Lord Bafford's Manor (Mission 1)
My best time on Expert: 13 minutes, 25 seconds
Maximum Possible Treasure: 1429
Introduction
"The most promising acolyte left us, not out of the lesser folly of sentiment, but the greater folly of anger. His heart was clouded, and his balance was lost, but his abilities were unmatched. Even then, we knew to watch him most carefully."
— Keeper AnnalsI have a simple job planned for this evening. Break into a guarded mansion, steal another fat nobleman's priceless trinket, and leave quietly. Lord Bafford is out of town, and rumour has it that the captain of his house guard went with him, as a bodyguard. The time is ripe for a bit of burglary.
The front gate of Lord Bafford's manor is always guarded, and the main street is far too exposed. But Cutty tells me there's a better way in...around to the side, more out of the way. One guard, and likely no witnesses to...complicate matters.
The piece Cutty wants is a scepter...silver, jewels, the usual adornments. It should command a high price. Bafford, like most of his kind, probably keeps his treasures on the top floor of the place. Close to his heart...and far from his servants.
No point in waiting. I have Cutty's old sketches of the place, and everyone who's going to be asleep inside already is. It's time to begin....
Objectives: Normal
- Sneak into Lord Bafford's Manor and case the place. The well house in back is your best bet, if you can get the key from the guard — blackjacking or pickpocketing him would be quietest.
- Find Lord Bafford's prized jeweled scepter, and redistribute it...to yourself. Try to do it without causing too much commotion.
Objectives: Hard
- Sneak into Lord Bafford's Manor and case the place. The well house in back is your best bet, if you can get the key from the guard — blackjacking or pickpocketing him would be quietest.
- Find Lord Bafford's prized jeweled scepter, and redistribute it...to yourself. Try to do it without causing too much commotion.
- In addition to pinching the scepter, steal 350 worth of valuables while you're in the manor.
- Don't kill any of the servants; they're harmless.
- Once you've achieved your other objectives, get out of the manor house and back to the city streets.
Objectives: Expert
- Sneak into Lord Bafford's Manor and case the place. The well house in back is your best bet, if you can get the key from the guard — blackjacking or pickpocketing him would be quietest.
- Find Lord Bafford's prized jeweled scepter, and redistribute it...to yourself. Try to do it without causing too much commotion.
- In addition to pinching the scepter, steal 700 worth of valuables while you're in the manor.
- Don't kill anyone while you do the job. No servants, no guards, no pets...no one.
- Once you've achieved your other objectives, get out of the manor house and back to the city streets.
Simplified Objectives
- Sneak into Lord Bafford's Manor, ideally by blackjacking or pickpocketing the well house guard, for his key and case the place.
- Steal the jewelled scepter with as little notice as possible.
- Grab 700 in loot while you're in the manor.
- Don't kill anyone.
- Return to the city streets.
Before The Mission
What You'll Encounter: Human Guards (Swordsmen and Archers), Spiders.
Starting Funds: 300, or 350 if you grabbed the vase at the end of the training mission. (Also, see the Game Bug note at the end of the Training Section.) If you did not do the training mission, your starting funds are 300.
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Starting Gear:
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Items for Sale:
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Since it is entirely possible to finish this mission using nothing but your Blackjack and a Flash Bomb (or your Blackjack and four or five Water Arrows), you can get away with buying NOTHING. You start with everything you need (except Flash Bombs, which you find inside the Manor). Since you can't kill anyone, you will not be getting into any fights, so buying Healing Potions is useless, unless you plan to submerge yourself for too long under water, or stick around when the Spiders are biting you. (Also, you find one almost immediately after entering the Manor.) However, if you wish to spend your money (remember, it doesn't carry over to the next mission), you may want to spend it on Water Arrows, to maximize your chances of hiding in certain areas.
Recommended Purchases: 4 Water Arrows. Total Cost: 200
Mission Notes
While this mission is pretty straightforward, there are some things worth mentioning. Most notably, in the beginning section, unless you have a weapon bared, everyone seems to ignore you. You can run all the way to where you want to go, and not worry about hiding in shadows. This includes the drunk guard outside the wellhouse. You can run right up behind him and no one seems to care.
