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Quest Suggestions
Posted: 30 Jun 2003 12:37 AM |
I added this forum in for people to suggest ideas for Quests, both for DM's and also permanent NPC type ones for Vives. This is something I am going to get my teeth into over the next week, so please post as many as you like/can.
e.g. The Characters involved.
The Storyline/Background.
Are there multiple ways to complete it etc etc.
A variety would be useful, some simple and some complex.
Cheers
Arathon (in anticipation). |
Vives Screenshots!
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[No Subject]
Posted: 30 Jun 2003 12:37 AM |
[b:1c083c0150][color=darkblue:1c083c0150]Mundane Mellow Quests[/color:1c083c0150][/b:1c083c0150]
There's a couple of mundane ones that I've been running with different groups; most involve, one way or another, items/concepts from CNR to ease a gradual transition.
First there's the resource-gathering ones... Like getting grapes/eggs/apples... these can (and have) been done with some twists, which makes the quests open-ended and non-linear. They involve just the basic Farmer Bartimow and Windy Miller, or additional NPCs. Minimum party transfer / specifal effects required, no major history of the land required, but in general quite fun for all.
More to come later, too early :? |
Aria
So talented, so troubled. |
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[No Subject]
Posted: 30 Jun 2003 12:37 AM |
[b:646a814079][color=darkblue:646a814079]Quest Suggestions from Grim[/color:646a814079][/b:646a814079]
[i:646a814079][color=olive:646a814079]All of the following is submitted by Grim. I've merely reformatted it. The quests were designed with certain character levels in mind.[/color:646a814079][/i:646a814079]
[i:646a814079]Level 4, being small-town[/i:646a814079]
A theme of assorted-problems-trouble-town, with the characters involved having to investigate each one (wild animal attacks, bad crops, missing people) and eventually getting to a situation where they can locate the source of the problem (Having to pick the right one of three possible sources, a druid who lives nearby, A curse by a person forced to leave the town, or a ghost that haunts the area - (to be cont.) with a lot of townspeople having different opinions and trying to lead you different ways, and with the party gaining or losing reputation if the problems continue (i.e. they get the wrong source). For diversion value, an evil-based party can be given the quest to muddy the waters for the "good" party.
[i:646a814079]Level 6, being large-town[/i:646a814079]
PCs are hired by a large-sized town trying to secure an exclusive trade deal with another town; While the party's trying to play ambassadors and get the deal down, millions of things get in the way. Lots of diplomacy in this one, very little combat. Examples of things that get in the way include: person gets murdered, PC accused.. Merchandise of low quality is shipped as examples, PCs must find the reason and/or make a replacement in time, and so forth. While one group of PCs tries to secure the deal, another group (or even multiple ones) can be given the task of sabotaging the deal, paid for by someone who has an interest for it not to happen (i.e. another town).
[i:646a814079]Level 10, being large city[/i:646a814079]
This quest is for 1 to infinity PCs, and can contain 0 combat to a lot of combat. It requires a large-city area with plenty of temples, and plenty of DMs are preferred. A PC (with no religious affiliation if possible) or party (with multiple religious affiliations) is hired by the city council to try and resolve the problems occurring between the city temples. Problems can be either mundane, being theological disagreements or old prejudice/hate, or active, such as temple A accusing temple B of murder, illegal actions, and so forth. PCs must either talk their way to settling the problem, or resolve it by blade, making lots and lots of enemies while making some friends (i.e. a solution of killing a ton of good priests to put mellow ones in power, who won't object to evil temple actions, would work eventually, but make a lot of enemies. Likewise the reverse). Sources of counter-PC action can be either NPCs from temples who have an interest in the current situation, ones who have an active interest in the bloody solution (i.e. ones who will come to power under such a situation), the local thieves (who have an operation going with the members of a temple or sect), and other PCs hired by assorted temples of their own faith to further their cause, one way or another.
[b:646a814079][color=darkred:646a814079]Smaller scale quests, DMed[/color:646a814079][/b:646a814079]
[i:646a814079]Level 1-3[/i:646a814079]
A village's blacksmith falls ill. While he rests, the village has no way of fixing their metal items.. and it's harvest time. The PC party is hired to find a blacksmith willing to come and aid the village, and is in charge of getting him there and back safely.
[i:646a814079]Level 3-5[/i:646a814079]
Continuation quest. If the party completed the last quest, they will eventually be contacted by a person from the same village. It would seem that the village has fallen upon hard times, and they'd like a priest of insert god here to come and cast some simple spells to remove the "curse" causing low crops. Party is in charge of resolving the situation, either by getting the village to realize there's no need (Most XP), and that the bad crops are just caused by some underground creatures damaging them, not by some curse, by getting a priest to come and then dealing with said creatures (less XP, cleric gives hints), or by just getting the cleric to come (Village is grateful but problems continue).
[i:646a814079]Level 4-6[/i:646a814079]
The PCs are hired as caravan guards for a caravan with some precious items. However, halfway, the caravan is hit by some powerful monsters in force. If PCs are wise enough to run away (they should be, if the monsters are powerful enough. The NPCs around will also run), they will be ordered to go fetch the missing goods, by force or by stealth. Unknown to the PCs, internal problems in the monster band have left it reduced as several factions fight for power (PCs should be given a fair chance to find corpses and such by scouting). If the PCs refuse, make it extra-clear that their reputations will go to hell if they don't do they're job ("You'll never work in this town again"). PCs should be given a chance to fight alone, or if they're smart enough to figure it out, locate a band of monsters fighting the one holding the goods. Said band will return the goods (Just this one time) for the PC's aid in defeating the other.
[i:646a814079]Level 1-3[/i:646a814079]
A group of people from the insert city mental institute has escaped, and in their desperation, the authorities have turned to this obviously inept group of PCs to round them up. This makes an excellent introductory quest for a group of PCs to get introduced to a new city, as they scour it up and down for the missing people (Requires mostly talking with NPCs and trying to find the location of said nuts, preferably before they damage themselves).
[i:646a814079]Level 2-4[/i:646a814079]
Continuation quest. Oops, one of the "crazy people" turned out to be not so crazy. In fact, he was just looking to rob the institution treasury! How wicked. The PCs are hired to find him and get the money back. Once again the PCs have to maneuver in a sea of NPCs to find the person, avoiding false leads and eventually finding him. Quest ends when PCs convince him to give up the money, or pry it from his dead hands. Especially smart PCs should be given a chance to get the villain where the guard can bring him in to prison, too.
[i:646a814079]Level 1-8[/i:646a814079]
A large village or small town finds that a band of orcs and goblins are about to attack it. They'll hire almost anyone to help, as the local militia is less than impressive, and contains mostly people who attempt to play soldier with comic effect. Emphasis in this quest is on scouting the enemy force and planning a smart defense accordingly, not in the fight itself (If the PCs do a good job planning, the monsters should have no chance). Concepts include securing the parts of an old siege weapon and getting it rebuilt, setting traps in the appropriate places after getting a townsperson to remember that they have an old store of traps, and/or similar issues. Additional kudos go to PCs who can psyche the orcs into not attacking at all or in full force by playing on their superstitions.
