The Complete Guide to Thieving

The Complete Guide to Thieving
Which doesn't suck.

By Agent Waffles

Brief Overview:
Thieving is one of the most neglected skills in RuneScape. This guide is not only here to tell you the ins and outs of Thieving, but also to convince you that, unlike it seems, Thieving is one of the most valuable skills Jagex & Company have created. Like most skills, you can start this out in Lumbridge, but however, to gain full benefit from traing a skill, one must a travel great distance that-a-way. In comes Ardougne, Thieving capital of RuneScape. The only reason anyone comes to Ardougne is to steal some unfortunate chaps possesions, or to travel into the wilderness, and steal some unfortunate chap's possessions.

Introduction:
There are not many way to Thieve, since Jagex lacks imagination and the skill lacks attention, that however, means I don't have to write as much. So at least someone wins. Everyone starts off by pickpocketing, but as you level more, you can steal from stalls, robs tombs, raid safes, mug thugs, loot chests and steal candles. Ready to become a Master Rogue? I thought not.

Pickpocketing:
Pickpocketing is as easy as 1-2. A variety of NPCs have a pickpocket option on Right-click option, do this, and your character will lean forward and search the NPC's pocket. There is a varying success rate that depends on the NPC, your level, and whether or not you are wearing Thieving Equipment, the higher your Thieving, the less likely you are too fail. If you are not caught, you will recieve exp and loot, both variant on the NPC in question. If you are caught, three birds will circle your head, accompanied by a sound more irritating than Crazy Frog, you will be unable to move until the birds stop circling, it is suggested you eat if needed, check special attack and whether or not your gloves of silence are still in one piece. Below is a table with details for pickpocketable NPCs.

Name	Location	Lvl Req	Experience	Stun Damage	Potential Loot	Comments
RuneScape Citzen (F)&(M)	Throughout RuneScapes' Cities	1	8	1	3 Gp	---
Farmer	Lumbridge & Ardougne	10	14.5	1	9 Gp, Potato Seeds, Clue scroll	---
Ham Member (F)	Ham Hideout	15	18.5	1 or 2	Gp, Tinderbox, Normal Logs, Jade, Opal, Red Topaz, Clue Scrolls (lv1), Raw Anchovies, Raw Chicken, H.A.M Clothes, Iron Pic, Guam (u), junk	Wearing H.A.M clothing will increase your chance of success
Ham Mmeber (M)	Ham Hideout	20	22.5	2 or 3	Gp, Tinderbox, Normal Logs, Jade, Opal, Red Topaz, Clue Scrolls (lv1), Raw Anchovies, Raw Chicken, H.A.M Clothes, Iron Pic, Guam (u), junk	Wearing H.A.M clothing will increase your chance of success
Warrior	Al-Kharid Palace, Ardougne & N.W of Ardougne	25	26	2	18 Gp	---
Rogue	Rogues' Castle	32		2	25 - 45 Gp, 8 Air Runes, Lockpick, Iron Dagger (p), Wine, Gold Bar	Previously the only source of Lockpicks until Rogues' Den was introduced
Master Farmer	Draynor Market & Ardougne Farm	38	43	3	All seeds except Tree & Fruit Trees	Recommended for the 1 click option
Guard	Varrock, Falador, Ardougne	40	46.6	2	30 Gp	---
Freminik	Relleka	45	65	2	40 Gp	---
Bandit	Pollniveach	45	65	5	40 Gp	Must have completed 'The Feud'
Desert Bandit	Bandit Camp	53	79	3	30 Gp, Lockpick, Antipoison (1)	The lockpick and antipoisons where introduced for Desert Treasure.
Knight of Ardougne	Ardougne	55	84.5	3	50 Gp	Recommended by the No.1 Thiever, as the best source of exp.
Bandit (2)	Pollniveach	55	84.3	5	50 Gp	Must have completed 'The Feud'
Watchman	Yanille Watchtower	65	137.5	3	60 Gp & Bread	Don't require food.
Menaphite Thug	Pollniveach	65	137.5	5	P50 Gp	Must have completed 'The Feud'
Paladin	Ardougne	70	151.8	3	80 Gp & 2 Chaos runes	Low success rate, not recommended
Gnome (F) & (M)	Gnome Stronghold	75	198.3	S1	200-400 Gp, Gold Ore, 1 Earth Rune, Swamp Toad, King Worm, Fire Orb	Don't require food
Hero	Ardougne	80	273.3	4	100-300 Gp, 2 Death Runes, 1 Blood Rune, Wine, Cut Diamond, Gold Ore, Fire Orb	---
Elf (F) & (M)	Location	85	353.3	5	250-350 Gp, Fire Orb, Gold Ore, 3 Nature Runes, Wine, 2 Death Runes, Cut Diamond, Unicorn Horn, Dark Wizard Robe	Must have stared Mournings End Part 1 to Access

