Thieves, to d4 or to d6 that is the question
Well a new quandary has arisen. I've been swinging back and forth on the place of thieves in my campaign. First let me say that we have a small party and currently have no active thief players and no one has made it known they want to play one. Therefore this issue may make no difference in the way game sessions actually play out. They will make a difference in the way I think about the game and who I put the party up against so NYAH!
The question as the title of this post suggests pertains to the thief and their hit die to use. One edition I hold with says use the d4. Another edition of the game says use a d6. Remember I use bits and pieces from D&D (bemci) and AD&D 2nd edition. The thief is main reason I use info from 2nd edition ala the thief's variable skill tables that are standard to that edition. 2nd edition also used the d6 for the thief's hit die while D&D used the d4. So which option should I go with?
Some context to remember is that in D&D fighters are the top dog monster stompers had a d8 for a hit die while in 2nd ed they had a d10. Now that means simply that there is a different level of what the french call blood and guts to each edition of the game. I swing with the old D&D school and say the fighter should have a d8. Simply put if fighters have on average potential of 2 less hitpoints per level then giving the thief a potential of 2 more hit points per level makes a BIG difference in how the game world works and what role the thief plays in it.
The difference comes down to if I want my thieves to be guys who have to sneak, have to hide in shadows and have to use their backstab because if they go toe to toe with anyone for any length of time they get stomped OR do I want the thief to be the kind of rogue that can go into a room full of enemies throwing caution to the wind and take an occasional hit without losing their ass. There is a good way to sum the whole thing up. Do I want the thief character class or do I want the rogue character class?
Mind you the wife wanted to play a ranger type of character but as I was only allowing the basic classes she played a thief as a ranger using her background skills as a woodsman/woman/person (whatever) to allow for tracking, hunting and such as that. The thief skills allowed her plenty of options and the weapons fit the bill. I was going with the d4 hit die though and she adjusted her tactics to that of a ranged attacker only using mostly darts (the big foot long roman kind, think lawn darts with attitude). As far as sneaking ahead and operating separate from the group it never occurred but she never thought she was playing a thief so she never got in that mind set.
Another thing to keep in mind is how I think of hitpoints . I don't subscribe to the hitpoints are damage theory. I mostly think of hitpoints as a combination of luck, stamina and general ability to avoid serious wounds. My general game logic says that a person does not receive a "wound" until they hit zero hitpoints. Now that makes the "cure wound" series of spells a bit of a misnomer but it's what I'm going with. With that in mind do I want the thief to be more or less combat capable. Should they be rough and tumble rogues or thieves.....
Again it comes down to that sense of flavor. Do I want vanilla or chocolate. Well that might not be the best analogy because while I love vanilla, chocolate is my weakness. To heck with it. I want the thief who sneaks and backstabs but is capable of being a swashbuckler from time to time I don't want the low end fighter with thief skills.
So d4 it is
The question as the title of this post suggests pertains to the thief and their hit die to use. One edition I hold with says use the d4. Another edition of the game says use a d6. Remember I use bits and pieces from D&D (bemci) and AD&D 2nd edition. The thief is main reason I use info from 2nd edition ala the thief's variable skill tables that are standard to that edition. 2nd edition also used the d6 for the thief's hit die while D&D used the d4. So which option should I go with?
Some context to remember is that in D&D fighters are the top dog monster stompers had a d8 for a hit die while in 2nd ed they had a d10. Now that means simply that there is a different level of what the french call blood and guts to each edition of the game. I swing with the old D&D school and say the fighter should have a d8. Simply put if fighters have on average potential of 2 less hitpoints per level then giving the thief a potential of 2 more hit points per level makes a BIG difference in how the game world works and what role the thief plays in it.
The difference comes down to if I want my thieves to be guys who have to sneak, have to hide in shadows and have to use their backstab because if they go toe to toe with anyone for any length of time they get stomped OR do I want the thief to be the kind of rogue that can go into a room full of enemies throwing caution to the wind and take an occasional hit without losing their ass. There is a good way to sum the whole thing up. Do I want the thief character class or do I want the rogue character class?
Mind you the wife wanted to play a ranger type of character but as I was only allowing the basic classes she played a thief as a ranger using her background skills as a woodsman/woman/person (whatever) to allow for tracking, hunting and such as that. The thief skills allowed her plenty of options and the weapons fit the bill. I was going with the d4 hit die though and she adjusted her tactics to that of a ranged attacker only using mostly darts (the big foot long roman kind, think lawn darts with attitude). As far as sneaking ahead and operating separate from the group it never occurred but she never thought she was playing a thief so she never got in that mind set.
Another thing to keep in mind is how I think of hitpoints . I don't subscribe to the hitpoints are damage theory. I mostly think of hitpoints as a combination of luck, stamina and general ability to avoid serious wounds. My general game logic says that a person does not receive a "wound" until they hit zero hitpoints. Now that makes the "cure wound" series of spells a bit of a misnomer but it's what I'm going with. With that in mind do I want the thief to be more or less combat capable. Should they be rough and tumble rogues or thieves.....
Again it comes down to that sense of flavor. Do I want vanilla or chocolate. Well that might not be the best analogy because while I love vanilla, chocolate is my weakness. To heck with it. I want the thief who sneaks and backstabs but is capable of being a swashbuckler from time to time I don't want the low end fighter with thief skills.
So d4 it is
posted by Jason1977 at
9:13 AM
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