Picking of Pockets...

Jagged

I'm about to start up a thief who is going to love picking those pockets but its a skill I've rarely used. Besides a ring from Ribald I'm not sure I've ever really used it.

I'm not a big fan of reloads so what kind of score would I need to be relatively consistent with my thefts?

I know I can drink a potion but I don't know where they are or how many are in BG.

I'm going to have another thief for traps and mages for my stealth and locks so I'm fine with overloading on the pickpocket skill.

Also, is there any chance to check the percentage of success before hand?

Thanks!

ajwz

No, it's kind of dumb. It's not even a percentage chance - some npcs/items just have set values that your pickpocket score must beat or you wont get the item.
One of the worst examples for this is the deck of many things.

the_spyder

What would have been nice would have been if they had implemented the ability to cast 'Friends' or otherwise charm AGRO'd civilians if you fail pick pocket. That at least would allow more experimentation with not as heavy consequences. As it is you pretty much have to max out Pick pockets, use potions and pray.

I almost suspect that Atari didn't want it to be accessible but needed to have the skill in to be 'Fair and balanced'. Therefore they kind of made it really deadly to do, but still just about possible.

Tresset

I think pick pockets is a pretty neat skill once BG2 comes around. I always boost it up and pick crowds of people with my thief. It is quite amazing how many commoners and guards carry rare high level spell scrolls... In fact the amnish guards proved to have such quality scrolls in their pockets I once chain rested in the street just to see if I could get any good ones from them.

TJ_Hooker

ajwz said:

No, it's kind of dumb. It's not even a percentage chance - some npcs/items just have set values that your pickpocket score must beat or you wont get the item.
One of the worst examples for this is the deck of many things.

I was under the impression that it was a percentage chance, but that chance was modified depending on the NPC. So a thief with 75 in pickpockets would have a base 75% chance, and his chance to pick the pocket of a NPC with a pickpocket difficulty of 50 would be 75-50=25%. I don't really know where I got that from, but from my experience pickpocketing isn't threshold based the way picking locks and disarming traps are.

Tresset

@TJ_Hooker I think you got that from the fact that that is the way it works.

KidCarnival

@TJ_Hooker - I think Oxford_Guy posted a list or at least several examples/values of stores and NPCs in one of his bard topics.

Lock

Do any of the NPC's have a high pick pocket ability if first encountered at later levels?

stygga

Alora I think has like really high pick pockets, and you can only get her at high levels (In baldur's gate)

Luigirules

If you want to be good at picking pockets, play a bard.

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secretmantra

Too bad halflings can't be bards ...

Quartz

Half-elves get the highest race bonus for picking pockets.
http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Classes_and_Kits#Rogue_Classes

secretmantra said:

Too bad halflings can't be bards ...

Lol, someone should make an NPC mod of a Halfling Bard. I mean come on, BioWare had Deekin for crying out loud (who was awesome), it wouldn't be that far-fetched.

SCARY_WIZARD

I like to use it to get freebies from stores! It's also nice once Baldur's Gate II comes around, you find a fence or two or three, and need a charged item refilled~ I didn't know you were a wizard, Roger! Or the one fence in Baldur's Gate.

Call it "cheese", I call it "free Branwen"!

Oxford_Guy

Using the skill to shoplift in stores can be more rewarding than just using the skill to strictly pick pockets.

My favourite is to initially buy the Shield Amulet (with 10 charges), then once down to one charge sell it to one of the Carnival Stores that "allows" stealing (they have low failure rates) and then steal it back fully charged (50 charges) - would normally cost around 5,000 gold. Of course you can only do this once, as most places won't buy stolen goods, but 60 charges can be enough to last the game, if not soley relying on this.

The +1 Large Shields in Nashkel Stores are another easy target.

Copastetic1985

With a Bard, I always sell all my expensive stuff to the store owner in Nashkel then steal it back. Including what @Oxford_Guy said as well. He won't buy Potions or Wands, but he'll buy amulets like the Shield Amulet and the Necklace of Missiles. Good way to get them fully charged right off the bat, and make some free money for that extra set of Ankheg armor, or the Full Plate Mail in Beregost.