Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Barky Mar 24, 2015 19:19:53	How do you folks run pickpocket attempts against the PCs?   Do you just do one Sleight of Hand check vs. the target PCs passive Perception?   Do you make it a contest? How do you avoid tipping the player's hand?   Do you make your NPC do any Stealth checks first, to get in range of the pickpocket attempt? Or afterwards to sneak away?
#2 iserith Mar 24, 2015 19:43:45	1. Telegraph the threat: "You're entering the crowded night market, a place thick with shady denizens lurking in long shadows. You are likely the most well-heeled people in this bustling place and many eyes are upon you."   2. Ask "What do you do?" If the players state they are being very cautious with their valuables and take steps to defeat pickpockets (e.g. putting gold in boots or keistering that gem they found), then they have removed uncertainty from the situation and avoid having anything stolen. If the players take no precautions at all and just go about their business or do something other than keeping an eye out for hidden threats, next time they count their coins they come up a few short. If the players take some precautions but do not remove uncertainty (such as just by staying vigilant), then I have the pickpocket make a Sleight of Hand check against the player's Perception check (I don't like passive checks).    3. Narrate the results: "A man runs into you and stumbles back with his hands raised. 'Excuse me, sir. I didn't see you there - my apologies!' That's when you notice your purse is missing. What do you do?"
#3 AaronOfBarbaria Mar 24, 2015 19:51:30	What iserith said (except i dont mind passive checks) and utilising numerous thief tricks: the bump-lift iserith used, a two-man distraction and lift, the literal cut purse, a blatant grab followed by speedy and streetwise evasion (likely with the thief's associates serving as additional obstacles), and more. Anything that presents something for the players to interact with if they choose to.
#4 TheMightyGoose Mar 25, 2015 14:53:53	I'm with iserith; though I would say, if the PCs take no precautions, still make a check against the PCs passive perception. There's no reason a blundering imbecile of a pickpocket should automatically succeed against a PC, even if the PC isn't actively on alert.
#5 iserith Mar 25, 2015 15:13:57	One might imagine a "blundering imbecile of a pickpocket" would automatically fail to pickpocket the PCs - no roll necessary as there is no uncertainty. My adjudication assumes a pickpocket worth his or her salt.
(Reply to #5) TheMightyGoose	iserith wrote:
#7 iserith Mar 25, 2015 16:34:09	PC is engaged in heavy negotiations for some iron rations with a NPC merchant. Does the pickpocket succeed, fail, or have an uncertain chance of nicking some of the character's gold?   PC is engaged in following the tracks of another a humanoid creature. Does the lurking owlbear get the jump on the character, fail to do so, or have an uncertain chance of surprising the PC?
(Reply to #4) CCS	TheMightyGoose wrote:
#9 TheLarch Mar 26, 2015 13:54:39	I run it fairly mechanical: slight of hand vs passive perception. Add bonuses or advantage/disadvantage as appropriate. I give the player a rough indication of the difficulty before they make the actual attempt.
#10 Touc Mar 27, 2015 11:55:01	I largely take Iserith's approach of narrating rather than relying on opposed rolls. Players like to feel their decisions, rather than secret DM rolls, put them in a particular situation. Odds are you'll get ticked off stares if you simply declare the party lost 15 GP next time they check their purses at the Inn, and you explain you successfully rolled DEX checks against their passive perception. It doesn't sound like role-playing and it punishes players for something they had no say in.
#11 Illithidbix Mar 27, 2015 13:58:34	After I had turned one of my PC's into a sentient. telepathic teddybear.* I had a small child attempt to steal him from the belt of one of the party bard. They ran off screaming due to the voices in their head...   *(He told a Fey creature in the form of a child who plays with dolls that he wanted the head of a bear...)   This might be a tad niche as advice goes however...