Splitting up the Thief talent

[Steve Jackson]

One way to do it: substitute for Thief and Master Thief:

Locksmith (1). Ability to open locks. Requires specialized tools which have no significant weight. To pick an ordinary lock, roll 3 dice vs. DX; you may try once per minute until you succeed. This skill is of less use against magically locked doors (see Doors, p. 00), and some locks require more than 3 dice to pick. The Thieves’ Guild teaches this talent; see Thieves’ Guild. But there are legitimate locksmiths too.
The GM may let non-Thief characters try to pick very simple locks, at a penalty of one or more dice.

Pickpocket (1): Roll 3 dice vs. DX to pick a pocket or steal a purse; failure means you’re noticed. Roll only 2 dice if some distraction is arranged to fool your victim. Pickpocketing with subtlety is hard and unskilled rolls should not be allowed. The Thieves’ Guild teaches this talent; see Thieves’ Guild.

Master Locksmith (1). Prerequisites: Locksmith talent and DX 13 or better. You roll 1 fewer dice to pick any lock. This talent may be learned from the Thieves’ Guild (q.v.).

Master Pickpocket (1). Prerequisites: Pickpocket talent and DX 14 or better. You roll 1 fewer dice to pick any pocket. This talent must be learned from the Thieves’ Guild (q.v.).

Streetwise (1): Knowledge of the local underworld and the Thieves’ Argot, the secret slang of thieves. Roll vs. IQ to find fences, smugglers, or other criminal businessmen, or to “blend in” in a dive bar or the like, even in a strange town.