# Thief High-Level Abilities

This page lists High-Level Abilities available to Thieves.

Note that this list assumes a full install of Talents of Faerun, excluding the 'new low-level abilities' component. If you have a partial install, your High-Level Ability system may differ from the one documented here in small ways.

### Acrobatics

Swashbucklers are known as great fighters, but their training concentrates more on movement and agility instead of pure strength and devastating blows. By further enhancing their acrobatic and dodging skills, swashbucklers may become more formidable opponents in battle.
This passive ability permanently increases Dexterity by 1, grants a +1 bonus to base armor class, and grants a 2 point bonus to any save vs. breath.
Requirements: high level Swashbuckler.

### Alchemy: Rogues' Potions

With cleverness innate to the class, an experienced rogue has seen enough potions in his/her adventuring career to simulate the creation of one. Brewing potions requires the expenditure of gold on the raw materials (equal to the cost of buying the potion in a store) and draws slightly on the character's life force (equivalent to a loss of 1 experience point per gold piece cost).
The character may brew the following potions:
Antidote
Oil of Speed
Potion of Agility
Potion of Explosions
Potion of Extra Healing
Potion of Healing
Potion of Infravision
Potion of Invisibility
Potion of Master Thievery
Potion of Mind Focusing
Potion of Perception
Potion of Power
Rogue's Potion of Frost Giant Strength
Requirements: high level Bard or high level Thief.

### Ambidexterity

The character has learned to use both hands equally when fighting, and no longer suffers an additional -2 penalty with off-hand attack rolls when dual-wielding.
Requirements: high level Blade, high level Ranger, or high level Swashbuckler.
Restrictions: not available to Archer.

### Assassination

Using every clever trick an experienced Thief has learned in countless battles, this ability allows every strike in the next round to act as a backstab, using the Thief's existing backstab modifier to determine damage.
Requirements: high level Thief.
Restrictions: not available to Swashbuckler.

### Avoid Danger

A rogue's natural sense of preservation becomes heightened with the use of the Avoid Danger ability. Avoid Danger gives a +4 bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to all Saving Throws. The effect lasts for 3 rounds.
Special: For rogues with the Advanced Avoid Danger feat, these effects increase to a +6 bonus to AC, a +3 bonus to all Saving Throws, a slight increase in movement speed, and the ability to dodge all normal missiles.
Requirements: high level Bard or high level Thief.

### Avoid Danger, Advanced

The rogue's Avoid Danger ability is heightened in effectiveness. Avoid Danger now grants +6 AC and +3 to saving throws, lasts for five rounds, and allows the rogue to move so quickly that his/her movement rate is increased by 2 (base is 10) and normal missiles have no chance of striking him/her.
Prerequisite: Avoid Danger.
Requirements: high level Bard or high level Thief.

### Avoid Death

A high-level rogue can develop a sixth sense that allows him/her to avoid almost certain death. This passive ability causes the rogue to avoid any one death effect (including imprisonment, petrification, and disintegration) that would otherwise kill him/her outright. The ability functions at most once per eight hours.
Prerequisite: Avoid Danger.
Requirements: high level Bard or high level Thief.

### Crippling Strike

An experienced thief can use the knowledge of his/her opponent's weak spots to gain an advantage in combat. During the round when this ability is activated, every attack of the thief deals maximum damage and may weaken his/her target. On each successful hit the victim must make a saving throw vs. death (with a -4 penalty) or have its strength score lowered to 10 for the next five rounds. Note: Constructs, Elementals, Slimes and Undead creatures are completely unaffected by this ability.
Prerequisite: Assassination.
Requirements: high level Thief.
Restrictions: not available to Swashbuckler.

### Deathkiss

This compound causes instant death in weaker victims. Anyone struck by the poison suffers 6 poison damage (no save) and then must make a save vs. poison at -2. Creatures with 60 or fewer hit points die instantly if they fail the saving throw; other creatures who fail their saving throw take 1 hit point of damage per second for 24 seconds.
No creature can be affected by the poison more often than once per round.
Characters with this ability can opt to use this poison when they activate their Poison Weapon ability.
Requirements: high level Assassin or high level Blackguard.

### Insightful Strike

An experienced Swashbuckler can use the knowledge of his/her opponent's weak spots to gain an advantage in combat. During the round when this ability is activated, the Swashbuckler receives a +5 bonus to his/her critical hit rolls and deals maximum damage with each attack.
Requirements: high level Swashbuckler.

### Nerve Venom

This compound partially paralyses its victim, reducing their attack rolls, damage and AC by 4 and giving them a 25% spell failure chance. The effects of the poison last for five rounds, and there is no saving throw against the effect. The poison does not otherwise damage the victim.
No creature can be affected by the poison more often than once per round.
Characters with this ability can opt to use this poison when they activate their Poison Weapon ability.
Requirements: high level Assassin or high level Blackguard.

