The Path of a Decorator - Where to start?

[Saga]

Posting this so I can hopefully get some more detailed feedback.

I love decorating in UO, but I've only recently started playing it. What drew me to the server is how this place is dedicated to house building, and how many deco options there were compared to the last servers I was at. (One had good deco, but some restricted; other one, it was easy to make gold without hunting, but very little deco options)

Hunting is awkward to me in this game (I use Razor and archery, so it's a little less awkward) so I probably won't be doing much of that; though I would like to get into it enough to get rare deco.

I plan on leveling things like tailoring, carpentry, and tinkering and probably stealth/hiding and stealing to get access to better things. I've also been questing where I can.

As a newbie who doesn't really like hunting in UO unless it's for something in particular, what's a good path to start to earn enough gold to buy a first house in Paradise? Craft and vend the results? Mine? I saw from researching the forums that crafting doesn't make much money here when selling to other players.

I'm open to any ideas, even if it does involve some hunting.

Edit: Also TY to Crimsonblaze for telling me about the newbie friendly dungeon!

[Damara]

For a newer player, or one that doesn't really like hunting a lot, the best place to get gold is to grab a medic and head to Destard. Kill the drakes and dragons, loot everything. ItemID all the armor/weapons you looted before you sell them. Some ID'd armor/weapons will sell for as much as 1k more than an unidentified one. Sell all your jewels to the jeweler, sell all your spell scrolls to Q at Brit bank. You can even sell almost all your reagents. By the time your pack is full or at maximum weight limit, you should have 30-50k in sellables and gold.

[crannog]

Besides what Dama said, that is absolutely true (I did it with the murderers in Bucs Den, instead of the dragons, to buy my first house) I think it might still be good business:

1.- To sell green thorns.
Does not require any skill, so you can start making it at the same moment you have a place to lock the plants down (keeping in back pack is not nice because when you are a young char have not many stones available to carry and is a mess to find stuff).
Does not require big investment, you will always find someone that will give you seeds, the soil can pick up from the floor and plant pots cost 2 gp (I'm not sure). What you will need to buy is the potions until you get alche high enough, but again I'm sure some Vet will give them to you for free so you can start your production.
It has one thing against, you do need to log every day, but... there are players that can not log every day and might hire you to keep up their plants or bees.
Don't know if this can be a good work to make, but my plants lately die because I forget of them, I would hire you gladly.

2.- There is a lot of players that do not have the time or the patience to make their own home deco, so you can advertise here some pictures and charge for yr services. I did this work almost 2 years ago and more, and still people ask me for it.

3.- Collect all the Tmaps you can and separate them for their levels. Level 1 and 2 you will be able to make for yr self, the other levels you might want to auction, they sell nice and higher level better money you get, and now you can not kill the spawn they produce. They do decay in about 30 days I think, but once you are able to buy Tmap books they can be kept for ever.
Tmaps are a real nice income source in Paradise.

Good luck and welcome!!!


Edit: Something I think lately has become an incredible source of money for new players is to collect the platinum coin that we get when we claim a corpse.
You get the coin killing the most easy or the most hard creature, is the same, so it will not be a hard task, just need perseverance to remember to use a hot key on the remains.

We have a silver currency that used to be expensive, but in the past times Staff has created new rewards that we get with platinum, so now is plat coins that sell real nice. I have seen them go each one for 100 gp and more.

[Saga]

Thank you both for all these suggestions. I'm gonna have to get better gear to kill the dragons faster, but it seems like a straightforward dungeon. I've been using [cl on everything I kill, so I'm getting a good bit of platinum.

I need to figure how to get treasure maps here. I did always like treasure hunting.

My eventual goal was to offer decorating services, but, as always, it takes money to make money.

[frrfrr]

Also get in a good guild. They can help out alot. My preferred guild has a frrfrr in it. But then hes a stealthy grizzily. *hugs dambunny and Linbear*.

[Saga]

Thanks WW for the free deco and help! I'll have to give you a big discount when you're ready for me to deco.

I hadn't considered looking into a guild, Frrfrr, but it'll probably help me out at least as far as learning more ins and outs of hunting here. I'm enjoying scouting for lockboxes. I've gotten 4 tmaps, only one a level one. If anyone wants to trade the devious or expert ones from me, they're available.

[cobra]

if you have any questions in game saga feel free to msg me on there and ill do my best to help ya out

[Saga]

Thanks, Cobra
I think the next step I have now is to actually advertise my services. Seems like I'd have stiff competition here. I'm already decorating WW's crafting room.