The Mighty Hairpin of Gor and Jail Breaks.

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May 2012

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May 28 - Memorial Day

[Xaz Elephas]

I don't claim to know a lot about locks. Though I have taken a few apart in my time. I also don't claim to know a lot about hairpins, though I have seen a few irl. My Grandmother use to wear them. I am just amazed at what all this thin piece of metal can be capiable of on a lock in Gor, a planet known for holding captives and even using special knotts to hold them, this is a culture on which captivity and submission is a cornerstone, where even in the books there was lock specialist that even took 30 minutes with special tools to crack the lock to a slave's cell:

Women of Gor: *pulls out her hairpin the man forgot to check for, inserts the metal into the lock, wiggles the pin in the chamber, lock opens*

Should I forgo my sword and take up the... Mighty Gor Hairpin?

[Dracosilverwing Allen]

Being a blacksmith....and I do open locks with a good long rp....I have to say...that lock pick is weak...though I too have seen it.

[Xaz Elephas]

Here are some quotes on locks.. and lockpicking..

Two men were there. They were dressed entirely in black. They wore masks. One of them held an unshuttered dark lantern and the other opened a leather wrapper containing keys and tools on the ground. He, then, with a variety of keys and picks, and small tools, swiftly, expertly, trying one thing and then another, addressed himself to the upper lock. He was skillful, and apparently a smith in such matters, perhaps a skilled specialist within his caste. In fifteen Ehn both locks had yielded. The cage door was opened and I was pulled out. I was put on my back and the inan, swiftly, with numerous small keys, and some of the other tools, addressed himself to my collar lock. I felt the collar pulled away.

Kajira


Knife Locks

Some locks, on the compartments of rich persons, or on the storehouses of merchants, the treasuries of cities, and so on, are knife locks or poison locks; the knife lock, when tampered with, releases a blade, or several of them, with great force, sometimes from behind the individual at the lock. On the other hand, knife locks are seldom effective against an individual who knows what to look for.

Assassins

Pit Lock

Another form of lock difficult to guard against is the pit lock, because of the natural crevices in Gorean tiling commonly found in corridors of cylinders; when tampered with a trap falls away beneath the individual, dropping him to a pit below, usually containing knives fixed in stone, but upon occasion osts, or half-starved sleen or water tharlarion; sometimes, however, the pit may be simply a smooth-sided capture pit, so that the individual may later be interrogated and tortured at length.
Assassin

No Unauthorized keys for locks

Lastly it might be mentioned that it is a capital offense for a locksmith, normally a member of the Metal Workers, to make an unauthorized copy of a key, either to keep for himself or for another.
Assassin

[Dracosilverwing Allen]

Wow thanks xaz I will keep this all in mind when I am doing my lockpicking.

[Petal Atlas]

((((((Another form of lock difficult to guard against is the pit lock))))))))))

This was part of your post xaz.......it never stated wether there were weaker locks or not. BUT I do agreee a lock on a cell or kennel IE cage or collar would be one of the harder ones to release. Also if anyone whos seen any type of movie would know that it would take a bit more than a lil ole hair pin to open a cell door. Come on that just takes common sense for that one.

[Dracosilverwing Allen]

i don't know...I once saw a tv series...where this guy made a tank out of a rubber band, a paper clip, and some glue.

[Antonio Galloway]

Ahhhhh yes, but then MacGyver could do anything. He didn't have to worry about the Priest Kings.

[Liliana Aluveaux]

MacGyver kicked major ass. In fact... old man MacGyver could kick all your asses anyday.

[Daved Calderwood]

Thanks Xas for the information on the different locks in Gor and also the link to this tab! I totally agree with you on the difficulties of lock picking. It is a skill that comes with a great amount of practice and a hairpin would not cut it at all if you tried to use it.

Now for all you folks well not to sound like some elitist but if you really dont have a background in it, it's a tough sell to say you know how to pick a lock as it is something one would know how to do if they worked around locks. In my character Bio I have had around 50 years experience in lock making and some other types of metal working and i have incorportated that little nugget of information into four years of roleplay in Gor. This isnt even me trying to god mod a lock because my character doesnt run around with a set of picks and tools for breaking a lock.

However if i am to do a job (and in the past it was mostly outlaw stuff) and i knew from casing the place beforehand there were locks in place then yes i would bring those tools of the trade as well as my standard weapons.

To all would be lock-pickers I would offer this little bit of advice that I have often discovered (and often learned the hard way) on how to succesfully pick a lock.

1-Don't just think that because the doors are locked that, that's the only obstacle you face. Amongst some things i have discovered Red Caste are notorious for DOUBLE LOCKING a door. That's totally legit and in my opinion probably the wisest course of action (you'll see why in a minute).

2-BE DESCRPTIVE AS ALL HELL. Meaning dont just do a three emote lockpicking thing and think you have broken the great barrier. You have to describe the lock, describe the tools you are using, heck describe the exertion you are using to get those tumblers back, describe from the sound the mechanisms in the lock makes to the sounds you are making with the pick. All of those things you have to include in your emotes and i do think for the sake of covering your ass you should do six emotes because if there is one thing I have learned the hard way is that they will scrutinize every detail of how you got in or out of a locked room or cage. Now here's the part that you're gonna hate but in the case of double locks you better be thinking of 12 emotes (but i have known in some situations as these you can get away with just doing three emotes for the second lock.)

