Labyrinth Lord / Desolate North House Rules Part 1a: Thieves

As promised last time, I'm showing my re-work of LL's Thief class. This is all based heavily on the write-up already in Hill Cantons and inspired by Unfrozen Caveman Dice Chucker (I refuse to accept the new name).

Thief

Requirements: None

Prime Req: DEX

Hit Dice: d4

Maximum Level: None

Note that a Thief can be of any alignment. In addition to any bonus languages for intelligence, the thief also knows Thieves' Cant, an argot of Common used by ne'er-do-wells to discuss nefarious proceedings.

9th level hideout shenanigans are still possible as per LL.

At 11th level, a Thief's backstab does triple damage.

Thief Skills

Instead of advancing along a percentage table with level, thieves are awarded Bonus Skill Levels. These bonus skill levels can be assigned into any skill the thief chooses.

 Starting Thief Skills

Scale Sheer Surfaces:5, max 12

Pick Pockets:2, max 15

Find/Remove Traps:2, max 12

Pick Locks:3, max 12

Hear Noise:4, max 11

Move Silently:2, max 13
Hide in Shadows:2, max 13

Read Languages (at Level 4):0, max 13

Read Scrolls (at Level 9):5, max 12

In order to succeed at a skill, the Thief rolls a d10 trying to roll below the skill level.

Double 12: Every time you roll a 12, roll again. A double 12 is always a failure, regardless of skill level.

Thief Skill Definitions

Scale Sheer Surfaces: This is not just 'climbing walls', but scaling sheer surfaces, viz. things that a normal person would just say, "That's impossible." Examples include the sides of skyscrapers, windy overhangs with few to no handholds, etc. However, some surfaces might still be outside the thief's ability at the DM's discretion.
Pick Pockets: As per LL, except for each level the target is above the thief subtract 1 from the skill.
Find/Remove Traps: Also works with Secret Doors and other such. Note that the DM will still require a description of your activities, and decide success, failure, and difficulty based on this. This is not preternatural, and is in fact a thing all adventurers do; thieves are just better at it.
Pick Locks: As per LL.
Hear Noise: Not just any old noise, but preternatural hearing - noises you wouldn't otherwise be able to hear. Picking up whispered conversations through keyholes, hearing footsteps far away by putting your ear to the ground, that kind of thing.
Hide in Shadows: Anyone can hide, but it takes a thief to hide in shadows. Area must be shadowy and dim, and you cannot hide in shadows while being watched. (If the thief fails the check, it is assumed he is still being stealthy - though maybe not with success.)
Move Silently: Anyone can move quietly, but it takes a thief to move silently. Thief must not be wearing or carrying anything noisy (e.g. clinking bottles, non-magical armor heavier than leather), and there are certain environments that either give a penalty to the roll or may make it impossible (e.g. nightingaled floors, wading through water). If the thief fails the check, it is assumed he is still being stealthy - though maybe not with success.

Thief Level Advancement

Exp	Level	Hit Dice (1d4)	Bonus Skill Levels
0	1	1	0
1,250	2	2	3
2,500	3	3	4
5,000	4	4	3
10,000	5	5	4
20,000	6	6	3
40,000	7	7	4
80,000	8	8	3
160,000	9	9	4
280,000	10	10	3
400,000	11	+1 hp	2
520,000	12	+2 hp	1
640,000	13	+3 hp	1
760,000	14	+4 hp	1
880,000	15	+5 hp	1
1,000,000	16	+6 hp	1
1,120,000	17	+7 hp	1
1,240,000	18	+8 hp	1
1,360,000	19	+9 hp	1
1,480,000	20	+10 hp	1

******

I'm thinking of completely removing Find/Remove Traps in favor of just giving Thieves a flat 3 in 6 to notice secrets and traps when looking, and a note saying they're likely to be better at removing them than other characters. That skill in particular bothers me for all the reasons it's bothered other people more experienced and eloquent than I.