| Perhaps a more appropriate name
for this section would be "theft". Where to
steal, who to steal from, shoplifting and gem theft are
all covered in this area.
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Here I set down some of the best places to find marks. The style I use is discreet, so I like to get a good look at each person I try for. That means I need a place where people pause in their journeying, allowing me to get a look at them before I make a grab. With that in mind, here are some of my favourite places to practice the art of stealing.
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| Who |
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How each of the guilds (generally) measure up when it comes to stealing difficulty. Of course, there are lots of variables involved in this: special skills or spells, individual stealing skills and perception, etc. These are by no means true for every member of each guild mentioned, but they serve rather nicely as some general guidelines. Happy picking like the "Thieving Vulture" that you are. <wicked smile> |
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Generally, Barbarians have rather low perception and stealing skills, because they spend most of their time wedded to their weapons, seeking out battles and more or less just participating in combat. They do, however have a dance which improves perception, which is something to keep in mind when picking off of a Barbarian. On a scale of one to ten, one being easiest and ten being hardest, I'd give Barbarians a two. Bards are a very diverse group indeed. There are those who, lacking tips, have turned to petty theft, and thus are rather difficult to steal from, and there are those who are so drunk and/or oblivious to their surroundings that you could probably take the coat from their back unnoticed. (Just don't mess with their ale...) They have an enchante that boosts survival skills (which includes stealing and perception) and one that boosts perception. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give Bards a four. I don't steal from Clerics often, so it's rather hard for me to judge their general stealing difficulty. As far as I know, they don't have any abilities that increase their perception and stealing skills, although they -do- have a commune that renders the room a no-steal zone for a varying amount of time. (Fourty-five minutes to three hours.) On a scale of one to ten, I'd give Clerics a two. Like Clerics, Empaths are not often the victims of my pocket inspections. Generally, Empaths seem to rely on the fact that few Thieves will steal knowingly from an Empath. (There have been more and more, lately, though.) Empaths need survival skills, however, and perception is easy to get. This means that while they may catch you, you'll probably still pull some coins out. I give Empaths a one. AKA, Lunar Thieves. Lots of Moon Mages train stealing, as well as perception. They have many spells that boost survival skills, including stealing and perception. They can also predict themselves into better stealing and perception. On a scale of one to ten, I give the Moon Magi a six. Tin Cans, Blind Moneybanks...Oh. Erm, Paladins, yes. Paladins cannot train stealing -at all-. Thus, they are ideal targets for stealing operations. They -can- however, sense it when you begin to approach to steal, steal, and if you "size them up" so to speak. Also, though they cannot train -stealing- itself, they can (and do) train perception. So though you may always pull out coins, they still have a pretty good chance of catching you in the act, and Paladins love to accuse. I actually pause (albeit breifly) to consider the consequences when stealing from a Paladin. On a scale of one to ten, the "pallies" get a two. Hey, what are you doing stealing from your own guild? >>Whack!<< Bad, Thiefling! Bad! Oh, you're a -non- Thief, are you? Then what are you doing in -here- praytell? Well, suffice it to say, most Thieves have insane amounts of stealing and perception, making them the hardest targets in Elanthia. Hence, the Thieves earn themselves a ten. Survival skills...well, they are just not the strong point of most Traders. (All five of them.) Traders only have one ability pertinent to Theft -- after you begin pushing the limit toward the maximum times that you can steal from the Trader, the trader will get actually begin to feel their purse get lighter. [They get this exactly when you begin to get the "big risk" message, so be careful.] The younger Traders (Circles 1-30 or so) generally are very easy to steal from, whereas the more expereinced Traders (anything above that) have either trained stealing and perception or devised other means to protect their coins. On a scale of one to ten, though, Traders still get a two. Unlike the Traders, who don't know diddly about survival, Rangers are truly the masters of wilderness survival. While I don't think stealing and lockpicking were what the Ranger leaders had in mind when they formulated the strenous sruvival requirements, many Rangers train them anyway. Because of this, Rangers are second only to Thieves when it comes to stealing difficulty. On scale of one to ten, Rangers get an eight. Like the Barbarians, Warrior Mages are generally too preoccupied with combat to study stealing and perception extensively. They do have a few spells that give them stealing protection or survival skill boosts, though: Mantle of Flames, which creates a burning aura around the Mage (Also making it very hard to steal from the mage) and Rising Mists, which gives everyone in the room a bonus to stealing and stalking, hiding and such. The Thing about rising mists is, though, that it also gives -you- a bonus to stealing and hiding, so any anti-stealing effects are more or less negated. On a scale of one to ten, I give Warrior Mages a two. Most guilds get a two. If they go just by their requirments, they're all incredibly easy to steal from. However, because of that lovely hole known as the Crossing Bank, perception is -very- easy to get, as is stealing. It's just a matter of either saying or asking, "Open Pockets." (Click Here for more about the Crossing Bank issue.) |
