History Main / VideoGameStealing

* This becomes a mechanic in the battle mode of later ''Franchise/MarioKart'' titles - if a player rams into another player with the boost from a [[NitroBoost mushroom]], rather than just spin out their opponent, the player who used the mushroom would take one of their opponent's balloons. With [[RandomDrops luck]]/skill, it would be possible to extend beyond the usual three hit points given in the mode.

[[/folder]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', in-combat stealing is governed by the Steal combat maneuver. It's not very commonly used, due to a number of factors. First, unlike out-of-combat theft, which uses the Sleight of Hand skill to take things without the former owner's knowledge, the Steal maneuver is based on the user's Combat Maneuver Bonus, which is based on their Base Attack Bonus and Strength modifier. This makes sense because you're not using finesse to lift the item; you're ripping it away with brute force. But that means that the characters most interested in thievery, namely Rogues, aren't very good at the maneuver, as their Base Attack Bonus is mediocre and they rarely prioritize Strength. Also, unless the [=DM=] is deliberately enforcing video game tropes, anything available for stealing during combat will be equally available for looting afterwards, so there's little point to using a precious action to steal it.

** However, contrary to the trope, thieving does ''not'' work during combat
** There's one pvp minigame in particular that lets you pickpocket other players for the first time. Granted, it takes place in an arena where you have temporary items and you can't really steal anything valuable from other players, just whatever they make in the arena. Such as daggers, runes, summoning pouches... entire sets of platemail...
** You can however steal an entire stack of runes from someone in Stealing Creation with pickpocketing. This would normally not be much of a problem as a spell needs multiple kinds of runes, allowing for some redundancy, but there are only two kinds of runes in SC. This means you can cackle maniacally as they chase you, punching you for no damage as you just took away a mage's only ability to cast.

* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' has an entire Thieving Skill, with chest looting, pickpocketing, stealing from street stalls, looting tombs and even knocking out thugs and rummaging through their pockets. Not all {{NPC}}s can be stolen from, but the ones that can be generally fall into this trope.

** The standard Thief units in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' count to some degree, since they can steal ''stats'' from enemies (in the form of "[[IntangibleTheft vigor]]" for attack and so on). Their StandardStatusEffect abilities claim to be stealing things like "consciousness" and "movement" but the animations show them simply cracking their target over the head and such. It does avert one facet of this as it's ''possible'' for anyone on your team to steal items (but not stats), it's just Thief's are much better at it (one thing it's based on when calculating your chance of successfully stealing is level, and when a Thief does it he's treated as having a level twice as high as it actually is).

Not to be confused with Stealing Video Games; for that see USefulNotes/ReadOnlyMemory and DigitalPiracyIsEvil. For mundane looting of [=NPCs'=] homes, see KleptomaniacHero. See also LootMakingAttack.

