Burglary: How to play an acclomplished thief

[Kol]

Ok, so, I have a few Character concepts, one being a burglar. But before I roll out the gates and rob you all blind, I'd like to know.......

what makes an accomplished criminal? How -should- one rob? Why.....even, what should someone rob? Is there a right way to do it, or a wrong way? Or is it all up to the individual?

Thoughts, opinions, and explanations below please.

Thanks peeps!

[Is Friday]

I dunno about burglars, but here's how you roll a successful assassin:

1.) Point 'nak and buy some sid daggers.
2.) Sit at your local bar. Proceed to casually flip your daggers in the air or do weird gothic things like lick them while leering at people.
3.) Whisper to people that sit at the bar that you have "a set of special skills" and if they know of anyone that "needs to be taken care of", that you're their man.
4.) Backstab the shit out of anyone that asks you for your real name.

[Taven]

I think the two sneaky guild people I played never actually robbed anyone. One turned into a merchant who just didn't make shit (and no, they weren't selling stolen goods).

However, there are some suggestions in the documentation: [Link]

[roughneck]

I dunno about burglars, but here's how you roll a successful assassin:

1.) Point 'nak and buy some sid daggers.
2.) Sit at your local bar. Proceed to casually flip your daggers in the air or do weird gothic things like lick them while leering at people.
3.) Whisper to people that sit at the bar that you have "a set of special skills" and if they know of anyone that "needs to be taken care of", that you're their man.
4.) Backstab the shit out of anyone that asks you for your real name.

Ha ha, ya.  That seems to be how it's done.

[Dakota]

If I was a burglar.. I would take a lesson from Easy-E.. and change the lyrics and tone to fit the rinth.

How to Jack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHWHEtoqTF4

"Nobody Move"

Yo Ren, you're ready to go get this move?
(Believe that, boy)
You're strapped?
(Yeah, you know it)
Let's go do this, man, I got it all planned out
(Yeah, shoot any motherfucker that moves)

[pow]
("Alright everybody...")

This is a stick-up, everybody get face-down
Ren, gag their mouths so they can't make a sound
Tie em up for the fact that I'm kickin ass
I got my hand on my gat, and I'm tempted to blast
My name is Eazy, but I go the hard way out
This ain't personal, but now I'm about
to commit a crime and go thru with it
You know what, no need for shakin, because I'm used to it
Take out the security guard with a slap of my hand
Yeah, he's wearin' a badge, but he's a ol ass man
Pump his ass in the head, and take his gun
so me and the punk can go one on one
Cover the lens on the TV screen
you know, so me and my gang just can't be seen
Lock the doors, and throw away the key
Close the blinds, so no motherfuckers can see
and smile, you know, cause I'm controllin the shit
and no sucker ass nigga's gonna stop the hit
Wardrobes and locs, and a Ruthless shirt
That means I'm ready to work, and rush a fool to the dirt, so

[Chorus:]

("Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt") [pow]
[repeat 4X]

(Alright, anybody move and I'll blow your fuckin head off)

Allright...
Empty your pockets, but do it slow
Take everything you got and lay it on the fuckin floor
Don't make me have to set an example today
and blow one of you crazy motherfuckers away
I'm in a bank, and it's a little bit funny
takin all you stupid motherfuckers' money
Peepin at a bitch cause my dick's on hard
Laughin at the dumb ass security guard
who's tied up for the moment, not sayin' a word
I should have known it before, the motherfucker's a nerd
But back to the bitches I'm peepin
and then untie the hoe, so I can start creepin
Took her to the backroom, about to jack
Cold trailed the bitch, with a gun in the back
I said: "Lay down, and unbutton your bra!"
There was the biggest titties that a nigga ever saw
I said: "Damn", then the air got thinner
Only thought in my mind, was goin' up in her
The suspense was makin' me sick
She took her panties down and the bitch had a dick!
I said: "Damn", dropped the gat from my hand
(What I thought was a bitch, was nothing but a man)
Put the gat to his legs, all the way up his skirt
because this is one faggot that I had to hurt, so

