Pickpocket Challenge

[NeverMore]

Hi,

So I've played RPG's for decades and several incarnations of Cthulhu (Call of, Tech and Live). I just got the books for the 7th Edition and I have a question. 

PC has an artifact in his pocket, he's on a busy street in 1920's New York with his trusted associate.

Three odd looking immigrant folk are hanging around and one eventually attempts to pickpocket the item from the PC.

How should I run this?

A: the Keeper would roll a sleight of hand for the NPC's against a specific difficulty

B: the keeper and defender would roll some kind of opposed check (some kind of perception vs. sleight of hand??)

C: the Keeper just makes it look good and sets up the chase scene he wants to happen

 

Thanks!

[soltakss]

B

 

[EricW]

Some people have remarkable pickpocket skills.

A street magician once gave us a display of his magic skills, card tricks mostly, outside a pub in London.

We were way impressed at his skill, when he finished said "wow, thanks for the show, let us give you something".

He said "Then you'll be needing these", and handed us our wallets.

[Mankcam]

I would make the player-character make a Spot roll (Hard Success required).

Failure means the thief gets away with the artifact, although the character can make a subsequent Spot roll (normal success) to catch sight of the thief leaving with it, thus ensuring a chase scene.

For the sake of drama, if the player character succeeds in the initial Hard success Spot Roll then make the character catch the thief red-handed stealing his wallet instead. During the kerfuffle that ensures, another thief (working in tandem) steals the artifact (requiring an Extreme Success to Spot).

Same outcome - dramatic use of the Chase rules!