OM T1 Lord Bafford's Manor/walkthrough

This is a detailed walkthrough and analysis of the second mission of the games Thief: The Dark Project and Thief Gold.

Mission Overview[]

This is a fairly easy mission for both regular play and ghosting. It can be considered as an extension of the tutorial mission. One can practice the skills of sneaking and loot finding. Playing on Expert can also train one in the appreciation of human lives (no kills) and the skill of not only getting in, but back out when the objectives are done.

Why you shouldn't try the Front Gate[]

The front gate near your starting position isn't an impassable barrier. It can be opened by a lever, hidden a little bit, to the upper right side of the gate. Although the first objective suggests going through the well house, you will still complete it even by going trough the front gate. This offers a much quicker entrance to Bafford's Manor, than the 10 times longer way through the sewers. However there are a few reasons this is not a good idea.

First and foremost you will definitely alert the gate guards and this is not a stealthy approach. It won't do if you are ghosting, following the "Lytha way" or any other gameplay style. Furthermore you will still have to go back through the sewers in order to get all the loot. The guards at the gate look like ordinary sloppy Bafford guards, but in fact are Bafford Front Gate Guards. They have 2.5 times more health and one of them is an archer. Even if you make it through them, there are a couple additional bowmen guarding the manor's lobby from high guard posts, who will shoot you if they spot you. You can use the shadows there to evade them and then try to shake off the front gate guards, but if you are new to the game this will be a difficult task.

Even so it is a fun experience to get a few guards angry and you can still complete the mission in this way.

Shop Advice[]

In the shop you'll have a starting 300 loot + 50 if you picked the vase at the end of A Keeper's Training. This mission is fairly easy though, so you won't necessarily need to add any additional equipment to the tools you already have. But if you like to spend the money you can buy a Healing Potion and Water Arrows or just Water Arrows. They'll help you put out some light sources in order to move around easily and which is useful if you are new to the game.

Items and Objectives list[]

Keys[]

Silver Key - Well House Key, opens the well house door
Orange (Bronze) Key - Throne Room Key, opens the two doors that lead to the throne room

Valuables[]

Lord Bafford's Scepter

Objectives[]

Sneak into Lord Bafford's manor and case the place - Can be done either via the Well House and Sewers (appropriate) or via the Front Gate (inappropriate).
Find Lord Bafford's prized jeweled scepter, and redistribute it... to yourself - The Scepter is in the Throne Room which is the easternmost room of the second floor.
Don't kill any of the servants; they're harmless (Hard) - Forbids killing servants, but still allows killing armed guards.
Don't kill anyone while you do the job. No servants, no guards, no pets... no one (Expert) - There are no pets in the mansion. This just forbids killing of any sort.
Once you've achieved your other objectives, get out of the manor house and back to the city streets (Hard/Expert) - Exiting the manor can be done via the main gate or the side gate.

The Quick Way[]

If you don't wish to follow any specific gameplay style or you don't consider finding the maximum possible loot or any unnecessary equipment, and you just want to complete the objectives and move on, read here. This is for any difficulty level.

Approximate Time:

Master: 7-8 minutes
Novice: 15 minutes

From your starting point go south past the gate. At the junction take the left way. Ignore any sewer entrances and at the next junction take the left way again towards the East. Go all the way to the way house. Don't bother with the guards, just pick pocket the drunk ones key to the well house and enter it. Drop to the lower sewers and start swimming to the other end. Go straight trough the big round room with the dripping water (ignoring the spider cave). When you reach the other end of the sewer, emerge from the water and enter the mansion through a big hole in the wall to your right (Sneak into the mansion objective complete). You'll find yourself in a room with barrels. Go to the other side and through the door. In the next room turn left right away and hug the left wall. Wait near the doorway at the end of the room for the guards to finish their conversation. When they go on their patrols emerge from the shadows and follow the left guard - the one that goes to the east corridor. Wait for him to turn right (south) and blackjack him, saving a lot of time that way. Go south to the big dark room and turn left. Go through the doorway and turn left into the corridor there. When you reach the end of the corridor go up the spiral stairs.

