Securing locations against intrusion/unwanted theft and nefarious presences is achieved via dozens of key defences but no barrier is more important than the trusty locked door. New buildings are constructed without doors and doors must be added afterwards, per owner or builder's plans. See HELP DOORS for more info on the making and fitting of doors. The door itself will need to be kept strong and repaired if ever damaged by - for instance - persistent intruder trying to barge it down. As important as the door, however, is the lock and in nine cases out of ten, it is the complexity and effectiveness of the lock that holds the key to a door's ability to withstand enemy/forced entry.
WARNING: before you have a lock mechanism fitted to a door, particularly if it is a private/personal residence or location being protected, ensure you have a master key made while the lock is openly visible. It becomes far more difficult once a lock has gone through the professional improvements and upgrading necessary to render it a formidable obstacle.
All should be aware if your door/building is inside a city, it will be possible for the Justice Minister and trusted deputy, as well as high standing aides connected with that ministry, to use the city locksmith right of entry to lock/unlock almost any door in the city. This includes private dwellings. It is necessary to obtain special 'opt out' status for your personal properties if you wish them to be inaccessible to the ministry of justice. This is a matter between you and your city leadership.
Syntax: DOORS.
Shows you all doors in your current location and, depending on your professional and specialised skill training, provides an info summary of the door strengths, lock complexities and active protections.
Syntax: OPEN/CLOSE DOOR <direction>.
If a door is unlocked you can open or close it using this command. You will need to specify the direction of the door to designate which to open or close. Typing EXITS will inform you of any doors on the exits listed and in some cases the type of door (e..g. exterior, interior, treasure-chamber, etc).
Syntax: UNLOCK/LOCK DOOR <direction> or UNLOCK/LOCK <lockable object>.
If you have the key or if you are appropriately privileged (e..g. part of a city's Justice Ministry and on homeland soil) you can use the UNLOCK and LOCK commands to make your way through locked doors and ensure they are locked behind you. You can use LOCK/UNLOCK followed by a lockable object to use your key (if you have one) to open and close the item - to reach whatever may be inside.
NOTE: see your ability helpfiles for details on such profession-based skills as the picking of locks and the increase of a lock's complexity (and therefore its ability to resist being picked).
ABILITY and PROFESSIONAL LOCK-RELATED COMMANDS
Syntax: FIT LOCK <direction>/<item>.
To fit a lock to a specific item or to a door in the direction you specify, providing there is no lock mechanism in place already. The basic lock mechanism is fitted to the door or the item and must then be IMPROVE and STRENGTHEN worked up to resist attempts at forced entry. Needs the appropriate skill developed to the point of acquiring the "lockfitting" ability.
Syntax: WORK <direction>/<item>.
To work copies for locks providing you have full access and the appropriate professional skills. See HELP KEYMAKING and HELP KEYWORKING for detailed info.
Syntax: STRENGTHEN <direction> and STRENGTHEN <object>.
Those with the Thievery or Forging skills to a suitably high level can STRENGTHEN to apply their talents to improving the state-of-repair of a door (if a direction is specified) or the overall resilience of an object if a lockable item is targeted instead. The extent of your skill and the suppor from your lockpicking kit will determine how much you can strengthen.
Syntax: IMPROVE <direction>/<object>.
You would use the IMPROVE ability to work on increasing the complexity and resistance to forced entry, of a lock mechanism, specifying the item protected by the lock or the direction if you wish to improve the resilience of a door. It helps if the lock mechanism is exposed but this is not essential. Numerous skills go into determining the speed and extent of lock improvement, primarily Perception as the general skill, with Runes or Thievery the two professional skills determining the higher echelon of lock specialists.
Syntax: UNFIT LOCK <direction> or UNFIT LOCK <item>.
The UNFIT commands is the available-to-all way to remove a lock from a lockable object or from a fully exposed door (i..e. open, unlocked, ready for removal). You cannot use UNFIT against a closed or locked door/object since the lock mechanism is not exposed; it is not a substitute for lockpicking. You will need a lockpicking kit to UNFIT a lock from an open lockable item and, it should be noted, you will unable to UNFIT on doors if your location is neither homeland nor homeguild.
NOTE: Prime Minister, State Minister, Deputy State, Justice Minister, Prime Minister and Prince/Princess have authority over city locks; Guildmaster, Deputy Guildmasters and Head Tutor have authority over guild locks. See also HELP ENTRY for declared entry.
MAXIMUM LOCK COMPLEXITY CONDITIONS
Some doors are not made equal and are pointless to fit with too complex a lock. The following conditions are the maximum strength of a locked door. The lock mechanism may continue to be improved but it will have no further impact.
= Max Strength
=Wildland / Disowned 2
=Public Locations 3
=Private Ownership 4
=Guild Owned Doors 5
=Government Office 5
=Treasure Chambers 6
=Barracks 7
=Council Chambers 8
=Guild Warehouses 9
=Private Storeroom 10
=City Silos/Sheds 11
Items may receive a maximum strength equal to Treasure Chambers.
Related help content HELP LOCKMAKING, HELP KEYMAKING, HELP DOORS, HELP ENTRY, HELP KEYS, HELP KITS and HELP LOCKS. HELP LOCKSMITH for info about city locksmith facilities and CITY HELP SERVICES an overview of civic services.
