Property access in Aurbis is built around locks, keys, and recorded authority. A home, chest, holding, or guard facility is not owned because an invisible flag says so. It is controlled because the right people hold the right keys, and because the server knows where master authority begins.
This makes locksmithing a real player-facing trade without turning ownership into a free-for-all.
What is live
- Property and facility keys can exist as physical Skyrim key items.
- Master authority is tracked by a server-side master token.
- Ordinary key copies can be made by the master-token holder.
- Ordinary key copies grant access, but they do not grant the right to mint more keys.
- Key copies preserve lineage, so the record knows which property, master source, crafter, material spend, and command created them.
Master keys and ordinary keys
The important distinction is authority.
A master key or master token represents control over a property key lineage. It is how a jarl, guard authority, property owner, or approved holder can create working copies. A loose physical master key is still a dangerous object in the world, but the physical item alone does not silently move server-side master authority.
An ordinary key is a working access copy. It can open the property it belongs to while it is active, but it cannot be used to create more keys.
Locksmithing
Player key copying is handled through the public /key command family. It is meant for ordinary keys only.
/key list shows your property keys and master-token copy rights./key inspect <key-id> shows key role, holder, status, physical reference, and lineage./key copy <property-id|master-key-id> [name] spends material and mints an ordinary key copy.
/key copy requires:
- The caller must hold the active master token for that property.
- The caller must have Smithing 20 or Lockpicking 20.
- The caller must spend 1 Iron Ingot.
The material is removed through the server inventory ledger before the new key row is created. If the material check fails, the key is not created.
Authority commands
The public /key surface is for holders copying ordinary keys. Official property authority still runs through the authority systems:
/jarldom key ... for jarldom property key administration./guard key ... for guard facility key administration./keys ... for staff repair or grant work.
That split matters. Players can run a locksmith trade, sell copies, lose copies, steal copies, and manage access, but they cannot create ownership authority from skill alone.
Why it matters
Locks create politics. A trusted steward can be given an ordinary key. A careless owner can lose access control. A locksmith can become valuable because they have the skill and material to make working copies. A thief can still matter because weak property security is a world problem, not a menu problem.
The record remains legible: who had authority, what was copied, what material was spent, and what lineage each key belongs to.
