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Apr-15-2005 09:49

I have two questions about learning skills from faction bosses:
1) Do these skills cost skill points as well?
2) What number do you have to be for them to teach you the skill? At the moment they 'don't know me well enough.'
Thanks!

Apr-15-2005 10:34

You're welcome :)

I think it'll cost you 12 (or maybe 10, it's been too long for me to remember) to get the pick pocketing skill (the Dies one), but as you're just starting out you may find that there are other skills (such as those that will help you make the suspects and townspeople more inclined to answer your questions) that could be of greater benefit to you to get first.

Then again it is in the beginning that you really need as much money as you can scrape together to bribe townies and pay off Mr. Shady, and so ensuring that you'll get your reward even if the client is guilty does help to do that :)

Apr-15-2005 12:38

Actually, I think the number of skill points it costs you depends on whether you're very tough or very charming. For instance, I played a very charming detective once and it would have cost 12 points to get pickpocketing but only 8 to get hypnotism. It cost this detective (OliverTwist) only 8 points to get pickpocketing because my character is Very Tough. So, you should try to get in good with the faction that teaches a skill that's most congruent with the skills you already have.

Apr-15-2005 12:50

Yeah, you've got a point there, Oliver, but the equipment they sell don't seem to correlate with the skill type in terms of how many points they'll cost you - so could be worth going for a faction that sells equipment suitable to ones type of character too :)

Apr-15-2005 12:53

Oops - *one's

Apr-15-2005 14:08

I have Tough and Smart, so should I get pickpocketing first?

I don't think I have a choice because La Cosa Nostra and the Order of Socrates hate me.

Apr-15-2005 20:57

Malfait, you have somewhat of choice, because you can stop doing little jobs for the DAB and try to get in with another faction.

But I think it's worth reminding the new players that ALL the faction skills are really non-essential compared to basic interviewing and evidence skills, by which I mean all levels of interrogation/intimidation for the tough players and all levels of sweet talking/rule bending for the charming ones, plus crime scene skills, followed by research and lock-picking.

At least, this is the strategy I followed in the Mop Men competition, in which we had to start a new, unsubscribed character and see who could get the most points in a week without getting retired. I came in third, so it was an effective strategy, I think.