Quote:
Originally Posted by DouglasCole
Conan was sneaking into the Tower of the Elephant four years before The Hobbit was published. The Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories were inspired by Conan, and published in various forms from the late 30s as well. I feel fairly confident that the thief or rogue would have been present (though "halflings" may not have) in any case.
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True, true. I've even read the Tower story.
Sneaking about, infiltration, and stealing stuff is as old as adventure itself; nothing new in Tolkien there. What I'm thinking is that the specifically labeled role of
thief sounds like an inspiration from Tolkien's "burglar" hobbit. But maybe Grey Mouser was a much more direct inspiration for D&D thieves. Good point.