I don't know... It sounds a bit complicated to me. I mean, I don't pick locks in real life for two reasons: 1. It's illegal 2. It's too complicated! Yeah, I'd hate to see my second reason for never picking locks come into a fantasy environment where I do it because it's fun.

It's not particularly complicated, it just requires a little thinking, and in that respect is no different to a good combat system or magic system.

And yes, I realise that there are players who prefer combat to consist of typing 'kill' then sitting back to watch the show - and there are certainly plenty of muds that provide such an experience - but there are also many players who prefer something that requires more tactical thinking.

The same logic applies to crafting systems (and lockpicking, and so on); there's little excitement to be gained from typing 'pick lock' or 'bake pie' - indeed, these are even less exciting than most combat systems (it would be like typing 'kill orc' then being told 'you kill it' or 'it runs away').  But it really depends on what sort of audience you're aiming for, and in my case I'm placing a lot of emphasis on player skill.