At the top level of the Manor, there are two entrances into a garden area, with stairs up to some stone walkways. On this upper level, there are banners hanging in the corners. If you follow this walkthrough, then you want to enter the garden from the entrance on the OPPOSITE side from where you come into this level (i.e., you climb the stairs after clubbing a guard, enter the hallway, and turn left...on your right is a garden entrance...you want the other one). Climb the stairs, and there should be a banner facing you. Ignore it, turn right around, and move to the banner at the far end. Whip out your Sword and cut this banner down to reveal a secret passage. Follow it to the end, and you will find yourself in the room just outside the throne room, with the lone guard standing there. From here, you can jump down and club him with your Blackjack (a difficult procedure). I do NOT recommend this method however, as doing so can attract the patrolling guards outside this room, unless you've dealt with them already. And without Rope Arrows, you will have to leave the room into the hallway where the guards patrol, with them still moving about!
When playing Thief Gold, I discovered that using the secret entrance mentioned above, I could take out all the torches in the room below, then fall down onto the carpet and not be noticed. I do not know if this also works in the original Thief or not.
Someone has written in with a suggestion for an alternate method of entering the Manor: go in through the main gate! What you need to do is to get the three guards at the gate to chase you. Then run down to the alley where you find the cache of arrows. Keep moving forward and then turn left. This loops back around to the main gate. The three guards will still be looking for you, so you can just open the gate with the lever located on the right, and walk right in! (While this creates problems with getting some of the treasures, such as the one guarded by the Spiders, it is still a very original way of getting inside!)
Walkthrough
| Outside the Manor | Beneath the Manor | 1st Level of the Manor | 2nd Level of the Manor | 3rd Level of the Manor | Escaping from the Manor |
Outside the Manor
You start off facing the house you plan to burgle. However, this entrance is guarded too well for you to attempt entry. Turn to your right, until you are facing down the street, and move ahead. Ignore your first turning to the left...continue on ahead. Follow this path for a while. Pass by the clock...now, just past the lamppost, the street starts to rise. Once you are on the rise, turn to your left, and you'll see a little alcove. Hidden inside this alcove are some arrows: 12 Broadheads and 4 Water Arrows (you will have to look down or back up to see the Water Arrows). [NOTE: You can probably ignore these arrows...I find that I get through the entire mission with only using at most 5 Water Arrows, and none of the Broadheads.]
[NOTE: At some point around here, a servant will come walking down the street. Hide from him, or don't, or blackjack him if you like. I have never found that doing ANYTHING with this particular individual changes the game.]
Continue up the street. Shortly you will find a sewer entrance. Climb down the ladder into the sewer. Move forward, and take the first right. When you reach the four-way junction, continue straight ahead. There will be a left-hand turn. Once you've taken that turn, stop before reaching the next intersection (which is just ahead). Turn right, and you'll see a door. Go through it, turn to the right. There is a lever in the wall here. Go up to it and pull it. Turn around, but before you leave, look down and search the floor. Someone dropped some treasure here for you. Pick it up, it's worth 200 to you (Treasure Count: 200). Now, leave the way you came.
Once out in the sewer again, turn right and proceed ahead. Now, turn right, and follow this tunnel. Climb up this ladder, and exit the sewers.
Turn left once you're out. This is the way you want to go, but be careful....there is a patrolling guard in the area as well as the drunken lout attempting to sing. (You'll want to start walking here, if you've been running up until now.) Sneak behind Sinatra, and filch the key from his belt. Turn around, and use the key on this door to unlock it. Go through, and you're in the wellhouse. Jump up onto the edge, and then dive in.
Beneath the Manor
Once you surface, turn to face the direction that the water flow is moving you in. Move forward (you can still run), until you enter a circular room with water dripping down. Turn to your left, nearly 180 degrees, and swim down to the opening below. Swim through the tunnel, then surface. You're in a small pool with some floating barrels. Turn until you see a chest guarded by some Spiders. Now, turn again, and climb out of the pool on a side with no Spiders on it. Look down, then run over to the chest. Open it, get the ring out of it (100, Treasure Count: 300), and then get back in the water fast before the Spiders start attacking. Once in the pool, swim back out the way you came.
