Hiring bureau (no ontology)
From Mazeworld
A hiring bureau is an important type of facility in Mazeworld. It is the Mazes' job-finding and assigning agency, which also doubles as a "pet shop" and slave market of sorts. A very important type of business, it is the main source of employment of Maze denizens and inhabitants, and where certain creatures and people land when captured, or after willingly selling themselves. The contestant can use both the market and the job-finding services, depending on the mission set and the amount of rooms visited.
As a shop
The hiring bureau contains eight cages, in which creatures of all kinds and origins may end up, for various reasons. They may be derelict people that are serving a punishment, domesticated creatures that need a new owner, people selling themselves on purpose to seek a master, or even mercenaries seeking for an employer. Contestants may purchase one of those creatures, who is then automatically assigned as his/her Ally, if he/she didn't have one already.
A contestant cannot sell himself/herself, as hirers are instructed to name-check anyone wanting to sell themselves, and are aware of the contestant's name. If he/she attempts to, the hirer will turn down their attempt and refuse. They can, however, put their ally for sale.
Rules of a hiring bureau
- Sells 8 random creatures from a specific list
- Only sells one of each creature
- May buy back allies, which are sold with their equipment and clothes for a rough estimate given by the hirer.
- Accepts credit.
- Accepts valuables and will exchange them for money or credit.
When threatened, the hirer will warn the contestant that his/her body is fitted with a heartbeat sensor, and that if he is killed, so will be all of the creatures in the cages (none of the creature killed will be credited to the contestant), as their bodies are also fitted with sensors - if the hirer dies, those sensors are rigged to a microbomb on their heads, which explodes if it doesn't detect a heartbeat anymore.
Threatening or attacking a hirer gives the contestant a code orange, and killing one instantly increases it to a code red.
List of creatures that can be found for sale
- Archaeologist - 1500 P$
- Apprentice magician - 1800 P$
- Butler - 1000 P$
- Chimpanzee - 400 P$
- Derelict Maze Soldier - 2000 P$
- Derelict Maze Sergeant - 2300 P$
- Derelict Maze Sniper - 2300 P$
- Domesticated cat - 200 P$
- Domesticated Headcrab - 250 P$
- Domesticated Lynx - 400 P$
- Domesticated Wolf - 400 P$
- Dwarf - 800 P$
- German shepherd - 300 P$
- Engineer - 1500 P$
- Hakutaku - 800 P$
- Incubus - 1000 P$
- Kappa - 1000 P$
- Kitsune - 1200 P$
- Knucker - 2800 P$
- Lesser dragon - 1500 P$
- Maid - 1000 P$
- Magician - 2600 P$
- Magus Magician - 4000 P$
- Medieval knight - 1500 P$
- Medic - 2000 P$
- Ninja - 1500 P$
- Oni - 1200 P$
- Psionic warrior - 1500 P$
- Ryu - 4500 P$
- Shrine maiden - 600 P$
- Succubus - 1000 P$
- Student - 1500 P$
- Telepath - 1000 P$
- Tengu - 1000 P$
- Tesla Trooper - 1500 P$
- Vampire - 1200 P$
- Wyvern - 2800 P$
- Yousei - 600 P$
- All mercenaries: Assault merc, Stealth merc, Sniper merc, CQB merc, Gunner merc, Bomber merc (Prices variable, check the individual articles to know more about mercenary employment)
As a job-finding agency
If a contestant is attempting Contracts or Co-op missions, rooms that are meant to be mission starters will be a hiring bureau, because the hiring bureau becomes a source of jobs and activities for them to attempt and gain money and reputation from. The more jobs completed, the more difficult the next ones become, and in turn, the more they pay off.
Aside from contestants, Mazeworld denizens also regularly use the Hiring Bureau's job-finding system, and it is even, for some, their primary source of revenue. Jobs are of varied nature; something as simple as an escort to go through dangerous rooms, to odd jobs such as bouncer, bodyguard, deliveries, item finding, and such. Some may even find full employment with specific people using the system as a medium.
The hiring bureau's system defines two categories of people: First, Employers, who post jobs and request services, indicate the payment they will promise if the job is done, and write off conditions. Those who reply to employers are called Volunteers. Hirers assign volunteers (which are either solo people, or teams, usually of 2, rarely more) to jobs depending on their reputation and the requests of both employers and volunteers, essentially acting as a very important middleman. Hirers also have access to the Mazes' teleporter system, which sends volunteers directly to the job's meeting point, and back once they are finished. There is no restriction on which species can be employers or volunteers, so long as they're sapient and capable of speaking the common language; even youkai can post and apply for jobs.
In order to be registered as either employer or volunteer, one must first sign up. Hirers may refuse people from signing up as either employer or volunteer if either group has too many members (a statistic that is given to them on their computers by the GMs). Signing up is quick, easy, and free - it only involves giving the hirer the full name, species, age, and desired group (employer or volunteer). Contestants are name-checked as well, and cannot become employers; and can only become volunteers during the Contracts missions.
Hirers are mandated by the Game Masters themselves and receive a daily pay of 250 P$/day. This job requires special qualifications and training, and may be a choice of career after selecting the right studies and qualifying for hirer training selection - which are people handpicked by the GMs themselves to become hirers. Such a high pay is explained by the fact hirers are a vital pillar of employment and activity for the Mazes.
Products sold
- Creatures to be the contestant's Ally
- Job-finding service
