Thief 2 fan missions and campaigns

I enjoyed "Up in the Bonehoard" (haw haw) for TG. "Return to the Lost City" for T2 is pretty damn great as well.

 

If you like puzzles, Doaal's "Sepulchre of the Sinistral" (for TG) provides some awesome Bonehoard-esque fun. You might also enjoy French Decay's "Breathing Corpses" (for T2)

 

I disagree. It's somewhat fun to play because it's challenging (and cheesy at times) but it also does things a FM shouldn't do. Like all the jumpscares. There's also the typos, the "count the scenery"-puzzle and the one path the FM takes. You're spot on about saying that this was designed for gameplay first, and atmosphere and setting second. The whole FM feels like one giant scripted sequence. It also gets a few things right, like the hidden passage in the executioner's room and some intuitive secrets. But yeah, "Art of Thievery" is better, and was only released a few months better.

But compared to FMs that have been released later this one has aged poorly.

 

That's because Ambush is one of the blandest missions in the series. It's much harder to top Bonehoard, which is one of the best. Some missions that compete with it include Heart and Soul (2018), Catacombs of Knoss mission 2, Tombs of St. Tennor mission 2, Darkstone Gems Pt. 2 Ch. 2 (Unexpected Detour), The Inverted Manse, and The Widow's Ire mission 1 (Valley of the Burned).
For lost city/ancient civilizations I like Gems of Provenance mission 3 (City Public Water Works) and Iron Heart. Both of these mix ancient areas with more typical ones.
For undead city missions, Lost Among the Forsaken is like Haunted Cathedral on steroids.

 

You should try.

https://thiefmissions.com/m/SepulchreOfTheSinistral

 

Thanks for the answers. I will add them to my list.

 

Not a FM, but unreleased soundtracks from Thief 2X:

 

Just released my new mission: https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150557

 

This sounds like the name of an Edgar Alan Poe story. Downloading.

 

Looks very ambitious.

EDIT: It's SERIOUSLY ambitious. With the possible exception of "Finals at the Academy" I can't think of any FM that has more collectibles in it than this one.

There's a tragic backstory behind the manor, and that is detailed in a 13-part tome, of which the pages are scattered through the mansion (I'm currently only missing the tenth one).

There's also a lock that requires four keys. Each of those four keys corresponds to a card suit, and to get each key, you must... wait for it... collect every card of the suit from Ace to King. Toss in all the keys and it's 70 items to collect in total. Fortunately there are in-game clues to help you find the cards... except I'm missing two: The King of Diamonds and the Eight of Spades.

Does this mean that I'm tired and bothered by hunting down cards? TAFF NO. This FM is the most detailed, thought-out, realistic manor heist-affair I've seen in years. The manor is large and comes with a detailed map, there's plenty to read, marble is used sparingly (light is a bigger overall concern) and it's an absolute joy to play.

And here's the best part: It has random elements, determined at the start of the game by the looks of it. This FM is a whodunit that mixes Cluedo and Thief. In my playthrough poor Duncan was poisoned at dinner, and I had to look up poison symptoms in the library to learn which poison killed him, and then which patron had a batch of it lying around, to finger a suspect. Alternate methods I've seen include stabbings, bludgeonings and poisoning via alcohol. Did I mention Garrett gets to pick one of four (five?) different points of entry into the manor? This one has replay value, which is rare for a Thief FM.

nicked If this had been part of the 20th Anniversary Contest you would have nailed the top spot! I'm in the home stretch of it, but I'll be very surprised if this doesn't score a full house of points just like "Lost Among the Forsaken" and "The Unbidden Guest".

 

No seriously, it's that good. It even has a room with little dioramas of critters fighting one another, like someone is into Warhammer Fantasy.

nicked Also, one question. I see two archer targets in some very strange places. I've tried shooting them but nothing seems to happen. Is there something to them?

 

Glad you're enjoying it! Yeah if you shoot both of them successfully, you should hear Garrett say something, then look around for a secret.

 

Although I technically finished it (I even found the murderer!) I'm still missing two things: The King of Diamonds-card, whose clue is something about being behind a door by a gravelled yard. Problem is that there's no such place I can think of.

The second problem is the hideyhole in the library. I've found it, but can't open it.

