Mail system

This system is not yet implemented and may currently be under development. Information presented in this article is subject to change.

The mail system, spearheaded by GameMaster Auchand, was activated on the Test server on September 27, 2021. Things are changing rapidly and may not be accurate on this page. Please feel free to edit and update any changes. Once the system is released on Prime or Platinum, please remove this warning.

Summary

In order to mail something you need a stamp and either an envelope or a package. There is a cost for the stamp, for the envelope or package, and a per pound cost. There is also a tax on COD deliveries that the sender pays.

Stamps

Stamps are a separate purchase. They control the cost and speed. You can purchase Standard (taupe, 60 minute delivery), Express (light pink, 20 minute delivery), and First Class (mint green, immediate delivery) stamps.

>look stampbook
The stampbook is a stampbook holding 10 first class stamps.  First class mail arrives very swiftly, but is expensive.

You can PULL the stampbook to produce a small mint green stamp.

The choice was made to have stamps in order to set the speed of the delivery, cost of delivery, and also to make the commands less unwieldy to use.

Signets and Wax

At this time, the mail system does not work with existing stationery, signets, and waxes. You must buy them separately. A work around, however, is to use all of your existing stationery pieces and place them into a package.

When using the official mail system wax, you will see the below messaging.

>put wax on package
After placing your black and gold wax on your burlap-covered package, you press your steel signet ring into the wax.  Heat blossoms momentarily over the surface of your ring and it presses into the softened wax, leaving behind a seal.
You have 9 pieces left of your wax.

>look package
A thick burlap-covered package is a parcel meant for sending items to other adventurers.

A blob of black and gold wax is affixed to the package.  It is imprinted with a seal depicting a whiny airship owner.

COD

You cannot mail a package with a negative delivery amount.

>mail send arianiss cod -50000
You must specify a payment-on-delivery amount that is greater than zero.

• If someone does not accept the package, you can use MAIL RETRIEVE.
• There is a 2% tax for COD deliveries. The sender pays this.
• The maximum amount for COD is 250 million silvers.

Steps

Visit the post office one west of Town Center in Icemule Trace to test.

1. Buy a stampbook. PULL a stamp from the stampbook.
2. Buy a package.
3. Put a stamp on the package.
4. Put something in the package.
5. Close the package.
6. Send.

Commands

• Insert pretty list of commands used here bulleted with VERB
• VERB NAME - example of what it does

MAIL

Note: Once live, this will need to be created on its own page and can be transcluded in.

Usage:

    MAIL CHECK                    - checks your received mail
    MAIL COLLECT {stamp #}        - collects an parcel mailed to you
    MAIL DND {on|off}             - toggles do not disturb on or off
    MAIL RETRIEVE {stamp #}       - retrieves a sent parcel that the recipient has not picked up
    MAIL ESTIMATE {item}          - estimates the cost of sending the designated item
    MAIL REJECT {stamp #}         - returns a mail item to its sender
    MAIL SEND {name}              - send the item in your hands (prioritizing right)
                                    to the designated person's mailbox
    MAIL SEND {name} COD {amount} - sends mail, requests payment on delivery
    MAIL STATUS                   - checks the status of your sent mail

MAIL COLLECT

This defaults to the top item when used alone.

MAIL DND

>mail dnd on
You are now rejecting all mail sent to you.

Costs

Envelopes: base 300/600/2400 silvers
Packages: base 800/1600/4800 silvers
Per pound: 25/50/200 silvers
Stamps (20): 2500/5000/10000 silvers

Messaging

>put parch in env
You put a snow white parchment in your frost blue envelope.

>close enve
You close a mule-printed frost blue envelope.

>put stamp on enve
You pull an individual stamp out of the stampbook to place on the envelope.
You neatly place a small mint green stamp on the front of a mule-printed frost blue envelope.

>mail send paidreg
You inquire with a mail clerk about sending a mule-printed frost blue envelope to Paidreg.  They say, "Sending the envelope to Paidreg will cost 5,000 silvers based on its weight and priority."

If you're certain you'd like to send a mule-printed frost blue envelope to Paidreg, enter MAIL SEND PAIDREG again within 30 seconds.

