Hi, I'm new to DMing and a player has chosen a Rogue. How does Thieve's Cant work if this is the only pc that is a rogue? How does a DM go about getting secret messages conveyed and stuff?
A typical rogue PC will only be able to make significant use of it to talk to the sorts of NPCs that would know thieves' cant, but there is also the option of teaching it to the rest of the party as a language during downtime.
I've been playing D&D since 1986, and I don't think I have ever seen Thieves' cant be useful in any way.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
It is a mechanic that a clever DM can utilize to help make normally mundane encounters more interesting...
Example: the party visits a shop for your standard equipment...armor, shields, healing potions, etc...
The rogue, though, tilts their head and begins sneakily gesturing in a peculiar way. The shopkeeper blinks, nods, and escorts the rogue and one other party member to a room in the back...filled with better items from the underground black market.
+1 Shield or Longsword, some cool potions, maybe even a magic item.
Alternatively, the party gets hired by the city guard as extra security to protect an influential noble giving a speech in the town square. The rogue, with Thieves Cant, recognizes that several innocent-looking people in the crowd are gesturing in Thieve's Cant, realizing that they are positioned in key places to assassinate the bodyguards and the noble.
If they spot this, the rogue can perhaps use their own Thieves Cant to disrupt their attack...or simply warn the guards ahead of time, maybe saving some of them (DM can roll a dice to determine how many the rogue saves). Or even point out one of them has a knife or crossbow and see if the crowd mobs them : ).
My suggestion for Thieves Cant for players is...try to use it frequently (maybe not constantly, but perhaps once per session), and see if your DM will catch on that you're eager to try it out.
They might create a scenario where it'll come in handy.
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Hi, I'm new to DMing and a player has chosen a Rogue. How does Thieve's Cant work if this is the only pc that is a rogue? How does a DM go about getting secret messages conveyed and stuff?
THANKS
I think of it as a way to use phrases in everyday conversation that have a hidden meaning to the initiated.
Maybe this video can give you ideas:
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
That's amazing. Thank you so much!!!
A typical rogue PC will only be able to make significant use of it to talk to the sorts of NPCs that would know thieves' cant, but there is also the option of teaching it to the rest of the party as a language during downtime.
That's a pretty cool idea. Thank you!
In my game I've used Thieves Cant to communicate in limited sign language.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I've been playing D&D since 1986, and I don't think I have ever seen Thieves' cant be useful in any way.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
its used primarily to one-up druids who try to communicate in Druidic
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
It is a mechanic that a clever DM can utilize to help make normally mundane encounters more interesting...
Example: the party visits a shop for your standard equipment...armor, shields, healing potions, etc...
The rogue, though, tilts their head and begins sneakily gesturing in a peculiar way. The shopkeeper blinks, nods, and escorts the rogue and one other party member to a room in the back...filled with better items from the underground black market.
+1 Shield or Longsword, some cool potions, maybe even a magic item.
Alternatively, the party gets hired by the city guard as extra security to protect an influential noble giving a speech in the town square. The rogue, with Thieves Cant, recognizes that several innocent-looking people in the crowd are gesturing in Thieve's Cant, realizing that they are positioned in key places to assassinate the bodyguards and the noble.
If they spot this, the rogue can perhaps use their own Thieves Cant to disrupt their attack...or simply warn the guards ahead of time, maybe saving some of them (DM can roll a dice to determine how many the rogue saves). Or even point out one of them has a knife or crossbow and see if the crowd mobs them : ).
My suggestion for Thieves Cant for players is...try to use it frequently (maybe not constantly, but perhaps once per session), and see if your DM will catch on that you're eager to try it out.
They might create a scenario where it'll come in handy.