Whining & Complaining

[Agamon]

Yep, dumb player is as dumb player does. If you expect to get all of the reward, you should also expect to assume all of the risk.

 

[Elf Witch]

Figuring out what to do is easy. Just do nothing.

I did that once. The rogue player went off on his own to sneak inside a warehouse. I was a rogue/fighter and knew better. I asked him not to do it, but he wanted to be the lone wolf (and I'm sure he thought he'd get his own loot and XP).

He got caught, got overwhelmed, and then our PCs saw the town guards hauling him down the street towards a building where they burn criminals. Everyone asked me what I thought we should do and I said, "I ain't doing a thing. There are too many guards and he got himself in this mess."

The player got pissed at us for not rescuing him. It was a 2e Dark Sun game and I wasn't about to risk being a hero for some idiot rogue. That's a rough setting to play in, you gotta play it smart.

I know that the thief style rogue is a popular character. And in certain ways it can be fun. But it requires a player who knows how to be a team player and knows when not to steal.

Rogues who steal from their party or try and steal from every merchant ends up causing a lot of hard feelings with the rest of the party. At least that has been my experience.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Nothing is more irritating then a party rogue getting caught stealing in a town and then we have to figure out what to do.

Figuring out what to do is easy. Just do nothing.

What you do depends on what story you want told.

Years ago, our party thief got caught stealin'...

Jane's Addiction
I've been caught stealing;
once when I was 5...
I enjoy stealing.
It's just as simple as that.
Well, it's just a simple fact.
When I want something,
I don't want to pay for it.

I walk right through the door.
Walk right through the door.
Hey all right! If I get by, it's mine.
Mine all mine!

errr...not quite.

Anyway, he got caught stealing, but evaded capture. He hooked up with the party while running from the Watch. Our group had been berating him about his cavalier attitude to endangering the party for some time, and this caused a repeat of all that...until the Watch actually tracked him down again, forcing the party to flee.

On the way out of town, the party crossed a narrow bridge, and he told my PC to "Do something, you idiot!"

My PC, Bear, WAS an idiot...a BIG dumb idiot. Str 18/00, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 6, Cha 6. He was also the thief's bodyguard and unquestioning buddy.

Bear stopped running, turned to face the Watch, and started taking them on, one by one...because the bridge was very narrow. The party fled while he bought them time.

After a while, the party strung up the thief and left him for the Watch to find, along with what he stole, asking only that the reward money be used to memorialize Bear. (He got an orphanage built in his name.)

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Years ago, our party thief got caught stealin'...

Ah, now you made me think about that scene in Sleepless in Seattle where the guys are talking about The Dirty Dozen.

 

[Elf Witch]

Our group was playing in the setting Kingdoms of Kalamar. We were heading to the city of Promdelia the city of thieves. We got information that city was very strict with thieves who operated outside of the guild.

So the rogues of the party met with the thieves guild one agrees to follow the rules , the other pretends to. So he goes about stealing and ripping off the thieves guild and eventually gets caught.

It took every bit of gold and half our magic items to save his life. And we got run out of the city.

We expected him to pay us back which he actually had the nerve to balk at doing. The other player who was also playing a rogue got so angry over this that she attacked him in his sleep and tried to kill him.

The party cleric broke it up but refused to heal either of the rogues.

Eventually the party dynamics got so bad that the DM said enough and ended the campaign.

 

[Doug McCrae]

I know some DMs and players like having rogues who go on their own and do things. I am not one of them. Nothing is more irritating then a party rogue getting caught stealing in a town and then we have to figure out what to do.

I struggle with that as a GM. In the past I've just had the thief PC imprisoned, which is too boring. In fiction, being caught isn't boring, it leads to more adventures. I struggle with the implausibility of stuff like the authorities offering to release the thief if he does some secret work for them, which is the obvious place to take it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I struggle with the implausibility of stuff like the authorities offering to release the thief if he does some secret work for them, which is the obvious place to take it.

It is a lot more common in the modern era than in anything resembling the typical D&D type setting...but its not outside the realm of possibility even then.

 

[Elf Witch]

I struggle with that as a GM. In the past I've just had the thief PC imprisoned, which is too boring. In fiction, being caught isn't boring, it leads to more adventures. I struggle with the implausibility of stuff like the authorities offering to release the thief if he does some secret work for them, which is the obvious place to take it.

There are ways you can handle it so that the game continues. One way is having the thief have to do a job that authority can't or that it feel is to dangerous for its own people.

The issue is how the rest of the party feels about about being roped into it. Some parties are easy going and would be XP here we come others would feel like they didn't have choice.

 

[UnknownAtThisTime]

I like that being a non-drinker makes someone a bore. *eyeroll*

Agreed. Good point. Probably not wise to cast such a wide net.

When the party goes to do something idiotic, like consume alcohol, I can just go do something fun and of varying legality and be totally in character.

Ooops.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One way is having the thief have to do a job that authority can't or that it feel is to dangerous for its own people.

Or as an alternative sentence to going to prison (or what have you). This angle is especially common when the person is extremely skilled at what they do. For instance, the master thief, once caught, may be able to escape having his hands cut off by the Pasha in exchange for showing the Pasha's security forces how to improve security.

And then getting secrets or objects from the Pasha's rivals.