Thieving Guide

Introduction

Some consider them no good fiends, preying on Runescape's poor shopkeepers and other citizens. Some consider them heroes, their agile frames and quick fingers as something to be admired. Others understand the brotherhood that is Thievery. Long have Runescape's citizens longed for expensive items, or noticed that the Guard's coin purse was a little loose. Thievery is the ability to obtain what at first would seem unobtainable. Some have mastered this ability and can pickpocket any NPC, pick any lock, disarm any trap and steal from any stall! Thieving can reward you with heaps of Gold Pieces, stacks of Runes and food to feed your training! Now, enough blathering and on with the details of the different parts of this members only skill.

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Pickpocketing

Pickpocketing is the most basic and most used method of thieving. To pick an NPC's pocket, right click on it, and select the 'Pickpocket' option.

If you are successful, you will have gained some loot and thieving experience. If unsuccessful however, you will be stunned by the NPC for about 4 seconds and have damage done to you (the amount of damage depends on the NPC you are pickpocketing). When stunned, you hear and see birds circling your head and you are unable to walk or pickpocket. This is a good time to eat to heal your hitpoints, or alchemy any drops you picked up.

The higher your thieving level, the less likely you are to be caught by your victims. Additionally, level 54 hunters can make and wear gloves of silence, which decrease the chances of being caught while pickpocketing. Get them from the fancy dress shop owner in southeast Varrock for two dark kebbit furs and 600 gp. These gloves wear out after a while, but level 64 crafters can repair them using one dark kebbit fur on them while carrying a knife, needle and thread. You can check the gloves (or operate them while wearing) to see if they need repair. The condition may be new, good, shabby, starting to need repair, need repair, or about to fall apart. The gloves will disintegrate after the fall apart status if you pickpocket without repairing them.

Below is a table with properties for each thievable NPC.

NPCs to pickpocket
Picture	Name and Location	Skill Level Needed	Exp.	Damage if Stunned	Loot
	Man/Woman Throughout Runescape	1	8	1	3 gp
	Farmer Farms and wheat fields	10	14.5	1	9 gp, potato seeds, level 1 clue scrolls
	H.A.M. Member (female) * H.A.M. Headquarters	15	18.5	1 - 2 If caught too much, you may be thrown outdoors or jailed. Pick the jail door lock (no lockpick required) to get out.	coins, tinderbox, logs, uncut gems, level 1 clue scrolls, raw anchovies, raw chicken, H.A.M. clothing, iron pickaxe, herbs, odd items (rusty swords, damaged armour, buttons, etc.
	H.A.M. Member (male) * H.A.M. Headquarters	20	22.5	2 - 3 If caught too much, you may be thrown outdoors or jailed. Pick the jail door lock (no lockpick required) to get out.	coins, tinderbox, logs, uncut gems, level 1 clue scrolls, raw anchovies, raw chicken, H.A.M. clothing, iron pickaxe, rusty sword, damaged armour, buttons, etc.
	H.A.M. Guard * H.A.M. Headquarters Storeroom	23	22.5	1 - 3	bronze, iron, steel, or silver key (unlock gem and jewellery chests in the storeroom); level 1 clue scroll, coins, cowhide, herb, leather body, logs, needle, thread, tinderbox, uncut gems; raw anchovies, raw chicken, H.A.M. clothing; bronze iron or steel arrows, axe, dagger, pickaxe; buttons, damaged armour, rusty sword, etc.
	Warrior Al-Kharid North of Ardougne	25	26	2	18gp
	Rogue Wilderness, lvl-54.	32	35.5	2	25gp, 40gp, 45gp, air runes (8), lockpick, iron dagger (p), wine, gold bar
	Cave Goblin Dorgesh-Kaan	36	40	1 If you are caught, there is a chance that a Cave Goblin Guard may attack you.	24-50gp, Unlit Bullseye Lantern, Cave Goblin Wire, Frogspawn Gumbo, Frogburger, Fingers, Bat Shish, Swamp Tar, Iron ore (1,2 or 4), Green Gloop Soup, Unlit Torch, Coated Frog's Legs, Crispy Frog's Legs, Tinderbox
	Master Farmer Draynor Market, North of Ardougne, South of Varrock	38	43	3	All types of seeds (except tree and fruit tree seeds)
	Guard Many towns	40	46.5	2	30gp
	Fremennik Citizen ** Rellekka	45	65	2	40gp
	Bandit (lvl 41) ** Pollnivneach	45	65	5	40gp
	Desert Bandit Bandit Camp, West Kharidian Desert	53	79	3	30gp, antipoison potion (1 dose), lockpick
	Knight Ardougne	55	84.3	3	50gp
	Bandit (lvl 56) ** Pollnivneach	55	84.3	5	50gp
	Yanille Watchman Yanille Watchtower	65	137.5	3	60gp, bread
	Menaphite Thug ** Pollnivneach	65	137.5	5	60gp
	Paladin Ardougne	70	151.8	3	80gp, 2 chaos runes
	Gnome Gnome stronghold	75	198.3	1	200-400gp, gold nugget, earth rune (1), swamp toad, king worm, fire orb
	Hero Ardougne	80	273.3	4	100-300gp, death runes (2), blood runes (1), wine, cut diamond, gold nugget, fire orb
	Elves ** Lletya	85	353.3	5	250-350gp, fire orb, gold ore, nature runes (3), jug of wine, death runes (2), cut diamonds, unicorn horn, dark wizard robe

