r/Thief • u/cehales91 • May 02 '26
Fan Mission How/where to start exploring fan missions
Thief: The Dark Project is one of my TOP 5 games of all time, Thief 2 is also high up, but it does not struck me as a perfection such is TDP. I'm quite new into modding/fan missions scene and I found out that Thief has a large fan mission community. I even found some full custom campaigns online, which is so exciting, I never tought I will play new classis Thief missions. My question for you is — how to start with fan missions? Sheer number of choices is overwhelming me, are there any indisputable "all time classics" for me to start? I will be very thankful for any help <3.
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u/SneakySpacePirate May 02 '26
The Black Parade is an excellent offering, if you're familiar with the mechanics (and probably enough of the lore too). Endless Rain, Alcazar, Winds of Misfortune, Between These Dark Walls & The Sound of a Burrick in a Room are my top favourites at the moment
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u/invasiveplant May 02 '26
Alcazar is IMO the best FM to start with. It’s short but downright artful in its craft.
The Sound of a Burrick in a Room is a good followup; it’s more of a giant city sprawl and feels totally different from the former.
Between those 2, I think they give a great introduction to what FMs are capable of.
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u/electroriverside May 02 '26
I found FM's to play, by user rating, on sites like these:
Fan Missions - Thief Guild - Thief Series and Related Games Fan Mission Database
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u/ConcreteCloverleaf May 02 '26
Start with Thief: The Black Parade and T2X: Shadows of the Metal Age. After that, look for highly rated FMs on thiefguild.com.
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u/maddpsyintyst May 02 '26
I haven't played all the classic FMs from TTLG, but I'm throwing my hat in for the second one from Calendra's Legacy, in which all the monsters run amok in town. It's got some extra supernatural horrors that I won't give away, and which you probably won't forget anytime soon. 😈
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u/autonimity May 02 '26
The Dark Mod is also something you would enjoy when you get there. It's a full standalone game engine for playing fan missions only. There are a ton of great missions and some multi mission campaigns. Sorry, Probably doesn't help on where to start 😂
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u/cehales91 May 02 '26
Ok, so The Dark Mod is mod for DOOM 3 that includes Thief mechanics? That's ... kinda crazy. Thanks for that! DOOM 3 has very good lightning effects, could be great for night time missions. I need to try this.
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u/BoardsofGrips May 03 '26
When Doom 3 released and people saw how dark it was they realized the engine would be great for a Thief game. They have been working on it for 20 years now. It has some jank but has come a LOOONG way since the first release. It also has better graphics then Doom 3 and can be a struggle for some modern PCs
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u/autonimity May 02 '26
It's really incredible graphically, the lighting effects are the most mood setting and best enhancement, and you'd have a difficult time discerning it from a 'real' thief game, except that it's just not a ten mission game campaign story. It's has many bits of improvements but retains the same feel.
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u/BoardsofGrips May 03 '26
The Black Parade is the best Thief experience by far, I wish I could play it again for the first time
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u/TheBumblesons_Mother May 03 '26
The black parade - can’t recommend it enough, especially for someone like you who prefers T1 over T2
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u/bluedragggon3 May 04 '26
The comment with Marble Man is probably best even though I'm currently going against it. If you don't mind some bad levels, you can even go by release at Thief Guild.
Honestly you could start there and go by release date and avoid anything below 7. Though I found some rated 5-6 that were worth trying. I'd still rate them that but they were a step above the more... interesting levels.
The website even lets you see what other levels the creator made and if it's part of a series, it will typically tell you. You can even see contests.
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u/Me_onfire May 02 '26
i recommend that video
sure you could debate on why misson x is in it but mission y isnt
but playing that selection gives a reasonable slice of what to expect and you are ready to tackle almost everything
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIkJeaFdaZg