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[Begging] Begging FAQs

Ryna

Sage
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Table of Contents

  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Templates
  • ULTIMATE GOOD and ULTIMATE EVIL
  • Who is what in The World of UO [li]Roleplaying your Beggar
  • Skill Essay



Frequently Asked Questions


Q: Begging? What's that?
A: Begging is a skill that allows you to receive money from NPCs.

Q: How much skill should I start with?
A: 50 would be best because of the skill delay, but buying 30 would work.

Q: What skills go best with begging?
A: Any skills will work well with begging. It's one of the only independent skills in the game.

Q: What skill titles go over begging?
A: For this answer, go here

Q: What's the delay for begging?
A: The skill delay is 10 seconds on a success and 10 seconds on a failure.

Q: How much money do I get for each beg?
A: A random number between 1 and 24. Skill plays no part, but karma does (the higher the karma, the higher the potential profit.)

Q: Why can’t I beg some NPCs but not others?
A: Some NPCs are considered animals or ‘other.’ You can usually tell these by their lack of backpacks, or where they are located. NPCs shop keepers in Malas and Tokuno and gypsies in Ilshenear give a “You can’t beg that!” message. You can beg some wandering healers and most NPC murderers.

Q: What's the highest Karma/Fame title level that I can have if I use begging a lot?
A: 2nd lvl Karma (i.e. Kind) and 4th lvl Fame (Lord Status). You can have higher karma, but it goes away quite fast.

Q: What's the best NPC for skill gains?
A: There is no certain NPC that is best, but it is best to beg from all types of NPCs from all over the lands.

Q: Why can't I gain past 9#.#?!?
A: Skill gains seem to get very far and few between past 90. Just keep at it and you can get it done. Remember, your chance to gain is roughly 100 – (your skill)

Q: Can I 8x8 Begging?
A: No, begging is target-based, not movement based.

Q: How long does it take to GM Begging?
A: As long as it takes. Some people can do it in a week, other take years. It just depends on how much time you want to spend on it.

Q: Is begging fun?
A: If you like mining, then yes! The skill is very repetitive, but RPing is much more enjoyable.

Q: How much money per hour can I get begging from NPCs?
A: Factoring in lag, ‘luck’, # of NPCs in area, if you’re mounted, karma, and skill level, you will get... well, you get the point.

Q: How do I know if I will gain skill from what the NPC says?
A: Go here

Q: What's so special about GMing Begging?
A: The only thing special about GM Begging is that you never fail! The amount of money you get is based on how much/how little karma you have and your natural ‘luck.’

Q: What's the max gold I can get from a single beg?
A: The max gold you can get is 24 gold per beg at Level 5 Karma.

Q: Why do some beggars keep running around the bank saying that they were PKed and that they need something.
A: These are not true beggars; these are people who wish to put no effort into gaining a few gold pieces and are usually very greedy and annoying. We beggars around here refer to them as “Beggers.

Q: What's up with the whole ULTIMATE EVIL/ULTIMATE GOOD thing?
A: The legendary beggars of old had tales of the ULTIMATE GOOD/EVIL. You can read more further down.

Q: I got a pile of coins that says it's worth 65535, how is that possible?
A: It's not. It's just a bugged coin pile that is worth 1 gp.

Q: Sometimes when I beg, the NPCs won't give me money even though it was successful. Why?
A: Another bug. This one has no work around, unfortunetly. Hopefully someone will notice and correct the mistake. All you can do is to make sure the bug report gets sent in.

_______________________________

Templates

Basically, begging can be put into any template that has an extra skill slot. Use your imagination and resources. If you’re going to RP, think of how some skills may help enhance your audience’s amusement (or pity, or whatever.) Here are some templates that have been suggested in the past. By all means, don’t limit yourself to anything! Begging is wonderful in it’s versatility.

GM Begging
GM Magery
GM Eval Int
GM Meditation
GM Wrestling
GM Anatomy
GM Arms Lore

65 Str - 60 Dex - 100 Int

-Submitted by Reachwind



GM Begging
GM Hiding
GM Stealth
GM Musicianship
GM Provocation
GM Peacemaking
79.9 Magery
20.1 Tracking

100 Str - 90 Dex - 35 Int

-Submitted by Geno



GM Begging
GM Mace
GM Tactics
81 Healing
81 Anatomy
18 Magery
80 Music
80 Provoke
60 Resist

-Submitted by Pauleas


____________________________

ULTIMATE GOOD Beggars and ULTIMATE EVIL Smiths

"Been eating shoe glue again??”
This most likely is something most people would say, but let me tell you what it all really means...

The world of UO has a sort of balance that must be kept. The ULTIMATE GOOD must always stand against the ULTIMATE EVIL. The powers of ULTIMATE EVIL have corrupted the professions of Sosaria by a process of using their skill to influence other skills, which in part, influences another skill, which influences another skill and so on. Through this process, the ULTIMATE EVIL has made every single profession Evil, but one... The Beggars. The Beggars aren't linked to anyone, which makes them pure, ULTIMATE GOOD. It is our job to stand against them and try to bring balance to this world. We also make the rich poorer and the poor richer by using our powers to cause Evil to surrender their wealth and goods.

Ultimate Good
Begging- They are the ones that are trying to balance the world. They are pure and aren't linked to any other profession.

Evil
Alchemy- Used to grind regs into potions, which are used to increase others power or used to poison.
Anatomy- Used to inflict more damage upon their target and to heal more damage, which allows for more killing.
Animal Lore- Used to heal animal slaves and to increase the chance of capturing the defenseless creatures.
Animal Taming- Enslaves defenseless animals to use for killing sprees.
Archery- Shoots arrows at things, killing them.
Bowcraft/Fletching- Used to craft arrows and repair bows, which kill.
Bushido- Enhances fighting abilities, used for killing.
Camping- Used to start fires, which burn down trees and kill fuzzy woodland creatures.
Carpentry- Makes weapons of wood, and gives splinters in sensitive areas.
Cartography- Decodes treasure maps, which arouse monsters, which kill.
Chivalry- Greatly enhances fighting, calls itself "holy" to lure in unsuspecting victims.
Cooking- Manipulates the ULTIMATE GOOD cheese. Uses evil-made tools. Feeds all in hopes to enhance their killing capacity.
Detecting Hidden- Locates people to kill.
Discordance- Used to lower resistances, which makes it easier to kill.
Evaluating Intelligence- Increases the potency of spells.
Fencing- Wields smith made weapons, increased accuracy used to kill.
Fishing- Used to pluck the world of it's fish.
Focus- Regenerates mana and stamina faster, which allows an easier kill.
Healing- Used to heal, which allows more killing. Also resurrects the dead.
Herding- Entices wild animals to follow.
Hiding- Hide from people, used to suprise whatever is being killed.
Inscription- Used to make magic scrolls and spell books to mages. Also boosts resistances and makes spells hit harder.
Lockpicking- Used to open chest, which either gives loot or spawns monsters. The chest usually has an evil trap on it.
Lumberjacking- Mangles trees, gives a damage bonus, and uses an axe.
Mace Fighting- Increases accuracy of macing weapons, uses tools of the ULTIMATE EVIL, and destroys armor (which people buy more of, supporting the ULTIMATE EVIL.)
Meditation- Allows for faster mana regeneration, which lets evil ones kill more.
Mining- Extracts ore from mountains, which is usally sold to smiths.
Musicianship- Enhances all music skills, which makes it easier to kill.
Ninjitsu- Greatly enhances fighting abilities and focuses on a more stealthy approach of killing.
Parrying- Used to take less damage in battle, which makes killing easier.
Peacemaking- Used to lure unsuspecting victems into a false sense of security, allowing for a painful death they can't fend off.
Poisoning- Used to poison food and blade, which kills.
Provocation- Angers things so much they fight, not knowing why.
Remove Trap- Used to remove traps from chests, which doesn't work too often... Suicidal.
Resisting Spells- raises your resistance to magical attacks unnaturally, which allows for more killing.
Snooping- Rudely goes through people's goods, usally for stealing.
Stealing- Used to take other's goods, which leaves them unable to defend themselves, which results in death.
Stealth- Used to sneak up on people, which usally results in killing.
Swordsmanship- Used to increase the accuracy done by swords weapons, which allows for faster killiing.
Tactics- Gives a damage bonus, which kills people faster.
Tailoring- Makes armor so people last longer in battle.
Tinkering- Makes and enhances small, sneaky weapons to kill. Also used to make the tools which the ULTIMATE EVIL uses.
Tracking- Used to track down the unsuspecting, so they can kill them.
Veterinary- Used to heal animal slaves, so they can continue their killing.
Wrestling- Used to do a small amount of damage and to block hits, so they can kill more.