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': At one point, you had to use the "steal" command to grab the uniform off of a guard -- leaving him in his underwear in mid-battle and [[DefeatByModesty causing him to flee]] and doubling as a theft [[ImpossibleTheft other characters would talk about.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':
*** Stealing from a robot would destroy the robot, and gain you a grenade. [[HandWave Presumably it was the machine's power source.]] Other robots could be frisked for Al Bhed Potions.
*** An interesting play on this occurs in the first battle against [[spoiler:Seymour]]. His subordinates have the Auto-(Hi-)Potion skill, which means every time you deal damage to them or the boss, a {{Mook}} will counter with a Hi-Potion, restoring 1000 HP to the target. The only ways to get around this are to use status effects, use attacks that will deal over 1000 damage...or just steal their Hi-Potions so they can't use them.
*** The bribing system, oddly enough, falls into this trope by providing a different set of rare items that may not necessarily be stealable or won through spoils. Enemies now become hidden shops.
** The Thief class in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' could steal a whole bunch of stuff; HP, MP, ''time'', ''sanity'' & ''will''. Granted, it cost MP to do it, implying that this was somehow magical.
** It really gets ludicrous in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. You don't get money from most monsters, instead getting loot to sell. While you can get the same loot either by killing or stealing (in most cases), the things you steal suggest that your party is made up of the world's fastest dentists, skinners, and butchers. Stealing a wolf's pelt mid-battle? Priceless. Do it without hurting the wolf? Absolutely unreal. Also, stealing is the only way to get [[spoiler:the Genji items from Gilgamesh]].
** Stealing is the only way to get [[spoiler:the Darkness augment back]] from Odin in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV DS''.
** ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games also have an upgrade to stealing: mugging. Instead of covertly stealing, you attack and get some money or an item out of it. Or in the case of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' where the main character is a thief, more like stealing and getting in a sucker punch[[note]]Zidane actually got stronger the more you stole this way: every successful theft powers up the damage done by a certain cheap ability. Zidane can become capable of dishing out far more magic damage then the dedicated BlackMage, and while he can't cast [[ManaDrain Osmosis]] to fuel his casting, the extremely cheap cost of this ability will still allow him to spam it in boss battles, making him as good a BlackMage as [=ViVi=] while still having higher health, good damage, and of course the awesome Steal ability[[/note]].
** The best thief in ''Final Fantasy'' history is actually a ninja, Edge of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. In earlier versions of the game, using the "Sneak" command would just do a check to see if Edge succeeds, without any sort of check as to whether or not he had already succeeded. Consequently, there's literally no limit to how many times Edge can steal an item from an enemy other than the player's patience and ability to keep the battle going. And given that ''Final Fantasy IV'' was one of the games that [[AvertedTrope averted]] UselessUsefulSpell, proper use of Stop could keep a battle going for a very long time, indeed. And that's even before you get into the fact that, during the final battle, Edge [[ImpossibleThief can steal a theoretical concept]].

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series:
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' employs a nice variation of the stealing mechanic. Steal-able items are actually visible on the enemy; badges give the enemy their full benefit, and they can and will use other items if given the chance. If you try to steal from "empty-handed" enemies, you often just get some pocket change; it actually ''is'' possible to get an item from empty-handed enemies, although it is quite unlikely.
** Also possible in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario''. When fighting against Mr. L, or [[spoiler: Dark Luigi]], one of his attacks is to heal with a Shroom Shake. By using Thoreau, you can steal the shakes before he uses them.

* In the ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' games, you can steal things off townspeople and even ''party members'' with a steady enough hand. They apparently weren't aware they had it before you took it. (Dias, you jerkass. Why, exactly, didn't you know you had that InfinityPlusOneSword in your pocket until ''after'' I yanked it out?)
