Steal (Combat Maneuver)

Steal

Type of Action: Standard action

You attempt to take an item away from a foe. This maneuver can be used in melee to steal any item that is neither held nor hidden in a bag or pack.

• You must have at least one hand free (holding nothing) to attempt this maneuver. The Steal attempt is made with that empty hand, and, unlike other combat maneuvers, Steal deals no damage unless you wish it to.

• If you have a weapon with the Pilfering quality, you may make a Steal attempt with that hand as if it were empty. If your weapon has reach, you must still be adjacent to use Steal.

• You must make a Steal attempt while adjacent to a target.

• If you do not have Steal, Improved (Feat) or a similar ability, attempting to steal an object provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. If that attack of opportunity hits, you take damage as normal, but otherwise suffer no penalty on your Maneuver Check for the steal attempt.

• If your attack is successful, you may take one item from your opponent. You must be able to reach the item to be taken (subject to GM discretion).

Modifiers to the check:

• Items that are loosely attached (such as items tucked into a belt, potions in a bandoleer, hats, brooches or necklaces) are the easiest to take, imposing no penalty.

• Items fastened to a foe (such as cloaks, sheathed weapons, or pouches) are more difficult to take, and impose a -5 penalty to the check.

• Items that are closely worn (such as armor, backpacks, boots, clothing, or rings) cannot be taken with this maneuver.

• Items held in the hands (such as wielded weapons or wands) also cannot be taken with the steal maneuver-you must use the disarm combat maneuver instead. The GM is the final arbiter of what items can be taken.

Who can be stolen from:

• Creatures that use natural attacks or have an intelligence of less than 6 frequently lack any items or equipment worth stealing.

• Undead, creatures with weapons, or creatures with greater than animal intelligence are subject to the steal maneuver, even if the bestiary entry doesn't detail any specific items they possess.

• If a monster uses a Steal maneuver against a player character, the monster chooses one of the character's visible items to target, determines whether it is "loosely attached" (no penalty), or "fastened" (-5 penalty), and makes his Maneuver Check check against the player's Maneuver Defense. If successful, the creature steals that object from the player, and the player loses any benefits provided by that item until it is recovered.

Effects of stealing an item from a monster:

• In cases where no items are defined for the creature, the Steal maneuver imposes a -2 penalty on the creature's armor class until the end of the encounter, or until it recovers its stolen item(s). This penalty applies to the creature's normal, touch and flat-footed AC's. In addition, a random amount of the creature's treasure value (1d10+4% of the creature's treasure value) is awarded immediately to the stealing character in the form of a small item, or piece of jewelry. (In a non-cutthroat party, this is only actually relevant if the creature escapes the combat and would otherwise not leave treasure behind.)

• Generally speaking, a single creature with equipment (subject to Steal maneuvers) only has 1 "loosely attached" item, and 2 "closely worn" items, for a maximum AC penalty from the Steal maneuver of -6. This would require one successful Steal check at no penalty, and two successful steal checks at -5.

Recovering stolen items:

• Stolen items can be recovered by rendering the stealing character helpless, unconscious, or dead, and then expending a move action to retrieve the items. Stolen items can also be recovered by attempting a Steal maneuver against the stealing character to try to recover the lost items. Once retrieved, the penalty to armor class (if applicable) immediately ends.

• Your enemy is always immediately aware of this theft unless you possess Steal, Greater (Feat).