* Jagex has announced that wearing a full set of H.A.M. robes improves your ability to blend in at H.A.M. headquarters and succeed more with your thieving attempts.

** You must complete the Fremennik Trials quest to thieve from the citizens of Rellekka, the Feud quest to thieve from Pollnivneach Bandits and Menaphite Thugs, and must have begun the Mourning's End Part 1 quest to access the elf city Lletya in Tirannwn to thieve from elves.

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Stealing from stalls

You have successfully picked a few men into poverty now, and wish for something a little different. Market stalls were originally only found in the Ardougne Marketplace, with the exception such as the Tea Stall in Varrock and the rock cake stall in Ogre city (Gu'tanoth). However, with the new lands added to Runescape, many more cities have stalls to steal from. To thieve a stall right click on it, and select the 'Steal from' option.

Stealing from stalls can be tricky however. You must watch out for the stall owner, as well as guards, paladins and warriors who all patrol the marketplace, trying to get rid of us honest, hardworking thieves! If a shopkeeper catches you, you will only be yelled at and your attempt will simply be unsuccessful. If a guard, paladin or warrior, or whatever else is guarding the stall catches you, you will be unsuccessful but also be attacked. Different NPCs seem to patrol different stalls however. (For example, it would be folly for a big ole Paladin to attack low levels thieving the cake stall). When stealing from stalls, position yourself wisely. If you are positioned well, you will lower your chances of being caught. Try to use the stall and other pieces of scenery (crates, boxes, other stalls etc) as cover.

When a stall has been robbed, it takes some time for its content to respawn. The respawn rate can vary based on a number of outside factors, such as the number of people thieving from that particular stall, and the number of people on the server. The values given in the table below are merely a guideline.

**Note: the "Silk" stall in Keldagrim cannot actually be thieved. If you right-click on the stall, a "steal-from" option WILL be displayed, but if you click on it, you'll just receive a "There's nothing here you really want" kind of message and you won't thieve from it.

Loot such as food, silver and gems are simple to use or sell, but players may wonder how to turn other ill-gotten gains (such as silk or fur) into minor cash. Of course, loot can always be sold to the general store for less than its real value. Jagex states that you must wait ten minutes after thieving a stall before attempting to speak to the stall owner, who will otherwise call the guards on you! Fur thieves may want to resell grey wolf fur to Baraek in Varrock; to obtain his top price wear a ring of charos(a).

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Picking locks & Disarming traps

Some of Runescape's more selfish citizens try and lock their belongings away from us, unwilling to share. Being able to pick these locks (and disarm traps on chests) is a great way of getting some loot. You can also pick locks and disarm traps on doors leading to interesting regions of Runescape you might not have been able to access otherwise. To picklock a door or disarm a chest trap, simply right click and choose the correct option. For some doors, you will need a picklock in your inventory. These are thievable from Rogues or can be purchased from other players (or from Martin Thwait in the Rogues Den if you are level 50). There is also a lock pick respawn deep in the Yanille agility dungeon; you will need level 57 agility to access it.

When you disarm traps on chests, you will automatically open them to discover treasure. People often train at chests as well as getting the treasure to make a profit. Since chests take a while to respawn, some players like to fill in the wait time by pickpocketing NPCs or thieving stalls. Below is a table showing the different chests and their details. You might want to open up the world map to locate the exact positions of the listed chests.

Below is a table showing the details of several doors you can picklock to access restricted areas.

