Pickpocketry and a Big Cup of Huh?

[Skye]

I've been trying to wrap my head around how pickpocketing works in BG:EE, but there seems to be all kinds of weirdness in the system.

 

The base requirements for stealing from slots have obviously been externalized into SLTSTEAL.2DA. From what I can tell, you need a pick pocket score at least as high as the value specified in the file (unless it's 0) and then it's some kind of random roll (irrelevant to my needs).

 

You can also set equipped items as non-stealable in the CRE file by setting the right flag and I'm assuming non-droppable/movable items also cannot be stolen.

 

What I've been trying to figure out is the scripting bit. Items taken via TakePartyItem() (or similar actions?) apparently cannot be stolen even though they are placed in the creature's inventory. I'm guessing that's to avoid loops with quest rewards although that can be avoided with globals or DestroyItem(). From studying the save file, it's evident that when an item is acquired via script, the "not stealable" flag is automatically set for that item. Is there a way to avoid this behaviour?

 

I can think of several workarounds, but none of them are particularly elegant.