Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

donjon & Dragonsis a game where musician often seem to have a predilection to a stealing mind-set , and it ’s not very hard to see why . plainly by chastity of its nature as a TTRPG , the options left open to citizenry who play a game likeD&Dare endless , and with that freedom , naturally , come up a desire to shout sure systems . If players can do something , like stealing object from NPC ' domicile , why should n’t they ?

This idea seems to be especially prevalent in newerD&Dplayers who have never encountered such an unobstructed world before save for invideo games likeThe sr. Scrolls V : Skyrim , in which this form of behavior is the norm . However , it is important to remember that more experient player are not resistant to the siren ’s call of larceny either .

Related : D&D ’s Massive Popularity Is Great For Small RPG Makers

Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves Poster-3

It is a hard chore for a Dungeon Master to completely eliminate this desire to abuse the game world from their tables , but it is not , by any substance , impossible . There are several strategies forD&Dthat decimeter can keep in the back of their intellect when play that can disincentivize stealing in even the most Chaotic electroneutral players . Many of these glide path can call upon the DM to do even more employment designing their secret plan , but it all becomes worth it the moment the party does n’t get run away out of town again or gets entrance by guard and give in slammer .

Avoid Stealing In D&D By Giving Players Real-World Consequences

Perhaps the most obvious bill for curtailing stealing inDungeons & Dragonsis to incorporate the type of consequences that foreclose the player from committing such human action in real life into the biz world . A musician ’s intimacy with these kinds of punishment in the actual earthly concern will probably speedily communicate that while the alternate cosmos that their character inhabits is a phantasy , it is not completely untethered from reality . This kind of free-spoken shorthand is especiallyeffective with newD&Dplayersas they are the most likely to be pushing boundaries to experiment and see what precisely they can do in this Modern public that they find oneself themselves in .

The downside to this approach shot is common to most “ stick ” type approach to behaviour limiting in that it is very much penalise a musician for drill their exemption in a game that emphasizes creative thinking . While this kind of abuse of exemption is pestering for most DMs , curtailing it can have unintended side effects such as give players a feeling that their creativity in trouble - solving is being punished and so they simply contain seek to be creative . This can be palliate , however , with measured maneuvering to ensure that these thought are fork by externally encouraging creative trouble clear for scrap or social interaction .

D&D: Encouraging Creativity Can Help Prevent Stealing

Creativity on its own can lessen a player ’s desire to commit acts of burglary . To elaborate , since players have almost universal freedom to do , learn , or make what they want during standard gameplay intabletop RPGs likeD&D , they inherently have the ability to dream up far more interesting point to endeavor toward . Some good example of this kind of originative approaching are things like allowing for the histrion to invest in create their own fully customizable Battle Carriage when they express interest in rise a ballista or even let them expend the eubstance component of a dragon they slew to commission their own unique magic point that have properties tailor to them .

Related : Swashbuckling Tabletop RPGs For Fans Of Pirate Narratives

While allow the players have everything they ever wanted seems like the optimum solution on the surface , there is a bombastic asterisk that comes with it , label “ homebrew . ” It is a completely perceivable thing that many DMs are loth to the idea of bringing unapproved mechanics into a game that is very difficult to balance at the estimable of times . Especially when done on the fly sheet , homebrew rules and items forD&Dcan very promptly start to jump the power balancing of certain reference so it has to be handled with caution . However , DMs should n’t be afraid to contain some retroactive mulct - tuning to problematic abilities if these kinds of military issue rear their ugly heads , as most musician will be understanding .

Thievery is the most common, and possibly easiest, way to be evil in D&D without resorting to wanton violence.

DMs Should Give D&D Players A Reason To Care About Their Choices

ThecolloquialD&Dterm “ execution hobo”has a bit more truth to it than a cursory glance would generally give away . Players that fall into this stereotype generally slip and slaughter their direction through the various locales that the campaign puts them in . These fictional character ’ passing nature allows them to simply not have to concern about how they leave a locating since they never planned to come back in the first office . The bare act of bump off this aspect of the musician ’ life style like a shot gives them a intellect not to burn every last bridge that they walk across and heavily influences how they have to consider the long - term effect of their decision . In a similar vena , giving the players some case of NPC to drop anchor themselves to can also have the desired impression , whether they be an impressionable young person or a charming extra that the political party does n’t want to accidentally drive away .

This approach , more than any of the others , has the potential to backfire dreadfully and reproduce the problem rather than dimmish it due to its trust on predicting the reactions of players . Instead of DM regulate them toward more irrefutable bid in aD&Dadventure , it is more than potential for the players to but utilize an NPC to add another appendage to their crowd of outlaws . contribute the players a house or hometown to defend can alsoencourage teamwork in aD&Dcampaign , and give players a unified cause and location that may keep them from raiding every house in township .

steal inDungeons & Dragonsis not an inherently risky thing that must be squashed , but if it becomes too much of a trouble , the DM will likely desire to discourage it . The tipping point is really when stealing from NPC homes is no longer fun and the challenge is no longer there . offer actor a abode in a small town or a memorable recurring NPC can really help them feel more tethered to the fancy world and hopefully clip any excessive thievery since they ’ll have characters and a place to always come back to .

Xanathar Attacking a Thief in a D&D game.

Next : D&D ’s Idyllic Feywild Features Some Surprisingly Dangerous Creatures

An alchemist goblin in DnD reaching with forceps toward a bubbling flask.

The home base of a D&D party at sunset.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves