Okay, but which NPC *is* picking pockets??

[Alfyna]

My farmer passes out frequently at night because he tries too hard to be everything to everyone. Six times out of ten, Linus is the one to drag his unresponsive carcass back to Harvey at their farmhouse, and it's always with the note that someone was rummaging through the farmer's pockets when he got there.

I know better than to suspect Linus. Pelican Town is a too-small-for-school village where you know literally every single person. The town only ever gets visitors during its biggest public festivals.

Have we ever discussed which mystery thief is going around picking your pockets while you're unconscious? Is it supposed to be one of the underground dwellers, or a monster from the caves? Or are we supposed to imagine that the town itself actually is bigger than what it appears, with NPCs off the map that we've never meet, and that the residents we know are just a small sampling of Pelican Town's population?

I want to talk to this thief. If s/he needs money that badly, my farmer'll pony up. He built a neighbor an entire house. He wants to be friends. LOL this is a silly post and yet it is not, who is this person.

 

[Lew Zealand]

It's a cave monster because Marlon can fetch some of your lost valuables for the requisite fee, of course. However that Cave Monster has a name.

And it's Gil.

The 2 of them developed this scam between v1.3 and v1.4, when Gil got a monster tracker which goes off whenever there's an unusual concentration of monsters on one level of the Mines. He pops down there, in the Working Elevator (he has the Secret Key), shoos the monsters away from the Farmer who forgot to upgrade her weapon using his Bat Monster spray, loots a few things and calls up a random villager sayin' there's a-goings on in them thar Mines. The Villager rescues you and notes how it appears that you've been rummaged.

And suddenly Marlon has a convenient way for you to recover... some... of your lost goodies. Pay a little "business tax" to Lewis to keep the operation licensed and the Gold Statue in production and everyone is cool.

That damn Farmer makes more g than she knows what to do with anyway, amirite?

 

[Uzzlegorf]

It's the dwarf.
Private property? What is that?

 

[Alfyna]

I mean I kind of figured, after ten hearts, there's nobody in the town itself that's going to be callous enough to dig up a finder's fee from my farmer's pocket. Nobody is that hard up for cash, and even the ones who are -- like Pam -- would much sooner brag about saving you and reap the social benefits of that heroism rather than settle for chump change.

I mean lol obviously it's just a mechanic to hand you a penalty for staying out past bedtime. My gaming mind has made peace with that. My storytelling brain is the thing that's scrambling for an explanation. I can't decide between 'it's an underground goblin/ghost/troll whatever' or 'the town is bigger/more touristy than what it seems, and there are NPCs that live/travel there that we just don't see'.

 

[Zen_the_Ogre]

14 heart event abagail. I think this could be a just explaination

 

[PoppyForPenny]

The dwarf tells you directly in friendly conversation that he takes things from people at night!

It's the dwarf.
Private property? What is that?

 

[Bananapaws]

Pierre. That's what his secret stash is, all the stuff he's stolen from villagers over the years. He probably has like 120 pairs of the mayor's underwear by now.

 

[rippytrippy]

Traveling Cart lady
she needs stuff to sell oK

 

[Ereo]

But they only ever take money! You never lose items when you pass out at 2 am.

I also think it's the dwarf. He doesn't understand the concept of private property.

 

[LRangerR]

This is how Lewis has funded his golden statue, lol.

 

[Fat Link]

It's the dwarf.
Private property? What is that?

This + Linus + Marlon + Harvey and maybe sometimes even Shane to feed his alcohol addiction.

It made me laugh to think of Clint also thieving from you/us during these times where we’re knocked out but it’s entirely possible as how else is he going to afford all of that endless ore that we end up paying him for if we don’t feel like going to the mines and extracting it from there?

Lewis is a creep and highly corrupt so he’s also not above suspicion, plus he’s known to be out and about late at night to do collections on our shipped goods.

 

[Alfyna]

I'll admit to suspecting Linus in the very beginning when I first started playing the game ("SOMEONE was going through your pockets, [farmer]!!! :( Who on earth it be!?!?") but not only is it not in his character, he's got no use for money. He gets what he needs from the land, and if the land doesn't provide he's perfectly chill with other people's trash. But lol come on, in no universe ever would the pickpocket ever be Harvey.