|| II.5 - Crime and Punishment 019 ||

Pickpocketing: Enter Steal mode (F1) and click on townsfolk. Success yields gold or items; failure summons guards. You can pickpocket enemies and monsters, but doing so outdoors, even in dungeons, alerts guards. Safely pickpocketing is only possible inside dungeons.

Shoplifting: This method is highly discouraged as success is rare, even with a 100 pickpocketing skill. To attempt it, go to a store during business hours, click on items on a shelf, and select "Steal" instead of "Buy."

Burglary: Poking around crates and dressers in homes and stores may allow you to open them by selecting "yes" to a "private property" prompt. This usually alerts city guards, and the contents are often worthless.

Breaking and Entering: You can be charged if caught picking a lock, bashing down a door, or seen leaving a building after entry. Bashing doors is noisy and attracts guards; picking locks or using an Open spell is advised.

Trespassing: If you remain in an establishment after it opens, the shopkeeper will call guards, who may block your escape. It is best to leave before morning.

Catburglary: This is the most effective theft method. Break into a closed store at night using a picked lock or Open spell (avoid bashing doors). Empty shelves into your wagon. You can sell the stolen goods the next day, even to the same merchant. Items you cannot afford will remain if you do not leave town.

Assault: This involves attacking without killing. You can only assault city guards, as other townsfolk die in one hit. Assaulting a guard will lead to arrest.

Murder: Killing townsfolk, who die in one hit, results in more guards being sent after you. This is the most severe crime with harsh punishments. You can only use melee weapons on townsfolk and friendly guards; hostile guards can be attacked with anything, but innocent people cannot be harmed with arrows or spells.

Vagrancy: Sleeping in towns incurs a fine. Use taverns for rest. Loitering is allowed, but avoid accidentally sleeping.

Criminal Conspiracy: If your legal reputation is low, you can be arrested for simply existing as a known criminal. This charge also applies if you return to a town after being banished. Guards may hunt you down for this crime, appearing at cemeteries and outside dungeons.