Chests that cannot be opened, and other Thief issues...
Jonathan Ellis
the chest cannot be forced, or whatever. (We're talking, a character
with 18/99 strength trying to force it, or a character with 19 dexterity
and 55% open locks - yes, I started up an elven thief and put nearly all
the starting points into open locks - trying to pick the lock.
This leads to the following questions:
(1) At what level of skill, strength, dexterity or character level,
*can* this lock be picked or forced?
(2) Do the contents of containers in houses or inns *ever* change?
In particular, if I ignore that "unpickable" chest in the room along the
northern side of the top floor of the Inn in Candlekeep (which I
couldn't force open, even with a starting paladin with 18/99 str, or
pick with a starting elven thief with 55% open locks and 19 dex), will
it still be the same in Chapter 6 when my characters can come back to
Candlekeep with greater power, level and skill? What, by the way, is in
there?
(3) Will the lock be pickable or forceable then?
(4) If I get caught thieving in Candlekeep during the Prologue
(e.g. picking or breaking the lock in the southern room containing the
nobleman, and taking the 86 gp and the Flamedance ring from the chest)
and decide to insult the guard and run away downstairs rather than bribe
my way out, will a hostile Watcher guard still be at the top of the
stairs when I come back in Chapter 6?
(5) And how long do I wait (if ever) for guards who have been
summoned to houses where I got caught thieving, to go away? Or are they
there forever?
(6) And what's the trick to picking or forcing some of the
"unpickable" locks on chests in inns in Beregost and Nashkel? There are
some of them, that I fail every time on. (And I mean, when I say "every
time", that I save and reload several times over to see if it's
possible: I believe it's pretty standard AD&D rules that if you've tried
something and failed, you have to go up a level before you have a chance
of succeeding. So I don't just try over and over again, I go back to a
saved game to make several more "first" tries at it. In some cases, I
*have* come back with more powerful higher-level characters and still
failed.) What's the secret to picking them? We're talking about a 4th
level Imoen here, by now, with many of the extra points put into Open
Locks...
(7) Is it possible to pick the pockets of the two noblemen staying
in the Candlekeep inn at the start? For either items or gold? Do they
have anything that can be picked from them?
(8) Why do people notice me thieving when I've clearly been told
"Hide in Shadows Succeeded"? I should be able to stealth my way up to an
open chest and take its contents without getting the "Someone has
noticed you" message, if my hiding in shadows succeeds - otherwise
what's the point of Hiding in Shadows at all, at any point during the
game? I certainly don't get a "Leaving Shadows" message: so if my Hiding
in Shadows succeeds, and I don't leave the shadows, people shouldn't
notice me - the game should do what it says it is actually doing.
Jonathan.
Michael Thomas
>
finished), but I can answer a couple of your questions.
> (1) At what level of skill, strength, dexterity or character level,
> *can* this lock be picked or forced?
I did it with a gnome thief with an 18 DEX and all points in lockpicking -
he was at 60% or 65% IIRC. Gnomes, halflings and dwarves are what you need
if you want to open that particular lock; unfortunately, elves have an
innate 5% penalty at lockpicking.
> (2) Do the contents of containers in houses or inns *ever* change?
> In particular, if I ignore that "unpickable" chest in the room along the
> northern side of the top floor of the Inn in Candlekeep (which I
> couldn't force open, even with a starting paladin with 18/99 str, or
> pick with a starting elven thief with 55% open locks and 19 dex), will
> it still be the same in Chapter 6 when my characters can come back to
> Candlekeep with greater power, level and skill? What, by the way, is in
> there?
I should expect the contents to remain the same, although I don't know for
sure (never got this far). Inside is a star sapphire worth hundreds of gold
pieces (either 300 or 600, I forget which).
> (3) Will the lock be pickable or forceable then?
If your lockpicking/strength scores increase high enough, then yes. In a PnP
game of D&D, the percentage is determined by a random die roll, but here the
programmers simply said that you have to have a certain Strength/skill %
before the chest can be opened. Pickpocketing, BTW, doesn't operate on the
same principle.
