Beaty's Special Weapons Shop

Beaty working on a special weapon. (Portrait by DALL-E 2)

Beaty's Special Weapons Shop, sometimes identified just as the Special Weapons Shop, is an establishment in the Main Hall of the Guild of Free Adventurers where adventurers may purchase more exotic and powerful weapons than those offered by Marcos Cavielli. The shop was created by developer John Beaty as part of his Eamon Master 3 diskette, and was later incorporated by Scott Everts into both his Lightning Eamon Basic Set and subsequent Expanded Master.

Description

The program gives the following description when the adventurer arrives:

"As you enter the shop, you hear the small bell ring. You see the walls are lined with glass display cases filled with all manner of rare and unusual weapons. A small man in a leather apron comes out of the back room and says, 'Welcome to Beaty's Special Weapon Shop.'"

Operation

A sign on one of the walls lists the shop rules:

1. The Special Weapons Shop may not be used by a beginner;
2. You must donate at least one special weapon to the shop before you can purchase a special weapon;
3. All special weapons cost 2500 gold pieces plus a duplication fee up to 2500 more gold pieces.

The shopkeeper will consult a filing cabinet of records near the door to verify that the adventurer is experienced enough to use the shop; if so, he'll offer the following options:

1. List the weapons library, either in brief form (just the weapon name) or full form (weapon name, class, odds, dice, sides, and whether the donor is deceased).
2. Donate a weapon. The shopkeeper will accept only special weapons, not standard ones, and won't take copies of weapons already in the shop's collection.
3. Purchase a weapon. When the adventurer picks a weapon to purchase, the shopkeeper takes it from its case and goes into the back room where he makes a copy of it: "The lights dim. A reddish glow shines from the back room. You hear a loud hum and then hammering and grinding of the metal followed by an electric arc. With smoke wisping from his clothes he comes out and hands you the weapon still warm from the working. After the original is replaced, he says, 'Wait until the weapon cools.'"
4. Leave the shop

The program records weapons and donors to separate text files on the diskette. The first entry in the donor list is given as "Beaty (our founder)".

Trivia

• Bruce Miller's Eamon Functions includes an establishment similar to Beaty's, operated by a man named Julio and situated a few doors down from the Main Hall. Julio buys weapons of sufficient quality and sells weapons and armor superior to those available through Marcos Cavielli.