[i:646a814079]More to come some other time, perhaps.[/i:646a814079] |
Aria
So talented, so troubled. |
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[No Subject]
Posted: 30 Jun 2003 12:37 AM |
[b:cfa3b5db01][color=darkblue:cfa3b5db01]Food for Thought[/color:cfa3b5db01][/b:cfa3b5db01]
Check [url=http://nwn.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=213102&forum=42]this[/url] out...
...and this: [url=http://nwn.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=189574&forum=66&highlight=fedex]Beyond FedEx[/url] |
Aria
So talented, so troubled. |
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[No Subject]
Posted: 30 Jun 2003 12:37 AM |
I personally like basing many quests off the "FedEx" format because it can involve so many twists and turns, and can involve NPC's (little child) as the package in some truly innovative situations. As well it helps to gather PC's together, or get them going in the right direction...
~Fenarisk |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 01 Aug 2003 03:04 PM |
I have a very large collection of old Dungeon Magazine games and side breaks that I could dump to PDF format and send to the Vives game developers. Why reinvent the wheel when thousands of smaller, less well known modules of all different sizes/kinds already exist?
DC |
IceFalcon, the "arrowless" Ranger
...and terror of Chicken's everywhere!!! |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 01 Aug 2003 06:47 PM |
All around nice guy indeed~! That would be much appreciated, I'd imagine...
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Aria
So talented, so troubled. |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 02 Aug 2003 06:36 AM |
:)
Because of the number of them I'd have to dig through, can someone provide a general direction on the kinds of mods that would fit well into the Vives world theme? I assume there is some kind of overarching theme... or goal, beyond just XP hunting and general role playing between characters.
I noticed that the docks area only had Thugs. Why don't I dig into that area to start. Who should I email the PDF to when complete?
DC |
IceFalcon, the "arrowless" Ranger
...and terror of Chicken's everywhere!!! |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 02 Aug 2003 02:43 PM |
Episode One will be much focussing upon Religion / Freewill, so plots-stories along those themes would be fantastic. But any general, smaller scale ones can also provide nice inspirations...
I'm guessing Q (Quietus) would be a nice person to email to, since he'd be able to send it up to a place where all DMs can see. |
Aria
So talented, so troubled. |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 02 Aug 2003 02:46 PM |
Aria on 08-02-2003 02:43 PM
I'm guessing Q (Quietus) would be a nice person to email to...
QuietusMourir @ hotmail.com (2MB inbox limit, though)
-Q
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 03 Aug 2003 07:23 AM |
I came across this list in the day when i was working on my NWN campaign. Hope it helps.
Any Old Port in a Storm
The PCs are seeking shelter from the elements or some other threat, and come across a place to hole up. They find that they have stumbled across something dangerous, secret, or supernatural, and must then deal with it in order to enjoy a little rest.
Common Twists & Themes: The shelter contains the cause of the threat the PCs were trying to avoid. The shelter houses a Hidden Base (q.v.). The PCs must not only struggle for shelter, they must struggle to survive. The place is a legitimate shelter of some kind, but the PCs are not welcome, and must win hearts or minds to earn their bed for the night.
Better Late Than Never
Some bad guys have arrived and done some bad guy things. The PCs were none the wiser. The bad guys have now made good their escape, and the PCs have caught wind of it in time to chase them down before they make it back to their lair, their home nation, behind enemy lines, etc.
Common Twists & Themes: The bad guys escaped by stealing a conveyance that the PCs know better than they do. The bad guys duck down a metaphorical (or literal) side-road, trying to hide or blend into an environment (often one hostile to the PCs). If the bad guys cross the adventure's "finish line" (cross the county line, make the warp jump, etc.) there's no way to pursue them beyond it.
Blackmail
Usually through trickery (but sometimes by digging into the PCs' past), an antagonist has something to hold over the heads of the PCs and make them jump. This could be any kind of threat from physical to social, but it depends on the villain having something - even if it's information - that others don't have. Now, he is pulling the strings of the PCs, telling them to do things they don't want to. The PCs must end the cycle of blackmail, deprive the villain of his edge, and keep him temporarily satisfied while doing it.
Common Twists & Themes: The adventure hook involves the PCs doing the villain a good turn, which allows him to take advantage of them (very cynical!). To succeed, the PCs must contact other folks that are also being used. The PCs aren't the victims at all, but somebody they care about/are charged to protect, is.
Breaking and Entering
Mission objective: enter the dangerous place, and retrieve the vital dingus or valuable person. Overcome the area's defenses to do so.
Common Twists & Themes: The goal is not to extract a thing, but to destroy a thing or interfere with a process (kill the force-screen generator, assassinate the evil king, stop the spell from being cast, wreck the invasion plans, close the portal). The goal has moved. The goal is information, which must be broadcast or otherwise released from the area as soon as it is found. The job must be done without alerting anyone. The PCs don't know the place is dangerous. The PCs must replace the thing with another thing.
Capture the Flag
The PCs must secure a military target for the good guys. There are bad guys there that prefer not to be secured. The fundamental tactical scenario.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs must assemble and/or train a force to do the job with them. The PCs are working with flawed intelligence and the target zone isn't as described. The PCs must coordinate their own efforts with an ally group (possibly putting aside rivalries to do so). The target zone includes a population of innocent people, fragile goods, or some other precious thing that mustn't be harmed in the crossfire.
Clearing The Hex
There is a place where bad things live. The PCs must make it safe for nice people, systematically clearing it of danger.
Common Twists & Themes: The bad things can't be beaten with direct conflict. The PCs must learn more about them to solve the problem. The Haunted House. The Alien Infestation. The Wild Forest.
Delver's Delight
The PCs are treasure-hunters, who have caught wind of a treasure-laden ruin. They go to explore it, and must deal with its supernatural denizens to win the treasure and get out alive.
Common Twists & Themes: The treasure itself is something dangerous. The treasure isn't in a ruin, but in a wilderness or even hidden somewhere "civilized." The treasure is someone else's rightful property. The treasure turns out to have a will of its own.
Don't Eat The Purple Ones
The PCs are stranded in a strange place, and must survive by finding food and shelter, and then worry about getting back home.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs must survive only for a short period of time, until help arrives, the ship and/or radio is repaired, or some such thing (in "repair" scenarios, sometimes the PCs must discover some fact about the local environment that will make such repairs possible).
Elementary, My Dear Watson
A crime or atrocity has been committed; the PCs must solve it. They must interview witnesses (and prevent them from being killed), gather clues (and prevent them from being stolen or ruined). They must then assemble proof to deliver to the authorities, or serve as personal ministers of justice.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs are working to clear an innocent already accused (possibly themselves). The PCs must work alongside a special investigator or are otherwise saddled with an unwanted ally. Midway through the adventure, the PCs are "taken off the case" - their invitation/authority to pursue the matter is closed (often the result of political maneuvering by an antagonist). The climax is a courtroom scene or other arena of judgment. The scale is highly variable for this type of adventure, from a small-town murder to a planetwide pollution scandal.
Escort Service
The PCs have a valuable object or person, which needs to be taken to a safe place or to its rightful owner, etc. They must undertake a dangerous journey in which one or more factions (and chance and misfortune) try to deprive them of the thing in their care.
