Lockpicking in OD&D?

[cyclopeatron]

I am curious to know how others of you deal with lockpicking in thiefless OD&D games...?

If there has been a previous thread on this, could you please direct me there?

[Deleted]

Generally speaking, if you had to get into something locked and didn't have the key, how would you do it?

PCs in my early campaign used bashing weapons and pry-bars. Have a chest you can't open? Insert a crowbar into the lid and give it a push! Or, let your 18 STR fighter borrow the cleric's mace or warhammer and work the chest over real good.

Of course, many locked chests and doors have keys, it is simply a matter of locating the key (and very often the NPC or monster that has it!).

Lock-picking is great if you wish to maintain stealth, but otherwise simply beating the lock into submission is always an option.

[eris]

Jan 21, 2010 13:49:56 GMT -6 cyclopeatron said:

I am curious to know how others of you deal with lockpicking in thiefless OD&D games...

Bash, pry-bar, find the key...and use a set of lockpicks. Yes, use lockpicks!

Anyone can buy, or find, a set of lockpicks and anyone can try to use them. Dex helps and so does experience using the lockpicks. Generally, a PC takes on the lockpicking role in addition to their normal class. They are the one that has the picks and uses them, so as *they* go up in level so does their ability with the picks. Lockpicking Magic-Users, lockpicking Clerics? Sure, why not.

[jasmith]

Something that's been on my mind, more and more lately. I just don't see a reason for the Thief class, other than the fact that some people really like playing them. Of course, that reason is enough for me to keep the option open, but, I'll let players know that it isn't necessary to have one.

[Random]

In real life, I have always resorted to forcing the lock (generally a simple hammer will do for crappy locks, i. e. the kind you'll have in D&D).
A major exception is car door locks, in which case I use a slim jim.

Basically, forcing is quick and easy, but is loud and disables the lock permanently.
Using a lock pick of some sort will take longer (as we are talking about lords and wizards here, not trained burglars), and of course the unskilled user will invariably set off any trap in place.

[waysoftheearth]

Jan 21, 2010 13:49:56 GMT -6 cyclopeatron said:

I am curious to know how others of you deal with lockpicking in thiefless OD&D games...?

Others have already provided some excellent answers to the original question, but I couldn't resist asking whether the term thief is meant to imply a class with Grayhawk-like thief skill rolls, or a more general thief class? Let us not forget all those canny thieves who, without such skill rolls, must open locks in much the same manner as any other PC.

Jan 21, 2010 15:02:43 GMT -6 jasmith said:

Something that's been on my mind, more and more lately. I just don't see a reason for the Thief class, other than the fact that some people really like playing them.

(Perhaps this is the subject of another thread, but...)

Like it or not the thief is a classic, deeply ingrained fantasy archetype. In virtually every fantasy there is, there are wizards, heroes, and sneaks, so it's a snap for even even a novice player to understand what a thief is all about. And for the experienced player, the thief is perhaps the ultimate adventuring class, providing a different kind of challenge for players and referees alike. Whether or not that is true, the fact that people really like playing thieves is really the heart of it.

Perhaps the question isn't whether or not thieves are justified, but what realisation of the thief is the right one?

It's true that (in the absence of supplement I) a fighting-man blessed with good dexterity who chooses to operate by treachery could carry out most of the functions of the Grayhawk thief. But, by comparison with a proper thief, he doesn't excel at them. And nor does the proper thief have any of the fighting man's grit, prowess, or combat expertise. Like every class, the thief is as much about what he doesn't have as what he does.

The way I see it, the ideal realisation of the thief archetype as a D&D PC, is one which scratches Grayhawk-like skills altogether, and sacrifices most of the fighting-man's benefits in favour of excelling in both subterfuge and striking with surprise. So long as players' imaginations are fired by these concepts, the thief class will be not justified, but celebrated.

edit: rephrased first para.

[calithena]

Standard OD&D resolution is you do something hard if you roll 1-2 on 1d6. If you have lockpicks then presumably you could modify this +1/-1 for dexterity, etc.

If not then forcing stuff, etc.

There are ways to make this compatible with a thief who's better at it but my daughter needs attention...

[jcstephens]

I assume that anyone who takes the trouble to acquire a set of lockpicks will know how to use them. Locks don't really keep anyone out anyway, they just deter and delay. So anyone who want to pick a lock and is willing to spend 1D6 turns doing so (and risk getting caught by a patrol and/or wandering monster) may do so.

[capheind]

Actually locks of the Middle ages weren't very complex, In some cases you wouldn't really need much in the way of skill, just some bent wire and a little dexterity, and some "locks" were little more than sunken screws with non-standard faces. Seems silly to us now, but anyone who's ever tried to open something without the right security screwdriver (ala, old Nintendo equipment, certain apple supplies) can attest to how affective they can be.