# Staying Alive in Old-School Adventures: Thief

2025-01-02

This is a continuing series of 'Staying Alive' posts. The first
three were about Magic-Users [0], Fighters [1] and Clerics [2]. They
are mostly geared towards OD&D, B/X and clones, and have tips for
players and referees.

## Melee

Thieves typically fight as Clerics, that is to say, slightly worse
than fighters, but they are limited to leather armor and cannot use
a shield. So they are not suited for front-line combat. They do,
however, have access to magic swords and bows, so with their
backstab ability, thieves are best suited for surprise or missile
attacks.

As a referee, consider allowing the backstab attack any time a thief
can reasonably surprise someone from behind - and not necessarily
only when a thief can _move silently_ and _hide in shadows_. The
latter requirements make the backstab nearly impossible at lower
levels. In my games, If a player can describe a plausible way their
thief can sneak into position without being heard or noticed, I
allow the backstab after a round or two. And during melee this is
sometimes easier to do, given that the general noise and chaos of
battle might mask any external sounds or movement.

## Avoiding Melee

Try to use clever means of avoiding combat, such as distractions,
e.g. thrown food, treasure or rocks used to create noise as a
misdirection. Also don't forget that a thief with a high charisma
can be useful in negotiating a party's way out of a combat, or even
making an ally. But if you have to, run away. A thief in leather
armor will be faster than any metal-armored party members, so
remember that old adage about just needing to be faster than the
slowest person in your party.

Thieves of even low levels can climb well (in the original
incarnation of the class, at least), so if the geography or
architecture allows it, you should consider climbing above a melee
to a perch where a bow or crossbow can be used to pick off opponents
who haven't yet joined combat, or who attempt to flee combat.

## Oil

Also consider oil as a missile weapon, or as a deterrent to pursuit.
In OD&D oil is mentioned only in the latter context; thrown oil that
was set alight did not do damage until the Holmes Basic D&D rules
came along. Either way, if the thief is scouting ahead for a party,
the oil may come in handy if the thief has to flee an encounter.

## Scouting

As far as scouting, think tactically. Most thieves won't be able to
see in the dark without magical assistance, and holding a torch or
lantern and trying to sneak about unnoticed in a dark dungeon are at
odds with one another. So scouting is best done in environments
where there are dimly lit or shadowed areas to hide in, or objects
to obscure direct view of the thief as they move around.

[0]: gopher://gopher.smolderingwizard.com/0/phlog/staying-alive-old-school-adventures-magic-user.md
[1]: gopher://gopher.smolderingwizard.com/0/phlog/staying-alive-old-school-adventures-fighter.md
[2]: gopher://gopher.smolderingwizard.com/0/phlog/staying-alive-old-school-adventures-cleric.md