Common Twists & Themes: The thing or person is troublesome, and tries to escape or sidetrack the PCs. The destination has been destroyed or suborned by the enemy, and the PCs must take upon themselves the job that either the destination or their charge was meant to do when it got there. The person is a person attempting a political defection. Safe arrival at the destination doesn't end the story; the PCs must then bargain with their charge as their token (exchanging money for a hostage, for instance). The PCs must protect the target without the target knowing about it.
Good Housekeeping
The PCs are placed in charge of a large operation (a trading company, a feudal barony, the CIA) and must, despite lack of experience in such things, make it work and thrive.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs are brought in because something big is about to happen, and the Old Guard wants a chance to escape. The peasants, neighbors, employees, etcetera resent the PCs, because their method of inheritance looks outwardly bad and everybody loved the old boss.
Help is on the Way
A person (church group, nation, galaxy) is in a hazardous situation they can't survive without rescue. The PCs are on the job. In some scenarios, the hook is as simple as a distant yell or crackly distress signal.
Common Twists & Themes: The victim(s) is (are) a hostage, or under siege from enemy forces, and the PCs must deal with the captors or break the siege. There is a danger that any rescue attempts will strand the rescuers in the same soup as the rescuees, compounding the problem. The rescuees aren't people, but animals, robots, or something else. The "victim" doesn't realize that he needs rescuing; he thinks he's doing something reasonable and/or safe. The threat isn't villain-oriented at all; it's a natural disaster, nuclear meltdown, or disease outbreak. The rescuees can't leave ; something immobile and vital must be tended to or dealt with at the adventure location. The PCs begin as part of the rescuees, and must escape and gather forces or resources to bring back and proceed as above.
Hidden Base
The PCs, while traveling or exploring, come across a hornet's nest of bad guys, preparing for Big Badness. They must either find some way to get word to the good guys, or sneak in and disable the place themselves, or a combination of both.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs must figure out how to use local resources in order to defend themselves or have a chance against the inhabitants.
How Much For Just The Dingus?
Within a defined area, something important and valuable exists. The PCs (or their employers) want it, but so do one or more other groups. The ones that get it will be the ones that can outthink and outrace the others, deal best with the natives of the area, and learn the most about their target. Each competing group has its own agenda and resources.
Common Twists & Themes: The natives require the competing factions to gather before them as pals to state their cases. The valuable thing was en route somewhere when its conveyance or courier wrecked or vanished.
I Beg Your Pardon?
The PCs are minding their own business when they are attacked or threatened. They don't know why. They must solve the mystery of their attacker's motives, and in the meantime fend off more attacks. They must put two and two together to deal with the problem.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs have something that the bad guys want - but they don't necessarily realize it. The bad guys are out for revenge for a dead compatriot from a previous adventure. The bad guys have mistaken the PCs for somebody else.
Long Or Short Fork When Dining On Elf?
The PCs are a diplomatic vanguard, trying to open up (or shore up) either political or trade relations with a strange culture. All they have to do is manage for a day or so among the strange customs without offending anybody . . . and what information they have is both incomplete and dangerously misleading.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs were chosen by somebody who knew they weren't prepared for it - an NPC trying to sabotage the works (pinning this villain might be necessary to avert disaster).
Look, Don't Touch
The PCs are working surveillance - spying on a person, gathering information on a beast in the wild, scouting a new sector. Regardless of the scale, the primary conflict (at least at the start) is the rule that they are only to watch, listen and learn. They are not to make contact or let themselves be known.
Common Twists & Themes: The target gets itself in trouble and the PCs must decide whether to break the no-contact rule in order to mount a rescue.
Manhunt
Someone is gone: they've run away, gotten lost, or simply haven't called home in a while. Somebody misses them or needs them returned. The PCs are called in to find them and bring them back.
Common Twists & Themes: The target has been kidnapped (possibly to specifically lure the PCs). The target is dangerous and escaped from a facility designed to protect the public. The target is valuable and escaped from a place designed to keep him safe, cozy, and conveniently handy. The target has a reason for leaving that the PCs will sympathize with. The target has stumbled across another adventure (either as protagonist or victim), which the PCs must then undertake themselves. The missing "person" is an entire expedition or pilgrimage of some kind. The target isn't a runaway or missing/lost - they're just someone that the PCs have been hired to track down (possibly under false pretenses).
Missing Memories
One or more of the PCs wakes up with no memory of the recent past, and now they find themselves in some kind of trouble they don't understand. The PCs must find the reason for the memory lapse, and solve any problems they uncover in the meantime.
Common Twists & Themes: The forgetful PCs voluntarily suppressed or erased the memories, and they find themselves undoing their own work.
Most Peculiar, Momma
Something both bad and inexplicable is happening (racial tension is being fired up in town, all the power is out, the beer supply is drained, it's snowing in July, Voyager still has fans, hordes of aliens are eating all the cheese), and a lot of people are very troubled by it. The PCs must track the phenomenon to its source, and stop it.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs are somehow unwittingly responsible for the whole thing. What seems to be a problem of one nature (technological, personal, biological, chemical, magical, political, etc) is actually a problem of an alternate one.
No One Has Soiled The Bridge
The PCs are assigned to guard a single vital spot (anything from a mountain pass to a solar system) from impending or possible attack. They must plan their defensive strategy, set up watches, set traps, and so on, and then deal with the enemy when it arrives.
Common Twists & Themes: The intelligence the PCs was given turns out to be faulty, but acting on the new information could result in greater danger - but so could not acting on it, and the PCs must choose or create a compromise. The PCs learn that the enemy has good and sympathetic reason for wanting to destroy the protected spot.
Not In Kansas
The PCs are minding their own business and find themselves transported to a strange place. They must figure out where they are, why they are there and how to escape.
Common Twists & Themes: They were brought there specifically to help someone in trouble. They were brought there by accident, as a by-product of something strange and secret. Some of the PCs' enemies were transported along with them (or separately), and now they have a new battleground, and innocents to convince which guys are the good guys.
Ounces of Prevention
A villain or organization is getting ready to do something bad, and the PCs have received a tip-off of some sort. They must investigate to find out more about the caper, and then act to prevent it.
Common Twists & Themes: The initial tip-off was a red herring meant to distract the PCs from the actual caper. There are two simultaneous Bad Things on the way, and no apparent way to both of them - how to choose?
Pandora's Box
Somebody has tinkered with Things Man Ought Not, or opened a portal to the Mean People Dimension, cracked a wall at the state prison, or summoned an ancient Babylonian god into a penthouse. Before the PCs can even think of confronting the source of the trouble, they must deal with the waves of trouble already released by it: monsters, old foes out for vengeance, curious aliens who think cars/citizens/McDonald's hamburgers resemble food, and so forth.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs can't simply take the released badness to the mat; they have to collect it and shove it back into the source before it the adventure can really end. The PCs are drawn in to the source and must solve problems on the other side before returning to this one. A secret book, code, or other rare element is necessary to plug the breach (maybe just the fellow who opened it). A close cousin to this plot is the basic "somebody has traveled into the past and messed with our reality" story.
