Yep.
Using the base rules it's a DC 20 check on slight of hand to pickpocket.
For a reference, a DC 20 Preform check (which slight of hand can duplicate) counts as a Great performance.
This means the little street urchins who cut your purse are the equivalent of a level 4-5ish thief or a popular cover band.
For being detected, the opposing spot roll has to beat the slight of hand roll to be seen. This means it's all one roll, with success only if you get a modified 20 or above.
This varient instead turns it into a unarmed attack, with slight of hand being used to "hide" the effect. The spot roll still has to beat the slight of hand to detect, but it no longer requires a DC 20 check to pick someone's pocket. Instead it uses a flat footed attack roll.
Here's how it affects things
I put 6 skillpoints in slight of hand. It is a Cross Class skill for a spellthief. This means it is only 3 Points. With my dex mod it goes up to 7. I also get Synergy of +2 from my bluff skill, so my character has a total of +9 mod to slight of hand.
This means to successfully pick a pocket, I need to get a base dice roll of 11 or more. This is as true from Van as it is from Maelrigar or Ethan. All are subject to my evil pickpocketing ways! Maelrigar would be incapable of seeing a successful pickpocket though, while Ethan would need a roll of 13 or more, and Van would need a roll of 9 or more. Heck, I could steal from the greatest seer in the world if the DM doesn't apply modifiers for sanity's sake.
With this system, I would instead have to beat the touch attack of someone.
This means against Maelrigar it'd be 12 AC vs my +1 to hit for a total of 11 or more on the dice
Against Van, things are a little different. The Monk is able to spot my clumsy touch attack on his pockets much better, as I'd have to beat a whopping 24 for a touch attack. I'm not quite sure if his vows count, but I'm pretty sure they do. I would have to get a natural 20 to get an item off him.
Against Ethan, I'd need an 8 or more to beat his 9 touch ac.
For spotting, Maelrigar is at a severe disadvantage with his -1 for spot, Van is at a minor advantage with his +11 Spot, and Ethan is at a minor disadvantage with his +7 spot. As such, Maelrigar would be unlikely to spot me, although he is just as likely to see me if I got my hand in his bag as if I pulled my hand out with his potion of stealthis. Ethan and Van both would probably spot me either way.
As it says in the bottom of that page, this setup opens the ability to grab an item from someone in a crowd up to anyone and everyone. So finally Maelrigar can get into the lucrative purse snatching business
It also makes things more sane without tossing out Modifiers like candy.