Tools of the Trade
by Kwahevoda

This piece is intended as a learning guide for beginner players and is the first in a series of such articles.

That time of the year has arrived once again in the lands of Medievia. The color of the leaves are turning…sort of… the trees are getting bare…not really, but we can pretend… the mob factions are stalking us at every turn, grateful for their thick coats. Fall, the time of fresh sets of newblets attempting to make their way through the wide world of Medievia.

In an effort to do my civic duty and help these budding heroes, I will be doing a small selection of articles to try to help through basics for some of the MLRs (Multi Level Requirements) that shall be faced.

As the reader has, hopefully, figured out, this one shall be touching upon trade runs. With my esteemed wisdom, which shall be shoved forcefully through your eyes, here are some steps to get started with and guidelines to tattoo into the back of your hand for references.

Before you undertake your first run, I suggest reading some of the help files the gods have placed to teach you a bit about the hazards you’ll run into. Some of the ones I fully recommend perusing through would be: HELP FOG (self-explanatory), HELP DM (the program sending stuff to make this trade harder), HELP MF (the stuff it sends at you), and HELP FIRE (sadly, a byproduct of some of the MFs or from random lightning strikes during storms). These will help give you a basic overview of what you may be up against during your journeys. Another idea would be to read the other help files that go with them (under the SEE ALSO: at the bottom of the pages).

Yay, more reading on a text-based game.

Aside from those, the biggest point to remember is to trade INSIDE YOUR MEANS!!!

That means if you are a triple level 20, you should not be attempting to solo from Trellor to Lyryanoth, or vice versa. Learn what your RISK range should be, and keep to that area. The farther away from Medievia city you are, the harder the mobs the DM throws into your path will be. If, however, you simply must go from a far away point for more profit, build up a good form that will travel with you! This way, you will all do a share to earn profit from the mob factions as well as when you sell your freight at the end.

Before beginning the perilous adventure, it is imperative that you select your destination and your starting point. I suggest downloading and installing a TRADE VALUE SCRIPT (which can be found on darknomads.com) and carefully choosing the ending point within your risk range. Read the help file and allow it to value for it, perhaps choosing one of the closer and less profitable trades in order to get your feet wet, so to speak, with the DM.

Once completed, it is now time to head to an inn and select your steed! The one most easily recognized and accessible is the one just northeast of the city of Medievia, a tad north of Haven. Explore it a bit until you come to the stables, where your two choices are the Morgan or Appaloosa. Both have had their time to shine, but it’s up to you to do the testing to find out which you’d prefer.

Now that you have your noble steed, head over to your starting point trade post and select your freight container. Make sure you have at least 150,000 gold coins on you, perhaps a few more just in case you get an evil dragon lusting after your blood. Once arriving at the trading point, typing LIST shows you all the modes of transportation as well as what the goods is at that particular location. Usually, a COVERED wagon is what is called for, since it holds the most bulk amount! Please, when buying your reights, do NOT do “buy nameofitem” numerous times, a much more efficient way is to simply try “buy 100 nameofitem” and it’ll either buy all 100 at once, or tell you the exact amount of that good that will fit into your wagon.

Okay, now you’re ready to roll! You have your noble steed, you have your overloaded wagon, and you have an urge to make money! Away you go…but to where? You know the location, you know where you are now, but do you know how to get from point A to point B? No worries, the gods have in their benevolent mercy granted us mere mortals with GUIDES! At ever intersection where there is the ability to take a covered wagon on more than one route, there is an unkillable mob waiting to give directions to anyone with the gumption to ask. All you have to do is bite back your pride and “say where location” (IE- if heading to Elwyn, the command would be say where elwyn) and out pops the direction just for you one the route to take at that point in time.

As you’re trucking, well galloping I suppose, along, make sure you keep an eye on the more fickle things of Med, such as the weather. You’re outside and the elements can be harsh, keep an eye on the road and in the sky. Never knowing what may be lurking around the bend, keep your spells up and watch for the warnings. Many of the mobs that you come across that wish to keep you from completing the run also come with warning signs to allow you a few moments to prepare.

At the very end, as you engage in a celebration dance for making it all the way to your goal, two key commands to keep in mind: SELL ALL and SELL COVERED. This way, we once again don’t get stuck with the spam of selling each piece of the freight and you don’t get an ugly imp waggling its finger at you over the wagon you abandoned.

No matter how much you read or take notes on this, nothing will teach you more than simply trying it. Don’t be afraid to try leading, don’t be afraid die, don’t be afraid to do smaller trade runs to get used to the routes and the dangers, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be the person who ALWAYS relies on others for everything during a run, trading is meant to be a way to EARN money. Take the time to learn your own tricks of the trade. If you’re worried about the trip, invite others! Who knows, maybe you’ll make some new friends and all become trade-run buddies.