Friday, February 16, 2018

Picking Pockets D&D 5E



In my last session, a player character needed some extra coin so the player decided that the character would spend a few hours walking the city looking to separate a few fat purses from some wealthy merchants.

I thought I saw a downtime activity for this but when I looked through the DMG and Xanathar's, all I could find was "Crime" which was more appropriate for pulling a heist - it required a week of planning. So I skipped it and made up my own ad hoc rules on the fly.

My ad hoc rules worked fine so I decided to write them up. It was during that process that I realized that my rules turned out to be pretty similar to the crime rules in Xanathar's but my rules. I have since re-written my rules to more closely match those from Xanathar's, primarily by making the time required only 8 hours and dividing all money gained by 10.

Pick Pocket
This activity gives a character the chance to make some extra cash by separating some purses from some wealthy merchants.

Resources
Picking Pockets requires a character to spend eight hours and at least 2 gp on food and ale while observing potential marks.

Resolution 
The character must make a series of checks, with one DC for all the checks determined by the profit sought from the crime.

The chosen DC can be 10, 15, 20, or 25. Successful completion of the crime yields a number of gold pieces based on the chosen DC, as shown on the Loot Value table.

To attempt the lift, the character makes three checks: Wisdom (Perception), Dexterity (Stealth), and Dexterity (Sleight of Hand). If there is the opportunity for crowds, throngs, or masses, the check is made with Advantage.
  • If none of the checks succeed, the character is (1d6):
1-3 = Caught and jailed. The character must pay a fine equal to the potential payout and must spend two nights in jail per 5 gp value.
4-6 = Roughed up by thugs.  The character gains 1d4 levels of Exhaustion
  • If one check succeeds, the lift fails but the character escapes. 
  • If two checks succeed, the lift is a partial success, netting the character half the payout. 
  • If all three succeed, the character earns the full payout.

Loot Value 
DC Value 
10 = 5 gp, the purse of a struggling merchant
15 = 10 gp, the purse of a prosperous merchant
20 = 20 gp, the purse of a noble
25 = 100 gp, the purse of one of the richest figures in town

Complications Picking pockets for a living is filled with complications. Roll on the Pick Pocket Complications table (or create a complication of your own) if the character succeeds at only one check. If the character’s rival is involved in crime or law enforcement, roll if the character succeeds on only two checks.

Crime Complications
d10 Complication
1* = A bounty equal to 10 times your earnings is offered for information about your crime.
2* = An unknown person witnessed your crime and threatened to call you out to your victim unless you promised to render a service.
3 = Your victim is beaten up for being unable to pay a debt because of your crime.
4* = Someone who knows of your crime has been arrested on an unrelated crime.
5 = Your loot is a single, easily identified item that you can’t fence in this region.
6 = You robbed from someone who was under a local crime lord’s protection, and who now wants revenge.
7 = Your victim calls in a favor from a guard, doubling the efforts to solve the case.
8 = Your victim approaches one of your adventuring companions asking about you.
9* = A paladin or cleric of justice is keeping their eyes peeled for someone matching your description.
10* = You stole something precious from a beloved figure; everyone in town is looking for you, the thieving scumbag.
*Might involve a rival

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for this, I'm finding it really helpful for an upcoming 1-player game with a thief protagonist. Very well-structured, I should be able to wrong several sessions out of your complications.

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    Replies
    1. Pair it with any of the myriad random pick pocket results tables you can find on the internet.

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