Equipped vs in play vs in your hand

[MunchkinMan]

Originally Posted by Grimstringer

so thief can only discard cards from in play? wow we misplayed that

No, the Thief can discard cards in play or from his hand in order to steal and backstab. What Andrew is talking about are Curses, Bad Stuff, and other card effects that would take specific card types from a player. For clarification, the rules say the following things:

Many cards add special rules, so in most cases when the rulesheet disagrees with a card, follow the card.

Cards in your hand are not in play. They don’t help you, but they can’t be taken away except by cards that specifically affect “your hand.”

Some Class abilities are powered by discards. You may discard any card, in play or in your hand, to power a special ability.

So, since the Thief doesn't contradict the 3rd rule I quoted, you can use hand cards and in-play cards to power its abilities. However, the Cleric's resurrection and the Wizard's charm spell both contradict that rule and require hand cards.