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Between Hammer and Anvil   (2026) TG FM

Church City Escape Hammerite Mansion/Estate Ruins Sewer

Tonight was supposed to be an easy job. As usual my landlord reminded me the rent is due, and since Cutty's been out of town chasing leads, I decided to offload some small merchandise with Hodge do... Read more

Videos  

Garrett TMT
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THIEF FAN-MISSION: Between Hammer and Anvil | [Expert][German]
marbleman
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Thief Gold FM - Between Hammer and Anvil - Ghost / Full Loot Walkthrough
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TafferBoy plays Between Hammer and Anvil
Master of Dromed
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Thief Gold Fan Mission: Between Hammer and Anvil - Part 2 [Expert] [English]
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Thief Gold Fan Mission: Between Hammer and Anvil - Part 1 [Expert] [English]

 

Screenshots


info NOTES:     .
- NewDark 1.28 or above is required. The FM will let you know if you're on the wrong version.
- This FM was designed to be played without visual enhancements or mods. I can't guarantee it will look/function as intended otherwise.
- If at any point you feel like you're being forced to ghost, you're likely going the wrong way.

Known bugs:
- Playtesters reported one particular patrol that sometimes doesn't seem to start when it should. It seems to happen randomly and I haven't managed to reproduce it myself, but it shouldn't prevent you from completing any objectives.
- One of the Hammerites in the chapel sometimes opens and closes the double doors without walking through when trying to get back inside. He usually gets it on his second attempt.

v1.1 changes:
- Fixed some awkward bits of terrain to prevent players from getting trapped
- Hodge's Ledger now slides more easily down the Hammerite furnace chute
- Added an extra holy water vial for Normal and Hard difficulty
- Added a few extra Runtime Object Shadows where appropriate
- Changed book art for Hodge's inventory to show next page indicators, courtesy of TBP
- Fixed a few texture alignments and usages
- Fixed a few missing ambients
- Cleaned up unused patrols left over from beta

Author

sub-res   Missions
Author



Briefing

Tonight was supposed to be an easy job. As usual my landlord reminded me the rent is due, and since Cutty's been out of town chasing leads, I decided to offload some small merchandise with Hodge down in the Old Quarter. As we were negotiating my price in an alleyway behind the public house, some sort of commotion broke out in the northeast. Before we knew it, the Hammers and the City Watch were pouring into the streets to investigate.

Hodge panicked and must've thought I sold him out. He snatched my loot and took off -- only to run head-first into a pack of bloodthirsty Hammers. It ended about as well as could be expected for a man with a bag full of stolen goods in his hands. As for myself, I managed to slip away unseen and hunkered down in a collapsed garden wall for now. From the occasional calls and barks, it sounds like some of my fellow thieves botched a break-in in at one Lord Caffrey's estate, and one of them managed to slip away in the ensuing chaos.

I should know better than to stick around in the middle of a manhunt, but if I could find whatever these thieves were trying to rob Lord Caffrey of, it might just make up for tonight's trouble. And if all the guards are out combing the streets, the estate itself will be easy pickings... It's a big risk to take, but I've got little to lose with the Hammers breathing down my neck.

Time to find myself some equipment and get to work.

star 9.18

I've played this FM:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Topics and Reviews

New Topic / Review


message   Overload of goodness.
taffer-kun    Oct. 9, 2026, 8:59 p.m.

Doesn't feel like the author is a first-time mission designer. There are just many little details, that feel like only an experienced mission builder can deliver. Though I'll be happy to be wrong. It's a sublime work and especially cool if it's a debut.

Nearly everything is set to ultra in this work. Ultra-platforming, ultra-verticality, ultr...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 2

message   Very Taffin Thiefy
RickMcKnight    Oct. 7, 2026, 10:20 p.m.

This was what an experienced Taffer would expect in a fan mission, keeps you engaged in all sorts of paths to take, and the vertical style is always a fun kind of map to explore, it has a good story line and plenty to do even if the objective are few, just getting all the required loot is an adventure of its own, well done Taffer!!!

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 3

message   Rewarding & surprising
Skelos    Oct. 6, 2026, 3:32 a.m.

The use of verticality in this mission was excellent. Paths linked back to each other just enough to be interesting, and I was able to learn the map easily. I never found myself surprised by any of the twists it played on me, more by how seamlessly it all came together. Remarkable work!

forum Replies: 1   thumbs_up_down Votes: 1

message   Pretty awesome (spoilers?)
Otiserdna    Oct. 3, 2026, 7:40 p.m.

Pretty awesome. Very vertical and interconnected, perhaps too much so, to the point of being overly confusing. A minimally useful map wouldn't have hurt the mission, in my opinion (if there was I didn't find it, just the piece of a map in the thieves' hideout). Also the ending dragged on a bit, I just wanted to exit after completing the objectiv...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 5

message   One of my all time favourite !
thehardyboyz    Sept. 18, 2026, 5:37 p.m.

