Vendors, the basics
 
  • Tavernkeepers and Innkeepers sell a "contract of employment". This contract of employment costs about 1500 gp and can be turned into a Vendor later.
  • To create the Vendor, take the contract inside a 'public' building you own (or are a friend of), and use it (double-click).
  • The Vendor will be created at the exact spot you are standing when you double-click the contract of employment.
  • The Vendor will be created with a random name and gender. All Vendors initially wear the same clothes, which may differ only in color.
  • A Vendor cannot be moved once it is placed.
  • Only the placer of the Vendor can be the owner. You cannot share a Vendor with friends.
  • Vendors will only be eligible to remain in the house if you are the owner or a friend, and will pack up automatically if their owner visits them and is not a friend.
  • Double-clicking a vendor you own brings up a window offering two options: "Customize" and "See Goods." Selecting "See Goods" displays the contents of the vendor backpack. Selecting the "Customize" option opens a menu system through which you may customize your vendor. Customization options include:
    • Clothing Style (for shirts, hats, pants, and so forth)
    • Hair Style and Facial Hair (if any)
    • Hand-Held Items (such as fishing poles or spellbooks)
    • Clothing Color
    If you are not the owner of the vendor, double-clicking him opens the vendor's backpack.
  • To maintain a Vendor you will have to pay it.
  • The maintenance fee for a Vendor starts with 20 gp per 8 hours playing time. The minimum fee per real day is therefor 60 gp.
  • The more items you have for sale on your Vendor, the higher the maintenance fee will be.
  • For each 500 gp worth of merchandise the Vendor will charge 1 gp maintenance fee per 8 hours. (Example: With a base fee of 20 gp and 5500 gp of merchandise for sale the Vendor will charge 20 + ((5500-500)/500) = 30 gp per 8 hours).
  • If the vendor's owner is a murderer, the rent will be calculated as: rent = rent * number of owner's murder counts.
  • If a vendor is on Siege Perilous, the rent is multiplied by three (this is cumulative with the above values).
  • If a player has not paid the vendor fee, or rent, the vendor will take the rent fee out of the money it has earned from sales. If the rent has not been paid and there is no money left from sales, the vendor will destroy itself, along with any goods on the vendor at that time.
  • A Vendor responds to several Vendor Commands.
  • Currently a maximum of 100 vendors per house is allowed.
  • A Vendors backpack has the same weight and item count restrictions as a regular backpack. (i.e. 400 stones / 125 items max.)
  • To offer an item for sale just drop it in the opened backpack of the Vendor. The Vendor will then ask for a price and description. You then have several options:
    • Enter only a price if you do not wish to add a description. Example: 1000
    • Enter a price and description, separated by a space or comma, to set both. Example: 1000, a wand of identification with 200 charges
    • Enter only a description if you want the system to set a default price. Example: a handcrafted stack of kindling
    • Press the ESC key to make the item 'not for sale'. (Note: only books, containers, key rings and items within a for-sale container can be made 'not for sale')
    Note: If you are unable to put a price on items you drop in the backpack then it is best to replace the vendor with a fresh one by using the "replace" command. This will remove your old bugged vendor and give you a new vendor deed in your backpack. Make sure to empty the old vendors backpack and "collect" all gold first.
  • Regular items that you try to make 'not for sale' will be priced automatically by the system.
  • If you want to sell a set of items as one you should put all items in a container and then drop that container in the backpack of a Vendor and give it a price and description. The individual items in the container will be 'not for sale'.
  • To buy an item off a Vendor say "[name] buy", where [name] is the name of the Vendor. You will get a targeting cursor that allows you to select the item you wish to purchase.
  • After selecting an item to purchase from a Vendor, you will be given a message that tells you the item name and the cost associated with it. You can then either accept or cancel the transaction.
  • While the message is on your screen, the Vendor owner will not be able to move the item or change its price. The message will time-out in 60 seconds.
  • Vendors will be able to give the gold they are holding to their owners in bank check form if the amount is between 4999 gold and 1 million gold. If the gold amount being held for the player by the vendor is between 4999 and 1 million gold, the vendor will hand this to the owner in the form of a bank check (as long as the vendor is actually carrying this amount). If the amount is less equal to or less then 4999 gold then the vendor will hand the owner the amount in gold form. If the gold held by the vendor is more than 1 million gold, the vendor will retain the amount over 1 million gold until the next request for gold is made by the player.