Trapping NPCs:
While Thieving, you may notice that your NPC will go running off after another Thief, who is stealling from a stall. Two of these NPCs are also the best in there catergory. Guards, Knights, Paladins and Heros will all shout loudly and wave their sword at fellow Thievers and be decapitated within seconds. This is not good for you, as you want your victim alive. This is where NPC trapping comes in. NPC Trapping is the first ever form of Hunting. Attack your victim, run into a building, slam the door behind them and run off so they forget about you. Below are a list of potential Trapping Buildings in Ardougne.




The north-eastern building is not favoured because of the door angle and lack of stairs.
potential victims include

• Guard
• Knight
• Hero

Ardougnes' clue house is the most used building since it can hold two knights, a Paladin and a Guard. This allows Thiefs of varying levels to be in close proximity if they want to chat.

• Guard
• Knights x 2
• Paladin

The Fur Seller's house is chiefly used for Fur Thieves to escape getting caught by the Fur seller,
however a knight occasionally wanders into it as well, posing a good opportunity

• Fur Seller
• Knight

The Platemail building is the only building that can hold all four guards, it isn't very favourable since it is narrow, doesn't have stairs and most of the NPCs are dead within seconds of spawning, I prove my point by not being able to get a hero inside, since the retard pictured in rune above kept killing him. Even though I tried to explain what I was trying to achieve.

• Guard
• Knight
• Paladin
• Hero

The Cake Seller's house is the most favourable for power training since you can get 2 Knights and a Paladin inside at once, and it is fairly open, however there is nothing to range across.

• Knights x 2
• Paladin

Pickpocketing Notes:

• Fire Orbs are fairly rare.
• Anything Located in Ardougne will most likely be in close Proximity to the main square.
• There are alot of Paladins in Ardougnes' Castle, second floor, south wing.
• Watchmen and Gnomes will never require food since it is easily stolen from them.
• Female H.A.M Members have better exp for there level.

Looting Chests and Picking Locks:
Throughout RuneScape, you will encounter locked doors and chests. These hurdles are ridiculously easy to pass with a bit of luck. Right click the door or chest and you will get the option to Pick-lock the door and Search for traps on the chest. After a few attempts the door should open for you. You will always be successful with chests, but then you have to wait for them to respawn, and higher level chests teleport you to somewhere nearby. Below is a table of Doors, Chests and where to find them.

Level Requirement	Experience	Location	Accessed?
1	3.5	East of Ardougne's Cake Stall	Thieving Chest
14	15	East of the Gem Stall in Ardougne	Two Thieving Chests, Iron Mace respawn Point
16	15	The building with a Range, north of Ardougne's church	Two Thieving Chests
32	25	Ardougne Sewers	Ardougnes' Sewer Mining Area
39	35	Pirate Hut - Lv 54 Wilderness	Pirates, Half Redberry Pie respawn point
42	23	Magic Axe Hut - Lv 54 Wilderness	Magic Axes
46	37.5	The Blood Tower, North-West of Ardougne	Ogres, Bats, Thieving Chest
61	50	Ardougne Castle, second floor, south door	Paladins, Thieving Chest, Black Scimitar repsawn point
82	50	Building South-West of Yanille Bank	Shortcut into the Agility Dungeon

