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Thievery: Now surely, you're not considering gaining a livelihood by stealing, are you? Well, of course not, that would be dishonest. Ah, but...(ahem), if a player character were to attempt to make his living by engaging in such nefarious deeds as pickpocketing or burglary, how exactly would he/she go about it, you may wonder. In game thievery is pretty straightforward. You are not allowed to actually take an item belonging to another player, a member of the N.P.Corps, or any of the game props. If you, (well, not you, of course- you wouldn't do such a thing)... If a player wants to pilfer coins out of another players pouch, for instance, he/she must mark that pouch with a piece of duct tape or a sticker with a big, black 'S' on it. If you get caught trying to stick an 'S' on someone else's goods, you will have to face the consequences. The laws of the land deal harshly with thieves. So do many of the players and members of the N.P. Corps. If the thief isn't caught, the person whose pouch is marked with the 'S' must give it up to the nearest Pooh-Bah. The victim doesn't have to actually give up the item; he/she just needs to let the Pooh-Bah record what was stolen. The item is then physically removed from game. The thief can collect his or her ill-gotten gains whenever there is an opportune moment. He/she goes to the Pooh-Bah and gets an in-game representation of the item. This may be a facsimile or simply a three by five card stating what the item is. It works the same way for any other item in-game. If a thief wants to steal something, he/she just marks it with a piece of tape or a sticker with that big, black 'S'. Now, if the item the thief wishes to steal is larger than he/she could reasonably palm or pocket, the player is expected to role-play the situation. If you wanted to steal a long sword, you would have to "mime" carrying it off. If questioned, "What are you holding under your cloak?" you have to 'fess up. Now, obviously, you could simply lie and say that you don't have anything. That would be cheating. For this game system to work, you have to play honorably. If you want to steal a 200 pound, 5 foot tall statue, you would probably need an accomplice or two. You can't claim to have simply tucked it under your cloak and scampered off with it. A large chest full of coins would also be difficult to haul off on your own. If anyone sees you and your companions acting out carrying a heavy, bulky item around, they can ask what you are doing. You have to tell them something- if it's a lie, it better be one that works. You don't have to admit that the item is stolen; you just have to describe what you appear to be doing. ~ Yuilie and Baril are miming carrying a heavy object between them ~ "What have ye there?" asks a passing citizen. ~ Baril thinks fast ~ "We are taking this chest to the head of the Merchant's Guild." The citizen seems satisfied, he has no reason to suspect them of anything. "What have ye there?" ~ Uh, oh... this time it's the sheriff making the inquiry. ~ Get the picture? Occasionally there will be in-game props that you can, or must, actually take if you want to "steal" them. The Pooh-Bahs will let all players know which items these are. If it hasn't been designated as such, - Don't take it, just tape it. This is another area where having the thieving 'skill' doesn't give you any bonuses in-game. You can only get away with it if you don't get caught. However, if you have high Aptitudes and skills that would make you good at stealing things, you can claim to have gotten enough money in between games to live on. If you don't have these skills and try to make a living this way, you will probably find your character arrested at some point in between games. Life goes on. Make sure your actions are compatible with your character history. |