New Thief Equipment

Arm Sling

This is simply a cloth sling; the thief wears it to appear as if he  has a broken or injured arm, and speedily withdraws his hand from it  for  the pocket-picking attempt. This actually reduces the chances of picking  pockets  by  -5 penalty but  the payoff is that the chances for being discovered are halved (but a  natural 00 on d100 always means discovery). This reflects  the  fact  that  people simply do not expect to see a man with a broken arm  picking  pockets  and the expectation  determines  the  perception.  The  use  of  this  unusual

strategy is only useful - but it is really useful here - when the priority is not to be discovered, rather than  to  be  sure  of  success.  A  thief working in a city where he is not a  guild  member,  or  one  where  legal penalties for picking pockets are very harsh, nlight favor the use of this ruse. A thief obviously cannot use this ruse for an extended period of time in the same place (save possibly by posing as a beggar). There is a limit  to how long an arm can plausibly need for healing, after all.

 

Mini-Blade

This is a generic term for a very small (and usually very  sharp)  blade which can be held (with care!) between the fingers or in the "edge of  the hand". A very sharp coinedge, filed down, can be used in this way. and has the advantage of being readily available. A more sophisticated (and rarer) version is the razor ring, a hollow signet ring with a flip-tap and a very sharp blade within. The mini-blade is used to cut a soft container - most obviously a  purse or pouch - so that the thief can get at what's inside it.It  is  the  most

effective technique for getting at coins, gems, etc., inside a purse  with drawn and tied strings. With a mini-blade the thief only  has  to  make  a simple pick pockets check to effect the larceny. If the thief has, instead, to try to open the purse strings and then extract what's inside because he has no miniblade, this needs two pick pockets rolls for  success  (one  to open the purse, one to get at the goodies)  -  and  two  rolls  for  being observed, as well!

 

Glass Cutter

This very simple instrument is  usually  a  small  diamond  set  into  a suitable handle, or even one set into a ring. The diamond must be cut to a line point, and if used in a ring a hinged top should be used  to  protect the gem. Such a tool will cut through glass fairly quickly. Attempting  an entry through a window is always superior in principle  to  attempting  to force a door, since windows cannot be as physically tough as doors and are less likely to be locked; but if they are locked, a glass cutter is highly useful.

 

Hollow Boots

These come in various forms, but a common design is one with  swivelling heels. The heel of the boot is  grasped  and  twisted  firmly  toward  the inside surface. The heel swivels and reveals a small,  hollow  compartment within the boot. These compartments are very  small,  and  will  typically only hold one gem of moderate size or up to four small ones. The design at the boot is such that there is not an externally  visible  built-up  heel, but nonetheless a thief wearing these boots suffers a -5  penalty  to  any move silently rolls he has to make.

 

Marbles

The use of these is an  old  chestnut,  but  perennially  popular  witt; thieves, not least because of their elfectiveness. A small bag of marbles (a general term for small spheres of glass, metal, etc.) unleashed over  a stone floor to roll around forces any pursuers  to slow  to half  normal speed or be forced to make a  Balance check.  If  this check is failed the pursuer slips up and has to  spend  a  full  round  getting  up again. Because marbles roll around a lot, a small  bag  (30  or  so)  will cover a 10' x 30' (or equivalents area. Small stones and pebbles can  only be substituted for marbles if they have been  polished,  filed,  etc.,  so that they are almost perfectly round - a timeconsuming business.

 

Pin Ring

This simple weapon is a ring with a flip-up lid, below which is a needle capable of delivering a dose of poison (or knock-out drug,  etc.)  to  the target. The most primitive version  of  this  will  have  the  pin  simply sitting in a small reservoir of liquid drug or toxin. Since administration of the poison/drug is rather haphazard here, the victim receives  a  bonus of + 2 to any saving throw against its effects. subtler and  more  refined designs have a needle capable of drawing up liquid from  a  reservoir,  so that only a normal saving throw (or even one with a -2  penalty)  applies. The DM should decide which to allow in the campaign (both can exist at the

same time, of course). An attack with a pin ring takes a -4  penalty  to  the attack roll because it must strike exposed  flesh  -  the  pin  will  not administer poison through any significant thickness of clothing. A  strike to the neck is the time-honored way of making sure the toxin gets into the bloodstream quickly.

 

Sword Stick

This is simply a long, slender, rapier-like blade concealed within  what appears to be a simple walking stick or cane. Swashbucklers are particularly fond of this weapon. Damage  done  by  the blade is as per a short sword. It takes one round to draw the  blade  from

the sword stick and ready  it  for  use.  The  main  use  of  the  weapon, obviously, is the possibility of smuggling it into  places  where  weapons are not permitted. It is highly doubtful whether anything like a  sword  stick  existed  in medieval times, but this weapon definitely adds some style and dash  to  a campaign.

 

Wrist Sheath

This small leather sheath is made to hold a  knife  or  dagger,  and  is strapped to the forearm (below the sleeve of a garment) so that the weapon can be flipped to the hand by an arm movement and the  blade  readied  for action. A dexterous thief can work a blade into his hand by arm  movements disguised in the context of changing posture while sitting in a chair,  or similar, seemingly innocuous moves. Again, the obvious advantage  is  that of concealment. Variants on this theme are drop sheaths, which are usually sewn into leather jackets or similar articles of clothing.  Here,  release of the dagger from  the  sheath  can  be  triggered  by  mechanical  means

(pressing a jacket sleeve stud, etc.) or by  muscular  stimuli  triggering pressure pads (tensing the biceps firmly against the  fist  of  the  other arm, etc.).

 

 

 

False Scabbard

Thieves can employ stout scabbards which are slightly  longer  than  the swords which fit into them, leaving a length of scabbard at the end  which is a separate, hollow compartment. Usually, this can  he  accessed via a sliding panel at the end of the scabbard.

This hollow compartment can be used to conceal a  great  many  kinds  of things, either to smuggle them in (poisons, blinding powder, etc.) or smuggle them out (gems and such). Some are so well-designed  that the compartment can be entered from above or below, so that the thief  can use the false scabbard as a snorkel (or, more correctly, as an  underwater breathing tube) if he has to stay concealed in the water for any reason.

 

 THIEF EQUIPMENT PRICE

  Item                                      Cost        Weight

Arm Sling                                3 cp          *

Mini-Blade                              5 cp          *

Razor Ring (iron)                     2 gp         *

Razor Ring (silver)                   10 gp       *

Glass-cutter (handled)                               120 gp     1

Hollow Boots                           15 gp       5

Marbles, bag (30)                     2 cp         1

Pin Ring (iron)                         2 gp         *

Pin Ring (silver)                       10 gp       *

Sword Stick                              25 gp       4

Wrist Sheath                            3 sp          1

False Scabbard                          12 gp       1-2