Making a theif

[Ferrow]

how would I go about Roleplaying a theif? I would follow the rules of a theif but I was just wondering if I need a GM's permission or something. Just something I would like to know so I can start planning out my roleplaying.

[Aragon]

You don't need a permission from a GM to roleplay a thief.

But, it isn't yet technicalliy possible to steal things from the bag of other chars. So you need the help of the person whom you want to steal something, that he likes to play along with your roleplay and handle money to you.

[Nilo]

Well its in testing i think. (the thieving gloves that is)

Anyhow, be sure to use lots of #me commands, and don't over do it... and be sure to not log off when your chased, or run into shadows.

Otherwise, have fun. But its a hard role play, trying to be a thief, because you are often hunted, or killed on sight, even though people DONT know your NAME, they somehow find it out... which is bad rp on their part, and often they will recognize you even if you wear a cloak...

So some people will always recognize you, whether you role play or not.

[Bloodhearte]

It is strongly suggested that you have some role playing experience before creating and playing a thief character (I don't know if you have any or not).

But in any case, it is a fun thing to do - one of the biggest rushes you can get from this game is being hunted down by the entirety of...um, the world.

If you don't have the time or patience to go through asking people if they want to be robbed, use the #me function to attempt pickpocketing.

Don't be too obvious though. *#me reaches into the man's pocket* indicates that you have been seen stealing. Be more vague, to the point where somebody would have to think about the #me statement in order to accuse you of stuff.

Example:
#me makes the man's bag shuffle a bit

Have fun.

[Dónal Mason]

Remember to spell thief right.

[Cain Freemont]

Remember to spell thief right.

That's the most important part of roleplaying a thief.

[Drex Thaendrak]

Remember to spell thief right.

I already wondered when this one would come.

[The Returner]

Two letters is hardly an insultable offense gentlemen, don't insult the person, we've all seen worse.

[Drex Thaendrak]

I'm not insulting him. If I were I'd have pointed that out myself. I just knew it would come from anyone.
I can't speak for the others but seeing how often thief is misspelled this way maybe it had to be pointed out somewhen. Not to insult anyone, just to make people aware of their mistake.

[Brendan Mason]

As the rhyme goes, "I before E except after C unless it's the C in Science."

Anyway, thief roleplaying. Quite the conundrum. I tried playing a thief once, but it's exceedingly difficult. People will rarely roleplay along with you (perhaps the more experience roleplayers will) and the only actual way of stealing something, is when people have left something on the ground...that's about as technical as thieving in Illarion gets.

Bloodhearte's right, it is a bit of rush playing as a thief, but as Nilo said, people will invariably know who you are, where are you are and all of your other characters.

And they say I don't have any faith in our community! Bah!

[Zare]

The only way to succesfully play a thief is to hope that people are good roleplayers, and willingly give up their items. In other words, its impossible. When I tried roleplaying a thief, I was appalled. Even with some more experienced RPers, I was not met with cooperation. When I tried to steal something I was either:

a) Caught, and killed instantly with no roleplaying whatsoever from the other party, prior to my death

b) Caught, and was told simply, "go away" but other than that the other person did not really mind

c) Ignored completey. I think this one was really messed up.

However, I'm not saying its completely impossible that other people didn't play along because I'm a sucky roleplayer. Maybe it was my roleplaying that wasn't up to par. But I don't really think I was all that bad. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is, it would be best if your first character was not a thief, so you get a feel for how our community acts.


Cheerios!
Zare

[Moskher Heszche]

The way the rhyme was taught to me was: "I before E, except after C, Unless sounding like A, as in 'neighbor' or 'weigh.'"

[Cliu Beothach]

HAHA! Good thiefs never get caught. I agree with zare though. My thief has met his fair share of ignorers out there.

[Garett Gwenour]

Zare how do you expect people should react to when you want to 'roleplay' stealing from someones bag? You think your character would never be caught? You think the player wants to give some things out of his bag everytime?
Theives were despised of course you would be hunted down and killed if you stole some things. A lizard i will not say the name becuase i do not even know it did a very successful stealing technique today. I suggest you play illarion and try and learn some techniques because it worked out very well for the lizard.

[Zare]

How do I think they should react? I think they should not do any of the things I already listed.

Maybe some people should realize that this is just a game and a handful of virtual coins means nothing at all.
It is not easy to play a thief, so the good effort should at least be rewarded with a couple coins, to give the feeling of accomplishment. Maybe a thief should be caught every once in a while but not everytime. Its not like its a regular occurance where its troublesome.
Or, if you want to be a stingy bastard, fine, then at least give a good show about it. Don't just turn around and squash the guy. I can find better interaction than that on Diablo battle.net.

