STEAL

Type: skill                         Area of Effect: 1 target - can be ranged
Class: Assassin
Delay: 1-2 rounds

Use steal to steal gold or items from people. The chance of not getting caught
depends on how well you have practiced steal, if the person is asleep, the
weight of the thing you are trying to steal, and on the difference in levels
of the stealer and the stolen-from. It is harder to steal from thieves than
from other classes. You can't steal in the Arena or peaceful rooms. You also
can't steal from shopkeepers or ones you can't attack.

Due to misuse of the steal command, it now requires at least level 15 to steal
from other players. In addition, you must be within 30 levels of your target
when stealing from other players.  You can still steal from monsters at all
levels. Futhermore steal takes time to perform, you can't just rush in, steal
20-30 times and quit (unless you have a LOT of time).

If you are caught attempting to steal from another player, you will become
known as a player-thief and attacked on sight by law enforcers. Other players
will also be able to attack you without becoming player-killers themselves.
Also, if you do successfully steal from another player, shhhhh.  If you go
bragging about it or make it widely known some immortal might get into their
head to set your player-thief flag ;)

You can steal from people while fighting but only if you are not actively
tanking and your combat style is set to defensive. You can even try to steal
someone's mount as long as you know how to ride and the mount isn't being
ridden. A successful steal is a calculation based on your dexterity and
wisdom vs your victim's dexterity, your rank in steal, your relative sizes,
awareness, invisibilty, and a factor for stealing from higher level players.

Hint: Any class can steal from someone who is sleeping and you can only
steal inventory items. This is where PEEK comes in handy!

Rank 4: you can steal while mounted.

Usage: steal <coins | object name> <victim>

See Also: SKILLS, TARGET, "SKILL RANKS", PRACTICES, LEARN, OUTLAW, PTHIEF
          PEEK