In the room at the top go through the door way to the south to exit it. In the stone corridor turn left and left again. When you reach the fork take the right corridor. When you reach the end turn left and go towards the darkness. At the very end of the corridor there is a door. Open it. On the other side there is another drunk guard. Blackjack him and go to the other end of the room and trough the doorway. You'll find yourself in a larger longer room. The doorway across will lead you to the pool. But instead turn right and go to the other end of this premises. Open the silver door at the south-west side of the room (not the one on the west end). You should be careful for the guard that is patrolling around. Try to listen and determine whether he is coming before you open the door. In any case there is enough cover and shadow in the nearby rooms to sneak past or blackjack him. When you go through the mentioned door you'll find yourself in a gallery with lots of paintings around the walls. On the left there is a shelf with some bottles and glasses. On its right end there is a valuable vase and plate both worth +50 loot (Total=100). If you are playing on Normal you can ignore the loot. Go south, through the long gallery room to the other end and trough the silver door. In the next premises there are lots of doorways. Take the one across to the south with the "B" above it.

Here you'll climb some stairs. In the next small room pick up the vase worth +100 loot (Total=200) and turn left towards the next set of stairs. At the end of the stairs there should be another vase on the table worth +100 loot (Total=300). In this room turn north down some stairs and then to the right (east) at the corridor. The guard here isn't much of a challenge and in a matter of fact if you play on Normal there won't be a guard here. Go through the door at the east end of the corridor. In the next room turn right and look on top of the cabinet with the candle stick. Next to the stick there is a valuable ring worth +100 loot (Total=400 / 350 loot on Hard achieved), which is a bit difficult to see. Go through the door at the other end. Wait here a bit in the darkness. There are two sergeants (one on Normal), with keys to the Throne Room. Wait for one to pass by and use the carpeting to get close and pickpocket/blackjack him. The doors to the Throne Room are located in a small octagonal room on the central-east side of this corridor. Use the orange key on one of the doors. In the next large room with four torches and two gongs there is another sergeant. You can put out the torches and sneak up on him using the carpeting, or if you play on Normal and Hard you can dispatch him with a well placed arrow (not recommended). On the other side of the guard is the throne room. The scepter is to the left of the entrance on a small shelf. Pick it up (find the scepter objective complete). The mission will end here on Normal.

Once you have the scepter get back out from the throne room to the corridors. There is an adjacent room to the north of the throne room. Loot it! You'll find a tiara + silver coin stacks in the north room worth +173 loot (Total=573). Back out on the corridor, go to the north end and open the silver door on the left (west) side. You'll enter the library. Take the necklace from one of the tables for + 200 (Total=773/ 700 loot on Expert achieved). Go through the West end of the room and into the corridor. Take the first turn right, up some stairs, and then left down some stairs. Turn left again down some more stairs. Once you get to the familiar long room turn left immediately and head north tough the door way. There should be a gate at the far end of the narrow path. It is opened via a switch on the wall to the right. Go through it to complete the mission.

Conclusion:

All the objectives
Minimal needed loot
Faster Route
Ignored street sewers, spider cave, half the first and second floors

All the loot[]

If you wish to find all the loot and locate all valuable equipment, but don't consider following any specific gameplay style read on. This is the main walkthrough. You can use any method allowed by the mission objectives. Note that all loot and equipment count is according Expert difficulty.

Goal: 1429

Approximate Time:

Master: 13-15 minutes
Novice: 25-30 minutes

The Streets[]

From your starting point go south, because there is nothing up the east street. You can stop next to the gate and listen to the world famous Bear Pits conversation of the guards. They won't bother you as long as you don't get near them. To the South you will reach a fork in the road. Take the right street - the one that goes south though the small tunnel passage. Continue south along the narrow street, until you reach a bright gauge, on a noisy ticking machine, on the left wall. At that point there should be a Servant coming from the other side of the street. Here you should look for a small niche on the left wall a few steps after the ticking machine. Looks like someone left Garrett some arrows: 4 Water and 12 Broadhead Arrows.

