The Thief.

The profession of thief is not dishonourable, albeit is
neither honourable nor highly respected in some quarters.
Thieve are principally meant to take by cunning and stealth.
Thieves have 18 hit points per point of constitution and are
the next most skilled in combat, next to fighters, using their
backstabbing ability to comence a fight. Due to their need for
light quick attacks, a thief is not permitted to wield weapons
in two hands, or wear a shield as they hamper his ability to
move and strike. If the thief is also a fighter, however, he
is permitted to wield two weapons simultaneously.

Also, due to the nature of his dexterous needs, any other armour,
other than leather, tends to hamper the thieves skills. Therefore,
no thief will wear armour that is more bulky or heavy than this.


The primary functions of a thief are:

     1) Steal  -    Picking pockets (or folds of a garment or
a girdle), which also includes such activities as pilfering
and filching small items. It is done by slight of hand. 

Stealing excessively is discouraged, and looked down upon by players
and Creators alike. 


Usage: steal <item> from <where>

Note, however, the successful stealing of wielded and worn
items does not mean the player has attained them - he has
mearly removed/un wielded them from the victim. Another
successful attempt indicates the thief has removed them.
Failure to steal an object usually means that an NPC will
attack. Those who are noticed will usually find themselves in
greater trouble by the law enforcement officers of that area.

     2) Locks  -    Openning locks includes figuring out how
to open sliding puzzle locks and foiling magical closures. It
is done by picking with tools and by cleaverness, plus
knowledge and study of such items. A player may attempt at
pick a lock as many times as he wishes. 

Usage: pl <item>

     3) Traps  -    This pertains to relatively small
mechanical devices such as poisoned needles, spring blades,
some magical spells and the like. Finding is accomplished by
inspection, and they are nulified by mechanical removal or by
being rendered harmless. Only one attempt per 'reset' may be
executed to detect a trap. Failure to disarm a trap usually
results in its activation.

Usage: ft <item>   Find trap
       rt <item>   Remove trap.

Note that a trap must be found first before it can be removed.


     4) Stealth     -    Hiding in shadows is the ability to
blend into dark areas, to flatten oneself, and by remaining
motionless when in sight, to remain unobserved. It is a
function of dress and practice, as well as experience.

Usage: hs          Hide in shadows

Moving silently is the ability to move with little sound and
disturbance, even across a squeaky wooden floor, for instance.
It is an ability which improves with experience.

Usage: ms           Move silently

     5) Backstab    -    Back stabbing is the striking of a
blow from behind, be it with a club, dagger, or a sword,
before combat has been initiated. The damage that occurs
increases with this skill. If the opponent is suprised
(usually a 2 in 6 chance, but can vary on the situation), then
the damage is substantially and considerably increased.

Usage: bs <opponent>     

     6) Appraise    -    With bargaining and charisma, often
the true value of items is never really acertained. A thief
can determine the approximate value of certain items with
greater efficiency as this skill increases, as is his ability
to negotiate prices for items is also increased; buying for
less and selling for more.

Thieves cannot build a stringholds as some other classes do.
They can, however, set up a head quarters for a gang of
thieves, and he will accordingly attract NPC followers,
typically other thieves. This construction is usually under
cities, in old abandoned warehouses, and the like.

Table 1: Thief levels and titles by Experience
--------------------------------------------------------------
 Level    Thief Titles                  Experience For Level
--------------------------------------------------------------
  1       the Utter Newbie                         0
  2       the Apprentice Rogue                  1014
  3       the Aspiring Rogue                    1522
  4       the Apprentice Footpad                2283
  5       the Aspiring Footpad                  3425
  6       the Master Footpad                    5138
  7       the Apprentice Locksmith              7707
  8       the Aspiring Locksmith               11561
  9       the Master Locksmith                 17341
 10       the Apprentice Cutpurse              26012
 11       the Aspiring Cutpurse                39018
 12       the Master Cutpurse                  58527
 13       the Apprentice Robber                87791
 14       the Aspiring Robber                 131687
 15       the Master Robber                   197530
 16       the Apprentice Burglar              296296
 17       the Aspiring Burglar                444444
 18       the Master Burlgar                  666666
 19       the Apprentice Filcher             1000000
 20       the Aspiring Filcher               1500000
 21       the Master Filcher                 2000000
 22       the Apprentice Sharper             2500000
 23       the Aspiring Sharper               3500000
 24       the Master Sharper                 4000000
 25       the Apprentice Magsman             4500000
 26       the Aspiring Magsman               5000000
 27       the Master Magsman                 5500000
 28       the Aspiring Thief                 6000000
 29       the Master Thief                   6500000 
-------------------------------------------------------------
 500000 exp required per level beyond 29th.