Thieves In Warhammer 1st Edition

I've been looking at the use of first edition Warhammer Fantasy BAttle for dungeon skirmishing. The rules are basically sound, but you only have the choice of Fighters or MAgic Users.

With this in mind I've begun to work on additional classes to give variety and a more traditional feel to games.

First up, I offer you the Thief class.

You will see that I've split the skills into two groups. This is because a player has to choose whether they are primarily melee or ranged combat specialists, with one being higher. This also allows two distinct styles of thief class to be catered for.

Thieves for WHFB 1st ed

Thieves use WS to ‘roll to hit’ for successful use of the following thief skills:

Fade into background

Backstab
Dodge

Climb sheer surface

BS is used for the following skills:
Pick locks
Disarm or arm trap
Secure grapnel
Locate trap

Fade into background: The thief blends in with the surroundings and may make a single move without being seen or heard.


Back stab: The thief must be to the side or rear of the target, roll to hit  ONCE as normal and then roll again for the back stab attempt, If the backs stab is successful then damage is equal to the WS of the thief, with no saving throw.

Dodge: This skill is used to dodge an attack. If a successful attack is made, the thief may elect to attempt to dodge away at the last moment. If cornered, this may be a better option than relying on armour.

Climb sheer surface: A thief may climb a vertical or horizontal distance along a sheer surface at half normal movement rate. The test is required each turn or the thief will fall taking falling damage as per the main rules. A roll of 6 will negate the need to take a test on the following turn.

Pick locks: A thief may attempt to pick a lock. If they fail, they may try again in following turns but their BS is reduced by 1, on each consecutive attempt. No movement may be undertaken in the turn this ability is used.

Disarm or arm trap: This allows the thief to disarm a trap that they are aware of, or re-arm a trap already disarmed after the party has passed it safely. Nome movement may be undertaken in the turn this skill is used.

Locate trap: The thief will be able to locate any traps within 6 inches. No movement may be undertaken in the turn this skill is used.

Secure grapnel: This allows a thief to firmly set a rope and grapnel in place to allow other party members to climb a vertical surface, making a test as if they were a thief climbing a sheer surface. A thief using a grapnel may climb making a single test failing only on a 1 for the duration of the climb.


A thief may attempt any of the above once per turn but may not perform a normal melee or ranged attack (back stab is the exception as a normal attack is made, then a test to see if the back stab attempt is successful) . Test against weapon skill. Thief skills may be used at any point in a turn unless otherwise noted.


Thieves may only use light armour, and no shields.