Earthdawn 4E: Companion Discipline Preview 12 - Thief

This is the twelfth 4E Companion Discipline Preview, an ongoing series about Earthdawn Fourth Edition. Introduction and Index.

Everything contained here is the work of a fan and not associated with FASA Games.

The last Discipline in this triad is the Thief. This is intended to offer some insights into the Discipline design. Obviously the actual progression is missing, which is found at FASA Games.

Thieves have a few different themes they explore in their higher Circles. One, seen through their Discipline abilities, ever increasing embrace of darkness and shadows. Another is taking their thieving abilities to another level, metaphorically, or even another plane, quite literally. There are also their deceptive and opportunistic streaks.

Both Warden and Master Discipline abilities are new, replacing the previous entries for different reasons. Shadowcloak is so appropriate for the Discipline, it is the Journeyman Discipline ability. Shadow Heal, on the other hand, isn't a bad ability, it's just a strange one. It fits with the idea Thieves are loners and don't need anyone else, but doesn't particularly reinforce anything else they have going on. Which is to say it may be seen again in some form at a later date.

As mentioned above, the new abilities both build on how Thieves aren't just as competent in darkness as they are in light, but it's starting to feel like home. It's a part of them. This begins with their Warden ability, Shadow Sight. As long as they can see, even magical darkness doesn't bother them anymore. If they're using Shadowcloak, they can see even better. At Master they can become one with their Shadowcloak, bringing a new dimension to their intrusion game.

Like so many other Disciplines before them, Thieves' Discipline talents got a makeover. Aura Armor, Gain Surprise, Gold Sense, and Lip Reading are all gone. Of those, Aura Armor is still a talent, but it wasn't a good fit for Thief. That feeling of fortitude, stability, etc., it just isn't their style. Gain Surprise is somewhat gone. We'll get back there in a moment.

Naturally, this means there are some new Discipline talents to fill the gaps that were created. Enter Beguiling Blade, Dream Thief, Power Mask, and Snatch Talent. Of those, Power Mask isn't new and is also a natural fit for a Discipline naturally involved in deception. Also, something about Thieves not always being popular *cough* Travar *cough*.

Building on the theme of deception is Beguiling Blade. This can be seen as the replacement for Gain Surprise, but it does a few different things that make it a more interesting option. It builds on an existing talent, Conceal Object, rather than effectively replacing it - an area explored in a number of high Circle talents. It does two things: improves the Conceal Object test and turns it into a Simple action. This effectively accomplishes the purpose of Gain Surprise, but has non-combat applications as well and Conceal Object just got better. The name strongly implies it is a combat-only talent, but to be perfectly honest, it's a really good name.

The next two new talents, Dream Thief and Snatch Talent, both move Thieves from stealing literal objects into the realm of stealing things more... ephemeral. Also, both interact with Pick Pockets. Snatch Talent does pretty much what it says on the tin, while Dream Thief is a bit weirder. It allows the adept to steal memories. The stolen talents and memories, once stolen, have a substance to them that can be stored in an Astral Pocket and transferred to others with the appropriate talent. Each has a duration and prohibition against using the stolen bits. But Thieves have a certain knack for breaking the rules.

Moving to their talent options, let's take stock of what has been lost: Bank Shot, Detect Falsehood, Mind Wave, Poison Resistance, Quick Shot, Safe Thought, Sense Magic Item, and Shackle Shrug. As usual, some of these aren't talents anymore or maybe weren't a good fit. With that, let's see the new entries: Acrobatic Defense, Alley Cat Approach, Anticipate Blow, Astral Sight, Defensive Posture, Disarming Smile, Echolocation, Fluid Movement, Netherwalk, Orbiting Spy, Perfect Focus, Resist Taunt, Spirit Strike, and Wind Catcher. It's worth noting Escape Divination is now Escape Plan, while Second Weapon and Sense Danger are both in earlier tiers.

There's a lot of new things here to support a variety of different Thief characters and their particular direction. The one thing that didn't get a lot of support is the more social Thief character, receiving only Disarming Smile and Resist Taunt. Many of the advanced social talents weren't a great fit and they already have access to solid set of abilities to support any grifting. These two build on that, without moving them into the realm of a truly social character. Instead reinforcing the idea social abilities are a means to an end for this Discipline.

One they do see more options include improving their ability to gain access and get out of trouble, with talents such as Alley Cat Approach, Escape Plan, Netherwalk, and Wind Catcher. Along with this comes new ways to gather information, useful for casing a target, scouting, or spying: Astral Sight, Echolocation, and Orbiting Spy. For those more interested in the role of opportunistic killer, they have some new defensive options, Acrobatic Defense, Anticipate Blow, and Defensive Posture, along with offensive options in Critical Hit and Spirit Strike.

