Thief hide?

[Traveler]

What governs the chance that a thief can set up an ambush?

I'd think it be agility but I'm not getting any better even against slimes.

[rn_archl0rd]

agility determines attack order and trap disarm. ambush relies on rng mainly.

[Traveler]

Originally posted by rn_archl0rd:

agility determines attack order and trap disarm. ambush relies on rng mainly.

So it's not even level?

[rn_archl0rd]

my level 16 thief still fails to hide at about a 1 out of 3 tries. The rng improves some with level but he will never manage to hide every time.

[Traveler]

And there are no ranged weapons yes?

[rn_archl0rd]

ranged weapons were introduced in later games so the back row can also fight.. this first game no back row characters could engage in melee except the thief with his hide and ambush skill,

[Traveler]

Originally posted by rn_archl0rd:

ranged weapons were introduced in later games so the back row can also fight.. this first game no back row characters could engage in melee except the thief with his hide and ambush skill,

Honestly didn't remember, it's been a long time since I played the original release. So far I'm getting along without graph paper :-)

[Abscondrel]

thief should be in front. hide can be toggled. when you combine identify with hide there are 2 wasted turn possibilities with thief in back. those back 3 turns can be how you survive instead of getting wiped.

the game can lull you into a sense of security. you don't need all six turns every combat in order to win. however, every decision should be made for those combats when you do need all six turns with good choices to survive at all. thief in front people.

i ran a party of ftr,prst,prst,thf,mg,mg. this party was evil and wearing all the gear found by primary party. so they didn't struggle. i still put thief in front for 9 and 10. 3 spells from the back is too important.

[Traveler]

Originally posted by Abscondrel:

thief should be in front. hide can be toggled. when you combine identify with hide there are 2 wasted turn possibilities with thief in back. those back 3 turns can be how you survive instead of getting wiped.

the game can lull you into a sense of security. you don't need all six turns every combat in order to win. however, every decision should be made for those combats when you do need all six turns with good choices to survive at all. thief in front people.

i ran a party of ftr,prst,prst,thf,mg,mg. this party was evil and wearing all the gear found by primary party. so they didn't struggle. i still put thief in front for 9 and 10. 3 spells from the back is too important.

my goto is three Dwarf Fighters (named D F 1, D F 2, D F 3), one Halfling thief, one Elf Mage, one Gnome Priest. I max the primary stat and Luck and do alright.

[rn_archl0rd]

all sorts of party combos can work if you are careful based on your preferences.

[johnwh]

I find a Priest is an effective front-liner since they can get their AC lower than thieves or mages, but it does carry the possibility they could get paralyzed, petrified or instakilled and then your party's without their healer.

[Abscondrel]

there are items that thief can wear to push down ac. like the diadem of malor, i think. you can keep it competitive. also recommend thief equip the crappy mage-bane sword, for swinging at werd. +2 shorty is nice for everything else.

[Madd Overlord]

Honestly, towards the end of the game, I found having a Ninja in my party better than a thief. While there was a slight penalty on inspecting and popping chests, I was willing to deal with the occasional mishap. The Ninja can equip everything a fighter can, use shurikens, and hide and attack from the shadows if that feature is enabled.

That being said, I don't recommend converting directly to Ninja. Instead, farm the Thieves Dagger to convert your thief. Until you find that item, focus on maxing out your HP and attributes. I had all 18s when I used the Thieves Dagger, and this minimized the penalties for inspecting and disarming chests.

[Traveler]

Originally posted by Madd Overlord:

Honestly, towards the end of the game, I found having a Ninja in my party better than a thief. While there was a slight penalty on inspecting and popping chests, I was willing to deal with the occasional mishap. The Ninja can equip everything a fighter can, use shurikens, and hide and attack from the shadows if that feature is enabled.

That being said, I don't recommend converting directly to Ninja. Instead, farm the Thieves Dagger to convert your thief. Until you find that item, focus on maxing out your HP and attributes. I had all 18s when I used the Thieves Dagger, and this minimized the penalties for inspecting and disarming chests.

I don't have an evil party.

[Wizardsmana]

Originally posted by Traveler:

Originally posted by Madd Overlord:

Honestly, towards the end of the game, I found having a Ninja in my party better than a thief. While there was a slight penalty on inspecting and popping chests, I was willing to deal with the occasional mishap. The Ninja can equip everything a fighter can, use shurikens, and hide and attack from the shadows if that feature is enabled.

That being said, I don't recommend converting directly to Ninja. Instead, farm the Thieves Dagger to convert your thief. Until you find that item, focus on maxing out your HP and attributes. I had all 18s when I used the Thieves Dagger, and this minimized the penalties for inspecting and disarming chests.

I don't have an evil party.

The beauty of the thief dagger is that your thief does not have to be evil to use it. So your neutral thief will be a neutral ninja. Also, I beat the game back in the early 80's with your same party build...3 dwarf fighters, a halfling thief (who became a ninja invoking the thief dagger), a gnome priest and an elf mage. Super effective combo!

[Madd Overlord]

Originally posted by Wizardsmana:

Originally posted by Traveler:

I don't have an evil party.

The beauty of the thief dagger is that your thief does not have to be evil to use it. So your neutral thief will be a neutral ninja.

This