How to pickpocket/steal without people seeing you?

[klirko]

I've been having fun doing the Thieve Guild missions, but I'm doing a quest where I have to pickpocket someone and get a key. The problem with that is that he is in the Council Club with like 5 other people around and in my experience they do not move at all. So how am I supposed to pickpocket him when he's in the middle of a tavern?

[piccolo255]

A couple of seconds of 100% Chameleon may help.

Or you can lead the target into an isolated area with Command Humanoid.

There is also taunting (or Frenzy Humanoid), either to kill (which is against the Thieves Guild ethos, and may result in penalties), or (with MCP) knock down with Hand to Hand and/or Drain/Damage Fatigue. Or just to make the target chase you elsewhere, as an alternative to the Command Humanoid; you can then Calm them and do the usual pickpocket.

(Important note: make sure you're playing with MCP, as it has a fix for pickpocket chance. Without the fix, the success rate is much lower then it was intended by the devs. I don't know if the bug is fixed in OpenMW.)

[stcaFylnO]

In addition to what others mentioned:

Use crafting (enchant and alchemy) to make potions and items to buff primary stat and luck.

Use the chameleon mentioned above during the theft attempt, rather than invisibility; however, an item with a short invis spell for about 5-15 seconds can be used to get in and out quickly and cheaply.

That command humanoid trick works great. It is another good one to craft onto an item. Frenzy can be a bit tricky if they can't be calmed with another spell afterwards. Either way, I'd recommend researching a bit, since there are some bugged behaviors to avoid, like perma-aggro after messing with such spells. After reading or watching videos, experiment a bit with the magnitudes and durations.

That KO trick works great too. I've used that a lot and +vote the advice.

Sometimes you can get to higher elevation than the NPC, like up on a wall, shelf, whatever, and then they don't perceive the theft attempt. Other times it is possible to have a pillar or something to block line-of-sight, but still be able to target a part of the NPC or object.

[First Lensman]

Try Using some Telekinesis potions

[󰀉tempeh󰀉]

Originally posted by First Lensman:

Try Using some Telekinesis potions

Telekinesis absolutely will not help with pickpocketing since it doesn't allow you to interact with NPCs from greater distances. Besides, telekinesis isn't something to do with potions -- it's something to do with a weaker constant effect enchantment, like your belt or pauldrons, because even a small amount constantly is damn convenient.

[Turtleswatter]

Originally posted by 󰀉tempeh󰀉:

Originally posted by First Lensman:

Try Using some Telekinesis potions

Telekinesis absolutely will not help with pickpocketing since it doesn't allow you to interact with NPCs from greater distances. Besides, telekinesis isn't something to do with potions -- it's something to do with a weaker constant effect enchantment, like your belt or pauldrons, because even a small amount constantly is damn convenient.

Yes, you can't use telekenisis to pickpocket. It only works on objects. However you can make a telekenisis potion: Alit Hide, bonemeal or scuttle. And I agree it's a really useful tool, even if you can't pickpocket with it.

[stcaFylnO]

I'll jump in on this Telekenisis too. I love playing thieves. More ideas:

Very early in game, all you need is to craft a low level/cost item. Give it like 5 second duration and keep the range reasonable. Just activate then click on a piece of loot or two. If necessary, even speak to the NPC to change their facing, then re-position to steal; just ensure they don't have LOS on PC or target.

This can be used with some other handy thieving enchantments. Enchant some 1 point lock and unlock items, or make combo items with tele. Basically, open doors at range, to be out of sight from enemies, or lock enemies up safely. Make stronger ones when possible to unlock storage containers near NPCs, just reach out, unlock via telekenetics and then loot it.