I know my players enough to know that they will cry foul when Aldern picks one of them and starts stealing small items from them. They'll complain that they get no checks or chances of spotting the theft. Anyone else have to deal with this?
That's my plan, but I can still hear the complaining already. Even if the items are insignificant.
If they're that kind of group, then start harassing them on a daily basis: "What are you carrying on your person, and what are you leaving at the inn?"
There are groups that steadfastly, adamantly declare that they always carry everything they own on their persons. At that point, I just say, "OK" and start vigorously enforcing encumbrance rules. Especially fun is dropping them in a river and going over their inventory to decide what's ruined.
If Aldern can't steal anything from their persons, he'll go after discarded food scraps, bits of leather, and other day-to-day refuse. Plus all the cool drawings he'll make...
My group had him visit their rooms ONCE, and he rolled around on his obsession's bed and stole a few things. From then on they were ultra-careful, so I didn't push it, and he didn't have any 'personal' items, but he had a lot of trash she'd left behind...
I'd ask for the object of his obsession's perception, then make a roll behind a screen, and then continue on as if nothing happened.
Smell played a big factor for the PC in my party who was his obsession. She smelled the faint lingering of death in her room, then made the connection to the smell being the same at the murders in the lumber mill. When the party deduced that the murderer was likely some form of corporeal undead it gave her the creeps to know it was in her room rootin around while she was asleep.
+1 on the smell factor plus I totally stole Nobodyshome idea about him rolling around in the bed....
+1 on the smell factor plus I totally stole Nobodyshome idea about him rolling around in the bed....
I can see it now: "NobodysHome, spreading foulness since 2012!"