** In that the original ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'', which introduced pickpocketing, you could only make a single attempt on any given ally or NPC in the entire game. If you failed, you couldn't try again. This resulted in a whole lot of SaveScumming.
** In the PSP remake of the first ''[[VideoGame/StarOcean1 Star Ocean]]'', you could pickpocket over and over again until you succeeded. On the other hand, unlike the original ''Star Ocean 2'', overuse of pickpocketing would reduce your party's "friendship meter" towards your main character, regardless of whether you were in a "Private Action" at the time.
** In addition to the original Pickpocket skill, ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' allows Meracle to steal from enemies at a low chance by hitting them from the front with regular attacks. This is required for quite a few of her battle trophies.
* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', the attacks Thief and Covet are notable when used on a Trainer's Pokemon. For one, the Trainer will block Poke Balls, yet not ask for the item back? Also, it leads to the question of ''why'' they would give their Pokemon some of the items they do (Rich Boy Winston in RSE is notable…who puts a Gold [[VendorTrash Nugget]] on their Pokemon unless their inventory is full or they are trading it to another game?). Also, Colosseum and XD have the Snag Balls. You would think that somebody who wasn't part of [[spoiler:Cipher]] would complain to the police and get you arrested for stealing their Pokemon…
** Part of this trope is overall averted in Pokemon, however, since Pokemon ''do'' use the items they hold (wild Zigzagoon use their Oran Berries, Ditto are aided by their held Silverpowder, etc.), and if you steal those items, the Pokemon no longer have them. However, if you catch them before they use it, they will still have the item when they're in your party or a PC.
** You actually do this in-game in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' and the remakes...you sneak into the back room of the lab in Celadon City and swipe the Eevee off the table.
** ''Pokemon Sun and Moon'' introduced Marshadow. Its SecretArt allows you to steal opponent's ''buffs'' then oHKO it with them right afterwards.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' had Colette's "Item Thief" and "Item Rover" skills (the latter also stole [[strike:gold]] Gald), which could get you rare items...sometimes. Unless you had the EX Gems to make it work all the time. There was one item that could only be obtained by stealing it from a boss that appeared early enough that you wouldn't have the EX Gems needed unless you were on a NewGamePlus.
** Colette's animation for stealing is tripping near the enemy, complete with a "Whoops!", while still managing to rip the bear's pelt from his [[NightmareFuel still living body]]. Since she [[DualWielding uses two huge chakrams]], fans like to joke about how she's just pretending to be a klutz. Considering her constant tripping on things is a RunningGag, one has to wonder how terrifying she must be in a fight to foes ''and friends'' alike...
* Repede from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' can steal items with his Thievery arte. In the [=PS3=] version he gets a variant that causes damage in the process and new character Patty Fleur can steal money with her Steal Gald arte.
* Leia from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' can steal from enemies by simply knocking them down while she's linked to another character. It also has the side effect of permanently disabling the enemy's item usage (Which is ''really'' useful for the few enemies and bosses that abuse them for healing).
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' you can get titles for every character that upgrades certain artes into having a stealing effect. Since artes are the only attacks in this game, you can probably just forget about the stealing effects and fight normally and then notice an item stolen during combat, if you notice you stole an item at all.
* Several of the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' games have a Steal ability. Oddly, in most of them, it's essentially treated as a chance to get another item after battle -- instead of stealing something mid-combat, you get a message along the lines of "<Character> stole <Item> from the enemy!" during the post-battle text.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', the ability is available to Yangus if you put points into his Scythe skill. It first becomes usable as "Steal Sickle", then with more skill points upgrades to "[[{{Pun}} Stainless Steal Sickle]]".
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarII'' has resident thief Shir Gold, who has a random chance of stealing a given item from any arms or item shop the party visits, travelling all the way back to Rolf's house in Paseo to rejoin the group. This includes on ''whole other planet'' Dezoris. However, this ability is useful for snagging the Visiphone, a global SavePoint, from Paseo's Central Tower.

