I apologize if I'm taking this thread off-topic and into a messy debate over rhetoric, but I just thought I'd add this.
I wouldn't call someone who overpowers another person to pry something of value from their hands a thief. I would call them a mugger or a thug. I would picture that as something more along the lines of a warrior. A thief, on the other hand, is all about avoiding confrontation at all costs through the use of stealth, misdirection, and dexterity rather than brute force.
That being said, I think a thief on FK trying to mug someone for anything is missing the point. I suppose it might not necessarily qualify as "bad RP," but a thief who employs such methods would certainly seem to be missing the point.
Just my thoughts, I'd appreciate critiques if there are any.
Stealing Spellbooks
A thief is a thief, whether they're taking things by force or stealth. A kid who bashes into a grandma, takes her purse, and runs for the high hills wouldn't be referred to as a warrior... he'd be called a dirty thief. Hmm... to bring this somewhat back on topic, it'd still be a feasible way to take something that someone was paying attention to, like *holds breath for effect* a spellbook!
I don't think mugging would really apply much to this situation because someone ICly would really be dying. A spellbook is a wizards most prized possession, without it they're weak and utterly useless. A wizard would do anything to keep other people from stealing it, stealing their core and power and possibly using it themselves, most likely the wizard in question would die trying to keep that from being stolen, or the thief would die.
It's easy in FK to go down to the nearest Kwik-E-Mart and tell Joe you're looking for a new spellbook then go back to casting spells like nothing happened. If a wizard lost their spellbook they wouldn't be able to cast any of the spells but the ones they most recently memorized, they wouldn't be able to just remember all of their old spells off the top of their head and write them down. A wizard's spellbook is a collection of all these spells they traveled to distant lands for, traveled on roads for weeks, some even years and expunged quite a bit of money on. So it would not be a light loss to lose countless years of effort and work.
It's easy in FK to go down to the nearest Kwik-E-Mart and tell Joe you're looking for a new spellbook then go back to casting spells like nothing happened. If a wizard lost their spellbook they wouldn't be able to cast any of the spells but the ones they most recently memorized, they wouldn't be able to just remember all of their old spells off the top of their head and write them down. A wizard's spellbook is a collection of all these spells they traveled to distant lands for, traveled on roads for weeks, some even years and expunged quite a bit of money on. So it would not be a light loss to lose countless years of effort and work.
Telk