Everyone tries to "fix" the b/x Thief. EVERYONE. And now it's my turn. I was
inspired by one of B/XBlackrazor's Thief posts
here
which basically let the Thief succeed every check. While I didn't want to
go that far; I do want my campaign Thieves to feel competent starting off while keeping things simple. Which is why I only have the numbers go up when saving throws and THAC0 improve.
[Here's OSE's Thief SRD to compare]
THIEF [b/x--OSE]
| Level | CS | TR | HN | HS | MS | OL | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1--4 | 80 | 65 | 1-2 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 75 |
| 5--8 | 85 | 75 | 1-3 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 95 |
| 9--12 | 90 | 85 | 1-4 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 115 |
| 13-14 | 99 | 99 | 1-5 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 125 |
Let me know what you think!
I like it! Gives the thief a fighting chance (or would it be a thieving chance :P)
ReplyDeleteHow would you implement DEX percentage bonuses to the skills? Or situation/item based bonuses. Squinting at it you could just easily convert 5%=+1...
My instincts are telling me no to the DEX percentage bonuses. DEX is already kinda too good in b/x and I don't want to add more complexity for little gain. I would probably allow situational bonuses but only in 10% increments.
DeleteAnd thank you for reading!
How about level differentials as well? For example, I would make your table hold true versus 0-1 level characters ( the majority of humanity for PP) but if a thief tries to PP a higher level character then the percentage would be decremented by 5 or 10 percent per level difference. Obviously that would have to worked to match your level banding 1-4, 5-8, etc.). Yet it seems to that in some way there must be a difference between picking the pocket a 0 level baker and a 5th level fighter. Climbing per the DMG Has analogous modifications for easy slope very steep slope or craggy faced wall versus smooth polished obsidian, etc.
ReplyDeleteI really want to be running OSE instead of 5e. Thief abilities are one of the pieces that hold me back.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem isn't the percentages themselves but the lack of a d20 concept: difficulty class, which is touched on by Mugsy for one of the thief skills.
But each of the thief skills, the level of challenge is always the same. So thieves either start off completely abysmal or have no room for improvement.
No: I don't want to be like 4e which had a kind of sameness no matter the levels due to everything scaling together (the big difference being more and more powers at higher levels). Like any good OSR dungeon, the threats will vary but have at least some foreshadowing to let observant players have an idea of their odds.
So my notes for an eventual running of OSE will include modifications for different kinds of locks, noise circumstances, pick pocket level differentials. That may work.