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Ultima > I Mondain > Economics

Economics & Game Play

   Money is counted in coppers or copper pence. Any coin you procure is changed to said via a simple conversion: 1 gold crown equals 10 silver pieces equals 100 copper pence. 

   Making money is classic in this game, that which you kill that does not kill you makes you richer. Based on this, you make money on the global map and in dungeons. Dungeons are key though. On exiting a dungeon in which you have had victorious combat, a certain amount of your hit points are returned to you. This is not a virtue of land combat.

   One useful case is to set up a basic cycle. First, you buy hit points from a regent. (For this reason, enter dungeons near to the castles.) Next, fight only as deep as you can get back out fighting more than half of the creatures you found on the way in. This can be approximate to leaving when your hits are a safe bit more than half what you had when you entered. Now, run back to the king nearest you (fight if you must or if you want) and purchase some more points with your spoils. Continue the dungeon-to-castle cycle to build basic cash flow. 

   Food is very important. The very first drain on your cash flow is the food keeping you alive. In the start of the game the cheaper way to get food is through the magic pools in castles. For more on this, see Atlas:Castle. For you cost cutting types, grocers sell rations at 2.5 portions per pence versus 3 portions from the castle pools. It adds up when buying hundreds of units. Once you can talk him down on the price (see below about Charisma) to three pence for ten units, the better deal is the grocer. Only one towne does not have a grocer, the one with plan 3. It should be a simple matter to find your favorite dungeon-towne-castle combo and start a circuit.

   With money in your pocket you can start to reach goals. The first goal is better equipment. Following that is transport (specifically over water and an aircar if you can get it) and attributes through quest completion. Attributes can make certain things easier, but in the end, equipment and hit points will help you win the game.

   Attributes each have their own effect on player economy. Cost of bought items is inversely proportional with the Intelligence attribute of your character. Can't be fooled into paying too much if you're smarter. Similarly, Charisma helps you sell your old equipment, being directly proportional with the recovery value. You can only sell weapons and armor. I'm keeping some loose notes on the study of these effects here. As to the other attributes, the following information is confirmed by the character creation section of the Ultima I chapter in the CD documentation included with old Ultima I-IV Collection discs. Strength is related directly to the damage you do when attacking. Intelligence also acts as Strength except for magic, its values are proportional to the power of the spell. Agility weighs in for your defense and attack. It is the basis of your probability to dodge and deliver hits. Increased Agility also improves your stealing prowess, helping thieves. Stamina affects defensive survivability, affecting just how bad hits hurt you. It also affects the susceptibility to the lecher/wench in a local pub. Finally, Wisdom's effect is in casting spells with reliability and lowering the cost of the spells in magic shops.

   Experience value is used to determine the character's level. The following table displays the equivalence. Note that a minimum of level eight is necessary to finish the game. Level ten is the highest, simply by virtue of its relationship to the game's limitation to 9999 maximum level points.

Level Experience

level 1

0-999 

level 2

1000-1999 

level 3

2000-2999 

level 4

3000-3999 

level 5

4000-4999 

level 6

5000-5999 

level 7

6000-6999 

level 8

7000-7999 

level 9 

8000-8999 

level 10 

9000-9999