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Has anyone ever tried a "no stealing" playthrough?

SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,584
in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
I'm thinking of doing my next BG:EE run as an Inquisitor (mainly because I'm looking for an excuse to try out this portrait here,
image).

I played as a paladin numerous times in vanilla BG, but that was back in my powergaming days, when I would max all my relevant stats to 18, typically have only 3 intelligence, and basically play as chaotic neutral no matter what my class or alignment (i.e: trying out every quest possible, killing innocents for their gear, etc.).

With the release of BG:EE, I've decided that I want to try RPing characters more. I recently completed a playthrough as a neutral good ranger. Although I typically tried to make "good" choices whenever possible, I still continued my standard practice of breaking into every house that I could, ignoring the people who insist that I leave, stealing everything in sight, and then running (or sneaking) out before the guards catch me. However, I found this to be very immersion-breaking, almost just mindless at times - and that was as only a neutral good character. I just can't justify this sort of behavior as a lawful good character.

I know that some people will suggest that I just send my thief into houses alone and let them do the ransacking by themselves, so that it seems as though the stealing is being done without my party leader's knowledge. However, I'm not sure that I can convince myself that any actions undertaken by my party members are being done without my leader's knowledge. Besides, my thief will most likely be Imoen, who is also neutral good, so that I will run into the same moral dilemma as I did with my ranger.

I'm also considering the possibility of taking this a step further and forgoing even the act of breaking into houses in the first place - after all, what is the point of breaking open doors and listening to people yell at you, especially if you don't intend to loot the place anyway?

If anyone here has ever gone so far in their RPing as to forgo stealing, what sort of impact did it have on your adventure?
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Comments

  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    In my firts run or so I had no idea about stealing or pickpockets so I went around the game without stealing anything. Truly, the things you can steal from homes are not really that important to finish the game, esp. in bg1. A silver ring, a chainmail or two, some gems that are worth 7 gp, etc. In bg2 however, there are useful items you can (and should) steal and pickpocket: horn of valhalla, efreet bottle, ring of regen. spring to my mind.
  • SuperFeatureSuperFeature Member Posts: 35
    I actually rarely ever steal in any play through... I find the reward too tedious...

    I might be missing out on some good stuff? I generally RP a protagonist who is murderous or evil, beyond petty theft. I'll probably try a kleptomaniac one day soon!
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,060
    I have been playing BG games since the day of release.

    I have yet to steal a single item...
  • TurinTurin Member Posts: 42
    Anduin said:

    You steal for the greater good! Banks do it all the time...

    Congratulations! You've just proved that banks aren't lawful good (shocker)!
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    I find it stange that someone thought that no one might play without stealing (because question "has anyone ever tried..." implies this). I wonder how people roleplayed their Paladins, then.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    I have played the vast majority of my playthroughs without stealing. I've picked the occasional lock back in the day, but I've only pickpocketed for the first time this past year in my bard playthrough!
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    atcDave said:

    I very rarely steal. I just have to be the hero of the story, I can't bring myself to be a petty thief. And certainly when I'm playing LG (I love paladins!) stealing has no place.

    Now I do have to clarify some. As you mentioned, I have no qualms about cleaning out an abandoned dungeon or villain's lair. Anyone who tries to kill me is fair game!
    I will occasionally enter locked homes if I know there's a good deed to do there. The game does not have a "knock politely and wait for someone to answer" function. So I figure its a broken mechanic, and I will occasionally enter so I can return lost items or take missions to find missing family, or even, kill actual thieves robbing the house!
    Imoen is a NG (!) thief. A NG character does not steal from common folk. Even if she has an impish sense of humor, I expect her to respect property rights. My wife played a NG thief for many years in PNP, she would proudly tell everyone she was a scout, not a thief! She was all about information gathering, just like anyone in military intelligence. That's how I play Imoen.

    "A NG character does not steal from common folk."

    But she did steal from common folk. If i don't remember wrong it's hinted that she picked the pockets of monks and others in Candlekeep.
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    edited June 2014
    @ATCDave Surely NG means follow the rules when they suit. But not to be beholden to them.

    If you keep to the speed limit your L.
    If you speed when driving a car your N.
    If you drive on the left side of the road, see traffic lights as street art and roundabouts as interesting landscaping, your C.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,410
    Anduin said:

    @ATCDave Surely NG means follow the rules when they suit. But not to be beholden to them.

    If you keep to the speed limit your L.
    If you speed when driving a car your N.
    If you drive on the left side of the road, see traffic lights as street art and roundabouts as interesting landscaping, your C.

