No sleight of hand, elf warlock. No skill for it because I didn't pick either background with it.
Dex 16.
At level 8, with the gear I have on him, Astarion has +10 in bonuses before guidance iirc(I'd have to check again).
I did not have the gloves nor the ring. I can't get them on that character either as she's in act 3(its my 8 half elf sorcerer) so I'll just see what I can get astarion to with them. I think I have both on my warlock in the chest.
It shouldn't be an issue though. I always kill Astarion when I see him and never had an issue on my warlock (no sleight of hand, no items for it either) with any locks just relying on his DEX 16 (+3) and Guidance from Shadowheart or later the necklace.
He was in Act 3 when I stopped playing him, my party usually consisting of Shadowheart, Lae'zel and either Gale or Jaheira. It sounds like you are really unlucky with locks (and traps)...
My current party has no rogue either (monk as a main, the others as above) and again no problems getting locks open. Sure, I may use two or three picks while trying but lockpicks are easy to get.
