The most frustrating 10 minutes of your life.
Lock-pick skill level 48.
Chest Level: Master
Lockpicks: 1
That was a lot of quicksave/quickloading.
I have yet to BUY a lock pick.
I kill so many things I get more than I use up! ('Most I've ever used on a Master lock was ~12, I think?)
I'm carrying 225 of them right now....
What character type are you, Exodus, "Fumble-Finger?"
I chose Thief from the get-go because I know how overpowered Elder Scrolls "Sneak" has always been! (It was my second skill to make it to 100, after Smithing.
)
...And WHY did I get my Smithing up so early on? With my Smithing buffs I was able to make most of my items either "Epic" or "Legendary" from the get-go that way! (FYI: You need a Smithing skill level of at least 91 to make Legendary items.) So my Legendary Ebony - soon to be replaced by a Glass - bow does 168 damage per strike, x2 for sneak attack! (Sneak applies as long as the target can't find/see you, so if you duck into hiding after each shot, it counts as x2 AGAIN when you pop out and hit them again. However I'm pretty sure - from my experience - that Dragons can see you regardless of your sneak ability!
Ditto anything with Detect Life ability.)
Note that this is all independent of your character level, except that you won't get/find things like Glass weapons as drops until you're at a high-enough level for that to start, but you CAN get them from quests.