History Main / VideoGameStealing

BanditMook and MooksAteMyEquipment are two things that can happen when the enemies get fed up and decide to turn the tables on you. 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.

*** The Disarm shout lets you dispense with the subtlety and just force enemies to drop their weapons [[MakeMeWannaShout by yelling at them,]] after which they become collectible items like anything else.

* Ivara from ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' learns "Prowl", a skill that turns her invisible and allows sneaking up on enemies to make them drop additional loot. These are the same items an enemy would drop upon death.

* This becomes a mechanic in the battle mode of certain ''VideoGame/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.

* In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', Shift learns two skills that allow him to “steal” items in the middle of battle. However, there’s no actual theft involved – the items he picks up are selected at random from a list.

* In ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', three characters (Kid, Fargo, and Mel) are capable of stealing items. To avoid abuse from the "can always run from enemy" system, running will cause you to drop the item. A bit annoyingly, you can only use steal once per battle (like all other techs), even if you can simply run from battle to reset your chances if you miss.
* Before ''Cross'', ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' had Ayla's Charm. Unlike its sequel's stealing techs, Charm can be used multiple times a battle. Enemies in ''Trigger'' are notorious for how ''good'' their stealable items are, making Charm a GameBreaker. (And if Charm's not enough, there's a more powerful version as an Ayla/Marle Dual Tech.)
* 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 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.

* ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'' provides a subversion to one of the usual rules: Jeff can steal items from enemies with his "Spy" ability, but he will only get an item if the enemy would have dropped it on defeat anyway.
* ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5'': [[KleptomaniacHero Matt]] starts the game with the Steal Item skill, which, whilst weak and somewhat inaccurate, lets him steal items from foes. Wearing equipment with an on-hit stealing effect allows other characters to steal items.

* ''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.]]

*** 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]].

** 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]].

* Crow in ''VideoGame/TheHeartPumpsClay''. He can steal both practical inventory items like potions, or do something more damaging, like stealing a Marrionette's strings, which kill them instantly.
* The Grift command of the Low-Level Goon form in ''VideoGame/JimmyAndThePulsatingMass'', which allows theft of things that aren't dropped, like a Stuffed Skitter from Skitters. Non-inventory items can also be stolen, like Weird Bones from Skitterbones, which, if stolen, automatically defeat the Skitterbones, and a Mack from a Turtle Stack, which, as it is a stack of a Mack and a Mortimer, sends the stack toppling and splits the stack into temporarily stunned versions of its component monsters.
* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'', where the so-called stealing acts more like RandomlyDrops kind of looting: an Evil God Icon gives you a chance to steal items from enemies after you defeat them. Each enemy has a particular item that you can steal with a fixed drop rate, and while obtaining mundane items such as HP and MP healing items is easy, obtaining extra [[ExperienceBooster Crimson Books]] or [[RareCandy Stat+ Waters]] is an exercise in frustration.

** 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 ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'', Joker learns the Pickpocket ability from Morgana once his Confidant level becomes high enough. This causes him to have a small chance of receiving an item from an enemy when he hits with a melee attack. This is in addition to any chance of the enemy dropping an item upon being defeated.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', the attacks Thief and Covet are notable when used on a Trainer's Pokémon. 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 Pokémon some of the items they do (Rich Boy Winston in ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' is notable…who puts a Gold [[ShopFodder Nugget]] on their Pokémon unless their inventory is full or they are trading it to another game?).
** ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness'' 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 Pokémon…
** Part of this trope is overall averted in Pokemon, however, since Pokémon ''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 Pokémon 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.

** 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 ''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.
** ''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...

* While not stealing, the "Find Potion" and "Find Item" barbarian skills in ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' allow you to find additional items on corpses that are not there when you simply loot the killed enemy. Both of these were [[AllThereInTheManual explained in the manual]]. The potions aren't really bottles of potion, but the enemy's internal organs with the same properties as healing or mana potions, concocted into a drinkable form. Ewwww. The Find Item skill was explained as barbarians used to living a hardscrabble life and willing to look a little harder through the carnage to find the good stuff. Considering that, at higher skill levels and on stronger monsters, this can get you hundreds of gold or rare magic items, they must be looking ''really hard''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Achaea}}'' handles this by having no 'steal' skill as such, meaning players cannot steal from {{Non Player Character}}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.
* 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/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.
* ''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/FinalFantasyXI'' had items you can steal that the enemy could logically have, such as enemy currency from the humanoid and sentient Beastmen, but not from giant pots or worms. Everything else this trope stands for, however, is followed dutifully.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' had an odd take with stealing. Ninjas have the Mug skill whose effects would change depending on which poison you use. One of them gives Mug a slight chance of having additional loot drop from the target if the attack was the finishing blow, even though you aren't actually stealing anything. Using the other poison changes Mug to absorb the target's HP instead. As of the latest overhaul to Ninja in the 2020's, the Mug skill now simply adds to the Ninki gauge which is spent on powerful damaging abilities.
* This is a part of Karteira's skill set in ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy''. Her SR version's second skill applies a unique debuff, which when combo'd with her first skill, will allow her to steal up to 13,500 rupies from an enemy. Interestingly, this mechanic applies the condition of this trope where the enemy needs to be kept alive in order for her to successfully steal the coins.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has some items, like Frigid Mote, only available by [[http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Pickpocket stealing]]. You could even steal a gold ring off a Gold Ring and body parts off monsters. The game's creators jokingly claimed that since you are pickpocketing, the monster's skin counts as a pocket and thus you could steal body parts. Considering the atmosphere of the game, this isn't too out of place.

