I am a 10th level rogue who lost all his possessions to a Deck of Many Things. Need to find easy ways to recover some loot and minor magic items to recover. I always hear people say pick pocketing is a waste of time, but someone has to have had a great experience pick pocketing or the game wouldn't have it at all. Anyone have any ideas or any cool experiences while pick pocketing?
Forget pick pocketing, just derail the game with a crime spree to get your money back.
:invasion:
Is it due to very little wealth being found. (not a problem, just a waste of time)
Or is it due to difficulty and being easily caught. (problem)
ps, playing a level 1 rogue.
As I am currently playing a rogue who is primarily a sneak-thief, I have to ask, why is pickpocketing not a good idea?
Is it due to very little wealth being found. (not a problem, just a waste of time)
Or is it due to difficulty and being easily caught. (problem)
ps, playing a level 1 rogue.
Compared to the money you earn as an adventurer (constantly risking your life at every turn to monsters/bandits/what have you), odds are pickpocketing typically yields chump change.
However, if the rest of your group is willing to play along, then there's nothing wrong with it. Especially if you give them a cut, perhaps for helping you out after you lost everything. Picking one or two pockets at a time is generally ok, but if yer trying to re-build your net worth, there's lots of faster and less irritating ways of doing it. Get creative with your robberies, and include the rest of your party so they don't feel left out. They can help keep watch or something.
As for the usefulness of the skill, it comes into play more usefully as something other than a way to get chump change. We've used it to steal jail cell keys from guards, or nab magic items off of guests at fancy parties, or take daggers off of people who would later try to ambush us (that was actually pretty funny when the baddies tried to mug one of us but we had stolen all their weapons a few minutes earlier). So I wouldn't say its totally useless...
Robbing their mansions is potentially a better idea, and your party could be of actual help, so they wouldn't feel left out.
-Pick Pocketing for cash when actual "adventuring prospects" are available isn't necessarilly sound strategy given the "alternative". 1) Archetypal pick pocket = mark's coin purse. Coin purse = 50 coins max (or 1 lb of coinage). Not all of those 50 will be gp or pp, if there's even 50 at all in there. Bear in mind, this is the "standard".
The real (rest of) money must be stored, typically for adventurers, in the backpack. This can be very difficult when a Heward's Handy Haversack is involved and usually more work than worry.
This is why I insist for PCs to let me know what 50 coins will be in the pouch cuz' they are likely to attract attention w/ their "new found wealth", especially when they look vulnerable (low on HP when returning from lair w/ a ton of $, magic, treasure, etc.)
-When committing to crime (larceny in this case, grand, petty, or otherwise), it is best to know your endgame/approx haul in relation to the danger in advance. Cutpurses typically don't. Sure thing vs. a wild card...
A reputable cat burglar already knows the worth of the Rembrandt he is gunning for, not doing the B&E into gallery 'x' and randomly taking what he thinks might be worth 'y'. Random w/out good logistics = Unprofessional, dangerous, stupid. Pickpocketing, in this mindset, is like a grab bag. Great if you're really acting out in "chaotic fashion", but unwise as the risk outweighs the theoretical (unknown) goods in that you are blindly hoping for a big score. Best to do a little research first.
-Unprofessional (for coinage anyway). Assassins and higher end scoundrels (burglars, box men, smugglers, yaks, assorted made men, agent provacateur types, etc) don't mess w/ the "kid's stuff". This is like those ********er types that get awesome record deals but blow it by acting out in dumb ********er fashion (typically violent &/or drug crime), not newly minted celebrity status.
Stupid to risk a lucrative career, furthermore, you're supposed to be working w/ a team of like-minded ppl (your adventuring party), and being laid up in jail forces their hand in dick move fashion. Like a barbarian that routinely picks fights in the inn when you're doing R&R, your magi trafficing w/ evil cultists when he should be researching 'x', etc. Puts you (and rest of team) in a compromising position in terms of party loyalty. And over what? Most likely a handful of pilfered silver to cover the bar tab?
-Risk/gain: you might be looking at a severed hand in Calimsham (Faerun) for petty theft if caught, and for what? Small change. That is, you shouldn't just randomly select your target. 2 days recon minimum. You never know. Best to know ahead of time your mark is well off and actually holding, not well dressed gentry (presumably, alot of $) that just blew it all at the bar a few hours past. You would know that in advance and not waste your time.
At low lvl, it might be a good career move. Depends, don't want to tell you what's right for you and your's. However, it's probably better served fetching a key, plot device, potion, or planting evidence than for raw cash's sake.
Wise takes:
-Swiping specific components (or holy symbol) from a magi's bag and baiting him/her into a situation where they will surely play that card, but alas, to no avail (component), leaving you w/ a major advantage and possibly some diamond dust or valuable goody to boot.
-Planting of contraband on an enemy when violence isn't actionable. A 1oz jar of poison on a noble at the party will hurt more than a crit w/ a great axe.
Or, if you're really careful (this worked well once), taking item 'x', putting contact poison on it, then obviously alert the mark to the theft, when they retrieve item 'x'...or, poison it (like a dagger, choice item they're sure to use vs. you), return it w/ another Sleight of Hand, bait them to use it, bam...
The list goes on, but don't just go willy nilly at the bar when short on cash. If you must, at least do the "old standby" where your Bard (preferably) performs and works an Enthrall into the crowd to "soften them up" for you. Some sort of distraction, something, anything. Don't wing it.
Pickpocketing is not too risky, but given the opportunities for gain available to the adventurer doing it for money is just boring and inefficient for everyone.
Pickpocketing has other uses which are much more interesting, such as lifting an item or planting one, and especially lifting an item to alter and replant.
I like to play rp heavy, and I was worried that my rogue might not be able to actually pick pockets, something iconic to my conception. I am happy to say that after reading this thread I have more, not less, rp ideas for him.
Thanks for all your replies, and thank you Artemis238 for bringing the topic up
Hope you get your character outfitted nicely I am a 10th level rogue who lost all his possessions to a Deck of Many Things. Need to find easy ways to recover some loot and minor magic items to recover. I always hear people say pick pocketing is a waste of time, but someone has to have had a great experience pick pocketing or the game wouldn't have it at all. Anyone have any ideas or any cool experiences while pick pocketing?
I firmly believe that Pick Pocketing should be treated the same as the profession skills in cases where the PC just wants to make money. It certainly shouldn't pay out more then a professional job, except that the PC will likely have it maxed. This allows the skill to be used for making cash, but without it being a nuisance to the game and rolling over and over.
After all, Petty theives were generally poor, which is why they were petty thieves.
With this method a PC would earn half their Slight of Hand skill in Gold Pieces per week of work, if say a PC had a skill of 14, then they could earn 7gp a week, or 1gp a day.
The reality though is picking Pockets is hard and extremely risky. First off you must apply the rules correctly and should read the entire rules regarding it in the book.
To take something off someone you Must make a DC 20 roll or else fail. And then the victem gets to roll a spot check against that roll to see if they notice or not. This puts the advantage to the victim, especially if they have concealed their coin purse.
Using your skill more legitimately would be a better idea, the skill is Slight of Hand, so stealing is not needed. You can use the skill to entertain an audience as though you were using the Perform Skill, your "act" being stuff like juggling, card tricks, making things disapear (typical stage magician stuff) or even setting up a table with three wulnuts and a pea and getting people to bet which one it's under. used this way pays somewhat better, up to 3d6gp per day