Contracts (PvP Help)

Some of the shadier NPCs stationed around Arda will be helpful if you ask them about contracts. This system has been designed so that anonymous contracts can be put out on anyone. The money must be presented up front when you speak to one of the NPCs. That money will stay with the NPC until either the issuer cancels the contract, the contract is fulfilled, or the victim pays off the contract (ie. bribes the contractor NPC to forget about it). In order to complete a contract, an assassin must go to one of these NPCs and officially claim the 'hit' to be able to fulfill the contract and get the money. Once this is done, the assassin that claimed the contract can then claim his money from the NPC.

The contract system has the following additional features:

• The issuer of the contract can cancel the contract if they change their mind. A contract can only be cancelled if there are no assassins currently working on it. Also, cancelling a contract incurs a 20% fee from the contractors, to compensate for their time and effort spent.
• The victim can pay off the contract to make the contractor forget about it. The price is 5 times the original amount offered by the contract issuer.
• The issuer may leave a message that the victim will see when the contract is fulfilled. Please note that contract messages are subject to profanity and harassment rules and abuses will be dealt with accordingly. There is a 200 character limit on contract messages.
• The contractor NPCs sell 'contract masks' for assassins. When worn, a mask will hide your true name from your victim (and only them), making it harder for them to figure who was the killer. It takes 5 minutes for the contractor to prepare the mask; the cost varies based on your and your victim's level.
• The contractor NPCs can 'locate' contract victims for assassins; this acts similarly to a wizard's 'find' ability.
• Contracted players who have their PVP flag set to 'on' will not be able to set their flag to 'merciful' while the contract persists

Many checks and balances have been placed into the contract system to prevent abuse. In addition to the above mentioned features, the following applies:

• Only non-assassins can place contracts.
• Only assassins can claim and fulfill contracts.
• Only one contract can be placed at a time per character.
• A minimum 1d age requirement applies to use the contract system.
• A contract has to 'mature' for a set time period, once issued, before it can be claimed.
• There is a time delay between being able to re-issue a contract.
• Fines are significantly decreased for contracted playerkills.