[Chorus]

(I said get down. I want you all face-down on the floor
Anybody moves and I shoot)

Stackin up the money and there's more to collect
cause I don't give a fuck, I take traveler's checks
Yo, Ren, peep out the window, and tell me what you see
(Three motherfuckin police starin at me; what to do now?)
Hurry up and get on
Allright, tell me, who is the motherfuckin alarm?
I'm a give ya a chance, and count to three
or else five of ya bitches are comin with me
([Police:] Allright, Allright, come out niggaz, or we're coming in
This is the only chance to turn yourself in)
Fuck you! We got hostages, and plenty of loot
and don't give a damn and not afraid to shoot
We're sendin out the hostages, all except five
and if you don't meet our demands, they won't stay alive
We want a copter, so we can get away clean
and take some pussy along, if you know what I mean
One hostage got brave, and got off the floor
but I smoked his ass before he got to the door
([Police:] They shot a hostage, they shot a hostage!)
([MC Ren:] You stupid motherfucker tryin' to run
now you're dead as fuck tryin' to race a gun)
([Police:] Allright, this is the last chance to get off your ass
or else the tear gas is about to blast)
I ran to the back and Ren followed behind
to a hell of a spot that was hard to find
The bank was fucked up, the shit was smokin
with screamin hostages, runnin and chokin
Gettin away, but I was suddenly stopped
at point blank range, by a motherfuckin cop
And I hope they don't think that a lesson was taught
cause a nigga like the E was finally caught
My gat wouldn't fire, the shit wouldn't work
So, y'all know what time it is

[Chorus]

([Police:] Well I'm giving you five seconds to let us thru the gate or
I'm gonna shoot two of your guards)

(Hehe, they got me once, but they'll never get me again)

Wonder how long I would last...

[Old Kank]

Is there a right way to do it, or a wrong way?

The wrong way:  Break in, get all, escape.

The right way is up to you and highly subjective based on your character's wants and needs, but if you want to play a "good" burglar then you need to keep in mind that what you do affects other players.  A skilled burglar can rob people blind with impunity but doing so can leave other players without any form of recourse, feeling frustrated and ranting on the GDB.  A good burglar will leave other players with options for their characters to pursue which can create opportunities in game.

Just a few off-the-cuff options you might consider are:  Only steal one in ten items, alter drop descriptions to make places look ransacked rather than cleaned out, blackmail people with protection schemes, try to sell people their belongings back, frame other characters, only steal food, only steal water, and so forth.

[Gimfalisette]

I played a burglar in Tuluk who broke into her rival's apartment and stole all the food (easy but annoying for the rival to replace, since the rival was on a noble's payroll and got free food) and his prized snazzy cloak from Kadius. That was fun.

[Riev]

alter drop descriptions to make places look ransacked rather than cleaned out

This is always much easier for the victim to help roleplay, and gives you, as the burglar, some free reign over what you did.

Did you quite literally shit on their table? Because they're an enemy?
Did you leave something ominous in a place they would likely notice it?
Did you just want to go in and mess stuff up as a warning?

Start by thinking of the reason you want to go into the apartment. You can say "Because I want coin" but think long term. Once you have coin, why would you break into an apartment? Then, realize that burglars don't -only- break into apartments.

When it comes to pickpockets, realize there is a 'plant' skill that works off steal. I had an almost-successful pickpocket that used to bake bread in the Tuluki Warrens, and then plant a loaf on every NPC he walked by. He almost got arrested for nicking a few times, but he was "doing the city a service".

[EldritchOrigins]

This isn't exactly about burglary, but stealth in general.  When you're hiding and sneaking around, always reminds yourself that you're not invisible.  Try to keep in mind where you're hiding, what you are using for cover, etc.  This is especially important if there are other people/players in the room that you might actually bump into or something.  I'm not saying a stealther should give themselves away/up, but it is something possible that they should always keep in mind.

