Lockpicking.. (minor spoiler?)

[JHe]

Simple question.. How raise "Chance to pick?"
I found this treasure map and treasure location and i have only 1% chance to picking it.. I have raise the lockpick skill..

[Kreador Freeaxe]

The two things that affect your chance to pick a lock are the lock pick skill and your Dex stat. Of the two, the skill has a MUCH larger effect per point.

That particular lock is a MAJOR pain unless you're playing a Mage who can cast Lock Melt at 6 (even then, it may take several casts before it works). For non-mage characters with a fixed random seed, I usually just ignore it.

[JHe]

Thank you Freeaxe! So now need to increase the skill, I just want that treasure so badly!

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Yeah, it's the only treasure cache that you can't open with the assistance of a bunch of powder kegs. You could make a crater the size of Eastwillow there and that stupid trunk will still be locked.

[Turtle]

It's funny; you'd think you'd be able to break open a stump with, say, an axe.

[Rowanas]

I have no idea why you have to turn a chest into splinters instead of just hewing the lock open.

You see a sturdy wooden door with bands of steel.
There is a flimsy copper lock.

HACK OPEN THE LOCK, YOU NONCE!

[DaveH]

When I got lockpicking up to about 8 (with gloves) I went back with a large quantity of picks ... I think it was still as low as only like 9%, and I used about 50 lockpicks before it opened.

If you are short on supply and don't mind a minor cheat, you can save right before trying, then reload when you are running short.

[Rowanas]

I recorded the number of tries I took to open that chest.

180 lockpicks.

try all 3 lockpicks
reload
try all 3 lockpicks
reload
etcetc.

[Antigrav]

Doesn't concentration help with lock picking anymore?

I think there should be an alchemical solution to locks. If a spell can melt them, then why not acid?

[IJBall]

I think there should be an alchemical solution to locks. If a spell can melt them, then why not acid?

That's actually not a bad idea.

If we were to go that route, though, I'd make it so you'd need quite a high Level in Alchemy to mix it. And I'd also make it so that such a concoction would rarely, if ever, be sold in shops.

But I like it.
(I'm increasingly coming around to the idea that Alchemy should be a full-on alternative to magic, in pretty much every way, and your idea further gets you there!)

I wonder what such a potion should be called?... I'd give a cool name - something like "Stumpy's Cocktail for Locks"...

[Rowanas]

Personally, it irritates me that the manual way is the only way to get xp for anything. Using magic or brute force rarely gets you any xp, which is fine from a realism standpoint, but It completely buggered my plans to play a brute force warrior. In the end I just had to invest in skullduggery and lockpicking, or remain forever barred from half the game!

If alchemy as a replacement for magic gets put in, it'll need to be worth some xp.

[IJBall]

If alchemy as a replacement for magic gets put in, it'll need to be worth some xp.

I get what you're saying, but I'm not really sure why pouring (the equivalent of) acid on a lock should net you XP, any more than casting Lock Melt should.

For my True Warrior challenge, I just had to bite the bullet, and give myself Level 1 on Pick Locks pretty early on. Then I just had to pay Zeblin for the rest...

[Rowanas]

I haven't gotten to Zeblin yet, so I'm muddling through with one point. It's irritating though.

To answer your point, I think LockMelt and plain smashing up the door/lock should net you xp as well. Obviously it's only possible once.

[KillingMoon]

Doesn't concentration help with lock picking anymore?

It doesn't; an earlier description in the game was wrong. Concentration still helps with disarming traps.