Aliases are alternative forms of a reference. They can include actual aliases for characters, nicknames, gendered variations of the some [Classes], plural variations, and even typos.
“I swear, they’ve raised prices just because they knew we were coming. No love towards us Humans, and the local Watch has been picking fights with the adventurers all week. To make matters worse, it seems there’s a Human [Thief] that came in with one of the caravans.”
“Pshaw. It is a cowardly thing that hides and steals from us on Market Street and elsewhere. No one knows if it is Human or another, but the thefts are small. Low-level. No, I do not worry about such a [Thief]. I wish to speak with you privately. I invite you to my home for food and drink.”
This time, they saw a woman running back towards them. She was a [Thief], and her footfalls barely made any sound despite her rapid approach. She stopped and gasped out her message, panting as more scouts ran back towards them.
“[Rapid Retreat]. It’s, ah, a [Tactician] skill, although many [Thieves] and similar classes know it too. I heard Calruz shouting to get back over here, and I thought the rest of you would be right behind me.”
But she’d failed, even though she was always going to fail. The Watch had never been meant to protect the city from siege. There were over four thousand in the city that held over a hundred thousand civilians. They were able to quell fights, catch [Thieves], stop [Bandit] raids—
Vincent shrugs. He gestures helplessly at the dagger on his belt. He’s got a [Thief] class—although it was from learning to set and disable traps and sneaking around, not from stealing things.
He’s a Level 14 [Thief] with several skills that let him set traps, move around stealthily, and so on, but the levels have also made him stronger. We actually tested it; despite him not having any skills, he’s a bit stronger than another guy who’s as fit as he is. But he’s faster too; a lot faster. It seems there’s some passive benefit to leveling, but maybe it’s just the Level 1 [Hero] class he has.
Lyonette hesitated. Then she slowly closed her mouth. She was the thief, even if she didn’t have the [Thief] class. She hadn’t seen herself as one, but the Drakes and Gnolls thought of her that way. She had to humor him.
Generally, [Rogues], [Thieves], and people with such classes are banned from the Guild for a good period of time. But the most important thing, every experienced desk-warrior will agree, is tending to the adventurers. In their post-battle state, they are often grumpy, irritated, and as of such, tending to their needs is the highest priority.
How did one find a class? It was such an odd question to Erin—was it like getting a job in her world, or did someone just decide to become a [Thief] and start stealing things?
Some jobs the Drake could tell weren’t for her. [Farmer], [Soldier], [Thief]…those were easy. Others might have been likely, but they were impossible to tell, like [Guardswoman]. How would you even tell? Jasi had never lifted a sword before. And she hadn’t had a chance to try out any of the other professions in the city.
But who cared? The Antinium didn’t post guards on the room because there was no need for them to steal, and no [Thief] would ever make it this far into the hive. Then again, if other Antinium became Individual like Pawn, who knew?
Why didn’t I think of it? It’s a reasonable explanation. If you assume there’s a class for everything, and that’s what Durene seems to believe, then there’s definitely a [Thief] class. And what better Skill than one that allows someone to pick out an easy mark? Or a rich one?
“Laken, it was amazing! I ran after that thief—I thought I’d lose him, but I just kept on shouting and someone tripped him up for me! Then I grabbed him and threw him down—I didn’t mean to break anything, but I was just so worried he’d run away! And then Raisha ran over and said that she’d never seen a dumber [Thief]—trying to steal from me I mean, and—”