** The [[IncrediblyLamePun four-shadowed mimes]] introduce a new one: you can pickpocket their ''souls'', apparently without harming them. Considering how [[NightmareFuel friggin' creepy]] the mimes are, this may be intentional.

* Possible in ''VideoGame/MooMooio'' with the [=McGrabby=] secondary weapon, which is literally a hand atop a stick. It does no damage (unless tediously levelled up to Ruby, at which point it begins poisoning its targets), but will instantly steal up to 250 Gold instead.

* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' has an entire Thieving Skill, with chest looting, pickpocketing, stealing from street stalls, looting snake infested tombs, cracking safes, and even knocking out thugs with a blackjack and rummaging through their pockets. Not all {{Non Player Character}}s can be stolen from, but the ones that can be generally fall into this trope.
** However, contrary to the trope, thieving does ''not'' work during combat.

* ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline'': used to let you steal from anyone, player or humanoid NPC alike. Players often had rather elaborate counter measures against such actions. Locked boxes, poisons, explosives, nested containers full of decoys. To walk up to a bank and see someone suddenly explode wasn't uncommon.

* ''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.

* ''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 ''VideoGame/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/RedAlert'' Allies employ Thieves, who can single-handedly steal vast amounts of cash from enemy Ore Silos. The Thief unit would later be dropped and the cash-stealing ability given to the Spy in future sequels. In Red Alert 2, Spies can enter Ore Refineries to steal 20% of the owner's credits (which can very easily give the Spy's owner 5+ digits of cash if it's a high-difficulty AI player). In Red Alert 3, this amount was severely nerfed to a flat $2000, a net profit of $1000 since the Spy costs $1000 to train.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' Adventure Mode: stealing something requires you physically grab the item off the person and pull it off, always works on unconscious enemies, and anything you steal will still be there if you kill the enemy.

* The Thief in ''VideoGame/EquinTheLantern'' can steal items from enemies once he reaches level 7. Certain enemies can also do this to you.

** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' (and by extension ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'') Ezio could steal small amounts of money from people just by bumping into them. Quite fun just to way through a crowded street stealing from everybody leaving tens of confused people - although they'll rapidly figure things out and start shouting for the watch. Also paying a herald and then stealing the money back is an Achievement in the Da Vinci Disappearance DLC.

* ''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.
* ''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!
* 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.

* 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 from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' onwards count to some degree, since they can steal ''stats'' from enemies (in the form of "[[IntangibleTheft vigor]]" for attack and so on). Their {{Status Infliction Attack}}s 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 she's treated as having a level twice as high as it actually is).

* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, most, if not all, of your enemy forces are humans. Thus, it makes sense for an enemy to carry an extra weapon or healing item. More importantly, you can't steal a weapon the enemy target is currently wielding, or any weapon at all in 6, 7, or 8. It gets a little ridiculous in 5, where a thief could steal anything that weighed less than him or her, and the user of a Thief Staff could steal anything... including a ''freaking ballistae''. In ''Fire Emblem 4'', thieves automatically stole an enemy's money (and ''only'' their money) when they hit one in combat (most enemies carried small amounts of money) and were the only units able to give money to any ally at will.

* Creator/SpiderwebSoftware'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/BaldursGate'' it was possible to steal a monster's ''head'' while leaving it alive, since you were supposed to kill the monster and take the head from its corpse, but the head was implemented as an inventory item.