Quest For the Sparkly Hoozits
Somebody needs a dingus (to fulfill a prophecy, heal the monarch, prevent a war, cure a disease, or what have you). The PCs must find a dingus. Often an old dingus, a mysterious dingus, and a powerful dingus. The PCs must learn more about it to track it down, and then deal with taking it from wherever it is.
Common Twists & Themes: The dingus is incomplete when found (one of the most irritating and un-fun plot twists in the universe). Somebody already owns it (or recently stole it, sometimes with legitimate claim or cause). The dingus is information, or an idea, or a substance, not a specific dingus. The PCs must "go undercover" or otherwise infiltrate a group or society, gaining the dingus by guile or stealth.
Recent Ruins
A town, castle, starship, outpost, or other civilized construct is lying in ruins. Very recently, it was just dandy. The PCs must enter the ruins, explore them, and find out what happened.
Common Twists & Themes: Whatever ruined the ruins (including mean people, weird radiation, monsters, a new race, ghosts) is still a threat; the PCs must save the day. The inhabitants destroyed themselves. The "ruins" are a derelict ship or spaceship, recently discovered. The "ruin" is a ghost town, stumbled across as the PCs travel - but the map says the town is alive and well.
Running the Gauntlet
The PCs must travel through a hazardous area, and get through without being killed, robbed, humiliated, debased, diseased, or educated by whatever is there. The troubles they encounter are rarely personal in nature - the place itself is the "villain" of the adventure.
Common Twists & Themes: The place isn't dangerous at all, and the various "dangers" are actually attempts to communicate with the party by some agent or another.
Safari
The PCs are on a hunting expedition, to capture or kill and elusive and prized creature. They must deal with its environment, its own ability to evade them, and possibly its ability to fight them.
Common Twists & Themes: The creature is immune to their devices and weapons. There are other people actively protecting the creature. The creature's lair allows the PCs to stumble onto another adventure.
Score One for the Home Team
The PCs are participants in a race, contest, tournament, scavenger hunt or other voluntary bit of sport. They must win.
Common Twists & Themes: The other contestants are less honest, and the PCs must overcome their attempts to win dishonestly. The PCs are competing for a deeper purpose than victory, such as to keep another contestant safe, or spy on one, or just to get into the place where the event goes down. The PCs don't wish to win; they just wish to prevent the villain from winning. The event is a deliberate test of the PCs abilities (for entry into an organization, for example). The event becomes more deadly than it's supposed to.
Stalag 23
The PCs are imprisoned, and must engineer an escape, overcoming any guards, automatic measures, and geographic isolation their prison imposes on them.
Common Twists & Themes: Something has happened in the outside world and the prison security has fallen lax because of it. The PCs have been hired to "test" the prison - they aren't normal inmates. Other prisoners decide to blow the whistle for spite or revenge. The PCs are undercover to spy on a prisoner, but are then mistaken for real inmates and kept incarcerated. The PCs must escape on a tight schedule to get to another adventure outside the walls.
Take Us To Memphis And Don't Slow Down
The PCs are on board a populated conveyance (East Indiaman, Cruise Ship, Ferry, Sleeper Starship), when it is hijacked. The PCs must take action while the normals sit and twiddle.
Common Twists & Themes: The "hijackers" are government agents pulling a complicated caper, forcing the PCs to choose sides. The hijackers don't realize there is a secondary danger that must be dealt with, and any attempt to convince them is viewed as a trick. The normals are unhelpful or even hostile to the PCs because they think the PCs are just making matters worse.
Troublemakers
A bad guy (or a group of them, or multiple parties) is kicking up a ruckus, upsetting the neighbors, poisoning the reservoirs, or otherwise causing trouble. The PCs have to go where the trouble is, locate the bad guys, and stop the party.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs must not harm the perpetrator(s); they must be bagged alive and well. The bad guys have prepared something dangerous and hidden as "insurance" if they are captured. The "bad guy" is a monster or dangerous animal (or an intelligent creature that everybody thinks is a monster or animal). The "bad guy" is a respected public figure, superior officer, or someone else abusing their authority, and the PCs might meet hostility from normally-helpful quarters who don't accept that the bad guy is bad. A balance of power perpetuates the trouble, and the PCs must choose sides to tip the balance and fix things. The "trouble" is diplomatic or political, and the PCs must make peace, not war.
Uncharted Waters
The PCs are explorers, and their goal is to enter an unknown territory and scope it out. Naturally, the job isn't just going to be surveying and drawing sketches of local fauna; something is there, something fascinating and threatening.
Common Twists & Themes: Either the place itself is threatening (in which case the PCs must both play National Geographic and simultaneously try to escape with their skin, sanity, and credit rating) or the place itself is very valuable and wonderful, and something else there is keen on making sure the PCs don't let anyone else know. Other potential conflicts involve damage to the PCs' conveyance or communication equipment, in which case this becomes Don't Eat the Purple Ones.
We're On The Outside Looking In
Any of the basic plots in this list can be reengineered with the PCs on the outside of it. Either the PCs are accompanying other characters in the midst of such a plot (often being called on to defend the plot from the outside, as it were), or they are minding their own business when the others involved in the plot show up, and must pick sides or simply resist. For instance, with Any Old Port In The Storm, the PCs could already be enjoying (or native to) the shelter when a strange group arrives. If the "the PCs are unwelcome" variant is employed, then perhaps the PCs will be the only voice of reason to still the religious fervor, racial prejudice, anti-monster sentiment, or whatever else is the source of conflict.
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs find themselves on the receiving end of the adventure. Take any of the plots here and reverse them, placing the PCs in the position where NPCs (often the villain, fugitive, etcetera) normally are. Instead of hunting, they must be hunted. Instead of fixing, they must avoid getting "fixed" themselves (ow). Alternately, leave a classic plot intact but turn the twists upside down, making them twistier (or refreshingly un twisty).
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Quest Suggestions - The Riddle Master
Posted: 03 Aug 2003 08:26 AM |
The Riddle Master
- Dresses as a vagabond
- Loves the sea (hangs out at the Docks)
- Visits Port cities in search of new riddles
- Awards XP for answering his riddles
(XP +/- based upon difficulty of riddle)
- Should be persistant
- Limit the number of visits per player
- Create an Inn (Skull Port) where he sits by the fireplace
- Very rough place... but gets real quiet when tells a riddle
- Fights break out between patrons arguing over possible answers
- Limit the City Watch involvement... very long delay before they show up
Here is a large list of his riddles for character/encounter creation:
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Riddle:
I can kill people but without me there would be no people.
I was born long ago and will someday die.
I can cause fire and am a magician with water.
I have more brothers than any person.
There is very little that can stop me.
What am I?
Answer: A Celestial Body
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Riddle:
What can you put in a barrel to make it lighter?
Answer: A hole
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Riddle:
In the day or in the night
all people have seen this sight,
On the ocean or on the plain
most people have seen the same,
On this world and on no other
has been shown to me by my brother,
Some leader once generalized it
but many things have been called it.
What am I?
Answer: A monster
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Riddle:
Hickory-Dickory-Dock!
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one
and down did come.
Hickory-Dickory-Dock!
What am I?
Answer: A guillotine
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Riddle:
A red cap on my head,
a stone in my throat,
if you tell me the answer,
I'll give you a Groat.
