Wondering what your opinions on pickpocketing are.

Previous games have had a very awkward system for it IMO and I'd like to see something different - but it's hard to imagine a reasonable way to implement it as a real time action with some player control as well as being affected by stats, which I'd consider ideal and seems to be the direction they're going with most things in Skyrim. I've never played a character that picked pockets much - but if it was done well I might use it more.

im pretty sure it will be better bethesda knows best

Pickpocketing was fine in Oblivion. It was perhaps a little bit too unrewarding though to be something i'd build a character around. Besides, why pick pockets when you can break into someone's house?

There are situations where you might obtain a key to someone's house(or certain off limit areas) via pickpocket.

I'd like pickpocketing to work differently, but it's not a big concern for me. It'd be cool to have it where you'd check different pockets (Hold the button down to keep checking everything) and the longer it was held, the more chance you have of being caught. Every time something was found, it would open the inventory thing with the items in it, that you could take with yet another risk of being detected. Then continue searching for more pockets that have loot in them. This would stop players from just saving right before pickpocketing someone.

Nobles on their estates had quite a bit of coin depending on your level. Robbing estates was the fun part of being a theif.



Wait... its all fun.

I'm hoping it's in Skyrim.

They have animations for lumbering etc. so I hope they've got first person animations for stuff like pickpocketing, mounting a horse and so on as well. Perhaps like Syphilis Panda said, but make it so that you're behind, and you get a pop-up menu by pressing LT where you can choose the item you want to pickpocket in real time by pressing A (and selecting an item with the D-pad); the menu appears by pressing and holding LT for example. To quit, release LT. If you continue holding LT, slowly move the right stick forward to attempt pickpocket: You'll see your hand reaching for the pocket. If you want to do it quickly, move the stick forward faster; To do it gently, move it slowly.

Why pick pockets when I can kill the person and 'pick' his corpse?

I'd like to see some sort of player influence. Perhaps the better you get the better the reward you might find. (i.e. it's deeper in the pocket)

I want it to be more realistic. I want to be able to pick pockets casually like in assassin's creed where you bump into someone but at the same time I don't want it to just give me gold. I still want a menu to come up and left me choose, maybe with a timer on it depending on the skill level of my pick pocket? I always found it goofy to be crouched down and staring at the rear end of my target while pick pocketing. I want stealth in general to be mixed into the casual. More of what type of armor you are wearing and the skill level of your stealth rather than an activation of the stealth skill. I should be able to be stealthed while standing (maybe not as GOOD in certain situations but still plausible). I want stealth to be more fluent like most games out there. Honestly I love metal gear solid's stealth system (I don't know how the new ones are so if they have changed drastically over the years I would not know). At least the older Metal gears. I want decoys that can be thrown, I want wall hugging and shadow usage, wouldn't mind body dragging if the bodies stay around this time, faster more practical stealth.

Put yourself in the position of the thief in the game. Now ask yourself that question. Would you rather pick pocket someone in a real life situation or kill them given those only two choices? That is why people want it in otherwise the feelings you have for the npc's in the world are controlled by limited choices. We are supposed to interact with them and by being forced to kill for loot that defeats the purpose.

For gameplay? challenge? I can name you about 1000 reasons why.

Please don't assume I am saying you shouldn't be able to pick pocket. I was trying to give the opinion of a ruthless Dark Brotherhood butcher (my pre-destined first character in Skyrim). Personally given the choice between killing someone and looting them, or picking their pocket, I would choose the latter. Someone else may choose to kill them however.



Again, the same answer applies here also. What I thought was great about pick pocketing in Oblivion was the fact that you could actually place items on their person also. Take for example, stealing all food, and giving only poisoned apples.

Well I'd like to see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3QWtN0qh5U, but chance thats they will see will depend of actor sneak skill versus penalties from surrounding and NPC intelligent + agility + security skill.
NPC inventory opened by certain time which depend on agility + luck attribute + security skill level, and there will be checks every few seconds for skills and attributes so player need to be also quick to work on cleaning of pockets.
At this stage even minigame can be added if devs will decide add such feature.
So unskilled characters will not always successfully steal items and they will need good way train their skills, like sign in into Thieves Guild where can be trainers or train by self in taverns for example where is drunken NPC will have penalties for attributes and in their sneak security and speechcraft so will be ease target for pickpocketing.

There can be two ways initiate pickpocketing from dialogue for stealing small and light items like purses with gold, jewelry and keys and have smaller chance be detected by NPC around since additionally speechcraft and personality can be used as bonus versus NPC skills and attributes so charming ladies and silver tongue rogues will have advantage, thats logical for such profession does not :wink_smile: ?
and
from behind when NPC is not aware to better see of NPC inventory but be much more danger for thief since need to do thats form sneak and there can be more then one pair of eyes around but have more options like put something at their pockets or steal something more heavy like daggers potions certain clothings and misc items.

Weight of item what can be transfered must be smaller then character sum of agility+intelligence sneak and security skills vs agility+intelligence sneak and security skills of NPC, since I'd like to see thats weight of all inventory affect sneak skill not only weight of boots heavy loaded NPC due their clumsy will be easer to pick pocket but don't try do the same versus fast and agile archer or another skilled rogue unless you are better then they in thievery arts.
Stealing something really heavy cannot be done as well will be hard to steal equipped items but even if you will be detected such pickpocketing can be used as combat advantage effectively disarming enemy from his weapon or unequipping his armor (breaking belts on armor) so he will need some time to equip it again.

Attributes can really help in many of such checks but since there will no them, maybe charm spell will replace personality in somewhere way but really one sided solution, unless there will be leveled starting trait thats have such effects and can be chosen from beginning of game, so it will be easy to implement as perk with lesser or greater power effect.