Level	Experience	Loot	Location
13	7.5	10 Gp	-The house south-east of the Cake Stall in Ardougne, Second Floor. -Magic Axe Hut - Lv 54 Wilderness -House North-West of Ardougne Church, Second Floor.
28	25	1 Nature Rune & 3 Gp	-The house east of the Gem Stall in Ardougne, Second Floor. -House North-West of Ardougne Church, Second Floor -Skulgriem's Shop in Relleka, Second Floor
43	125	50 Gp	-The house east of the Gem Stall, Second Floor. -Mourners' Dorm, West Ardougne, Western Chest
47	125	5 Steel Arrows	-House in Hemnester, Picklock required -Mourners' Dorm, West Ardougne, Eastern Chest -Swensen's House, Relleka
59	250	2 Blood Runes & 250 Gp	-Blood Tower Dungeon, North of West Ardougne.
72	500	Rawk Shark, Adamant Ore, 1000 Gp & Uncut Sapphire	-Southern Wing, Second Floor, King Lathas' Castle, Ardougne

Notes

• You must have started Mournings End Part 1 to Access the Mourners' Dorm
• You must have started Freminik Trials to Access Swensen's House

Stealing from Stalls
By now you must have pockets jingling with cash and have forced a few people into poverty, but it's time to aim your sights a wee bit higher. Stalls for example, brimming with merchandise are practically forcing you to take a little something, no one will notice, will they? Stalls were originally only from Ardougne & Varrock, but since have been expanded to Draynor, Miscllania, Ape Atoll, Keldagrim and Relleka. Thieving stalls is harder than it first appears, since you have to escape notice of Stall owners, Guards, Paladins, Knights, Warriors, Heros, Market Guards, Monkey Archers, Black Guards, Ogres, The Marim Guard & the occasional citizen. The higher leveled guards only try to prevent robbery from better stalls. If a guard spots you, he will attack you. To get passed this, stay out of site and if a guard spots you then try to steal from the stall until you enter combat. Fortunately for some, if the stall owner spots you, he/she will only shout at you to screw off. Once a stall has been robbed, then it will take a set time to reset so you can thieve it again. The respawn rate is, however quite variable.

LvL Req	Name & Location	Experience	Potential Loot	Guardians?	Reset Time
2	Vegetable Stall, Miscellania	10	Onion, Tomato, Cabbage, Garlic, Potato	Miscellania Citizen	2
5	Cake Stall, Ardougne & Keldagrim	16	Cake, Bread, 1/3 Chocolate Cake	Guards, Warriors	2
5	General Stall, Ape Atoll	16	Tinderbox, Hammer, Pot	Monkey Archers	10
5	Crafting Stall, Ape Atoll & Keldagrim	16	Chisel, Necklace Mould, Ring Mould	Monkey Archers, The Marim Guard	10
5	Food Stall, Ape Atoll	16	Banana	None	10
5	Tea Stall, Varrock	16	Tea	None	3
15	Rock-Cake Stall, Gu'Tanoth	10	Rock (Cake)	Ogre Guards	6
20	Silk Stall, Ardougne & Keldagrim	24	Silk	Warriors, Guards, Knights	5
22	Wine Stall, Draynor	27	Grapes, Jug, Bottle of Wine, Jug of Wine	Market Guards	15
27	Seed Stall, Draynor	10	Misc. Seeds	Market Guards	5
35	Fur Stall, Ardougne & Relleka	36	Grey Wolf fur/Fur	Guard, Market Guards	15
42	Fish Stall, Relleka & Miscellania	42	Raw tuna, Raw salmon, Raw Lobster	Market guard, Miscellania Citizen	15
49	Crossbow Stall, Keldagrim	52	Bronze crossbow limbs, Wooden crossbow stock, 3 bronze bolts	Warriors, Black Guard	20
50	Silver Stall, Ardougne & Keldagrim	54	Silver ore	Warriors, Guards, Paladins	30
65t	Magic Stall, Ape Atoll	100	Elemental or Law Rune (1)	None from correct position	60
65	Spice Stall, Ardougne	81	Spice	Guards, Knights, Paladins	80
65	Scimitar, Ape Atoll	160	Bronze Scimitar, Iron Scimitar, Steel Scimitar	Monkey Archers	60
75	Gem Stall, Ardougne & Keldagrim	16	Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Diamond (uncut)	Guards, Knights, Paladins, Heros	180

Ape Atoll Thieving
For those of you that have traveled to the far off city of Marim, you will notice that this city also has stalls, but since you can't lose your cover as a monkey, you have to transform into a human and turn into a walking pincushion, however you can't steal why in combat, so here are a few pictures to show you how Marim thieving is achieved. Although Ape Atoll Thieving is pretty much useless apart from the Rune Stall, for those braves adventurers who are smart enough to forget a teleport out.


