Stealing

Stealing
Type	Skill
Effect type	Activated
Range	Personal
Activation	0
Cooldown	10s
Description	The character is quick enough to pilfer small items from others, whether friendly or hostile, so long as they are not too alert.

Stealing gives a character the ability to 'pick the pockets' of most NPCs in Dragon Age: Origins and some of whom yield exceptional results. However, there can be consequences to failed attempts.

Information

For more details, see Stealing calculations.

Stealing is improved by additional ranks, raising the character's Cunning, and making an attempt while Stealthed.

Prior to game version 1.04, it was possible to assign Stealing as an action through certain Combat Tactics configurations which was only viable for a character with Master Stealing. This functionality was removed (without documentation) in the 1.04 patch.

Tiers

Stealing	Activated Range: Personal Activation: 0 Cooldown: 10s Requires: 10 Cunning	The character is quick enough to pilfer small items from others, whether friendly or hostile, so long as they are not too alert.
Improved Stealing	Upgrade Requires: 12 Cunning	The character has become a subtler thief, making attempts at stealing more likely to succeed.
Expert Stealing	Upgrade Requires: 14 Cunning	The character is so quick-fingered that victims almost never notice the theft until it's too late.
Master Stealing	Upgrade Requires: 16 Cunning	The character is a world-class thief, able to distract and mislead the poor mark, even during combat.

Notable thefts

For a full list, see Stealing: Profitable Targets.

• Hardy's Belt from Quartermaster in Ostagar.
• Imperium Crossbow from The Unscrupulous Merchant.
• Codex entry: The Notes of Arl Foreshadow from an 'easter egg' in Summoning Sciences.
• Thorn of the Dead Gods from Lord Anwer Dace in either Aeducan Thaig or Diamond Quarter.
• Headband from Sanga, madam of The Pearl in Denerim.
• Tiara from Habren in Denerim Market District.
• Champions Shield from Vartag Gavorn (up to three times)

Notes

• The Dwarf Commoner automatically starts with one rank in this skill.
• One of two 'mission paths' in Crime Wave is unavailable if The Warden has no ranks in Stealing.
  • If the Warden is not a rogue and does have any ranks in Stealing then the entire Crime Wave quest is unavailable.
• The relevant file is skill_stealing.nss (which can be read/adjusted using the Toolset).
• Most characters can be stolen from only once, but some multiple times, if they either relocate or remain in an area which changes in some way. Examples: Murdock is a valid target in the village square before The Attack at Nightfall and (if he survives) in the chantry afterwards; Ostagar's Quartermaster can be stolen once by day and once by night (and reportedly a third time After the Joining in older game versions).
• The known consequences to failed attempts:
  • A soldier at Ostagar will complain to Duncan, who then rebukes his recruit.
  • Knights of Redcliffe Castle and guards of Orzammar may become hostile.
  • Greagoir will scold the Warden if he witnesses a failed attempt. This will also generate the Narrow Road random encounter with templars and conscripted mages.
  • Failing to steal in the Dalish Camp may cause the clan to cease trading and speaking with the party. A rogue group of hunters led by Melora will ambush the party in Wooded Hills, a random encounter often generating while travelling between Denerim and the forest.
  • Failing to steal in Denerim will generate a random encounter when traveling on the Denerim city map where a guard and sixteen soldiers recognize you as a thief and attack. After this encounter, you will have another random encounter when traveling on the city map where a guard and nineteen soldiers recognize you as a thief who wiped out the previous patrol and attack.
• Stealing while Stealthed adds the equivalent of 5 Cunning per Stealth rank

Bugs

• Stealing may sometimes yield no items or money, while still displaying the success message. The 1.04 patch fixes this bug.