Newb Questions

[seidhr]

Staff can see your biography entries, yes.  If there's something in them you think that we ought to know, might be worth sending in a short character report with a blurb about how we ought to go look at your bios.

[roobee]

Am I playing thief right? I steal, get caught, go to jail and repeat. I get this is realistic for a novice thief, but jail is so boring. Any tips for how to be more fun as a thief?

[whitt]

Couple of common sense hints:
- Work at night.
- Keep an eye on where the soldiers are in relation to where you are.
- Have a plan to get from where you're thieving to a safe hiding place.

And codedly:
Use the Stat command to know when you're wanted.
Be prepared to hide for awhile until that Wanted flag wears off.

Grats on already understanding No Save Arrest, so you at least make it to the cells.

[Fujikoma]

Couple of common sense hints:
- Work at night.
- Keep an eye on where the soldiers are in relation to where you are.
- Have a plan to get from where you're thieving to a safe hiding place.

And codedly:
Use the Stat command to know when you're wanted.
Be prepared to hide for awhile until that Wanted flag wears off.

Grats on already understanding No Save Arrest, so you at least make it to the cells.

Sometime getting caught means the NPC auto-attacks. This could lead to being encountered by the guards while in combat, which I assume would mean the guards would be more interested in cutting your throat rather than hauling you off, even with nosave arrest set, though I could be wrong. Might be wise to be ready to flee.

[Majikal]

Am I playing thief right? I steal, get caught, go to jail and repeat. I get this is realistic for a novice thief, but jail is so boring. Any tips for how to be more fun as a thief?

Thieving is a rough life. Back in 2008 (I think?) they changed the crim code to make things a bit more realistic. This means it's much easier to get away with crimes when it's late at night or before dawn. Based off room descriptions you can tell if a place is 'populated' with vnpc's generally. Busy taverns and stuff, maybe markets or outside of popular building you can assume that someone might notice a clumsy thief any time of day or night. Crim-code will not be as effective at night, but you still need to be on the lookout for those pesky witnesses and soldiers (pc, npc, vnpc).

With some practice you can learn to be semi-successful even without being a master thief.

[Kankfly]

Couple of common sense hints:
- Work at night.
- Keep an eye on where the soldiers are in relation to where you are.
- Have a plan to get from where you're thieving to a safe hiding place.

And codedly:
Use the Stat command to know when you're wanted.
Be prepared to hide for awhile until that Wanted flag wears off.

Grats on already understanding No Save Arrest, so you at least make it to the cells.

Sometime getting caught means the NPC auto-attacks. This could lead to being encountered by the guards while in combat, which I assume would mean the guards would be more interested in cutting your throat rather than hauling you off, even with nosave arrest set, though I could be wrong. Might be wise to be ready to flee.

I believe this happens if you resist arrest. So if you struggle while you're being subdued and break free, then you are resisting arrest and will be free to be killed on sight.

There are some helpfiles and such that can help. 'Help pickpocket' is a good start, there are other helpfiles listed down there that can get you set on your way. I can't remember what.

[Lizzie]

Summary of the advice given so far:

Pay attention to the game world, both coded AND virtual. Roleplay *and* enact the code accordingly.

Also: read the thief roleplay docs: http://www.armageddon.org/help/view/Thief's%20Bible

[Fujikoma]

Yes, this is good advice for roleplaying a thief, but it does little to shed light on the coded realities of attempting certain acts, and counter-intuitive things that may occur. Players are informed they're not to have their characters behave in a suicidal manner, yet, without the information to know what's suicidal. I have mostly learned from the mistakes of others, but I don't think this should be a requirement as it would be nice for newbies who want to jump right into a sneaky/thievey role to know what challenges and code quirks they may face.

Then again, discovering these nuances and skirting them may be an activity some find enjoyable, but I find it leads to a lot of silly situations where yet another amos is dead for attempting to pinch a loaf of bread. Then there's the skill advancement of pickpockets which has always struck me as anti-survival, although I do think, once beefed up, they're a guild to be reckoned with.

But, yes, I think the thief's bible is a good read. I know when I come home in game and the bed and couch are missing and the carpet stripped from the floor I'm tempted to type: think (mildly irritated) Luuuucy? You got some 'splainin' ta do!

[Lizzie]

Yes, this is good advice for roleplaying a thief, but it does little to shed light on the coded realities of attempting certain acts, and counter-intuitive things that may occur. Players are informed they're not to have their characters behave in a suicidal manner, yet, without the information to know what's suicidal. I have mostly learned from the mistakes of others, but I don't think this should be a requirement as it would be nice for newbies who want to jump right into a sneaky/thievey role to know what challenges and code quirks they may face.

Then again, discovering these nuances and skirting them may be an activity some find enjoyable, but I find it leads to a lot of silly situations where yet another amos is dead for attempting to pinch a loaf of bread. Then there's the skill advancement of pickpockets which has always struck me as anti-survival, although I do think, once beefed up, they're a guild to be reckoned with.

But, yes, I think the thief's bible is a good read. I know when I come home in game and the bed and couch are missing and the carpet stripped from the floor I'm tempted to type: think (mildly irritated) Luuuucy? You got some 'splainin' ta do!

The person asking (Theebee) didn't ask about syntax and code. He asked about fun. How can you play a thief in a way that lets you have more fun than just steal, get caught, go to jail, get release?

The answer is - to remember that your character is more than just the skillset's coded commands/syntax, to remember the virtual world, the non-virtual world, the atmosphere of the genre. Read the room descriptions. Read the thief bible. Pay attention to the world around your character, in addition to using peek/steal/whatever else.