> (4) If I get caught thieving in Candlekeep during the Prologue
> (e.g. picking or breaking the lock in the southern room containing the
> nobleman, and taking the 86 gp and the Flamedance ring from the chest)
> and decide to insult the guard and run away downstairs rather than bribe
> my way out, will a hostile Watcher guard still be at the top of the
> stairs when I come back in Chapter 6?
Assuming the contents of the inn remain the same, I would expect the guard
to still be there. It has to do with the way the game treats areas. You are
better off saving before attempting a theft and then reloading if
unsuccessful.
> (5) And how long do I wait (if ever) for guards who have been
> summoned to houses where I got caught thieving, to go away? Or are they
> there forever?
I believe they're there forever. See my answer to "4".
> (6) And what's the trick to picking or forcing some of the
> "unpickable" locks on chests in inns in Beregost and Nashkel? There are
> some of them, that I fail every time on. (And I mean, when I say "every
> time", that I save and reload several times over to see if it's
> possible: I believe it's pretty standard AD&D rules that if you've tried
> something and failed, you have to go up a level before you have a chance
> of succeeding. So I don't just try over and over again, I go back to a
> saved game to make several more "first" tries at it. In some cases, I
> *have* come back with more powerful higher-level characters and still
> failed.) What's the secret to picking them? We're talking about a 4th
> level Imoen here, by now, with many of the extra points put into Open
> Locks...
See my answer to "3". If your percentage isn't high enough, you will fail.
> (7) Is it possible to pick the pockets of the two noblemen staying
> in the Candlekeep inn at the start? For either items or gold? Do they
> have anything that can be picked from them?
IIRC, they don't have anything.
> (8) Why do people notice me thieving when I've clearly been told
> "Hide in Shadows Succeeded"? I should be able to stealth my way up to an
> open chest and take its contents without getting the "Someone has
> noticed you" message, if my hiding in shadows succeeds - otherwise
> what's the point of Hiding in Shadows at all, at any point during the
> game? I certainly don't get a "Leaving Shadows" message: so if my Hiding
> in Shadows succeeds, and I don't leave the shadows, people shouldn't
> notice me - the game should do what it says it is actually doing.
Look at it this way - you're opening a chest in front of someone, maybe the
hinges are squeaky?! Try waiting until they move away from the chest. I
know, in some small rooms the inhabitants don't move very far, if at all.
Have a mage cast Sleep or a cleric cast Command, then do the deed while
they're unconscious.
m...@tadyatam.invalid
ad 1:
It depends on the chest.
Some (most) that fail at first, will open on the 2nd, 3rd, ...
n-th try (wait 6 sec's between attempts).
A few chests require higher % Open Locks. Example: The chest
with diamond (Beregost) needs 85% (perhaps little less -- never
at 80%, always at 85%).
ad 2:
The contents never change, AFAIK (it's an expensive gem). BTW,
that one is "special" -- should you succeed in the prologue, the
gem will be there in Ch. 6 again.
ad 3:
Yes but I don't know the min. % required (my thief is 95 or more
by then).
ad 4: I don't think so (not tested). When seen stealing at
guardhouse near the gate, the hostile was not there in Ch. 6.
ad 5:
The guards will go away (not sure when -- 17 turns? a day?)
ad 6: See 1 above.
ad 8:
Usually, they don't notice the thief. The following sequence
seems to give the best chance of not being noticed:
- unlock the container (chest), if needed
- PAUSE
- click the chest to see the "pickup" spot, move (click at that
spot), un-pause
- Hide, open, PAUSE
- empty the chest (still at pause)
- close the "chest contents window" (still at pause)
- click Hide, un-pause
However, there still is some small chance of being noticed.
Note: There is at least one chest where the opening is _always_
noticed, even when the sole occupant is dire-charmed and sent to
another room.
Oh, and a bug or a sick joke: some cats might notice you and
call the guards.
--J
Replies to: jNpolak(at)Ojuno(dot)Tcom
Winseer
enough pick lock rating. If neither of these works, then the chances are the
lock is "warded" meaning you have to have a certain item on you to open it.
The knock spell looks similar to dimensiondoor on the scroll, so make sure
you've got a mage in your party that can write it!
Winseer
"Jonathan Ellis" <jona...@franz-liszt.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
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