Climbing Daggers

Daggers have been used to aid climbing by thieves for generations, so it is to be expected that a more specialized form has been developed for this task. Climbing daggers have relatively short blades (some 6 to 8 inches long) which are stiff, strong, flat, and very sharp. This allows the dagger to be inserted into wood or between bricks with greater ease than an ordinary dagger. They can be used in all surfaces other than very smooth ones. The handle is also flat and quite broad, and usually bound with leather strips or thick string to give the hands a good grip, or even to allow feet easy purchase when the dagger is used as a step. Also, in place of a normal pommel is a broad, smooth iron ring. This allows a rope to pass through, or it can be attached to one of the straps of a housebreaker's harness (see Miscellaneous Equipment, below).

Climbing daggers may add +10% to wall climbing chances at the DM's option, although their main use is with a housebreaker's harness. They may be used in combat, but because of their very different design from that of a normal dagger a separate weapon proficiency is required for their use and damage caused is but 1d3/1d2.