Mapping Cave Systems
| Mapping Cave Systems | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Book |
| Location | Adventurer's Guild; Bookseller |
| Sell Price | 4000g |
Mapping Cave Systems is the power book kept behind a door that only opens after a thousand monsters have died. It sits in a box in the back room of the Adventurer's Guild, and reading it halves what Marlon charges for his item recovery service, the counter where gear lost in a blackout underground can be bought back. That is insurance rather than profit, and the joke of it is that a farmer who has killed a thousand monsters rarely faints any more. The book is still worth collecting, partly for the Well-Read achievement and partly because every later copy pays out a solid block of combat experience. For most saves it is one of the last powers to be claimed.
The in-game description reads: You get a 50% discount on Marlon's item retrieval service.
Overview
The guild stands just east of the mine entrance in the Mountain, and getting inside at all takes finishing the Initiation quest first. Marlon runs the counter, selling and buying weapons, boots, rings and Monster Loot, while Gil sits in his rocking chair by the fire. The wall to the right of the counter holds the monster eradication list, the tally of how many slimes, bats, skeletons and void spirits a farmer has put down, and Gil hands over a reward each time one of those targets is met. The back room, where Marlon and Gil actually live, stays shut until the overall count passes a thousand kills. The box inside holds this book.
That threshold is the real content of the page. A thousand monsters is not a casual total: it means a full run down the mine shaft, a long stretch of Skull Cavern or a determined session with the eradication goals in mind. Oil of Garlic keeps weaker monsters away and is therefore the wrong drink for anyone counting, while Monster Musk doubles how often they appear and is the right one. Many farmers cross the line without noticing and only find the back room later when they come to claim a Slime Charmer Ring or a Vampire Ring.
What the power buys is a cheaper mistake. Passing out underground from lost health costs gold and scatters gear, and Marlon's recovery service is the way to get something back for a fee. Halving that fee matters most to a farmer who is still losing fights, which is exactly the farmer who has not yet reached a thousand kills, so the book arrives a little late for the problem it solves. Where it earns its keep is on a save that pushes into the dangerous version of the mines, where blackouts come back into fashion.
From the third year the Bookseller lists it as well, on roughly one table in ten and at a price that dwarfs the effort of simply fighting for it. That route exists mainly for players who want the achievement without the body count.
The first reading claims the power and files it on the Special Items and Powers tab. Each later copy gives a hundred points of combat experience, which is the same reward the other fighting books hand out and is welcome on a farm pushing towards Combat Mastery.
Notes
Penny loves the book, Elliott likes it, and Alex dislikes it. Marlon and Gil keep to themselves behind the guild counter and take no gifts from anybody, so the book about their own trade stays in the farmer's pack.
Through the spool of the Sewing Machine, with a dyeable garment in the feed, the book stains cloth a dark grey.
All Books
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Animal Catalogue | 
|
2000g |
| Bait And Bobber | 
|
500g |
| Book Of Stars | 
|
2500g |
| Book of Mysteries | 
|
3000g |
| Combat Quarterly | 
|
500g |
| Dwarvish Safety Manual | 
|
1000g |
| Friendship 101 | 
|
3000g |
| Horse: The Book | 
|
1000g |
| Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Thick | 
|
500g |
| Jewels Of The Sea | 
|
800g |
| Mapping Cave Systems | 
|
4000g |
| Mining Monthly | 
|
500g |
| Monster Compendium | 
|
2000g |
| Ol' Slitherlegs | 
|
1000g |
| Price Catalogue | 
|
1000g |
| Queen Of Sauce Cookbook | 
|
10000g |
| Raccoon Journal | 
|
1000g |
| Stardew Valley Almanac | 
|
500g |
| The Alleyway Buffet | 
|
3000g |
| The Art O' Crabbing | 
|
1000g |
| The Diamond Hunter | 
|
1000g |
| Treasure Appraisal Guide | 
|
500g |
| Way Of The Wind pt. 1 | 
|
5000g |
| Way Of The Wind pt. 2 | 
|
10000g |
| Woodcutter's Weekly | 
|
500g |
| Woody's Secret | 
|
500g |