Classic Thief (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons)
The thief was one of the standard character classes available in the original Player's Handbook. The thief was presented as one of the five core classes in the original Players Handbook. In 1st edition the thief was the only character class that any nonhuman type, such as an elf, dwarf, or halfling, could achieve unlimited levels in. The thief's hit dice improved to a d6. In 1st edition, thieves were swiftest to earn new levels. At the same time, thieves were sharply limited by having their essential skills (such as Open Locks and Move Silently) defined as beginning at a flat chance of success of perhaps 10-20% regardless of most circumstances, and requiring perhaps ten levels to reach the point where they had much confidence in using them.
The Fair Guild of Brigands and Fools
The Thief class is fairly unremarkable in that it offers only a handful of skills. Lock picking and the occasional stealing of your looted equipment from janitoring mob's is a primary reason for having some sort of Thief in your collection. While 25LEV+ backstab damage isn't quite comparable with a multi-remort Sohei's strike, a well-outfitted T30 with a summoning cleric can provide some serious damage to mobs in !magic rooms and this combo is used for several mobs approaches today.
Equipment Goals
If you're just getting started, here are some simple equipment farm goals that you should easily accomplish with your dual-multi healer/thief combo: Thief Basic Equipment
Dream Equipment Goals
Here is Thief EQ top-tier goals provided by Kia:
Na is using: <used as light> a gleaming golden standard (glowing) (insured) <worn on finger> a Black Onyx Ring (insured) <worn on finger> a Black Onyx Ring (insured) <worn around neck> a mithril torc studded with blue topaz (glowing) (insured) <worn around neck> a mithril torc studded with blue topaz (glowing) (insured) <worn on body> Armor of Assassination (insured) <worn on head> Executioner's Mask (insured) <worn on face> Assassin's Mask (insured) <worn on ears> a pair of studs set with black diamonds (insured) <worn on legs> Golden Plate Mail Leggings (insured) <worn on feet> a pair of black-trimmed snakeskin boots (humming) (insured) <worn on hands> a pair of slick gloves (insured) <worn on arms> Aliste's Bracers (glowing) (insured) <worn as shield> a pitch black dragonscale shield (red glow) (insured) <worn about body> a Broach of Supremacy (humming) (insured) <worn about waist> a blackened cinch (red glow) (insured) <worn around wrist> Glimmering Titanium Vambraces (glowing) (insured) <worn around wrist> Glimmering Titanium Vambraces (glowing) (insured) <wielded> a Jelsontronix super-stabber (glowing) (insured) <held> a Blood-Red Broadsword (glowing) (insured)
Axl:
Misfit is using: <used as light> a gleaming golden standard (glowing) (insured) <worn on finger> a Black Onyx Ring (insured) <worn on finger> a Black Onyx Ring (insured) <worn around neck> the Gold Paragon of Alamists (humming) (insured) <worn around neck> a purple heart medallion (glowing) (insured) <worn on body> Armor of Assassination (insured) <worn on head> Executioner's Mask (insured) <worn on face> Assassin's Mask (insured) <worn on ears> a pair of studs set with black diamonds (insured) <worn on legs> Golden Plate Mail Leggings (insured) <worn on feet> a pair of black-trimmed snakeskin boots (humming) (insured) <worn on hands> a pair of standard-issue gloves (insured) <worn on arms> Aliste's Bracers (glowing) (insured) <worn as shield> a pitch black dragonscale shield (red glow) (insured) <worn about body> a Broach of Supremacy (humming) (insured) <worn about waist> a blackened cinch (invisible) (red glow) <worn around wrist> a thief's wish bracelet (glowing) (humming) (insured) <worn around wrist> a thief's wish bracelet (glowing) (humming) (insured) <wielded> a Jelsontronix super-stabber (glowing) (insured) <held> a rock with a red aura (insured)
While you might not be able to get your hands on the artifacts and DOOM gear above, you should be able to find rare in-game equipment without much trouble to provide a 7 remort T the 25 DEX you'll need to reduce stab lag and keep a fairly high STR damage bonus.
Here's a slightly more reasonable configuration with less DOOM and Quest bullshit:
Note: This is a neutral thief for the AoD and laurel crown.
Dank:
Nezahualpili is using: <used as light> the Sceptre of Might (invisible) (glowing) (humming) (insured) <worn on finger> a Black Onyx Ring (invisible) (insured) <worn on finger> a Black Onyx Ring (invisible) (insured) <worn around neck> a purple heart medallion (invisible) (glowing) (insured) <worn around neck> a purple heart medallion (invisible) (glowing) (insured) <worn on body> Armor of the Dragon (invisible) (insured) <worn on head> a laurel crown (invisible) (glowing) (insured) <worn on face> GI Joe's New Improved Eagle Eyes (invisible) (insured) <worn on legs> a pair of yeti-fur leggings (invisible) (insured) <worn on feet> boots of the rat (insured) <worn on hands> a pair of slick gloves (invisible) (insured) <worn on arms> Aliste's Bracers (invisible) (glowing) (insured) <worn as shield> a pitch black dragonscale shield (invisible) (insured) <worn about body> the Shroud of Mystique (humming) (insured) <worn about waist> a mahout's loincloth (invisible) <worn around wrist> a bracelet of human finger bones (invisible) (insured) <worn around wrist> a bracelet of human finger bones (invisible) (insured) <wielded> a Jelsontronix super-stabber (invisible) (glowing) (insured) <held> a stone (invisible) (insured)
Here's a compendium of thief links:
You'll find multiple Proboards and other rando "Thief Idea" pages throughout the wiki because everyone who's played the game has a layperson's opinion on how to make the stupid class better. I mean, frankly, getting a 25DEX 25STR 30LEV thief into action on a non-prevent bstab boss mob for 6x50+ DAM is pretty sweet, but with the advent of multi-remort soheis, petting bard squads and BI casters ... some of the OG sparkle has worn off. Still a super fun class to play if you're bored. Or want to advance a PC to 30 quickly.