Message 897 : Paying the Rent without Killing Hobbits (Petrel) Written on Mon Jun 13 02:59:01 1994 Some people say: "There is no way to survive and advance without killing hobbits, elves, old men, and other peaceful residents of Arda. Everyone has done it, or has received massive help from another character." This view is mistaken. It is true, however, that there are temptations to commit evil deeds. As may be the case in other worlds, murder is often a shortcut to easy wealth. But it is not -necessary-. One may -choose- to live well, and still pay the rent. This may require patience and effort, but it is not impossible. Some wild travelers' tales say that in other worlds gold and silver may be gotten by slaying wolves, foxes, or even stray dogs. In our world, of course, evil creatures carrying significant amounts of cash (such as the mewlip) are dangerous targets for the low-level player. Until one reaches level 9, say, acquiring rent money will require patience and a familiarity with the art of scrounging items for sale. 1. Scrounging Scrounging is the art of finding things - weaponry, armor, and other items - which you can either use yourself or sell. These items have several sources: a. Left lying around. With patience, all sorts of things can be found lying in plain sight in the streets and shops of Bree. I personally have found a forest green cloak in the Pet Shop, and a full metal shield on Main Street, and a longsword in the Mayor's office. b. Corpses, under the following headings: i. Player corpses. It is to your advantage to go exploring and find player corpses, although in my view you have a DEFINITE moral obligation announce the find by narrate and try to find the original owner. But after you have made a reasonable effort (three announcements over a 5-minute period?) without success, you have a claim on the property. The owner may have logged off in disgust. Even if you do find the owner, you may get a nice reward. ii. Other corpses. Property from Guards, Hobbits, Men, etc., who have been killed by orcs, trolls, and other miscreants, can be taken by you without guilt. Listen for news of orc and troll raids. If you use initative and are on the scene immediately after or during a large raid, you can collect lots of valuable weaponry from dead guards. The most money I have EVER had I obtained when two druids raided Bree, confining their attacks to the cityguards. (Hey, I was there, but I can't explain it :) ) Alert to the possibilities, I collected and sold about 12 gold worth of claymores and longswords. I remember one day there was a person sitting in BCS for quite some time calling out, "Someone give me a slashing weapon!!!" During this time, I found TWO dead cityguards on the main streets, complete with claymores, which he or anyone else could have found as easily as I. The corollary to this is: EXAMINE EVERY CORPSE. NEVER assume that someone else must have scavenged it first. Very often no one has. c. Regenerating items. Some valuable items regularly appear at certain locations. Actually I only know of two, both near Bree, but if I knew other areas better I expect I'd know of more. A certain location near Bree is a regular source of a valuable piercing weapon, and when I drop by there I find one nearly 80% of the time. Am I the only one who has noticed this? Canoes appear regularly at the underground beach in the cave under the hill 4 n, 2 w of oer/gnway. They can be sold to the retired captain 1 e, 1 n of the Brandywine Bridge for about 8 silver per. It is SLOW GOING walking there carrying two canoes.. bring food.. but it's possible, because I've done it. (Better yet, learn RIDE as an early priority.) By taking the canoes, you will be inconveniencing the trolls who like to use them to hide on the Underground River. 2. Combat There are two situations I know of in which low-level players can obtain valuable items by combat. a. Gorcrows. These scavenger birds eat anything, included the possessions and coins of unfortunates who die in the swamps. If you see one, slay it fast! Con it first, I've forgotten its exact level. The wooden wall shield I am carrying now, I found in the corpse of a gorcrow. b. Mercenaries. These unpleasant creatures are always ready for a fight and have chosen to live by the sword. Therefore I believe it is not wrong to challenge them. However, the mercenary is NOT a citizen of Bree. Therefore, if a Cityguard notices the fight, he will interfere in your defense and kill the mercenary. It spoils the fun (although you can group the Cityguard), but you can get the mercenary's stiletto. This works even if you flee during the fight. Risks: the cityguards are sometimes a bit slow and may walk off without interfering. In that case, flee and go stand by a nearby cityguard (at a gate, say) or follow one. When the mercenary finds you, he will remember you and attack you, giving the guard another chance. This trick takes some nerve, I admit.. 