Board Thread:Midian Ideas/@comment-24302820-20151004044419/@comment-24302820-20160424225430

Three things immediately come to mind to combat abuses of this particular proposed skill.

The first is that the skill isn't about grabbing everything that isn't nailed down--and taking a crowbar to the things that are--but about quickly grabbing some small, portable, and high-value items. For most rooms, there won't be anything that really fits this bill. Take a look at a modern room. In the living room the television is expensive, but too big. A DVD player would work for this skill, though. In the bedroom, the bed itself may be the most expensive thing, but again, is far too bulky. Maybe there's a jewellery box, or some other small and pricey nick-nack that could be grabbed, maybe some emergency money tucked into a sock drawer.

The second is the time factor, with the third being total weight. Inflicting and enforcing load penalties is pretty straight-forward. Time can certainly be a problem with the intended use of this skill: breaking and entering, with rolling/mugging as a secondary use. One never knows when law enforcement--or even just a witness--will come around the corner and see the pc involved in nefarious ends. The victim can awaken (either the homeowner or mugee) fight back, perhaps leading to the victim's death, which then makes this a murder case instead of just a simple robbery.

There is also always the option for the GM to just say, "You don't find anything good," even with a successful skill check. That's totally valid even in cases where the skill isn't being abused (nor is the GM just being a dick). In fact, that's exactly what a successful skill roll can indicate: you are certain that there isn't anything good, and you shouldn't waste your time further on this room.