[Note: You can kill these Spiders without penalty. Broadheads work best, although after killing some of them, the others start coming after you, and you pretty much have to rely on your Sword, which is hard to use against them. Alternatively, I've been told that by standing on the sloping side of the area, and jumping up and down, you can lure the Spiders into drowning themselves. All in all, if you're after the best possible time, the run-through-them method is fastest.]
Back in the circular room with dripping water, continue following the flow until you see a climbable area on your right (quite a ways down the tunnel). It will be better lit than the other areas down here. Climb into the room with the barrels, and you've entered Lord Bafford's basement. Go through the door. (I'd start walking now if I were you.)
1st Level of the Manor
Once you open the door, there is a chest partway across the room, almost directly ahead. It contains a healing potion. Once you have that, turn left, and head towards the exit. Uh oh! Voices! Hug the wall, and listen until the guards move away.
After about two seconds, ease yourself out of the exit by moving sideways, and sneak forward after the guard ahead (the other guard will not be able to see your cross the lighted area). Once you're close enough, use your Blackjack against his skull. [Note: Since this area is pretty dark, you SHOULD be able to leave the body here without anyone noticing it.] Now, move forward, turn right up ahead, and follow this passage into the Manor proper.
You should now be walking on carpet. Turn left, and walk forward, towards a lighted archway you can see up ahead. You will hear your footsteps become quite loud as you walk over some metal grating, but it appears that no one can hear you when you do so.
[If you find that someone DOES hear you (although it has not happened to me), try the following instead: Instead of turning left upon entering this room, head towards the doorway that has a lit torch in it. Once you go through it, turn to your left, and move through the exit you see ahead.]
Just inside this corridor is a chest. Inside you'll find two Flash Bombs. Now, turn left, and head down this corridor to the stairs, and take the stairs all the way to the top.
2nd Level of the Manor
At the top, you should see an exit. However, in this room, directly across from the exit, are two more chests for you. One is flat on the floor, the other propped against the wall. Open the propped one to find a stack of coins (5, Treasure Count: 305). Ignore the other one, it contains a vase that makes a LOUD noise when you drop it. Turn around and exit the room. Then turn right, and move forward, past the first hallway on your right, past the room with sleeping beauty, and turn at the next right. At the end of this hallway, you can turn either left or right. Take the right, and enter the dead end.
Turn to your left, and there's a door to the kitchen here. Enter, and you should see some shelves in front of you. On the top one is a golden vase (100, Treasure Count: 405). Be careful in here! There is a servant preparing a meal. Leave the way you came.
Once you're back out through the door, turn right and follow the corridor all the way, and turn right. As before, this should end at a darkened area with a door.
SAVE YOUR GAME! This is a patrol area. There is a guard SOMEWHERE behind this door, walking his rounds. We want to give to him the gift of slumber.
Open the door. With luck, your timing will be such that he is just ahead of you, walking away. (If he's walking towards you, he may just see you and attack....I hope you saved your game!) If he's not there, then wait for him. You'll see him before he sees you. Once you see him coming around the corner ahead, wait for him to approach and turn around. As long as you are hidden in the shadows, you will not need to shut the door while you wait. Once he's turned, sneak up behind him and send him to dreamland. Now, go forward into the next room, turn left, and take the SECOND left you see...it should lead into a carpeted area. Head down to the end of this area just BEFORE the doorway. This is where we wait for the next guard. (You may want to save here, too.)
If you're feeling daring, you can peer around the corner and watch for him. Note that it is possible to position yourself so that when the guard makes his turn, you catch just a glimpse of him. (Be careful here...there's a servant that sometimes walks through this area.) The guard you're waiting for will be coming through the door directly across from you. When it opens, jump back, and wait. Listen to his footsteps. Once they start receding, you can sneak out, and bruise this guard's ego with your Blackjack. (Alternatively, instead of relying on your ears, which I find is not always accurate, turn around and head back so you're looking out of the room from the entrance you came in from. This way, you'll see the guard walking away from you, and you can sneak up on him then.)
Okay, I'm a bit turned around here now, and you might be too. So use your compass. You want to be in the room where you KO'd the last guard, and you want to head west. At the end of this room you should find a set of stairs leading up into a small, circular room. Take them. In this room on a bookshelf is another gold vase (100, Treasure Count: 505).
