Hi all,

I'm unclear how training works and would appreciate some advice. In Munchen, I arranged to study artifice. I've returned to the inn and selected, for the character in question (Ebhard), "Train or Study"==>"Artifice" from the sub-menu. I then selected "Spend a day....".

TIme passes, but when I check the value for Ebhard's Artifice stat, it remains the same; even after 3 day of training, the value is still 08. Am I missing something?

P.

I think I tried training once, and found it was not worth it since it took so long time - several days. Also, it's not my idea of heroics to sit in a "class room" instead of honing your skills out in the "real world". Nearly all skills improve with practice, especially the weapons skills, and those that don't you rarely need anyway.

"I recommend getting a bunch of money" is the answer to most of the problems in Darklands, I've found.:) Except it doesn't help with the question "How do I get a bunch of money?"

-- Mal

Have a _real good_ alchemist, one that reinvest much of the party's money in potion components. It takes about a year to get him to be a dependable potion-maker. (Alchemy @40-50) Brew up 3 potions (the max that you can make at one go/in one day and you will be raking in about 600-1000 pf in a transaction.

Also, it helps if you have a high-Virtue member that knows St. Agnes. Pray for the character with the highest Charisma/Speak Common combination who will be the party negotiator. St. Agnes adds 10-29 points to that member's Charisma, which in turn will result in @+10-20% in the sale price.

One decent way is to get an assignment from the Medici, etc, to kill a robber-baron. Usually that's worth 10 florin. Head to their castle (it's usually relatively nearby to the assigner's city) and take out the baron (I find laying siege is relatively easy once you are tooled up). Altogether, between the fee and selling off loot, you should get 30 to 40 florin.

P.

There's also the selling off of loot that CAN amount to quite a bit of money. I've got two distinct routines that I follow:
1) Killing bandits in a town. You really do NOT need to sleep at night. It's much more profitable to spend the night bashing thugs and thieves. (Which also boosts your Local Reputation.) Go to a scenic grove and wait for nightfall. Have someone with high Virtue and lots of Divine Favor pray for the party member with the highest Charisma/Speak Common, preferably to a Saint like Agnes or Paul. (They bestow _both_ exceptional fighting skills and boost both Charisma and Speak Common A LOT.) [Make sure that when you go to Market, to make that prayed-for member the party Leader, so he or she will be the one holding the party's purse.] Use side streets (to minimize the chance of running into the Night Watch) and go to the docks (near-100% probability of encountering a party of 4 thugs). Kill them and collect the loot = 4 x V. Leather, L..armor (cloth or padded), and weapons (Clubs = 1 pf, Falchions = 12-15 pf each). Leave by side streets and then go to the docks _again_. By daybreak, you will have collected loot from 5-6 groups of thugs -- which adds up to a tidy amount. Go to Market and sell off the loot. Because you prayed for the party Leader at nightfall -- boosting the Leader's combat skills significantly -- the improved Charisma and Speak Common effects will still be in place until dusk, giving you plenty of time to wheel-and-deal with practically every merchant in town.

2) When going after a raubritter (robber knight), do NOT lay siege. That yields two encounters with parties of men-at-arms returning and the last assault by the raubritter and 5-6 men-at-arms. Instead, wait until nightfall and try to sneak into the castle. You will most likely fail and then have to face a group of a Sergeant (better armor and weapon) and 5-6 men-at-arms. Missile weapons and thrown potions seriously weaken them before they ever come to grips with your party. After defeating them, try to sneak into the castle AGAIN. When you fail again, you will have to face a Sergeant and _4-5_ men-at-arms. Then again it will be only 3-4 men-at-arms. Then 2-3. Then 1-2. Eventually you get to where you are facing only ONE Sergeant and ONE man-at-arms. You can keep on doing that last one over and over endlessly if you want, easily improving the party's weapon skills and adding to the pile of loot.

Because unequipped armor and weapons weigh NOTHING, you could literally haul hundreds of weapons and armor to the Market -- where no matter how many units you have to sell, the merchants will pay you full price for each and every item in your loot pile. Once you get to where you've maxed out the armor (Plate and Chain) and weapon (Longswords, Composite Bows, Maces, and Crossbows) level and quality (@31), these combats are relatively painless while yielding an endless amount of salable loot.