Pick-Pockets [Potential Spoiler]

[sgeos]

So far as I can tell, stealing from non-hostile monsters is a chaotic act, but stealing from hostile monsters has no effect on alignment. Has anyone else had the same experience?

[Elone]

It's true. You should wait for them to attack you first, so that you dont lose alignment. Pickocketing with invisibility is not a good move (despite the convenience), because monsters are all neutral then. Thanks Grey.

[sgeos]

You can always hit a monster and then steal from it. 99.99% of the time it will be hostile after you hit it. =)

I didn't know about the invisibility. Thanks.

[Flammeus]

Heh, well yes I suppose you could always hit the monster. Then again hitting non-hostile monsters isn't exactly lawful either (is a chaotic act).

[rmcin329]

It's true. You should wait for them to attack you first, so that you dont lose alignment. Pickocketing with invisibility is not a good move (despite the convenience), because monsters are all neutral then. Thanks Grey.

Yes, but isn't it only a minorly chaotic act to pickpocket a neutral monster? Possibly minor enough to be mostly counteracted by wearing a blessed amulet of order......Can't find the guidebook page atm that talks about how much(and how often) blessed amulets of order add. Unfortunatly don't have any scrolls of balance either, to test exactly how much pickpocketing costs you.

[Grey]

If you're as extensive a pickpocketer as I am (to the point of pickpocketing the eternal guardian, cat lord and balors in most games simply out of habit) then pickpocketing neutrals makes a huge alignment hit overall. There's ways to counter it of course, but it's really inadvisable for an L+ char hoping to pass through the gate to keep pickpocketing in the late game - it's hard to reset your alignment and you need that L+ to get an ultra. Same for neutrals to a certain extent, especially after they pass any altar areas. Early game it's not a big issue, but mid game it can screw with your piety if you go too far.

[Molach]

When align matters, I let them hit me first. (or rather, miss me first).

Is it just me, or does it get harder to pickpocket after you've attacked them? Like their alertness goes up after you attack them once. That's how it feels for me, anyway. ....must....test.......

[Sami]

Whip of slaughtering and some negative PV will get you quite a nice boost in your alignment.
A level 50 character with -11 PV I got +50 stones with 10 whippings (total of ~270 damage taken) while a level 1 character with -2 PV got about +150 stones every whipping (exactly 10 stones/damage taken). Pickpocketing while invisible (with level 1 character) seemed to cost 50 stones.

So it's not a big issue if you happen to fall from L+ due to pickpocketing, it's easy to get back.

[Grey]

Well it's a nuisance to do and you do need to deliberately find the requisite items (I often never encounter a whip of slaughtering). In general letting monsters attack you first is easier (if you're pickpocketing them then they're likely not a threat). If you're permanently invisible then alignment management becomes a major hassle.