Jobs
The jobs system allows your character to obtain gainful employment in the world and earn an income! Having a job is in fact the most common source of income in Avaria, and it can also be a good way to train skills and make connections, besides providing material for roleplay.
Finding a Job
Finding a job can be relatively simple. When you visit shops, workshops, pubs, or a number of other places in the game, you may see a line in the room description about that location being a workplace. At a workplace, you can simply check JOBS in order to see if they are hiring for any positions. If there are positions available, you'll see a listing of those job titles, a brief description of the work, and the skill(s) needed in order to be considered for the position. Here you can see a list of jobs available from the Seaglass Inn in St. Loomis:
The barmaid would direct an inquiry about jobs towards a wooden board with several etched drawings.
While the board is small and unobtrusive, it has been tacked to the wall behind the bar, within
viewing distance for anyone interested.
Waiter:
Requirements: magnetism, composure, acuity, grace, footwork, vocals, dissembling, dance, dodge,
street smarts or linguistics at skilled level of expertise
Someone has been sketched here carrying a platter of bowls and cups towards a table populated by
rowdy dockworkers.
Average Pay: 200
Cook:
Requirements: finesse, intuition, luck, constitution, cooking, herbalism, butchering or horticulture
at expert level of expertise
A small sketch of a person shoveling bread into the oven is made here, with a steaming cauldron of
soup by the hearth and three spitted fowl drizzling over the fire. Sure does look hot in that
kitchen.
Average Pay: 500
Errand runner:
Requirements: grace, luck, magnetism, endurance, intuition, investigation, first aid, acrobatics,
street smarts, dodge, footwork or foraging at amateur level of expertise
An etched urchin hurries through wood-scrawled crowds, holding aloft a large fresh fish. It appears
this job is about fetching all sorts of things in a speedy manner.
Average Pay: 50
Once you've found a job that looks appealing, you can then APPLY (FOR) <JOB TITLE>. When you apply, there is a background roll to check your stat and skill combination for that particular job. If your roll passes a certain threshold, you will get the job! You do have to be in the location with the job listing in order to request one of the available jobs, and if you have a job already, you cannot get another job. But if you want to leave a current job, you can RESIGN from it at any time and place.
Generally, as long as you meet the skill requirements you will then be hired for the job. However, some employer NPCs harbor certain prejudices that may make them more or less likely to hire you, or you may have a reputation that the NPC feels disqualifies you for the job. Don't worry, though -- if you don't get a job in one place, there are usually plenty of other places hiring!
Working a Job
Once employed, you can do a variety of different chores for an employer that are related to the job you took. However, you're not required to do so, as your pay will be deposited in the local bank regardless. This is because you are assumed to be doing your job "off-screen," so you can simply imagine that character is working at least part of the time you're logged out of the game. Jobs in Avaria are meant to be a realistic way to earn a living while providing a useful source of roleplay material, not to mimic the tedium of real life.
However, if you want to truly immerse yourself in your job from time to time, you can always use the WORK command while at your workplace in order to perform a task related to your job. There are a few benefits to doing so. For one thing, you can gain affection with the NPC who employs you, which can give you a bump in your pay. You can also gain reputation for performing job-related errands from WORK. To perform a task or errand for your job, just enter WORK in the main room of your workplace and you will receive a task that you can do.
Leaving a Job
If you ever tire of a particular job, or a new opportunity comes your way, it's very simple to leave your current job -- all you have to do is RESIGN anytime, anywhere. Also, if you leave the zone in which your are employed for a significant length of time, you will automatically lose your job there.