Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Lesson #2: Show Me The Money

Next lesson for Mom -- all about vendors, and (oh noes!) homework!
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Hi Mom! So now you've been introduced to your Hearthstone and know to keep it always accessible in your bag. You also know how to set your Hearthstone to any new inn, and to basically take very good care of it because it even might save your character's life!

So now we move on to Vendors.

Vendors are NPC's (Non-Player Characters) who want to sell you stuff. We like them because if we didn't have food, water, and useful items, then this game would be a lot harder! Occasionally vendors also sell you stuff you need for quests. So get to know your local vendors!

The best way to learn about vendors is to interact with them. So this lesson has some homework attached.

Right now Jolynne should be in Thunderbrew Distillery Inn, because you were a good mother and set your Hearthstone there before you logged out. So what I want you to do is wander around and interact with the vendors at the inn.

For your homework:

Find the Innkeeper. Right-click on him. After some standard greeting text, he will give you the following options:

-Make this Inn your home.
-Let me browse your goods. (You're saying that to him. He's not getting fresh. It's okay.)
-What can I do at an inn?

Click the second option (Let me browse your goods). This brings up a table with a list of stuff you can buy and at what prices. To buy something, right-click on the item you want. That puts it in your bag and automatically subtracts the cost from your available coins.

Don't know how much money you're carrying? Just open your bag and look at the very bottom. You will see some numbers beside a silver-grey dot and a brown dot. The silver dot stands for silver coins, and the number in front of it tells you how much silver you have. The number in front of the brown dot tells you how much copper (pennies) you have. Later on you will get gold coins, represented by a yellow dot. If you can't find a silver dot, it means you have no silver yet. (100 copper is equal to 1 silver, and 100 silver is equal to 1 gold. The game automatically "trades up" for you, so if you get your 100th copper coin then it simply exchanges it for 1 silver coin right in your bag.)

All the items listed by the Innkeeper have a similar set-up to tell you how much any item is. For example:

The innkeeper has something for sale called Rhapsody Malt. This is a fancy name for a type of beer (dwarves all love their beer!). The price is 48 copper for one mug. Below that is a waterskin of Refreshing Spring Water. The price for that is 24 copper for FIVE waterskins. You can tell it's for five because there is the numeral 5 right on the waterskin in the picture. So now you know that if you want to quench your thirst, water costs a whole lot less than Rhapsody Malt!

The drinks are at the top of the list, food is at the bottom. Right-click on any item to buy it. In general, food restores your hit points (health) when you eat it, and drinks restore your mana (the ability to do magic or, in Jolynne's case, aim her gun and do some fancy fighting moves). Run out of health and you die, run out of mana and you can't fight. So you want to keep them topped up. They are represented by the green health bar and the blue mana bar beside your character's portrait. If the whole bar is green or blue, then you are topped up.

Any item in RED you CANNOT buy yet. These items scale by level, or in some cases, by abilities. For instance, you would not be able to buy a sword because you have not yet learned how to use one.

Sometimes different vendors sell some of the same stuff. This is just for convenience.

Homework:
Please log on to Jolynne and do the following:

1) Check your bags. Tell me how much coin you are carrying.
2) Buy at least 5 of Refreshing Spring Water from the Innkeeper.
3) Buy at least 5 of Tough Hunk of Bread from the Innkeeper.
4) Click the option "What can I do at an inn?" and read it. It's mostly what I said but it's good for review.
5) Find the General Supplies vendor (also at the inn). Tell me the FIRST item he has for sale on his list.
6) From the same vendor, buy a stack of 200 Light Shot (these are bullets for your gun).
7) Also in the same inn, find the Cooking Trainer. Tell me where he is.

Bonus Question: What is the NPC named Jarven Thunderbrew holding in his hand? He is not a vendor but he will show up in a quest later on. (HINT: There is a basement in the inn, accessible by a set of stairs behind a large table.)

Good luck Mom! :)

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