Thief
by McFrugal

Class: Amazon, Assassin
Tag: THI or ASNTHI or AMZTHI

Introduction

You may notice that in some places the D2 version of the THI is more restrictive, while in others it is less restrictive. This is an effort to increase the amount of 'character' in the variant, while retaining the difficulty. I've noticed that at first it's rather hard to find any usable items, but eventually you can get some stuff due to the inclusive method of D2's item generation.

Items

Exceptional items are not counted separately from their normal counterparts, unless noted.

No matter what an item is, be it unique, set, rare, or magical, it may NOT be used if it has any enchantments that automatically cast spells that are not listed as allowed in the Charged Items list.

Armor
Nothing noisy. Quiet armor includes Quilted Armor, Leather Armor, Hard Leather Armor, Studded Leather Armor, and Breast Plate are allowed.

Noisy armor such as Ring Mail, Scale Mail, Chain Mail, Splint Mail, Light Plate, Plate Mail, Field Plate, Full Plate, Gothic Plate, and Ancient Armor are all not allowed, no matter how they are enchanted.

This essentially means the Thief will be using a Cuirass in the later stages, or possibly some low-ac armor that has special qualities. Eventually, the Thief may want to wear a Great Hauberk, in order to get decent Defense.

Belts
Plated Belts are not allowed. Anything else is fine.

Boots
Boots and Heavy Boots.

Gloves
Leather and Heavy Gloves.

Helms
Any. Crowns and Coronets are especially prized, though not actually required.

Shields
Buckler, Small Shield, Large Shield.

The Dodge skill series on the Amazon should make up for the low blocking, if you use a shield at all. The Assassin could use two claws and rely on Weapon Block, or simply pump dex to keep blocking high. This would be a moot point once Elite shields come into play, since all of them have great blocking.

Weapons
Small size weapons allowed. That means the graphic must be 1x3 or smaller for melee weapons, and 2x3 for bows and crossbows.

Enchantments
Now we get into the meat n' potatoes of this variant. Prefixes and Suffixes are separated into two catagories each: Primary and Secondary. For Magical items, if the item has at least one Primary enchantment, you can use it no matter what the other enchantments are. If the item does not qualify for that, however, then it can only be used if all the enchantments are Secondary. For Rare items, because of the sometimes unrecognizable enchantments, all bonuses listed as +AR should be counted as two Primary enchantments if on a weapon with Enhanced Damage. Similarly, +LR always counts as a Secondary enchantment. All other bonuses should be easily identifiable. Rare items can be used if the tally of Primary enchantments is greater than or equal to the tally of non-listed enchantments.

Primary enchantments tend to be thief-like and have 'ownership' (which means it could have been stolen), or special value (like precious gems).

Primary Prefixes: Silver, Gold, Platinum, Meteoric, Hawkeye, Knight's, Lord's, King's, Master's, Grandmaster's, Astral, Elysian, Celestial, Divine, Godly, Devious, Drake's, Dragon's, Wyrm's, Great Wyrm's, Bahamut's, Ruby, Sapphire, Amber, Jade, Emerald, Prismatic, Valkyrie's, Slayer's, Berserker's, Monk's, Priest's, Summoner's, Necromancer's, Angel's, Arch-Angel's, Shaman's, Heirophant's, Magekiller's, Witch-hunter's, Fletcher's, Bowyer's, Archer's, Harpoonist's, Spearmaiden's, Lance's, Golemlord's, Captain's, Commander's, Marshal's, Warder's, Guardian's, Expert's, Veteran's, Master's, Keeper's, Trickster's, Cunning, Mentalist's, Shogukusha's, Sensei's, Kenshi's, Felicitous, Fortuitous, Mechanist's, Artificer's, Jeweler's.

Primary Suffixes: -of the Giant, -of the Titan, -of the Atlas, -of Dexterity, -of Skill, -of Accuracy, -of Precision, -of Perfection, -of the Fox, -of the Wolf, -of the Colossus, -of Worth, -of Excellence, -of Quality, -of Defiance, -of the Wraith, -of the Vampire, -of Readiness, -of Alacrity, -of Swiftness, -of Quickness, -of the Sentinel, -of Greed, -of Wealth, -of Chance, -of Fortune, -of Luck, -of the Magus, -of Pacing, -of Haste, -of Speed, -of Traveling, -of Acceleration, -of the Bear, -of the Centaur.

Secondary Prefixes: Bronze, Iron, Steel, Strange, Weird, Jagged, Deadly, Vicious, Brutal, Massive, Savage, Merciless, Ferocious, Cruel, Fool's, Sharp, Fine, Warrior's, Soldier's, Assamic, Arcadian, Unearthly, Consecrated, Pure, Sacred, Hallowed, Sturdy, Strong, Glorious, Blessed, Saintly, Holy, Lizard's, Snake's, Serpent's, Fortified, Garnet, Lapis, Beryl, Scintillating, Maiden's, Acrobat's, Gymnast's, Athlete's, Graverobber's, Preserver's, Trainer's, Caretaker's, Compact, Thin, Dense.

Secondary Suffixes: -of Light, -of the Sun, -of Craftmanship, -of Balance, -of Equilibrium, -of Stability, -of Puncturing, -of the Apprentice, -of Thorns, -of Spikes, -of Razors, -of Swords, -of Ease, -of Simplicity, -of Piercing.

Spell Charge Suffixes
If you simply want to wear an item, these can be ignored. However, if you want to use the charges, it gets more complicated. The same skill restrictions apply to Amazon and Assassin skills, but the other classes' skills are not all allowed.

Sets/Uniques
All uniques and sets can be used, if they are of the proper base item. Three exceptions:

Chance Guards, the unique Chain Gloves, can be used. They're just too perfect a Thief item to quibble about the base type.

Witherstring, the unique Hunter's Bow, cannot be used, due to the fact that it fires Magic Arrows.

Demon Machine, the unique Chu-Ko-Nu, cannot be used, due to the fact that it fires Explosive Arrows/Bolts.

Skills

Amazon Skill Restrictions
Spear/Javelin: Jab, Impale, Fend are the only ones allowed.
Bow/Crossbow: Multishot, Strafe, Guided Arrow.
Passive/Magic: All. The highest base slvl in this tree must be at least twice as high as the highest base slvl in any other tree.

Assassin Skill Restrictions
Martial Arts: Fists of Fire, Claws of Thunder and Dragon Tail may never be used. Phoenix Strike can only be used with 2 or more charges.
Shadow Disciplines: All. Like the Passive and Magic skill tree for the Amazon, the highest base slvl in this tree must be at least twice as high as the highest base slvl in any other tree.
Traps: Blade Fury may not be used.