Crime really does pay

[nickl_2000]

My level 3 Arcane Trickster just had some downtime between sessions and choose to do the crime downtime action (fits his character, fits his goal, and fits the city). I finished with 75gp which is some serious cash at this level!

[stoutstien]

My level 3 Arcane Trickster just had some downtime between sessions and choose to do the crime downtime action (fits his character, fits his goal, and fits the city). I finished with 75gp which is some serious cash at this level!
Not only that the DC are fairly low and gaining 1/2 of the gold with 2 passed checks means it's a safe move to shoot for the 15-20 options if you have expertise in 2 of the ablity checks.

[nickl_2000]

Not only that the DC are fairly low and gaining 1/2 of the gold with 2 passed checks means it's a safe move to shoot for the 15-20 options if you have expertise in 2 of the ablity checks.

I've got half proficiency in investigation, full in thieves tools, and expertise in stealth (and a 16 in Dex and Int). My chances were pretty darn high for the 15 DC I went for.

[Xervous]

1. Crime doesn’t pay
2. It’s only crime if you get caught ;)

[Man_Over_Game]

I think you can be making a lot more moolah by just doing it the Adventuring way.


Was an Arcane Trickster, V-Human for Ritual Caster.
One ritual pick was Find Familiar. Another was Detect Magic.
We traveled to a city known for mages. Went to a bar.
Cast Detect Magic, found my mark.
Used my Familiar's senses to watch my mark while I used my invisible hand to loot him. DM said I'd normally have a penalty due to how awkward it is using my crow's senses, but my Int was higher than my Dex, so he let it fly.
Worst-case scenario, the wizard turns around, sees his stuff floating in air and nobody really paying attention to him.
Best-case scenario, I get a bag of holding.
I get a bag of holding, with some of his random goodies.
Used my new loot to pay for Magic Mouth, cast on my Bag of Holding start shouting if anyone other than me or my party tries to touch it.
Waited a few days, went back to the same bar, did it again.


If crime is a business, then business is good.

[firelistener]

I think you can be making a lot more moolah by just doing it the Adventuring way.


Was an Arcane Trickster, V-Human for Ritual Caster.
One ritual pick was Find Familiar. Another was Detect Magic.
We traveled to a city known for mages. Went to a bar.
Cast Detect Magic, found my mark.
Used my Familiar's senses to watch my mark while I used my invisible hand to loot him. DM said I'd normally have a penalty due to how awkward it is using my crow's senses, but my Int was higher than my Dex, so he let it fly.
Worst-case scenario, the wizard turns around, sees his stuff floating in air and nobody really paying attention to him.
Best-case scenario, I get a bag of holding.
I get a bag of holding, with some of his random goodies.
Used my new loot to pay for Magic Mouth, cast on my Bag of Holding start shouting if anyone other than me or my party tries to touch it.
Waited a few days, went back to the same bar, did it again.


If crime is a business, then business is good.

The main advantage of downtime, in my opinion, is that it takes place between adventures and has fewer chances for the DM to throw something unexpected at you. You at least know the DCs for downtime activities and can adjust your risk easily.

Personally, I discourage my players from playing evil or unlawful characters, so I would probably add a lot of challenges. Crime pays well in my games, but criminals don't usually live long either.

[nickl_2000]

The main advantage of downtime, in my opinion, is that it takes place between adventures and has fewer chances for the DM to throw something unexpected at you. You at least know the DCs for downtime activities and can adjust your risk easily.

Personally, I discourage my players from playing evil or unlawful characters, so I would probably add a lot of challenges. Crime pays well in my games, but criminals don't usually live long either.

The PC has a good cause and good reason. He is not stealing for personal wealth, but instead as a way to get into the Thieves Guild that effectively runs the city to reach his ultimate goal. He is also following guild rules (so he is doing it in the most lawful way possible). His ultimate goal is to enter a ceremony where the prize is untold riches that he wants to use to end orphanism in the streets of the city he grew up in (yes it's tropy, but I like him so PBBBTTT). To get into the ceremony you need to be associated with a gang that is chosen that year, the thieves guild, or be a powerful wizard. He will never be a powerful wizard, so he is going with the method he knows.

He isn't breaking the law for the fun of it, and isn't breaking the law during uptime (as opposed to downtime). I work very hard to not be disruptive to the game for other players.

[JackPhoenix]

I think you can be making a lot more moolah by just doing it the Adventuring way.


Was an Arcane Trickster, V-Human for Ritual Caster.
One ritual pick was Find Familiar. Another was Detect Magic.
We traveled to a city known for mages. Went to a bar.
Cast Detect Magic, found my mark.
Used my Familiar's senses to watch my mark while I used my invisible hand to loot him. DM said I'd normally have a penalty due to how awkward it is using my crow's senses, but my Int was higher than my Dex, so he let it fly.
Worst-case scenario, the wizard turns around, sees his stuff floating in air and nobody really paying attention to him.
Best-case scenario, I get a bag of holding.
I get a bag of holding, with some of his random goodies.
Used my new loot to pay for Magic Mouth, cast on my Bag of Holding start shouting if anyone other than me or my party tries to touch it.
Waited a few days, went back to the same bar, did it again.


If crime is a business, then business is good.

And nobody connected a guy who spent 10 minutes casting a spell with the item being stolen at the same time? Weird.

[Man_Over_Game]

And nobody connected a guy who spent 10 minutes casting a spell with the item being stolen at the same time? Weird.

Was a pretty noisy bar. My in-character brother was a bard that was doing a magical set, with performance checks, Dancing Lights, I even used Minor Illusion to make a repeating drum rhythm (repeated sounds are one of the illusions you can make), so there was a lot going on.

Plus, it's not like rituals seem all that out of place in a mage town, and there aren't many that'd assist with theft. Most are used for talking to people or making stuff.