* Riki of ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' is capable of stealing items, as well as various intangible possessions from enemies such as strength, agility, or with the help of an skill upgrade even experience points.

* Stealing can be done in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' by using a Tonfa that has the ability to steal items. Tonfas have an extremely short range, forcing you to get closer to enemies, and you are not always guaranteed to steal items on your first or later attempts. Luckily, all Tonfas have an extremely short recharge, allowing you to keep trying in quick succession and it's amplified when you cast Haste on yourself. Stealing, especially in the BonusDungeon, is the only way to get duplicates of [[TooAwesomeToUse Revive, Medicine 4, and Full Cure]].
* ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' plays this completely straight with the Thief job, which can Steal from an enemy. They can also steal life (though the game calls it Life drain which implies it's a standard draining effect than simply stealing life) or Mug an enemy, dealing the same damage as a normal attack but also stealing. Eventually they can learn to steal from every enemy in battle in one turn.

* ''VideoGame/EverQuest'' lets you steal such things as bat wings from a bat (and you could get three), bone chips from a skeleton, serpent fangs, heads, etc.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' lets rogues steal locked boxes from humanoids, insignia, etc., which are not present if you kill the enemy. Of course, this was probably done so Rogues weren't essentially stealing loot from their party members. However, every enemy can only be pickpocketed once. If you can't find anything on a monster, another rogue probably pickpocketed it before you and didn't kill it.
** A rogue of the appropriate level can pick the pocket of almost any hostile humanoid, with exceptions governed more by game mechanics than what they're wearing. An oblivious priest NPC in flowing robes might have nothing a rogue can find, but a nine-foot-tall ogre poses no challenge. Even if he's only in a loincloth. Same for a fur-covered bear-man.
** At least through late ''Burning Crusade'', rogues ''could'' technically pickpocket a given enemy more than once ''if'' said rogue pickpocketed enough enemies in between the two attempts without any of them being killed. A pacifist rogue could endlessly pickpocket kobolds in the human starting area (counting the mine) even in the absence of other players killing them.

