One of our customers, Rob from Canada, wrote to tell us about a variant for our pickpocket rules that he used.
Here’s the text that he prepared for those with the pickpocket skill:
Your character has the Pickpocket ability. Your ability card shows what you can pickpocket and how many attempts you have during the game. Beware! Some characters have the ability to investigate pickpocket crimes, and even dispense justice if a crime is proven!
When you want to use your ability, you will need to do three things:
- Complete a Pickpocket Use slip.
- Place a sticker somewhere on your victim’s body.
- Show the host your ability card and give them the Pickpocket Use slip, telling them where on the target you placed the sticker (such as left shoulder, right heel, purse, etc.)
The host will seek out your target as soon as possible. If the sticker is no longer there, then you may have been discovered by your target or another character who saw you place the sticker. Other players have not been told what the sticker means, but you had better watch your back as they may become suspicious!
If the sticker is still there, the host will advise the target they’ve been pickpocketed and will search through their items, retrieving either the target item (if they have it) or some other random item. The host will then (as discreetly as possible) remove the sticker from the target and transfer the stolen item to you.
Stickers and Pickpocket Use slips will be found in your character envelope which you’ll get at the start of the game.
Rob is using our rules for Investigating Pickpocketing Crimes, which you can find here.
If this sounds slighting familiar, it’s because we talked (briefly) about using stickers for pickpocketing previously, back in 2014. But this is a much more detailed explanation of how that works.
Note: Depending on your players, you may need to consider whether using stickers needs their consent first. If so, then we recommend using our standard non-contact pickpocket rules.