Grey Zone

Arms Lore- Formally used by the ULTIMATE EVIL to identify the killing potential of weapons, and the remaining durability of weapons and armor.
Taste Identification- Formally used to identify potions and poison in food.
Item Identification- Formally used to identify the killing potential of items.
Forensic Evaluation- Formally used to find permagrey thieves, so they could be killed.


Potentially Supremely Evil

Magery- Directly related to Necromancy. Uses spells to heal/change/kill.

ULTIMATE EVIL

Blacksmithy- Used to make armor and weapons of mass-destruction.

Supremely Evil


Necromancy- Deals with nothing but death and destruction.
Spirit Speak- Used to enhance Necromancy and speak with the dead.


_______________________

Roleplaying your Beggar
There are many different ways to RP your beggar. Here are some great essays mainly about roleplaying your beggar.

Beggarly Roles: A Definitive List - By Annastasia (Edited)

As you might be aware I'm a big fan of the idea of both showing off the Begging title on the paperdoll to distinguish ourselves as Beggars not the "Gimmie" people and the notion of using the disguise kits to create temporary roles to play.

Some of the roles below should, I believe, not be undertaken lightly as they need to be played with the correct amount of seriousness and sensitivity as to the plight of those people in real life, they should not be made fun of, others though should be a scream to play around with I think.

Many of them to I hope could be seen as "Hook" roles where the object is not to approach someone over a Beg, but by your language and emotes; get them drawn to you and make the first step in the conversation.

The Beggar with Something Amiss
This is essentially pulling on the sympathy string in others, they should above all else empathize and want to give you whatever is needed to help easy your plight.

The Ill beggar
Well can be anything from a cold with plenty of coughing and sneezing emotes to something more serious like a disease, perhaps something infectious that they might pay you to go away. Fleas too might do the trick.

The Blind Beggar
Played with sensitivity, well thought out emotes are essential for this role, from finding your away about with your staff to bumping into folk, and reliance on the other senses espically scent which is -so- often over looked in UO.

The Slightly Deranged Beggar
Again not to be made light of at heart this Beggar should have moment's of lucidity (when the begging takes place) and the rest of the time should be well.....deranged.

The Drunken Beggar
One to have fun with I think, if you can work on typing slurred speech (It’s a devil to do really), and being in anyone of the stages on drunkeness i.e leery, sloppy etc. The drunken beggar's motivation is usually pretty plain.

The Religious Beggar
Personally one to I believe to have fun with, a little knowledge of some religions isn't really necessary as UO is bereft of any organized religious components so you have pretty much a free hand to make one up if you like. Motivations differ wildly within the sub-classes.

The Mendicate/Fakir/Wandering Monk
Classically a Mendicate is religious monk that lives totally on the kindness of others, in Christanity I think they were an order of monks that did live in together in monasteries. In eastern religions the lone wandering monk is a common figure. In both cases begging for food clothing is the usual motivation here.

The Nun/Missionary/Collector
This person is in the business of improving the state of his or her religious organization. This can be anything from collecting to help rebuild the Chapel's new roof, to help finance the spreading of the good word. Needless to say money will be begged here.

