What to do about a character being a thief in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

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I am DMing the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure.

One of my characters is planning on having his ideal be "Stealing is ok if they have something you want", and he says his character will be "skilled in thievery", and his hobby will be "collecting spoons".

I can see this player becoming problematic when they get caught. I have already figured out the punishment from the Code Legal handout given in the book and it goes as follows:

"Flogging followed by imprisonment up to a tenday, hard labor up to a year, or a fine equal to the value of the stolen goods."

I then figured out the punishment if any character attempts to hide any evidence, and that goes as follows:

"Fine up to 200 gp and hard labor up to a tenday"

I don't want to bog the game down with too much down time, I don't want to exclude the player and I want to keep it realistic. How do I prevent this?

P.S. I doubt that the player will change their character, and the party has been given:

the code legal and VoloÃ¢Â€Â™s Waterdeep Enchiridion so far.

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

Have you talked to the player about how he plans to roleplay this ideal and hobby? Compulsive kleptomania would be quite different from intelligently stealing things only when nobody's around to notice.
â€“Â V2Blast
26 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

I am DMing the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure.

I can see this player becoming problematic when they get caught. I have already figured out the punishment from the Code Legal handout given in the book and it goes as follows:

"Flogging followed by imprisonment up to a tenday, hard labor up to a year, or a fine equal to the value of the stolen goods."

I then figured out the punishment if any character attempts to hide any evidence, and that goes as follows:

"Fine up to 200 gp and hard labor up to a tenday"

I don't want to bog the game down with too much down time, I don't want to exclude the player and I want to keep it realistic. How do I prevent this?

P.S. I doubt that the player will change their character, and the party has been given:

the code legal and VoloÃ¢Â€Â™s Waterdeep Enchiridion so far.

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

Have you talked to the player about how he plans to roleplay this ideal and hobby? Compulsive kleptomania would be quite different from intelligently stealing things only when nobody's around to notice.
â€“Â V2Blast
26 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

I am DMing the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure.

I can see this player becoming problematic when they get caught. I have already figured out the punishment from the Code Legal handout given in the book and it goes as follows:

"Flogging followed by imprisonment up to a tenday, hard labor up to a year, or a fine equal to the value of the stolen goods."

I then figured out the punishment if any character attempts to hide any evidence, and that goes as follows:

"Fine up to 200 gp and hard labor up to a tenday"

I don't want to bog the game down with too much down time, I don't want to exclude the player and I want to keep it realistic. How do I prevent this?

P.S. I doubt that the player will change their character, and the party has been given:

the code legal and VoloÃ¢Â€Â™s Waterdeep Enchiridion so far.

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

I am DMing the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure.

I can see this player becoming problematic when they get caught. I have already figured out the punishment from the Code Legal handout given in the book and it goes as follows:

"Flogging followed by imprisonment up to a tenday, hard labor up to a year, or a fine equal to the value of the stolen goods."

I then figured out the punishment if any character attempts to hide any evidence, and that goes as follows:

"Fine up to 200 gp and hard labor up to a tenday"

I don't want to bog the game down with too much down time, I don't want to exclude the player and I want to keep it realistic. How do I prevent this?

P.S. I doubt that the player will change their character, and the party has been given:

the code legal and VoloÃ¢Â€Â™s Waterdeep Enchiridion so far.

dnd-5e published-adventures problem-players waterdeep-dragon-heist

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

edited 25 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

asked 2 hours ago

rpgstar

917226

Have you talked to the player about how he plans to roleplay this ideal and hobby? Compulsive kleptomania would be quite different from intelligently stealing things only when nobody's around to notice.
â€“Â V2Blast
26 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

Have you talked to the player about how he plans to roleplay this ideal and hobby? Compulsive kleptomania would be quite different from intelligently stealing things only when nobody's around to notice.
â€“Â V2Blast
26 mins ago

Have you talked to the player about how he plans to roleplay this ideal and hobby? Compulsive kleptomania would be quite different from intelligently stealing things only when nobody's around to notice.
â€“Â V2Blast
26 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
3
down vote

You might want to closely read the sections in Life in Waterdeep entitled "Breaking the Law" and "Arresting Characters".

