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The FAQ Question:
-How many rounds does it take to open a lock?
To the community:
-Is it always one round regardless of the complexity of the lock?
-Does it vary based on the complexity of the lock?
-Or some other answer I haven't thought/heard of?
I'm going to wait for some responses before sharing my thoughts, but I'll go ahead and post the relevant section for easy reference.
The amount of time needed to make a Disable Device check depends on the task, as noted above. Disabling a simple device takes 1 round and is a full-round action. A tricky or difficult device requires 1d4 or 2d4 rounds. Attempting to open a lock is a full-round action.
Generally speaking, disable device to open a lock is a full-round action. Complex locks that are difficult might take longer, because the character might need to make multiple checks or take 20.
Only very special and unique locks should vary from this.
Just like the skill says - it takes a full round action. Lock complexity doesn't change that.
The FAQ Question:
-How many rounds does it take to open a lock?
To the community:
-Is it always one round regardless of the complexity of the lock?
-Does it vary based on the complexity of the lock?
-Or some other answer I haven't thought/heard of?
I'm going to wait for some responses before sharing my thoughts, but I'll go ahead and post the relevant section for easy reference.
The amount of time needed to make a Disable Device check depends on the task, as noted above. Disabling a simple device takes 1 round and is a full-round action. A tricky or difficult device requires 1d4 or 2d4 rounds. Attempting to open a lock is a full-round action.
If you are trying to sabotague a device it can take several rounds, but opening a lock is just a full round action. If opening locks was mentioned in the table of variable times or did not specifically say it was a full round action then I would say it was more open to debate.
Alright, here are my points from the reading. Have at it! Please pick it apart!
-The amount of time for a Disable Device check depends on the task. Opening a lock is a Disable Device check.
-"Disabling a simple device takes one round and is a full-round action."
--This is really where the crux of my reasoning lies. Here we're setting the action for disable device to full-round action regardless of the task. So that its implied that tricky or difficult devices are also full-round actions that take 1d4 to 2d4 rounds.
-The confusion lies with the last statement that attempting to open a lock is a full-round action.
--While this states the action type, it doesn't state how long opening a lock takes. Note that above it makes a distinction between action and time required. Simple devices take 1 round, not all locks are simple. Which leads me to.
-Locks are devices. This is as far as I'm aware the only assumption I'm making.
Okay, to sum up. Devices take a variable amount of time. Their action is full-round action.
Now the natural question is: Why is opening locks specifically called out as a Full-Round action?
I can see this leading to the response, because they only take one round to open. But, I see two alternate reasons.
-They simply carried the language from Open Locks into Disable Device for completions sake.
-It allows them to create abilities such as:
Trap Saboteur (Su): At 8th level, a cat burglar becomes a master of avoiding and manipulating traps and locks. She can attempt to open a lock as a standard action and takes 1/2 the normal amount of time to disable traps (minimum 1 round) . When she has bypassed a trap without disarming it, she can also choose to suppress its trigger for up to 1 minute. If she does, she can also choose to end this suppression prematurely as a free action. This ability replaces uncanny dodge.
Which would allow someone opening locks to stealth while doing so. Which isn't normally possible, and makes the ability rather cool.
If you think they just carried the language over then the rule is just like it has always been which is a that opening a lock is always
full round action. In 3.5 opening a lock and disabling a device were two different things(skills), and I see nothing to see an intentional change to require opening a lock to take longer.
The rules as stated in Pathfinder match what I said above and they match the old 3.5 rules about sabotague(disabling a device) taking additional time, but opening a lock always being a full round action.
Also the cat sabotuer ability specifically calls out the time need to open a lock as standard action, down from a full round action, while calling out the time to disable a trap(something listed under disable device) as being reduced to half the time needed. If locks were to fall under the disable device time as you have stated then they would have also gotten the "half-time" treatment.
I mean they clearly changed how opening locks works by moving it into the Disable Device skill. So part of that could be how long it takes to open them. I concede it was that way in 3.0 and 3.5, but that doesn't mean it is now.
Also the cat sabotuer ability specifically calls out the time need to open a lock as standard action, down from a full round action, while calling out the time to disable a trap(something listed under disable device) as being reduced to half the time needed. If locks were to fall under the disable device time as you have stated then they would have also gotten the "half-time" treatment.
Not necessarily, it specifically calls out disabling traps as reduced time, but it wouldn't impact sabotaging a wagon wheel. That would still take 1d4 rounds.
As I point out, the change allows you to pick locks while stealthing, something you can't do normally.
I mean they clearly changed how opening locks works by moving it into the Disable Device skill. So part of that could be how long it takes to open them. I concede it was that way in 3.0 and 3.5, but that doesn't mean it is now.
Let me put it this way. They used the 3.5 text for opening locks, and they did not put a lock example in the disable device chart for time. They also have an ability that specifically moves open lock down to a standard time, and does not use half time.
If it said "at least one round" that would be different.
It is that way now because they did nothing to change the rule. The same text is in both systems, but it is under one name.
Show me some rule text that indicates a change vs the 3.5 wording. That is what would be needed to show that Paizo wanted the skill to be different. Otherwise you are basically saying "they forgot to change the wording", which technically could be true, but until errata comes out that is what the the rule is.
As far as I'm aware this is what has changed:
-The penalty for not having tools was -2, and now the DC increases by 10.
-Amazing locks are now called superior.
But how it worked in 3.0 shouldn't be used to determine how it works in Pathfinder.
EDIT: Which means I shouldn't have made my initial point. =p