Question on cursed items....

[Terisonen]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[Glorelendil]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Yeah, this. If intentions are all that matters then all sorts of vile behaviors can be excused.

Remember that Shadow points are not punishment. The thief might worry about whether or not he did the right thing, or even worry about the fact that he doesn't feel any remorse. That's exactly the sort of 'crack in the door' through which the Shadow creeps.

[Shincan]

--thanks to everyone for those helpful responses.

FYI, we finally had our next session--we meet about once a month--and here's what played out:

First, both the burglar and the other party member complicit in the theft earned a shadow point. Then, when the hobbit reached down to hold his dagger, and found it missing, his response was frantic: he did not know that the cursed dagger was taken from him, only that it wasn't there when he grabbed for it. So, his distress was worthy of another shadow point for the other two, as they meant well, but clearly upset a fellowship member and may then have greater worry (shadow creeping in!) about what they did and why. The theft definitely allowed lack of trust to sneak into the fellowship...and as such, is worth the shadow points.

Right or wrong, this event promoted some great role-playing from all three. And best of all (from a story perspective) the curse is still present, so there will be some adventuring to find ways to remove it. The burglar handled the dagger, too, so he is cursed as well--an additional punishment for the actual thief.

Again, thanks folks.