All together, Thieves are embracing the concepts of taking and shadows. The ephemeral is now something they can grasp. That maybe all these rules are for other people, not them. And they would give it all up for just a little bit more.

Earthdawn 4E: Anatomy of a Discipline 13 - Thief

This is the thirteenth 4E Anatomy of a Discipline, an ongoing series about Earthdawn Fourth Edition. Introduction and Index.

Everything contained here is the work of a fan and not associated with FASA Games.

The Thief may have benefited more than any other discipline from talents being condensed in Earthdawn Fourth Edition (ED4). As a result, these adepts have a wider array of abilities at their disposal.

To begin with, Trap Initiative is now a default function of Danger Sense, which Thieves get for free. Since they are generally up to no good, they have preternatural senses about the whole thing. Detect Trap has been divided between Awareness and Disarm Trap - if you have Disarm Trap, Awareness will allow you to detect traps. These were essentially a lot of talents to handle some very specific tasks and allow other disciplines to fulfill the role of "trap finder", meaning the Thief can explore other aspects of their discipline. Mostly being very sneaky.

Sense Poison went away for now - it will return in a different form - and True Sight was replaced with False Sight, which can give bonuses to talents with the illusion keyword. These were easy cuts to make; Sense Poison was often of limited applicability with problematic usage and True Sight wasn't particularly thematic to a Thief, allowing them to pierce illusions. Now they are able to improve their own abilities, and build on their theme of deceit.

Novice

First Circle

• Awareness
• Lock Picking
• Picking Pockets
• Stealthy Stride
• Thief Weaving

Abilities

• Durability 5
• Danger Sense
• Karma: On any charisma-based test when the adept is attempting to deceive a target.

Second Circle

• Disarm Trap

Third Circle

• Haggle

Abilities

• Karma: Initiative

Fourth Circle

• Conceal Object

Journeyman

Fifth Circle

• Engaging Banter

Abilities

• Shadowcloak: 2 Strain, the Difficulty to detect the adept is increased by +2 for Thief Weaving rank minutes.
• Karma: Attack tests against surprised or blindsided opponents.

Sixth Circle

• Slough Blame

Seventh Circle

• Fast Hand

Eighth Circle

• False Sight

Deception is the primary mechanical theme for a Thief, with other abilities supporting this, either though infiltration or exploiting the fruits of their labor. All of their talents are designed for getting into places which they do not belong and taking things which do not belong to them. There are definitely some other applications to this as well, which Thieves tend to be more than willing to exploit. Such as, unaware targets tend to be much easier to fight than some kind of fair fight (which is for suckers).

These adepts can build on their discipline talents in a few different fashions. They have combat, deception, detection, evasion, infiltration, mobility, and social talents. Which is to say, there are a number of different directions a Thief can go, depending on what the needs of their group may be.

Since combat is almost certainly an inevitability, it is worth discussing how Thieves go about making with the violence. The first and most obvious tactic is to use surprise to your advantage and immediately following that is to have friends. Thieves are fragile combatants and have rather limited defensive abilities. If your group has someone with the ability to get Distract, make friends with this adept and convince them they need to get Distract. It will open up a whole new world by creating targets who are Blindsided as a state of being. This means Surprise Strike without using Conceal Object constantly and double karma on Attack tests. Also, the target will probably not be attacking you - which is a huge bonus.

There are three different weapon talents available: Melee Weapons, Missile Weapons, and Throwing Weapons. Each has benefits and drawbacks; Melee Weapons has the most damage potential with Second Weapon, Conceal Object to take greater advantage of Surprise Strike, and no special thread weapons to make it work, however it also puts you in danger constantly. Missile Weapons is the most defensive option, though has limited damage potential since Surprise Strike isn't likely to work often unless someone has Distract and is making use of it. The big advantage is you can keep your distance and stay safe. Throwing Weapons somewhat splits the difference: you have range on your side to stay out of trouble, though not necessarily a lot, and can use Conceal Object to take advantage of Surprise Strike. However, you are either going to constantly use Call Missile to get your thread weapon(s) back, or need some kind of threaded throwing knife brace which constantly generates weapons. Which may or may not be in the works (it is totally in the works).