[JustAnotherGuy]

A big thing that I like to remember...  hemote, semote, watch & whisper

The first two are the big ones.  The big difference is that semote is a "silent" emote.  If you do something that is a silent action, if you are hidden, only people that can see you will see it.  Where as a hemote is a "hidden" emote that means you are hiding the action... big difference when you're the stealthy type.

Next up with watch and whisper, watch is important if you're with other sneaky people.  You watch someone that is being stealthy with you and will still see them (though this depends on skill).  Whisper is important (as has scared me shitless before), you can whisper to someone and not break hide.  I remember with one of my newbie pickpockets sitting in some popular place hidden and then I get some guy in a cloak whispering to me "I like your boots." and not see him at all in the place.  Also helps to talk to someone that is also hidden back and forth.

[HavokBlue]

Burglar protips:

1. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER QUIT IN SOMEONE ELSE'S APARTMENT. It doesn't matter how tired/drunk/high/whatever you are, if your house is not on fire, you have no excuse to quit in someone else's apartment. Besides the fact that it will be very difficult to explain when you accidentally log in on the owner getting his mudsex on with that Rinthi breed, you could very easily log in to the apartment of the 3810238-day ex-Byn sergeant who will proceed to obliterate you before you can escape.

2. Calling cards are bad and will probably get you killed.

3. Someone is always watching.

4. Burglary is more profitable in the long term if you take only what you need to survive/make a little extra coin for that new cloak. If people realize someone is cleaning out apartments, they're going to stop leaving things in their apartments.

5. If you go tearing through every container in the room, it's nice to arrange things to reflect that.

6. If you do things like walk past the door guard loaded down with a couch, two beds, and a cask of cleaning fluid, you are bad and you should feel bad. Realistically, he would probably question A) how you got into the building and B) WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING WITH A COUCH AND TWO BEDS

7. Unless you particularly hate the apartment owner or are running low on lockpicks, always relock the door behind you. This reduces the risk of other players getting OOCly fed-up when their neighbors see an open door and steal everything you didn't.

[Armaddict]

From my logs:

89hp 151mv 86st>You set to work at picking the lock.

89hp 151mv 86st>
*Click*

89hp 151mv 86st>You think:
    "Fuck magick, get a pick."


Hehe.  Burglars are great to play, but never limit yourself to -just- being a housebreaker, or you'll die of thirst.  Remember they have a very diverse skillset, which allows them to do a variety of things.  They are, in my mind, the true 'security expert' of the game.  Have fun with it.  Find out your character's 'routine' for breaking into houses...that doesn't mean evidence left behind, but the way they think while they do the job.  Do they lay around on nice furniture that isn't theirs and test it out?  Are they all business and no pleasure?  Why do they do -this- in particular...what's the benefit for their risk?

Don't empty out entire buildings.  Don't run out with furniture, unless you actually scout out a way to look normal dragging that furniture around.  Pick and choose things, leave things behind.  It's just better that way, and I can't really explain why...but where a pickpocket is all about robbing someone blind, the burglar has always been the 'loot snob' to me where nothing is worth taking unless it'll actually fetch you a good price.

Mostly...don't become an automaton while doing the deed.  Breakins are one of the few times that I really -really- REALLY enjoy solo play...just because of the -risk- of someone else seeing it, rather than the dependence of someone else seeing it.

[Synthesis]

Pshaw, you gotta have balls of steel to be a pickpocket.  Burglar is ez-mode.

[Reiloth]

Pshaw, you gotta have balls of steel to be a pickpocket.  Burglar is ez-mode.

Just you wait for these new subguilds, Synth...My Pickpocket / Master Dickswinger is going to own.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Pshaw, you gotta have balls of steel to be a pickpocket.  Burglar is ez-mode.