What am I?
Answer: A cherry
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Riddle:
I have rivers without water,
Forests without trees,
Mountains without rocks
Towns without houses.
What am I?
Answer: A Map
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Riddle:
Ten Men's Strength,
Ten Men's Length,
Ten Men can't break it,
Yet a young boy walks off with it
What am I?
Answer: A rope
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Riddle:
I begin eternity,
And end space,
At the end of time,
And in every place,
Last in life,
Second to death,
Never alone,
Found in your breath,
Contained by earth,
Water or flame,
My grandeur so awesome,
Wind dare not tame,
Not in your mind,
Am in your dreams,
Vacant to Kings,
Present to Queens.
What am I?
Answer: The letter "E"
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Riddle:
I have many tongues but cannot taste
By me, most things are turned to waste
I crack and snap, yet I stay whole
I may take the largest toll
I assisted all of the first men
And I will pay them back again
Around me, people snuggle and sleep
Yet run when I am released from my keep
I jump around and leap and bound
The cold man wishes I he had found
What am I?
Answer: Fire
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Riddle:
My first is in wield, sever bones and marrow.
My second is in blade, forged in cold steel.
My third is in arbalest, and also in arrows.
My fourth is in power, plunged through a shield.
My fifth is in honour, and also in vows
My last will put an end to it all.
What am I?
Answer: Weapon
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Riddle:
My first is foremost legally,
My second circles outwardly,
My third leads all in victory,
My fourth ends twice a nominee
My whole is this gates only key.
What am I?
Answer: Love
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Riddle:
I turn my head and you may go where you want.
I turn it again, you will stay till you rot.
I have no face, but I live or die
by my crooked teeth
Who am I?
Answer: A Key
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Riddle:
I am as strong as seven men.
I am as tall as seven men.
Yet seven men can not stand me on my end.
What am I?
Answer: A Rope
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Riddle:
Ten fish I caught without an eye,
and nine without a tail.
Half of eight, and six missing heads,
landed in my pail.
Who can tell me,
as I ask it,
how many fish are in my basket?
Answer: Zero - 10 without the "i" is 0, 9 without it's tail leaves 0, 8<--
divided here leaves twice 0, 6 without it's head leaves 0
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Riddle:
What kind of ear cannot hear?
What am I?
Answer: An ear of corn
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Riddle:
There is one that has a head without an eye,
And there's one that has an eye without a head.
You may find the answer if you try;
And when all is said,
Half the answer hangs by a thread.
What am I?
Answer: Pins and Needles
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Riddle:
Black I am and much admired,
Men seek me until they're tired;
When they find me, break my head,
And take me from my resting bed.
What am I?
Answer: Coal
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Riddle:
Who becomes pregnant without conceiving?
Who becomes fat without eating?
Answer: Clouds
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Riddle:
In the dark night flies a many-hued phantom.
It soars and spreads its wings
above the gloomy human crowd.
The whole world calls to it,
the whole world implores it.
At dawn the phantom vanishes
to be reborn in every heart.
And every night it is born anew
and every day it dies!
What am I?
Answer: Hope or dreams
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Riddle:
Two brothers we are, great burden we bear
By which we are bitterly pressed.
In truth we may say
We are full all the day
But empty we go to our rest.
What am I?
Answer: Shoes (or boots)
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Riddle:
Of no use to one
Yet absolute bliss to two.
The small boy gets it for nothing.
The young man has to lie for it.
The old man has to buy it.
The baby's right,
The lover's privilege,
The hypocrite's mask.
To the young girl, faith;
To the married woman, hope;
To the old maid, charity.
What am I?
Answer: A Kiss
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Riddle:
A wee wee man
In a red red coat
Staff in my hand
And a stone in my throat.
What am I?
Answer: A Cherry
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Riddle:
What runs around a city
but never moves?
What am I?
Answer: A Wall
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Riddle:
What is full of holes and holds water?
What am I?
Answer: A Sponge
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Riddle:
Iron roof, glass walls
Burns and burns
And never falls.
What am I?
Answer: A Lantern
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Riddle:
I cut through evil
like a double edged sword,
And chaos flees at my approach.
Balance I single-handedly upraise,
Through battles fought with heart and mind,
Instead of with my gaze.
What am I?
Answer:Justice
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Riddle:
It holds most knowledge that has ever been said;
But is not the brain, is not the head.
To feathers and their masters, 'tis both bane and boon. . .
One empty, and one full.
What am I?
Answer:Paper
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Riddle:
It comes only before,
It comes only after,
Rises only in darkness,
But rises only in light.
It is always the same,
But is yet always different.
What am I?
Answer:The moon
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Riddle:
A golden treasure that never stays;
The coin whose face gives wealth to all.
Strands, nuggets, and dust of gold
are all bought with its shining grace. . .
And all are more precious than any gleaming metal.
What am I?
Answer:The sun
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Riddle:
I run through hills;
I veer around mountains.
I leap over rivers
and crawl through the forests.
Step out your door to find me.
What am I?
Answer:The road
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Riddle:
Inside me the adventurous find
Quests and treasures of every kind.
Trolls, goblins, orcs, and more, await
Within my closed walls for
All those that wish to visit me.
Your hands are the key
To secrets untold,
And your mind will unlock the door.
What am I?
Answer:A book
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Riddle:
Stronger than steel,
And older than time;
They are more patient than death
and shall stand even when the stars have ceased to shine.
Their strength is embedded
in roots buried deep
Where the sands and frosts of ages
can never hope to touch or reach.
What am I?
Answer:Mountains
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Riddle:
Creatures of power, creatures of grace,
Creatures of beauty, creatures of strength.
As for their lives,
they set everything's pace,
For all things must come to live
under their emerald embrace. . .
Either in their life, or in their death.
What am I?
Answer:Trees
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Riddle:
As beautiful as the setting sun,
As delicate as the morning dew;
An angel's dusting from the stars
that can turn the Earth into
A frosted moon.
What am I?
Answer:Snow
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Riddle:
As destructive as life,
As healing as death;
An institutioner of strife,
Just as prone to bless.
It is all that is good,
Yet with an evil trend;
As it was the beginning of things,
It can also be the end.
What am I?
Answer:Fire, but Love also seems to work (though it was not the intended
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Riddle:
I am the part of the bird
that is not in the sky,
Who can drown in the ocean
and yet remain dry.
A last vestige of man
that refuses to die.
In mourning I am tossed
at your feet to lie;
I begin my job early,
devouring your ankles and thighs.
I work my way up,
eating your legs to your waist.
And though around midday away I am chased,
I return quickly,
To savor the arm of my taste.
As evening falls I enter your lungs,
Spiraling down
past your mouth and your tongue.
I feast on your body, your soul, and your mind,
but as darkness falls you shall find
That away I will go, a relief for some;
At least until tomorrow morning comes.
What am I?
Answer:Your shadow
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Riddle:
When you look into my face,
I shall never lie;
Instead be but a window into your soul,
whether there light or shadows hide;
As in me many see their deaths
where others see their lives;
In this deny me many try,
but they simply twist their knives;
For though prejudiced to some I may seem,
THE LIE IS THEIR OWN LIVES.