• Avoid Blow - Characters interested in being a combat specialist, or investing in melee weapons, will probably want this talent. Those who have ranged attacks can get away without this as long as they are careful to keep their distance.
• Climbing - Any Thief who isn't a windling will probably want this talent, though it isn't necessarily a requirement.
• First Impression - This is a generally good talent for nearly any character due to the broad usefulness, but especially anyone who wants to be a more social character and fast talk their way out of problems.
• Great Leap - Useful for improved mobility in combat (to engage and disengage) and to help quickly gain access during an intrusion.
• Melee Weapons - You are likely going to want one of the three weapon talents. There is a much more in-depth discussion above, but this is the offensive choice.
• Missile Weapons - The second of the three weapon talents, of which you are going to want one. This is the most defensive choice, see above for a more detailed discussion.
• Sprint - Mostly useful for mobility in combat and making an escape.
• Surprise Strike - Combat specialists will definitely want this talent. Other character types may consider it, but may not get as much use out of it. This is particularly true if your group doesn't have a character with Distract and/or you are using Missile Weapons and cannot benefit from Conceal Object to reestablish surprise.
• Taunt - Primarily beneficial to combat specialists, but the nature of the talent means the entire group will benefit from the debuff.
• Throwing Weapons - The final of the three weapon talents, of which you are going to want one. This is the the balanced choice, though it has some unique problems which you can read more about above.

Outside of actually playing and figuring out which talents will best fit your character, play style, and the campaign you are a part, there are a few different generic "builds" which can help show off themes and different decisions.

There are a lot of different ways to put together a Thief, even with the same end goal, to the point where trying to do example builds is almost a folly. Nonetheless, I will give it a shot, though these are are by no means definitive even within their own specialization. Let's look at a combat specialist (bravo), con man, infiltrator, and the jack of all trades.

Bravos are going to want Melee Weapons because of the damage potential. Defense is an issue, so Avoid Blow is a must. Add Surprise Strike for additional damage and Taunt as a solid debuff. This character isn't going to have much in the way of mobility and will rely heavily on either an ally with Distract or Conceal Object to get their Surprise Strike damage. At low Circles, they will likely be one of the biggest damage dealers in the group.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a con man will either want Missile Weapons or Throwing Weapons, depending on their taste (I prefer Throwing Weapons so people don't necessarily know you are armed). First Impression is going to be your primary talent as a social character and Taunt is a good addition to build on what should be a good Charisma. From here, there are a lot of different ways to go - a Throwing Weapons character may consider Surprise Strike, while someone looking to save their own hide may consider Avoid Blow, Great Leap, or Sprint. Climbing is also a good talent if you need to break in to do your con.

The infiltrator is about being a somewhat traditional Thief, getting in and getting out (hopefully) unnoticed. Any weapon talent will suffice for combat and Climbing and Great Leap will help give access to the target. The final talent is open here as well, depending on preferences. Avoid Blow and Surprise Strike can each help in combat, while Sprint will give even more mobility for escapes and when you must cross a lot of ground in very little time.

As usual, jack of all trades wants to do be involved in the most parts of the game with their talents, rather than follow a particular theme. This means the talent selection will depend heavily on what the rest of the group looks like. However, for general participation, Climbing, First Impression, a weapon talent, and Surprise Strike will maximize the number of ways to contribute and the general Thief flavor. There is nothing here to help you with defense, so make sure to hang out with big friends or keep your distance.

• Blade Juggle - This is a cool, but weird and a little complicated talent. The complexity has been reduced in ED4, but it is still present. If you take this, you are going to want to carry around a bunch of melee and throwing weapons, so it will likely appeal most to adepts with one of those talents, but technically anyone can benefit. 
• Call Missile - Throwing Weapon characters who haven't solved the problem of thread weapons may want to invest in this talent.
• Dead Fall - While not typically something PCs engage in, this talent now makes anyone affected leave your "corpse" alone. Even thinking they have stabbed you to make certain you are dead, if that is their thing. This talent is generally best for some outside of the box problem solving.
• Direction Arrow - Odds are good you have wanted to find something at some point and this may be just the talent to help.
• Disguise Self - One half of the impersonation combo, this is the most useful of the two for infiltration and exfiltration, as well as losing pursuers in a crowd.
• Graceful Exit - This talent allows the Thief to retreat and now can take all of their allies with them. Much like Dead Fall, this isn't necessarily a go to move for a PC, but may be valuable for some games.
• Mimic Voice - If you already have Disguise Self and want to go full impersonation, this is the second talent to seal the deal. The amount of trouble which can be caused by those two talents is amazing.
• Second Weapon - Every melee combat specialist will want this talent. It doubles their offensive output and maintains a higher initiative since they won't have a shield. Two-handed weapons are always an option for greater damage, but they have rather high strength requirements and cannot be concealed, making Surprise Strike more difficult to rely upon.
• Spot Armor Flaw - It is entirely possible every Thief will want this talent. It is a general damage increasing talent and works with all of the fighting styles.
• True Sight - If you want to work against other sneaky characters or have problems with illusions, this is a solid choice.

