Cleric/Thief anyone?

[thorr-kan]

I think Kender could do it as well. Handler/Cleric of Fizban. At least in the Gold-Box games (Champions/Death Knight/Dark Queen of Krynn) you could do it.

Not specifically called out in the Tales of the Lance boxed set, but doesn't mean I've missed it somewhere else.

[Zhentarim]

worship a god of thieves, thievery, trickery, shadows, stealth, darkness, murder, actions taken in darkness, luck, fortune, wealth and so on

examples:
Hermes(Hellenic)
Ratri(Indian)
Loki(Norse)
Anansi (West Africa)
Laverna (Roman)
No Cha /SONG JIANG (Chinese)
Bel(Conan)
Votishal (Nehwon)
Mask(FR)
Olidammara(GH)
Norebo(GH)

and so on. Many have sp priest entries already made, which is very handy, as the cleric type B weapons limitation (which applies in 2e but not in 1e to a cleric/thief) is a bit of a killer.

Examples from L&L
"Duties of the Priesthood
All of Sung Chiang’s priests are multi-classed Priest/Thief characters. The normal prohibition against human multi-classed characters is waived in the case of these individuals.
Requirements: AB standard, but must also meet Thief requirements; AL any evil; WP as Thief; SP charm, combat, divination, guardian, healing, necromantic; PW nil; TU nil."

"Duties of the Priesthood:
All of Hermes priests must keep physically fit and be able to run long distances (they must always select the running proficiency but need allocate only 1 slot to do so). They often serve as professional arbiters, since it is well known that Hermes sends his avatar to punish any priest he catches taking any form of bribe (15% chance per occurrence).
Requirements: AB standard plus Con 15+ and Wis 15+; AL any non-evil; WP club, staff, bludgeon; AR g; SP all, charm, divination healing, protection, summoning; PW 1) +1 to AC for every level up to tenth; 5) detect lie (no save); 10) always move as if under the influence of a haste spell; TU nil."

"Duties of the Priesthood
Priests of Ratri must sleep during the day and conduct normal activities at night.
Requirements: AB standard; AL any chaotic; WP short sword, dagger, sling; AR b; SP all, astral, charm, divination, guardian, healing, necromantic, protection, summoning; PW 1) infravision (60’); 10) darkness, 15’ radius and light; TU nil."

"Duties of the Priesthood
In order to collect a large gathering of followers, Loki is rather loose in his requirements and generous in his gifts. Priests of Loki may be of any alignment except lawful, and are not required to perform any services except those occasionally demanded by the god himself. When a priest prays to Loki for some personal gain, there is a 1% chance per level that Loki will send his avatar to help the priest (but never more than three times in a lifetime).
Requirements: AB standard; AL any non lawful; WP any; AR a; SP all, charm, combat, creation, divination, elemental, healing, plant, summoning; PW 5) mass suggestion; 12) shape change; TU nil."

+dragon magazine updates sphere access in sage advice

see various FR or greyhawk products for those deities (scarlet brotherhood, faiths & avatars, powers & pantheons, from the ashes, etc, etc)

monster mythology & demihuman deities(of the realms) cover your D&D fantasy race invented gawd needs

Yes, I've DMed & played such characters (inc assassin/clerics from 1e). They are fun, and highly variable in nature. The religion & alignment combo pretty much set the tone; many different roles are covered in the archetype(s). It ought be as commonly thought of as the fighter/magi, but 2e leaned hard away from "dark" PC's & didn't initially give much chance for the combo (gnomes per PH).

Loki sounds awesome.

[Annehn]

Interesting combination..

[GiantOctopodes]

In addition to the "cleric of a deity which works for thieves" idea which has been well fleshed out, I just want to point out a few other possible reasons why they would be what they are:

- The Cleric was taken in by the Church at a very young age, aka abandoned at the Church as an infant. They respect the Church and the diety which adopted them and complete their training as a Cleric, all proper rites, and so forth, and yet they can't help themselves. They just have a natural propensity to sneaking in places and grabbing things that don't belong to them (they might generously call it a 'curiosity') which they themselves don't fully understand. Questions about why they are the way they are might, in turn, drive questions about who their birth parents were and why they were abandoned, which, if not met with sufficient answers, might exacerbate the situation and steel their resolve to get those answers through whatever means are necessary. This, in turn, might drive their continued development along that path. This can also be interesting if their actions are or are not supported by the diety, as if they are, it might be a personal, misunderstood quest they are on to discover answers, while if they're not, how do they balance their piety against their nature?

- The Cleric was originally a thief, who needed to lay low and infiltrated a church as a hiding place, and while hiding there found the message and the diety truly resonated with them. They have tried their hardest to actually learn and be a true disciple of the diety, but hiding the initial deception which got them in there has required ever-greater deceptions and subterfuge, building a house of cards which must inevitably collapse. This raises the question as to what the church would do were their deception to be discovered, and whatever became of the danger they were originally fleeing.

Just a couple possible plot ideas for background for you to play with. Hope it helps.

[thorr-kan]

In addition to the "cleric of a deity which works for thieves" idea which has been well fleshed out, I just want to point out a few other possible reasons why they would be what they are:

<SNIP Door 1!>

<SNIP Door 2!>

Just a couple possible plot ideas for background for you to play with. Hope it helps.

Both excellent ideas. I find the first more conducive to a multi-class character and the second better for a dual-class character, but either works really well.