What am I?
Answer: A mirror
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Riddle:
Two bodies have I,
though both joined in one.
The more still I stand,
the quicker I run.
What am I?
Answer: An hourglass
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Riddle:
You get many of me, but never enough.
After the last one, your life soon will snuff.
You may have one of me but one day a year,
When the last one is gone, your life disappears.
What am I?
Answer: A birthday.
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Riddle:
I make you weak at the worst of all times.
I keep you safe, I keep you fine.
I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold,
I visit the weak, but seldom the bold.
What am I?
Answer: Fear
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Riddle:
Double my number, I'm less than a score,
Half of my number is less than four.
Add one to my double when bakers are near,
Days of the week are still greater, I fear.
What am I?
Answer: Six
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Riddle:
I weaken all men for hours each day.
I show you strange visions while you are away.
I take you by night, by day take you back,
None suffer to have me, but do from my lack.
What am I?
Answer: Sleep
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Riddle:
There is a house that has every window oriented to North.
There is a bear in front of this house.
What color is the bear?
Answer: The bear is white, because the only house having all its windows
oriented to North is a house placed at South Pole. So the bear is white.
Rebuttal: No polar bears live at the south pole! All of them reside at the North
Pole. Penguins live at the south pole. So there is no answer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
They have not flesh, nor feathers,
Nor scales, nor bone.
Yet they have fingers and thumbs,
Of their own.
What am I?
Answer: Gloves
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Riddle:
It is more beautiful than the face of your love.
It is more scary than your worst fear.
Dead men eat it all the time.
If a live man eats it, he soon will die.
A poor man has it.
A rich man wants it.
What am I?
Answer: Nothing
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Riddle:
In many hallways you would stand,
If not with this in hand.
What am I?
Answer: A Key.
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Riddle:
He who makes me doesn't want me,
He who buys me doesn't need me,
He who uses me doesn't care.
What am I?
Answer: A casket.
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Riddle:
What is faster than the speed of sound, but is still human?
Answer: The thought.
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Riddle:
I'm the source of all emotion, but I'm caged in a white prison.
What am I?
Answer: The heart.
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Riddle:
There are four brothers in this world that were all born together:
The first he runs and never wearies,
The second eats and is never full.
The third he drinks and is ever thirsty,
And the fourth sings a song that is never good.
Who are we?
Answer: Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind.
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Riddle:
If you have it,
You want to share it.
If you share it,
You don't have it.
What is it?
Answer: A secret
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Riddle:
I don't think or eat or slumber
or move around or fear thunder
just like you I look the same
but I can't harm you or be your bane
What am I?
Answer: A doll
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Riddle:
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?
Answer: A mountain
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Riddle:
Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.
What are we?
Answer: Teeth
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Riddle:
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless it flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.
What am I?
Answer: Wind
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Riddle:
An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
"That eye is like to this eye"
Said the first eye,
"But in low place,
Not in high place."
What am I?
Answer: Daisy in field of grass, big eye is sun
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Riddle:
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter.
What am I?
Answer: Darkness
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Riddle:
A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
What am I?
Answer: Egg
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Riddle:
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.
What am I?
Answer: Fish
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Riddle:
This thing all things devours:
Birds, beast,trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.
What am I?
Answer: Time
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Riddle:
You feel it, but never see it and never will.
What am I?
Answer: Heart
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Riddle:
You must keep it after giving it.
What am I?
Answer: Your word
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Riddle:
As light as a feather, but you can't hold it for ten minutes.
What am I?
Answer: Your breath
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Riddle:
Has a mouth but does not speak, has a bed but never sleeps.
What am I?
Answer: River
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Riddle:
Runs smoother than any rhyme, loves to fall but cannot climb!
What am I?
Answer: Water
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Riddle:
You break it even if you name it!
What am I?
Answer: Silence
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Riddle:
It passes before the sun and makes no shadow.
What am I?
Answer: Air
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
You feed it, it lives, you give it something to drink, it dies.
What am I?
Answer: Fire
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Riddle:
A red drum which sounds
Without being touched,
And grows silent,
When it is touched.
What am I?
Answer: Heart
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Riddle:
Two horses, swiftest traveling,
Harnessed in a pair, and
Grazing ever in places
Distant from them.
What am I?
Answer: Eyes
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Riddle:
A harvest sown and reaped on the same day
In an unplowed field,
Which increases without growing,
Remains whole though it is eaten
Within and without,
Is useless and yet
The staple of nations.
What am I?
Answer: War
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Riddle:
If you break me
I do not stop working,
If you touch me
I may be snared,
If you lose me
Nothing will matter.
What am I?
Answer: Hope
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Riddle:
All about, but cannot be seen,
Can be captured, cannot be held
No throat, but can be heard.
What am I?
Answer: Wind
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
I go around in circles,
But always straight ahead
Never complain,
No matter where I am led.
What am I?
Answer: Wheel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Lighter than what
I am made of,
More of me is hidden
Than is seen.
What am I?
Answer: Ice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
If a man carried my burden,
He would break his back.
I am not rich,
But leave silver in my track.
What am I?
Answer: Snail
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Riddle:
My life can be measured in hours,
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick
Fat, I am slow
Wind is my foe.
Answer: Candle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Weight in my belly,
Trees on my back,
Nails in my ribs,
Feet I do lack.
What am I?
Answer: Boat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
You can see nothing else
When you look in my face
I will look you in the eye
And I will never lie.
What am I?
Answer: mirror
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Riddle:
I am always hungry,
I must always be fed,
The finger I lick
Will soon turn red.
What am I?
Answer: fire
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Three lives have I.
Gentle enough to soothe the skin,
Light enough to caress the sky
Hard enough to crack rocks.
What am I?
Answer: water
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Glittering points
That downward thrust,
Sparkling spears
That never rust.
What am I?
Answer: icicles, teeth or stalactites?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Each morning I appear
To lie at your feet,
All day I follow
No matter how fast you run,
Yet I nearly perish
In the midday sun.
What am I?
Answer: shadow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Keys without locks
Yet I unlock the soul.
What am I?
Answer: piano,harpsichord
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Riddle:
Something wholly unreal, yet seems real to I
Think my friend, tell me where does it lie?
Answer: in the mind
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Riddle:
I am so simple,
That I can only point
Yet I guide men
All over the world.
What am I?
Answer: compass
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Riddle:
A beggar's brother went out to sea and drowned.
But the man who drowned had no brother.
What was the relationship between the man who drowned and the beggar?
What am I?
Answer: the beggars was his sister
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Riddle:
For our ambrosia we were blessed,
by Jupiter, with a sting of death.
Though our might, to some is jest,
we have quelled the dragon's breath.
What am I?
Answer: Bees
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Riddle:
Colored as a maiden tweaked,
time was naught when I began;
through the garden I was sneaked,
I alone am the fall of man.
What am I?
Answer: An Apple
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Riddle:
Early ages the iron boot tread,
with Europe at her command.
Through time power slipped and fled,
'til the creation of new holy land.
What am I?
Answer: Italy (Rome)
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Riddle:
One thin, one bold,
one sick, one cold.
The earth we span,
to prey upon man.
What am I?
