In Character Embezzlin` - Another Taboo?

[Aeric]

If a character is doing it, as long as its out in the open, where the other players know about it. It isn't a taboo. Although you've got to ask about what will happen when the rest of the characters find out. The only negative impact IME was when a character was taking his pick from the loot before the rest of the party got there. Out of character we knew he was doing it, and it was in character, so that wasn't a problem. But he did it so often, he was becoming very wealthy , and spending it on magic items, that the rest of the party couldn't afford. Which started , at least from my POV a bit irritating.

At which point, the other characters start to wonder how it is that this one character is so much wealthier when they're all in the same party doing the same things. Eventually they should put two and two together, and have a little talk with their friend. "We'll get to the bottom of this...whether we use Zone of Truth or Speak with Dead is up to you."

 

[Ambrus]

I'd like to say cool. Call it a "Minding fee" or something , honour for travelling with you, maybe they'll be cool and give you some extra cash, just cause you get happier with it

They have in fact given me a few token bits of treasure as gifts because they enjoy seeing my giddy joy at the sight of a new trinket, especially the cross-eyed ectasy I get from chewing on pearls. They rest easy knowing that the party fund is in a saddlebag that my dragon uses as a pillow. Since I'm only a hatchling they've also gifted me with a flax stuffed toy dragon (which I call Dracoflax) and a storybook for my six month birthday.

 

[Wycen]

Before the advent of 3E, it wasn't necessary to embezzle. Sure, maybe the thief would pocket something while the rest of the party wasn't looking, but mostly it was because all treasure would be written on the treasure sheet, then players would roll a die and highest would choose first, then we'd just start picking items we wanted.

With 3E's "stingy" treasure distribution system, this doesn't seem to happen.

Of course it could be that one group I play with now is completely idiotic about how treasure it distributed. Nobody gets anymore than anybody else and any item not immediately useful is sold for the gold. We argue about it everytime, until the PC's reach about 10th level and we start getting +1 items like they were water.

 

[Wycen]

They have in fact given me a few token bits of treasure as gifts because they enjoy seeing my giddy joy at the sight of a new trinket, especially the cross-eyed ectasy I get from chewing on pearls. They rest easy knowing that the party fund is in a saddlebag that my dragon uses as a pillow. Since I'm only a hatchling they've also gifted me with a flax stuffed toy dragon (which I call Dracoflax) and a storybook for my six month birthday.

Back in 2E when you could get henchmen without a feat, I had a young silver dragon bonded to a character. He of course grew up, but remained friendly to my charcter. Some of the funnest parts where when we'd split treasure and I'd choose something off the list and another player would say, "Oh damn, I wanted that", and then to my glee (and the dragon's) I'd give it to him as part of his growing hoard.

And grown silver dragon with a Mirror of Mental Prowess is one happy dragon.

 

[Jubilee]

In one of the current campaigns we have a character doing a bit of "looting during battle." Sometimes it's useful (stole a cleric's holy symbol in combat, so he couldn't cast spells), but sometimes it's not.

The PCs are a fractured bunch without much reason to adventure together as it is, and adding distrust to the party is not, imo, a good thing. The other difficulty is that our GM is very, very against changing characters, and to either get rid of the character or have a character leave the group because of the thievery is impossible.

I like the player, but I dislike knowing that our PCs have no way to enforce consequences when/if we catch her at it.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

One time, I was playing in a game with a rather inexpert GM. My character was Neutral Good, and the rest of the party consisted of a paladin whose player (not the character) was a little bit demented (he made a sock puppet with whom to talk) and so of little help, and the rest of the party were Lawful or Chaotic "Neutral" , by which I mean incredibly evil.

In this case, I think it was the right thing to do. If they can "play their character" to commit atrocities, you can "play your character" to hinder them without killing them.

 

[Rystil Arden]

In this case, I think it was the right thing to do. If they can "play their character" to commit atrocities, you can "play your character" to hinder them without killing them.

My sentiments exactly, though you worded it better than I would have

I also cast a Geas spell on a party member in that game, but that was a whole different story...

 

[Hussar]

*snip*

When I started giving out xp for roleplaying, one player who never got any started to whine and argued "I'm roleplaying it to the hilt .. my character is of the silent type, he let's his weapons do the talking". Sometimes those explanations are just a cop out for not trying to work for the game, just trying to say.

Most of the problems of character personality can be worked out in-game, but some are better metagamed.

You played with this guy too? Nothing funnier that seeing someone's face fall when they realize that the "Strong silent type" excuse doesn't work in a high rp game. Even Clint Eastwood's character in a Fist Full of Dollars talked. Strong silent type =/= the Terminator.

 

[ThirdWizard]

The best example of this was a PC sorcerer who claimed a bag of holding without telling anyone what it was.

He then proceded to fill it with gold and various other treasures. The other PCs always thought it was odd how much could fit into the bag, but they didn't realize what was going on. He would then pretend he had put less gold in than he had actually put in, and keep extra for himself. Eventually they figured out it was a bag of holding, but he bluffed them into thinking he had told them a long time ago and had taken it as his split back then.

PS: The players were fully aware the entire time of what was happening.

 

[Olive]

A PC in my WFRP party just failed to share with the party. See below for details but be warned minor spoilers for Through the Drakwald and Ashes of Middenheim follow:

Spoiler

When the dying Sigmarite priest gave the icon over to the PCs only one character was close by. So he hid the icon, and then when they got to Middenheim delivered it to the Temple while the others were shopping, taking the reward for himself.

This didn't cause any problems, and all the other players knew about it. It was also entirely appropriate for the tone of the game and the characters involved.