Pickpocketing

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Pickpocketing is the skill that allows you to make someone else's wealth your own. It is a method of supplementing a good thief's income.

Ranks and Training Point Costs

Type Square Semi Pure
Profession Rogue Warrior Monk Bard Paladin Ranger Cleric Empath Savant Sorcerer Wizard
Max Ranks Per Level 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 - 1 1
Training Point Cost 1/0 2/3 2/2 2/1 4/4 2/3 3/3 3/3 - 3/3 3/3

What can be stolen

Only common magical items or commonly found treasure items can be stolen. The following is a list of items that can be stolen:

  • silvers (up to the thief's bonus level of Pickpocketing, found by using the SKILLS verb)
  • gems (if they have not been imbedded with magic)
  • creature skins
  • medicinal herbs (e.g. acantha leaf)
  • crystals (black, white, and blue, as well as alchemy crystals)
  • wands
  • gold rings that have not been set
  • crystal amulets

Note that cursed gems can be stolen, and will become stuck to the thief's hand. Depending on the curse used, the curse can have other nasty effects.

Besides silvers, items can only be stolen from containers that are back-, cloak-, belt-, shoulder-, or pin-worn.

Factors for Success

There are many factors that go into success when pickpocketing. When the skill is used, it is essentially a contest between the thief and the mark.

The thief

  • Beneficial
    • The thief's profession is rogue.
    • The thief's Pickpocketing ranks
    • Thief's Dexterity bonus
    • Thief's Discipline bonus
    • Thief is hiding or invisible
    • The mark's use of the watch verb on someone else
    • Hands being free
    • Room lighting - the darker, the more the thief benefits
    • Room fog - the more foggy, the more the thief benefits
    • The spell, Mobility (618)
    • A large crowd
  • Harmful
    • The thief's armor
    • The mark's use of the watch verb on the thief
    • Things in the thief's hands
    • The thief's level of encumbrance
    • The thief's injuries
    • The thief is sitting, prone, or kneeling
    • A small crowd, or no crowd

The mark

  • Beneficial
    • The mark's Pickpocketing ranks
    • The mark's Perception ranks
    • Mark's Wisdom bonus
    • Mark's Intuition bonus
    • Watching the thief
    • If the thief steals from the mark in succession
    • A small crowd, or no crowd
  • Harmful
    • The mark's injuries
    • If the mark is incapacitated
    • Watching someone other than the thief
    • A large crowd

A target that is incapacitated cannot defend themselves from a thief. Being stunned, dead, bound, or other forms of immobilization prevents a character from "guarding their pockets." Being in roundtime, however, does not allow a thief who has been caught to steal from the target.

Also, a thief has to watch for thief traps. Any character can be carrying a trap. However, sorcerers are very good at dealing with thieves due to the spell, Curse (715), and the existence of minor demons, which will bite a thief that tries to steal from its master.

Resources