Thieving
For information on training this skill, see Thieving training.
Thieving is a skill in RuneScape Classic which allows players to steal from non-player characters whether by pickpocketing or stealing from stalls and chests. Thieving proves to be quite profitable and is generally used to make money as coins and valuable items are obtained in the process. There are three ways to train the thieving skill: pickpocketing, looting chests, and looting stalls. The thieving skill was released on 30 April 2002 with East Ardougne and the Tribal Totem quest. East Ardougne is the area with the most thieving-related content in the game.
Getting started[edit | edit source]
In order to begin training the thieving skill, players must start by pickpocketing before they can steal from stalls. Pickpocketing men is the only option at level one thieving. Men can be found near the initial spawn point in Lumbridge, making the skill readily available for new players.
Pickpocket[edit | edit source]

Players can pickpocket specific non-player characters by right-clicking on them and choosing the "pickpocket" option. If the pickpocket is successful, the player will receive some loot and Thieving experience. If the pickpocket fails, then the NPC will engage in combat with the player. To continue pickpocketing, the player must run away, or kill the NPC and wait for it to respawn.
When pickpocketing, many players have food, and armour equipped, but no weapon, to avoid killing the NPC or taking too much damage.
Image | Name | Level | Experience | Loot | Location |
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Man | 1 | 8 | ||
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Farmer | 10 | 14.5 | ||
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Warrior | 25 | 26 |
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Workman | 25 | 0 | ||
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Rogue | 32 | 36.5 |
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Guard | 40 | 46.75 | ||
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Knight | 55 | 84.25 |
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Watchman | 65 | 137.5 |
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Paladin | 70 | 151.75 |
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Gnome | 75 | 198.25 |
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Hero | 80 | 273.25 |
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Stalls[edit | edit source]
Throughout Gielinor are many stalls that players can steal from. The most common location for stealing from stalls is the East Ardougne market. Looting stalls is another alternative to pickpocketing and requires a higher thieving level to begin. To steal from a stall, find a stall that can be looted, right-click on it and select the option "steal from". Once a player steals from a stall, it will take several seconds for the items to re-spawn. If the player is unsuccessful, the player will be attacked by a guard, knight, paladin, or hero depending on the level required to steal from the stall.
Image | Stall | Level | Experience | Loot | Respawn Time |
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Tea stall* | 5 | 16 | 5 seconds | |
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Bakers Stall | 5 | 16 | 5 seconds | |
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Rock Cake counter | 15 | 16 | 5 seconds | |
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Silk Stall | 20 | 24 | 8 seconds | |
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Fur Stall | 35 | 36 | 15 seconds | |
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Silver stall | 50 | 54 | 30 seconds | |
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Spice stall | 65 | 81 | 80 seconds | |
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Gem stall | 75 | 160 | 180 seconds |
* This stall is not practically used to train on since it has a higher fail rate compared to the other stalls.
Chests[edit | edit source]
The thieving skill can be used to unlock a number of chests throughout Gielinor, and receive the loot inside. This is done by right-clicking on the door and selecting 'picklock'.
Image | Location(s) | Name | Level | Experience | Loot | Respawn Time |
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Ardougne Market House, Pirates' Hideout, Axe Hut | 10 Coin Chest | 13 | 7.5 | 10 ![]() |
10 seconds |
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Ardougne Market House Second Floor, Pirates' Hideout | Nature-rune Chest | 28 | 25 | 3 ![]() ![]() |
25 seconds |
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Ardougne Market House Second Floor, Axe House | 50 Coin Chest | 43 | 125 | 50 ![]() |
100 seconds |
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Hemenster * | Hemenster Chest | 47* | 150 | 20 ![]() ![]() |
150 seconds |
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Ardougne Chaos Druid Tower | Blood-rune Chest | 59 | 250 |
2 blood-runes |
250 seconds |
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Ardougne Castle - upstairs | Paladin Chest | 72 | 500 | 1000 ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
500 seconds |
* This chest requires a lockpick.
Doors[edit | edit source]
Some doors can only be unlocked through use of the thieving skill.
Location | Level | Experience |
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One-storey houses, East Ardougne(10 coin chest) | 7 | 3.75 |
Yanille anvil hut | 16 | 15 |
Nature-Rune Chest house, East Ardougne | 16 | 15 |
House next to Baker stall, East Ardougne; Ardougne Mansion door | 21 | 15 |
Ardougne sewer mine | 31 | 25 |
Axe House, Wilderness level 54* | 32 | 25 |
Pirates' Hideout, Wilderness level 54* | 39 | 35 |
Chaos Druid Tower | 46 | 37.5 |
Underground Pass Railings | 50 | 0 |
Legends Cavern, Ancient Wooden Doors* | 50 | 25 |
Paladin House, East Ardougne | 61 | 50 |
Yanille agility dungeon* | 82 | 50 |
* This door requires a lockpick.
Training[edit | edit source]
For detailed information on training, see Thieving training.
Boosts[edit | edit source]
Item | Boost | Visibility |
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Poison chalice* | 1 level | Visible |
* Only when the response from drinking the item is: You feel a lot better
Quests[edit | edit source]
Thieving is required to complete several quests:
- Level 15 to steal the rock cakes for Watchtower Quest
- Level 21 to find the traps during the Tourist Trap
- Level 25 to pick the Workmen during the Digsite Quest
- Level 42 to disarm the traps in the lever during the Temple of Ikov
Additionally:
- Level 50 greatly helps in the Underground Pass to pick a door that shortcuts the dungeon
The following quests give Thieving experience as a reward:
- Biohazard -
- Fight Arena -
- The Hazeel Cult -
- Tribal Totem -
- Tourist Trap - A choice of two
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- The first player to achieve level 99 thieving was Swedemike.
- Drinking from the poison chalice has the possibility to temporarily increase the player's thieving level by 1.
Pickpocketing | |
Stalls | |
Other |
Combat | |
Gathering | |
Artisan | |
Support | |
Removed | |
Related |