Continue East through the street. You should reach a sewer hatch under a big lamp. Use it to gain entrance to the sewers (upper sewers). Once on the bottom of the ladder, face North, and go through the first tunnel on the right (to the East). You will reach a crossroad. Continue straight (East) until you reach a door in the darkness to the right of a gate. Alternatively, you can ignore the first sewer hatch and head East. Eventualy you will reach another hatch next to another lamp, with a guard comming down the street. Go down through it and you'll reach the same tunnel crossroad. Head East again to reach the door. Go through the door and flip the switch in order to open the gate. In the same room with the switch look for small Necklace on the wet floor (commonly mistaken for a bracelet). This is you first piece of loot for the mission: +200 loot. Head East through the opened gate. When you reach the end of the tunnel, climb the ladder and emerge on the streets again.

You will find yourself next to the well house, behind a drunk singing guard. On his belt is the Well House Key (a silver key). If there is another guard around wait for him to head on his patrol down the street. Knockout the guard or simply pickpocket the key and use it to unlock the well house door, right next to him. Once inside, all that is left is to jump down the well. Sneak into Lord Bafford's manor objective completed.

The Sewers and Breaking In[]

Although the objectives state that you broke into Lord Bafford's manor, ideally by pickpocketing the well house guard for his key, you're not just there yet. The sewers are pretty straight forward. Swim West along the tunnel until you reach a circular room, with dripping water from the top. If you look down through the water surface, you should be able to spot a tunnel (on the South-East end of the room to be exact). Swim through it to reach the other side. There lies the secret spider cave and a chest with a Gold Ring: +100 loot (Total: 300). The Yellow Spiders count depends on the difficulty, but they are no problem if you run past them to the chest and quickly jump back in the water. Head back to the circular room and then continue West. The sewer tunnel will make a turn North and you will reach a crack in the left wall, with light coming from the other side, just before its end. Through it you will break into Bafford's basement.

Going through the Basement[]

From this point the engagement rules change. Guards will attack you on sight and Servants will freak out when they spot you. Luckily, its not that difficult to keep a low profile here. The Basement is rather small. When you enter the crack on the wall of the sewers, you'll find yourself in a small room with big barrels with skulls on them. Go through the door on the other side to enter a bigger storage room. When you enter, there will be a couple of guards to the left. You won't see them, but after a few second you should be able to hear their conversation. Just stick to darkness and let the buffoons finish their chatter. In the meantime check the chest in front of one of the pillar for a Healing Potion. When the conversation is over the guards go on their patrols and split soon after. Take the East corridor and follow the guard quietly. As soon as you have a good opportunity, blackjack him. The corridor will make a turn and end up at another big storage room. Head East again and through the doorway with a crate on the other side: 2 Flash Bombs. Then head North and climb the spiral staircase at the end of the corridor.

When the two basement guards split, you can follow the one that goes to the South to explore some more interesting storage rooms, but they are completely empty.

First Floor[]

You enter the first floor of the mansion trough the servants quarters at its rear end. When you're atop the spiral staircase, look for a couple of crates at the end opposite the doorway. Open the right (upright standing) one for some Copper Coins: +5 loot (Total: 305). Exit the room and head South, past the second room with the sleeping servant in it and turn right (West). Note that in order to hear the servants conversation in the third room, you must run to it as soon as you climb the spiral staircase. When you reach the end, immediately to the right there will be a wooden door. Go through it to enter the kitchen. The servant there won't bother you as long as you stay behind him and not jump around. On the shelf to the right you'll find a Gold Vase worth +100 loot (Total: 405). Sneak through the doorway at the North-West corner of the kitchen and then enter the wooden door at the North end of the next room. Then head through the door to the left. You will enter the northern wing. Alternatively, knockout the servant in the kitchen, go through the door to the South and then the one to the West. You will enter the southern wing.

There are many way to loot the first floor of the mansion. If you entered the northern wing (default walkthrough way) continue West along the large corridor and enter the gray door at the other end. At the South end of the room on the other side there will be a table with a Silver Coin Stack on it: +12 loot (Total: 417). Pick it up and head back. To the South of the door you entered there is another gray door. Behind it is the gallery. Directly to the left of the door (North East corner) is a wooden stand with a Golden Plate and a Vase both worth +100 loot (Total: 517). Go through the door at the South end and then enter the gray door to your immediate right. On a table inside you'll find a Purple Goblet worth +15 loot (Total: 532). Then head South through the dark doorway with a "B" above it and up the stairs.