Answer: The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse
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Riddle:
One where none should be,
or maybe where two should be,
seeking out purity,
in the kings trees.
What am I?
Answer: A Unicorn
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Riddle:
He who makes it does not keep it.
He who takes it does not know it.
He who knows it does not want it.
He who gathers it must destroy it.
What am I?
Answer: Counterfeit Money
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Riddle:
One tooth to bite,
he's the forests foe.
One tooth to fight,
as all Norse know.
What am I?
Answer: An Axe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
This creature, part man and part tree,
hates the termite as much as the flea.
His tracks do not match,
and his limbs may detach,
but he's not a strange creature to see.
What am I?
Answer: A Man With A Wooden Leg
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Riddle:
The part of the bird
that is not in the sky,
which can swim in the ocean
and always stay dry.
What am I?
Answer: A Shadow
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Riddle:
Dead and bound,
what once was free.
What made no sound,
now sings with glee.
What am I?
Answer: A Wooden, Stringed Instrument
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Riddle:
The root tops the trunk
on this backward thing,
that grows in the winter
and dies in the spring.
What am I?
Answer: An Icicle
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Riddle:
Touching one, yet holding two,
it is a one link chain
binding those who keep words true,
'til death rent it in twain.
WWhat am I?
Answer: A Wedding Ring
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Riddle:
A house of wood in a hidden place
Built without nails or glue
High above the earthen ground
It holds pale gems of blue.
What am I?
Answer: A Robin's Nest
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Riddle:
Inside a great blue castle
Lives a shy young maid
She blushes in the morning
And comes not out at night.
What am I?
Answer: The sun
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
I have legs but walk not
A strong back but work not
Two good arms but reach not
A seat but sit and tarry not
What am I?
Answer: A chair
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
I can be touched
But I hurt those who touch me
I move swiftly through a dry forest
But die in a mountain stream
Where I pass I leave a black shroud.
What am I?
Answer: Fire
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Riddle:
He who makes it needs it not
He who buys it wants it not
He who uses it feels it not
What am I?
Answer: A coffin
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Riddle:
In marble halls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal-clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.
What am I?
Answer: An egg
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Riddle:
'Twas in heaven pronounced, and 'twas muttered in hell,
An echo caught faintly the sound as it fell;
On the confines of earth 'twas permitted to rest,
And the depths of the ocean its presence confessed;
'Twill be found in the sphere when 'tis riven asunder,
Be seen in the lightning and heard in the thunder.
'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath,
Attends him at birth, and awaits him in death,
Presides o'er his happiness, honor, and health,
Is the prop of his house, and the end of his wealth.
In the heaps of the miser 'tis hoarded with care,
But is sure to be lost on the prodigal heir.
It begins every hope, every wish it must bound,
With the husbandman toils, and with monarchs is crowned.
Without it the soldier, the seaman may roam,
But woe to the wretch who expels it from home!
In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found,
Nor e'en in the whirlwind of passion be drowned.
'Twill not soften the heart; but though deaf be the ear,
It will make it acutely and instantly hear.
Yet in shade let it rest, like a delicate flower,
Ah... breathe on it softly, - it dies in an hour.
What am I?
Answer: The letter 'H'
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Riddle:
The beginning of eternity,
The end of time and space,
The beginning of every end,
The end of every place.
What am I?
Answer: The letter 'E'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Robbers came to our house
And we were all in.
The house leaped out at the windows
And we were all taken in.
What am I?
Answer: Fish in a net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Though I dance at a ball, I am nothing at all.
What am I?
Answer: A shadow
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Riddle:
As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man who had seven wives.
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?
Answer: One
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Riddle:
Look into my face and I'm everybody;
Scratch my back and I'm nobody.
What am I?
Answer: A mirror
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Goes over all the hills and hollows,
Bites hard, but never swallows.
What am I?
Answer: Frost
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
I walked and walked and at last I got it;
I didn't want it, so I stopped and looked for it;
When I found it, I threw it away.
What am I?
Answer: A thorn
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Riddle:
Lives in winter, dies in summer,
Grows with its root upwards.
What am I?
Answer: An icicle
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Riddle:
A man rode to town on Friday.
He stayed there all night,
and came back on the same Friday.
How can this be?
Answer: His horse is named "Friday"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riddle:
Fatherless and Motherless, born without sin
Roared when it came into the world,
And never spoke again.
What am I?
Answer: Thunder
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have fun!
DC |
IceFalcon, the "arrowless" Ranger
...and terror of Chicken's everywhere!!! |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 03 Aug 2003 08:37 AM |
Your email box limit will be a big problem. I'll create a NWN website and post them there. When I have some material up I'll let you know. This will delay things a bit... I am also going through all my file archives and looking for things that would be easy to convert. Its difficult because many of the files are from 1st and 2nd edition and contain allot of typical AD&D stuff in them. I have stuff going back to 1979 so its going to take some time...
DC |
IceFalcon, the "arrowless" Ranger
...and terror of Chicken's everywhere!!! |
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Simple Quests
Posted: 14 Oct 2003 11:53 PM |
A simple one that doesn't require toolset preparation. Inspired by the application of TORIL.
At the deserted road lies a young, leather-clad man heavily injured. He clutches a large diamond in one hand and feebly begs for healing. What would you (your character) do?
Variations
Setting: dark side of town (e.g., docks), public parts of city, etc.
Cast: an oldman, an old woman, a child, a creature (of sorts), those of the same race, those of different race, a young rich man, a pretty lady, a filthy whatever...
Hook: No treasure-promises
Of course the entity involved can be anywhere from a spirit to a common man to a death-trap... |
Aria
So talented, so troubled. |
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Re: Simple Quests
Posted: 09 Dec 2003 06:32 PM |
| I just realized this post was in the wrong place, sorry will look for the right one |
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Re: Simple Quests
Posted: 10 Dec 2003 02:54 AM |
As Aria pasted, more to come at some point :p
I'll fish around my old notes a little and see what I come up with, once I get a chance to read up a little on the current state of Vives.
-Grim |
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Re: Simple Quests
Posted: 10 Dec 2003 11:25 AM |
| Heya Grim. Nice to hear from you again. I must admit I did a double take when I saw who posted this. Will we be seeing you around more often now? |
~Alosynth
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Re: Simple Quests
Posted: 10 Dec 2003 12:18 PM |
I have a cat named Friday. I once had a little simple quest, the first time I was in Vives. Now, here's an interesting thing. I had been playing NwN for about half a year by the time I came to Vives. I had never once had DM interaction, except when they were in their DM form screaming at me for one reason or another (you can see that in my post of songs, I added a second one yesterday)
Not one bit of DM interaction. So, I had come across Girl, as we all know her from PR. I had never seen her before, and suddenly she says "I'm lost!". Now, I had no clue what to do, being used to standard NPC interaction with menus, so I say "Where do you need to be?", the girl says some things, and we have a conversation. I still had no clue it was a DM in there. (Untill he/she made a couple spelling mistakes :P)
Now, my job was to get this girl to Mrs. Miggins, and I had never heard of that before either. She tells me it's in PR, and, eventually I get her there. It took me... eh, 5 minutes, 10 minutes on the outside (I was still a newbie then... About half a year ago). So, that was a DM quest, I even got a good chunk of XP for it.
