Rogues - Thieves and Bards
Rogues live off the hard work of others as thieves and musically oriented bards. Rogues gain 1-6 (d6) hit points per level until 10th, after which they gain 2 hit points per level. Two initial weapon proficiency slots are available to each rogue. The experience point progression of rogues is summarized here.
Thief
Thieves are masters of stealth. They can wear any armor up to elven chainmail although wearing more than leather armor penalizes the thief's special abilities. A thief's weapon choices are limited but include swords, bows and daggers. Should a thief sneak up behind a humanoid victim, they can do extra damage by backstabbing. Thieves have the following special abilities: Open Locks, Find/Remove Traps, Pick Pockets and Stealth (combination of Move Silently and Hide in Shadows). The base scores for these abilities are determined by the thief's race and dexterity, and the player can then distriute 60 initial percentage points followed by 20 points for each level thereafter. At 10th level, thieves' gain the limited ability to use clerical and magical scrolls. Thieves' cannot be of Lawful Good alignment. The prime requisite for thieves is dexterity, with a 9 dexterity being the minimum requirement. Skills from AD&D that are not implimented in BG: Hear Noise, Climb Walls, Thieves' Cant and Read Languages (there are no languages in BG).
Bard
Bards are the jack-of-all trades and the masters of none. Bards can fight with any weapon and wear any armor up to and including chainmail, but cannot use a shield. Bards can cast wizard spells, although their spell progression is slower. Like wizards, they cannot wear armor when casting spells. All bards are proficient musicians but in BG they access their abilities by singing alone without instrumental accompaniment. By singing, bards can grant a +1 bonus to attack rolls, a +1 bonus to saving throw rolls and a +2 bonus to morale. bards are able to Pick Pockets like thieves. Due to their studies and travels, bards also have exceptional Lore ability, allowing them to identify magic items much better than other classes. The alignment of the bard must be at least partially Neutral. The minimum abilities for becoming a bard are dexterity 12, intelligence 13 and charisma 15. The prime requisites of the bard are dexterity and charisma. Skills from AD&D that are not implimented in BG: Detect Noise, Climb Walls, Read Languages, Remove Traps and using a musical instrument.
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