Thievery

First appearing as a battle feature in Dragon Quest IV, stealing items from monsters has become a standard aspect of every title in the series save for the original Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest II, and Dragon Quest V. Two types of theft appear in Dragon Quest: passively filching items from monsters outside the player's control or actively spending a turn using certain skills (such as Klepto Clobber, Steal Sickle, and Half-Inch) in the midst of battle.

Appearances

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation

Thieves can be recruited in the remakes of III. The presence of one or more such characters in the party provides the chance of a single item being stolen after battle, separate from the chance for a normal item drop. In the Super Famicom and cell phone versions, the theft success calculation is (Level/16 + 1) x drop rate. For example, a seed of wisdom is dropped by beakons at a rate of 1/64; if a beakon was encountered when a level 50 Thief was present, the chance of stealing the seed would be 6.4% or approximately 1/16. The steal check is made against all foes present at the start of the battle before any commands are entered by the player, and the item stolen at the end of the fight is the item for which the first successful steal check was made; therefore, monsters that enter the fray after the first turn are not eligible to be stolen from, while monsters that flee the battle before being defeated may be stolen from. If multiple Thieves are in the party, the steal check is processed for each one until an item is successfully stolen or all attempts fail.

• In the Game Boy Color version of the game, theft success is calculated as (Level/8 + 1) x drop rate and is only attempted on the final monster defeated.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

Stealing from monsters is handled the same as in the Super Famicom and Android/iOS versions of the game, using the (Level/16 + 1) x drop rate calculation against all foes at the start of a battle.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

Torneko Taloon has a chance to swipe a monster's goods when he isn't following commands. His theft will not count as an item drop during calculations, meaning patient players can have as many duplicates as they like of certain items. That said, the monster he will pilfer is randomly selected, making it an ordeal to try to use this trait in typical encounters. However, this ability makes Torneko a valuable asset in boss fights, particularly against Sir Roseguardin, who holds a Sphere of Silence.

• In the original NES version, the probability of Torneko steeling an item during his random actions is 1/14, while in all subsequent remakes and ports it is 1/10.

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation

Thieves made their first appearance as a playable vocation in VI, bringing semi-controlled theft to the series for the first time. Unlike the level-based calculations used in III's remakes, the algorithm in VI checks the character's current vocational rank as the base multiplier for item drops, with the maximum theft chance being double the standard item drop rate. This might not seem impressive at first glance, but when a party of four Thieves at max rank enter a battle, the likelihood of stealing an item is increased by 8. However, steal rates will not exceed 12.5% (¹⁄₈), and an enemy must be present at the start of battle to be viable for robbery, with summoned foes being unable to drop items.

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

Stealing functions as it did in VI, although in addition to the Thief, the new Pirate vocation can passively pillage enemies as well.

• The 3DS version introduces the skill Klepto Clobber, with a theft chance equal to double the drop rate of the item. If the skill kills the enemy, no steal check is made, and only one item can be swiped per enemy.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

With Level-5 taking control of the series with VIII, the act of stealing was changed from a passive calculation to one directly controlled by the player. In all versions of the game, Yangus can relive his youth with the Steal Sickle and Stainless Steal Sickle skills; as long as the enemy is not killed when the abilities are used, the former skill steals at 1/4th the original item drop rate, and the latter at 1/2 the drop rate. For example, the common slime has a 1/32 chance to drop a medicinal herb; if Steal Sickle were used, the steal chance would be 1/128, and Stainless Steal Sickle would turn this into 1/64. When stealing from weaker enemies, it is strongly advised to have Yangus wear the skull helm; this cursed item will drop his attack to 0 and remove any risk of accidentally slaying the target and thus failing the steal check.

• In the 3DS port, Red has a chance to steal an item from the last defeated monster if 12 skill points are added to her roguery skill set to unlock Knee-jerk Nab. This is functionally similar to the previously listed methods, with the skill's steal rate being half the original item drop rate; the rate doubles to equal the original item drop rate once 66 points are invested and the skill upgrades to Knee-jerk Knick. If Red is wearing the cap'n's clothes, her steal rate will be increased by 50%.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

Stealing is no longer based on fixed rates in Level-5's second game, instead being based on the Deftness stat and activated by the Half-Inch skill from the Thief's Acquisitiveness skill set. The exact rate is ((Drop Rate * 2)(1 + (Deftness – 51)) / 474). So if a monster's normal drop rate is 1/64, a character with a Deftness score of 999 has a 1/16 chance to nab it. If a character is wearing the Honor Among Thieves re-vocation medal, their steal rate will double.

Additionally, nostalgic players can make use of the Thieves Theory scroll to give additional, passive chances to steal. The resulting passive theft calculation is (Level/100)(original drop rate), meaning a Level 99 character's success rate is 99% of the original drop rate. This activates on both common and rare drops, even from Grotto bosses.

Dragon Quest X

Thieves learn Half-Inch by allocating 8 points to their acquisitiveness skill tree, with the success rate dependent on their Deftness. The Mercy skill has also been altered so enemies who have been spared will drop their items when fleeing, allowing Rangers to help gather items. The items dropped by fleeing monsters retain their normal drop rates, contrary to popular misconception.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Erik learns Half-Inch as a part of his Guile skill path, which has a base steal success rate of 1/6th and a maximum cap of 75%. The steal chance improves by 1% for every 20 points of Erik's Deftness. Erik cannot steal a monster's rare drop, though the chance of these items being obtained can be increased by 5% by wearing the pirate king's pendant. This stacks with the drop rate of the rare item, so for example, the normal ¹⁄₂₅₆ drop chance for a set of frostfire fingers becomes 5.39%.