Wheelwright
Every wagon moving goods across the frontier, every carriage carrying passengers through the territory — they all depend on the work of a skilled wheelwright. Build, sell, and maintain the vehicles that keep the territory moving.
Overview
A Wheelwright crafts, sells, and maintains horse-drawn vehicles — from simple supply carts to full wagons and covered carriages. As every contract delivery, farming run, and merchant hauling operation requires a vehicle, the wheelwright is a constant presence in the economy of the territory.
This is a licensed trade that blends crafting with a service business. Successful wheelwrights maintain relationships with miners and lumberjacks for raw materials, and with merchants for consistent vehicle orders.
Unlike solo jobs like mining or lumbering, wheelwrighting depends on a supply chain. You'll need wood from lumberjacks and iron from miners to produce anything. Build those relationships early, and your shop will thrive.
Getting Licensed
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Establish a character background
Your character should have a credible reason to be operating a wheelwright's shop — trained as a joiner or carpenter, apprenticed to a wagonmaker, or experienced through frontier necessity. This background informs how you RP the role.
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Apply for your trade license
Submit an application through the appropriate in-character business registration process. You'll need a proposed operating location (most wheelwrights anchor to a specific town) and a business concept.
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Source your initial materials
Once licensed, your crafting menu becomes accessible. You'll need stocked materials to begin production — source wood and iron before taking on orders.
Crafting Wagons & Carts
The wheelwright's crafting system allows the production of several vehicle types, each with different material costs, utility, and sale value:
| Vehicle Type | Primary Use | Key Materials |
|---|---|---|
| Open Cart | Light cargo hauling, quick trips | Wood, Iron |
| Supply Wagon | Medium cargo for deliveries and merchants | Wood (high), Iron, Animal hide |
| Covered Wagon | Long-haul transport, passenger carriage | Wood (high), Iron, Canvas/hide |
| Freight Wagon | Heavy industrial loads | Wood (very high), Iron (high) |
Simple open carts are the most frequently ordered vehicle type — they're affordable, practical, and in constant demand from new players and delivery contractors. Keep your cart stock consistent as your bread-and-butter product.
Materials & Supply Chain
The two main materials for any vehicle build are wood and iron. As a wheelwright you cannot harvest these yourself — you need to source them through the server economy:
- Lumberjacks supply raw wood, branches, and bark — all useful in wagon body construction.
- Miners supply iron ore and refined iron for axles, wheel rims, hardware, and structural reinforcement.
- Establish standing agreements: offer a regular purchase price to reliable lumberjacks and miners, and they'll come to you rather than selling on the open market.
If you're producing wagons regularly, you'll consume materials fast. Negotiate bulk pricing with a dedicated supplier — pay slightly above market rate for guaranteed consistent delivery. A wheelwright with unreliable materials is a wheelwright who loses orders.
Calling & Storing Vehicles
Players who own a cart or wagon can call it using the /callcart command. Each player starts with a limited number of vehicle slots, which can be expanded over time.
- Initial ownership allows up to 2 vehicle slots.
- Additional slots can be acquired through in-character progression — speak with a licenced wheelwright or check the expansion options.
- Stored wagons can be retrieved from designated stable/livery areas using the call command.
Repair & Maintenance Services
Beyond building, wheelwrights offer repair services — a recurring income stream that doesn't require constant material stockpiling:
- Damaged wagons from rough terrain, collisions, or combat need professional repair — players will seek you out.
- Wheel replacement is the most common service. Keep wheel components pre-crafted to offer fast turnaround.
- Post your repair pricing in IC signage or the Discord marketplace — players need to know you exist and are available.
Tips for Wheelwrights
- Position your shop in a high-traffic town — Blackwater or Saint Denis attract the most consistent wagon demand from contract runners and merchants.
- Offer package deals: a wagon plus a maintenance contract (regular check-ins and repairs) for a flat weekly rate.
- Keep an eye on contract job availability — when the explosives or prisoner transport contracts are active, someone is going to need a sturdy wagon. Be ready.
- Advertise in character. Set up a shop signboard, post in the IC newspaper, announce availability in town.