SOOOO very true.  Burglar is ez-mode once the pick skill is up.  Pickpocket... that will make you sweat and your asshole pucker.

[Armaddict]

Pshaw, you gotta have balls of steel to be a pickpocket.  Burglar is ez-mode.

SOOOO very true.  Burglar is ez-mode once the pick skill is up.  Pickpocket... that will make you sweat and your asshole pucker.

Noobs.  Apparently you didn't get to the point where you auto-succeed for pickpockets, or get to the point where you're breaking in on people, not objects, for burglars.

[Bacon]

Pshaw, you gotta have balls of steel to be a pickpocket.  Burglar is ez-mode.

SOOOO very true.  Burglar is ez-mode once the pick skill is up.  Pickpocket... that will make you sweat and your asshole pucker.

Noobs.  Apparently you didn't get to the point where you auto-succeed for pickpockets, or get to the point where you're breaking in on people, not objects, for burglars.

Not to mention that you can also be a pickpocket with a burglar guild pc and it's harder than using the pickpocket guild to do it.

[Synthesis]

Yeah, but you have to survive without the hide skill for a long time with a pickpocket.

By around day 2-3, if a burglar screws up, they can just post up with hide and go watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report while the crim-flag wears off.

[Armaddict]

Erm.  We should stop before we give away too much code.

But that is also another suggestion.  Twinkish as it sounds...knowing code is kind of...vitally important to survival as a criminal.  It will very likely take you a few characters to figure out.

[X-D]

Also, Know who's apartment you are breaking into.

I cannot even begin to count how many Burglers I've killed.  And afterwards thought IG and OOC, "What an idiot."

Because I will leave my apartment in a way that should let anybody have a pretty good idea at least What lives there, Be it 100 day Krathi of doom or Backstab your face 90 day assassin and everything in between.

I've played burgler types and enter an apartment, looked around and carefully gotten my ass right back out.

Sorta like in real life if you broke into a place and your first thought was "Huh, looks like a Mob bosses pad." Your next thought would likely be "Shit...time to go."

[HavokBlue]

All the best burglars clean out their mark's wardrobe, and then walk into the Gaj wearing it.

[My 2 sids]

Just remember in a world like this, thieving can be considered a job.  Meaning, like everyone else, your character should have a life outside of work.  He could even be a "nice guy/gal"

[TOOL]

Burglar protips:

2. Calling cards are bad and will probably get you killed.

If only I would have known this when I played one of my first and most successful burglars.  I peed in/on various items in almost every apartment I broke into (this was... 2004 or so... so it's ok to admit that, right?).

Yup, got busted shortly after.

[wizturbo]

Burglar protips:

2. Calling cards are bad and will probably get you killed.

Very true, there's really no value in building a reputation as a burglar...it'll just get you killed.  An assassin on the other hand...

[Saellyn]

My calling card as a burglar: taking some of your shit and -running-.

[AreteX]

I think random break-ins are something that people MIGHT do, but the risk involved with randomly going into someone's apartment seems to outweigh the potential for reward.  If you break into an apartment and you have no idea who lives there, or what you will even be able to steal it would seem a little reckless.

I think a burglar should find a target and perhaps even become friendly with them, hell, visit their apartment and take a look around!  Smile and sit on their couch, drink their wine, catch peeks at the stuff they have...  Then take it all in the middle of the night when you know they have the night-shift for guard duty at the noble-house they work for!

I think people might not do enough of the ROLEPLAY part of burglarizing people's stuff.  The part where you watch someone.  See their rings.  Notice them wearing different clothes everyday, silks and such.  But then, you find out while watching in Red's that they aren't THAT powerful, just rich for some reason.   Then you stalk them, find out they live someplace and rob them.

The random break-ins seems more to me like a group of people who run up inside a house caring not for people being home, and if they are, even better.  They can beat 'em and mug them too.  Take all their shit.  Kill them with bone swords maybe.  That seems like a house-storming move more than a burglar's idea of a good mark.


