Lockpicking reform

Because there are too many crafting/profession skills for each to have its own forum.
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Rias
DEV
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Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2017 4:06 pm
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Re: Lockpicking reform

Post by Rias »

I don't know. I'm not convinced it needs to be changed. In things like combat or fishing, you're acting against another creature that is in turn reacting to your actions, so there are rolls on both sides. When it comes to things like locksmithing, climbing, or swimming, you're simply trying to overcome a static challenge. The lock or cliff or stream isn't making active efforts to thwart you, there's just a static challenge there that you need to overcome provided you have enough skill. Just like climbers and swimmers need to accept that there may be some places they can't traverse due to their skill, locksmiths need to accept that there may be locks they can't open. I'm not really keen on saying "anyone at any skill level can do anything provided they have enough patience" because then we get people putting minimal skill investment in and just letting a script handle the patience part while they're alt-tabbed into a Youtube video or something.

On the plus side, lock challenges are randomized from a scale of 0 to <current challenge>, so even in the toughest areas there will be a chance some boxes will be pickable by a locksmith who has lower skill relative to the area's challenge rating.
<Rias> PUT ON PANTS
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Acarin
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:49 pm

Re: Lockpicking reform

Post by Acarin »

On the other hand, this is a professional skill and not a general skill like climbing and swimming. A metalworker can make any item right now after about 200 or 300 skill, but the quality might never been a good. A farmer can farm anything, they just night not have the same number of plots available. A woodcutter with low skill can cut down a massive tree but it will just take them forever. The point is that most professions can do most (if not all) things at relatively decent skill levels but they are just not as competent. There is risk in acquiring a lockbox in the first place, even if the difficulty is randomized, if you are picking for yourself - but either way, someone took the risk to acquire it, especially for boxes from harder areas. There is no less risk involved in acquiring the 0 skill lockbox versus the 800 skill lockbox in the same area but one, everyone with locksmithing can open and the other, no one can. Its fun to have this difference in difficulty for boxes and it keeps things more fresh, but it seems off to me. Even if my skill is only 10 away from the difficulty of the lockbox, I can never open it? I'm very skilled already... near the difficulty of the box but have 0 chance of ever opening it? My point is that this doesn't seem in line with the other professions (although does with climbing/swimming, I suppose). I could see not wanting someone with 100 skill to ever be able to open an 800 skill box (just like someone with 400 metalworking could never make a masterful sword). I do, however, think that someone with 400 skill roll (300 skill) should be able to open a 500 difficulty box with a lot of additional effort. Maybe opposed rolls isn't the right way to go here though (just like a metalworker who usually produces average may occasionally get a fine item). Other professions are restricted by time, energy cost, quality, or resource access. No other profession I know of (besides skinning for special materials) is locked by just not being able to do something (although I realize that some recipes are locked until skill levels as high as 300).
You reach toward ((DEV Rias)) ... Pull(d225([1]x)):214 vs Mark(d1100):714 = -500 (-222%)
You notice ((DEV Rias)) glance your way, causing you to quickly withdraw your hand from his wool
drawstring pouch (open).
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