 

There are two gravelled yards at the front at basement level - leave the basement going west.
If you mean the upstairs hidden room in the library, there is a nearby book switch.

 

Finally finished. Took me more than 4 hours in-game time and I was going spare there towards the end, but this FM is just so vast and fun.

I ended up with 97.2% of the total loot, missing but one secret and with a whoppin' five Bonus Objectives.

This one has everything one can expect from a manor heist-mission. No Undead or beasties, but the tension and atmosphere make up for it.

Top marks from me, this one is Up There.

 

Oooh, this is a mansion heist? Those are probably my favorite!

 

Thief Newfag here, TDP finally clicked with me a few days ago and I've been stuck to it since. Currently in the middle of Escape! with the intention of delving into the FM scene once I beat the game. I was wanting to know, thread title notwithstanding, what are the premier Thief Gold FMs to you guys? What missions are of such high quality and creativity that a playthrough of them is essential before transitioning fully over to The Metal Age?

I already intend to give Endless Rain and Chalice of Souls a play, as well as Between These Dark Walls. But nothin' past that, yet.

 

1. The Order of the Vine
2. Calendra's Cistern
3. Bloodstone Prison
4. Lorgan's Web
5. Sepulchre of the Sinistral
6. Events in Highrock
7. Shunned
8. The Mystery Man
9. Autumn in Lampfire Hills
10. whatever the highest-rated few missions of the recent 20th anniversary contest are

 

As a newcomer to the Thief scene, you are in for a treat! I would recommend playing some old classics before you spoil yourself with the newer missions. (Once you play the newer missions, it might be hard to appreciate the greatness of the older FMs, though they are brilliant!)

To name a few:
The Vigil/Lord Edmund Entertains are great old-school TDP/TG FMs.
Turning the Tables
Order of the Vine
Bloodstone Prison
Ranstall Keep
Calendra's Cistern
Sepulchre of the Sinistral/Mystery Man
Autumn in Lampfire Hills
Etc...

Once you've gotten your fill of the old school TG FMs, I'd actually recommend switching over to T2 and old-school T2 FMs:
Benny's Dead
Raid on Washout Central
Calendra's Cistern
Heist Society
Temple of the Tides
Seven Sisters
Rowena's Curse
Ominous Bequest/Broken Triad
ANIR series
Seventh Crystal
etc...

Only then would I recommend tackling post-NewDark masterpieces:

Between These Dark Walls/Endless Rain/Shadow Politics/Chalice of Souls/Sound of a Burrick/Lost Among the Forsaken/Scarlet Cascabel etc...

Of course, if you're impatient, you can skip right to the later stuff. But I really think your cumulative enjoyment will be greater if you start early and work your way toward the later missions. Many friends I've introduced to Thief have found it hard to go the other way around.

 

JOINUS
JOINUSNOW
YOURSOULCANNOTBESAVED
INDREAMSWESUFFERTHEPAINOFCENTURIES

(But yeah, what the above posters said.)

 

Frankly, I've been playing Thief since release and I can't really stand the very low-detail old fan missions.

 

Noted, noted, noted and noted.

Gotta earn my right to experience the best, eh? Fine with me. Those Gothic-Punk Citadels and Baroque Mansions can wait a bit longer. Scarlet Cascabel looks great, too.

Joined and loving it. Does this mean I can make fun of Thi4f without being called a pretentious pseudogamer now?

 

Mister Familiar check out Bathory campaign by Sensut.

 

Gems of Provenance is pretty much everything I like in Thief condensed into 4 missions (lacking only a noteworthy story).

 

Shlock is right, the third mission of "Gems of Provenance" is brilliant, but the other three are no slouches either.

In other news there have been some new releases that we've missed. Venerable bbb returns with "The Hammer Skull", which was supposed to be his entry for the T1 Anniversary Contest. (Better late than never.) It's suffering from a few glitches at the moment, so I advise holding off for a few days until it's fixed. I played it briefly, and it's oozing with Thief 1/G-goodnees.

Then trefoilknot has the gall to sign up here and act all casual (Welcome ) while simultaneously releasing a new T2 FM, "Heist at Hilbert's Highrise Hotel". I'll give that a go and report back on my taffings.