Armor Thief

[GibbleThibblebum]

Today, someone calling himself Sir Redric came to Galmair asking about a talented blacksmith. After showing him the sword and armor that Tialdin had made me over a year ago, he grabbed them from my hands and ran off with them, then logging out so I could not catch him. I doubt I will ever see it again, nor be able to replace the equipment. As such it has completely soured my feelings for this land. I am leaving for my homeland and after over 15 years of calling this my home, I do not see that I will ever return.

I hope someone can catch this creep and punish him. He has made this an unwelcome place to stay.

Adeiu

[Prince of Thieves]

A cloaked figure leaves an anonymous note on the town board.

Greetings

Your plight has not gone unnoticed. We, the Brotherhood of Ronagan, are sorry to hear that this dastardly Sir Redric dared to purloin your precious armaments.
Fortunately for you, our guild specialises in finding and returning lost possessions. For a token fee of a mere five gold coins we can arrange for all your lost property to be recovered.

Please consider our offer. If you wish to employ our guild's services, just leave a note with your answer.

[Lexis Katarino]

Today, someone calling himself Sir Redric came to Galmair asking about a talented blacksmith. After showing him the sword and armor that Tialdin had made me over a year ago, he grabbed them from my hands and ran off with them, then logging out so I could not catch him. I doubt I will ever see it again, nor be able to replace the equipment. As such it has completely soured my feelings for this land. I am leaving for my homeland and after over 15 years of calling this my home, I do not see that I will ever return.

I hope someone can catch this creep and punish him. He has made this an unwelcome place to stay.

Adeiu

I came back to Illarion after decades of abstinence to make a new name for myself, to make friends and with an open heart and without prejudice.
And just yesterday I unfortunately had a similar experience with the same guy.
This guy grabbed the extremely valuable weapons and ran. ((And yes, he also logged out as soon as he were out of sight.))
In fact, I'm less concerned with the value of the weapons than with this way of doing things.

Be that as it may. I feel very similar to the person quoted. I stare at my belongings and consider packing up the most important things and going back to where I came from.
There will be no trust anyway. And quite obviously this guy will never be held accountable because we will never see him again anyway. And if we do, he will run.

[Prince of Thieves]

((Regarding the OOC logging off claims: While I roleplay a thief and con man, logging out as soon as one is out of sight would be very unsportsmanlike, which is why I consciously never do that. On the contrary, I try to do the thief RP in a fair manner, which includes giving those from whom the thief steals a fair chance to give chase and confront him. I don't know why you two claim that I immediately logged off after the thefts. After fleeing with his loot on foot, the thief waited on both occasions for a considerable length of time at an easy to find location to see if anybody would pursue him. Gibble failed to do so, so of course I eventually logged out. Lexis on the other hand found and pursued the fleeing thief in a wild chase all across Illarion's wilderness, even had him cornered in a cave once, but eventually lost him not far from Runewick's outskirts, where the thief took the ferry to a remote port, and even waited not far from there in a hiding spot, just on the off-chance that Lexis would guess which destination the thief chose and follow him there, which Lexis didn't. At this point it was thus safe to say that the thief had given him the slip for good, and could hide safely.))

[Juniper Onyx]

*A Halfling studies Lexis' notice and shakes his head in disbelief*
Yeah, I remember that fella....

((Thief characters have been tried before many times, and usually they just suck, ruin the game for all and everyone just starts leaving the game. The only one who enjoys it is you and your ego. Honestly, the game just can't afford this right now. I played a thief once, saw the effects and stopped. It just wasn't fun for anyone.

In my opinion, the actual theft was an unethical abuse of game mechanics. The game mechanics compel a person to lay the goods on the ground for someone to see them, but in game, they would actually 'show' you by holding it and you see it, but the game doesn't allow that. It's always been done this way and they did it in good faith because you asked to see it or was a customer or something and expected good RP. No-one picks it up unless they RP the fact before they grab it and allow the person to respond! You got to give the other character a chance to react to the theft before you grab the items, because in real life, no one just throws them on the ground. That would just be stupid. The fact is, that you probably just pressed "P" and ran and if you did that, it indicates that you are not using fair RP. The fun is in the RP, not the theft. Therefore, no matter how you disguise yourself, I for one will not RP with you. Find somewhere else to abuse people.

This game has lost so many people over the years, we can't afford to lose more from this nonsense. Either stop playing a thief or just go away! Like I said IG once....you're not very good at this...and the logging out after you 'think' you got away simply proves it. It doesn't give the victims a chance to track you, gather a posse or to do a proper search for a hideout. There's so much RP or even player quests that could come from a 'good' thief character....but you just waste it with grab and dash nonsense. You got to make it fun for all or what's the point? Feed your ego? No thanks! The game can't afford this nonsense right now.))

[Lexis Katarino]

Lexis stands wistfully at the harbor and follows the constant activity of the workers. A few moments ago he was still in Galmair and took a long walk through the cobbled streets, seemingly lost in thought. In fact, however, he was deep in thought and pondering many things.

He seemed reserved and reticent. He now seems to see everyone he meets with different eyes and observes almost every movement. His sentences are short and his words are sharp, he only says what is necessary. Hardened facial features darken and his eyes flash with mistrust and coldness. A hard battle is visibly raging inside, which is also difficult to hide from the outside. He is clearly struggling with himself, is dissatisfied with himself, his feelings and his thoughts.

