Pure Thief Build: Main Character

[Eldrane]

What should my starting stats look like and what should I concentrate on when levelling up? Playing SOD, thanks.

[bad_fur_day1]

I think a thief generally uses backstab for multiple damage agains't enemies and also makes it easier for a party to find traps, disarm traps, sneak around invisibly & lockpick. They are sometimes better used as a multi class with another class, for example to make them a stronger fighter or have mage spells available as well as thief skills.

Their stats would want 18 STR to be able to hit enemies in melee, also helps hit with backstab. 18 DEX for the armour class bonus and to hit enemies with ranged attacks like Bows. It's always helpful to have 18 CON for additional hit points. INT, WIS and CHR are dump stats, meaning they arn't very important to a thief so you can have them around 10~

[AlexMBrennan]

It's always helpful to have 18 CON for additional hit points

Only fighter types gain additional HP from constitution above 16.

(But dwarfs, gnomes and halflings gain an additional +1 to their saving throws at con 18 regardless of class)

[Damn_Monkey]

At 20 Con you start getting natural HP regen.

Starting out at 18 isn't bad even for non shorty classes to get that little boost in healing while traveling across the map or napping sooner/better than starting with 16 Con.

You can get +4 constitution points throughout the game, so ending at 22 (23 or Half orcs and Dwarves) has it's uses.

A pure PowerGamer move would have you play a Dwarven Thief with 18 Str, 17 Dex, 19 Con. Dump Cha and Wis, while trying to maintain an Int of 16 (ideally) but Min of 11.

Half Orc would be my second choice for pure PowerGamer, just starting out with 19 Str and 18 Dex. You do a little more damage with melee weapons, and have a slightly better AC/Thief skill, but loosing the Saving Throws really sucks. Especially if you're playing with mods that increase the mobs AI and spell selection.

Any particular reason to play a pure thief, say, vs a Bounty Hunter or Swashbuckler?

[Phoenix VII]

Swashbucklers can't backstab while Bounty Hunters only get 20 skill points compared to a thief's 25...though honestly, I do think a bounty hunter is just plain better than a thief, 5 less skill points per level just doesn't matter that much in the long term.

[Eldrane]

I’ve gone with Swashbuckler, the reason I needed a thief is really because I struggle with the visual clutter on the screen but need to play with the hilight tool active, I hate that this also makes the hit point scores appear above all six party members all the time, visually messy, so need to explore with a single character that can open locks and find traps, sad I know, but there it is..I would love it if there was a way to have the hilight tool active but NOT to show the hit points over the heads… playing EE on iPad..Thanks for the great feedback.

[Damn_Monkey]

I'm a fan of the Swashbuckler. While it's fun to get in a sexy backstab, most of the serious fights involve baddies who can both see your hidden character, and are immune to it.

[Fluke]

Have a soft spot for shadow dancer

[RolePlayerEverHappy]

Bounty hunter or a multi class. Swashbuckler isn't my cup of tea really.