If you entered the southern wing follow the same procedure backwards. The three rooms of interest are the gallery and the two adjacent rooms to the West. Use the same doorway as above when you're done.

There are two guards to worry about: one that is paroling a small section of the southern wing and one that patrols both wings. If you went through the northern wing, then the first guard would be of no concern. The second one is rather easy to avoid, sneaking behind the pillars in the wing corridors. If you feel uncomfortable with him, you can use some of your Water Arrows to douse some of the torches. Just make sure he doesn't surprise you from behind a door. The third and drunken guard is of no concern.

Second Floor and getting out[]

Along the strait you should pick up a Gold Vase: +100 loot (Total: 632), on a shelf to the south wall. In the room atop the stairs there is another Gold Vase: +100 loot (Total: 732), sitting on a table. Head North down some stairs into a long corridor. The guards here shouldn't be a problem - just knock him out from the darkness of the staircase.The Scepter is to the East, but first you must grab the loot at the guards quarters. Head West and then turn North. On your left side there will be three doorways. The first and third are of interest. Enter the first doorway to the left (West) and head upstairs. Watch out for the patrolling guard - use your leaning skills to see where he is. At the top floor behind some crates there is a wooden crate with some Silver Coins in it: +12 loot (Total: 744). Head downstairs and out to the corridor. Then head North past the second doorway to the right and enter the third. Here the layout is symmetrical to the last room. Wait for the guard and head upstairs. The second crate to the right has some more Silver Coins: +12 loot (Total: 756). Head back out to the corridor and South back to the previous corridor. Head West, past the garden to the left and through the gray door. You'll find yourself in a nice looking room with a fireplace to the right. Just as you enter the room turn right and look for a small Ramirez Signet Ring on the shelf at the room's corner, next to the candlestick: +100 loot (Total: 856). Go through the silver door at the other end (East).

In the next series of corridors there should be a couple of Bafford Sergeants patrolling counterclockwise, in equal distance from each other. You can experiment knocking them out in your own manner, but an easy way would be to wait for them to come in the shadows near the silver door and use the carpeting to knock them out one-by-one. Just don't forget to take at least one Throne Room Key (orange key) from a belt. After this you can loot the rooms to the East with no disturbance: the first door to the right, taking you to a dining room and the last door to the right, taking you to Bafford's Scepter. You'll find some Silver Coin stacks +48 loot, a Tiara +125 loot and two Fine Wine bottles +100 loot (Total: 1129). Go to the middle of the corridor East of the small pool. To your east there should be two silver doors. They both lead to the throne room. Turn 180 degrees to the West and go through the pool room, trough the next corridor, into a small doorway and head down the wooden stairs. At the very bottom of the stairs there is a small room with a Fine Wine bottle in a chest: +50 loot (Total: 1179), and a spare Orange Key. Head back up, past the small pool and go to the Throne Room doors.

Whichever door you use to gain entrance to the Throne Room is irrelevant, but using both helps you to get a good shot each direction to douse all the torches in the next room. The guard here is quite tricky. He will use the gongs on the sides of the room to summon the other Bafford Sergeants to the throne room (which should be unconscious by now). If you are playing on a lower difficulty you can try to snipe him with the bow, but it would be best if you try to take care of hime silently. Douse all four torches in the room and approach him using the carpeting on the floor. Once he is down go trough the large doorway to the East. Turn left and grab Bafford's Scepter. Steal the scepter objective complete. Note that on Normal your mission will end her preventing you from taking all the loot.

Head back out of the throne room, back to the corridors and head North. At the North end of the corridor there should be a silver door to the left. Go through it. Inside the library there, take the Necklace, on the table to the right: +200 loot (Total: 1379). Go through the door at the opposite end of the room and head West along the corridor. Watch out for the guard here and use your remaining Water Arrows to douse the light in the corridor. Take the first passage on the right, up some stairs and then left (West) down some stairs. In the next room there is a chest to the right with the last piece of loot for the mission: +50 loot (Total: 1429). All Loot found.

Go down the stairs to the South, then immediately make a left turn and take the passage to the left to get out of the mansion. On the right side of the passage there should be a switch that opens the metal gate. After you walk through the gate your mission will be completed.