NPC Services and Repair¶
Overview¶
NPCs throughout the Frontier Marches provide services that players cannot fully replicate themselves at low skill levels: repairs, skill instruction, appraisal, material processing, and equipment sales. Their pricing is not fixed — it responds to the town's supply bands and the player's relationship with the local community.
Repair Services¶
Repair is the primary recurring coin sink in the game. Every expedition degrades gear durability, and gear at 0 durability becomes non-functional. Repair restores durability to full.
Who Can Repair¶
| NPC | Location | Can Repair |
|---|---|---|
| Blacksmith (Tallus) | Trevalkaan, Forge Row | All metal components: weapons, armor fittings, tool heads |
| Leatherworker NPC | Trevalkaan, Forge Row | Leather armor, straps, grips, saddle components |
| Tinkerer NPC | Trevalkaan | Tools, foci, traps, specialist components |
| Village Smith | Rumiarr | Metal repair; lower quality ceiling than Trevalkaan Blacksmith |
| Village Craftsperson | Arujoki, Talmaes, Polheen, Metsadu, Coedwair | Basic repairs only (Crafted and Fine quality items); cannot repair Superior or Exceptional |
Player-performed repair: Players with Smithing at Practiced or above can self-repair metal items in the field or at a forge. Leatherworking at Practiced allows field leather repair. Self-repair restores 50% of lost durability per repair action (not full) and consumes repair materials (iron scraps, leather scraps, wax).
Repair Pricing Formula¶
repair_cost = base_rate × quality_multiplier × item_tier_multiplier × condition_multiplier × supply_modifier × standing_discount
Base rate: 5 coin per point of durability restored
Quality multiplier:
| Item Quality | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Common | 0.6× |
| Crafted | 1.0× |
| Fine | 1.5× |
| Superior | 2.5× |
| Exceptional | 4.0× |
Item tier multiplier:
| Item Category | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Tool | 0.8× |
| Light weapon | 1.0× |
| Heavy weapon / focus | 1.2× |
| Light armor piece | 1.0× |
| Medium armor piece | 1.3× |
| Heavy armor piece | 1.6× |
Condition multiplier: Applied when the item is near 0 durability (heavily damaged items cost more to restore because they require more work):
| Current Durability % | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 50–100% | 1.0× |
| 25–49% | 1.2× |
| 10–24% | 1.5× |
| 0–9% (near-broken) | 2.0× |
Supply modifier: Applied based on the Blacksmith's or relevant NPC's local supply band:
| Forge Row / Blacksmith Supply | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Abundant | 0.85× |
| Stable | 1.0× |
| Low | 1.2× |
| Insufficient | 1.5× |
| Critical | 2.0× |
Standing discount:
| Village / Civic Standing Tier | Discount |
|---|---|
| Stranger | 0% |
| Known | 5% |
| Trusted | 10% |
| Honored | 15% |
| Rooted | 20% |
Standing discounts apply to the local NPC's service. Trevalkaan Civic Standing applies to Trevalkaan NPCs. Village Standing applies to village craftspeople.
Worked Example¶
A Superior medium armor chest piece at 15% durability, repaired at the Trevalkaan Blacksmith when the forge supply is Low, by a player with Trusted civic standing:
- Base durability to restore: 85% of max
- Base rate: 5 × 85 = 425 coin
- Quality multiplier (Superior): × 2.5 → 1,062 coin
- Item tier multiplier (medium armor): × 1.3 → 1,381 coin
- Condition multiplier (10–24%): × 1.5 → 2,071 coin
- Supply modifier (Low): × 1.2 → 2,485 coin
- Standing discount (Trusted, −10%): × 0.9 → 2,237 coin
This repair cost underlines why players take dying seriously. A high-quality armor set is a significant investment to restore — and under the full death model, the armor is gone, not just damaged.
Skill Instruction Services¶
NPCs teach skills through the apprenticeship model described in teaching-and-apprenticeship.md. NPC instruction is slower than player-teacher instruction but always available.
