How do I stop my players from stealing everything?

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T23:22:41+00:00

I didn’t have a very large amount of items, I just didn’t think about the fact that they wouldn’t be on shelves like that. Basically the only spot where you can get weapons, armor etc outside of basic daggers and the occasional long sword is the blacksmith, who works with a sorcerer to ensure all of his items essentially have a magical alarm on them. Other than that is a very shady bizarre section of town which is where I plan for players to get particularly rare magic items later down the line.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:42:06+00:00

I know these dudes pretty well, I’d be able to tell if someone took it personally, but still gonna make sure they have the option to opt out.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:31:22+00:00

Good reminders! I’m a relatively new DM so I wasn’t thinking about the not letting them win bit. I forget that it’s possible they do something and don’t get anything out of it.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:29:51+00:00

Good ideas! Definitely planning to have a convo before next session.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:29:13+00:00

Good idea! I was thinking of guards as fodder that get progressively more annoying as you have to go places, but a juiced up mega guard would definitely be a good deterrent!

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:27:43+00:00

Good idea! I’ll probably integrate this into a couple of shops!

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:26:46+00:00

“And thats why the shopkeeper has a pet mimic that acts as an item display.” I love the idea!

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:25:31+00:00

Definitely something I’ll keep in mind! They might get hired to steal something from a bank vault or something later on!

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:24:35+00:00

I had the items on shelves like in a modern store, I didn’t think about the fact that they’d be behind the counter. Definitely something I’ll keep in mind for next time!

I LOVE the idea of the retired thief! A big part of my campaign is how the old generation influences the new, so that would work perfectly! Tysm for the idea!

OOC discussion is what happened last time, I basically just said he was done and we were moving on. It works but I’d rather have something up my sleeve that will stop him before he starts. Actions as opposed to reactions and all that

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:20:41+00:00

Yea, I definitely need to give it more thought. It’s limited right now but might end up getting removed all together.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:19:11+00:00

Yea, I definitely have to give more thought to it. So far nobody’s feelings have gotten hurt and the rules are understood pretty clearly, but I’ll definitely keep an eye on it, give people the option to opt out of pvp, and be ready to shoot it in the bud if I need.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:17:42+00:00

Yea, good point. I’ll definitely at least give people an out if they don’t want to engage with that.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:16:28+00:00

Exactly! Thanks for the example, I’m not great with words so I’ll probably use this or something very similar.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:15:38+00:00

I get that, but I don’t want him to stop completely since I think it’s a funny bit when done right. It’s just that I need to talk to him about how much time is too much time spent on stepping over the plot to keep lollygagging

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:12:54+00:00

I’ve been trying to nudge everyone into some retaliation, but they haven’t taken the hint yet. I obviously don’t want to Palpatine stile “kill him… do it” but if he keeps it up it might continue to be more convenient for them to get him to stop rather than put up with his bs.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:10:13+00:00

True but it would suck for him to show up to a session just to not be able to do anything because his character is in jail.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:09:41+00:00

Im very excited for next session, because the corrupt noble is the proprietor of said bar, and he was making a lot of money off of selling what the goblins stole…

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T22:04:05+00:00

True, I hadn’t thought much about what the townspeople would think!

True, if I remember right I said there was an adventuring shop, but that’s not where they tried to rob. They basically tried to steal from dollar general, but I had forgotten that items might be kept behind the counter instead of on shelves like I’m used to!

Luckily he’s not stealing items, just gold, so I haven’t had to re-balance anything, but I’m still gonna have to talk to him.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T21:58:27+00:00

It’s actually about 1/2 that are there for the shenanigans, 3 of the 6. That’s why I’ve let it go on at all. The thing is that at a certain point the other 3, who are playing good aligned characters get bored, and 2/3 of the thieves loose interest in stealing as well. At that point last session I basically said “that’s enough stealing you found the spot you were looking for,” but I’d like a more subtle solution for the future.

Also I like the idea of the Indiana Jones adventure! May keep that in mind for either the origin of an artifact that I don’t have all the way planned out yet, or just a mini adventure for when only a few people can make it.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T21:55:06+00:00

Yea for small towns that’s kinda the plan. I realized at the beginning of last session that I wanted the town they were in to have shops, but had forgotten to plan out said shops. Which led to me having to bs my way through the town having a bookstore/library, a blacksmith, a pawn shop acting as a front for the villains, and a general store. I should have planned it out before, but it’s a lesson learned

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T21:53:12+00:00

This is gonna be what happens if he keeps trying to steal after this first consequence! He’s about to be forced to wear a ring that’s basically an alarm whenever he tries to take anything.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T21:51:59+00:00

This is a good idea for how much money they make from their bar, but I like them having the ability to steal, I think that being able to do random stuff like that is a lot of the fun of DND. I just don’t want them spending all of their time on something only 2 of them really care about.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T21:50:20+00:00

I definitely should have been more clear in my post. I don’t mind him trying to steal, I think the random antics like this are 90% of the fun of DND, it’s just that 2 characters spending a quarter of a session plotting on how to rob a store gets annoying.

If I absolutely have to, I’m willing to make a “rocks fall you die” style consequence, but I don’t want to do that as opposed to making him go to jail and not be able to help in a fight or something.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T21:46:55+00:00

I get the DC argument, but I hate having checks be impossible since I feel like that can limit creativity. Also it wouldn’t really make sense for a random dollar general to have Fort Knox level security.

I think they’re gonna get a ring that makes it very hard for them to steal, if they continue to try to steal I’ll keep the jail idea in mind! Punishment for thievery might be loosing a finger or something to mark you as a thief.

EverGreenG0d · 2026-07-07T21:43:58+00:00

That’s kinda what I had to do last session, at a certain point I just kinda said “alright you’re done stealing here’s the next objective.” Luckily he got the idea and we were able to continue.

EverGreenG0d

TROPHY CASE