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Mayhem in the Desert (the Blackjack method)

OK, you've pickpocketed, you've stolen from stalls, you've disarmed some traps and picked some locks. Now what? How about something completely different? When the Feud Quest was introduced, a new, totally different way of thieving was made available. If you don't mind the heat and can handle a little sand in your boots, you should head to Al-Kharid and speak to Ali Morrisane and start the Feud Quest. During the quest, you'll be given an oak blackjack, which you can keep after you finish the quest.

So what's a blackjack? In the desert town of Pollnivneach, you can use the blackjack to "knock out" some of the NPCs that inhabit the town. To do this, wield the blackjack as you would any other weapon, then right-click on the NPC you want to hit. Select "knock out". Once you've knocked the poor soul unconscious, you can pick his pockets to your heart's content. Well, until he wakes up, anyway!

This table shows what the blackjacks look like, and provides other useful information on these club-type weapons:

Blackjacks
Pic	Description	Cost	Bonus	Where to obtain
	Oak blackjack	free	+2 strength	Pollnivneach, from Ali the Operator during the Feud Quest.
	Willow blackjack	600 gp	+8 strength	Pollnivneach, from the Market trader located outside the Kebab shop. You must complete the Feud Quest before you'll be allowed to buy a willow blackjack.

Additional blackjacks, with different attack and defence stats, can be made available for purchase when you play the Rogue Trader mini game.

As you can imagine, the Pollnivneach villagers and other NPCs do not particularly enjoy being hit over the head and robbed, and they're always on the watch for the would-be thief that might try to knock out their fellow citizens. So be careful -- you cannot knock someone out within sight of other NPCs. If there are other NPCs around, you'll need to "lure" your victim away from the other NPCs prying eyes. Sounds pretty sneaky, doesn't it? To use the lure, right-click on your target, and select the "Lure" option. This will cause your intended victim to follow you. Head to a deserted location out of the sight of other NPCs, like behind a building, then knock them out. But be sure to pickpocket him quickly, before he regains consciousness. If you still have your hands in his pockets when he wakes up, you'll be attacked!

Pollnivneach villagers (level 3) cannot be pickpocketed normally -- they will always catch you and hit you for 2HP. If you want to pickpocket them, you must knock them out then pickpocket them. Pickpocketing does not give you any thieving experience when you knock a villager out first, but you will get a few gold coins, and you will receive 8xp at the time you knock him out. But beware! If you're seen trying to knock them out, you will be hit for 5HP. Also, if you fail while trying to knock them out, you will be attacked.

Two levels of Bandits are found in Pollnivneach, level 41 and level 56 (refer to the NPC table in the Pickpocketing section for more thieving information on these bandits). They can be pickpocketed normally, and will give you a fair number of coins if you are successful. But if you're caught, you will be hit for 5HP. You can also lure the bandits and use your blackjack to knock them out before pickpocketing them. In addition to the xp and coins you get for pickpocketing these tough characters, you will be rewarded with an additional 10 xp for knocking them out successfully. But remember...if any of the other Pollnivneach citizens catch you trying to knock the bandits out, you will be hit for 4HP, stunned for a few seconds, and then attacked.

Menaphite thugs require level 65 thieving to either pickpocket or knock out, and they can also be lured. A successful knock out will award you 20 xp in addition to the xp you will receive for your successful pickpocket attempt. Failure in pickpocketing or knocking out a Menaphite thug has the same result as if you fail when attempting to knock out or pickpocket a Pollnivneach Bandit.

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Other Thieving Methods

If you're feeling adventurous or are just in the mood for something different, you can try these other ways of training your thieving skills:

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Rogue's Den

Alternative methods of raising thieving are available in the Rogue's Den. The Rogue's Den is accessed via a trapdoor behind the bar in the Burthorpe pub. It is sometimes considered the unofficial "Thieving Guild", since it offers a bank, a fire, a "duty-free" shop (better selling prices), and two great ways to train. Note that level 50 thieving is required to use the shop (Martin Thwait). As listed above, buy a stethoscope and train on the safes to obtain coins and gems (good for raising your crafting!) as well as 75 xp per safecrack. As a greater challenge, you may wish to deposit all of your possessions in the bank and attempt the large underground maze minigame, where your Agility, Thieving and Puzzle solving skills are put to the test. It offers xp rewards, and those who finish the maze may obtain some Rogue clothing or a toolkit. For more information, check our Rogues Den guide.

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Pyramid Plunder

A superb method of raising thieving is by playing the Pyramid Plunder mini game. You can find this deep in the desert south of Al-Kharid, in the city of Sophanem (must have completed Icthlarin's Little Helper quest). The object is to make your way through 8 different levels of the pyramid in 5 minutes, while collecting as much loot as possible. Come prepared for a fight, as you will be attacked by poisonous scarabs, snakes, and mummies. For more information, check our Pyramid Plunder guide!