Instruction Pricing¶
Base instruction fee: 30 coin per session
Skill band multiplier (the band the player is advancing into):
| Target Band | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Familiar | 1.0× |
| Practiced | 1.8× |
| Skilled | 3.0× |
| Veteran | 5.0× |
| Expert | 8.0× |
| Master | Not available from NPC instructors — requires a Master-level player teacher |
Which NPCs Teach What¶
| NPC | Location | Teachable Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Camp Matron Marjatta | Polheen | Campcraft, Endurance, basic Routefinding |
| Branch Wardens (all 6) | Their respective villages | Tracking, Hunting & Trapping, basic Wilderness Handling |
| Physician Kaisaarul | Trevalkaan | Field Medicine, Herbalism (to Practiced), Restoration |
| Archivist Gwydnila | Trevalkaan | Cartography, Surveying, basic Arcane Theory |
| Blacksmith Tallus | Trevalkaan | Smithing, basic Metalworking, tool maintenance |
| Crafters Guild Tutor | Trevalkaan | Leatherworking, Woodworking, Alchemy (to Practiced) |
| Adventurers Hall Trainer | Trevalkaan | Frontline Combat (to Practiced), Archery (to Practiced), basic Evasion |
| Village Herbalists (Metsadu) | Metsadu | Herbalism (to Skilled), basic Ritualism |
| Village Smiths (Rumiarr) | Rumiarr | Smithing (to Skilled), Mineralogy |
NPC instruction caps at Veteran for most skills. Expert and Master advancement requires a player teacher or self-training through very high-difficulty activity.
Appraisal Services¶
The Archivist and General Merchant in Trevalkaan, and the village elders at higher standing tiers, offer item appraisal. Appraisal reveals:
- Exact quality grade (Common/Crafted/Fine/Superior/Exceptional)
- Material composition (for unidentified harvested materials)
- Craft potential (for special materials with unique recipe applications — e.g., Suohauki bone-ridge plates, Bergulfr canine pair)
- Historic artifact status (for insignia fragments, barrow goods)
Appraisal cost: 10–50 coin per item depending on material complexity. Historic artifact appraisal at the Archivist is free — she wants the information as much as the player does.
Equipment and Supply Sales¶
NPC vendors sell equipment and consumables at fixed base prices adjusted by supply band.
General Merchant (Trevalkaan)¶
Sells starting-tier gear (Common to Crafted quality), basic supplies (standard rations, water vessels, common tools), and repair materials (iron scraps, leather scraps, wax).
Pricing formula:
Supply modifier follows the same table as repair. Standing discount follows the same table as repair.
Provisioner (Trevalkaan)¶
Sells food and water preparations, expedition ration packs, and field medicine. Pricing responds to the food supply band directly — when Trevalkaan's food band drops, Provisioner prices climb.
Black Market (Polheen, accessed at Honored standing or above)¶
Available to players who have reached Honored standing with Polheen and who have not accumulated infamy above 1. Sells items that are not available through standard channels: imported goods from beyond the Frontier Marches, certain rare recipe fragments, specialty tools. Prices are high (2.5–4.0× standard) and supply is unpredictable.
The Black Market is not a crime — it is a gray market. Players do not gain infamy from buying here. The criminal path is raiding, not shopping.
Material Processing Services¶
Some raw materials require processing before they can be used in crafting recipes. Players can perform this processing themselves with the right skill and tool, or pay an NPC to do it.
| Service | Provider | Cost Formula | Player Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ore smelting (iron, copper) | Blacksmith Tallus | 8 coin/unit + supply modifier | Smithing Practiced + forge access |
| Hide tanning (raw to cured) | Leatherworker NPC | 6 coin/hide + supply modifier | Leatherworking Familiar + tanning rack |
| Grain milling | Mill Operator (Trevalkaan) | 3 coin/unit | No player alternative at launch |
| Herb distillation (reagent extraction) | Crafters Guild Tutor | 12 coin/batch + supply modifier | Alchemy Practiced + distillation bench |
| Meat preservation (raw to smoked/salted) | Provisioner or Arujoki Smoke-house | 4 coin/unit + supply modifier | Campcraft Skilled + field smokehouse |
Processing services are not discounted by standing — they represent a time and infrastructure cost, not a relationship cost.