Character
The Mentor
The Mentor found you scavenging and lent you the money to open a shop in the Lower Levels. Little else is known about him. He took a risk on you, and his visits through the first weeks are how the game teaches each new rule just before it starts to matter.
Dossier
- Role
- Your lender and first guide
- Faction
- Independent
- Bounty (Credits)
- None
- When they appear
- Opening day, then regularly through the first weeks
- What they do
- Lent you the money for the shop, leaves notes on opening day and warns about the trading permit on Day 24.
His lessons
| Lesson | What he tells you |
|---|---|
| Opening day | Keep both sides of the counter clear so customers have room to sell, and leave nothing on the outside counter overnight. |
| Display case | Goods in the case pull in buyers of that kind, Neon Signs pull in sellers, and pricier stock attracts richer customers. Set it before you lift the shutter. |
| Bargaining | A better price for the customer earns more standing with their faction; squeezing them earns less. |
| Counterfeits | He brings a Magnifying Glass and the cigarette handbook. One mismatch is enough to confront a seller. |
| Security heat | Too many suspected crimes start an investigation, and enough proof gets you sentenced. Lie low until it cools. |
| Trading permit | With no Business Permit by Day 24 he raises it. Sales open two weeks later, and enforcement a week after that. |
| Augs | He hands you a gun with the paperwork done and passes on Security's order to shoot Augs on sight. |
Worth knowing
- His closing advice: buy upgrades and machines, widen your contacts, then take a mortgage or buy the store outright. The Calendar shows what the property is worth.
- In the Rock Bottom start he only negotiates your lease. None of the usual notes, machines or stock arrive.
- His one underlined warning is never to take a loan from a shark.