[Aristeaus]

I play diablo thank you very much :p

And as for theiving. the main thing you need is patience.

And i have seen a lizard doing a very good job in town

[Pronon Palmsuger]

Thieves WERE Hunted down, but there still were theives, meaning that it was obviously worth the risks. In this video game you must have cooperation, this is why thieves are so difficult to play. Very Few are going to cooperate, but hey if your a thief and you see me around, I will, I even Pm'd people to TRY to get robbed for the fun of it. What people dont realize is that its fun RP.

But since douchebags will allways be everywhere, the only way to be a thief is to be an orc where you demand things then kill if there not given, because Players will allways kill you for it. but I really haven't answered your quesiton.

For starters I would try joining that thieves guild, then try to make yourself a "professional" look good, earn a good reputation, and then you can be a thief.

[Moskher Heszche]

I play diablo thank you very much :p

And as for theiving. the main thing you need is patience.

And i have seen a lizard doing a very good job in town

More than a good job, he did an excellent job. Even as I was playing a character who should be used to pickpockets, I let him empty my whole coin purse. I felt like I owed him it.

Whoever you are, our lizard friend, bravo! Perhaps you could do us the favor of answering this new player's question for him. Even we experienced players could likely learn from what you have to say on the subject.

[Alsyth Astha]

Time to gloat!

Anyway, I just try to focus on the event and not the item stolen. Not like a hit and run. I try to sometimes to pass around ale to loosen up the crowd. If I ever do any hit and runs (collect the money or item without paying) I will give a fair chance. Warning players of my character's deamenor, unless he is doing a special job and meant to act different. I also don't go and blatantly run away with it. I sometimes have enough just to walk off before they notice. It isn't too hard to play a thief if you don't watch the prize but rather keep your eye on the whole scheme.

[Pendar]

A thief can be played well Illarion I have seen a few characters doing it rather well indeed. The lizard thief allready mentioned being a prime example.
let us just be honest though and say thieving in this game requires one extra skill beyond a high dex being able to spot the players who will play along. This is not a some people rp is more leet than others issue, merely respect for peoples different approaches,views and expierence of RP.
If your thief can spot a good mark and the PO behind the screen can do the math and decide who is going to play along. As long as you dont mind the odd unfortunate chaseing out of town or trip to the cross were some one fairly or unfairly catches you at it. Your thief will do fine and add a nice refreshing element to most peoples role playing.
Pendar

[Delakaniam]

As a side note, Alsyth, don't ever reveal any of your other characters. You will suddenly receive much less praise for your good thieving RP. It's really a shame that things happen this way, but so it goes.

(*laughs* A message brought to you by your friendly neighborhood De'am .

....wow, look at all the "ie - ei" words, too! I mean... "Friendly neighborhood thieves weigh their pies!")

[Moskher Heszche]

Regardless of the risks involved in speaking on the boards about a thief character you have, it needs to be talked about. All the time we get new players who ask the question, "how do I play a thief?," and the people who have the answers never have the courage to say. They end up with a very general, "it's too hard to play a thief when you start out," answer, and it's left at that, never to be explained either out-of-game or with in-game experience.

Besides, there are plenty of people who have had to risk saying something even when they worry how people will use that against them. I personally never wanted to admit on the boards that I was SVST. I feared that people would clam up around me, or perhaps even leave the area that my characters were in. However, it needed to be said because, for a while there, consistently attacks were laid at my doorstep unbeknownst to the attackers. Personally, however, I haven't seen a difference in action between when I play characters that people know is me as opposed to characters that people don't know is me.

Our players are capable of being more mature than we give them credit for.

I personally know what he did well, but I felt he needed to say it in his own words. Here is what I'd like to add on that that I felt was particularly special:

• He consistently left hints that a character who was being observative would notice. Telling of the movements he was making. This was not a quick process, to say the least. He positioned himself, explained his movements, and waited for a reaction.
• Even before the above, he helped create an environment where characters wouldn't be the most watchful, via the free giveaways of beer. This was excellent plotting. Beyond that, no one feels like they're playing on the losing side by giving up their stuff. By giving away free beer, his character seems both more friendly while at the same time clouding the senses of his marks.
• He waited until it was obvious my character's eyes were elsewhere. My character was noticeabley excited to see a duel, and his character took advantage of that situation. This made the whole scene seem realistic. The only other times where I've seen pickpocket attempts, which are rare, they tried at the most inopportune times. Being that quite a few of my characters are crooks themselves, I don't feel guilty turning these kinds of attempts down.
• Moreover, he made it feel like he was working with you ooc to create a scene ic, rather than just trying to take your stuff.