An amazing FM, well built and well designed. Can't wait to play some more missions from this new author !

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 5

message   Reminds me of Rose Garden - the best compliment I can give
Thirteen1355    Sept. 15, 2026, 12:43 a.m.

Like Rose Garden - and somewhat like Compulsory Egress - this mission differs from most of the Skacky-styled city missions. Here, the buildings themselves are your main method of traversal. The streets are unsafe and contain little access to most of what this mission has on offer. You weave in and out of buildings, underground and on tiny balcon...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 2

message   Beautifully crafted
DeltaAharon    Sept. 13, 2026, 11:18 p.m.

Between Hammer and Anvil is a very interesting mission, with a very good use of verticality and interesting guards placements and patrol routes that will constantly keep you vigilant. Guards seem to have higher reactivity, however, it is not annoying and it adds to the challenge. The times they got alerted or I got caught was due to me not payin...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 2

message   Holy S**T
Taffin'Taffer    Sept. 13, 2026, 2:41 p.m.

Can't believe this is a debut FM. It is just absolutely and unbelievably fun, especially with how surprisingly vertical it was. Though, I'll never say no to more verticality and I sincerely hope that the FM Author brings that aspect into new FMs. Closet feeling/vibe this FM gave me is that of A Night in the Old Quarter. Superb!

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 3

message   Хорошая фмка
GrivzDS    Sept. 11, 2026, 10:08 p.m.

Переводя эту фмку на русский язык. Мне понравилось что написано в записках и не только, правда я от себя немного изменил записки воров, добавив немного шарма, изюминку и пасхалку на другие фмки где это было реализовано. Что запомнилось так это вариативность. И самый большой плюс всей фмки - доступность перевода, автор сделал качественно, что...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 0

message   Positively overwhelming!
Lesunia    Sept. 11, 2026, 4:48 p.m.

In terms of fun factor, Between Hammer and Anvil is among the very best! Never once was I bored, frustrated or stuck, and I think that speaks to how well designed the FM is. I'd let curiosity lead, and I'd cross off my objectives organically via exploration.

There's always a handful of paths you can take at any given moment, as the district i...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 1

message   Very very good, an instant classic!
Master of Dromed    Sept. 11, 2026, 4:21 p.m.

This exceptional mission is quickly becoming an instant classic FM like Melan missions. Is as good. But maybe is not for everyone, begginers may have trouble finishing it because it's on the hard side. Also is very big with a lot of places to explore, it took me 3 hours on expert to finish it. But I will not regret the time spent, it was a top t...

forum Replies: 1   thumbs_up_down Votes: 2

message   "You must be either Anvil or Hammer" - Some German guy
HenryDark    Sept. 11, 2026, 4:53 a.m.

All accolades deserved for this insta-classic, and the reviews have already rolled in detailing the top notch environs and atmos so I won't bore you with my own slightly altered praises. I just wanted to commend the author for making a FM that really feels like the Thief ethos is taken head-on. So it's a city mission, we've seen a lot of those, ...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 3

message   Masterful first mission from a new author
Daedalus89    Sept. 10, 2026, 10:14 p.m.

The type of thing that makes me want to be brave and actually do some Dromed.

A map that's large and complex, to rival other big 'neighbourhood' missions. Plenty of areas to go back to and enjoy once you get rope arrows. I'm generally not a fan of warrens of passages between buildings, but this was done in a really fine way.

Interior desi...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 2

message   Excellent city FM that is much bigger than it initially looks
JarlFrank    Sept. 10, 2026, 6:25 p.m.

This was a wonderful surprise. The author's first FM, yet it can easily measure itself against similar missions made by experienced dromeders. Explore a city, rob a mansion, enter many little houses on the way and discover a bunch of secrets while you're at it. It's pure classic Melan/skacky/Team Feuillade style city exploration, and the readabl...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 4

message   A masterclass debut, possibly the single best Thief Gold mission I've ever played. Holy moly.
Ermacgerd    Sept. 9, 2026, 9:02 p.m.

'Nuff said. Everything is here, and everything is done EXCEPTIONALLY WELL.

I could do with some custom dialogues and voiceovers, but hey - this is a plain Thief Gold style mission, supposedly. Just in this aspect though - every other thing is absolutely top notch.

Beginning in the middle, falling down, deep into the vast sewers and tunnels...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 4

message   Wooo!
Arktander    Sept. 9, 2026, 7:19 p.m.

For a time I thought the Thief Fan Mission era was winding down, and another new author blows out of the gate at ninety miles an hour.

Between Hammer and Anvil could be considered a Master class in the art. The objectives are simple and pure workaday Thief. The environment is thick and twisted, with innumerable side passages and canals and ...

forum Replies: 0   thumbs_up_down Votes: 3