Skills aside, picking is a good way to make friends.  People need money from boxes.  You need the experience and could use the coin from the tip, so everyone profits that way (especially the empaths that will heal you).  You may want to refine your
stealing practices some as to make less enemies, should you find picking more profitable.  Additionally, if you establish yourself
well enough, people will get a lot more friendly towards you when it means getting the loot out of their boxes.  For example, in
Riverhaven, pickers for swampie boxes are in such demand, that they are practically lynched for their skill with boxes.

At the hospital, say something like "Please help me, I have a <insert strength of acid/poison> acid/poison in me, and have
<insert your vitality> ".  Provided that you are polite, you should be helped rather quickly, should your life be in danger.
It is wise for a thief to be generous in their tipping to empaths.  Never knowingly steal from empaths due to the fact that
they will save your skin from traps more times then you will be able to remember.

If anything, carry several stalks of lavender, and a pair of sufil saps if you have the space.  Both are forageable, and
lavender can be bought in the Crossing's Cleric's Shop, while sufil sap is available at Riverhaven's Herbalist.  Both can be
obtained at a considerable discount if you have been practicing your stealing.

Lavender-if eaten sparingly, will speed vital recoverySufil sap-heals external/internal eye wounds (not scars)

Any kind of wound, whether it be a scar or a bleeder, will cause some form of hindrance, although with more skill, the hindrances are not noticed as frequently.  If you break your right hand, you will be unable to give or barter things from it, which can be an annoyance to the professional locksmith with a line of clients. My best advice in this case is: 1. get the hand healed or 2. find a remote room drop the box, and hope there aren't any snerts lurking nearby.

Damage to the head or the nervous system may hinder box opening, although I am not certain.

For a thief to make a lockpick, they'll need a carving knife and a keyblank.  Carving knives are pretty commonly found, and if you ask the right questions to the right people, finding where to get a supply of keyblanks should not be terribly hard either.  At
times you will see your lockpick bend in the lock.  Every time you pick a lock, there is a change of the lockpick weakening;
this can be repaired.  At times, the lockpick will bend permanently, weakening the lockpick, until eventually the lockpick snaps.  Thieves who have learned how to carve lockpicks will also have been instructed on how to repair lockpicks,
although they can not reverse bending or full breakage.

Lockpick Rating (from worse to best in ease of lock opening):

crude
rough
stout
common
slim
quality
superior
professional
master's

Pricing on thief-made lockpicks will vary, mainly due to the laws of supply and demand, and by the temperament of the thief selling the lockpicks.  Ask on the gweth in Shard, Crossing, or Riverhaven if anyone is selling lockpicks, and you should get a
decent pricing list.

Poison
<You notice a tiny needle with a green colored discoloration on its tip hidden next to the keyhole.>
Will inject you with a poison, that will 1. cause vitality loss, as the poison works it's way through your system 2.
internal/external damage to one of your hands, which may cause internal/external bleeders. If you get poisoned, I really wouldn't recommend picking the same box again, since if the trap goes off again, the amount of poison doubles in your body, making things really uncomfortable, and usually downright fatal.
-only affects picker
LI-2

Acid
<As you look closely, you notice a tiny hole right next to the lock which looks to be a trap of some kind.>
Sprays acid on a random part of your body.  If you are wearing armor on that spot, the acid will eat away at the armor,
damaging, and possibly destroying it (saving you from physical harm).  If the acid comes in contact with your skin, it will
cause wounding, then a bleeder.  Unlike poison, acid can not be directly taken from you by an empath, rather you must let it run it's course. You may wish to wear normal leather gloves (from the Crossing armory) when picking, since they will not hinder your picking at all, and will protect your hands from the acid.  Should your armor come in contact with acid, immediately remove the armor and either put it in a container, or hold it in your hands.  Do not drop the armor, unless you don't mind the possibility of it being stolen.
-only affects picker, and armor worn by the picker
LI-2

Napatha
<A tiny striker is cleverly concealed under the lid, set to ignite a frighteningly large vial of naphtha.>
Will explode, stunning picker for a short time.  Will cause minor external wounds to the entire body of the picker and take
away a decent portion of the picker's vitality.  See above for how the Ethereal Shield spell helps defend against
this trapwill.
-may affect others in the room
LI-1

Gas cloud
<You notice a vial of lime green liquid just under the strongbox's lid.  The stopper is attached so that the vial will
open when the top is lifted.>  Will release a cloud of poisonous chlorine gas, the picker will receive an internal poisoning, which will cause nasty internal bleeding and heavy vitality loss to picker.Never NEVER disarm a possible gas cloud box in a populated room, especially one with empaths.  The Great Magistrates (GM's) will lockout anyone who deliberately sets off these traps in a crowded room.
-will definitely affect others in the room, though not as severely as the picker
LI-3

Crossbow or Bolt trap
<You find a series of openings on the front of the strongbox concealing the points of several wickedly barbed crossbow bolts.>
Will launch one to five crossbow bolts into picker. The vitality loss from this type of trap is variable, depending on the amounts
of bolts launched, and where the bolts hit any critical areas. The picker may be stunned.Lie down and have someone with good first aid tend the affected areas to remove the bolts.  If a bolt is removed by someone with poor firstaid skill, there is a good chance the wound will be aggravated, causing massive bleeding. Should the bolts stay lodged, the wounds will worsen.
-only affects picker
LI-variable, depending on where and how many bolts strike the picker, and the firstaid of whoever removes the bolts from the
picker

Razor
<Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a glint of razor sharp steel hidden within a suspicious looking seam on the coffer.>
When sprung will slash the wrists of the picker.  Will cause heavy bleeders or cut off one or both hands (causing an even
worse bleeder).
LI-1 to 2, depending on how well the bleeder/stump is tended

Nerve poison
<You notice a tiny needle with a rust colored discoloration on its tip hidden next to the keyhole.>
Like "green" poison, only far far far more lethal.  Will cause heavier vital loss than green poison.  Will cause wounding and
eventual bleeders to both eyes.  If affected, seek immediate empathic help, if alone you are too away from help, call someone on the gweth to come get your dead body.
-only affects picker
LI-3

Electric
"a pair of oddly placed silver studs"
Will give picker a very long stun, cause severe nerve twitching, and moderate to light vital loss
Not too bad, provided you do not plan on casting any spells
-only affects picker
LI-1

Rune
"a glass sphere embedded..."
Will take away all harness from the picker if they are magic trained (i.e. can harness mana, focus etc.).
Has no serious effect on thieves/barbs/ traders.
-only affects picker
LI-0

Glossary:

Client: a person you pick for, usually in return for a tip of some kind.

Box: for simplicity's sake, I've generalized all coffers, strongboxes, trunks, and chests as "boxes" in this guide.

Vitality: the amount of damage your body can take before dying. It can be increased overall by training in stamina.  The amount
of vitality you recover per pulse is determined by stamina, while how frequently your body receives these pulses is determined by discipline.

Wounding: minor wounds, for the purposes of this guide, anything that isn't a scar or a bleeder.

Picking: most of the time, when I refer to "picking" I mean all the steps involved in opening a trapped box.  When I mean opening the lock itself, I'll usually write "lockpicking."