Observations and Advice for Prospective Sticky Fingered Character players

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Navi
Posts: 350
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2020 7:07 am

Observations and Advice for Prospective Sticky Fingered Character players

Post by Navi »

Feel free to add or suggest revisions. These are not sanctioned by any GMs or other players, and are simply a compilation of helpful understandings that I hope prepare my sticky fingered friends, gleaned from my own experiences. I never had someone to teach me these things, so had to learn along the way. Hopefully this makes things easier for anybody contemplating the plunge.


#1 Crime doesn’t pay, but it can be fun.


#2 Decide what kind of thief you are going to be early on. Are you only going to steal from helpless NPCs, crowds, player characters, or some combination. Depending on what is decided will determine a large portion of what difficulties you’ll face. If you don’t like conflict, but still love the idea of a thief, consider only stealing from helpless infested, nethrim, or bandits. Anything more will color you badly with other characters. Seems pretty obvious, but still important to understand what you’re getting into.


#3 If you are ever even suspected of being a thief by other characters IC or OOC, you will get blamed for anything that ever goes missing ever regardless if you did or not. It’s just part of the gig. Find some good friends and grow thick skin. I recall once someone sent me a private message on the BBS from the other game demanding I return a portfolio of personal and explicit drawings to them. They were pretty upset over it for obvious reasons, but then I received a private message from them telling me they found it in their handcart just a few minutes later. These things will happen from time to time, and rarely will they be resolved in the manner described here. Often times you’ll sit with the blame for the rest of your career, and half the time you won’t even be aware of it. Something will go missing or get misplaced and suddenly it’s your fault.


#4 Don’t expect to be love and adored by the player base. A few rare characters achieve this status. It shouldn’t be expected, and often times they aren’t directly opposing other players. There’s tradeoffs for your style of thievery. Also, remember, even if you’re loved and adored by other characters as a known or suspected thief, that can be fleeting. Paranoia is a powerful feeling.


#5 Given the nature of stealing and deception, you can’t expect other players to know the whole story, so there will always always, and I mean always be some missing pieces. It shouldn’t be surprising then when the effected characters and everybody else who hears about it through gossip decide to take action that doesn’t seem appropriate to you. It doesn’t mean it’s invalid RP, it just means they did something unexpected. Don’t feel alone though, most everyone deals with this at some point, even if they’re not a thief.


#6 Additionally, sometimes retaliation doesn’t even involve you. Remember when I said things go missing and you get blamed? Sometimes things go missing, and even though you might’ve stolen them, someone else takes the fall. Yay consciences!

#7 Be aware. I'm not going to say something cheesy like just because you can doesn't mean you should, because it doesn't really apply as well to a character who's concept surrounds theft and opportunities. I think it's important to be aware of the consequences your actions will have on your character as well as other's though. Think long and hard before taking action if you want to steal that super secret artifact from its protectors if it means the world explodes. Still though, you are a thief, so stealing rare items is the name of the game.
wander without wanting, thrust into lands unknown. the shadows shift and change, and the worlds with them.
I'm not a soldier but I'm fighting
Can you hear me through the silence?
I won't give up 'cause there will be a day
We'll meet again
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