Kleptomaniac Hero: Difference between revisions

See also [[Ninja Looting]], [[Sticky Fingers]], and [[Video Game Stealing]].

* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap|The Legend of Zelda the Minish Cap]]'', a Wind Tribe lady tells you she has so many Kinstones she wishes somebody would take some, explaining why you can go through ''her'' house, at least. Doesn't explain how you got away with all the thieving and vandalism you will have inevitably done already though...

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'' does try to break Link's habit of taking anything that isn't nailed down and guarded by Hyrule's entire army. You can walk up to the stand selling apples and take one, but Link will say he sees better looking apples at another stand and put the one he has back. If you go to the other stand he'll say the other ones look better, so you'll never actually get an apple. Of course he still destroys every pot and loots every treasure chest he can get his hands on.

* Most works of [[Interactive Fiction]], though a game as early as the wordplay-themed ''Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It'' (from [[Infocom]]) subverted this in one section: Given a six-pack and a list of "pretenses" (such as "The world is flat" and "2+ 2=5") in a lawful town, the player must "TAKE BEER UNDER FALSE PRETENSES".

** In the game ''Trinity'' (also from [[Infocom]]) you actually have to steal a gnomon off a sundial in the middle of a crowded Kensington Gardens.

* ''[[Mortal Kombat: Deception]]'' allows you to walk into people's huts, open their treasure chests, and abscond with the goodies. You can also beat up most townspeople with little repercussions. In fact, the only crime the game will ever punish you for is {{spoiler|staying out past curfew in orderrealm}}.

** The only places in the game where this isn't true is Paris, where breaking into a house while the police or civilians are there to see you will invoke the wrath of the police and alert the {{spoiler|1=MJ12 troops}} in the area. Using lock picks in front of certain people, such as the MJ12 troops in Versalife during your first visit will cause them to attack you.

** Averted in its mod, [[The Nameless Mod]]; stealing in front of NPCs will cause them to sound alarms or attack you.

* In ''[[Dungeons and Dragons Online]]'', you now can steal from bookshelves, dead adventurers, mushrooms, cabinets, and the standard breakables. You get bonus XP for breaking crates and barrels.

** A good strategy for cash strapped new players is *Smash everything in sight*. Along with getting a Vandal XP bonus, smashed crates and barrels often hide potions, money, and ranged ammunition or throwing weapons.

* In ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]: Battle for Bikini Bottom'' and [[The Movie]], you can randomly destroy items like chairs, and tables for absolutely no reason at all. Actually, destroying some stuff REWARDS you with socks or golden spatulas - the [[MacGuffin]]s of the games. Weirdly, when smashing a TV while Mermaid Man is watching, you are granted a sock.

* The ''[[Gothic]]'' series has a simple rule. If you weren't seen or the item in question is not in an area where anyone has claimed ownership (like a dungeon), if you take it, its yours. However, if you are seen, you will get your ass kicked by the aggrieved party and almost certainly every guard in the area.

* Subverted at the beginning of in ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''. The game doesn't stop you from picking up Marle's pendant before talking to her or eating an old man's lunch right off the table (which you probably will do without thinking twice about it if you're grinding for Silver Points), but these actions come back to haunt you as points against your character when you are put on trial for "kidnapping" Marle.

* ''[[Monster Girl Quest Paradox]]'' lets you loot things while their owners are in the same room, with no response. Notable in that the [[Monster Girl Quest|original game]] subverted this.

* In ''[[Assassin's Creed|Assassin's Creed 2]]'', Ezio can empty the pockets of an entire crowd by just walking through them. However, this will increase the [[Karma Meter|Notoriety Meter]], which will cause [[Video Game Cruelty Punishment|guards to be more vigilant]].