So, to Summarize:  A burglar is more than just picking the lock and taking shit afterwards.  The roleplay really could occur days and weeks BEFORE the actual burglary.  And if more people did this I think we would have less complaints about burglars and random break-ins and more stories about someone getting "wiped out" because a burglar did their research and knew just when and what specifically to take to gain the most profit.

[Bacon]

That's one way of doing it for sure. In real life though burglars tend to watch the place and not tail a person when looking for a target. Really the biggest gripe most people have is having their apartment completely cleaned out which really shouldn't happen most of the time. Burglars usually break in, grab a few things that are worth something and get out before the owner returns. You'll never hear me OOCly gripe about being burglarized so long as they didn't unrealistically clean my place out and even then, if they left my place unlocked, I don't know that the neighbors didn't take advantage and clean me out.

[Dakkon Black]

I think more people should make small IC mistakes a bigger part of their RP. Like leaving that 53 coins in your inventory when you are shit-faced at the bar, instead of put coins pack. Close pack. Every time you spend a coin. (not saying everyone does this, but it is a common and tempting habit, and probably appropriate for some people's IC mentalities and OCD's.)

Hell, some of my chars carry money in their inv at all times for reasons like maybe they were too dumb/naive about cities pickpockets not to.

Just saying, I feel like I haven't seen an elf, or a pickpocket since I started playing this game. Maybe that kind of change would help make pickpockets visible/popular again? I'm sure there's other ideas that would help too.

[My 2 sids]

I think more people should make small IC mistakes a bigger part of their RP. Like leaving that 53 coins in your inventory when you are shit-faced at the bar, instead of put coins pack. Close pack. Every time you spend a coin. (not saying everyone does this, but it is a common and tempting habit, and probably appropriate for some people's IC mentalities and OCD's.)

Hell, some of my chars carry money in their inv at all times for reasons like maybe they were too dumb/naive about cities pickpockets not to.

Just saying, I feel like I haven't seen an elf, or a pickpocket since I started playing this game. Maybe that kind of change would help make pickpockets visible/popular again? I'm sure there's other ideas that would help too.

The problem is, it's all a great big world -- until there's a thief.  Suddenly, everything shrinks down to a handful of PCs and the thief is quickly put to death.

[number13]

Just saying, I feel like I haven't seen an elf, or a pickpocket since I started playing this game. Maybe that kind of change would help make pickpockets visible/popular again? I'm sure there's other ideas that would help too.

The only thing that would cause a noticeable spike in the picking of pockets in-game would be a change to the code.  Either critical failure as a pickpocket should be quite rare, or the WTFPWN guards shouldn't care so much about petty theft.  Maybe a new SEMI-WANTED status that removes your protection under the crime code (so victims can choose to retaliate), but doesn't send in the hordes of half-giants.

Otherwise there are going to continue to be two kinds of pickpockets:  The very rare ones that spend X days boring themselves into a stupor practicing the skill on inanimate targets, and (2) the more frequent variety that ends up on the corpse pile before they've played a day or two.

The ridiculous risk of using the steal skill untrained is actually why burglars are so much more common. A burglar can actually practice their craft, do something actually sneaky (albeit with a slim chance of success) at day 1 without automatically bringing down the wrath of Tek. That's sort of backwards, imo. A guy breaking and entering seems more criminal to me than a guy trying to steal some string out of a half-breed's pocket.

[My 2 sids]

^---   yes.  this.
Thank you number13

[AreteX]

Victims retaliating seems like the likely solution.

I dont see the entire city militia and soldiers coming to take away that pickpocket who failed to steal 5 coins from someone's pouch.  Seriously.  Especially in this setting where you have sorcerer's and other shit to worry about!

I don't want to turn this thread from its original subject but I think it would be really great if the chance of someone noticing you taking something when you fail to take anything was MUCH lower, perhaps even the ability to modify a message when stealing.

