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Stop, Thief! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-06-03 13:35:54
Imported:
2026-06
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  • odyssey thief 5-30-25.pdf

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Content

Attached to this post is the latest revision of the thief character class. A few notes:

  • The class refers to the intentions phase. This is the step in each round where the DM checks if the players want to keep fighting, retreat, or pause to parley. As you'll see in monster design, this is also where complex monsters do things like target an area for an attack or pick a character to target with a powerful effect.

  • The thief now gains a benefit during the intentions phase, giving them a buff for the round or letting them move or hide before the next round begins. I wanted a thief that felt tricky, quick, and slippery. This also doubles down on the idea of each class have a distinct action economy. At one point the thief had two turns per round, but that stepped too much on the fighter's toes and didn't feel sneaky enough.

  • I've also designed a bunch of backgrounds and a few sets of talents. Both of those rules are optional. They serve to give players an added layer of customization for groups that want more character customization and depth.

Take a look at the revised thief and let me know what you think.

Comments

James S

Where is a single feature that helps with stealing anything? All I see are combat abilities, yes the 'thief' can hide very well, climb sheer surfaces and move faster, but, inherently these class abilities scream a sneaky subclass of the fighter, not a character suited to stealing anything. This would fit right in with the skirmish wargame theme of 4th ed, but I fail to see anything here that actually contributes to being a competent thief. As well, this all still very much has the feel of 'pushing paper buttons' rather than trying to create an environment conducive to thinking inside the mindset of an experienced cut-purse or cat burglar. This shows little to no cognizance of the innovations in RPG design over the past decade, which was mostly stuff rediscovered from the 80s. Then again, I could say the same for 90% of RPG products currently on the market.

blueace

I'm also surprised to see so many combat abilities for the rogue. For me, the rogue is a thief with stealth, lockpicking, and bluff. However, I see almost none of these in the abilities. Regarding sneak attacks, I believe that D&D's perspective is wrong. The rogue shouldn't deal more damage because is rogue. It's attacking from behind, by surprise, that should inflict additional damage, and anyone should be able to do it if circumstances allow it. Except that the rogue will do it successfully 80% of the time because he is very stealthy, while the fighter will do it only in 10% of the cases, for example. Schemes are a very good idea by the way.