WM/Sample Thief

== Overview ==
A combat focused thief, just at the start of his career.
== Combat Tactics ==
As thief, the primary tactic is to attempt to hide as a free action at the start of combat with a Stealth roll at -5 (and -5 unless there is plenty of cover). If successful, he starts out behind the nearest foe in position to make a surprise strike. The surprise strike should be a Telegraphed, Rapid Strike to the neck with the saber, for two attacks that can't be defended against at skill-14, each doing 2d+2 cutting damage!
After dispatching one foe by surprise, the thief's combat abilities go down quite a bit. Moving to be near a Knight, Barbarian, or Holy Warrior is a good idea. When defending, he should always Retreat and should consider performing an Acrobatic Dodge when Dodging.
Against lightly armored foes like most animals, he should make Rapid Strikes and do impaling damage. Against more heavily armored foes he should generally favor a single cut or stab to the neck or face, preferably in tandem with a more powerful fighting type. Under no circumstances should he make Move and Attack, Committed Attack, or All-Out Attacks, as his armor is too weak to sustain much damage and his only good defense is his sword Parry.
Ranged combat is also a problem. His crossbow is a single-shot weapon, and he though he can Dodge enemy missile attacks, he can't Dodge forever.
Looking to the future, he wants to pick up more ST as soon as possible. Doing 2d+2 damage with every attack would dramatically improve his combat potential.
== Out of Combat Abilities ==
He's a thief. He can pick lock, pick pockets, find and remove traps, gamble, and survive on the mean streets of Polisberg. He can't help with negotiations, scouting and navigation, or selling goods. He has some ability as a rumor-monger and research assistant, though, with moderately good Carousing and Streetwise skills.
== Character Sheet and Such ==
File:Sample Thief-Swashbuckler.odt - GCA4 version. Replace the .odt extension with .gca4 to have GCA load it.
 - PDF version.
Note that GCA doesn't have a method for distinguishing between Surprise Striking Strength and always-on Striking Strength, and vastly over-calculates weapon damage. The saber should do 1d+1 damage, impaling or cutting, under normal use.