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Keywords are:  'thief skill distraction'

Skill: distract                 Lvl 17 Thie  (28%)
                                (helpful)   Requires: hide
                                Group: Thief stealth skills

Usage:
distract <character name>

The art of distraction is used by thieves in a variety of ways. The
distract skill differs from more overt means of misdirection used in combat
such as feinting, dirt throwing and flourishing.

This skill is used outside of combat, while hidden. The thief manipulates
his environment to attract the attention of a single creature, such as lightly
tossing a stone or shaking tree branches. A creature that is successfully
distracted is more susceptible to being pickpocketed or shoplifted.

This skill is not without risks - a thief may expose himself or make the
mark alert during the act of distracting. While some creatures are likely to
flee in face of such harassment, guards, shopkeepers and generally anyone
that's armed (and many that aren't!) will retaliate against such treatment.
Even a highly charismatic thief gifted at fast-talking would find it
supremely difficult to convince a victim of such a ploy of their innocence.

A thief's dexterity comes strongly into play with distracting, with
intelligence as a lesser component. Creatures that have recently been
fighting are too alert to distract.  Entities with truly alien mindsets,
such as elementals or undead, cannot be distracted, either, nor can
mindless creatures like most golems.

Creatures that are especially wise are more difficult to distract, and it
can be extremely difficult to distract covetous creatures, such as dragons
or dwarves, away from their treasure.

You can see how distracted an opponent is with the 'case' skill.