* ''VideoGame/{{Achaea}}'' handles this by having no 'steal' skill as such, meaning players cannot steal from {{NPC}}s but instead use tricks like hypnosis to make other players ''give'' items away. Drama erupted when a powerful one-off item sold by the developers to help protect from theft -- essentially a magic box -- was bought ''by a thief'', and used in a way they hadn't expected to make theft much harder to avoid. It was swiftly confiscated, and replaced with a different item.
** Similar mechanics were at play in ''VideoGame/{{Lusternia}}''. However, a prolific and imaginative thief in the first year or so of the game led to the ''playerbase'', rather than the admin, cracking down on theft. These days, stealing from people is a good way to make yourself a pariah, and fair-game for griefing tactics (including retaliatory theft) in return.
* A {{MUD}} based on Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' [[http://discworld.atuin.net/lpc/ exists]], with its own Thieves' Guild and the fun 'steal' command for things that are carried, like coins or miscellaneous items. Anyone else can learn to 'steal' too. But thieves also learn how to 'filch', which takes things that are worn or held. Ever experience the joy of stealing a sword out of the hands of an unsuspecting victim? How about his armour? Or somebody else's underwear?

* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' has the thief, who apparently can steal items from an opponent and use it against them.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' plays it a ''little'' more realistically than some. BagOfHolding aside, many of the items you can steal are actually small, easily concealed treasures that one would expect a real thief to prioritize. These are the usual find when stealing from chests and the like, are the only items that will appear when pickpocketing [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]], and grant the most money when fenced. It IS still possible to steal whole suits of armor and five foot long swords laying around in shops and stalls though.

* In ''VideoGame/NetHack'':
** Your pets can pick up an item in a store, carry it outside, and drop it, thus stealing it for you; presumably [[ShopliftAndDie the shop-keeper is keeping such an eagle-eye on you]] that he completely ignores your pets. Can still get pretty ridiculous if your pets steal item after item from the same shop without the shop-keeper noticing, or if you sell back a stolen item without the shop-keeper realizing it.
** There are also monsters with special item-stealing attacks. Any monster that is covetous will attempt to steal one or any of your plot coupons or your class's special item from you. Leprechauns steal gold and nymphs steal anything they can get their hands on. [[HornyDevil Foocubus]] are a lot classier as they'll try to undress you and only seldom steal some gold for their troubles if they succeed (players consider it etiquette to have some gold on hand for the foocubus).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Elona}}'' you can only pickpocket items a monster already has, and the heavier the item is the longer it takes to steal, giving the victim and bystanders more time to notice your attempted theft. However, an item being worn makes no difference, so it's easier to steal a ring the monster is wearing than the plate-mail armor the monster is simply carrying.\\\
The pickpocket skill can also be used to pick up non-random items which are normally off-limits to the player, like a fishing pole lying on the floor of a fishing shop, making the skill double as a sort of "shoplifting" skill. But this also lets you do things like steal a blackjack table from a casino, or even uproot entire ''trees'' and carry them off. In fact, the fastest way to train the pickpocket skill is to wander around in the wilderness uprooting trees.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stealth Based Game]]
* The ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' series, of course, has this to a degree. Often, you will be able to steal some loot that a character seems to be observing, and they will say or do nothing as it disappears before their eyes unless they see the perpetrator. In ''Deadly Shadows'', Garrett can instantly pinch an unsuspecting passerby's shiny purse, bracelets and collar, and it'll still take them about ten seconds to notice. The "only stealable in battle" bit is averted, though, as pickpocketing an enemy who's already noticed you is often impossible.
* ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' allows you to take items from guards, crusaders, plague-infested victims, pirates, the mafia, [[spoiler: witches]], and a master assassin by pressing one button while their backs are turned. You can even steal in plain view of the guards in the Boyle mansion (justified; everyone does it there because they have so much and it's treated like a game). Usually, it's easier to just knock them unconscious; you can even take their money as you're picking up their heavy unconscious/dead bodies!
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' soldiers in later games have dog tags that the player can only receive by holding soldiers at gunpoint and shaking them down. For some reason you couldn't collect them by stunning them, sneaking up on them while asleep, or killing them. This for an item that was designed to be removed from soldiers when they died!
* ''VideoGame/CastleWolfenstein''. In the original Apple II version by Muse Software your character could steal [[DressingAsTheEnemy the uniform of a guard]] or the bulletproof vest of an SS trooper and then put it on and use it, all while holding the guard/trooper at gunpoint. This was the best way to kill an SS Trooper, actually, since it usually took a full clip or more to take one down. Sneaking up on them, telling them to give you their bulletproof vest and then shooting them? One.
* In ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld3'', some monsters carry items. These are sometimes collected as spoils after the battle, or can be stolen by using one of two attacks that have the bonus effect of maybe (yes, ''maybe'') stealing the enemy's object, "Picking Claw" or "Snapping Claw". Of course, enemies never think of using these items, some of which have [[GameBreaker game breakingly]] good effects, like being able to attack two to three times in a single round or counter an opponent's attack with one that causes more damage ''for free'', even when the monsters themselves use techniques with similar effects (For instance, the Etemon line has a chance of carrying healing items, and yet they prefer to waste MP on healing techniques [[WhatAnIdiot instead of using the item that heals more HP than they can possibly have]]). Worse, some monsters have items with a constant effect (accessories that add a highly visible elemental effect to your physical attack) ''and still don't use them'', so the game essentially handicaps itself for no reason.