Returning to the above example builds, a bravo will want Blade Juggle, Second Weapon, and Spot Armor Flaw to give defense and significantly more offense. Blade Juggle may not be for everyone, it is a little weird and doesn't work with Second Weapon, which leaves at least one open option. Graceful Exit could work for those who also feel discretion can be the better part of valor, or Disguise Self will help in getting next to their target. Returning to the Novice talent options is also a viable choice to pick up something which will improve mobility (Great Leap or Sprint), or help with infiltration (Climbing or Great Leap).

The con man is all about being a trickster, so Disguise Self and Mimic Voice are a must. This still leaves some options and there are quite a few ways to go from this tier, let alone looking back at Novice if something from their would be a good fit. Journeyman talents worth considering are Blade Juggle for some defense, Dead Fall and/or Graceful Exit to get away from your mess, Spot Armor Flaw for a little offensive power, or True Sight to help you from being conned.

Infiltrators are going to want Direction Arrow and Disguise Self. From there it starts to diverge. Graceful Exit will help with getting out of trouble and Mimic Voice can give even more access. Spot Armor Flaw is a solid talent if you see combat and True Sight, well, you never know when it will be useful. Dead Fall is also a potential if there is use in playing opossum, or Second Weapon if you are a melee character and want to really have some offensive bite.

The eclectic nature of jack of all trades makes this a difficult proposition and it also starts to depend on what the original weapon selection was. However, there are still some solid choices to be made here: Disguise Self and Spot Armor Flaw are simply worth taking. If no one else in the group has it, Direction Arrow is also useful and if you are a melee character, Second Weapon is a good choice for fun. If you don't go with Second Weapon, Blade Juggle is the other talent to win on cool factor, though I don't recommend combining the two since they are mutually exclusive and you aren't as dedicated to combat as the Bravo. Going back to Novice and investigating talents like Great Leap and Taunt may also be worthwhile.

Ultimately, Thief is a very versatile discipline which has a lot of different tricks at their disposal.

For a discussion over the general themes of the Thief how they can function in game, see the Third Edition Anatomy of Thief. Example characters: ork and windling.

Earthdawn 4E: Example Character 23 - Windling Thief

This is the twenty-third Example Character in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

Considerably better than a kender, but still in a similar vein; a windling is the quintessential Earthdawn Thief. This is with good reason: mechanically and thematically it is a good fit. All of the natural abilities and benefits of being a windling work well with being a Thief - improved Dexterity, Perception, Charisma, and Physical Defense, along with flight (for those hard to reach places) and astral sight. The downsides, Strength, Toughness, and weapon size, are not a significant problem for what will not end up being much of a combat character.

Each Circle saw this character improve one attribute (as noted after each Attribute Step) and take a new Talent Option. There are no Thread Items on this character, however unlikely it may be. 

Note: The entries in this series may be updated periodically as I master the coding to fit all eight of the Circles in a fashion which doesn't result in eye melting. Consider these living entries. Please leave comments if there is anyway this could be made more useful.

Discipline: Thief
Race: Windling

Attributes:
DEX: 19 (8) [+2]   STR: 7 (4) [+0]   TOU: 12 (5) [+1]
PER: 16 (7) [+2]   WIL: 10 (5) [+0]   CHA: 19 (8) [+2]

Characteristics:
Initiative: 7 (Recommended: Crystal Ringlet [-2])
Physical Defense: 16
Mystic Defense: 9
Social Defense: 12

Physical Armor: 10 (Recommended: Crystal Ringlet, Forged +6 [10])
Mystic Armor: 8 (Recommended: Crystal Ringlet, Forged +2 [6])

Damage: 15 (Recommended: Windling Bow, Forged +8 [11]); 23 (with Surprise Strike)

Unconsciousness: 64
Death: 77
Wound Threshold: 8

Recovery Tests: 3
Knockdown: 4
Karma: 48
Karma: Charisma-based deception tests, Initiative, Attack against a Surprised or Blindsided opponent.