The Prophet of Doom
*Smiles* A favorite of mine, "The End of the world is nigh"...."Repent your sins"..."Throw away your worldly goods" "Pay for your absolution".....You get the idea I hope.

The Retired Beggar
Needless to say not one for the younger Beggar, but rather the old timer that life has over looked and all his or her previous contributions to society have left them with nothing. Again sympathy should be tried to be invoked (But then again that's the corner stone of all Begging, and Morality if you believe Hume).

The War Veteran
You should be prepared I imagine to re-tell of the epic battles that you fought in and have the scars to prove it. Not one to be played with humor I think.

The Octogenarian
A simple role at heart I guess, old, feeble and going deaf (you can have fun with that by repeating things said to you totally askew as in "Why can't you make your own money?"...."EH? Fake Honey, the bee-keepers will be up in arms) Plenty of opportunites for cupping your hand to ear and going "EH?" a lot. Slight senility could be including in the role too maybe.

The Retired Professional
Some knowledge of an EVIL skill might be required here, but essentially some impediment should have forced your retirement like a Carpenter with arthritis.

The Servial Beggar
Hmm...An ambitious upwordly mobile beggar with a work ethic that is prepared to provide some non skill based Service for a few coins.

The Shoe/Armour Polisher
Great idea I saw supplied earlier by Er....Er...You know who you are, a good banter and relevant emotes is essential with your "customer" Although the idea of polishing armor is bit...well....

The Horse Watcher/Groomer
Some Animal lore might be useful here otherwise its similar to the above.

The Medium/Soothsayer
Some props and skills are required for this one and is a classic combination for a Beggar I think. Crystal ball and table perhaps to conduct a Seance, fortune reading. The Soothsayer was a Roman fortune teller that would predict the future by examining the guts of recently killed animals and in the signs of nature i.e. the ways birds flew.

The "Vendor" Beggar
A bit like the servial beggar the Mark feel's like they are getting something for their time and money, personally can't say I think i will try these much, needless to say little to no money should be made on the sale of whatever it is but from the patter that follows who knows.

The "News" Vendor
One of Mathias's and other's favorites, selling a book with information about Britannia in, this has parallels in real life.

The Lucky Charm Seller/Gypsy
Not entirely sure what would constitute the Charm, threats of curses on those that don't buy them might encourage the next Mark to buy one.

The Entertainer Beggar
This class I think has a unique potential in it, namely mass begging. In theory you can get a large audience and so long as at the begining of the performance it is suggested that contributions are welcome it has potential indeed. Should be prepared for heckling though.

The Story Teller
Again one of my favourites, good for the mass beg I believe, if your not a fast typer then pre-macro'ing the Story is an option I guess. As for sources well.....I think i'll be looking to corrupt classic fairy tales, fables into a Britannia setting like "How the Ettin got to Heads" and also Shard relevant tales of Seer run quests are options too.

The Street Entertainer
This could be practically anything, some skills might be necessary although being an inept bard is one option (I know ive felt like paying practising Bards to shut up before), plenty of well thought out emotes could make a Mime artist or Juggler possible.

The Altruistic Beggar
Potentially a good source of income I suspect as you aren't begging for yourself, but to help ease the suffering of others.

Healers/Schooling bills
A loved one has a seriosus illness the healers need X amount of money before they will treat them, or your want your children to have the good education that you never had, at such and such EVIL guild.

The Animal Lover
Anything from your pet, ("Fleabag" in Emma's case) to the Yew Llama trust for sick and elderly Llama's.

The Child/Teenager Beggar
Something for all you Dicken's fans out there, they have been sent out by there Sick/Cruel parents/Guardian and -must- return with money for medicine/food or fear the wrath of someone, or the suffering of a loved one.

The Reluctant/Temporary Beggar
This person wouldn't be a Beggar unless fortune hadn't dealt them a bad hand of late, all they need is a little support and they can get back to whatever it was that kept them in Cheese.