You will want an inventory a bit like the one pictured above, though the M'Speak amulet is and extra weapon are not vital. Please not you will also want to have a Prayer bonus that will assure your protect from ranged lasts for a few minutes. Or substitute more prayer pots for sharks.
To steal from the crafting stall, you must be stand to the north of it.
The food stall is quite handy if your low on food here and don't have a contingency plan, so you can camp while you wait for someone else's assistance, please note that Padulah may see you, so you cannot always thieve from it.


The general store stall is a huge waste of time but this guide wouldn't be complete without listing it, you may want to note the position of the bones, since you cannot thieve while the archers are still alive, as I have said early, they will turn you into a human pincushion and one of the focuses of thieving is to stay alive.


Another of clever old Jagexs' inventions, again please note the position of the dead archers. And that you must also be behind the table so you don't have to deal with a third, as well as Padulah.


Finally, good old Jagex gave us something good, for this stall we can steal Elemental Runes and Law runes, only 1 at a time, but as I have mentioned earlier, good for the adventurers who forgot their teleport runes.

Stall Stealing Notes

• You need to take out the Monkey Archers if stealing from General Store Stalls and Scimitar Stalls
• Stealing from Miscellanian stores will lower your approval rating
• Gem stalls do actually give 16exp, that wasn't a typo.
• Usually the only thing you will get from a Gem Stall is a sapphire, anything else is quite uncommon
• Rather that chucking fur or silk away, sell it back later.

Pollniveach Fun
For those of you who have completed The Feud, a new, just as boring way to gain exp opens up, enter, The Blackjack... *snore* (I'm going to keep this section brief) Blackjacks can be used to lead away Pollniveach citizens, whack them over the head, and then steal their wordly possesions. Multiple kinds of Blackjacks can e purchased from Ali Morrisane after you have completed particular sections of Rogue Trader. To mug people, equip your Blackjack, you must first Lure them, this option is on the right click, they will follow you. Lead them to a deserted location and then use the Knock-out option. You must work quickly as it only takes a second for them to gain conciousness. Also, victims will not always follow you, try again if it doesn't work the first time.



More Thieving Techniques:
Jagex have shown that they are not entirely stupid, and have occasionally giving Thieving an extra something to kill some time between power training. Below is a small list of other activities the avid Thief can partake if he or she choses to do so

LvL Req	Name	Loot	Experience	Location	Extra Details
20	Zogre Coffins	Ancestral Bones, Zogre Bones, Nails, Pickaxes, Axes, Iron Daggers, Junk, Level 1 Clue Scrolls	70	Zogre Graveyard	If you fail, your Thieving will be reduced by 1-3 Levels, you may also get diseased
20	The Candle Table	Candles(lit)	20	Entrana	A 'high power' will smite you with a one...
40	H.A.M	Gold Jewellery (Sapphire through to Diamond), coins and gems,	22	Second Level H.A.M Dungeon	You must have completed Death to Dorgeshu'un to access the area, to open the chests you must pickpocket H.A.M guards for Bronze, Iron, Steel or Silver keys. The chests are behind Locked doors, which can be Pick-locked or opened with the keys. Guards will attack if they see you Picking the locks on the doors.
50	Rogue Safes	Sapphire to Diamond (uncut)	70	Rogues' Den	Stethoscopes that can be bought from Martain Thwait that will greatly increase your chance of success, don't use it on the safe because just having it in your Inventory works fine, if you fail, spikes will come up from the ground and hit 1-6. If you disarm these then your Thieving will be reduced by 1 (It doesn't help either)

The H.A.M Dungeon:
A bit of a treat is in store to the Thieves who have completed Death to Dorgeshu'un, the dungeon where you and Zanik previously sniped guards has become a Thieving playground, with gold as a potential reward. It is also suggested you bring along a fire staff and some nature runes, as there will be plenty of gold to alchemy.



