I found this quote in the Rules Compendium p.44. It seemed relevant to this discussion:
OPEN A LOCK, OR DISABLE IT?
If you have the skill to disable traps of every imaginable variety, including magic traps, why can’t you understand how to disable a simple mechanical lock? The answer, of course, is legacy. The 2nd Edition of the game distinguished between the skills, and so 3rd Edition did as well. One possible solution is to ignore this and make Disable Device work on locks.
An average lock is DC 25 to open. That means you have to invest a lot in the Open Lock skill to be effective. However, the
investment is likely to be moot when the barbarian bashes open all the locked doors. Just to rub salt in the wound, the wizard has a 2nd-level spell that opens locks regardless of the difficulty of picking them. When you can reliably open locks without taking 20, the party likely no longer needs you to do so.
Have more fun by putting your skill points elsewhere, such as in Tumble. That way you can get out of the scrapes you’ll inevitably get into when the barbarian breaks open all those doors.
—Matthew Sernett, designer