[Jihelu]

The greatest thief is the one who rarely uses code. The power of tongue is stronger than hand....or atleast if you are good enough I suppose.

Thief is a hard one because of the fact of "Well if I succeed I gt something but I don't get better" And "If I fail I might get caught and go to prison".

Some advice: Find some friends. Loyal friends.

[roobee]

Some advice: Find some friends. Loyal friends.

This one conflicts me. Would definitely make life easier, but I don't think a criminal would seek friends. He'd view everyone as bait. In real life society is organized/cooperative and criminals aren't, with exceptions like the mafia.

[Jihelu]

Some advice: Find some friends. Loyal friends.

This one conflicts me. Would definitely make life easier, but I don't think a criminal would seek friends. He'd view everyone as bait. In real life society is organized/cooperative and criminals aren't, with exceptions like the mafia.

Well...
Friends is a rough word.
Associates?
My last (X) role went a lot easier once I found a buddy.
As the docs says, being secretive all the time is suspicious. Have a life and shiz.

[RogueGunslinger]

Only three things you need to know. Don't steal unless at night time. Don't steal at night if there's a soldier nearby. (you can do both once your skill is high enough not to fail, or if you have good hide/sneak to get away)

And finally, possibly most importantly because I consider it a bug, some NPC merchants and barmaids can not be stolen from. You will either go to jail every time, or just get smacked and told to shove off with no crimcode.



Also, contrary to some people, I've never been attacked by soldiers with nosave arrest on. Not unless I attacked someone else first. However, if you flee from a soldiers grasp, nosave-arrest is automatically turned off, so turn it back on if you want to try to play the "Okay you got me, I'll go in easily... NOT" routine.

[Jihelu]

Max train flee.
Win.

[Trillmendous]

I have 2 Opinion related questions for you Vets.

First one, at one point in sparring do most of you guys tend to flee? I've usually been doing it at around 80-75 HP but sometimes I feel like that's stretching it and unrealistic. I want to know what you guys usually do it at.

Second one, When do most of you decide it's time to add permanent scars to your character? Like do you do it after a major battle or after a few weeks of constantly getting hurt?

Thanks in advance

[BadSkeelz]

Re:Fleeing - If you flee at 75% to 80% of HP, you'll probably be able to >Rest to regain HP. Much lower and you run the risk of needing to sleep. It IS sparring, so the goal really shouldn't be to beat the crap out of each other anyway.

If you need to sleep to recover wounds from sparring, I like to not spar for the rest of the IG day (or more, if you really get rolled), to better simulate recovery times.

Re:Scars, I like to add one whenever my PC gets wounded in particularly memorable ways. Sometimes it might be from a single bad hit in sparring, or be the result of a long RPT combat rpt. They can totally be the results of long times of trials as well. Really, whenever it feels right.

[Riev]

Its percentage, as BadSkeelz said, so far as the "regen point". But think of it as your total life. If someone beats you LITERALLY half to death in sparring, you're doing it wrong. 60% has always been my "Get the hell out" area but I tend to play beefy endurance monsters.

So far as scars... I don't TYPICALLY add them in training. Even if a good hit causes a break in the skin, Zalanthans aren't humans and you're not using blades. IF, however, someone using an edged weapon hits me for a decent amount (Solid or more) I'll think about adding a scar or RPing out the wound.

Bludgeoning... woof. Someone swings a warhammer and it hits your arm for like 18 points of damage? Probably close to a broken arm, if not ACTUALLY, and as BadSkeelz said... maybe a "don't go right back into sparring". Its all, however, up to you. Try to be realistic, and understand total HP is your total life. If you're sleeping to recover, you got pretty stomped.

[Trillmendous]

Its percentage, as BadSkeelz said, so far as the "regen point". But think of it as your total life. If someone beats you LITERALLY half to death in sparring, you're doing it wrong. 60% has always been my "Get the hell out" area but I tend to play beefy endurance monsters.

So far as scars... I don't TYPICALLY add them in training. Even if a good hit causes a break in the skin, Zalanthans aren't humans and you're not using blades. IF, however, someone using an edged weapon hits me for a decent amount (Solid or more) I'll think about adding a scar or RPing out the wound.

Bludgeoning... woof. Someone swings a warhammer and it hits your arm for like 18 points of damage? Probably close to a broken arm, if not ACTUALLY, and as BadSkeelz said... maybe a "don't go right back into sparring". Its all, however, up to you. Try to be realistic, and understand total HP is your total life. If you're sleeping to recover, you got pretty stomped.

Just did the math, I usually flee at about 70 percent of my total health. So I guess I'm good with that but I just wanted confirmation from you vets to see if I was doing it right so Thanks for replying

Also thanks for the Scar tips too now I got an idea of when I should start adding them now.

[RogueGunslinger]

70% is too low IMO. One big hit around there and you'll be needing to sleep.

If my pc has 100 hitpoints I run when it drops below 80. You can still regen around 66% though, so I like having 15 HP, or one extra medium-large hit worth of wiggle-room.

[roobee]

as a thief without peek, do I just have to guess what's in their inventory while stealing? cause my guesses have been off a few times.

[CodeMaster]

The obvious:
steal coins man

The educated guess:
steal arrow quiver

No need for peek:
steal dagger man

The grab bag:
steal . man's bag

[roobee]

what difference between
steal . man's bag
and
steal man's bag
?

[CodeMaster]

The first attempts to take the top item out of the bag (you don't know what, and heavier items are easy to botch), the second attempts to steal the whole thing.

[CodeMaster]

Actually, sorry.  The second doesn't work at all, you'd have to steal bag man

[roobee]

i've read in some posts that you can bribe NPCs. Do staff need to animate these for it to work, or will some NPCs allow it automatically?