Traps and Locks

I have a question about the traps that Traceroo linked:

It appears that all the locks have the same key. So suppose that I have a lock on my chest in my cabin, and I have the key to fit it. OOG that key will fit in any other "red heart lock" such as one used on a module. I assume that IG that is not the case, so I can't just bring my "red heart lock key" on a mod and open up the locks without legerdemain.

Okay, so suppose that I'm a thief, and I pick someone's pocket and steal their key, and try to go into their cabin to see if their key opens anything in the cabin. How do I (or the rogue marshal) know which lock the key supposedly opens IG? Is there a tag you have to put on your key to say what lock it opens?
 
Similar to Alex's question... the alliance rulebook's section on picking locks and being a thief, etc, really encourages people who want to pick locks to actually build those skills to the point where they can -actually- pick some basic locks. That said, the legerdemain section also mentions that personal locks must be approved by local chapter. If, for example, I bring in a 2-pinned practice lock like this: http://www.lockpickersmall.com/ezrekey-practice-lock/, then show I can pick it easily (because a 2 pinned lock is extremely easy to pick) at logistics... is that reasonable? Obviously it would be preferable if I could find a real padlock in this configuration... but I figured I'd ask.

Alex points out one of the things I don't really like about the heart locks, or any single-pin lock; it doesn't actually take tools or time to pick these locks, and keys that can open them could be floating around.

I guess the main question is... what are the chapter's expectations of people for picking locks? What would be considered too hard? Personally I think someone who wants to pick locks should have at least some actual lock picks on them to accomplish the task, but I wanted to verify.

Additionally, would a slightly more difficult but see-thru or cutaway lock be more acceptable? IE: A 3-4 pinned lock configuration, but see-thru so the picker can actually see what pins are picked, etc?
 
Editted, nm.
 
Alliance locks should have 1 tumbler. The barriers to entry are: Having the Legerdemain skill on your card, and having an appropriate tool with you to perform the action of physically picking the lock.

Let me liken this to swinging a sword in Alliance. We require the skill on your card, and having a boffer physrep in your hands -- and a third part, tag for the sword, too. Use of this skill does not require real world skill and training.

People who are good at picking the 1-tumbler locks will pick them more quickly. People who are good at swinging boffer will hit and defend with better accuracy. Let's not overthink either of these things.

The red heart locks on Amazon are an easy example that I keep bookmarked. There are lots of other 1-tumbler locks available in the world, many of which are cooler looking, too.

Trace
 
Traceroo said:
Alliance locks should have 1 tumbler. The barriers to entry are: Having the Legerdemain skill on your card, and having an appropriate tool with you to perform the action of physically picking the lock.
Click to expand...

This is actually not strictly true. The rule is as follows (ARB 1.2 pg 148):

If you want to put a lock on a door, you must either use an approved lock or you must use your own lock after getting it approved by a marshal. Generally speaking, if you can dem- onstrate that you can pick your lock, then it will probably be allowed.

Remember though that we prefer easy to pick locks, as it is the in-game skill itself that is supposed to be used and not the out-of-game skill of actually picking a very difficult lock.​

The only requirement is that they be "easy to pick," which a lot of locks that aren't diary locks qualify for. Chapters are given a great deal of leeway on this point thanks to both the presence of lockpicking laws in some locations and the myth about them in others. Some chapters, for example, commonly use "warded locks" (generally pretty impressive looking older-style locks) on cabins, having judged them "easy to pick" with the right set of tools. Part of why diary locks are preferred in some chapters is because they don't require even basic lockpicks to circumvent, which makes them convenient if you happen to live in a state that doesn't allow them.

Diary locks are pretty much guaranteed to be allowed, but others can be allowed depending on if they are judged "easy to pick" and, if they aren't considered that way now, may be later as the chapter grows either in size or skill or in future conversations.
 
The standard of, "Well, I think this lock is easy to pick, look, watch me do it!" sounds much less favorable to me than simply calling it 1-tumbler, which is quantifiable -- The question is not if the owner finds it easy to pick, but whether other people who are sneaking in will find it easy to pick.

I recognize, however, that you are just presenting the exact wording of the rulebook, and not necessarily defending it.
 
Caught up on the thread.

I'm seeing a lot of questions that follow a basic theme of "how difficult will this chapter allow" with gradations on difficulty. At least one player recently had a warded lock that they wanted to get approved because it looks really cool (we haven't had a chance to look at it closely enough to approve it or not yet, but they are seeking permission—one of the groups saw it at mod day since none of them had legerdemain for the pickability to be an issue).

While I can say with certainty that we won't allow locks with serrated or mushroom pins, there's certainly a lot of room between "diary lock" and "7 serrated pins with a bump guard and a Schlage keyway." I have a set of 2–4 pin practice locks at home that kind of hit a middle ground and can also be easily rekeyed.

I'm adding a note to bring this up at the next plot meeting and we'll see if I can get some answers to people's questions around this.
 
Talked about it at a plot meeting this evening, this is what we decided on: Lock Policy
 
Sweet thanks.

Given the last note re: needing 2 ranks of blacksmith to make a lock tag... how does one do that? Do locks cost 10 production then? Not seeing that anywhere in the ARB so figured I'd ask.
 
KnightKlaw said:
Sweet thanks.

Given the last note re: needing 2 ranks of blacksmith to make a lock tag... how does one do that? Do locks cost 10 production then? Not seeing that anywhere in the ARB so figured I'd ask.
Click to expand...

Yup, exactly. The original policy was posted by Jesse.
 
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