    I really don't agree with much of that interpretation. Your chaos definition is closer to evil, or insane. Strict law and order and "lawful" alignment are not always the same thing. This is especially noticeable when you get to chaotic alignments. Per 2E rules chaos has more to do with "Individuality" (as opposed to "law" which has more to do with the corporate whole). While the good/evil axis is more about protecting vs exploiting the less fortunate. So a NG thief should have a balanced view on societal vs individual issues; but be all about respecting/protecting the less fortunate. They might conceivably take on a Robin Hood sort of philosophy, especially if government or business interests are seen as particularly corrupt in a given setting. But it's unlikely they would stoop to petty, random theft. They might have some flexibility on the issue, if say it were a life and death situation, but I sure can't see a NG thief rifling someone's house for a couple coins.
    Even if they're always careful to avoid deadly force, I think a total disregard of others like that has to be considered True Neutral.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,410
    SionIV said:

    atcDave said:

    I very rarely steal. I just have to be the hero of the story, I can't bring myself to be a petty thief. And certainly when I'm playing LG (I love paladins!) stealing has no place.

    Now I do have to clarify some. As you mentioned, I have no qualms about cleaning out an abandoned dungeon or villain's lair. Anyone who tries to kill me is fair game!
    I will occasionally enter locked homes if I know there's a good deed to do there. The game does not have a "knock politely and wait for someone to answer" function. So I figure its a broken mechanic, and I will occasionally enter so I can return lost items or take missions to find missing family, or even, kill actual thieves robbing the house!
    Imoen is a NG (!) thief. A NG character does not steal from common folk. Even if she has an impish sense of humor, I expect her to respect property rights. My wife played a NG thief for many years in PNP, she would proudly tell everyone she was a scout, not a thief! She was all about information gathering, just like anyone in military intelligence. That's how I play Imoen.

    "A NG character does not steal from common folk."

    But she did steal from common folk. If i don't remember wrong it's hinted that she picked the pockets of monks and others in Candlekeep.
    I see a pretty big difference in pranking people she grew up with as opposed to breaking in to homes. I also have no problem with saying she may have engaged in certain behaviors as a child that the young adult wouldn't be so reckless about.

    As I see it, if she were willing to pick pocket random strangers she wouldn't be NG. She would be True Neutral, or something darker.
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    edited June 2014
    @Anduin‌
    If you are creating charname with an intelligence and wisdom scores of 3, then I agree.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    So first off, LOVE the portrait. It's awesome.

    Second, although I don't do "Challenges", I rarely steal in my games. I collect "Loot" from slain enemies and will empty out any chest or drawer I find in an enemy stronghold, but I don't pick pocket and I don't break into houses. As for the impact to the game? Very little in my experience. You never NEED the gold. Ok, early on it is nice to have a little extra change, but by mid game (in either BG1 or BG2) money is not an issue (for me anyway). If there are items that I am missing, i am not really "Missing" them as I still complete the game.

    I also generally don't slaughter innocents for no reason. Oh, if I am playing a bad guy, I might, but by and large, I figure that it is more risk than is necessary for very little gain. I don't kill a guy unless (a) he attacks first or (b) it is pretty clear that he is up to BAD stuff. I don't do this because I am playing "Good", most games I don't. I do it because leaving a trail of bodies tends to be messy and unseemly. Besides, I am not getting paid to kill em, so why give someone a freebie?
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    I kind of expected a roleplay topic about thieves that abhor to steal, or something like that. Ah well... maybe next time.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    I basically do this every time I play the game. Going around stealing is way too much trouble for me. I do tend to pick up stupifier now in BGEE, though.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    edited June 2014
    I mostly forget I have a thief in the party actually unless I'm facing a trap...
  • TwaniTwani Member Posts: 640
    I've gone pretty much no stealing, but I tend to always pick up the horn in BG2. And, okay, the Helm in BG1. That helm is really nice...

    Still, for the most part, you don't miss much. Some potions, the horn and helm, the ring of regeneration on Ribald, 'cheese' where you can pickpocket an item and then get the same item again from the characters corpse... not too much. It should be easily possible, and probably should be done by anyone actually roleplaying their paladin. A paladin has too high mental stats requirement for them to seemingly not notice Imoen sneaking out every night and the party's stocks getting bigger each time she does it.
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited June 2014
    I'm so addicted to stealing every bit of loot in games (perfectionist), you should see me play fallout. Opening a door, invading a home, pickpocketing both of Drizzt scimitars without him noticing, that's an everyday thing for my characters. Sometimes one isn't enough and i'll have two or even three thieves so i can pick 100% in every skill except hide shadow and move silent.

    If it isn't bolted to something i'll steal it, even if it is bolted to something i might steal it anyway. If a Lathander temple sign would sell for a gold coin i would bring the entire wall with me to Friendly Arm Inn to sell it.
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,044
    A perfectly valid character concept for a thief who does not engage in stealing from others is "security expert". Who better to make your house, manor, castle, wizard tower, or run-down hovel safe from the pilfering hands of others than a thief with a skill of 100 in both open locks and find traps? A very high skill at getting through other people's locks and traps translates into a very high skill at designing hard-to-pick locks or hard-to-spot and hard-to-disarm traps of your own.
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