The Professional
Such as a farmer whose Plough horse died and he cant gather the crop without it or the Plough broke or the crops withered etc.

The Gambler
Is about to hit a winning streak he knows it, just needs enough for a stake in tonights big Dice game, or perhaps someone will break his knee-caps if he doesn’t come up with X amount by sun down.

The Ex-Convict
Just released from yew jails.....Hmm not sure about this one actually.

*Big Sigh of Relief*

Phew......there we go, if you got this far a gold star for you *Smiles*

I suspect that this all might seem unnecessary to a lot of you as the true classic beggar is all you need to play, one that simply is down on his or her luck and needs food/gold just to get by on a day to day basis.

-----------------------------

To excel as a beggar... - By Geno (Edited)

...one must understand their beggii. I'm not talking personally here, I'm speaking of their type. There are many types that will be further explained in this essay.

First off, the most used type that you will run into at popular banks and popular dungeons, are the k3wL d0oDz. Though the same, their speak can be very different at times:



  • 5Y|v||30|_ 5|*34|<3|25 (Symbol Speakers)
These types of k3wL d0oDz are usually very hard to understand when they are good at it and type fast with it. They also are not the best of choice to beg from, but have been beg from before, by few. Learning to be able to speak like them would be your best bet to a successful beg. I have composed a list of some of the symbols, relating to each letter in the alphabet, that are used by these types:

A - @ 4
B - |3 8
C - (
D - |> |)
E - 3
F - |=
G - 9
H - |-|
I - 1
J - _|
K - |<
L - |_
M - |v| |\/|
N - |\|
O - 0
P - |*
Q - Q
R - |2
S - $ 5
T - +
U - |_|
V - \/
W - \/\/ vv
X - ><
Y - Y
Z - =


  • aLtErNaTiNg cApS (Alternating Caps)
The use of Alternating Caps is not only used in their typing, but usually is how they type out their name (mErLiN, ect.). The chance of getting anything off of them is much greater then getting it off of other types of k3wL d0oDz, but still a slim chance. There is nothing special about their speak, eXcEpT fOr tHe fAcT tHaT tHeY tAlK lIkE tHiS...


  • l33T 4Lt3rN4TiNg c4pS (Elite Alternating Caps)
This is a type of k3wL d0oD speak that is a mix between Symbol Speak and Alternating Caps with exceptions. It is more like alternation caps, but you replace only certain letters and words with symbols. Even with these slight changes, they should be dealt with in the same way as both:

A - 4
E - 3
Be - B
See - C
In - N
You - U


On the other hand, there a people who are Roleplayers by heart and will be great for begs. Now a days, these types of people are very hard to come by; anywhere, any facet. There are some different types Roleplayers:



  • The Thee & Thou Roleplayer
These types of Roleplayers usually use Elizabethan English (Such as Thee and Thou). These types are perfect for begs. They will usually go along with the beg plot you use and make your experience much easier and enjoyable. They will sometimes be roleplaying such races as Halflings, Dwarfs, and Elves.



  • The Monster Roleplayer
These types can either be the best beg you could possible have or the worst. They Roleplay monsters such as Orcs, Lizardman, Ratmen, and others types of in-game speaking monsters. They are good to beg from, but only if you know how to relate to them. To see some Lore on the speak of these types, UO Stratics should have some good links/essays on the subject.

There are others that will put in the Miscellaneous Section:
[*]SPAMMERS

These types are the ones at the bank spamming in full caps about the goods they are selling. They are one of the worst people to beg from. Sure, you can beg off of them, but your best bet would to beg off of the ones that just send there proper message out once or twice every ten seconds or so. Refering to Dungeons, they are the ones that are spamming, MINE/HEAL/CURE and other such phrases. They are not the best to deal with, anywhere.


  • Average Joe
These types are the people you will meet almost everytime you beg from someone. Not a bad choice though, you could have worse =)


  • One
Word
Talkers

These types aren't a bad type, but are usually PvP/Factions and are just in a hurry. Because of this, they might be hard to stop to actually get your beg out and actually have them listen...


