Locksmith pool

The locksmith pool is a new system that lets players drop off boxes and plinites for locksmiths to open. The goal of this system is to reduce the usage of the NPC Townsmith and increase usage of player locksmiths.

Locations

Locksmith pool NPC locations by town

Town	Room Name and Location	NPC Description (and Name, If Any)	Status of Node	Prime Lich Room #	Plat Lich Room #	Shattered Lich Room #
Cysaegir	[Locksmithery, Side Room] (within Hihaeim's Locksmithery)	a slender aelotoi woman (Hihaein)	Supernode	28718	27021
Icemule Trace	[Tavern Burrow, Ale Street] (the well)	a shivering burghal gnome boss (unnamed)	Supernode	2400	2400
Kharam-Dzu	[Adventurers' Rest, Deck] (building west of the statue)	a disheveled dwarven attendant (unnamed)	Supernode	12537	12537
Mist Harbor	[Western Harbor, Docks] (two northwest of the fountain supernode in Western Harbor)	a pudgy forest gnome attendant (Topsy)	Supernode	17589	17589
River's Rest	[Lalena's Box Emporium] (inside a tent in the Commons Circle)	a slender half-elven woman (Lalena)	Supernode	28717	27023
Solhaven (Marshtown)	[Fat Jahck's] (a dull, lifeless black door in Bog Alley)	the proprieter Jahck	Supernode	5728, then go black door	27024
Ta'Illistim	[Shadowed Alcove] (inside the Pig and Whistle)	a small greasy gnome (Fredar)	Supernode	18687	27025
Ta'Vaalor	[Ta'Vaalor, King's Court] (dock area)	a well-dressed elven merchant (Rhind)	Supernode	3544	3544
Wehnimer's Landing	[Land Tower East, Office]	a scruffy human worker (unnamed)	Supernode	3807	3807
Zul Logoth	[Zul Logoth, Emerald Tunnel]	a shady looking dwarf		5751	5751

Using the Locksmith Pool as a Customer

In order to deposit a box or plinite into the pool for another character to pick the lock or extract the core, the syntax is either GIVE <NPC> <tip amount> or GIVE <NPC> <tip amount> PERCENT. The first tips a flat amount of silvers while the second will tip a percentage of the value of the silvers and gems within the box or a percentage of value of the shard of plinite (excluding the value of the core). With either of these commands, the silvers must be in the character's inventory and paid upfront. They are forfeited regardless of if the item is unlocked later. Characters may then leave the area and return when they are ready to see the status of their items.

Upon return, ASK <NPC> FOR LIST to see all the items that have been added to the pool as well as their current status. ASK <NPC> TO RETURN # (where the # is from the LIST command) to retreive the item (remembering that you will lose the tip if you return the item before it is opened). You may also return the first finished item from your queue with ASK <NPC> FOR RETURN. Each item completed via the locksmith pool will give the customer 10 long-term experience upon receipt of the item, up to a maximum of 250 long-term experience per day.

Customers using the locksmith pool can deposit up to 100 items in the pool at any given time.

Other items of note:

• Only boxes looted from creatures (and not relocked) and plinite can be added to the pool.
• Plinite will be destroyed if the locksmith fails to properly EXTRACT them.
• When using the PERCENT tip option for plinite, it only gives a percentage of the value of the shard which is often artificially low when compared to the value of the shard and core.

Using the Locksmith Pool as a Locksmith

In order to retrieve an item from the locksmith pool, the locksmith must have 10 or more ranks in lockpicking. Then, the locksmith must go to the location of the NPC in their current town and ASK <NPC> FOR JOB. The pool checks the lock difficulty to see if it falls within the possible range for the locksmith (see below formula). If it does, the NPC will place the item on a table where the syntax is <locksmith's name>'s <item noun>. Rogues have priority on removing items from the pool for ten minutes before they become generally available to all other classes.

When a suitable item has been removed from the pool for the locksmith to work on, the locksmith may DISARM and PICK like they would normally. The contents of the item are entirely inaccessible to the locksmith; the items themselves are duplicates created solely for the purpose of the pool and cannot be opened, looked into, or removed from the table. There is a limit to the number of items a locksmith can pull from the pool within a ten minute timeframe. The number of items permitted changes based upon the total number in the pool.

Formulae Associated with the Locksmith Pool

Item	Minimum Difficulty Assigned	Maximum Difficulty Assigned
Locked boxes	Picking Locks Bonus + Dexterity Bonus + copper lockpick modifier + d1	Picking Locks Bonus + Dexterity Bonus + vaalin lockpick modifier + Lock Pick Enhancement (403) [if known] + d90
Plinite	((Disarm Traps Bonus + Picking Locks Bonus) / 2) + Dexterity Bonus + copper lockpick modifier + d1	((Disarm Traps Bonus + Picking Locks Bonus) / 2) + Dexterity Bonus + vaalin lockpick modifier + Lock Pick Enhancement (403) [if known] + d90

Each box that comes out of the pool will also inform the locksmith of where the box came from:

The worker says, "Ah, here we are.  The client is offering a tip of 50 silvers and mentioned it being from a wood sprite (level 38).  The coffer is setup up on the table for you.  When you're finished, ASK me to CHECK your work."

Other items of note:

• Phantom difficulty is added to boxes every 15 minutes as soon as the box is added in order to move it into a difficulty level where another locksmith could open it. This does not change the actual difficulty level, but rather just makes the box available to someone for whom the box would otherwise not have met the minimum threshold to pull from the pool.
• Locksmiths keep all scarabs.
• The queue is ordered by highest tip to lowest tip as to what order items are assigned to locksmiths, as long as the item is within the locksmiths' difficulty range (with or without phantom ranks).
• Plated boxes will only be distributed to rogues that have knowledge of wedge creation from lock mastery or if the locksmith knows Unlock (407). Characters with no skills that allow them to open enruned or mithril plated boxes won't receive them.
• The items on the work tables stay for an unspecified amount of time and then assume they are abandoned and get sent back into the locksmith pool.
• If you can't get a read on a lock using your best pick, it is likely that your best pick has been broken and repaired too many times. Replace it or have it checked by a rogue with lock mastery finished.

Completing the Job

Once an item has been successfully disarmed (if applicable) and the lock has been picked or the core has been extracted, the locksmith can ASK <NPC> FOR CHECK. At that time, the NPC will exchange the box for the specified tip.

If the job is incomplete (i.e., the item was unlocked without a scale trap being disarmed, the trap was disarmed but the lock was not picked, or the plinite exploded) and the locksmith asks for a check, then there is a penalty to the locksmith where another job cannot be pulled from the pool for a period of time. In addition to this, the item that the locksmith has removed from and returned to the pool does count for their limit of how many items can be pulled from the pool per a ten minute time span. There is no time penalty for skipping a needle trap.

If the locksmith pulls an item from the pool and returns it without attempting to disarm or unlock it, the locksmith may return the item using the same ASK <NPC> FOR CHECK. There will be no time penalty for returning the item, but it will still count towards the number of items per ten minute time span.

Commands

• GIVE <NPC> <tip amount>
• GIVE <NPC> <tip amount> PERCENT
• ASK <NPC> FOR HELP
• ASK <NPC> ABOUT BOXES
• ASK <NPC> FOR LIST
• ASK <NPC> TO RETURN
• ASK <NPC> FOR JOB
• ASK <NPC> FOR CHECK

Resources

• Saved posts