For instance:  steal amos coins say (as he bumps into ~amos and frowns with a wave towards ~bartender) Feckin' drunk as shit!  Lemme buy you a drink!

The emote in this case would only be on FAILURE.  A successful steal would not be noticed.  This way when you fail your steal depending on the critical rate of failure(minor failure gives the emote, major failure shows your hand in the amos' coinpurse or whatever).  This way you could have a more realistic approach to failing because as a pickpocket, you should surely have a backup plan in case in a split second it goes from a good idea to "oh crap he's looking at me."


To the original subject:  I really think hemotes and interaction with people is the way to do things.  If someone receives roleplay from being stolen from I think they're less likely inclined to go on that OOC notion of "That guys a fucking pickpocket, fuck him."  Then when someone just sneaks in with a hood on and tries to steal some shit.

[Synthesis]

Right now, in both city states (you're still screwed in Luir's and Red Storm), it is phenomenally easy to (master) the steal skill as a pickpocket without ever putting yourself at risk.

The code doesn't need to be made easier, and player-hatin' ain't ever gonna change.

[Rhyden]

Code Select Expand

pick door e
open door e
get all
flee self

Jokes aside, the most successful burglars will steal their loot without their victim ever noticing, or noticing their item is gone after it's way too late.
The best of burglars will target their victim waaaaay prior to the burglary, and even know what item they're going in for before they do it.

[Synthesis]

Of course, if you're a sneaky/tailor and all that ever goes missing is my goddamn gold and silver dye, eventually I'm going to catch on to you.

[jstorrie]

Have you yet figured out that it's my sneaky/stonecrafter who keeps breaking in and salvaging your stone furniture?

Sorry. I can't find anywhere that sells the little wheel bits for couch-legs.

[Jingo]

At the lowest skill levels there's only a handful of apartments in each city you get to practice on. So that means you'll be breaking into the same places over and over again. Even if you arn't actually taking anything.

[Synthesis]

At the lowest skill levels there's only a handful of apartments in each city you get to practice on. So that means you'll be breaking into the same places over and over again. Even if you arn't actually taking anything.

Eh, this isn't true at all, from my experience.  I think you might be inappropriately generalizing from non-burglar burglary.

[Thunkkin]

I suppose I'm clueless about the crimcode... but the WTFPWN guards have never killed me for my non-theft crimes. "No save arrest" just makes sure my ass is hauled to jail. Sometimes you get to play with a templar. Sometimes not. Do they behead pickpockets or something?

[Riev]

I said it earlier in this thread, and I'll say it again here. "Plant" is a skill that is the exact opposite of steal. You do not have to walk around, dipping your hand in pockets to steal stuff day in, and day out, just to be an "accomplished" thief.

And if you want to be an accomplished pickpocket, you should be the one that can sneak into a bar, steal the weapons hanging off that Salarri's belt, sit at the bar, and have everyone point at the elf in the room.

Even in Tuluk. Sure, its an art form, but its MASTURR RACE if you can pin the crime on other people.

[lussien]

I think I'll just cause mischief if I ever have the chance.

[Qzzrbl]

Maybe a new SEMI-WANTED status that removes your protection under the crime code (so victims can choose to retaliate), but doesn't send in the hordes of half-giants.

This would actually be ridiculously cool.

[Synthesis]

Maybe a new SEMI-WANTED status that removes your protection under the crime code (so victims can choose to retaliate), but doesn't send in the hordes of half-giants.

This would actually be ridiculously cool.

It's called "night on the streets."

[Ouroboros]

I agree with pretty much every point others have shared so far, except one.

Calling cards are a good thing, in my experience. First off, it promotes your reputation. Which can lead to good things happening, if played right. Second, it gives the owners an idea of who to speak with about having any items they particularly cared about be returned (more than likely at a nice blackmail cost to them). Third, it promotes rp opportunities.