3-ASSUME THE WORST- Meaning just dont dive into the lock and start picking away, really observe the lock and feel around the doors. Just becaue you see the guards open and close the locks doesnt mean the damn thing isnt rigged. Besides the traps that Xaz mentions i have seen some inventive ones that involve gases being released from the lock that is supposed to either knock you out or kill you, others that discahrge spikes and one rather inventive one that was supposed to shock you (although I think that one was declared invalid). Usually in cases like these the locks are already scripted with a warning that there is some security measure to prevent tampering. So what to do ? Not a damn thing, just walk away man or find another means of escape. I know that there are better roleplayers who could probably think their way around a booby trap but you are gonna run the risk of getting a I/M frenzy on your hands and really its not worth the half an hour debate over it. 

4- BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS- Sounds simple but you have to understand the walls of your cell could be made of a solid thick stone and yet it is paper thin if there is a guard outside the wall who has bionic gorean hearing that can detect a pin drop from behind three feet of stone. It may seem like its a no win situation but patience can win the day and also the scenario of having people mill about could also work in your favor. Alot of times people will be so engrossed in what they are doing rp-wise that any emotes is like background noise to them. i once escaped from a cell in Cardonicus like that when what seemed like the entire town decided to emote at the same time. All my emotes were just getting lost in all the chatter and by the time they started talking about dealing with me i was already gone.

5-NOTECARD EVERYTHING- because you can bet your ass the rp lawyers in whatever town/city/camp you are escaping from is gonna want the notes on how you got out. Now this is a touchy thing because many people complain on the time it takes to start the whole copy and paste thing. For me i usually just have the notecard out and start copying anything i wrote. Another way you can do this is after you are off the sim but make sure you do this quickly because there will be an inquiry on it.

6-If you are gonna hide a lock pick and file BE PRACTICAL. No you cant fit it to the roof of your mouth and no you can't tape it to the back of your neck unless you are ready to rp tearing the tape from the back hairs of your neck (BIG OW!). If you have to put the someplace the insides of your sleeves would work or even the cuffs of your pants or in your shoes. You would be surprised how often you are not searched.

7-Last but not least not every door is locked with a padlock. You have all kinds of locks and there is more than one way to skin a cat. lockpicks are popular with padlocks but if you just come across a latched door a simple knife could do the job (just remember the 6 emote rule). It is also a good rule of thumb to familiarize yourself with some different locks and some of the mechanisms in a actual lock I dont mean going out and start picking locks because just like Gor society frowns on people like that. But just know some things would go a long way to substantiating your escape.

Of course doing all of this is no guareentee you are not going to get some flak over your escape. i won't name, names but I have been to some places where the mentality is that the locks they have are made of kryptonite or something and that there is no way you could have escaped because its their cell and NO ONE escapes from their cell!!! Bullshit, if you roleplayed right and had the means, method and motive to get out then you are free. I will say in defense of alot of jailers that they have been most gracious escapes and will honor it if the rp was solid.

Hope this helps !

[Faye Woodsheart]

Indeed, I know I have gotten away with a few lock pickings that should not of been before, I do emote it to best of abilities and try to find other ways to get the door open if not able to pick it. Such as when James had me locked in his room and left my rocks with me.. I proceed to beat the door handle and free of the door, pretty much destroying the door in the process, but it took some 30 min of emoting the effort and work. I went through a ton of picks at the tower door with the lack of skill, and at the main gate a bunch more. I was questioned why I did not just quietly get away sometime later having been noticed by then. Hehe.. I do believe that was one of my most valid attempts instead of the normal ones many do or a quicky "Faye picks lock with pin, opens door, escapes.." type. The same applies to bindings, but that's a whole other subject. I am glad to see you brought this subject more to light.

[Daved Calderwood]

Sorry Faye , i posted that bit above you too early by accident but i have reposted the complete version.

[Faye Woodsheart]

Sorry Faye , i posted that bit above you too early by accident but i have reposted the complete version.

I know, I just didn't feel like waiting for you to finish haha..

[Xaz Elephas]

The quote I posted about the two men, had me thinking on the concept to start adding some training in locks for Black caste trainee's... your suggestings are good on how one could role-play opening a lock and what it would detail as for emotes to make the role-play have some realism to it. Just an idea I had. 

[Daved Calderwood]

That's a pretty good idea there Xaz!

I sometimes do this and i don't know if this is really a help or a not but for me i always tend to look at Black Caste in Gor as something of a "special operator".

In my opinion at least I tend to think and assassin as a well rounded individual in terms of practical knowledge that would help him get his job done easier. Just as picking locks is important I would also think that basic first aid would also go a long way in aiding the assassin. The objective would be to make an assassin self reliant on a myriad of abilities, a "Jack of All Trades" if you will.

From what I understand from the books the training of an assassin is not an easy one and is probably by far one of the most grueling and bloody in nature, but from what I see there is no real detail to the training other than that a student is paired with another and at the end they have to hunt one another to the death (also i believe they have to be knowledgeable about the history of their caste but don't hold me to that as i have to read alot more).  Otherwise there is not much to go on as far as the intricies of training goes but i know most assassin groups if not all have their own way of training an individual. I would be very interested to see in another thread how some of the assassin groups train or maybe post something like a brochure on what a person can expect from their particular training course.