** There is even an Achievement/Trophy for pickpocketing called, would you believe, "Kleptomaniac"

* Unlike its predecessor, there are no more items that are actually attended by an NPC in ''[[Jagged Alliance]] Back in action'', so you can loot everything. The text description for an item called 'Family Heirloom' found in a locked house reads "[[Lampshade Hanging|A bunch of valuables that was obviously hidden with the purpose of you finding it so you can sell it and raise some money for the good cause]]"

* ''[[RHDE]]'' is about kleptomania the way ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' is about guitars.

* ''[[Resident Evil]]'' is literally built around this trope. In this series, a key has the exact same potential for unlocking a new area as, say, a bag of fertilizer.

* ''[[Silent Hill]]'' does this as well. Survival Horror Rule: If it [[Conspicuously Light Patch|ain't pre-rendered]], it's important. Good thing the protagonists have a [[Hyperspace Arsenal]] (bar a few glaring exceptions).

* ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]'': Phoenix will snatch up anything that looks like it might help him in his court cases (and a few things that [[Chekhov's Gun|seemingly don't]]). Apparently, this does not count as theft by the law system in their world. A lot of these things are even things that would be too big to fit in Phoenix's pockets. It's ''possible'' that a lot of these are just ''pictures'' of the evidence, but...

** This is parodied in the first game in case 3, when Phoenix grabs a copy of a map for Global Studios and Wendy Oldbag demands 50 cents for the map. Phoenix ignores her.

* ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'' allows you to loot dead bodies for money. In fact, one side mission has you chasing down a bandit for stealing from the general store in Armadillo: if you choose to kill him, you search the man's body and return the stolen money to the owner. Also, you may open chests and drawers pretty much anywhere they're present (yielding you money and ammo), but if you do so outside of your safe houses, you get a wanted level for stealing, no matter if someone saw you or not.

* ''[[Borderlands]]'' has chests/safes/boxes/lockers you can open and loot the ammo/gun(s)/money stored inside. Given the influences from ''Diablo'' and ''Fallout'', this isn't surprising (although you can't loot stores (except for any of the aforementioned containers that happen to be inside stores), as the stores are vending machines). Then there's the ammo in the refrigerators, mailboxes, washing machines...and toilets (giving a new meaning to the term "ammo dump"!)...

* Subverted in the anime ''[[Mahoujin Guru Guru]]'', where one character actually introduces another character to the idea of stealing herbs from homes, which backfires on the second character. This anime plays with other tropes, including a scene at the end where {{spoiler|the characters defeat everything except the final boss, then leave without fighting him.}}

* Parodied in the [[RPG Episode]] of ''[[Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu|Haré+Guu]]'' where Haré opening a treasure chest in a random house results in him getting him beaten up for stealing.

* A deeply unnerving example is Homura from [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]. Like many of the magical girls Homura can summon ludicrous amounts of weapons from her [[Hyperspace Arsenal]] to destroy witches. The difference is that Homura has no ability to fabricate weapons, the nature of her wish only granted her [[Time Stands Still|time magic]]. No, Homura has been ''stealing'' them, from the the [[Yakuza]] and military, over the course of her [[Groundhog Day Loop]]. By the time we see her in the series she has amassed enough weapons to make a South American dictator blush including (but not limited to): assorted small and heavy arms, pipe bombs, hundreds of rocket launchers, thousands of pounds of C4, and ''a battleship''.

* ''[[Mogworld]]'', a book focusing on NPCs in an MMORPG, lampshades this. Turns out local villagers are not very fond of adventurers, and among their long list of complaints against them is this.

{{quote|"Knocking on your door at all hours of the day and night, wanting to rummage through your drawers for potions and loose change."}}

{{quote|'''Black Mage''': ''"Didn't the pirates take everything already?"''

'''Thief''': ''"They left everything that was nailed down. I did not."'' }}

* Parodied in ''[[College Saga]]''. In his dorm room, the hero acquires items "Roommate's Car Key", "Roommate's Passport" and "Roommate's Credit Card".

** And then the roommate attacks the party for being thieves.