Blackjack

Garrett ready to strike with his Blackjack, in TDS

The Blackjack is a club like weapon primarily used to knock out civilians or hostiles without harming them. It is a reusable weapon which means that it never loses power, and that it cannot be dropped or lost.

Basic Info

Cost: None

Available in:

• Thief: The Dark Project/Thief Gold - always, except:
  • Unavailable in A Keeper's Training, Return To The Cathedral, and temporarily in Escape!
• Thief II: The Metal Age - always
• Thief: Deadly Shadows - always, except temporarily in Pavelock Prison

Attack: 1 point of damage

Stealth Bonus: Knockout

Usage

• One hit will knock out most unaware targets, not only humans but also most beasts.
• Undead, spiders, Fire Elementals, frogs and guards wearing a helmet (only appearing in Thief II: The Metal Age) can´t be knocked out.
• Burricks and Bugbeasts can also be knocked out but their unconscious bodies can´t be moved by Garrett.
• The hit must be executed from behind (Only TDS)
• Innocents can be knocked out even when alerted (except in TDS).
• Hitting alerted armed targets will do nothing but inflict a minuscule damage, however this can be a problem on higher difficulties as these hits still can kill them, resulting in a failure for most missions as killing people often results in failing your objectives when playing on Hard or Expert.

Tactical Information

Useless for hand-to-hand combat since it causes little damage, the Blackjack's strength comes from his ability to knock out opponents without making too much noise and without killing them.

Unlike the Sword or Bow it will not make the player more visible when drawn. However, this weapon is useless against someone wearing a certain kind of helmet, in this case it will only alert and hurt the target.

Sometimes it can happen that a blow with the blackjack kills civilians with low health (e.g. in Cragscleft Prison), therefore the player should take care when playing on Hard or Expert difficulty.

Appearance

T1 and T2 version

TDS version

A real blackjack is usually a relatively soft, flexible leather tube filled with lead shot, designed specifically for reduced lethality by delivering a heavy, but distributed, concussive blow. Though the model is relatively low-detail, the blackjack in Thief 1/2/Gold does resemble this. The blackjack in Deadly Shadows, however, more closely resembles a studded cudgel, a decidedly more lethal weapon capable of cracking skulls due to its hardness and small contact points.