Question about burglary

KlokFan

Hello all!

I've recently bought BG:EE and decided to begin my journey with a neutral good ranger. I'm in Beregost now and have found out that there are many houses that are available to break into "illegally". I don't want to do it because of my alignment and roleplaying reasons but I wonder if you guys would recommend it anyway because of valuable loot. Without spoiling anything serious, what are the general rewards for looting houses? And does it have any consequences for my alignment/reputation?

Thanks in advance,
KlokFan

TwoWayFinesse

if you get spotted the guards can be called. tends to be bad if they spot you (usually have a few seconds to get out)
There isn't a great deal to loot from houses (or inns, I think there is a new mace to be found somewhere)
Overall not really worth it because you will be swimming in money half way through (and i'm sure a good ranger wouldn't dream of stealing!)
If you are going to steal make sure you can't be seen by anyone when you do it (or save and get ready to cast power word: reload)

victory_rose

Generally speaking, there are very few houses with worthwhile loot. And again generally speaking, if the container is open, the chances are it contains some knickknack or a few gold coins (there are exceptions, but not very many) - even most of the locked ones contain goods of little value (again, there are exceptions).

Besides, if there's nobody around when you are in a house (or at least if you're out of sight), there's no harm in looking, is there? (just to be on the safe side, quick save before checking, 'cause you never know)

Heindrich

Pick-pocketing and burglary can make u a fair bit of gold, but it is time consuming and pointless about half-way through the game, when you'll have more gold than know what to do with. Also I don't like how pick-pocketing and stealing from shops is implemented.

Basically even if u invest a lot of thief points into the skill, there is a good chance of being caught, which strong incentivises quick save/load to get the desired result, since the penalty of being caught is pretty steep. Same kinda problem with using traps... it can be insanely effective, but u'd have to save/load to make it work consistently, which I regard as cheating.

In summary, u don't need to burgle houses, there isn't much worth finding anyway. There are 2 very useful items lying around that a beginner might not know about/find. One is somewhere outside the walls of the Friendly Arm Inn, the other is somewhere in Nashkel. I don't think it's a spoiler to tell you that much.

KlokFan

Thank you for the quick answers! That's what I wanted to know really. I'm kind of damaged from the Dragon Age series where you're supposed to open every. damn. container in the game to be able to complete certain quests. It's good to know that looting houses isn't really that necessary when there are so many of them!

Skaffen

It's not required, only helpful especially in the beginning. In BG2 there are some major encounters and small quests in some of the marked and unmarked houses so it's worth to at least enter - if there's a lich on the other side of the door greeting you with a meteor swarm you know you're right, if it's just a family don't steal the table silver

Two more remarks on stealing: Potion of master thievery stack so if you drink 5 you get +200% pick pockets which is generally (but not 100%) save to steal. A bit of an exploit and can be hinderance for roleplaying reasons depending on your alignment of course.

Wands you sell and re-buy or steal will have maximum charges (typically 50 or 100) which can be a great help and well worth investing 5 potions of master thievery in.

atcDave

I'll usually enter every house, even when playing a Paladin, just on the rationale there is no "knock and see who answers" option. A lot of those houses have people who will be happy for your help, and will even pay for your help. But the game doesn't really have any mechanism for a good aligned character to RP them perfectly. Just because you enter (even if you pick a lock!) doesn't mean you have to steal anything or cause any trouble.

Cantab

The others have answered your question, though I have to say I love robbing people in the game, it becomes addictive. Even when I have 150K gold and nothing on my buy list I must get that $8 ring from that locked draw!

ZaknafeinBaenre

For me, I always play neutral or evil for precisely this reason. I can't stand leaving a chest unopened, never knowing what I might have found. I spent a whole month pilfering the city of baldur's gate the first time i got there. Since you are a good ranger, you better stay out of those houses! But you can always play again...as a neutral halfling thief, and steal it all. Or as an evil half-orc priest of Talos...and murder everyone

dreamrider

Personally, unless I am playing a Lawful Good PC, I take the attitude that the character/party is driven by a DESPERATE mystery and need, for the GREATER GOOD.

So, I steal stuff as long as I don't have to kill civvies, friends, constabulary to do it. (The merc chasing Viconia is an exception; he's just a nasty prejudiced bully out to commit murder himself - besides, its a decent set of armor.) Actually, learning the techniques for evading the cops can be an interesting minor challenge.

I find that there is actually a useful bit of money/gems, especially for early game, to be collected from the bedside tables and cabinets of the FAI, Beregost, and Nashkel.

(Attempting to rob High Hedge, despite the opinion of the rogue that you meet outside, is just insane. Besides, its a good place to buy/sell a lot of oddball stuff.)

The gear isn't all that much, except that there are a couple of pretty key items *cough*wands*cough* that you may NEED before mid-game that you aren't going to acquire unless you at least LOOK in a lot of closed drawers. Note that you don't have to take Everything, if you are playing that 'desperate need' outlook.

Unless you want to read all of the rather nifty Forgotten Realms history and lore, you don't really need the books. Further, if you ARE interested in the lore, you can pause game and read the books when you find them, then leave them on the shelf. There may be one or two that fulfill some side quests, but those can generally also be bought somewhere. The books that you find on typical bookshelves and in cabinets are not nearly the quality of collectible that you will need to get back into Candlekeep. (You'll know one when you run across it...later.) Further, after awhile books begin to get heavy and fill slots.

Also, it does help a LOT at the start to rob everyone in Candlekeep blind (that you can.) That's just a bit of 'around the house' pranking, anyway, right? Most of those folks would just GIVE you the available money/stuff if they had any idea how bad you are going to need it. (DO NOT attempt to rob Tethoril, or Elvenhair. There's a way to kill and loot Elvenhair with impunity, but that IS cheesy.)