On the subject of dead horses.

[Kankman]

Someone mentioned raiders are far too often complained about. It got me thinking about thieves. Remember when everyone always complained about pick-pockets?

Here's the question. Are thieves now better played; have thieves been generally given up on as a role to fill; have people given up complaining?

The answer to these questions will tell us whether or not its worth complaining about the way people roleplay things until the most persistant whiner wins.

[The hand in your pocket]

While I won't comment on the state of things anywhere else, I've found that where my character does business either all the other thieves are very careful about what they do, or there aren't any. They simply leave no traces - very little or no gear is missing from the NPCs, and even though peek doesn't list the number of coins in one's inventory, it's obvious that those NPCs who do have coins aren't robbed of every last 'sid.

It's pretty easy to survive stealing from NPCs - easier, in fact, than it is stealing from PCs. NPCs don't spam-walk. NPCs don't magically notice being stolen from when you emote it. NPCs, despite their lack of an AI, never unhitch you instantaneously when you're shadowing or following them. Furthermore, most NPCs don't hang around in guarded taverns like the Gaj and Sanctuary - once you do find them on the road, they're yours. Even when you're safely shadowing PCs, you never know how long it'll take you to pickpocket them, and by the time you're done with your attempt, they might have strolled into the company of two half-giant soldiers. It's simply not safe to try stealing from these people, or from any NPCs wandering at a quick enough pace. Finally, since any old thief knows better than to steal from people who frequent his favourite taverns, I don't bother with most PCs.

Let me give you a few tips for successfully pickpocketing PCs. Some of them are fairly obvious.

-If you go on a crime spree during prime time (or thereabouts), sneak. Hide before every attempt, and hide after it if you plan on emoting. The reason you're supposed to sneak is that, if people see you coming into the room before their stuff goes missing, they'll recognize you as a thief. Sneak and hide often, because these skills are far more important than just lifting items.

-If they don't usually emote, don't wait for them to do so when you plan on stealing stuff they might be using. The only exception is when you see them sitting and crafting - knowledge of the crafting code is needed to discern whether they're using all the items in their inventory, or a few.

-Waiting around in taverns, so you can pick through conversations and decide who deserves a good lifting, might be a good idea ICly. Realistically, though, you'll find that your prey sometimes emotes leaving the tavern, and bolts for the quit-safe room. Nothing wrong with that, but it does aggravate some people. Try to accept the OOC factors that prevent both you and your victim from enjoying a good theft.

-Make up a good technique for yourself; don't just rely on the code to show you what you're doing. And make absolutely sure the victim knows about it. Far too many times, people started to check their pockets *when I was RPing putting stuff inside them, in what would have seemed to be a completely legitimate way*. The exception to this is when you're dealing with a twink victim - in that case, use the steal command liberally.

-If you know you're dealing with an experienced player who can handle being stolen from, then for the love of God, role-play the scene.

-The dumbest thing that you could do, aside from stealing from a templar, is forget your hands are full when you need to steal from someone. Don't let that happen.

Those of you who OOCly know I've stolen from them might want to send me some comments via emailing the mud - tell me if I've been doing things wrong, in your opinion, or if your encounter with me was OOCly unpleasant.

[sarahjc]

These are awsome rules of thumb.  

I think if you want to play a happy thief, this is a good way to go about it.

However, my only argument to this is that IMHO stealing from PC's would be better, only because it's that much risker.. NPC's are great for practice.. But, PC interaction is definitley where the fun is. Just yes.. if you don't want to be up in here bitching about the Newbie that just fingered you in cause you emoted.. Look for the more well rounded RP'ers as victims.  

I got stolen from by a good RP'er a little while ago.. Said RP'er was a bit too cocky.. but the scene was fun for both all the same.. I didn't get my stuff back, but he didn't exactly get what he bargined for either..

That said, all and all.. it was fun.


:wink:

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

I was under the impression that raiding is a type of thievery.

[Kankman]

I was under the impression that raiding is a type of thievery.

Remember when everyone always complained about pick-pockets?

Very constructive.

As to the hand in my pocket, that was a nice post. Despite having played Armageddon for years I always love reading things like that. It seems to me that pickpocket-style thievary is being much better played recently, or perhaps it is just less frequent.

Horray for us, the playerbase has evolved!

[sjanimal]

Yeah,

Cheers to the people who are playing thieves lately, you guys are doing much better.