Talents: 
Awareness: 9 (15)
Lock Picking: 8 (16)
Picking Pockets: 8 (16)
Stealthy Stride: 9 (17)
Thief Weaving: 8 (15)
Danger Sense: 8 (15)
Missile Weapons: 8 (16)
Astral Sight: 6 (13)
Disarm Trap: 8 (16)
Surprise Strike: 8 (12)
Haggle: 8 (16)
First Impression: 8 (16)
Conceal Object: 8 (16)
Taunt: 8 (16)
Engaging Banter: 8 (16)
Spot Armor Flaw: 8 (15)
Slough Blame: 9 (17)
Avoid Blow: 8 (16)
Fast Hand: 8 (16)
Graceful Exit: 8 (16)
False Sight: 9 (14)
Direction Arrow: 8 (15)

This is what I would consider to be a well-rounded Thief. They should be able to contribute in nearly any aspect of the game, from social situations, to investigation, purchasing equipment, infiltration and scouting, and combat. While they may rarely be the star of the show, they should always be in the supporting cast.

Despite the number of talents to support their combat capabilities, it is a weakness. To mitigate their problems, distance is going to be greatest asset. While a missile weapon makes it more difficult in some ways to capitalize on Surprise Strike in conjunction with Conceal Object, it will maximize the inherent benefits of being able to fly. Spot Armor Flaw will also help with damage, but it may always be something of an uphill battle. Taunt will help in general and Graceful Exit will allow them to withdraw from those encounters which are a little too up close and personal.

Earthdawn 4E: Example Character 22 - Ork Thief

This is the twenty-second Example Character in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

An ork Thief is an interesting combination. Mechanically, this isn't a match made in heaven. However, one of the iconic Thieves in the setting is an ork. Following the implied demographics of Barsaive, this is probably a fairly common combination. This particular character is an assassin, taking advantage of the physical power orks bring to any discipline. 

Each Circle saw this character improve one attribute (as noted after each Attribute Step) and take a new Talent Option. There are no Thread Items on this character, however unlikely it may be. 

Note: The entries in this series may be updated periodically as I master the coding to fit all eight of the Circles in a fashion which doesn't result in eye melting. Consider these living entries. Please leave comments if there is anyway this could be made more useful.

Discipline: Thief
Race: Ork

Attributes:
DEX: 18 (7) [+2]   STR: 16 (7) [+0]   TOU: 16 (7) [+2]
PER: 16 (7) [+1]   WIL: 10 (5) [+0]   CHA: 12 (5) [+2]

Characteristics:
Initiative: 7 (Recommended: Hide Armor [-1])
Physical Defense: 13
Mystic Defense: 9
Social Defense: 8

Physical Armor: 10 (Recommended: Hide Armor, Forged +5 [10])
Mystic Armor: 6 (Recommended: Hide Armor, Forged +3 [4])

Damage: 20 (Recommended: Broad Sword x2, Forged +8 [13]); 28 (with Surprise Strike)

Unconsciousness: 72
Death: 87
Wound Threshold: 10

Recovery Tests: 3
Knockdown: 7
Karma: 40
Karma: Charisma-based deception tests, Initiative, Attack against a Surprised or Blindsided opponent.

Talents: 
Awareness: 9 (16)
Lock Picking: 8 (15)
Picking Pockets: 8 (15)
Stealthy Stride: 9 (16)
Thief Weaving: 8 (15)
Danger Sense: 8 (15)
Melee Weapons: 8 (15)
Disarm Trap: 8 (15)
Avoid Blow: 8 (15)
Haggle: 8 (15)
Surprise Strike: 8 (15)
Conceal Object: 9 (16)
Climbing: 8 (15)
Engaging Banter: 8 (15)
Second Weapon: 8 (15)
Slough Blame: 9 (14)
Spot Armor Flaw: 8 (13)
Fast Hand: 8 (15)
Disguise Self: 8 (15)
False Sight: 9 (14)
Mimic Voice: 8 (13)

This adept likely started their career as a simple thug, then moved on to becoming a highly sought-after assassin. Their primary strength in this pursuit is infiltration, even beyond the impressive capabilities of the average Thief. By using Disguise Self and Mimic Voice, they can easily gain access to their target or gather intelligence. While their Action Step may not be impressive, False Sight should be able to help with that.

Even though they are not a true combat character, they can still carry their own weight. Offensively, there is a lot to like here, particularly against Blindsided opponents (make friends with someone who has Distract). Defensively, however, they have some problems. Their armor isn't terrible, but it also isn't great. It is a choice which should blend better than the more effective crystal ringlet. It's can be hard to be overlooked with all of that bling. There isn't an imminent danger of falling over dead, but their damage output can certainly draw more attention than they can easily handle.