The way of the Naturalist

I thought this was a thread about you guys not wearing make up and not shaving your armpits or legs. Glad to see I was mistaken (sometimes you can be a little too natural)

This is my first post here since joining the server last week. So far, I'm really loving the feel of UO the way I played it when I was 12. Until I found this thread, I had no idea there were this many other people who play for the adventure and joy of it, though!

My scoundrel character is Nine Finger Sam (it used to be Ten Finger, but he got caught with his hand in the wrong person's pack). He's currently laying low in Vesper, but always on the lookout for a (profitable!) adventure.

Hope to see you in Sosaria. I swear on my long lost finger to keep my hands off your belongings. Probably. Unless they're really shiny.

Hey!
This is my first post here as well, I've had an account on here for about 2 weeks now, playing some on and off. And just the other day I found this thread and was very surprised to see this many people showing interest in this playstyle!

I have been playing like a naturalist for the last few years myself, after the 10th time of macroing a character to 7xGM only to get so bored I wouldn't really even play with them. That's when I realized that just as in life, the journey in UO is supposed to be where the fun is at. Not looked back since, and not made it to GM on any char since then either!
I've started a few different characters with the naturalist in mind, but think I've finally settled on one now.

http://www.uorenaissance.com/?page=m_player&id=3897

Explorer, swordsman and bard at your service!

Looking to map and explore every possible part of Britannia and reap it's treasures.

On that same note, I've been wondering what the natural way to raise lockpicking is? So far I've not found anything that gives any gains at all for a skill at 49.0, and I refuse to macro on a tinker chest.

Hope to see you all around and share in some adventure!

I think you may get some bonus for having Detect Hidden skill? Perhaps some extra learning in that regard will get you over the hump. I was hoping we'd find a cartographer and lockpicker at some point. Good to hear.

I wonder if chests at npc prisoner camps would raise skill? If so I have about 46 of them marked. Also, we ran a pretty fun quest last night with a mix of naturalists and hybrids. I'll watch out for you too.

Hello!
I have only tried opening npc prisoner chests so far, and even though I fail a few times on them, I've not seen any gains yet. I'm by no means in any hurry, but it would be nice to know what's worth doing in that sense too.

I went and trained the Detect Hidden skill just to have that base covered too. So far I've just been wandering around the open world saving npcs, making fuzzy maps and killing monsters I come across. Do you guys know of any topside places that spawn locked chests? I was trying to make my way into the orc fort outside Cove but I never got all the way in before I had to log off again.

Also my first post on the forums, been playing for a bit. This Naturalist ideas sounds like a lot of fun. I have several other characters already so I was wondering if there was anything this band of adventurers needs skillwise? I am not too picky, having played UO for many years, so if there is something the group could benefit from, I am happy to fill that role.

Maybe the detect hidden is your problem? DH gives a lock picking bonus so maybe you aren't failing as much as you would without?

I don't know any top side places specifically with chests, but I have a lot of places at the Paws library that might be good to examine

There are a couple of mountain trolls guarding some chests in the pass that crosses the mountain of dungeon Shame north west of Britain. Basically it is a path that comes out near the Yew orc fort.

I haven't tried picking them, just noticed them running back from Shame as a ghost.

Hello again, everyone! First of all, I realized I'd forgotten to post Nine Finger Sam's character page, so here it is.

http://www.uorenaissance.com/?page=m_player&id=50868

Also, a couple of questions: I've heard tell of a secretive guild of thieves, and I've been looking for the guild master in hopes of picking up the finer points of poisoning, lock picking and stealth. Would anyone know where this elusive guild master might be found?

Finally, I've heard something about a town called Paws that seems like it might be worth investigating. Always on the lookout for new marks- er, friends. Does anyone know where Paws might be found?

Hail! You're quite right, the citizens of Paws are very good folks! I recommend you seek out Jupiter in chat or in PM here!

I'm pretty sure there is a thief guild master that hangs out around the cat's lair on the west side of Britain; Victor Magnus typically obtains a semi-credible list of known thieves from that tavern. There is also a pub just near the river, I forget the name, but its a rat infested hole to be certain.

As for Paws, if you seek the primary principality, it is just outside of west brit to the south of gung farmer's bridge; although all you'll find there are Enpeesies (npc's). If you seek the player established southern settlement of paws, it is a great deal further south, beyond the king's borders, built up around the shrine of spirituality.

Just realized that (enpeesies) looks and sounds a lot like epeen. If that thought crossed your mind then .... Shame on you!

I'm happy to see this thread active again.
Welcome to UOR and hope to cross paths in the realm soon.

Seeing how this is meant to be for FUN you should just pick a template or 'class' that you really like or one you would liked to have been had you've been born in Britannia.

Good advice. I am sure it is done to death but Ranger has always interested me.

Ranger is my favorite too! Although I had 2 archers already by the time FUN started up so I went with a simple warrior/mage type. Got a whole story in mind for her but never got around to putting it down in writing but if things pick up I just might...

Hey again,
thanks for the tip about the trolls guarding the chests by Shame, I quickly mounted an expedition to the area to investigate, sadly the old troll chests seemed to be purely for decoration (not able to open or pick them at all). I later went to investigate a plainly drawn treasure map I acquired, but the chest opened up on first try and didn't make me a better lockpicker in the slightest.

And thank you for the advice about how Detect Hidden might be interfering, but I had opened at least 5+ prisoner chests before I trained it, and still no dice.
I found this old, but maybe too recent, page about locked chests.
http://uo.stratics.com/thb/info/dungeon/dungeonguide.shtml
It claims there should be chests in a few banks as well as the Cove Orc Fort, but having looked around in the mentioned banks, I only found open and empty chests, so either it's not working or someone was there just moments before each time I went to look. I've still to fight my way into the Fort, so I don't know about that yet either.

I have also not dared venture into a dungeon by myself to look for locks there, but it seems odd to me that there wouldn't be any relevant stuff out in the world. Is this something that has been overlooked or should I just keep searching?

As for your suggestions Jupiter, I'm very fond of gathering things myself, especially when it comes to building a spellbook, so I don't buy any scrolls at all, just collect what I find in my adventures. (so I don't have any recall yet! , but thank you for the tip, once my scroll library has grown I might check it out)

Hmm, I like the thought of a wizard type character as well. Maybe throw in some inscription for fun. Magery would be tough but that is part of the fun.

Start with 50 in magery for sure!

I went 50 magery 49 resist and 1 in something for some newbie item I cant even remember lol