How high does your pickpocket usually have to be to pull it off as failsafe as possible? I realize there's always a 1% chance of failure, but I'm not THAT unlucky. I actually haven't toyed around all that much with stealing...I've always played good parties. :angel: But I'd like to start, and without sucking down 5 or 6 thieving potions to do it. Any tips are appreciated, and the best NPC's to do it with as well. I assume Haer is the best, with Jan a close second. Though I think Jan could potentially be just as good, if not better with the right gear.

I find that a pickpocket score of around 175 is enough; I have had trouble with getting caught with lower scores. Between base scores, rings, gloves, potions of master thievery, etc., this score is easy to get with any NPC thief. I also never add points to pickpocketing; seems like a waste.

I'm pretty much the same as Splunge. I would say you want a minimum of 150 to steal from most shops. The higher the better obviously. 175 will pretty much guarantee success, but I haven't had much trouble with 150.

The best pickpocket in the game is without a doubt, Jan. He has gloves that help him pickpockets too. Haer-Dalis' would probably be a good pickpocket too, but I usually find a bard to be a luxury character I don't have room for in my parties. Yoshimo also works, and while that is a temporary solution, most of the shops you want to steal from a located in Athkatla, where you'll have him around. Those are pretty much your only options. I really have never used Nalia or Imoen to pickpocket, but since their base scores are so low, I imagine you'd need a steady supply of potions to get the job done.

Jan is good because while you shouldn't have to put many points in pickpocketing skill for Jan, you get so many thieving points over the course of the game that you really won't miss it if you put say 2 level's worth (50 points) into pickpocketing. It will save you money on potions, and with the equipment he already has, you should be good to go. Jan is the real deal for thieves. He's the only character that can get to the point where he exceeds over 100% in all of his skills by the end of the game (I don't count detect illusion - true sight works just as good).

Haer'Dalis is a lousy pickpocket as Blades like him only get a quarter pickpocketing skill compared to normal bards.