B/X Alternate Thief Skills
In normal B/X rules, thieves are considered medieval criminals with these base skill:
* Open Locks: Pick mechanical locks on doors, chests, or containers
* Find & Remove Traps: Disable pressure plates, tripwires, poison needles, and the like.
* Pick Pockets: Steal small items from a person without being noticed.
* Move Silently: Move quietly across noisy surfaces or slip away while unnoticed.
* Climb Sheer Surfaces: Scale walls, cliffs, or other vertical surfaces.
* Hide in Shadows: Blend into natural darkness, local cover, or large crowds.
* Hear Noise: Detect faint sounds like footsteps, whispers, or creatures behind doors or walls.
Ideas on re-skinning the Thief for other roles, including modern settings…
ESPIONAGE AGENT
* Bypass Security: Disable locks, alarms, biometric scanners, or surveillance systems.
* Electronic Surveilance: Hide recording devices or sweep for hidden transmitters.
* Forgery: Create fake IDs, documents, or access codes that pass inspection.
* Tracking & Evasion: Follow a target unnoticed or shake a pursuer through urban terrain.
* Disguise: Mimic body language, dress, or accents to pass as someone else.
* Interrogate Assets: Extract useful information without alerting them or causing a scene.
* Intel Analysis: Ask the GM a question about found clues or possible disinformation.
PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR
* Detect Spirit Energy: Sense ghostly traces, magical auras, or dimensional rifts.
* Use Specialized Gear: Operate EMF detectors, spirit boxes, UV lenses, and arcane tech.
* Research the Unknown: Unearth obscure lore, read forbidden texts, or decipher ancient runes.
* Question Witnesss: Get useful info through conversation, subtle pressure, and reading body language
* Banish Entity: Dispel or repel spirits, curses, or lesser demons using ritual tools and willpower.
* Spot the Hidden: Find concealed passageways, traps, hidden symbols, or shapeshifters in disguise.
* Cool Under Pressure: Resist fear, possession, hallucination, or psychic influence.
INVESTIGATOR (PRIVATE OR POLICE)
* Bypass Security: Disable locks, alarms, biometric scanners, or surveillance systems.
* Shadow a Target: Follow someone through crowds, vehicles, or alleys without being noticed.
* Spot Hidden Clues: Find overlooked details at a scene or within a case file.
* Question Suspects: Get useful info through conversation, subtle pressure, and reading body language
* Surveil Location: Watch a location for patterns, comings and goings, or signs of illegal activity.
* Move Silently: Move quietly across noisy surfaces or slip away while unnoticed.
* Hide in Shadows: Blend into natural darkness, local cover, or large crowds.
FIELD SCIENTIST
* Operate Research Equipment: Use scanners, drones, lab tools, or mobile labs to gather data in the field.
* Bypass Safety Protocols: Override lockdowns, ethical limiters, or containment seal.
* Recall Scientific Lore: Draw on theory, precedent, and case studies to interpret findings or identify threats.
* Analyze Anomaly: Determine the origin, function, and danger level of unknown substances, fauna, and tech.
* Academic Politics: Navigate rival departments, sabotage peer agendas, manipulate tenure-track rivalries.
* Spot Hidden Evidence: Find overlooked details at a field research site or in library data archives.
* Secure Funding: Fund your work from grants, networking, and institutional sponsorships.
MODERN CRIMINAL
* Bypass Security: Disable locks, alarms, biometric scanners, or surveillance systems.
* Find & Remove Traps: Disable pressure plates, tripwires, poison needles, and the like.
* Pick Pockets: Steal small items from a person without being noticed.
* Move Silently: Move quietly across noisy surfaces or slip away while unnoticed.
* Forgery: Create fake IDs, documents, or access codes that pass inspection.
* Hide in Shadows: Blend into natural darkness, local cover, or large crowds.
* Shadow a Target: Follow someone through crowds, vehicles, or alleys without being noticed.
GANGSTER
* Intimidation: Shake down someone with threats, presence, or implied violence.
* Bribe Officials: Use cash, favors, or dirt for influence and avoid trouble.
* Command Crew: Order underlings or a gang, re-roll failed Morale checks.
* Launder Goods: Move stolen or illegal items into the legit market unnoticed.
* Territory Sense: Know who runs what block, turf, or racket in your area.
* Forge Loyalty: Build a personal network of loyal contacts for dirty favors.
* Racketeering: Set up protection rackets, skim operations, or manipulate gambling.
SURVIVALIST
* Forage & Hunt: Find edible plants, set traps, and shoot game.
* Track Movement: Follow human or animal signs through the wild.
* Craft Gear: Make tools, weapons, shelters, or clothing from natural or salvaged materials.
* Stealth Movement: Cross natural terrain silently and without leaving a trail.
* Purify Resources: Clean water, prep food, or detoxify unknown substances.
* Sense Threats: Detect unnatural quiet, ambush points, or predator behavior.
* Camouflage: Blend into brush, stone, or terrain to hide from human and mutant eyes.
SMUGGLER
* Bypass Inspection : Talk, fake paperwork, or trick your way through security.
* Fence Goods: Find buyers for stolen or illicit items quickly and quietly.
* Code Talk: Communicate intent, timing, or locations in double-meaning slang or signs.
* Appraise Cargo: Evaluate the value, legality, and desirability of goods in any local market.
* Hide Contraband: Conceal items from searches using containers, vehicles, or implants.
* Evade Detection: Jam signals, spoof tracking devices, or create false trails.
* Underworld Network: Locate contacts in any settlement who know who to bribe or avoid.