### Poison Aptitude

The assassin has learned the skill of brewing exceptionally potent poisons. Saving throws against his/her Poison Weapon ability now suffer an additional -2 penalty.
Requirements: high level Assassin or high level Blackguard.

### Poison Expertise

The assassin's understanding of poison brewing deepens. The -2 saving throw penalty imposed by the Poison Aptitude ability now increases to -4.
Prerequisite: Poison Aptitude.
Requirements: high level Assassin or high level Blackguard.

### Set Acid Trap

This ability allows the rogue to set a powerful trap that splashes nearby opponents with a highly vitriolic alchemical mixture which deals 10d6 points of acid damage. Once the acid engulfs a target it becomes difficult to remove. Afflicted opponents must make a saving throw vs. breath or take an additional 2d6 points of acid damage during each of the following three rounds. Creatures who are particularly vulnerable to acid damage (such as Trolls) do not get a saving throw. Note that because the trap's acid is alchemical rather than magical in nature, it bypasses magic resistance.
Requirements: high level Thief.

### Set Exploding Trap

This ability allows the rogue to set a powerful trap that unleashes a fireball which causes 15d6 damage (Save vs. Spell for half damage) and will knock its victims off their feet (sufficiently large creatures are unaffected). Note that because the trap's explosion is alchemical rather than magical in nature, it bypasses magic resistance.
Requirements: high level Thief.

### Set Spike Trap

This ability allows the rogue to set a powerful spring-loaded spike trap that does 20d6 damage to the unsuspecting creature that sets it off.
Requirements: high level Thief.

### Set Toxic Trap

This ability allows the Bounty Hunter to set a specific trap that sets off poisonous toxins when triggered. The poisonous cloud deals 1 poison damage/sec for 15 rounds (save vs. poison for half) and reduces the movement rate of enemies by 75% for 3 rounds (no save). If a living target creature is exposed to the toxins, it must make a saving throw vs. death to avoid falling unconscious. The duration of this state depends on the saving throw penalties (3 rounds if the victim fails the save at 0, 2 rounds if at -2 and one round if at -4). In addition to these effects, the toxins drain 3 points of Constitution from any opponents who fail to save vs. breath at -4.
Requirements: high level Bounty Hunter.

### Shadow Form

This ability temporarily transposes some of the user's tissue with shadow-material, making the subject partially incorporeal. For the next 5 rounds, all physical attacks directed against the Shadowdancer only deal 50% of their normal damage. During this time, the Shadowdancer is also under the effects of Improved Invisibility and cannot be directly targeted by spells.
Requirements: high level Shadowdancer.

### Shadow Maze

This ability opens a temporary gateway to a small pocket within the Plane of Shadow. All enemies within 7 feet of the Shadowdancer must make a Save vs. Spell at a -4 penalty or become trapped inside a shadowy labyrinth as per the Maze spell.
Requirements: high level Shadowdancer.

### Shadow Twin

This ability creates an almost exact duplicate of the Shadowdancer for 2 turns. The duplicate is created at 60% of the level at which the Shadowdancer is currently on. It has all the abilities that the Shadowdancer would have at that level. It also has 60% of the Hit Points of the Shadowdancer. The duplicate is fully under the control of the Shadowdancer.
Requirements: high level Shadowdancer.

### Slippery Mind

This rogue can occasionally manage to wriggle free from magical effects that would otherwise control or compel him/her. The first time he/she fails a saving throw against charm, domination, or similar magic, he/she is nonetheless unaffected. This ability can function at most once per hour.
Requirements: high level Bard or high level Thief.

### Tracking

With an intimate knowledge of his/her surroundings and the creatures that live within them, the character can use the Tracking ability to give him/herself a general idea of what creatures are in an area and which direction they are. Red arrows at the edge of the screen will point in the general direction of the creatures in the area.
Requirements: high level Bounty Hunter or high level Ranger.

### Use Any Item

Rogues take pride in their ability to adapt and make clever use of whatever is at hand. This ability is an extension of that basic skill. Once learned, the effect is permanent. The ability allows the rogue to use any item, even items that are typically restricted to one class. This allows the rogue to use everything from wands and scrolls to mighty weapons that none but a warrior could otherwise use.
Prerequisite: Use Wands.
Requirements: high level Bard or high level Thief.

### Use Scrolls

Thieves often pick up some of the rudiments of arcane magic over their careers. This passive ability permits the thief to use wizard scrolls.
Requirements: high level Thief.

### Use Wands

Some experienced thieves make a careful study of magical items, learning in due course how to use wands as well as scrolls. This passive ability permits the thief to use any wand usually restricted to wizards and bards.
Prerequisite: Use Scrolls.

### Whirlwind Attack

This ability allows the warrior to unleash a flurry of super-fast blows. The ability sets one's number of attacks per round to 10, but one's THAC0 and damage suffer a 4 point penalty. The Whirlwind Attack lasts for one round.
Requirements: high level Fighter, high level Paladin, high level Ranger, or high level Swashbuckler.