Locksmith Union

History

The Locksmith Union was founded on November 16th, 2001 by Kraelyst the Hand, who remains its only leader to date (Oct 16, 2007). The founding was made public through the production of the first ever Box Raffle (details below). The stated purpose of The Locksmith Union is to provide locations where locksmiths can practice their trade for their fellow adventurers.

During the summer of 2002 the general public was immersed in a conflict regarding lockpick prices which resulted in blame being misdirected at The Locksmith Union for fixing prices. The confusion arose because one of the Union's few rules was that its members could not sell lockpicks for less than 4 gold per master or 1 platinum per grandmaster. People hostile to the Union or Thieves or locksmiths in general began intentionally underselling lockpicks by large amounts or giving lockpicks away for free. Many locksmiths (some in the Union and some not) took retribution on people who continued to purposefully undersell lockpicks. The Locksmith Union published a statement that it was not involved with enforcing prices on non-members and did not condone nor condemn the independent acts of its members.

Lockpick prices have continued to remain stable at approximately 4 gold per master and 1 plat per grandmaster despite the pricing conflict and despite the fact that The Locksmith Union dropped minimum lockpick prices from its member rules in 2005.

In January 2003 The Locksmith Union became the first non-Official player organization to receive a group badge (a gleaming animite key) and an affiliation post-title "of The Locksmith Union." This was made possible by Product Manager Solomon and Senior GameMaster Jeremael who transferred the badge mechanics over from The Fallen where they were being used for the warring organizations.

The Locksmith Union website is http://www.lurksponge.com/locksmithunion/

Box Raffle

The Box Raffle is an event hosted by The Locksmith Union every year or two years. Its purpose is to raise awareness and goodwill for The Locksmith Union. To receive entries into the raffle a person brings boxes to a designated location to be open by members of The Locksmith Union. Each box opened is worth one entry in the raffle up to a maximum number of entries. An additional limited number of entries can be obtained by purchasing master or grandmaster lockpicks from Union members at or above the standard price. The entry phase of the raffle typically lasts for 2 to 3 non-stop days. Hundreds of items and thousands of platinums are given away as prizes.