>mail send paidreg
The mail clerk takes a mule-printed frost blue envelope from you, along with 5,000 silvers.  They say, "We'll make certain to get this safely to Paidreg.  Don't you worry!"  The clerk places the envelope atop a pile of other parcels.

>mail status
You hail down a mail clerk and ask for the status of parcels that you have sent.  Capably perusing a small ledger, they say, "Ah, yes.  Here you go."  They place the ledger before you.

Stamp #    Sender           Parcel                                           Status
  ---------------  -----------------------------------------------  -----------------
512100001  Paidreg          a mule-printed frost blue envelope               ready for pickup

A courier hurries over to you and says, "I heard the post office might have a package inbound for you.  You may want to check and see if it's been delivered yet."

[Northern Post, Mail Room]
Framed by windows of frosted glass, the front door of the post office allows wintry air to cut through the warmth of the close room.  Beeswax candles sit along the window sills, but they lend more light than heat and perfume the air gently with their honeyed smell.  The real heat source is a blazing coal stove behind the polished pine counter, behind which stands a perfunctory-looking giantman mail clerk.
Obvious exits: east, out

>mail check
You hail down a mail clerk and ask if you have any parcels available for pickup.  After a brief search, they return to you and say, "Ah, yes.  It appears that you've got mail."

Stamp #    Sender           Parcel                                           Sent
  ---------------  -----------------------------------------------  -------------------
512100001  Auchand          a mule-printed frost blue envelope               within the last day

>mail collect 512100001
You inquire with a mail clerk about picking up a parcel.  They disappear for a little while before returning with a mule-printed frost blue envelope, which they hand to you.

>open enve
You tear open your frost blue envelope and pull a snow white parchment from within.

>read parch
A snow white parchment is blank.

FAQ/Comments

This should be codified into the actual article once the system is live. Transferring these via Template:Saved-discord-post to the Mail system/saved_posts page may also be appropriate depending on what is kept for the live system and what is not.

• Now that the system is ready to go, I'll probably work on a system where we can send mail to players on login, yes. - GM Auchand
• The mail system is on the Test instance and I've set up a mailroom in Icemule Trace for testing. I'm not sure if Test is active right now, but I'd like to get some eyes on this before it goes live live. - GM Auchand This is one west of Town Center
• Recipients can be offline at the time of sending. - GM Auchand
• Players looking to have an extra locker will be disappointed. Mailboxes aren't big. GM Auchand
• Right now, the stamp ID system allows 999,999 letters to be sent a year. If it seems like the volume's going to be higher than that, I'll have to make a tweak there. GM Auchand
• So anything you can put into a box, you can send. GM Auchand
• Players can have 25 parcels waiting for them before the mail system starts rejecting parcels. GM Auchand
• Packages can be reused, although I'll probably make them break down over time before release. Envelopes cannot. GM Auchand
• All of the towns will have post offices eventually, but I asked Town GMs to at least get both sides of the Dragonspine covered for immediate release. GM Auchand
• I plan to sell collectible stamps! And stamps control the shipping cost and speed.GM Auchand
• Right now it's going silvers > notes > MH > WL > IMT > SH > TI/TV > Teras > RR > Cysaegir > ZL. GM Auchand
• I could potentially add an ignore list in the future. GM Auchand
• I'll be paying attention to how cluttered the mail tables get. If they do start getting awkwardly large, I'll probably clear things out after a month so they can't be retrieved. Or rejected. GM Auchand

Do existing stationery sets work with the mail system?

• They are not yet. You can put stationery stuff into packages to send them. But... the waxes and signets are their own deal right now. My codeload (I coined it, don't judge me!) is a little heavy right now, so it'll be a bit before any back-conversion gets done. GM Auchand

Will there be mass mail?

• No. Any mass mail is probably going to come from GMs. Like, let's say a GM wants to send a reward to every citizen of IMT that logs in over the next month. That'd be pretty easy to do. GM Auchand

Why don't you use an items value instead of its weight?

• If I had my druthers, an item's value would be charged against rather than its weight, but values are wildly unreliable. GM Auchand
• The 'value' of an item as we track it is all over the place. Otherwise I'd just slap a very low % surcharge on value of all items sent and call it good.GM Auchand

Why do we have to pay a tax on COD? Why is it the value it is?

• Player shops charge a 4% tax. Not to mention rent and all that! GM Auchand