Kleptomaniac Hero: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''It's not "Stealing". It's "Adding to my Inventory."''|'''Ben''', ''[[Ben There, Dan That!|Ben There Dan That]]''}}

 

 

When gaming began, and pretty much every game was [[Dungeon Crawling]], this made sense. The hero was typically at least tangentially a treasure hunter, so looting ancient caverns was part of the job description.

* Total aversion in ''[[Below the Root]]''. Unless it is on a public walkway, you need to find the owner and ask nicely. You also had limits on what you could carry, dictated by the character's strength stat. Pomma couldn't carry much at all.

* Played with in ''[[Zork: Grand Inquisitor]]'', where one of the puzzles involves getting your hands on a six-pack of canned mead, which is protected by the burglar alarm at a store. To get the mead, you have to turn up the volume on a nearby [[Canned Orders Over Loudspeaker|propaganda-spouting speaker]] until it drowns out the burglar alarm.

* In ''[[Lost Pig]]'', the custodian of the Place Underground has [[Discussed Trope|several grumpy things to say about earlier encounters with the type]], and {{spoiler|the [[Last Lousy Point]] is awarded for [[Averted Trope|''not'' acting like one]], and putting stuff back how it was when you're done with it}}.

* ''[[Fantasy Quest]]'' takes this to near-[[Deconstruction]] levels. As with many adventure games, you take anything not nailed down. Newspapers reveal that the world's inhabitants interpret this as a crime spree and start exchanging tips for safeguarding their homes. ("Does your house have a door? Can you lock it?")

 

== Fighting Game ==

 

 

* 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.

** The again, there's a thieving SKILL, but it doesn't help in that case, and for example, trying to steal from a stall while the owner of said stall is right in front of you will only result in him screaming for guards, and you have to wait before you can sell what you stole. It's a great skill to have in general, though.

 

*** You need, point of fact, a dead woman, a dead man, and a dead cat. The boss will (rightfully so) consider you to be utterly deranged and let you pass without incident. The cat is also used in an early conversation near the start of the game:

{{quote|'''Anson:''' Eh, what the hells are ye carrying a dead cat around for, then?

'''Anson:''' If I were you -- thank the Gods I'm not -- I'd get out of the cold before your brain freezes anymore than it has. When a fool goes to carrying a dead cat around, that's when you need to start asking yourself some serious questions. }}

*** He's wrong about that last part, of course: you can take this subplot further and eventually get some XP for your cat carcass carrying.

'''Conrad''': Hey, don't say it like that! I talk to people, y'know? Ask them if they have big problems that only I can solve. You'd be surprised how many people are just waiting for someone to talk to them. ''(looks around)'' Sometimes I poke through crates. You know, for extra credits. }}

** On a related note, ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' research activities require mining planets and collecting the metals necessary to buy the upgrades, which you do by scanning planets and firing off probes—regardless of whether the worlds are colonized or who actually owns the mining rights.

** Also lampshaded in ''Earthbound''. Cookies are healing items; a character sitting in a room full of gift-wrapped boxes informs you that he made cookies for everybody. Take the cookies from the boxes and he asks, reasonably enough, "How could you?"

** There's also an NPC in Summers who talks about how it weird it is that people "on important adventures" break into people's houses and check their furniture for valuables.

** ''Mother 3'' goes as far as placing presents out in the open that... fart. If you're lucky they might play some new music or launch some fireworks.

*** It also subverts this on two occasions, but both with the same item. In Chapters 2 and 3, one of the Tazmily Village residents is given a big bag of money by Fassad, which he then puts in the well. You can then walk up to the well and take it...only for the game to tell you that you put it right back. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in that at that particular part of the game, in Chapter 2, you live in a society where money is pretty much nonexistent, and in Chapter 3, you're being controlled by Fassad who would probably shock you into next Tuesday if you took it before he was ready.

[[Category:Steal This Index]]

[[Category:Video Game Items and Inventory]]

[[Category:CRPG Tropes]]