I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but if it is, file this under suggestions instead.

It's apparently impossible to unshackle yourself, even if you have the original key, or a skeleton key.

Also, when using a Shackles Skeleton key on a shackled person, the shackles themselves appear to be destroyed in the process, because they aren't returned to either party.

Furthermore, it seems (and this is probably trivial) that when you're shackled, your normal Attack bonus takes a hefty penalty, however, if you have a weapon, say, a longsword that gives +1 AB versus animals, your attack bonus against animals remains unchanged in the Character Sheet.

In this specific example, my attack bonus shackled was +4/-1 normally, and +10/+5 against animals. It remained that way even after re-equipping the weapon.

Kotenku I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but if it is, file this under suggestions instead.

It's apparently impossible to unshackle yourself, even if you have the original key, or a skeleton key.

This is intentional. When you are shackled up, you can't reach back where you'd need to in order to unshackle yourself.

Kotenku Also, when using a Shackles Skeleton key on a shackled person, the shackles themselves appear to be destroyed in the process, because they aren't returned to either party.

This may be a bug.

Kotenku Furthermore, it seems (and this is probably trivial) that when you're shackled, your normal Attack bonus takes a hefty penalty, however, if you have a weapon, say, a longsword that gives +1 AB versus animals, your attack bonus against animals remains unchanged in the Character Sheet.

In this specific example, my attack bonus shackled was +4/-1 normally, and +10/+5 against animals. It remained that way even after re-equipping the weapon.

Whoa. I don't know what to make of that. Does this happen when other Attack Bonus penalties are applied? If so, it is probably a weird Bioware glitch.

The AB thing could be to do with lack of recalculating the AB penalty? So the script sort of, resets and the penalty isn't "reapplied" when a weapon is equipped.

I'd be interested in knowing if the AB glitch only shows on sheet or if you actually retain full AB against the creature type in question, ie if the combat log is consistent with the sheet. Lots of times the sheet shows something incorrectly -- particularly true when polymorphed -- but the combat log regardless has the correct modifiers.

Could some sort of check be added, perhaps dex/tumble/pickpocket, allowing you to unshackle yourself if you have the key? The dexterious guy in the movies always gets cuffed and then manages to get out himself, awing the guard or whoever happened to be around at the time.

So then the skeleton key is only really useful if you give it to some one else? How then can we ever have a Houdini type of performer/rogue bastard?

If you introduce self openable shackles, you might as well add various qualites of shackle, and pit them agaist lockpick skill as well as a increasingly difficult pick pocket skill. Cold Iron shakles, silver shackles, lame kobold shakles, powerful duergar shackles etc etc. Guards could get better shackles as they promote, and maybe more expensive skeleten keys can be gathered from the far corners of the module.

Arkov

Kotenku Also, when using a Shackles Skeleton key on a shackled person, the shackles themselves appear to be destroyed in the process, because they aren't returned to either party.

This may be a bug.