On Thieves

The fiction that influences games like AD&D is rife with examples of the daring warrior rescuing the damsel, moral men confronted with difficult choices, and fighting men claiming power by righteous action over malicious rulers. It also showcases unscrupulous rogues and thieves, con artists and criminals, out for nothing but their own gain no matter the cost.

The default assumption by Gary Gygax in AD&D is that some level of heroism will exist among a party of adventurers, but it is not uncommon to have a "bad apple" in the mix, even if the entire party isn't comprised of murder hobos lacking any moral compass at all. If you consider your favorite stories, particularly ones with larger casts of characters, you'll find that they're often written the same way; a heroic group with a scrappy or roguish member or two.

Readers who know me know that I prefer heroism in my gaming. Ironically, some of the most success that I've had in recent gaming has been as scoundrels and petty thieves. It's because playing a selfish character is easy. As it turns out, doing whatever you want without any regard for the consequences is what shitty people do in real life. Because it's easy. Having the discipline to answer to a higher authority is what separates you from the lowest of the low.

AD&D has a grading system that incentivizes one to play to the assumed role of their character as imagined by early 70's fantasy fiction. Playing your fighter like Conan or thief like Cugel are can't-miss propositions and will earn you the ability to train quickly and relatively inexpensively. Failure to play to the understood role of your class will compromise your ability to train and cost much more. The warrior leads from the front. The mage investigates the arcane and offers useful, obscure knowledge. The cleric must turn undead and speak to matters of morals or faith. The clever thief plans heists, takes risks, and convinces the party that he's valuable. These are the roles in roleplaying that matter more than your bad British accent.

This system trains players to represent their characters' roles within the game's milieu and within the party itself. It is invaluable and more RPGs should include something like it, but I digress. I mention class grading to shine a light on how I, the heroic fighting man of fantasy worlds, would end up lying, cheating, and stealing, for mechanical victory. 

Generating PCs randomly causes a player to branch out from their "comfort picks", allowing the dice to determine their attributes, race, class, alignment, etc. I've ended up with several thieves this way. While I prefer to play warrior types, I will never take a bad grade during play (if I can help it, it's not my fault the mage's neck was too thin to endure my shaking). The thieves that I've ended up playing have gone on to (mostly) prowl, stalk, and terrorize the games that they've been a part of through a series of petty thefts, heists, and cons. 

Unfortunately, the thief role is potentially damaging to the team cohesion that I prefer during sessions. Your average thief player only risks checking for traps when pressed and scouts when there might be a treasure hoard to cherry pick. He's all but useless in combat, using the distraction as an angle to, you guessed it, sneak by and cherry pick treasure. He risks nothing for a more than equal share of treasure and experience and adds nothing that can't be achieved in most cases by the clever use of the equipment list. It's perfectly justifiable to play a scumbag of this caliber. It's also lazy, easy, and a drag on unit effectiveness.

Much of the strength of the thief class comes from the mini-game of social engineering between players, not characters, that allows him to keep getting away with it. The clever thief player plays it straight until it matters for something truly interesting, not har har I stole a gem. He volunteers for the dangerous task and, by taking that risk, he earns the trust of the players. If he betrays that trust later, well, frog, you rode the scorpion across the river. You'll also note that thieves have the most forgiving level advancement chart. It's almost like they're expected to die taking big risks. 

There's been a lot of argument about whether the thief class should even exist but that's not up for debate because it's stupid. Thieves are an indelible part of the adventure fiction that influences D&D and thus every other RPG, so stop it. If your play is flattened by thief skills, get better at the game. If you play thieves and suck during combat, get better at the game. If your best play is skimming from the hoard, get better at the game.