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-.