You’ve just woken up in a mill. Your head hurts, your parents are dead, and you owe a massive debt to a man who sounds like he’s perpetually judging your life choices. This is the start of The Good Thief Kingdom Come quest, and honestly, it’s the moment where a lot of players realize that Kingdom Come: Deliverance isn't going to hold their hand. It’s messy. It’s clunky. If you don't know what you're doing, you'll end up rotting in a Rattay jail cell before you've even had your first bowl of lentil soup.
Miller Peshek wants his money back for the apothecary bills. Since you’re broke and smelling of charcoal and tragedy, he suggests a bit of grave robbing. It sounds simple enough on paper, but between the wonky lockpicking mechanics and the wandering guards, this "tutorial" quest is a trial by fire.
Why Everyone Struggles With The Good Thief Kingdom Come
The biggest hurdle isn't the moral weight of digging up a corpse; it’s the lockpicking. If you’re playing on a console with a controller, trying to turn that tumbler is like trying to perform brain surgery with a pair of oven mitts. You need to get a ring from a dead man’s grave, but the grave is empty. That’s the first twist.
Most people get frustrated here because the game doesn't explicitly tell you that Henry is, quite frankly, terrible at everything. You aren't a legendary thief. You’re a blacksmith’s boy who can barely hold a shovel straight. The quest is designed to teach you that in Bohemia, information is just as valuable as the loot itself. When you find that the grave at the gallows is empty, you have to track down the executioner, Hermann.
Hermann lives in a small house surrounded by dogs that have a personal vendetta against anyone wearing gambeson. You've got options here. You can talk to him, you can sneak past him, or you can just knock him out if you’re feeling spicy. But most players try to rush it, get spotted, and then wonder why the "Good Thief" quest turned into a "Dead Henry" scenario.
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Dealing With Executioner Hermann
Hermann isn't actually a bad guy. In fact, if you play your cards right later in the game, he’s actually pretty sympathetic. But right now? He’s the guy standing between you and a ring that pays off your medical bills.
If your Speech stat is high enough—which it probably isn't this early—you can convince him to just sell you the ring or tell you where it is. Most of us end up having to sneak into his house. This is where the quest becomes a lesson in patience. You have to wait until night. You have to take off your boots because your "Noise" stat is probably through the roof. If you’re wearing heavy armor, you might as well be ringing a dinner bell for the guards.
The ring is inside a chest. This is your first real test of the lockpicking system. If you break all your picks, you're stuck. You'll have to go back to Peshek, beg for more, and feel the sting of his disappointment. It's brutal.
Mastering the Lockpicking Learning Curve
Let’s talk about those locks. In The Good Thief Kingdom Come, the chest in Hermann’s house is an "Easy" lock, but "Easy" in this game is a lie. It feels "Very Hard" when you have zero skill points.
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- Pro Tip: Go into the game settings and turn on "Simplified Lockpicking" if you're on a controller. It changes the rotation to the L1/LB button, making it significantly less of a headache.
- The sweet spot (the gold dot) needs to stay in the same relative position as you rotate the wheel.
- Don't go slow. Speed is actually your friend. The longer you linger, the more your "shakiness" increases.
Once you actually get the ring, the quest isn't over. You have to take it to another Miller, Kohel, who is located way out near Kohelnice. This teaches you about the "Miller Network," which is basically the medieval version of the mob. They are the only ones who will buy stolen goods from you, which is essential if you plan on making money through less-than-legal means throughout the rest of the game.
The Practical Rewards of Being a Criminal
Why bother? Honestly, you could just pay Peshek back in Groschen later. But completing The Good Thief Kingdom Come unlocks the ability to sell stolen items. This is huge. In the early game, Groschen are hard to come by. You'll find yourself "accidentally" picking up bread, cups, and swords that don't belong to you. Without the Millers, that stuff just sits in your inventory, glowing red with the "stolen" icon, waiting for a guard to search you and ruin your day.
Furthermore, Peshek will start giving you "Thick as Thieves" quests. These are the real meat of the stealth gameplay. They force you to learn the layouts of the various towns and how to manage your visibility and conspicuousness stats.
Common Misconceptions About the Quest
A lot of players think you have to rob the grave. You don't. Well, you have to dig it up to realize the ring isn't there, but the "thief" part of the quest can be handled through diplomacy if you've been leveling your Speech. Also, people think they’ve broken the quest if they kill Hermann. You haven't, but you've made your life a lot harder for future side quests.
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Another big one: you don't actually have to give the ring to Kohel immediately. You can take your time. Bohemia is beautiful; go pick some belladonna or something. But until you finish this, you’re missing out on the game’s entire black market economy.
Success Strategies for New Thieves
If you're struggling, stop trying to play it like Skyrim. You are not a ghost. You are a noisy, clumsy human.
- Ditch the clothes. Strip Henry down to his hose and a dark tunic. Look at your "Conspicuousness" and "Noise" tabs in the character menu. If those numbers are high, the executioner's dog will hear you from the next county.
- Save your game. Use a Savior Schnapps before you enter Hermann’s property. There is nothing worse than getting the ring and then accidentally falling off a bridge on the way back to the mill.
- Buy more lockpicks than you think you need. Peshek sells them, and you can sometimes find them on traders. You will break them. Often.
- Practice on the practice chest. Behind Peshek’s mill, there is a chest he sets up for you. It relocks itself. Use it until you hit level 3 in lockpicking. At level 3, you can get the "Lasting Lockpicks" perk, which makes them twice as durable. It's a game-changer.
The real beauty of The Good Thief Kingdom Come is that it sets the tone for the whole experience. It tells you that life is unfair, people are greedy, and nothing is ever where it’s supposed to be. It forces you to adapt. By the time you hand that ring over to Miller Kohel, you aren't just a boy anymore. You’re a fledgling criminal with a very bright, very illegal future.
Moving Forward in Bohemia
Once this quest is tucked away in your completed logs, your next step should be to actually start training with Captain Bernard in the Rattay combat arena. Being a good thief is great, but you can't sneak your way out of every problem. Bernard will teach you the "Master Strike," which is the only way you're going to survive an encounter with more than one bandit at a time. Combine your new thieving skills with some actual swordsmanship, and you'll finally stop being the joke of Rattay.
Check your map for the "Thick as Thieves" markers if you want to keep working for the Millers. Just remember: keep your noise low, your lockpicks plenty, and never, ever trust a man who asks you to dig up a grave for a "favor."
To maximize your efficiency after this quest, head back to Peshek and ask him for training. He can actually increase your Pickpocketing and Lockpicking levels for a fee, which is a much faster way to progress than just trial and error. Also, keep an eye out for "Padfoot Potions"—they temporarily boost your stealth skills by 5 points, which can be the difference between opening a "Hard" chest and getting caught red-handed.