If you don't want to spend too much time dealing with arresting the miscreant you can follow one of the suggestions in the adventure:

If the threat of arrest becomes tedious, you can switch to the second approach, which is to merely inform the players that one or more characters have been arrested. You can describe the arrest, the subsequent detention, and the events leading up to the trial.

You may have trouble excluding the character, if in fact they end up stacking significant time. In gritty life-of-crime-on-the-streets-type TV shows, they sometimes say to the person heading off to the big house that you only do two days, your first day, and your last day, and the rest don't matter.

The book suggests other outcomes as well, which are worth reading closely.

And finally:

Given how strictly laws are enforced in Waterdeep, itÃ¢Â€Â™s possible that the adventure could end with one or more of the characters being exiled, sentenced to several years of hard labor, imprisoned, or put to death. If thatÃ¢Â€Â™s how their adventure ends, so be it. Hopefully, your next group will fare better.

Good luck!

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
1
down vote

Let Waterdeep take care of it.

I had a similar situation where a player got into a chase in broad daylight, started falling behind their quarry, and pulled out a scroll of fireball.

SCREEECH went the brakes.

"Um, you're going to rip off a fireball?"

[grinning] "Yup."

"In Waterdeep."

[grinning] "Yup."

"In broad daylight."

[grinning] "Yup."

"You've read the code legal, right?" (I'd given handouts of it to all players during session zero.)

[grinning] "Yup."

I gave him a few rounds to try to get away, cast disguise self, hide, anything really. But he proceeded blithely along as a platoon of guards shut down the block and the crowd pointed him out as the assailant. And he confessed to the crime.

That character spent I-forget-how-long in jail, and that player made a new character to join the party.

Problem solved.

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

Now I'm just curious what the player was thinking (and what his character would have been thinking).
â€“Â V2Blast
27 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

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2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
3
down vote

You might want to closely read the sections in Life in Waterdeep entitled "Breaking the Law" and "Arresting Characters".

If you don't want to spend too much time dealing with arresting the miscreant you can follow one of the suggestions in the adventure:

If the threat of arrest becomes tedious, you can switch to the second approach, which is to merely inform the players that one or more characters have been arrested. You can describe the arrest, the subsequent detention, and the events leading up to the trial.

The book suggests other outcomes as well, which are worth reading closely.

And finally:

Given how strictly laws are enforced in Waterdeep, itÃ¢Â€Â™s possible that the adventure could end with one or more of the characters being exiled, sentenced to several years of hard labor, imprisoned, or put to death. If thatÃ¢Â€Â™s how their adventure ends, so be it. Hopefully, your next group will fare better.

Good luck!

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
3
down vote

You might want to closely read the sections in Life in Waterdeep entitled "Breaking the Law" and "Arresting Characters".

If you don't want to spend too much time dealing with arresting the miscreant you can follow one of the suggestions in the adventure:

If the threat of arrest becomes tedious, you can switch to the second approach, which is to merely inform the players that one or more characters have been arrested. You can describe the arrest, the subsequent detention, and the events leading up to the trial.

The book suggests other outcomes as well, which are worth reading closely.

And finally:

Given how strictly laws are enforced in Waterdeep, itÃ¢Â€Â™s possible that the adventure could end with one or more of the characters being exiled, sentenced to several years of hard labor, imprisoned, or put to death. If thatÃ¢Â€Â™s how their adventure ends, so be it. Hopefully, your next group will fare better.

Good luck!

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
3
down vote

You might want to closely read the sections in Life in Waterdeep entitled "Breaking the Law" and "Arresting Characters".

If you don't want to spend too much time dealing with arresting the miscreant you can follow one of the suggestions in the adventure:

If the threat of arrest becomes tedious, you can switch to the second approach, which is to merely inform the players that one or more characters have been arrested. You can describe the arrest, the subsequent detention, and the events leading up to the trial.

The book suggests other outcomes as well, which are worth reading closely.

