My fighter/thief attacks from behind the back of enemies constantly and she scored very few backstabs over the course of my Dark sun 1 playthrough (maybe 5 to 10 and I'm generous). Currently just started Dark sun 2, and you guess it, ZERO backstabs so far.

What am I doing wrong?
I read some comments that you need to backstab from the opposite side of the side that you attacked. Huh? With another character? Meaning I can only backstab after my other fighters have landed their first attacks?

Does that mean that in any battle, if the fighter/thief moved first she will never be able to backstab no matter from what position she attacked the enemy?

Please enlighten me.

I only played Wake of the Ravager once, and I remember that backstabs in that game were SO finicky that I eventually gave up on trying to do them. >.< It's a lot easier in Shattered Lands where if you're attacking from behind the enemy, it will almost certainly be a backstab.

Most of this is correct--a backstab is essentially a combo attack requiring you to set up with one attacker, then have your thief attack while standing exactly on the opposite side of the first attacker. The enemy cannot act in the meantime, or the process resets. It's the same process in both games. You might find the "Wait" command can help you manage turn order, I've never fooled around with it much.

Problem is the Dark Sun games don't show the enemy turning around to face the first attacker like the Gold Box series games do, it's largely the same rule. So if you're trying to lure the enemy to move or attack in a specific direction, and have your thief attack its back, you'll be foiled every single time.

Now, I have run into situations where my very first "force attack" on an enemy before combat begins is a backstab, even on enemies that are hostile (not that this is usually even possible). I have no clue how that works.