Here's my thoughts on thieves:
Human: Well, there's generally no reason to ever play human anyway. Thieves are pretty much no exception.
Troll: My general rule for trolls is: if you like playing trolls, the class you play them as doesn't really matter; if you don't like playing trolls, the class you play them as doesn't matter either. That said, trolls make half decent thieves. You get standard trollish gear, which, actually is among the best that you can roll as a thief, great St and To. Thieves actually have pretty good class powers though, so as a troll you're unlikely to receive substantial benefits from your class. Troll skillset complements thief pretty well though.
HE/GE: Probably worst picks. No skills added except dodge (most thieves end up literate anyway...), which is basically a junk skill anyway. Starting gear is poor for an elf (no elven chain or bow). To will be paltry. You might have a high enough Ma score to get an extra talent, which sets you up for maybe getting heir... but gnome or hurthling will guarantee the extra talent and are better picks. Many people would argue that Ge/He thieves are the most difficult R/C combo in the game.
DE: Given that you start with alertness already, there's little reason to take a DE over an orc unless you're paranoid about aging. You get pretty much all the same disadvantages as the other elves, without most of the normal benefits to a DE. Find weakness on thieves is very nice, but again, given the choice, I'd say play an orc.
Dwarf: Pretty solid pick. Dwarves (as usual) get well above-average starting gear (still not that great) and To. If you care a lot about your skillset, dwarves don't really add anything useful. But then, if you care about skillset, you wouldn't be playing a dwarf--or a thief--anyway.
Hurthling: My favourite choice. High Dx and To (dubious St, as usual), free talent, archery and food preservation, plus a few marks in thrown rocks. The extra talent opens up an easy heir option, and playing a thief as an archer-type is probably not a bad way to go. Gear is pretty terrible though, so you need to play carefully until you find some rocks or something.
Gnome: Good chance of getting 3-4 talents due to free + high Ma, which allows Heir + TH combo. Skillset doesn't add much unless you love ventriloquism. Equipment is comparable to hurthlings and dwarves, but stats are a bit worse.
Orc: Nice choice. Orcs get the highest PV starting gear, good St and To, and find weakness, which is awesome for thieves (FW + level 25 class power is godly). Dx will be low, but that's not the end of the world.
Drake: Similar to orcs in terms of stats, with decent St and To, but worse gear. Adds the important food preservation skill and acid spit. Solid choice.
There's no clear-cut decision on this one. It depends a lot on your playing style. Overall I'd say it's a toss-up between orcs, drakes, and hurthlings (and trolls if you like them). If you play a melee thief, orc (or troll) is probably best. Ranged goes to hurthling. Middle ground is drake.
Last edited by JellySlayer; 10-04-2010 at 03:39 PM.
Hoping to win with every class, doomed. Archer, Barbarian, Bard, Beastfighter, Druid, Elementalist, Farmer, Fighter, Monk, and ULE Priest down.