Role-Playing Thieves (CTH)

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Thieves are perhaps the most fascinating and diverse class of player-characters in the AD&D® game—or at least they can be, if played properly. The thief has a certain innate, charming flair, which the Player's Handbook describes: "Thieves are people who feel that the world (and everyone in it) somehow owes them a living. They get by day by day, living in the highest style they can afford and doing as little work as possible . . ."
This is an accurate description of many thieves, but not all; and there are many exceptions. You will find that the character—that is, the personality—of your thief character will be very important, vital to making the thief a living, breathing person. It makes them more fun to play, too.
Personality, then, is the topic of this chapter. It comes before the chapters of technical information on kits, new abilities and so forth, because we believe that when you are designing a thief character, perhaps even more so than with other classes, personality considerations should come first. Who is this character? Where is he from? Why is he a thief—has he stolen bread crumbs all his life just to survive, or is he an idle fop who moonlights as a burglar just for thrills?
After asking yourself such questions, and answering them, you will then be better able to proceed into the technical details. Your character will exist in your mind, and the task will then be just a matter of translating that vision into working game terms.
There are three basic things to consider when putting together your thief's background and personality: setting, social background, and motivations.