3. Selling items a. Getting the best price. I don't know about clothing, but the best price for weapons is paid at the weapon shop in Tookbank - MUCH better than the Bree Weaponsmith, who buys at about 20% of his selling price. In order that the Tookbank merchant may have enough money to trade with, I urge everyone to BUY their weapons there when they have to. b. "The store is closed." This is an OPPORTUNITY for you. People will come in, swear, and drop their weapons. If you have the patience to wait for day, you can be the one to sell them. Or if you need a weapon, this is the time to buy one cheap from someone in a hurry. c. "The storekeeper is out of money." Very frustrating. Use patience. HIDE the stuff until later, then try to REVEAL it. (see the help files for those commands) No, don't hide them right there in the shop! Everyone searches there. Find some obscure place. Your chance of finding it later is maybe 60% per intervening reboot (a guess) - better than nothing. Also, this is another chance to buy weapons at superbargain prices, if you're sure you can wait until the storekeeper has more. 4. Little Jobs I think low-level players should be given more opportunities to earn money by doing services for middle- and high-level players. Try to be creative yourself. I know that if I were about to leave for a dangerous orc hunt and someone said "I'll sit in Bree and hold your moneybag until you get back, for a service charge", I would seriously consider it. When you learn RIDE well, you will be in a position to go round up a horse. Right now I can find a free horse near Bree about 80% of time. But suppose more low-levels knew RIDE? Suppose they snapped up the horses as soon as they regenerated? And suppose I couldn't find a horse, and you told me, "You can have MINE for 5 silver"? I would probably pay it. More if I were in a hurry. 5. Other Players In general you should try to get your own money and exhibit self- reliance. But you won't always be lucky, and will sometimes have to turn to other players for help. Please remember though that nobody is OBLIGED to help you. Your own life is YOUR responsibility, not anyone else's. If nobody answers, there could be many reasons for that. The orcs may have stolen all OUR money. Or we may have given money to five other needy people in the last day. Or we may be at the other end of the earth, hunting orcs, fighting spirits, etc. etc. a. Friendships with higher-level players. Actually there are about fifty reasons to get to know higher-level players, only one of which is that they will help you out with money if you need it and the orcs haven't taken theirs. These relationships should not be established on the basis of your need for money. You should ask for information and advice anyway. If you narrate "Is there an experienced [class] who has a minute free to give me some advice?", you will probably get some response. You may be offered money without asking; at least you may get valuable ideas! Here as elsewhere, if you come off as a mere beggar or con artist, people will feel harassed by you. But if you are sincere and approach people on the basis of mutual respect, you may establish a friendship which is beyond price. b. Outright begging. This should be your last resort, but there is a time for it: orcs have killed you and taken your gold, you have retrieved your stuff, your rent is 5 silver, you don't have a cent, and you have to log off in 5 minutes. Well, explain your predicament. Narrate "Excuse me: orcs took my purse and I really need 5 silver for rent." I think you'll almost certainly get it. But be specific and reasonable about what you want. Don't ask for two gold or a free longsword. And don't scream in an undignified way, full of exclamation points and shift lock, spamming the narrate with "HELP A NEWBIE!!!!! PLEEEEEZE!!!!" Nobody will react positively to this. Or to insults like, "Isn't anyone friendly?? Thanks a lot! NOT! This MUD sux!!" and so forth. Some people will say, "All that sounds like a lot of work. Killing hobbits is much easier." This is probably true. But if one wanted everything easy, why would one live in Arda at all? There are easier worlds, I've heard. Persons who take the life of crime are creating themselves as a certain type of character, as they are free to do. But then the rest of us will act towards them as our characters dictate. Persons who act lawfully, despite the obstacles, will be able to call for assistance on myself and many others in Arda, and that assistance will be freely given to the limits of our abilities.