Archived from groups: alt.games.elder-scrolls (More info?)
So I have Sneak = 100. And Agility = 100. And Luck = 100. And 80%
Chameleon, from the Amulet of Shadows. And the "sneak" icon is on almost
full-time on the bottom of the screen.
But I cannot, almost EVER, pick a pocket. I fail at least nineteen times
out of twenty - and even if I succeed in grabbing the item, the theft is
detected instantly more than half of the time, so the victim (a) notices
the crime and (b) goes hostile immediately even if I get the item.
Why? One cannot reasonably expect to get higher scores in the relevant
stats: and one would expect having a 100 in all relevant stats to
actually *mean* something, i.e. that one could actually perform the
skill with a reasonable degree of certainty (grabbing the item) and
efficiency (not being detected in the act of so doing.)
Just how high *do* you have to go before you even have, say, a 1/3
chance of picking a pocket successfully (i.e. getting the item and not
being detected in the attempt, so the victim of the theft remains
peaceful and can be spoken to afterwards)?
Grabbing stuff off shelves while sneaking is not a problem. Grabbing
stuff out of a container while sneaking is not a problem. Actually
hiding is also not a problem. But there are a considerable number of
quests that require picking actual pockets (or, alternatively, murder,
but I don't like doing murder even if I *can* successfully taunt the
person into attacking me first.) The late Telvanni quest where you need
to burgle a key from Master Neloth is a case in point: I have no wish to
kill Neloth for his key, or indeed anyone else for a key from Tel Naga,
but nobody can be pickpocketed for it successfully, nor can anybody be
bribed or persuaded into handing it over.
Of course, the "Brallion's Ring" quest, the one which is clearest in its
requirements for *pickpocketing* specifically, for the Thieves Guild Bal
Molagmer, is bugged - you can't actually pick his pocket for his
personal ring, which is what Gentleman Jim wants you to do, because he
is wearing it on his finger (although you can pickpocket two standard
"Exquisite Rings" from him). So you have no option but to either kill
him or buy it off him (buying it would singularly defeat the point, as
the thing is meant to be *stolen* from the unjust as this is the entire
point of the Bal Molagmer ethos: and Gentleman Jim expressly forbids
killing him for it. I settled for buying it and then trying to
pickpocket the gold back.)
Jonathan.
So I have Sneak = 100. And Agility = 100. And Luck = 100. And 80%
Chameleon, from the Amulet of Shadows. And the "sneak" icon is on almost
full-time on the bottom of the screen.
But I cannot, almost EVER, pick a pocket. I fail at least nineteen times
out of twenty - and even if I succeed in grabbing the item, the theft is
detected instantly more than half of the time, so the victim (a) notices
the crime and (b) goes hostile immediately even if I get the item.
Why? One cannot reasonably expect to get higher scores in the relevant
stats: and one would expect having a 100 in all relevant stats to
actually *mean* something, i.e. that one could actually perform the
skill with a reasonable degree of certainty (grabbing the item) and
efficiency (not being detected in the act of so doing.)
Just how high *do* you have to go before you even have, say, a 1/3
chance of picking a pocket successfully (i.e. getting the item and not
being detected in the attempt, so the victim of the theft remains
peaceful and can be spoken to afterwards)?
Grabbing stuff off shelves while sneaking is not a problem. Grabbing
stuff out of a container while sneaking is not a problem. Actually
hiding is also not a problem. But there are a considerable number of
quests that require picking actual pockets (or, alternatively, murder,
but I don't like doing murder even if I *can* successfully taunt the
person into attacking me first.) The late Telvanni quest where you need
to burgle a key from Master Neloth is a case in point: I have no wish to
kill Neloth for his key, or indeed anyone else for a key from Tel Naga,
but nobody can be pickpocketed for it successfully, nor can anybody be
bribed or persuaded into handing it over.
Of course, the "Brallion's Ring" quest, the one which is clearest in its
requirements for *pickpocketing* specifically, for the Thieves Guild Bal
Molagmer, is bugged - you can't actually pick his pocket for his
personal ring, which is what Gentleman Jim wants you to do, because he
is wearing it on his finger (although you can pickpocket two standard
"Exquisite Rings" from him). So you have no option but to either kill
him or buy it off him (buying it would singularly defeat the point, as
the thing is meant to be *stolen* from the unjust as this is the entire
point of the Bal Molagmer ethos: and Gentleman Jim expressly forbids
killing him for it. I settled for buying it and then trying to
pickpocket the gold back.)
Jonathan.
hant" <phant@usagi.comix> wrote in message
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