* In ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', enemies never drop their equipment when killed, but what you steal is taken from the equipment: Steal an enemy's weapon, he's now reduced to his fists. Some very valuable and useful items can only be gotten by stealing them from enemies in combat. Including a [[ImprobableAccessoryEffect Legendary Equippable Horse Wiener]].
** The standard Thief units in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' count to some degree, since they can steal ''stats'' from enemies (in the form of "[[IntangibleTheft vigor]]" for attack and so on). Their StandardStatusEffect abilities claim to be stealing things like "consciousness" and "movement" but the animations show them simply cracking their target over the head and such. It does avert one facet of this as it's ''possible'' for anyone on your team to steal items (but not stats), it's just Thief's are much better at it (one thing it's based on when calculating your chance of successfully stealing is level, and when a Thief does it he's treated as having a level twice as high as it actually is).

[[folder:Real-time Strategy]]
* ''VideoGame/BattleBugs'' has a unit called a "Robber fly", which steals one of the enemies' bombs/eggs/cheeses/whatever as soon as they engage in combat, and is the only unit that can disengage a unit during fighting.
[[/folder]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series usually avoided this trope completely, but still gave opportunities to steal.
** ''VideoGame/UltimaI'' allows you to steal from shops until you get caught, in which case the guards chase you out of town. When you re-enter, the guards are passive. Starting with [[VideoGame/UltimaIII III]], you could steal from some chests. However, stealing in ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'' causes you to fall back in progress to completing the game.
** And let's not forget the Pickpocket spell from ''VideoGame/UltimaVI'', which allows you to steal meat from inside a cow.
** ''VideoGame/UltimaVII: Serpent Isle'' introduced the "vibrate" spell, which lets you steal objects from an enemy. However, enemy spellcasters' spells were sometimes implemented as objects, letting you "steal" the spell and gain infinite uses.
** ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline'' lets thieves steal anything a monster or player is carrying but not equipped. This made going to banks during the early part of the game very risky, as thieves would often rob you blind -- including stealing house/boat keys, and thus, everything in them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} 8'' has two theft options, Pickpocket and Shoplift. However, these can only be performed on a very small number of {{NPC}}s (and only those who already trust you), or in stores, and are typically hard to do. However, storekeepers apparently don't keep money on their person, because even if you rob them blind, [[WeBuyAnything they'll still buy stuff from you]].
* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games were interesting in this regard. They were generally very reasonable, even taking into account such things as the facing of characters to determine if someone noticed -- obviously, if you were in front of someone, they were more likely to notice you stealing something than if you were behind them -- but you could steal truly ridiculous things, such as thousands of coins and heavy machine guns.
** In ''VideoGame/Fallout2'', it was possible to short-circuit a very long quest to get an old junk car running again by pickpocketing the needed part from a junk dealer, until the patch [[GoodBadBugs screwed that up]].
** There is no explicit way of freely getting items from party members, since the ''Fallout'' engine was not initially designed to support companions, a late addition. As a result, the game allows you to "steal" items from an {{NPC}}, unless you want to barter with them for equivalent cost. The best part about that is in the original game, bartering would check both parties' weight limit - but stealing wouldn't. Thus, each companion became a pack mule with an [[HyperspaceArsenal unlimited carrying capacity]]. The only downside is that when they died, you'd have to leave some of the five-hundred pounds of junk they were carrying behind...
** In all the games you could use the "Steal" skill to plant items on any person not engaged in combat. The first and second games allowed you to plant ticking time bombs on them, while in the third it's possible to give {{NPC}}s live grenades and watch them casually walk away before exploding.
*** Leaving a bomb was usually the easiest way to pull off an assassination on otherwise well guarded targets. Also, early in ''VideoGame/Fallout2'', you could pull a fun variant with the thieving kids. Carrying a bomb in your inventory and setting the timer while strolling near the kids would result in them pickpocketing the bomb off you, then (if they have enough time) running off to hand the loot to their boss. Which would then blow up and take him with it, while leaving his store inventory unharmed and available for looting.
*** In the same vein, ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' allowed you to plant a bomb on the "Shitty Comedian" who is protected by a screen from a hostile crowd. If you casually walked back into the audience to watch the comedian literally bomb, the game may crash being unable to determine how all the NPC's should react to the death. (Starting a fight in the area was a long, drawn-out process because of the game's turn-based mechanic, meaning all the patrons get a turn to run, panic, or pick up weapons from the fallen and try to fight back, often hitting others due to their lack of skill, which would... well, you get the picture)
*** Louis Salvatore can be assassinated by stealing his oxygen tank. Cue him gasping for breath before keeling over.
** Deathclaws were an interesting case in the early ''Fallout'' games because their hand-to-hand damage was actually accompanied by an inventory weapon. On death, this weapon usually deallocated but, if the Deathclaw died in a way that didn't wipe its inventory[[note]]Zero damage criticals, look it up[[/note]], they would drop ''their claws'', an awesome equippable hand-to-hand weapon with a glitched visual.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' the introduced the ability to steal the bullets [[ImpossibleThief out of an enemy's loaded gun]]. On the other hand, you can't steal the gun itself or their armor--not directly that is. What you ''can'' do is give them an item the AI considers "better", which is mostly decided by DPS or DT/DR (depending on if you're playing ''3'' or ''New Vegas''), then steal the original item once they switch to the one you gave them.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', a sneaky character can take the ammo from enemies' guns, their weapons, and most spectacularly you can [[AreTheseWiresImportant steal the power source]] for their power armor, forcing them to leave it. There's something satisfying about knowing that, at any point, you can completely ruin an enemy's sense of protection by ruining both his weapon and armor.

*** A fun thing to do if you take the time to fully level up pickpocket (and for the best effect, alchemy) is to steal the clothes of people, give them a high powered weapon and put a (preferably long lasting) poison of frenzy on them. So as an end result you have a naked priest running around and killing people with a war-hammer. VideogameCrueltyPotential at it's finest
* In ''Lord of the Rings: The Third Age'', the "rogue" Morwen could use her Thief Craft skills to steal unique items, Strength and Dexterity points, and '''even XP'''.
* In ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VII'' you could steal from creatures, good or bad. However if good creatures caught you, they would immediately become hostile and attack you. This could also be done in stores, but you run the risk of being caught, kicked out, and not being allowed back inside. Kinda sucks, right? Well don't get caught next time.
** This becomes hilariously broken once your party's Thief has enough skill that he succeeds automatically. In which case you can casually walk into a store, take absolutely everything on the shelves and sell it right back. Of course, by this point in the game gold has long since stopped mattering, but...
* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstone}}'' lets you pickpocket eggs from chickens.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has Stealing as a skill that can be learned by anyone (except Dog and Shale). Steal ranks 1 through 3 can only be used outside of battle and rank 4 can be used in battle. Ideally you can get some top-tier loot this way, but a lot of it is programmed incorrectly and cannot be obtained without mucking around with the Toolset. One other odd element is that what you can steal scales by level, not by who you're stealing from, meaning that a Rogue who starts as a Dwarf Noble can find more to steal on dirt-poor city elves than on the cream of Dwarf nobility.
* ''VideoGame/CitizensOfEarth'' has The Homeless Guy, who can take money or items from enemies, with bigger success rate the less HP the enemy has. Subverted tough: while the abilities serve the same function as stealing in other games, the Homeless Guy is actually begging for the enemy to spare some change.
* In ''{{VideoGame/Arcanum}}'', a skilled thief can strip people off their ''plate armor'' without them noticing. Moreover, using a [[LuckManipulationMechanic Fate Point]] allows even the clumsiest PC to do this.

