the later (Moldvay and Mentzer) editions of the Basic Set, they could be any of the three available alignment options (Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic). Thieves had to be Human, as this edition treated non-human races as distinct classes. They retained the same abilities (with the same high failure rates at low levels) as in the Original and Advanced games, and at higher levels gained additional abilities, such as the ability to read any nonmagical writing (including dead languages and secret codes) and casting magic-user spells from scrolls, both with a high success rate. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition The thief, as part of the "rogue" group, was one of the standard character classes available in the second edition Player's Handbook. According to the second edition Player's Handbook, many famous folk heroes have been larcenous like the thief class, including Reynard the Fox, Robin Goodfellow, and Ali Baba. In 2nd edition the term "Rogue" first appeared, used to describe the group of classes made up of those individuals "living by their wits day to day-often at the expense of others." In the core rules, these "rogue" classes were the thief and the bard. Thieves could be of any alignment other than lawful good while bards had to be at least partially neutral. The thief was the robber, the thug, or the "expert treasure hunter". They specialized in the acquisition of goods, stealth, and disarming traps. Unlike in 1st edition, 2nd edition allows thieves to specialize in skills so that they needed only a few levels to master two skills. The assassin class, a sub-class of the thief in first edition, was excluded from the second edition core rules. The assumption was that an assassin could be treated mechanically as a normal thief who simply specialized in assassination-related skills. The thief class is further detailed in The Complete Thief's Handbook. Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition The thief became known as the rogue in 3rd edition. Spies, scouts, detectives, pirates, and sundry ne'er-do-wells, as well as thieves and just about any other character who relies on stealth or a broad range of skills, are stated to fall under the rogue class. In fact, the character class still bears only three large divergences from other character classes, namely their superior aptitude for skills, their capacity to notice traps, and their signature "sneak attack" maneuver. The rogue class is given 8 skill points per