Playing any shady class should never be a completely self-serving experience. You're basically a parasite, feeding off the pbase host. If all you're doing is feeding yourself until gorged... Well, either the host will die (and take you with it) or the host will eliminate the parasite (again, taking you with it). However, there are parasites that can have positive effects on their host, which in turn makes that relationship more symbiotic and less parasitical. Offer something back for the shit you steal. Be it rp opportunities, your services, or anything else you can think of.

My advice? Get licensed, whatever that means in the city-state you're playing in. Make contacts with your local crime organization and let them know you exist. Leave a calling card (kruth decks are great for this). Get some muscle behind your actions, to defend your making yourself known. Get someone of rank to back you and possibly ensure you don't need to steal to survive. Yes, putting yourself out there means risking your head. But that's part of the experience, and if you play your (calling) cards right, it can be far more rewarding for you, as well as those around you.

Or.. If you want to play the small fry with no connections that just steals to survive... Steal -just- to survive. Don't clean out apartments, don't nick from high-profile characters (PCs or NPCs), just go for the basics. No one will be pissed off because some meat goes missing from their apartment or a few sid are stolen from their belt. But if you start making big waves, be prepared to either play nice with others or.. get caught and die promptly.

[Fredd]

Lets not forget: Find yourself another burgler to work with.

Some of my favorite burglerings was having my partner detain someone at a bar, while I'm all like " all your base are belong to us"

Plus, really helps to have a willing subject to practice planting and lifting things off of.

[HavokBlue]

The problem with things like calling cards is that the playerbase is so eager to hunt down any sort of "bad" character that burglars are often hunted and dealt with no different from a rogue magicker.


On another note, this page makes my Chrome's malware detection go crazy.

[Whiran Luck]

I think the problem is a little complex. Not in that people don't appreciate a well-played thief. I know I certainly do. The problem comes in when there are numerous thieves. Or thieves that routinely steal quite a lot from one person or one place. Someone may be playing the most wonderful thief in the world, but after you steal that jeweled mantis-head club from my belt, and thief #2 steals the second one, and thief #3 steals my beer money that I have been saving, and thief #4 has broken into my apartment to steal my  cheap replacement clubs, and random opportunizing neighbor has come in at the open door to steal a chest of my stuff, and random opportunizing neighbor #2 has come in to steal the bedsheets, and the guy who lives upstairs stole the bed, and this happens on a fairly regular basis, my appreciation has gone out the window.

Yes, certainly, there are subsistence thieves. You are applauded and I salute you. You are the reason I carry a decent around of sid on my person and not closed into my pack or my cloak or whever you can't get to it. But when you ignore what I carry to give you something to take, and go for the weapons I carry under my closed cloak, and this happens multiple times, it makes me more likely to treat you like a scourge than anything else.

So if you wonder why people might end up treating you worse than bad, read the above.


*Which is not to say I actually treat thieves like that myself.

[My 2 sids]

On another note, this page makes my Chrome's malware detection go crazy.

mine too 

[Nyr]

On another note, this page makes my Chrome's malware detection go crazy.

mine too 

Yeah, I fixed it.

[Fredd]

I think the problem is a little complex. Not in that people don't appreciate a well-played thief. I know I certainly do. The problem comes in when there are numerous thieves. Or thieves that routinely steal quite a lot from one person or one place. Someone may be playing the most wonderful thief in the world, but after you steal that jeweled mantis-head club from my belt, and thief #2 steals the second one, and thief #3 steals my beer money that I have been saving, and thief #4 has broken into my apartment to steal my  cheap replacement clubs, and random opportunizing neighbor has come in at the open door to steal a chest of my stuff, and random opportunizing neighbor #2 has come in to steal the bedsheets, and the guy who lives upstairs stole the bed, and this happens on a fairly regular basis, my appreciation has gone out the window.

