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Hard to pickpocket

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 5:53 am
by Lolal
Hi,

I browsed the various topic and never read something about that, so I give it a try.

I have to fetch a key from someone who's sleeping, but even with my 68 Sneak, every time he wakes up and trouble happen (no spoiler meant).
So is there a kind of minimum Sneak to do it or is there a real technique to steal from NPC?? I mean the guy is asleep, I am clearly undetected according to the eye symbol, am not wearing armor, and still he catches me every time..kinda frustrating :/

Any piece of advice is welcome...
Thanks

Lolal

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 5:57 am
by Dyre Straits
I'm not quite sure what the problem is. I've been quite successful at pickpocketing....even when following someone who is awake and walking.

I do try to keep my distance from them and only do the pickpocketing when I barely get the notice that I can. In other words, I'm not breathing down their necks when I do it.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 6:24 am
by nightinferno
Sneak is mainly to allow you to move around undetected, it mainly depends on your luck. If you have a high luck, then it's more likely that he won't wake up when you pickpocket him.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 6:29 am
by Lolal
All right, so linking the pickpocket skill with Luck means that I have to try again and again until it succeeds...I find it quite unfair to link those two skills, but well I'll cope with it later on (note to self: brew potions to increase luck before next attempt!)

Thanks for your help folks.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 8:01 am
by fable
Chameleon also helps with increasing the success of sneak.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 9:24 am
by Lolal
Yop, I knew about the Sneak/chameleon combo, but I was dealing with pickpocket here, which is sheer luck to what I was told....But maybe chameleon helps for stealing keys to sleepy ppl?? ;)

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 10:39 am
by Mccool
And you can't kill him because...?

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 12:27 pm
by nightinferno
Yes, chameleon does help with sneak, but it doesn't help with pickpocketing. And he could kill the guy to get the key but then if it would either mean that he fails the mission or he has to pay a blood fee or something like that, I'm not sure what quest this is for but I think thats right.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 12:53 pm
by Dyre Straits
I'm not really sure just how much Luck has to do with it in my case. I've successfully pickpocketed 21 items without tampering with my Luck at all. I DO, however, have very high Sneak and Security skills along with Chameleon.

It might be worth saving your game just before you attempt to do this and restore the game if it fails. ;)

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 3:08 am
by Lolal
Well, after some testing (and many saving slots :) ) it appears that pickpocket does need some luck after all. Btw, Nightinferno is right, killing the target would mean being expelled from a guild, I just didn't want any spoiler in the post, hence so few details as to who I rob or where ;)
Anyway, now I know that prior to any attempt, I just save and that's ok. In the end I always succeed.
Now on to the Gray Fox! (hehe)

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:09 pm
by Daeanor
Everything is linked to luck. Turn off autorun, make sure you have "soft" shoes on, and stand as far back as you can and still get the hand icon.

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:54 pm
by fable
[QUOTE=Daeanor]Everything is linked to luck.[/QUOTE]

This is what I keep telling people, and no one listens. :) Luck is probably the single most important stat in the game. It affects everything else. A very high luck means you'll find in the best items available for your level on bodies and in chests. If you have a 30% of absorbing spells, for some reason, that 1 in 3 chance will almost always work to your advantage. Very poor luck means that despite high agility and strength, you'll always miss in your attacks, and if there's any chance of your spells misfiring, they will.

That's why you can only gain 1 luck point by level, rather than up to 5 for other attributes. It's that powerful.