  • High K/F Titles, Low Skill titles
These usually are the ones that are at the bank with their Glorious Lord, Expert/Adept Stoic titles. Most of them are for the quick fix of the game and are pretty greedy with their money. Pure skill is needed to get even a couple gold pieces or even a fishsteak out of these types.


  • The Craftspeople
These people are usually mules of other types and are used for pure profit. If you see someone chopping logs, mining or making oil cloths at the bank: Either try your best beg on them or steer clear. In my opinion, these are the hardest types to beg from in-game.



  • E-Bayers
Formally rare, but now quite common. Have you heard stories of people getting thousands upon thousands of gold and great/rare items for their stories? These are the type that, most of the time, are the ones that dish out the loot. There is almost no way to know who these people are, but I shall offer a tips. Always be helpful. That person asking how to turn checks into gold may reward you handsomely.


Always remember, if you fail to successfully beg off of a PC, don't get discouraged. They don't have to give you anything. Thank them and move on. As always, just have fun. I hope this guide will help someone on there adventures begging around the world.



-------------------------


Skill Essay - By Geno

Simple Gold Techniques


Bring some friends! or if you have multiple accounts (I never did, so not quiet sure how that would work out) make another beggar on that account. Having multiply bodies begging means more gold in the long run. I've seen a group of people clear out a city like Britain in short time. Just remember, people helping you don't have just run around and beg, team work and strategy are the key.

Now that you know some better ways to make gold, here are some ways to increase you skill gained per minute/hour....

Simple Skill Techniques

  • If you stop gaining skill from an NPC, stop begging from them. They will not give you another gain, but if you beg from others and come back to them sometime later, you will usually get another gain (Unless you are 90+ begging, then this is usually not true)

  • NPC type does matter! If you beg from Innkeepers all day, you will make very few skill gains (At higher levels), but if you beg from different types (Sailors, Warriors, Tailors, ect.) there seems to be a great increase in the amount of gains you will recieve. I've also seen a increased gain in skills from not only begging from different types of NPCs, but also from mixing up the male and female NPCs you beg from, but I did not look into this much further, so give it a try if you are hard pressed for skill gains.
  • Begging on different sub-servers (Those invisible lines you lag on for a couple of seconds when running through them) seems to give better gains. So remember, try to beg out of every town possible.
  • A rumor, but one I follow, is killing yourself. If you've begging from every NPC in town, dying seems to reset the chance you have of gaining skill off of NPCs. This only seems to work when you haven't gained all day, think of it like lock picking; you have to gain for it to reset, but dying does the same thing. This is great if you don’t feel like running all over the place looking for skill gains. Make sure to bank any gold you have recieved before dying!
  • Try to set a course around town on which building you will go into and which streets you will run through. This will make it much easier to just go and get instead of running around looking for NPCs (Very unorganized.)


Alright, now for the advanced techniques for both skill and gold. You should master the simple techiniques before trying to perfect these since they include many of the above.

Advanced Begging Techniques

  • You should set out a town that you wish to beg in and make a map of sorts of what ways you will take to get around the town. This will make you much more efficient. Here is an example, lets take Jhelom.

You start from the moongate, make your way south down the coastline begging NPCs to the east of the buildings (Not between or inside the buildings) when you make your way to the bottem, head to the docks to the west, beg from all of them. Make your way by going from east to west and vise versa through all of the buildings until you reach the graveyard or dock to the north. Do not beg inside the building connected to the fighter's pit or the fighter's pit itself until you have done the whole city. After finishing off the pit, bank, die, rinse repeat ect. ect.

--------------------------------------

If you have anything to add, post!
Or suggestions, of course. :c)
 
I

imported_Grifty McBegg

Guest
"Where do I buy begging from" - Would be a nice question to have answered. With the specifics about the lack of context menus on NPC beggars.
 
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