, unseen. Each onlooker rolls to catch you, and you are told if anyone does.
12	Distract	Utility	8 SP	15s	Flick a pebble at someone in the room, or through a doorway at everyone beyond it. For 10 seconds a distracted creature is half as likely to notice a theft, and a distracted guardian can be walked past. The room sees who threw it; a room you throw into does not.
14	Fasttalk	Utility	5 SP	30s	Talk down everyone you are fighting. Each enemy rolls separately, by level and your charisma, and those it works on stop attacking you.
16	Forge Ledger	Utility	None	None	`forge ledger` where a shop, inn or guild keeps its ledger. After a few seconds' scan you may find figures to change, unless the keeper catches you at it.
21	Assess	Utility	55 SP	10s	Study a target for a few moments to learn how dangerous it is to you, its level against yours, its stats, armor, weapon, resistances and weaknesses.
22	Attention	Utility	5 SP	90s	For 30 seconds, rising to 90 at level 100, you overhear any tell sent to or by someone in your room.
24	Lookout	Utility	35 SP	None	Post a guild apprentice in this room. They stay out of sight and report to you whenever someone passes. Five at a time when learned, up to twenty at 100, each staying one to two hours.
26	Mug	Combat	10 SP	10m	Knock out an unwary mark from stealth and take their coin. Needs a blunt weapon in hand, such as the leather cosh from the guild counter.
27	Swindle	Utility	None	5m	Hand a target coin while quietly keeping a share of it that grows with your level and sleight, up to half. They are told they received the full sum.
28	Mark	Utility	None	None	After Scout, `mark <number>` picks a creature for Shadowstep. On someone in the room, it lists what they carry, wear and wield, numbered for Steal, and roughly weighs their purse.
30	Pilfer	Utility	None	None	Take coin from a target's purse: a modest share at first, most of it at high level, and more from a slit purse.
34	Disguise	Utility	5 SP	5m	Pass for a stranger of the gender and race you choose, whom nobody can find by your own name. Spends a disguise kit.
37	Eavesdrop	Utility	20 SP	None	Listen to an adjacent room for one to ten minutes, longer as you level.
39	Slit Purse	Utility	5 SP	60s	Cut a target's purse open so Pilfer takes a larger share for a few minutes. Unhidden, there is a fair chance they feel it and turn on you.
40	Silver Tongue	Passive	None	None	Fasttalk and Threaten succeed noticeably more often.
43	Swagger	Utility	15 SP	90s	Charm your way out of a fight. Each foe rolls separately against your level and charisma to stop attacking you.
44	Gag	Utility	40 SP	120s	Spends a leather gag. On a successful roll the target cannot speak, shout, tell or use channels for 30 to 120 seconds.
46	Threaten	Utility	5 SP	60s	Guild scouts deliver a note you write to a target anywhere in the world, anonymously if your sleight roll holds.
48	Study Foe	Utility	None	None	Spend thirty seconds reading a foe. The reading is remembered for twelve hours, and against that foe your weapon blows and skills are far more likely to be critical hits.
49	Steal	Utility	55 SP	None	Take an item from a target, by name or by its number on the Mark list. Luck decides most of it, and each recent attempt on the same person makes the next harder.
51	Bribe	Utility	None	60s	Pay a peaceful NPC at least 5 silver per level of the target to wander off for 60 seconds. A failed roll leaves it holding the coin and suspicious of you for 5 minutes.
52	Subordinate	Utility	None	None	Invite another guild member to report to you. They must accept.
54	Footpad	Utility	30 SP	2m	Summon a footpad who follows you, fights, carries loot, fences goods and banks your coin. One at a time, and he stays until dismissed.
62	Release Scouts	Utility	40 SP	3m	`scouts <player>` sends the guild's street scouts after a player in Aurin. They report where the player stands, again and again for a while, on the Thieves channel.

Tradecraft#

Level	Skill	Type	Cost	Cooldown	Effect
4	Thief Supplies	Utility	None	None	`supplies` lists your carried kit and poisons.
7	Oil Hinge	Utility	6 SP	10s	Oil the door in a direction so it opens and closes in silence for ten minutes, on both sides. It always works when there is a door.
17	Lockpick	Utility	5 SP	15s	Pick the lock on a door, chest or other container, in the room or in your own pack. Your chance rises with level.
18	Poison	Utility	55 SP	5s	Coat a weapon, or dose food or drink. Spends a poison vial; `poison list` shows which poisons your level allows.
20	Detect Trap	Utility	10 SP	None	Check the room and its exits for traps, or name a container or item to check it.
23	Set Trap	Utility	50 to 190 SP	None	Lay one of five mechanical traps. Tripwire opens at 30, then snare at 40, flash at 50, bear trap at 60 and explosive at 70. They cost no pouch supplies.
30	Venomed Edge	Passive	None	None	Applied poisons carry half again as many charges.
32	Disarm	Utility	50 SP	30s	Disarm a detected trap by its number, which takes 3 seconds of careful work and has no cooldown; moving or a fight breaks it off. Or knock a foe's weapon from its hands, which uses the cooldown.
33	Blinding Flash	Utility	5 SP	4m	After a 2 second windup, blind everyone in the room except you and your group for a few seconds. Spends a blinding flash.
50	Smoke Bomb	Utility	5 SP	60s	Fill the room with smoke. Nobody can see in it, fighters miss more often and may stumble trying to leave. Spends a smoke bomb.

Playing a Thief#

Backstab is available at level 1. It costs 5 SP and has no cooldown, but the target must be unhurt and you must not be fighting yet. Sneak and Shadow help you get there; Blindside and Shiv keep the damage going once melee has started. Peek shows the next room before you walk in, and Detect Trap and Disarm deal with what is waiting on the way.

Check supplies before you go out: Gag, Disguise, Smoke Bomb, Blinding Flash and Poison each need their item. Heat matters too. Repeated attempts against one victim are less likely to succeed and more likely to be noticed. Letting heat fall improves those odds; it does not guarantee a theft.

Quick Escape becomes available at level 36. Slip is for handling items, not for escaping. Leather armor and no healing skill make a long, open fight costly, so concealment, control effects and a known exit all earn their place before a hard encounter.

Lockpick, Filch, Pilfer, Steal and Forge Ledger give a Thief work outside combat, and any of them can be seen. Fasttalk, Swagger and Bribe each end or avoid a fight in their own way; none of them works every time. In a party, agree who scouts and who checks for traps before anyone walks into the next room.

Study Foe pays off against a target that survives several attacks. Scout, Mark and Shadowstep set up an approach from up to two rooms away, and Quietus Strike finishes fights from level 55. Hobble only works on players, so it has no use against a dungeon creature.