[LennonCook]

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: The sad fact of the matter is that, despite all the hype surrounding the Blade and how skilled he is with weapons, it's all bull. The only classes that have good THAC0 are Warriors and Monks.

The blade doesn't have good THAC0, no, but he has decent THAC0. Better than, say, a Wizard, but can cast spells just as well (though not as many). They also get a small amount of thieving skill (pickpockets). They are, in my opinion, the true meaning of a bard in AD&D - "jack of all trades, but master of none". The other kits can't use weapons as well (they lack the spins), but suffer the same penalties to their thieving and wizarding skills. While a blade doesn't have a Warrior's Weapon Skill, they have it better than any other non-Warrior.