As I was sitting in the east tower today picking locks I began to come across a run of boxes from critters levels 90+ that had their tip value set to 1 silver. I thought to myself that surely this had to be a mistake! as it kept going over a few hours I came to the sickening realization it wasn't... It was people intentionally putting their boxes in the lockpicking pool at 1 silver.
So being the enterprising rogue that I am I decided I just wouldn't pick those boxes and that I would pick boxes that tipped with a value that matched their lock difficulties. My next box and the worker says, "Ah, here we are. The client is offering a tip of 1 silver and mentioned it being from a triton dissembler (level 98). The box is set up on the table for you. When you're finished, ASK me to CHECK your work."
I think to myself, NOPE! Not going to pick this one. I am going to pick a box from someone who values my skill and time. I then turn back around to the worker and hand him the box! He then says to me, "Too tough for you huh?" I think to myself, no, no no! This box is not worth my time and will probably result in me damaging my equipment or result in my having to use a wedge. In effect costing me hundreds to tens of thousands of silvers or more to open. Or the ever so much other possibility of having a live creature burrow into me, scales flung through my face and hands, covered in fire goo and incinerated, zapped with electricity, and all other manners of horrible death and dismemberment.
The next words from the worker filled me with dismay, "Why don't you come back in 10 minutes while you think about your failure. Wait... What! I didn't fail! I just didn't want to pick the box because the reward (tip) wasn't commensurate with the risk the box posed to my person and equipment.
It was at that point I realized that the lockpicking pool, while it has its advantages, is systematically unfair to the locksmiths. We are presented with one option at a time and given no real recourse when we are presented with unfair wages. Prior to the pool, we were able to connect boxes with owners and communicate that information around the guild. We knew who the poor tipping people were and could refuse to serve them. That generated a social pressure to conform to societal mores and norms. people tipped the value of the locksmith's time, skill and risk to be able to have access to something locked in a box. Box owners have other options than the locksmith pool to access those items or silver. They can ask a live locksmith to open it, they can use Larton (I have never used his services and am not familiar), or pop them open, etc.
The mechanics of this system force locksmiths to attempt every box and trap or suffer egregious penalties while giving them no recourse to stand up for themselves. If people want to put boxes into the system and only tip 1 silver, let them! But give the locksmiths similar options when it comes to refusing services to those individuals, boxes, whatever.
#Equality
DARVEN
OM1E5GA
Re: Lockpicking Pool
09/30/2020 06:21 AM CDT
<The next words from the worker filled me with dismay, "Why don't you come back in 10 minutes while you think about your failure. Wait... What! I didn't fail! I just didn't want to pick the box because the reward (tip) wasn't commensurate with the risk the box posed to my person and equipment.>
If the reason you're refusing the box is the low tip, don't attempt to disarm it or pick the lock first. Just immediately hand it back or you'll get the penalty. As long as you don't try to disarm or pick, it'll count towards whatever the number of boxes per 10 minutes they'll give you, but it shouldn't impose the 10 minute time out. I'm not sure if measuring the lock with calipers will trigger it, but DETECTing for traps has never bothered the worker when I've refused boxes.
Once the pool has determined which boxes you're qualified to receive based on your skills, it will give you the box from that group with the highest tip assigned to it. So, if you start seeing boxes with tips too low for your liking it's best to just find something else to do for 15-20 minutes and give people hunting a chance to put some fresh ones in. During the day there's usually enough people actively hunting and picking that you'll most likely see the tip numbers bouncing up and down with no real pattern... but if you're working the pool around 3-7ish AM EST (when a single locksmith can easily pick boxes faster then those hunting can put them in) you'll see the tip for each box you get be equal to or less then the one before it, with the occasional few being higher when someone returns from a hunt.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
If the reason you're refusing the box is the low tip, don't attempt to disarm it or pick the lock first. Just immediately hand it back or you'll get the penalty. As long as you don't try to disarm or pick, it'll count towards whatever the number of boxes per 10 minutes they'll give you, but it shouldn't impose the 10 minute time out. I'm not sure if measuring the lock with calipers will trigger it, but DETECTing for traps has never bothered the worker when I've refused boxes.
Once the pool has determined which boxes you're qualified to receive based on your skills, it will give you the box from that group with the highest tip assigned to it. So, if you start seeing boxes with tips too low for your liking it's best to just find something else to do for 15-20 minutes and give people hunting a chance to put some fresh ones in. During the day there's usually enough people actively hunting and picking that you'll most likely see the tip numbers bouncing up and down with no real pattern... but if you're working the pool around 3-7ish AM EST (when a single locksmith can easily pick boxes faster then those hunting can put them in) you'll see the tip for each box you get be equal to or less then the one before it, with the occasional few being higher when someone returns from a hunt.
Starchitin, the OG
A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.
