Thief of Fate is very special to me, as it was the first CRPG I purchased. My best friend got me into Ultima III on the C64 and let me borrow his disks in 1988. Before that I had no idea what CRPGs were, and had never played DnD.
I'd go over to his house and play Ultima III endlessly on my machine, while he was playing BT Destiny Knight on his C64.
Watching him play Destiny Knight made me want to try out Bard's Tale. Thief of Fate was already on store shelves by then, and I wanted to play a game which my buddy hadn't tried/finished yet and "make it mine."
So for that entire summer, and much of the next year, I played Ultima III and BT III ceaselessly. Can't even remember which one I finished first, but I think it was BT III...which would make it the first CRPG I ever finished.
Amazing games. I've been interested in CRPGs ever since. Thank Tarjan for emulators too, or I wouldn't be able to experience these classics again.