*** This bug carried on in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' where you can ''pickpocket people's heads''.
** Stealing from stores was an exception in that the items ''were'' created when you steal. The storekeeper must keep his stock in HammerSpace.
** In ''Baldur's Gate 2'', stealing the [[GameBreaker Ring of Gaxx]] in the moment before Kangaxx talks to you will net you a ring and another copy of the ring when he finally kicks the bucket. The mechanics behind it stem from the fact that he goes OneWingedAngel in battle - and you loot his final form, while stealing from the starting one.
*** Similarly, the first game included a wizard wearing the game's only +2 Ring of Protection. You meet him once outside his tower and once inside (where you fight him). Both times you meet him you can pickpocket the ring, and when you kill him he drops another one.

* ''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 all the games you can 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 {{Non Player Character}}s live grenades and watch them casually walk away before exploding.

*** In the same vein, ''Fallout 2'' allows 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.

** In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', 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.
* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/KingdomComeDeliverance'', where the pickpocketing minigame only allows the player to steal reasonable items from other characters' inventories.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsTheThirdAge'', 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.

** 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.

[[folder:Game Shows]]
* You could argue that the "Take One Gift"/"TAKE!" cards from ''Series/{{Concentration}}'' could be this- a pair of cards on the board that when matched, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin allowed a player to take a prize from their opponent]]. It could be subverted or averted in a variety of ways, however- the other player might find the other pair of take cards and get their own prize back, they might not be able to use the card because the opponent doesn't have anything to take, or they just don't find it on the board (sometimes, it wasn't there at all- the 1970s Jack Narz run removed it after a while, and it only started appearing on the Creator/AlexTrebek version a few months into the run).

[[folder:Pinball]]
* ''Pinball/PoliceForce'' has a "Take Highest Score" feature, where a player who uses his last ball to [[{{Combos}} shoot the right ramp twice in a row]] gets the highest score ''of all players'' added to his own (on a single-player game, the player's score doubles).

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* 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 ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', Sidereal Exalts -- fate-ninjas extraordinaire -- can perform the following: stealing dice and armor from foes, stealing names, and pickpocketing the ability to ''dream''.
* 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.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* 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.
* The use of this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' was [[http://adventurers.keenspot.com/d/20030404.html parodied]] in ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}'': Drecker, the resident thief, destroys a robot by stealing a grenade, and notes that all robots are built around one. When Ardam asks if that's dangerous, Drecker replies "Only if you pull the pin".
** And [[http://adventurers.keenspot.com/d/20020419.html earlier than that]], when he steals a sword from someone threatening them with a knife.
--->'''Bandit''': Wait... I had a '''sword'''!? Why was I using '''this''' thing, then?\\
'''Drecker''': Yeah, well, it's '''ours''' now.
[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/RedAlert'' Allies employ Thieves, who can single-handedly steal vast amounts of cash from enemy Ore Silos. The Thief unit would later be dropped and the cash-stealing ability given to the Spy in future sequels. In Red Alert 2, Spies can enter Ore Refineries to steal 20% of the owner's credits (which can very easily give the Spy's owner 5+ digits of cash if it's a high-difficulty AI player). In Red Alert 3, this ability was severely nerfed to a flat $2000 theft, a net profit of $1000 since the Spy costs $1000 to train.

* In ''VideoGame/RedAlert'' Allies employ Thieves, who can single-handedly steal vast amounts of processed ore from enemy siloses.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has an odd take with stealing. Ninjas have the Mug skill whose effects change depending on which poison you use. One of them gives Mug a slight chance of having additional loot drop from the target if the attack was the finishing blow, even though you aren't actually stealing anything. Using the other poison changes Mug to absorb the target's HP instead.

* ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' provides a subversion to one of the usual rules: Jeff can steal items from enemies with his "Spy" ability, but he will only get an item if the enemy would have dropped it on defeat anyway.

* You play as a career criminal in ''VideoGame/GasStationSimuulator'', and you eventually acquire a lockpick which your uncle encourages you to use to break into customers' cars and rob them. You can even do this in full view of them; as long as you don't set off the car alarm by failing twice, you're not penalized. That said, if you leave your warehouse open and unattended, customers will see fit to rob you right back.

* Due to the series being set in an RPGMechanicsVerse, ''LightNovel/KonoSuba'' has "Steal" as one of the many Skills adventurers can learn. The skill works by concentrating, reaching in the direction of the target, and holding the user's hand out until it glows and the item is at hand. The item stolen is not controlled by the user, rather it is based on the user's LuckStat. Good thing the main character [[BornLucky has a very high luck stat]].

[[quoteright:320:[[VideoGame/UltimaVI https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ultima6_645.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Stealing meat from a sheep...]]

** [[HornyDevil Foocubus]] are a lot classier as they'll try to undress you and only seldom steal some gold [[OptionalSexualEncounter for their troubles]] if they succeed (players consider it etiquette to have some gold on hand for the foocubus).