The aim of this dungeon is to pick pocket the guards for keys ranging from Bronze to Steel and a Silver key (ever heard the phrase?). Each key as a different room which is compatible with the chest and that key only can open the chest. You can also crawl into the bronze chest room through two holes in the wall. The higher level the key, the better chance you have of getting higher leveled jewelery, you will receive 1-4 pieces of jewelery per key, the number of items you get does not represent the key type. You may also find some coins as a reward.



The key-chest positioning is as follows.

Silver	Iron
Bronze	Steel

Rogues' Den
Also known as the cooking guild, you are more likely to find people here to be Cooking or Firemaking than Thieving. However, Rogues' Den has a few rewards to those who complete the fiendishly easy obstacles. Rogues' Den does however, provide a bank in Burthrope for those with +50 Thieving. As well as a shop to buy Lockpicks from. Look out for a Rogues' Den guide later in the year.



Pyramid Plunder
Located in the far depths of the desert where no one ever visits, is the Pyramid Plunder. Pyramid Plunder is a fun minigame for those of us who have completed Icthlarin's Little Helper. The basic idea is to loot your way through 8 different rooms in five minutes and walk off richer than you came in, you need 21 Thieving to start, but to access the higher rooms, you need a higher Thieving level. The highest room has a requirement of 91 Thieving. Also look at for a Pyramid Plunder guide later this year.



Training Thieving Tips

• If you can, wear Gloves of Silence, which can be obtained through Hunter
• Trap NPCs in houses so other players cannot attack them, and to prevent the wander zone
• Paladins make the best money.
• Heros suck. Period.
• Knights as still better than Watchmen even at +70
• Bandits' Brew is not worth it
• Wield a bow without ammunition so you cannot attack what your victim.
• Halberds are very effective against Watchmen
• You can Thieve faster than the animation, just keep clicking.
• From 55-99 Knights are still the best exp.
• Master Farmers are good from 38-55 since they can't be killed and don't need a right-click.
• Rogues' Armour will make you look fancy, wear it.

The Pillory:
Occasionally a watchmen will spot you and you will be teleported to one of the three pillories throughout RuneScape. Here, you must unlock 3 locks to escape the Pillory, once you complete each lock it will appear green, once you complete the event you will be teleported back to your previous location. Three keys in the shape of either a Diamond, a Equilateral Triangle, A Circle or a Square will swing back and forth on a metal bar, you must match the key with the rotating lock in the top left corner of your screen. If you answer incorrectly then another lock will be added. A maximum of five locks can be on the cage at one time.

Thieving Attire:
While pickpocketing you may notice two base types of attire for higher level thieves. Minimalist and Specialized. Minimalists will true to lose as much weight as possible, for as much possible run time and energy regeneration, this is mainly seen while Thieving the Paladin Chest or the Blood chest, but also used while Pickpocketing (usually) untrapped NPCs. A specialist will have the biggest bonus possible in Melee/Range. Meleers usually use Melee since they don't know any better. Rangers however know what they are doing and wield a bow without any ammunition so they can't attack their victim, and so they can range Random Events across scenery. Experienced Thieves try to attain the best of both worlds to ensure success.
Below is an example of each


The major advantage of minimalism is you minimize your weight, allowing you to run a lot further. However this means that you sacrifice any combat bonuses, and you will occasionally attack your victim. As well as taking a lot longer to defeat stall guards, or not being able to kill them at all.


Specializing yourself is usually used for stall Thieving, as well as pickpocketing. Specializing is a lot commoner than minimalism as not many people realize that not being able to decimate your enemy in two hits is not a huge disadvantage if you can play your cards right. However most people can't.

Cape of Achievement:
Proud Thieves can also Purchase the Thieving Cape of Achievement from Martain Thwait who is found in Rogues' Den.

for the elf you don't have to do mourning ends to get them just at least start regicide

this is a very complete guide good job...

Well I've finally finished the bulk of it, I'll add Zogre coffins later.