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This is probably one of -the- most frequently asked questions in the Thieves' guild. "When can I steal from shops?" Or, "How much stealing do I need to steal from shops?" At those questions, the more experienced Thieves all heave a collective sigh, and begin trying to explain the workings of shoplifting to this wide-eyed newcomer. Well, I'm trying to save us all a little time here, so I'll set down a bit about how to go about stealing from shops, what variables come into play, and such. So...here goes. There is no magical stealing rank at which you can suddenly steal from shops. Each shop is different. Each item is different. The circumstances are -always- different. Here are the different factors:
Bonus -- Obviously, if your bonus is trashed, you're not going to do very well shoplifting. In fact, trying to shoplift with a less than perfect bonus will probably only make it worse. Item Size -- The smaller the item is, (generally) the easier it is to grab. It's a lot easier to snag a ring than it is a tower shield. (Try nonchalantly walking out of the shop with one of -those-, eh?) Item Weight -- Again, it's a lot easier to get the leathers than it is the get the massive plate, price nonwithstanding. I've known a few thieves out there than can steal wolf clan leathers, but no one I know has ever been able to get massive plate, mostly because massive plate is...massive. Heavy and massive. Item Value -- The merchant is going to be watching the three silver ring a lot less closely than the three platinum one, simple as that. Shopkeeper's Perception -- Some shopkeepers are just very perceptive. Chizili, for instance, watches her five silver tukai stones like a hawk. They're small, they're cheap, and they're really darned hard to steal. (Well, at least they were before they were made smaller.) Why? 'Cause Chizili (the Crossing Alchemist) has nothing better to do than to sit there and stare at her tukai stones. Wounds -- This one should also be self-explanitory. Don't expect to go out and shoplift unhindered by a missing hand, or a gouged out chest. Common sense. Burden -- Tottering under burden? It will make stealing much more difficult, pilfering included. Agility -- Helps a lot with stealing, so depending on agility, you have a better or worse chance of success. Hidden Vs. Unhidden -- If you're hidden you're not as likely to be caught, but you're also less likely to get what you're after. Unhidden, you're more likely to be caught, but also more likely to get the object you're after. Stealing Rank -- Obviously, how well you can steal a certain item has to do with your stealing rank. Now, after explaining the above to the begininng Thief, they invariably ask, "What can I steal with (insert their stealing rank here)?" Here are some good objects to start out with.
These may or may not be entirely accurate. There -was- no pilfering when my character began. She had about fourty stealing when it came out, so all of this is secondhand information. I hope it's a bit useful. A stealing run is when you go through a city...and pilfer. My stealing runs are for money, not for expierence, so all of the items in them can be pawned at a rather nice price. Most of these should work for any -Thief- with about eighty or ninety stealing. Have fun. --Shard --
--Haven--
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| Gem Stealing If "How do I steal from shops?" is the most frequently asked question in the guild, then "How do I steal gems?" is the second. It never fails, this one gets asked very, very often. The answer is fairly simple. At around eightly lessons in stealing (as a Thief) you will begin to steal gems...if you're lucky. From novices, maybe. You'll get them on and off until around one hundred thirty lessons in stealing, at which point you'll probably get them consistantly, if the mark has gems to steal. This is both a pro and a con. It's neat to steal gems -- sometimes it's dizzying exactly how many -really- valuable gems people leave in open containers (rubies, turquoise stones, etc.) but then...sometimes you get the small rock crystal when there are plats to be had. Royce has said he's working on a stealing option where you can try to steal either gems or coins. [IE: <Steal Gem Blah> and you'll only try for gems. <Steal Coins Blah> and you'll only try for coins, or just <Steal Blah> and you'll default to the current system. And that's that. |
Excuses Everyone gets caught eventually. Here's a few things that you might say to convince your mark that you only meant good by dipping into their pockets.
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The con is a very sticky thing to go about: The idea is to cheat someone out of money, but leave them with a smile upon their face, feeling satisfied. In the best cons, the victim never has an inkling that they've been cheated: they should always be happy with whatever transpired. Here are a few examples of some cons. These, though they may not all leave the victim with a smile, should at least keep the main perpetraters from being suspects: though by setting them down here I imagine I remove all their usefulness. They do, however give you an idea of what works and what doesn't. Rare Item Con: Look for an item that can be bought fairly cheaply, but few people know about--so that few people know what exactly it is. Take it to Crossing and sell it for an exorbitant fee. I once sold something I bought for thirty-five coppers at the price of nine gold kronars. A rather tidy profit, if I do say so. Distraction: Stage some sort of distraction -- this one usually requires a fairly large group. Maybe an alleged graverobbing or the attack of some fair damsel. While people stop to gawk at the distraction, your shadowy brethren should be in the shadows cleaning pockets. Ferry Stealing: This one requires two people. One to point and one to steal. The "pointer" claims that he or she is being stolen from, and proceedes to point out all the people in hiding. Meanwhile, the other person is busy cleaning the pockets of everyone that gets pointed out. There are lots of other good cons, but I don't want to ruin them all by putting them here. I think the above are not easily recognizable as "shady" doings, so they might work even if some non-Thief gets their hands upon this book, and knows what to look out for. |
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