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons 5E'', a level 3 rogue with the Thief archetype can use their Cunning Action on every turn of combat to attempt a Sleight of Hand check. This means that, while the specifics are left up to the DM's discretion, there is nothing in the basic rules to prevent or even deter a rogue from pickpocketing the enemy's potions off their person in the middle of combat.

* In ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'', Thief soundly defeated a zombie dragon by doing what he did best: Stealing. [[spoiler:A few vertebrae.]] He also stole the lich's soul from his SoulJar, and then ''stole it back into him''. He can also do it with memories. And, allegedly, [[ParanoiaFuel souls and secrets.]]
** He also stole his class change 'from the future.' In a later strip his past self is shown stealing the change from his future self.

* ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'' allowed pickpocketing valuables from guards -- but valuables included such things as gold watches and diamonds (which most people don't carry in their back pockets) and you couldn't find them by killing the guards. Of course, being a ''Franchise/SlyCooper'' game, it provided a [[JustifiedTrope reason]] for why this happened in ''some'' missions (the keys you're after are fragile and will break if the guards are defeated) but not all.

* In ''[[VideoGame/ChroniclesOfMystara Shadow Over Mystara]]'', the thief and magic user can cause enemies to drop items by dashing into them.

Not to be confused with Stealing Video Games; for that see USefulNotes/ReadOnlyMemory and DigitalPiracyIsEvil. For mundane looting of [=NPCs'=] homes, see KleptomaniacHero.

* Spiderweb Software's ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' avert this. Characters can only steal from [=NPCs=] (and not suffer the consequences) when they are out of those [=NPCs=]' line of sight. Similarly, items can not be stolen in combat and will need to be looted off of corpses: whatever items the characters take, it was likely that their original owners actually had a probable use for them.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'', it was possible to short-circuit a very long quest to get an old junk car running again by pickpocketing the needed part from a junk dealer, until the patch [[GoodBadBugs screwed that up]].

*** Leaving a bomb was usually the easiest way to pull off an assassination on otherwise well guarded targets. Also, early in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'', you could pull a fun variant with the thieving kids. Carrying a bomb in your inventory and setting the timer while strolling near the kids would result in them pickpocketing the bomb off you, then (if they have enough time) running off to hand the loot to their boss. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Which would then blow up and take him with it,]] while leaving his store inventory unharmed and available for looting.

** It really gets ludicrous in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. You don't get money from most monsters, instead getting loot to sell. While you can get the same loot either by killing or stealing (in most cases), the things you steal suggest that your party is made up of the world's fastest dentists, skinners, and butchers. Stealing a wolf's pelt mid-battle? Priceless.
** Stealing is the only way to get [[spoiler: the Darkness augment back]] from Odin in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV DS''.
** ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games also have an upgrade to stealing: Mugging. Instead of covertly stealing, you attacked and got some money or an item out of it. Or in the case of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' where the main character is a thief, it was more like stealing and getting in a sucker punch.
*** Zidane actually got stronger the more you stole this way. Every successful theft would power up the damage done by a certain cheap ability. Zidane can become capable of dishing out far more magic damage then the dedicated BlackMage, and while Zidane can't cast [[ManaDrain Osmosis]] to fuel his casting the extremely cheap cost of this ability will still allow him to spam it in boss battles. Making him as good a BlackMage as [=ViVi=] while still having higher health, good damage, and of course the awesome Steal ability.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' employs a nice variation of the stealing mechanic. In that game, stealable items are actually visible on the enemy; badges give the enemy their full benefit, and they can and will use other items if given the chance. If you steal from "empty-handed" enemies, you just get some pocket change.
** It actually ''is'' possible to get an item from empty-handed enemies, although it is quite unlikely.