Ignore the other set of stairs. Turn around and go out the way you came. Once you're back in the other room, you should see two metal doors: one across from you, and one in the wall to your left. Go through the left one. In this room, turn to your right, and at the end there will be a bench, with a goblet sitting on it. Take the goblet. (15, Treasure Count: 520). Leave the room the way you came, and now head through the other metal door you noted previously. (You may wish to save your game again, to avoid the roaming servant.)
Head to the other exit of this room, but before you reach it, turn to the right and examine the items on the shelf...there are two you are interested in. A gold plate (50, Treasure Count: 570) and a gold carafe (50, Treasure Count: 620). Now, leave through the new exit, and you will find yourself in another large room like the patrolled one before.
There is a door in the wall to your left. Go through it, and head down to the end. On a table to your left, you will find a stack of coins (12, Treasure Count: 632).
SAVE YOUR GAME! This is another patrol area, and it could get interesting here. Leave this room the way you came in. In large room your in now, you should see an exit on your left with some stairs. Take this. Before getting to the top of these stairs though, stop. Pull out your bow and extinguish the torch with a water arrow. Now, enter the room, hugging the right wall, until you come to the opening with the stairs leading up. Wait here. (Be sure you are waiting on the RIGHT hand side (as you're facing the staircase)....while I've successfully done this on the left hand side, it only worked once.) Eventually, a guard will come down the stairs. Consider him Blackjack practice.
Once the guard is unconscious, head to the opposite end of the room, between two tables, where you'll find a chest. Inside is a bottle of wine (50, Treasure Count: 682).
Note: If you're fast enough, you MIGHT be able to knock the guard above out without extinguishing the torch first. (I have done so once.)
SAVE YOUR GAME! You may want to start saving your game at regular intervals now, if you haven't already. The uppermost floor here is patrolled, in several areas.
3rd Level of the Manor
Go up the staircase, then turn right and go down the smaller stairs into a hallway. Turn left, and go through door at the end into the library.
In here there are a few items of interest, but most can be ignored. The one that you are interested in is on a table against the wall, the furthest one from where you entered (200, Treasure Count: 882). Now, go through the door opposite the one you entered, and be ready for some fancy legerdemain.
[NOTE: In the library, you can find a scroll which is a report to Lord Bafford from one of his underlings. It mentions that the person was unable to find any information regarding someone named Victoria. This is probably a reference to Viktoria, whom you will meet later in the game.]
SAVE YOUR GAME! In this hallway, there are two Captains patrolling. If you see one approaching, just wait...he can't see you. As he gets closer, he'll turn and go down another corridor. Watch him...when he turns again, that's about the time the next guard enters this hallway at the far end. NOW is when you want to move.
Move forward, towards the lighted doorway, and hide in the shadows to one side. Now wait. When this Captain comes through, remove the key from his belt. Now wait. The second one will be coming along shortly. Remove the key from HIS belt. Wait again. When the next one (actually the first Captain who's key you lifted) comes around, club him. After you've hidden the body (be quick about it!) return to your hiding spot, and take out the second returning Captain when he returns.
[NOTE: If you want to speed things up a bit, and don't care about picking pockets, you can simply club these two the first time through, then get their keys while they're unconscious. But I like to be thorough. :) ]
Okay, time for some more pilfering. Turn back the way you came...you may have noted a door in the wall as you came down here. Open it, and step inside. Against the left hand wall is a table, upon which sits a bracelet (125, Treasure Count: 1007), and four stacks of coins (12, 12, 12, 12, Treasure Count: 1019, 1031, 1043, 1055). Now, leave this room.
Remember when you watched the first guard approach, then turn? Well, you want to go down that corridor now. When you reach the end, turn left, and stop when you come to two doorways, one on either side of you. Take the one on the right. This is a fairly long trip with a few turns, but no choices. So just continue on down until you come to a doorway through which you can see a tile floor. Move into that room. Turn to your right, and you should see a key on the wall. Grab it. Now look down, and open the chest at your feet. You should find a bottle of wine (50, Treasure Count: 1105). There's also a book on the table if you'd like to peruse it, but it's not necessary. Leave the way you came, taking that long journey back.
