Pick Locks

Pick Locks allows one to open mechanical Locks with lock picking gear rather than with the appropriate Key. This Skill is dependent upon one's Dexterity (DX).

Training

• Pick lock Apprentice: Pick lock action takes half as much time
  • Trainer: Blacksmiths and Junk Dealers

• Pick lock Expert: The Character is unaffected by light penalties
  • Trainer: Adam Maxwell of (Caladon)
  • Trainer: Garret Almstead of (Black Root)

• Pick lock Master: The penalty based on the lock's difficulty is halved
  • Trainer: J.T. Morgan of Caladon
  • Quest: Free J.T. Morgan

Uses

• Opening Locks on doors and containers without their corresponding Key

Modifiers to Pick Locks

• Items:
  • Lockpicks: gives +5% success rate
  • Auto Skeleton Key: gives +10% success rate (overrides Lockpicks)

• Blessings:
  • Bolo's Blessing: gives +4/20

• Races:
  • Dwarves: gives +2/20
  • Half-elves: removes -1/20
  • Elves: removes -2/20

• Backgrounds:
  • Elven Blood: removes -1/20
  • Raised by Elves: removes -1/20
  • Clanless Dwarf: removes -2/20 (negates the Dwarf racial bonus)

Mechanics

• A set of Crude Lockpicks or Normal Lockpicks, or an Auto Skeleton Key is needed to pick a Lock
• A lock's difficulty level is compared to the Character's Skill level
• A successful attempt disables the lock for about an hour
• A failure requires another attempt
• A critical failure jams the lock, and it cannot be picked again for about a day

Notes

Aptitude

• Investing in this skill increases Technological Aptitude (or decreases Magickal Aptitude)

Hostility

• Lock owners will become hostile to tampering
• The lock needs to be several tiles away from the owner
• This can be modified by:
  • If the player is Prowling while Lockpicking
  • Wearing noise reduction gear (+NP)
  • Perception of the owner
  • Direction that the owner is facing, lighting, line of sight, etc
  • Multiple owners in the same area
• Indirectly killing an NPC owner, then unlocking the target, then resurrecting said NPC will prevent them from going hostile
  • But this sometimes will reset an NPC's dialogue tree, so take caution with Quest NPCs

Limitations

• Pick Lock cannot bypass a Magelocked item
  • Magickally Held locks must be first cleared with Disperse Magick, or physically destroyed
• It will not disarm any traps
  • Traps must first be disarmed, or sprung, or simply triggered
• The Iron Chest in Tarant cannot be opened with Pick Lock unless you use a Fate Point for "Critical Success".