I haven't seen a Templar, so they must all be dead!

[Krath]

I can imagine if I was a merchant and people started to vent to me icly because they were pissed OOC about it..I would bring new terms to the words Asshole of a Merchant :-D

[Ix Machina]

I'd like to add one more thing, and this, again, follows along with my previous, and Ashyom's well-put post. It is on the subject of custom-designed items and specialty-rare items.

Recently, I've noticed a huge upsurge in requests for specifically-designed custom items. Most of these items only are loaded one or two times, for one or two specific people. Many times, these items are for nobility or for templars, or the people who work for them. In order to have one custom item built, it is necessary to build the item, have it looked over, then edit it, then have it approved. (I don't think I'm giving away any arcane immortal secrets. And I didn't tell you anything about the time it takes to scribe a ritual summoning circle in goat urine to summon up the highlords who approve items  :twisted: ) This is a process that every item in the game (or nearly) has had to go through, and it is time consuming, for both builder and approver, although this time is reflected in the quality of the objects that make it in the game.

Why do I bring this up? Because the silk pants with smiley-face trim that Lord Fancypants ordered specifically tailored for him which he will, in likelyhood wear once, then throw into a closet to never see the light of day, takes just as much time to build and approve as a spear that would be available to -everyone-. In simplest terms: for every specific, custom-made object in the game that enriches one pc's small existance, takes the exact effort as an item that enriches the whole mud.

While most clan imms don't mind making a custom item here or there, it becomes time consuming when we receive requests for ten custom items a month (even 5 a week at times). That's ten objects that could have been added into the game available to everyone that weren't built. While there is definitely a 'wow'-factor in owning a custom-designed/built object, when you are constantly insisting on them from IG merchants, you end up pulling builders away from things that benefit everyone, not just yourself.

As Ashyom, I have also instigated rules for custom items, which have been made stricter in accordance with an obscene influx of custom goods.

Normal items which are easily crafted/pulled from the warehouse take about a month IG time to deliver, give or take what the order is. If it's larger or has to be matched, it might take a little longer. If it's a nice set of non-custom armor/weaponry, it will take even longer than that... depending on the crafters and if the items are 'in stock'. Expect at least two months. If it gets to you before that, well, good for you, the items were available sooner. Certain goods are on a 'time release' because they are -always- made to order and only a specific amount are released at a time. We will not load these items faster no matter how much you beg/plead/threaten/become frustrated. Custom items are now backlogged and take a minimum of two years. Remember, you are not the only one ordering things and even vnpc crafters are busy crafting hundreds of items to supply to 2 citystates and other smaller villages and outposts.

None of these times are set in stone. They are simply an average and can change on a month to month basis.

As in ashyom's example about the green leather, you'd be surprised at how often that is the case. It quickly becomes frustrating to both merchant, and I think to the clan immortal when we run into situations like that, end there ends up being 3 suits of green armor with only slightly different adjectives to differentiate.

[Anonymous]

What makes Nenyuk PCs seem more unavailable than other clan's merchants is a noticeable lack of PC employees for Nenyuk.  I've played a Nenyuki aide and it was fun, but there hasn't ever been a large base of PC's that I've seen.  In other clans the number of PC employees make up for availability issues by relaying messages and items, bridging between different playtimes.

But what can be done?  There's really not a whole lot that a Nenyuki employee can do, and certainly not enough to keep 3-4 PCs active enough to span most hours of the day.  Maybe things have changed, but unless they have I'd say that's the biggest problem with any perceptions about Nenyuki availability.  No underlings to relay messages.

[Jacques]

I had a character wait several IG years once, saving up the money for a custom piece of jewelry (an earring). He then waited several MORE IG years to find a merchant PC to take his custom order, and paid the considerable fee for the item. I, the player, wrote up the item completely, and forwarded it to the clan imm. Over six IG years later, I run into the merchant PC and ask him why I was never contacted about my item. He had forgotten the order even existed. ICly I was very, very upset. I never did get it.

What can be done about it? Well, ICly not a whole lot. I would suggest, however, that a little OOC communication (on both our parts) might have turned this disaster into something worthwhile. After, say, one or two IG years, an appropriately-placed PM or email might have reminded someone "Hey... there was that thing I was supposed to do, or at least come up with an excuse for..." This is not to say that people should nag. However, I think that a lot of the problems come from relying TOO MUCH on IC communication. We can't be on all the time our characters are - to overcome this very OOC problem, an OOC solution would seem to be appropriate. We're just all so used to the fantastic RP and absolute IC focus of the game that sometimes (me especially) we forget that we can just PM or email someone, if we know who they are. When all else fails, there's always the clan imm. Something as simple as giving someone a REASON for the delay, RP'd as though relayed by a VNPC messenger, could at least give people something IC to complain about. For example:

Stupid fecking gith... raided the caravan with the silk for my new sexy boxer shorts. Now I won't have them for my wedding night.

Or whatever. I realize some people aren't going to like the idea of handling problems like this OOCly, and SOME method of OOC communication will need to be established. But would having a clan-specific GDB account to send PMs to, or asking merchants to make a specific contact account, be too much to ask? It would certainly help in problems like those described.

[Ix Machina]

In such a case as the above, a friendly email to the clan immortal (not the player, but the clan immortal), cc'ing the mud account, is sufficient. If it's something where the player or immortal forgot (noone is perfect, and please bear in mind, for merchants, the role of 'merchant' soon becomes a job in and of itself), this is usually a sufficient reminder.