And finally:

Given how strictly laws are enforced in Waterdeep, itÃ¢Â€Â™s possible that the adventure could end with one or more of the characters being exiled, sentenced to several years of hard labor, imprisoned, or put to death. If thatÃ¢Â€Â™s how their adventure ends, so be it. Hopefully, your next group will fare better.

Good luck!

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

You might want to closely read the sections in Life in Waterdeep entitled "Breaking the Law" and "Arresting Characters".

If you don't want to spend too much time dealing with arresting the miscreant you can follow one of the suggestions in the adventure:

If the threat of arrest becomes tedious, you can switch to the second approach, which is to merely inform the players that one or more characters have been arrested. You can describe the arrest, the subsequent detention, and the events leading up to the trial.

The book suggests other outcomes as well, which are worth reading closely.

And finally:

Given how strictly laws are enforced in Waterdeep, itÃ¢Â€Â™s possible that the adventure could end with one or more of the characters being exiled, sentenced to several years of hard labor, imprisoned, or put to death. If thatÃ¢Â€Â™s how their adventure ends, so be it. Hopefully, your next group will fare better.

Good luck!

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

edited 28 mins ago

V2Blast

14.4k23595

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

answered 1 hour ago

Jack

8,18022976

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
1
down vote

Let Waterdeep take care of it.

I had a similar situation where a player got into a chase in broad daylight, started falling behind their quarry, and pulled out a scroll of fireball.

SCREEECH went the brakes.

"Um, you're going to rip off a fireball?"

[grinning] "Yup."

"In Waterdeep."

[grinning] "Yup."

"In broad daylight."

[grinning] "Yup."

"You've read the code legal, right?" (I'd given handouts of it to all players during session zero.)

[grinning] "Yup."

That character spent I-forget-how-long in jail, and that player made a new character to join the party.

Problem solved.

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

Now I'm just curious what the player was thinking (and what his character would have been thinking).
â€“Â V2Blast
27 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
1
down vote

Let Waterdeep take care of it.

I had a similar situation where a player got into a chase in broad daylight, started falling behind their quarry, and pulled out a scroll of fireball.

SCREEECH went the brakes.

"Um, you're going to rip off a fireball?"

[grinning] "Yup."

"In Waterdeep."

[grinning] "Yup."

"In broad daylight."

[grinning] "Yup."

"You've read the code legal, right?" (I'd given handouts of it to all players during session zero.)

[grinning] "Yup."

That character spent I-forget-how-long in jail, and that player made a new character to join the party.

Problem solved.

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

Now I'm just curious what the player was thinking (and what his character would have been thinking).
â€“Â V2Blast
27 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
1
down vote

Let Waterdeep take care of it.

I had a similar situation where a player got into a chase in broad daylight, started falling behind their quarry, and pulled out a scroll of fireball.

SCREEECH went the brakes.

"Um, you're going to rip off a fireball?"

[grinning] "Yup."

"In Waterdeep."

[grinning] "Yup."

"In broad daylight."

[grinning] "Yup."

"You've read the code legal, right?" (I'd given handouts of it to all players during session zero.)

[grinning] "Yup."

That character spent I-forget-how-long in jail, and that player made a new character to join the party.

Problem solved.

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

Let Waterdeep take care of it.

I had a similar situation where a player got into a chase in broad daylight, started falling behind their quarry, and pulled out a scroll of fireball.

SCREEECH went the brakes.

"Um, you're going to rip off a fireball?"

[grinning] "Yup."

"In Waterdeep."

[grinning] "Yup."

"In broad daylight."

[grinning] "Yup."

"You've read the code legal, right?" (I'd given handouts of it to all players during session zero.)

[grinning] "Yup."

That character spent I-forget-how-long in jail, and that player made a new character to join the party.

Problem solved.

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

answered 58 mins ago

nitsua60â™¦

67.4k11276399

Now I'm just curious what the player was thinking (and what his character would have been thinking).
â€“Â V2Blast
27 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

Now I'm just curious what the player was thinking (and what his character would have been thinking).
â€“Â V2Blast
27 mins ago

Now I'm just curious what the player was thinking (and what his character would have been thinking).
â€“Â V2Blast
27 mins ago

add a commentÂ |Â

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