UESP Forums

Are there any easy places where you can regularly find lockpicks? Goblins seem to carry a lot...

Midnight at the IC waterfront. There's a Redguard with a torch that sells them for 5 coins a piece. Of course, if you're doing some TG quests, he might be off hiding somewhere else instead.

goto the stables at IC, run thur the stables, down pass two giant rocks, pass the 2nd one , start making a u-turn towards the wall, thier is a guy hiding in the cornor, name is Shady Sam, he sells lockpicks, 30 at a time, for about 200-300 coin i think it is, maybe more or less, youcan go back every 3 days, he will have a new batch, sell alot of poisons also.

To be honest with you I've never had a need for lockpicks. Even for thief characters, I've never needed more lockpicks than those I got from the tutorial - scavenge the whole area thoroughly and you can leave with around 80. Of course, I would recieve the occasional lockpick for loot, but have never actually had to buy any.

I've found that any bandit hideout is a good source for lockpicks (the most lockpicks I've found in one place were in a bandits' cave lair). I can't remember the details of all the quests that concern routing out bandits, but I know there are a few. You can always just explore & ambush the bandits in their camps, too.

Slight SPOILER.....


Or just do the Daedric Quest that gives you the Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick that also boosts your Security skill by 40, and never worry about carrying a lockpick again (though I'd still carry some with me...1) so you have one on you if jailed, 2) so you have some to hide in jail cells before going on crime sprees....)

Or just beef up your Alteration. I cast spells to open 80% or more of the locks I find.

Lockpcks? I'd say to use the Skeleton Key instead. Look it up and you'll see why. Can't get it until lvl 10 though, so there a bit of progress needed.

All of the Theives Guild fences 100 lockpicks each. You have to be in the TG though.

Text from UESP.net
Shady Sam is a merchant who can be found just outside the Imperial City walls, about 100m north of the Chestnut Handy Stables. He is there day and night. He sells poisons, potions, lockpicks, and Skooma. He is somewhat rare among friendly NPCs in that aside from his greeting, he has absolutely nothing to talk about. You can't even use persuasion on him. (Though you can invest in his "store" when you become an expert at Mercantile.)

Shady Sam is also the proud owner of one of only three Black Hoods in Cyrodiil, a valuable item for enchanters. He won't sell them to you, so if you want them you'll have to loot them from his corpse or reverse-pickpocket a permanent Bound Helmet onto him and return later to steal the hood (although the hood does not actually count as a stolen item).

If you are having trouble finding him, Shady Sam is found in one of the indentations in the wall surrounding the Imperial City. Go to the Chestnut Handy Stables, face the gates that go into the Talos Plaza District and take a left, follow the wall around the Imperial City check in each indent. Shady Sam will be in one of those.

here you go

Note: It's easier to kill the Surille brother for the Black Hood, as he isn't a merchant, or quest related...

I use alteration as well. It's easier, plus you get other effects out of it (water walking, breathing, etc). Once your skill hits 75 you can open any lock, assuming you have enough magicka; the higher open spells are pretty pricy, magicka-wise.

I also agree with Dr. Meat (sorry ) in that I've never had to buy more very often. use the torch trick to make it easier and random loot should be plenty of a supplier. If you're totally out and need to purchase new ones, that's been discussed, so no need to repeat. Or just go opening random stuff until you find some.

Last night...

I found out that you cant open locked gates with a spell...

SOOOO [&@%!]!!!!

You can, it's just REALLY hard. You have to hit it just right. Try aiming at the frame. I've had trouble with that too. When I was playing that character, I carried around the skeleton key for those rare moments when it just wouldn't work. Skeleton Key + high alteration =

Though it comes up rarely, I don't think spells work underwater for this either (locked underwater chests), so good to have Security up....

My character doesn't really cast spells though (he's pretty much a total thief), so I rely on the skill instead... I use spells to charm others, heal wounds, and decorate houses... That's really about it...other than just having the effects in my repetoire for enchanting purposes...

Cactus wrote:I also agree with Dr. Meat (sorry ) in that I've never had to buy more very often. use the torch trick to make it easier and random loot should be plenty of a supplier. If you're totally out and need to purchase new ones, that's been discussed, so no need to repeat. Or just go opening random stuff until you find some.

I've never heard of a "Torch trick". What is it?

According to the wiki blogs, equipping a torch while picking a lock doesn't increase anything.... However, in the Tamriel book: Advances in Lock Picking, it states that holding a torch close to the lock heats the tumblers, and makes them fall more regularly, making them easier to predict. Never tried it myself, and maybe this isn't what Cactus meant, but it is what it is....

Grr... i tried for a good 15 mins on that stupid gate, and i tried hittin all different parts of it, but the spell just went clear threw it. Maybe a "On Touch" spell would work better?

@MyDireLife
I don't think you can make an on touch Open spell. I may be wrong.

@Deathmist
What Caldyn_Blade said is what I was talking about, about the torch trick. It does work, I've tried it. It sort of just makes them all fall at the same speed, so if you can get the first one, just do it 1-4 more times. It's not perfect, but it makes it a bit easier.

@Caldyn_Blade
The only spells that work underwater are On Self, which obviously means exactly what you said. Just thought I'd clarify.

Cactus wrote:@Deathmist
What Caldyn_Blade said is what I was talking about, about the torch trick. It does work, I've tried it. It sort of just makes them all fall at the same speed, so if you can get the first one, just do it 1-4 more times. It's not perfect, but it makes it a bit easier.

Interesting, I didn't know that.

Cactus wrote:@Caldyn_Blade
The only spells that work underwater are On Self, which obviously means exactly what you said. Just thought I'd clarify.

I'm pretty sure On Touch spells work underwater too.

Deathmist wrote:I'm pretty sure On Touch spells work underwater too.

Actually, I think you may be right.

You can also just dupe like 1k at a time if you use a bit of math and the scrolls dupe
100 lockpicks+ 1k scrolls= 10 stacks of 100 lockpicks, drop 900 lockpicks and repeat as necessary
Ive got like, 1270 lockpicks atm