Now that I think back on it, I think we would do well to have simple, every day things like that. How often have you given directions to a weary traveler? How often have you helped a little kid cross the street? Just simple, easy things we do in every day life, and don't even think about it. When I saw it in Vives, I was amazed. So, I'm not sure if it's easy to understand what I mean, but I think a good, short simple quest, is something you would do in every day life.
Tasra (the Great!) |
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Re: Simple Quests
Posted: 11 Dec 2003 03:34 AM |
I have a cat named Friday. I once had a little simple quest, the first time I was in Vives. Now, here's an interesting thing. I had been playing NwN for about half a year by the time I came to Vives. I had never once had DM interaction, except when they were in their DM form screaming at me for one reason or another (you can see that in my post of songs, I added a second one yesterday)
Not one bit of DM interaction. So, I had come across Girl, as we all know her from PR. I had never seen her before, and suddenly she says "I'm lost!". Now, I had no clue what to do, being used to standard NPC interaction with menus, so I say "Where do you need to be?", the girl says some things, and we have a conversation. I still had no clue it was a DM in there. (Untill he/she made a couple spelling mistakes :P)
Now, my job was to get this girl to Mrs. Miggins, and I had never heard of that before either. She tells me it's in PR, and, eventually I get her there. It took me... eh, 5 minutes, 10 minutes on the outside (I was still a newbie then... About half a year ago). So, that was a DM quest, I even got a good chunk of XP for it.
Now that I think back on it, I think we would do well to have simple, every day things like that. How often have you given directions to a weary traveler? How often have you helped a little kid cross the street? Just simple, easy things we do in every day life, and don't even think about it. When I saw it in Vives, I was amazed. So, I'm not sure if it's easy to understand what I mean, but I think a good, short simple quest, is something you would do in every day life.
Tasra (the Great!)
....this is what, IMO, makes the world that we play in believable . :) |
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Re: Simple Quests
Posted: 11 Dec 2003 04:42 AM |
This is not a suggestion, per se. It's mostly a matter of quest philosophy, and is not related to Vives in paticular. If you dislike long, unorganized posts, avoid this one :)
One of the most important keys to a good quest is the way it's presented. Even the best of quest is essentially variation-on-a-theme, when you get down to it, so the excitement often has to be generated by the presentation.
For example, consider your standard (and very basic) root-out-the-cellar-rats (My favorite example - perhaps because of the use of it in BG1?). Presenting this question might be as following, in an 'average' situation:
'You approach the townsman. He looks sad. You ask him what's wrong, and he says there are rats in his cellar. Will you help?'.
Not exactly the stuff legends are made of. And it doesn't matter if the rats are dragons, and the cellar is a cave. It's just another go-in-and-slay-the-monsters quest. Why?
1) The way you are asked to complete it. It's normal, average, boring, standard, you name it. you aren't given much of a *reason* to help. Just a man with a problem who stood around hoping adventurers would stop by.
2) Fear of the unknown? You know exactly what you're going in for. Rats. Or dragons. Whatever it is, you have ample chance to prepare, making the battle easy and requiring no real investigating, and having no thrill from taking a risk.
3) No time limit. Odds are if you're busy, and you come back three days later, the man will still be there (in an online world, anyway). No hurry to kill the rats either - they'll wait while you stroll around and do whatever.
Consider the following variation on a theme:
'As you walk along the docks, you spot an aggitated figure motioning you into an alley. Glancing to make sure nobody is about, the figure speaks. "You, interested in making some easy gold? I left some, umm, goods in the cellar, but something's moved in! I must sell those goods in the market today, or they'll be ruined! I sent Joe in to fetch them, but he hasn't come out yet.. could you look into the matter before the guard gets here? I'll make it worth your while..'
Not the best of examples, but I'm sure you get the idea - by presenting quests in different manners, introducing a sense of urgency, some mystery, plenty of room to introduce different elements or continuation quests, and so forth. And all you had to do as a DM was to present the quest in a slightly different manner..
Just some thoughts. I'll probably edit this later.
-Grim |
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Re: Simple Quests
Posted: 11 Dec 2003 04:49 AM |
See above for disclaimer.
Another issue I've come accross with quests and general (and DM quests in particular) is the abundancy. Granted, not every townsperson sends you on a quest, and not every DM-controlled entity will do the same, but most seem to wind up instrumental to some quest or another. One of the biggest challenges to a campaign is avoiding this (rather unrealistic) stigma.
I'm not familiar with Vives, sadly, so I may be off base, but most worlds suffer from this problem. Rectifying it is quite easy - simply install people who are just there, on a regular basis, for a logical reason. Merchants who complain about prices don't always have to send you chasing a band of highway bandits. Little boys and girls aren't always lost. Guardsmen don't always need an item fetched.
Even more important, perhaps, is the DM intervention on JRPs (Just Regular People). As a DM, one of my favorites is to step in as a townsman for no particular reason, just prattle on, discuss the latest gossip with the PCs, and so forth. Almost as fun is spreading false gossip that sends the PCs on wild goose chases ('Have you heard? Tammy told me that she heard from Jim, whose brother Terrance is in the guard, that they found some strange looking weapons in a cave nearby, I bet they're worth a fortune!').
Again, just ramblings. Sorry if they're irrelevant. :)
-Grim |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 11 Dec 2003 10:49 AM |
The Quest.
It is said that every 1000 years there’s is a golden child that will born somewhere in the land. He has unique powers and a special connection with nature, his pure soul, and the fact that he is a sign of hope sent by the gods will make all evil creatures in the land unite to kill him. And so it starts...
A sign in Asashi monastery will announce his birth and will make all grandmasters gather and talk of what should be done. After hours of debate, they select some of their monks to search the lands for this holy child. The difficulties along the way are many, as different evil creatures will be summoned. Soon, the selected monks realize they aren’t capable of doing it and need the help of other PCs skilled in other arts like magic, and rogue abilities.
The child was found by the evil creatures and was taken to a secret cavern near a portal where he would be sent to another realm and then murdered by an evil God. In this cave there is a creature that can only be killed with a special dagger. This holy dagger is kept in an ancient cave where gauntlet must be run to retrieve it. The first part consists of a maze; The next part, a spiritual test; and then, a riddle must be correctly answered before the dagger is won. After getting the dagger, they must search the cave where the golden boy is held captive, kill the beast that protects him, free him and take him to Asashi monastery.
*Note: this quest my have two outcomes:
1) The “good guys” complete all the tasks and save the boy; or,
2) The “bad guys” slow the “would be” rescuers enough to open the portal and send the golden boy to the other realm. |
Why search around when the answer is within you...?
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 11 Dec 2003 02:12 PM |
Looks good!
Fen; If you read this, maybe we can incorporate this into our little plan. |
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 11 Dec 2003 02:17 PM |
Looks good!
Fen; If you read this, maybe we can incorporate this into our little plan.
Little plan eh?.. Interesting |
~Alosynth
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Re: Quest Suggestions
Posted: 11 Dec 2003 02:22 PM |
| Wasn't The Golden Child an old Eddie Murphy movie? ;) |
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