Please do not consider this a license to repeatedly email the immortal every two days asking where the custom sword/hat/whack-a-mole-game you ordered is and when it's going to be delivered, but if some period of time has gone by (say 2 IG years) and you havent' been able to speak to someone in game about the order, then that's a good time to drop a line to a clan immortal.

If it makes you feel any better, just remember that you're not the only one. And yes, it is frustrating.. why.. I remember one character I had was ordered to design a pair of custom items for someone and as a thank you, order something for themselves that said first party would pay for. I also wrote up all three items and sent them in, patiently waiting. My pc waited a good 5 years, while the said first party ended up dying anyhow. Finally, I retired the pc. I found out later that the items were indeed made. Why they were never delivered, I still have no idea and have moved on to bigger and better things.

So it's happened to all of us, but luckily, I think we're all capable of moving on from it.

[JollyGreenGiant]

Why buy a whack-a-mole game when you can play whack-an-elf?

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Also, and I think this is an important thing to note, PCs die. A lot of those folks who order special items never live to see them. I know that this was pointed out to me one time when I ordered a special item and, impatient with the delay, e-mailed the clan Immortal at that time. It is a waste of time to create a special item for a dead PC. It is also annoying.

The Immortals have certianly brought up a good point with the lack of technology assocciated with the crafting of any item. There are no factories, no awesome machines of mass production. ICly, every single red dress with black trim is different, even though OOCly, they are the same dress.

Just a viewpoint to be considered.

[My 2 sids]

Just an idea here... but if "everyone" seems to be wanting spechal orders, maybe the merchants could take another look at what they keep in stock?  Maybe we could take out some of the old stuff (hey, these nobles have passed... no use having junk sit and rot in a closet)  And keep a bit more loaded.  

I mean, take Kadius for example.  The stores change color patterns.  Fine, but then you have to expect if suddenly there is a new noble pc X and large influx of X servents... they are going to need clothes even if the only thing avalible has the colors of house Z.

[flurry]

I think part of the appeal of special items is that they're not in shops, though, but I see your point.

Also I imagine the immortals for those houses would be happy to get submissions for new items for the shops.

[Seeker]

The last time this issue came up, I remember reading some good advice.

If I were a PC who had plans on getting some cool stuff from a Merchant House, I sure as hell wouldn't approach a House representative demanding service.

PC Merchants are usually so jammed with cash that money is not really much of an incentive to them.  They are usually well-connected Family members, or the very best and most profitable craftsmen in the Known World.  They  can pick and choose their customers and their orders.  VNPCs and the shops will keep the Merchant House running, and most of a Merchant PCs off-line time can be considered as being used for sales and stuff.

There is really no reason for a Merchant PC to have to deal with my character, unless I give him one.  Staff deliberately seeks to limit the availability of many items, so brow-beating a Merchant PC will only make it less likely for me to get my coveted goodies.  I need the Merchant PC to be on my side.

The answer is to coodle and smooze with them.  If you want them to do favors for you with their Houses, you had better give them a reason to want to.  

Even nobles do not command the services of the Merchant Houses.  If a PC Merchant finds it a pain to deal with Lord Fancypants, he is being entirely reasonable in leaving that Lord to harass and belittle the shop keeper or one of the other of dozens of (virtual) Merchants instead.

And as far as sleezy hunters and commoners... forget about it.  Unless you work very hard to make friends, or offer services they can't buy with their wads of money someplace else, they have better opportunities then dealing with you.  Just the way it is.

Its a seller's market.... and hundreds of thousands of people are begging, grovelling, enticing, bribing and cajooling for the Merchant Houses finest goods and services.  Why should a Merchant PC have to put up with my crap?  They don't.  And they don't.

Seeker

[Angela Christine]

I think more one-off items in shops would make shop merchandise more atractive.  Like there used to be a shop that sold a pair of boots with sheathes built in for under 100 'sids, but the catch was that they only ever had one pair in stock, just one pair per reboot.  Sometimes I'd have a character that wanted that kind of boots, but I might have to wait up to a couple weeks for there to be a pair available, unless I got lucky and logged in right after a reboot.  I'd like to see items like this in all the shops.

Salaar might have a 500 'sid fancy greatsword in stock, but just one, and once it is bought it is gone.  Next Saturday they might change it, and that week the one-off items would a 200 'sid great axe and a 1500 'sid jeweled dagger.  Kadius might have a coupe fancy gowns, shoes or jewery items.  Kurac could have ... Kuraci type items.  

It wouldn't even have to be loaded into inventory the usual way (whatever that is) if that would be too complicated.  Instead the imm could periodically create an item, give it to an NPC, have the NPC walk into the appropriate shop, and "offer <item> 1".  The shop will happily accept that offer, and now it has a rare item availble.  The nice thing about doing it this way is that the rare items don't necessarily all appear in shops Saturday night, so the Reboot Race Stratagy wouldn be ineffective.

This would give people a better idea of what unusual items are available for special order, put some of those forgotten or long ago special ordered items back into circulation, and give people a chance to get something unusual without hounding a PC vender for weeks or months.  You still couldn't get a whole matched set of things, you'd need to order for that, but you could something.


AC

[sacac]

AHH! I hate kadian shops.. I mean come on.. I probably like that one color.. but I would like to see more
In the past I have ordered a lot of special items. And only lived to get a couple.
And I would like that by AC.. you know.. that might be useful for everyshop that is freequented by PC's.. why
because it could be those lone commoners that are having to sell thier items from the great wars and junk