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Rogues stealing from their own party

JoeGKushner

Adventurer
So as a gamer, do you appreciate being in a game where the realism enforcement is on and you can steal from each other or do you meta game an agrement that players won't steal from each other?
 

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My group has kind of a tact agreement not to steal from one another... although, we do not allow evil characters in the group (neutral are fine) so that might make a difference.

I should clarify - we don't steal anything very important from one another. Like, a rogue occasionally pick-pockets one of the other characters for a few gold, then uses it to buy the group a round at the tavern - the other character (and player) usually laughes it off when discovered.
 

I perfer the non stealing from each other. And that's only because in my experience people who steal for the party can't stand it when they get caught and when the party gets back at them for stealing.
 

When this has been tried in our group the thief has usually 'met with an accident'. Now, stealing from other sources in the game world and not sharing with the other PCs is a different matter and is just good role playing.
 

I think its an important campaign parameter that needs to be agreed on before play starts. It falls under the header 'What kind of campaing are we going to play?'.

I don't think its a question of 'realism' at all.
 

FATDRAGONGAMES said:
When this has been tried in our group the thief has usually 'met with an accident'. Now, stealing from other sources in the game world and not sharing with the other PCs is a different matter and is just good role playing.


Interesting. Does the GM then need to watch out what he puts in the campagin?

Say the GM puts a Wand of Magic Missiles into the game at a low level to help the mage out. The rogue finds it and sells it and the party doesn't know about it.

Is the rogue stealing from the party or another source and not sharing?
 

Realism? What would you do "realistically" if a coworker stole from you? Kick the bastard out, that's what you'd do. And if you were Zog the Archmage of Energy, you'd probably incinerate him as well.

You see, there is a social contract between players: You don't abuse meta-game forces that keep our characters together (I mean meta-game in the neutral, descriptive sense). Because you and some friends are gaming together and all have characters, the characters are lumped into a party, even though realistically Sir Otto Von Ratzenbanger the Highborn would probably have nothing to do with grubby Roguely MacStealingstuff. We, as D&D gamers, ignore a fair amount of "realism" for the sake of making the game work.

But stealing/harming other PCs takes betrays that system and takes advantage of it, to the detriment of the game. If you feel your character should be free to steal from the others, then the others should be free to say "we don't want your character in the party. Roll up a new one."
 

In our group, the rogue is free to try and steal or take advantage of another character. It does lead to intersting roleplaying, but the player just needs to be ready for his character to face the consequences if caught.


Some examples

1. The rogue would exchange silver pieces or some bauble for the Lizardman's "shiny rocks".

2. The rogue first met the party by attempting to pick pocket the Barbarian. The rogue got caught by the druid and, if the paladin had not intervened, the rogue would have been killed by the barbarian. Eventually, the rogue overheard that the party was trying to rescue a princess. Assuming, there would be a reward for the rescue, the rogue offered to help party and became their guide through the city free of charge. The rogue became a full party member when he ended up on the run with the rest of the party following a less than clean escape.
 
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As a player, I avoid it. If it is unavoidable, I either try to work something out or move on. As a GM, I prefer that the players decide on the issue.
 

We decide the nature of the game at the begining of the campaign and from there it is still allowed but the other players basically get a metagaming veto if the wish to use it.
 

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