GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Thieves

[Christopher R. Rice]

Yassss. I've been waiting to see this for over a year now. So happy it's out.

[Anders]

First impression: Looks good, although I wonder what was cut (a cleric-thief follower of the god of Rogues, perhaps). The extra traits and equipment will certainly come in handy. Especially grateful for the box on Perfect Balance - it always seemed to me that thieves would benefit more from Luck than Perfect Balance from the get-go.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Anders

First impression: Looks good, although I wonder what was cut (a cleric-thief follower of the god of Rogues, perhaps). The extra traits and equipment will certainly come in handy. Especially grateful for the box on Perfect Balance - it always seemed to me that thieves would benefit more from Luck than Perfect Balance from the get-go.

Perfect Balance seems like a great choice for anyone expecting to spend much time on narrow ledges, etc. Also, even if you're only planning on high Acrobatics and Climb levels (i.e. no Piloting), the effective cost is only 7 points. For a footpad or other rogue-type Luck's probably better. For a second-story type, or someone who does a lot of roof-top parkour, Perfect Balance is probably a better first purchase.

[ravenfish]

Downloaded (eventually, after a vigorous fight with the new store), read, and enjoyed. I'm not sure it's able to successfully answer the question of "how can the thief class pull its weight in a subgenre that minimizes noncombat encounters when a large portion of its point budget is tied up in noncombat abilities", but it's a great buy for those who prefer running dungeon delving as a heist than as a smash-and-grab, and it gives both thieves and non-thieves some cool new toys to play with in any campaign.

[Dalin]

I love the sidebar section on Tactics (p. 10). Practical ideas for how to make the skill useful in every encounter. I’m eager to try out a mastermind build to see how it feels.

[Walden]

I'm not an expert on applying GURPS rules by a longshot, but I thought there was an almost universal princple that, in most campaigns, the most basic level of Luck was practically mandatory for all characters. In How to be a GURPS GM, Kromm almost seemed to imply it was necessary for everyone due to the nature of GURPS rules.

[edk926]

Luck is an automatic part of Action and Monster Hunters templates but not Dungeon Fantasy templates.

[RGTraynor]

Originally Posted by Walden

I'm not an expert on applying GURPS rules by a longshot, but I thought there was an almost universal princple that, in most campaigns, the most basic level of Luck was practically mandatory for all characters. In How to be a GURPS GM, Kromm almost seemed to imply it was necessary for everyone due to the nature of GURPS rules.

"Necessary" for everyone? Practically nothing is. Desirable for everyone, post-4e? Absolutely. Luck is your insurance policy against critical failures. I would never create a GURPS PC without it.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

Downloaded (eventually, after a vigorous fight with the new store), read, and enjoyed. I'm not sure it's able to successfully answer the question of "how can the thief class pull its weight in a subgenre that minimizes noncombat encounters when a large portion of its point budget is tied up in noncombat abilities", but it's a great buy for those who prefer running dungeon delving as a heist than as a smash-and-grab, and it gives both thieves and non-thieves some cool new toys to play with in any campaign.

That was never a question it was supposed to answer. That question is it's on book "How to be a GURPS GM: Dungeon Fantasy". DF is about killing monsters and taking their stuff. Other modes of play would require guides on how to do them since that's not really DF basic assumption.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Anders

I wonder what was cut

Essentially nothing. We let it be big and complete.

Originally Posted by ravenfish

I'm not sure it's able to successfully answer the question of "how can the thief class pull its weight in a subgenre that minimizes noncombat encounters when a large portion of its point budget is tied up in noncombat abilities"

The number of deadly, synergistic combat power-ups suggests that you can be very good at fighting if the GM permits.

Originally Posted by edk926

Luck is an automatic part of Action and Monster Hunters templates but not Dungeon Fantasy templates.

But note that even before this release, thieves had access to more impressive levels of Luck . . .