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Sorceress's Garden

An entertaining way to train thieving is stealing Sq'irks from the Sorceress in Al Kharid. This minigame is located northeast of Shantay pass, where the Sorceress's apprentice will gladly teleport you to the gardens. You will have the choice between four seasons of gardens, access based on level; winter requires the lowest, then spring, autumn, and finally summer. In each garden, your goal is to avoid the guardians and obtain a sq'irk, after which you will be teleported back to the center.

When a sufficient number of sq'irks are obtained, a pestle and mortar can be used to make sq'irk juice. This sq'irk juice can either be turned in to Osman for thieving experience, or you can drink them to replenish your run energy and temporarily boost your thieving level. For more information, check our Sorceress's Garden guide!

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Training & Tips

Comments on other NPCs:

• Paladins are the best money makers for thieving. At high level thieving, you can get up to around 1k chaos runes per hour + 40k gp. That is almost 180k gp per hour.
• Some people say it is best to change to watchmen after level 70 or so. This isn't a great idea. First of all, you still get caught a lot at very high levels. Secondly if you do the math you actually get less gp per exp point compared to knights.
• The other NPCs people say you should thieve are heroes. However, even at 99 thieving you can still get caught almost always and this takes away 4 hp each time. Overall this can be a slow and annoying process.

Tips for more efficient thieving:

• Use a Bandit Brew (see Tip.It's Beer and Wines guide) to temporarily raise your thieving by 1 level (reduces attack and defence). It can be purchased for 650gp at the Bandit Camp south of the Bedabin Camp in the Kharidian Desert (southwest of Al-Kharid and Shantay Pass). Don't wear any god items (holy symbols, guthix, saradomin, or zamorak armour) when visiting the Bandit Camp.
• Try to find a good world where you won't get distracted or have people killing your thieving NPC.
• Especially for high-level pickpocketing try to click fast between right and left clicking (please not too fast though). Some wait for the animation to finish, but it is quicker to click a bit faster then that. Just takes a bit of practice to optimise clicking for fastest exp.
• Luring the NPC in a room is a good way to avoid people killing the NPC and to stop it running all over the map.
• If you find you accidentally attack your NPC too often, then wielding a bow without arrows is a good way to avoid that. Just disarm it if you want to attack to lure the NPC to a room.
• Contradictory information has been received from customer service about thieving success when wearing more or less armour (less weight). The only sure thing right now is that reduced weight extends the use of your run energy, which is good when thieving a fast-moving target.
• To avoid using food, some players use a thieve-and-die strategy that takes advantage of their Lumbridge or Falador respawn point. Either bank or drop your loot before you are killed by a guard, then run back quickly before your dropped items appear to other players.
• Definitely try the Pyramid Plunder minigame - it is currently considered the best way to level thieving.

Enjoy your thieving and use tactics wisely. If you have to thieve an easier monster which gives less xp per turn, it might be worth it because you get caught less often. There are of course some random events which affect you while training this skill. Read about them in our random events guide. Carefully look at the NPCs, stalls and chests that you are able to thieve from with your level, and play about to see which is best for gaining xp or achieving your target. Have fun!

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Cape of Achievement

Once you have mastered the skill and reached level 99 you may want to buy yourself a Thieving Cape from Martin Thwait in the Rogues' Den below Burthorpe pub. Refer to the Achievement Capes guide for more details.

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Credits

Original Guide by: Nathaninch and Eeeeediot

Special Thanks to: Ard_Choille

Thanks to: 2hitwonder, acrotis, Adamskii, Albosky, AllBogs, binns, Cameron, CentriX_2, chanier, cronoschild, daigotsu, Dalcyte, Danyo, darkblade986, dragonflan, emanick1, Esper_Jones, fat_slug, flint1314, Greatno, Gugge, halo2_rocks7, inferno_char, Kiara_Kat, learn2die101, madchild, maxpower_111, MichaelWest, Minsc90, misplacedme, Nabbagad, nanobot12, pokemama, Pyre_of_gods, Rcty, RegularCinderella, sjefderat, spikerkid, sunmann99, supersesm, Swainy, SwtKittN, Taley666, tennispro16, tewas, TheBlazikenMaster, The_Zobel, timthebrave, tintmangbpack, Triplets_KGB, turtlefemm, Vap137, vlad the old, wachtwoord, wee monky, wiseTSM, wyvren2000

Last updated by: Adamskii

Last updated: 16-July-2007

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