At the top, enter the corridor again, but go through the next door into the bathing room. Move around the bath (either side, it doesn't matter), and exit the room through the door opposite the one you entered. Across from you, you should see a small, circular area at the bottom of a few steps, with two doors. Enter that area.
SAVE YOUR GAME! Open one of the doors (you will need one of the keys you picked from the wandering guards). It doesn't matter which door you open. Sneak inside, and look into the next room. There is a lone Captain on guard in there. From your position here, use water arrows to take out two of the torches. Now, leave the way you came, and go through the other door you DIDN'T go through the first time. Take out the remaining two torches with two more water arrows. Now that the room is in darkness, sneak up behind the Captain. The floor is alternatively carpet and tile, so he may hear you a couple of times. Just wait until he stops looking for you before continuing. Once you're close enough to him, lift the key from his belt. You should also be close enough, or just about, to use your Blackjack on him. Do so. [NOTE: One time, for some reason, I could not get close enough to blackjack him. He always heard me and called for help. If that happens to you, wait until he's facing off to the side, and throw a flashbomb there. Then you can send him off to sleep with your Blackjack. Alternatively, leaning may also bring you within range to club him.]
[NOTE: An alternative method to the above is, instead of using water arrows to douse the flames, just throw a flashbomb into the room. Be sure he's looking toward you when you do it. While he's disoriented, run up and club him. While faster, and uses fewer arrows, you don't get the "honourable mention" of picking his pocket.]
With the Captain properly dispatched, go through the door he was guarding. To the left, on a shelf, is the object of your quest: Lord Bafford's prized jeweled scepter. Liberate it.
Go back to the circular room with the two doors, and climb up the steps back into the corridor. Turn left, and move forward until you find a door on your left. Go through it. Inside, to your right, is a table against the wall. In the centre of this table you should find two bottles of wine (50, 50, Treasure Count: 1155, 1205). Now leave the room, turn left, and go forward until you find the door on your right. Go through it.
In this room, there is a door directly opposite the one you entered. To your left, against the wall that contains that door, is a shelving unit with a candle on top. Go there, and you will find what is probably the hardest treasure to find on this mission: a ring (100, Treasure Count: 1305).
SAVE YOUR GAME! Another patrol area. Sometimes when you open this door, there is a guard right outside.
Open the door, and if you don't see the guard, wait until you do. If he is moving away from you, sneak up behind him and club him. If he starts moving towards you, close the door. Save your game at that point, and try opening the door periodically to see if he's turned around yet. When he does, put him to sleep.
Once the guard is taken care of, move down this hallway. Take the first left (stairs flanked by statues). On the table in this room you will find another gold vase (100, Treasure Count: 1405). Turn around, and go back down the stairs you entered by. Turn left, follow the corridor to the end, then turn right. Walk forward until you find the first opening on the left.
SAVE YOUR GAME! There is a guard past this opening that patrols between two rooms. Once he's out of sight, enter the room, turn left, and take the stairs up. Work your way around the debris to a chest at the far side. Inside you'll find a stack of coins (12, Treasure Count: 1417). Go down the stairs, watching out for the guard, and exit the way you came in.
SAVE YOUR GAME! Turn left, head down the hallway. Ignore the first opening on your left. Go instead to the second one. This is like the previous room, with a guard patrolling. When he's out of sight, enter the room, and climb the stairs on the right. Up here are some bunkbeds, with a chest for each. You want the far chest on your right hand side. It holds another stack of coins (12, Treasure Count: 1429). Go down the stairs, watching out for the guard, and exit the way you entered.
Escaping from the Manor
In the hallway you've just entered, turn left. Move forward, and take the right turn. Continue forward until you can turn left, and then do so. Up these stairs, turn left, and go down the flight of stairs here. (These are the ones you entered the upper level by.) In the room at the bottom, turn left, go down the stairs into the large room below, and turn left again.
Enter the first room on your left here. There are two paths to take here...one goes back into the manor again, the other leads out. If you can see it, you want to head towards a lever in the wall, right next to a torch. Pull the lever, then continue on in the same direction. The lever has opened an exit to the street. Once you're on the street, you've completed all your tasks. Congratulations!