*** Zidane actually got stronger the more you stole this way. Every successful steal would power up the damage done by a certain cheap ability. Zidane can become capable of dishing out far more magic damage then the dedicated BlackMage, and while Zidane can't cast [[ManaDrain osmosis]] to full his casting the extremely cheap cost of this ability will still allow him to spam it in boss battles. Making him as good a BlackMage as [=ViVi=] while still having higher health, good damage, and of course the awesome steal ability.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', you can pickpocket from [=NPCs=] and from monsters, but you could only ever get five coins at a time. This includes from the bats and the rats. Additionally, you could repeatedly pickpocket five coins from said rat or bat until it died ''and'' it could be hostile to you while you stole those five coins.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', you pickpocket items directly from the target NPC's inventory. Sometimes, it seemed like larger, worn, or held objects were harder to pilfer; sometimes, it didn't seem that way. Due to the way the Sneak skill worked, though, an awesome thief could stand ''in front'' of the target, while quite literally stealing the pants off them, without being caught
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' worked much as ''Morrowind'' did. You could actually kill [=NPCs=] by ''reverse pickpocketing'' poisoned apples into their inventory and waiting for them to eat them. You could do the same with [[GameBreaker lightweight hoods enchanted with continual health damage spells]]. It's also possible that some items won't appear on an enemy until they're killed--usually this is to prevent breaking quests. Finally, some weapons and items are just not meant for player use--you can't normally find them on corpses OR steal them, even if similar items can be stolen from other characters.
*** You can go into someone's house, while they're there move slightly out of their line of sight, rob them blind then when they walk into the room you just pilfered, have a friendly conversation with them. They apparently don't seem to notice that all of their possessions are now gone, and the one person who just came in to their house and began sneaking around may be the culprit.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' upped the ante yet again by introducing the Pickpocket skill tree perks. A player who's fully invested in the Pickpocket skill can harm enemies just by putting poison in their pockets (Poisoned), or even ''steal their equipped clothes and weapons right off their backs.'' (Misdirection, Perfect Touch.) You have to wonder where they draw the line on the term "pick''pocket''"

* In the ''StarOcean'' games, you can steal things off townspeople and even ''party members'' with a steady enough hand. They apparently weren't aware they had it before you took it. (Dias, you jerkass. Why, exactly, didn't you know you had that InfinityPlusOneSword in your pocket until ''after'' I yanked it out?)

* In ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' Thieves can not only steal weapons and equipment, [[IntangibleTheft but can even steal intangible properties from their victim]] (which takes the form of a stat drain on a random stat.)

* In ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', enemies never drop their equipment when killed, but what you steal is taken from the equipment: Steal an enemy's weapon, he's now reduced to his fists. The strange part is that you can even steal character stats (by stealing things such as a kiss or their innocence). Some very valuable and useful items can only be gotten by stealing them from enemies in combat. Including a [[ImprobableAccessoryEffect Legendary Equippable Horse Wiener]].
** The standard Thief units in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' count to some degree, since they can steal ''stats'' from enemies (in the form of "vigure" for attack and so on). Their StandardStatusEffect abilities claim to be stealing things like "consciousness" and "movement" but the animations show them simply cracking their target over the head and such. It does avert one facet of this as it's ''possible'' for anyone on your team to steal items (but not stats), it's just Thief's are much better at it (one thing it's based on when calculating your chance of successfully stealing is level, and when a Thief does it he's treated as having a level twice as high as it actually is).

* ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' allows you to take items from guards, crusaders, plague-infested victims, pirates, the mafia, [[spoiler: witches]], and a master assassin by pressing one button while their backs are turned. You can even steal in plain view of the guards in the Boyle mansion (justified; everyone does it there because they have so much and it's treated like a game). Usually, it's easier to just knock them unconscious; you can even take their money as you're picking up their heavy unconscious/dead bodies!
* The ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' series, of course, has this to a degree. Often, you will be able to steal some loot that a character seems to be observing, and they will say or do nothing as it disappears before their eyes unless they see the perpetrator. In ''Deadly Shadows'', Garrett can instantly pinch an unsuspecting passerby's shiny purse, bracelets and collar, and it'll still take them about ten seconds to notice. The "only stealable in battle" bit is averted, though, as pickpocketing an enemy who's already noticed you is often impossible.