Lockpicks

What to do if a door or chest is locked and there is no way to find the key, if it even exists at all? This is what lockpicks are for. These legally ambiguous tools are useful to "jimmy" (a term used by some of the games) locks for which a key is not immediately available. However, if the lock is too complicated even a lockpick won't open it, in which case a key, or possibly magic, is necessary. One deficiency they have is in their durability. If the user is too clumsy, instead of jimmying the lock open, the lockpick will break.

From Ultima I-V, lockpicks were simply known as "keys". These were not as easy to find as other supplies and could be only brought at special shops (although that wasn't a problem by Ultima V, where they could be recovered from the remains of dead monsters).

From Ultima VI-VII/2, they were know known under their current name but worked the same. They were also more available since every tool shop was selling them.

Lockpicks have vanished since Ultima VIII.

Trivia

 * In the earliest Ultimas, only guards had keys, meaning the player had to kill them to get access to certain areas!


 * NPCs never seem to object to you jimmying their locks (the exception being Ultima Underworld II).


 * In Serpent Isle, Shamino tells the Avatar that the lockpicks should only be used for virtuous reasons, because the Avatar is no common thief... yet he and the other companions still don't complain about stealing.