Yes, certainly, there are subsistence thieves. You are applauded and I salute you. You are the reason I carry a decent around of sid on my person and not closed into my pack or my cloak or whever you can't get to it. But when you ignore what I carry to give you something to take, and go for the weapons I carry under my closed cloak, and this happens multiple times, it makes me more likely to treat you like a scourge than anything else.

So if you wonder why people might end up treating you worse than bad, read the above.


*Which is not to say I actually treat thieves like that myself.

In my experience of playing  burlgers in the past.

If I take your coins, I'm just getting some coins.

If I take your weapon from your belt, i want you to know you were robbed for some reason.

If I leave your door open, I want you to know you were robbed for some reason

Why would I want you to know you were robbed? You probably pissed off my pc in some way


Just saying. i do agree. Sometimes there can be a LARGE ammount of thieves in a general city, all thieving. this hurts everyone, including the thieves.

So when I'm in a leadership styled role, I like to hire thieves to steal information. They make the coin they need, i get a pawn i need. Works great for everyone.

Edit: Didn't realize that was much of a secret. sorry. took out the info on peek.

[Is Friday]

Please edit out the code details.

[Cind]

I've only been accused of crimes unrealistically and with unbelievable proof three times, the kind of situation where you're constantly reminding yourself to buy it. Otherwise, the general reaction to criminals seems a little stronger than it should be, but I don't feel like I'm dooming myself when apping a criminal. The situation could be a lot worse than it is and I enjoy playing thieves.

[Zoan]

Someone stole the knife from your belt:

CLOSE THE FUCKING GATES IT'S CODE MAGENTA.

[Celest]

In my experience, the best way to avoid all of the problems with twinkery based on avoiding or retaliating against thievery is to steal using non-coded skills. Trick people using cons, and they're usually really glad to be part of the thievery and the RP that goes with it. Likewise, I think that involving people in the RP of burglary with arranged items helps to take away from the sting and remind people that it's for RP. I have no problem with people who pursue thieves relentlessly, because being stolen from (in real life) is a really terrible, terrible feeling. The issue is what happens to thieves when they're caught. I don't think I've ever seen a public humiliating, maiming, flogging, or otherwise collective punishment for a caught thief, when that's really (in my opinion) the most productive route for RP.

My biggest peeve with the way thief RP goes, is when someone clears literally everything out of a building - including furniture and very heavy objects - because they're thieving late at night and no one is around to see the elf carrying couches and cisterns out of an apartment. Or, when people ignore masks, changed clothes, tdescs, raised hoods, changed accents, padded or concealing clothing/armor, and so on and automatically recognize someone by mdesc. Or, alternatively, when there's a lull of a certain race in an area (elves/dwarves) and so when one is seen fleeing a burglary, they know that it's the one active elven/dwarven PC who is a thief rather than the numerous number of NPCs or vNPCs which it could possibly be.

[HavokBlue]

If someone steals all the furniture and heavy things from your apartment, try wishing up or sending a report asking if the door guard saw anything. Because I find it hard to believe you can get a gigantic obsidian couch past a door guard without him noticing, no matter how high your sneak and hide skills are.

[lordcooper]

If someone steals all the furniture and heavy things from your apartment, try wishing up or sending a report asking if the door guard saw anything. Because I find it hard to believe you can get a gigantic obsidian couch past a door guard without him noticing, no matter how high your sneak and hide skills are.

Unless you put a bucket over their head first.

[Lizzie]

On the other hand, if you really want to steal that obscenely heavy, enormous obsdian couch, you could try wishing up to inform the staff that you're about to bribe the NPC guard...and then bribe the NPC guard to look down at his feet for a few minutes..

and then send a character report with the log snippet to show that it happened, if there's no staff to animate the NPC at the time.

That way, it -would- make IC sense for your character to steal that couch and get away with it. Whether the NPC honors the bribe is another matter, but the results at least would be IC and sensible.