Playing In And Running the Thief Campaign

One of the great strengths of the AD&D® game and its attendant campaign worlds is the diversity of character types that will be present, both as NPCs and generally as PCs. The mixture of combat, stealth, sorcery, and spiritual abilities all add to the whole in ways that can help keep the game fresh and imaginative even after many years of play.

However, this should in no way inhibit players with similar interests from creating PCs of the same class. Indeed, there are many situations where such groups make ideal adventuring parties—a small group of captains commanding several companies of soldiers upon a mission of conquest, for example, might all be fighters.

Nowhere does this specialization lend itself so well to a campaign setting as when a band of thieves gather to embark upon missions of stealth. The presence of a fighter, with his heavy boots and clanking armor, can be a serious hindrance to such a group. Characters of all other classes will find sheer surfaces to be serious obstacles, even as the thieves are already scrambling down the far side. And indeed, no character can move so quietly, or remain hidden so effectively, as can a thief.

The tactics discussed in this section do not imply that a campaign must be populated exclusively with player character thieves. Players who wish to run characters of other classes should be able to do so, and the DM should be sure to provide appropriate challenges to all characters. However, if most PCs choose to play thief characters, a variety of adventure opportunities beckon. Additionally, interesting roles and activities for other character classes are easy to generate.

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