stop sleight of hand pickpocketing?

[Dross]

A couple of things to think about.

While you know OOC that he is stealing, does the PC know that the rogue is stealing? Making sure it is the rogue is important. As others have said: Alarm, Curse, prestidigitation (colour bright pink, or a hidden mark), physical trap, mark all your items in a hard to locate spot.

You are taking steps to protect yourself since items are going missing. If other PCs have things go missing (especially if the rogue doesn't) help them set traps as well (but always leave something else for yourself).

Has the rogue used any items, or does he sell or give them away? Query rogue over how how got items. If he says "bought them" ask how he got the $$, from where, and when.

Then as others have said, it is in character to expel from the party if not take more drastic action.

Alternatively, find some way to out the rogue as a necromancer, since he has taken (your) tools of the trade, if it is not something you have shown the rest of the party. You just need to be able to deflect any calls of you being one.

 

[newrange]

Playing a rogue today on Roll20, I didn't pickpocket a PC; however, I did something equally questionable. All of the other PCs left my character - a known thief - alone in a room full of as-of-yet unidentified and unclaimed loot. I simply whispered to the GM that I was searching containers for loot, and the GM whispered back to me what all was available. I took the opportunity to pocket a small, fairly valuable item worth twice as much gold as the rest of the loot combined. I rolled 25 on a Sleight-of-Hand check to hide it on my person with a natural 20, so the GM allowed it to go unnoticed. Should this really be considered unfair, since it went completely unnoticed by both the other PCs AND the other players?

 

[delericho]

I think you get the idea- warn him once, then kill him. Don't accept "Nuh-uh, you didn't see me take it!" Counter with "My wisdom is 18 and we caught you before."

Kill him or boot him from the party. Don't show any tolerance for this. He won't stop.

This.

 

[the Jester]

Playing a rogue today on Roll20, I didn't pickpocket a PC; however, I did something equally questionable. All of the other PCs left my character - a known thief - alone in a room full of as-of-yet unidentified and unclaimed loot. I simply whispered to the GM that I was searching containers for loot, and the GM whispered back to me what all was available. I took the opportunity to pocket a small, fairly valuable item worth twice as much gold as the rest of the loot combined. I rolled 25 on a Sleight-of-Hand check to hide it on my person with a natural 20, so the GM allowed it to go unnoticed. Should this really be considered unfair, since it went completely unnoticed by both the other PCs AND the other players?

It's not unfair at all, but it may well be a violation of the social norms at any given table, and it's absolutely the sort of thing that, if you get caught, justifies the party saying, "No more of you!" It's all a matter of playstyle, but many, many groups favor a teamwork-no-screwing-the-party model of play, and stealing loot from the party is absolutely a violation of this.

So, sure it's fair, but so is the party killing your character if they find you out. Don't cry if it happens; once you steal from the group, it's entirely predictable, and it's also fair to assume that if they ever need to drop a player, the guy who doesn't play well with others is the one who'll get cut. So be very careful and make sure you know how the group feels about these issues.

 

[newrange]

I can't bring myself to classify my actions as "stealing loot from the party," since nobody in the party took the time to check the contents of any of the containers. In my eyes, the loot was completely up for grabs, since none of the other characters had even bothered to check out what the loot consisted of. I mean, none of the other characters even knew that the object my character pocketed existed in the first place.

If my character had stolen something that had already been accounted for, I could completely understand it being deemed as traitorous. But this situation can't honestly be classified as thievery, can it? There was loot, and it was claimed whilst nobody else was looking. That's really as simple as it is.

 

[delericho]

I can't bring myself to classify my actions as "stealing loot from the party," since nobody in the party took the time to check the contents of any of the containers.

Doesn't matter. The party almost certainly entered the dungeon with a reasonable assumption that "we'll split the loot equally". That item is part of the loot; it should therefore be split with the rest.

Of course, you're free to think otherwise, and your Rogue is likewise free to think otherwise. But don't expect the other players, or their characters, to agree. And if they do think otherwise, don't complain if they choose to have their characters take action against your guy for his actions. If you were "only playing your character", then so are they!

 

[amerigoV]

Heh, too bad you folks are not higher level. I think a fine warning would be to cut his hand off, kill him, Zombie his body, have the cleric resurrect (whichever level allows it) using the hand. The zombie is a constant visual warning of what happens next time you suspect he is stealing from you.

Otherwise, just cut the hand off and animate the hand. It can guard your stuff. Or maybe that is the trapping for your Alarm spell - cut the head off some critter and animate it. It gives the warnings if something bad happens. That would be a fun creepy thing to spring on the thief the next time they rummage in your stuff.

 

[delericho]

Heh, too bad you folks are not higher level. I think a fine warning would be to cut his hand off, kill him, Zombie his body, have the cleric resurrect (whichever level allows it) using the hand. The zombie is a constant visual warning of what happens next time you suspect he is stealing from you.

Doesn't work. The body part used needs to have been part of the body when it died, so that severed hand wouldn't do it. And I don't think you can resurrect someone who has been turned into an undead creature unless and until the creature has been destroyed either.

 

[Water Bob]

We had an annoying player once, back in the day (not the only annoying player ever--just a story that has stuck with me). The guy was a min-maxer, playing a Paladin because of the perks, not for role playing reasons. He just didn't fit wit the rest of the group. He was a loot whore, too. Everywhere the group went, this dude--who's supposed to be a Paladin--made sure that ever inch of ever room we ever entered was checked for loot and secret passages. If we saw a monster--or even the threat of one--he'd charge in to fight it, expecting the entire group to follow. The concept of parlay and avoidance was foreign to him.

Well, the rest of the group got sick of this guy (though he did have one ally in the group--the cleric, who was a roleplayer playing a character of the same faith as the Paladin). The Thief in our party took it on himself to rid of this annoying character (not all Paladins...THIS Paladin).

It was after a fight in a field with some basilisks. The Paladin was doing his thing, thinking that there might be a chance for a nest with loot. The Thief sprinkled Dust of Sneezing and Choking (this is back in 1E AD&D days....IIRC, there's no save---it's instant death) on the Cleric, because the roleplayer would stop the Thief from doing what he was doing. Then, the Thief sneaked up behind the Paladin as he was looking for the basilisk next, used his Rope of Entanglement to confine the Paladin. Then, the Thief pull out his Bag of Devouring and promptly slipped it over the Paladin's head.

The DM described how the Paladin screamed and jerked around, then went limp.

I laughed and laughed.

The player of the Paladin stayed with the game, but his next character was a dwarf fighter, and this guy....was played differently. We all kinda liked the dwarf.

I guess the message got through to the player.

And, we all had a better game for it.

 

[amerigoV]

Doesn't work. The body part used needs to have been part of the body when it died, so that severed hand wouldn't do it. And I don't think you can resurrect someone who has been turned into an undead creature unless and until the creature has been destroyed either.

Well, you could kill him THEN cut off the hand. The latter point may technically be correct and is utterly boring. Or it should be learned through trial and error "oops, I thought that would work. I'm keeping the zombie, so I guess you have to roll up another character."

(of course, the price to rez would make this all folly, but a 3rd level PC should not know that)