A well thought out quest will advance the player’s mythological knowledge of the world their character inhabits. Furthermore, it will advance the players knowledge of the physical world, by having them travel far and wide to search for people and items in fulfillment of that quest.
Quests can also bring players together, by having cooperative elements necessary to complete said quest.
Players can also compare notes on how they complete certain quests, and can offer that knowledge to others. Perhaps through their clan, or even for a fee.
And of course, quests also bring opportunity for the players to amass wealth, and acquire powerful items.
Every player wants to start and complete a fun quest, but how does that quest get to be fun in the first place?
Similar to how an item is created, some important questions must first be answered:
- Who is the quest for?
- Is the quest race/class/skill/level specific?
- Is the quest based on helping advance a players skill, knowledge, or material wealth?
- Is the quest puzzle-based, retrieval-based, kill/loot-based, or a combination of all three?
- What is the final reward for successful completion of the quest?
An example of a skill advancement quest might be the player needing to go and find some raw materials for an item to then be crafted. Thus the player needs to find the source of the raw material, perhaps an ore of some kind. This will force the player to learn, and develop his mining skill.
An example of a very simple kill/loot quest might be that the player needs to avenge the death of an innocent family that was waylaid by evil goblins. The player has to hunt down the goblins, kill them, and loot proof of the deed. Upon returning to the quest starter (maybe a relative, or a town official), the character receives payment in the form of an item, cash or skill points.
Once the skeleton of the quest is formed, the meat and gristle is then filled in around the bones. Names, places, reasons and background stories for all involved are created. And now you have a compelling reason to complete the quest, AND read the dialogue that comes with it.
I hope you will enjoy the many dark and foreboding adventures we are creating for the world of Nightside.
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