The Thief Subclass in 1E

One of the thief subclasses is a character class in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1E that did not make it to 5E.  It's an interesting class that has a lot of potential during a campaign both as a player character and as an NPC.

Who can be in this class?  Everyone but halflings.  Like humans, half orcs can be unlimited in their level.  Gnomes can reach level 8, dwarves 9, elves 10, and half-elves 11.  Regardless of race, this sub class need a minimum strength of 12, a minimum intelligence of 11, and a minimum dexterity of 12.  They do not get a bonus on experience points as a result of higher ability scores.

Let's talk about the strengths of the class:

• They use the six-sided die for hit points.  
• They get thief abilities (including backstab), save as a thief, and fight using the thief table in the DMG. 
• Unlike thieves they can use shields and can use any kind of weapon.  
• Unlike thieves they start with three weapon proficiencies and only have a -2 penalty when they are using a weapon they aren't proficient with (just like fighters).  
• They can also use poison.  
• If they surprise an opponent they are able to attack on the table on page 75 of the DMG.  This looks at the level of the character versus the level/hit die of the victim to determine the character's chances of killing the opponent.  For example, an 11th level subclass character has a 100% chance of automatically killing a 1st level opponent.
• Members of the subclass that reach 9th level and have at least a 15 intelligence can learn an alignment language.  They can add one each level after that to a maximum of four of them.  A 15 intelligence can learn one alignment language, a 16 can learn two, a 17 three, and an 18 four.
• They can wear disguises and they can spy.

Now, there are drawbacks to this class:

• First, except for backstabbing all thief abilities are performed at two levels below the character's level (so a third level subclass performs thief abilities as a first level thief).  
• Second, they are restricted to leather armor.  
• Third, they are capped at 15th level.  
• Finally, the 1E Players Handbook says something interesting about them and alignment.  I'm paraphrasing here, but it says they are of evil alignment because the killing of intelligent creatures for profit is an evil act.  As a DM I'm going to disagree on this one.  After all, what do player characters do?  They go into the homes of monsters, kill them, and take their treasure - i.e. they kill them for profit.  Can this subclass be evil?  Absolutely!  Could they also be neutral in alignment?  Yes, I would expect them to have some kind of code.

There are a lot of interesting uses for this subclass in a campaign.  I could see governments having a special corps, conflicts with organized crime, spying, disguises, a character that can speak lawful good infiltrating a temple, and just support during an adventure.  This could be a valuable character class in city adventures, pirate-themed adventures, and military campaign-themed adventures.  

I can see less use for this class in a dungeon.  After all, fighters and clerics fight better, thieves are better at thief abilities and can still backstab, there's not as much need for disguise/spying/etc.  Now, using a subclass as an NPC that is disguised as a fighter to infiltrate the party and go after a party member, there's an interesting idea!