I'm just too old... I would have caught him and brought him to justice if I were a few years younger! I would have quartered him. But I was too slow. Help? A society? A manhunt to catch this guy?
..No.. they will always get away with it. That's what you get from trust and generosity.
Give up? Maybe I should leave again because what was I even thinking...
It's not the objects... this atrocity... I was wrong!
Stay? ...I would have to throw all principles overboard and stand closest to myself... But everyone does that anyway? So what was I thinking? ... Again...


...He mutters here and there to himself.
So he sits now, having arrived at Glamair's harbor and looks lost in thought at the hustle and bustle of the ships arriving and departing.



((Apparently I have to set something straight here, even though I'm really sorry that this has now degenerated into OOC. That was definitely not my intention.

First of all, I didn't mean to and didn't say that you logged out immediately after escaping. I'm sorry if I implied that.

Yes, of course there was roleplaying and lots of emotes. I don't want to deny that either. Apart from the fact that I almost felt like I was being tracked beforehand.

Ultimately, I see it a bit like Bernie. Thieves have always been a difficult topic in this game. And of course there have to be some of them. It can't always be just a pony farm. Of course there are personal opinions that play a role here too.

I'm not concerned about the stolen items, of course the loss annoys me a lot, but about this absolute helplessness because thieves are simply OP. Since the game does not offer a trading function like other MMORPGs, you are forced to present the items on the ground. And if your opponent grabs the things and justifies it with emotes, all you can do is hope. Because from that point on you are at the mercy of the player. The items are gone unless the player hands them over voluntarily.
You can of course "play it out" and justify it with #me emotes. But the fact is that you have no chance as the person being robbed. (Unless you happen to have agility 18+ including +2 agility from food or even more.) In any other case, the thief is gone and you are absolutely powerless against it.
Since you will never be caught anyway, you only need to run until the pursuer gives up. And pushing someone into a corner alone doesn't help much either, because they can run at the slightest opportunity. So please don't tell me that you're giving someone the opportunity to confront the character when there's never a real chance of doing so.

Even "catching" emotes wouldn't make sense. First of all, you'd lose the chase by typing and secondly, you're at the mercy of your opponent again. After all, he could counter everything with emotes of his own.

So from my point of view, all I can do is accept it without doing anything. And that's what bothers me most about this story. No prospect of justice.

But again: I really didn't want to actively and intentionally attack anyone here or let it get out of hand.

I came back because I was hoping for a relaxed game without a lot of frustration. If I want to get frustrated, there are plenty of other games that are better suited to that.

Of course, as I said, personal opinions. Nobody likes to be robbed. And that, even after only a few weeks of returning, is a tough pill to swallow (especially given the small number of players) and has unfortunately robbed me of any motivation and enjoyment of the game for the moment.))

[Juniper Onyx]

Bernie is excited about the new Guild Building beginning soon and runs to the Harbor to scope out the new site. While there, he sees Lexis, sitting and silent looking out on the water. Bernie's first impulse is usually to say "Hey!" and ask how they're doing. Not this time, though. Bernie had read about the theft and the thoughts that must be going through his friend's head after a long time away, newly arrived and this new land no better than Gobaith.

It seemed just yesterday, Lexis was so proud after learning the secrets of steel. Him and Bernie drank and feasted to his success for a while. Bernie felt good that he could bring the old knight some joy, but then this theft may have cancelled that. Whatever Lexis decided would have to be for his own good and there really wasn't anything Bernie could say. Truth is a difficult pill to swallow sometimes.

Instead, Bernie slowly walked over to Lexis, gave him a knowing nod, sat next to him and put his hand on the old knight's shoulder. They sat together like that, in silence, looking out over the Sea for hours as the Sun started to set over the water. Neither of them said a word, nor had to, but enough was already said in their silence.

[Lexis Katarino]

As Lexis sat there and let his thoughts run wild, he noticed the halfling at his side, who was looking at him with understanding and seriousness.
A quick, assessing, almost cold glance passed over the halfling before Lexis realized that Bernie posed little danger. Not least because he naturally remembered how long he had known this halfling.
Lexis lets out a resigned sigh and surrenders to Bernie's attention while he continues to observe the activities of the crew and workers at the port and the hours pass.

At some point Lexis turns his head slightly and looks at Bernie with bloodshot eyes.
I can't deny that I was naive.
He gives Bernie a restrained, obviously fake smile.
Only the five know what led me to such foolish assumptions that things are civilized here. At some point, everyone is their own best friend.
Lexis raises his shoulders slightly.
I can't even blame anyone. It's a tough world. And yet, it shocks me deeply. I don't think there will be a chance for justice. You know, one of the weapons that was stolen from me was my masterpiece for Thorgrem. A weapon of the highest quality, incomparable sharpness and perfect balance to be named grandmaster.

Lexis turns his gaze away from Bernie and looks back to the horizon of the sea. A slight grin is on his lips, but his expression is generally very grim. He says:
I would like to tear him into four pieces. Or hang him. Yes, hanging would be good too. Burn him alive?
Another light sigh before the face hardens again and the eyes seem to search for answers in the distance.