Pick pockets - is it actually really good?

[Scooter Fox]

I've always thought pickpocketing pulls alignment towards chaotic, I never realized it doesn't when you try to steal from already hostile monsters. So I decided to get it from the Thieves Guild and use it a bit to maybe get access to their training in the future. With skill at score of 1 it was very tedious, so I leveled it up to about 20. Since I was very lucky and found metal cap +4 very early on, I was basically applying Pick Pockets to every single non-friendly humanoid since experience level 4 (gained in a failed attempt to traverse SMC), failing a lot, angering them and training shield skill at the same time.

I'm now level 13 (drakeling assassin), recently reached Dwarftown. Pick Pockets raised from ~20 to 73 on its own with just my PC using it, no further points added. I also pickpocketed an amulet of life saving.

Holy crap.

I know AoLS was pure luck, but even without that, while a lot of monsters don't have anything with them, if they do have something, the chance of getting a potion, scroll, ring or amulet (especially first two) is quite decent, it's not only bones and small sums of gold. Along with AoLS, I pickpocketed necklace of rapid healing, a few resistance rings, potions of training and stat increase (both current and potential) and even one potion of gain attributes among others, with generally a lot more potions/scrolls/rings/amulets than I'd have at this point. This is pretty crazy. Was I missing on an amazing skill all this time? You can easily pickpocket from neutrals too, just kick them on Coward until they turn hostile, then do your job.

And another question - how does it work? Can you get any non-artifact of a proper DL, weighing 10 or less stones? I managed to pickpocket a torch and a leather girdle, but can you get blankets? Gauntlets/gloves? Bracers? Missiles? You could say that I will find out on my own sooner or later, but it's a melee fighter, I'm not particularly good at them and I expect to die soon.

[sweetnothing]

And another question - how does it work? Can you get any non-artifact of a proper DL, weighing 10 or less stones? I managed to pickpocket a torch and a leather girdle, but can you get blankets? Gauntlets/gloves? Bracers? Missiles? You could say that I will find out on my own sooner or later, but it's a melee fighter, I'm not particularly good at them and I expect to die soon.

I remember pickpocketing blankets, gloves, hats, missiles (in small numbers). Wiki says artifacts are possible too, never got one.
The skill is probably good, but actual pick pocketing is tedious.

It is intersting to compare pick pockets with detect traps. The first one gives you items, the second one prevents existing items from destruction. You are disapponted when pickpocketing did not pay out and you are happy when detected an acid/ceiling trap.

I don't like pickpocketing too much, maybe it provides a constant stream of potions/scrolls/etc, but getting one more potion of booze is not exciting overall. Avoiding an acid trap is the exciting moment. So maybe pick pockets is good as (kind of) prerequisite for detect traps.

[Blasphemous]

Personally, I only play around with pickpocketing when I'm playing a thief.
Not only does the skill level up faster, it also seems to be more effective when used by a thief, especially after lvl 32.

[Moeba]

Pick pocketing is better than treasure hunter in the amount of items it can generate, I think.
But it's more tedious to use, constantly. Still, it's my best reason for starting neutral.

[gr3ybird]

I remember pickpocketing blankets, gloves, hats, missiles (in small numbers). Wiki says artifacts are possible too, never got one.
The skill is probably good, but actual pick pocketing is tedious.

Now I'm confused. I thought recent versions made getting artifacts impossible. If you can still get them, I will be pick pocketing a lot more, for sure.

[auricbond]

Now I'm confused. I thought recent versions made getting artifacts impossible. If you can still get them, I will be pick pocketing a lot more, for sure.

I heard the same thing, although I don't see why since the chance is so low. I pick-pocketed the silver key many years back and that was it.

[kNightCrawler]

It is indeed impossible to generate artifacts by using pick pockets, according to this.According to the changelog it would seem that quite a few changes were made to the skill since 1.1.1, and nobody updated the wiki article on it in a while...