Quest Ideas?

[Cellan]

In response to a few complaints that things are a bit quiet around the MUD at the moment, I've decided to be proactive and start a thread for possible quest ideas that particularly keen players (fingers crossed?) might want to pick up on with the storyteller command. We all know that the MUD is busier when there are quests going, and multiple ones might really help people get into RP and make new connections when they log in. If we had a few mid- to long-term ones going at the same time, I bet that would really reinvigorate the MUD!

Here are a few points that I thought of when tossing up how to go about this:
1. They could either be 'general' quests (i.e. not tied to the activity of a guild in particular), or 'guild' quests (i.e. something that is generated to tie in with the activities of a guild like the Court, Brotherhood, or Order).
2. They could be short quests (i.e. an evening) or mid-term ones (i.e. a week or so, where people could log in and contribute when they have the time), or long-term ones (probably run by more than one person, but something that could be developed over time depending on how people react to it).
3. They could maybe be a series of small-ish events with some overarching storyline thrown in.
4. They could be tied in to the IC calendar of holidays/events.
5. They could be run by one person, a few people (from different guilds who think up something interesting), or by the GLs of a guild and a few eager members.
6. Obviously, they have to fit within the parameters of what staff say we can and can't do with the storyteller command.

So, without waiting any longer, I thought I'd kick it off by putting forward a couple of my own ideas:
1. Survival RP; something akin to the (awesome) Great Flood RP we had about six months ago: maybe a severe storm that has people locked in taverns/houses/cardboard boxes together, with extra points for rescuing people in trouble/weather-proofing their bunkers against/finding creative ways to ration food/water?
2. A tournament to appoint a new member of the Royal Guard (which would obviously be run by the Court) which would involve a series of sparring contests between fight-y types.
3. A hunting quest for the upcoming Hunting Festival.
4. Another auction ball for the Lay Sisterhood of Saint Celeste.
5. One of the three heirs to the throne could get kidnapped, with a complicated paper trail designed to make questies solve puzzles and riddles in order to find them, with big (legal) rewards at the end.

P.S. Please don't put down other people's ideas in this thread, or point to excuses why we can't run quests. We can all run quests, and, I think, we can all solve the problem of low activity if we work together! <3

[Takta]

Great way to do this, Celly!

One thing I'd also like to see here is what kind of plots everybody is interested in seeing as well, so if people want to comment just to say what sounds good, I'd like to hear it.

Here are some ideas I've been kicking around, but I haven't yet developed into full plots. Some of these involve staff-accessible stuff that I'd be more than willing to help a PC out with if they wanted to run.

1. The Mercenaries' guildhall has been abandoned for a while with the death of Sigrid - so we have this big creepy mansion right there on grid. I've been thinking about a plot where it has to be explored because something is in it - thieves, criminals, maybe even some sort of weird haunting event or suchlike.

2. There are a series of 10 items in the book zone that are interesting fragments of old lore. I've thought about some sort of quest to track them down.

3. I have a certain mage-only quest I've been contemplating. I won't go heavy on the details here, but if somebody is interested in helping me run it/running it themselves, contact me for more info.

[Leech]

1. The Mercenaries' guildhall has been abandoned for a while with the death of Sigrid - so we have this big creepy mansion right there on grid. I've been thinking about a plot where it has to be explored because something is in it - thieves, criminals, maybe even some sort of weird haunting event or suchlike.

God, that mansion is so awesome and creepy. I didn't know what it was until somebody told me, so it was extra creepy when I first explored it.

As for the OP, a mid-term quest is in the works on my end (Tenebrae). I can't share the details, as I'd like there to be a fair amount of surprise, but it should be happening within the next week or so. I just need the moons to align, and such. Or rather, two specific players to be online at the same time >.>

Concerning the other stuff, I am more than happy to provide kidnappings, murders, ect ect, for any story lines that people might come up with. Obviously I won't be able to participate in most quests, but so far I really like every idea you've came up with Cellan! Especially the first and fifth.

[Dice]

Something I think we should add - actual rewards for creating a quest.

Recommend helps somewhat, but it's not really set in stone. I'd like to suggest we either have a QP-based or recommend-based reward tier based on how big the plot is. Recommends seem to me like they might be worth a lot more to incentivize quests.

Something like:

5 QP or 1 recommend from staff: A small plot that only touches a limited segment of the game; probably a one-shot event.

10 QP or 2 recommends from staff: Either a medium-sized plot (2-3 'scenes'?) that still only touches a subset of people, or a small plot that is open to the whole game.

15 QP/3 recommends? : A medium-sized plot open to the whole game, or a large plot (multiple scenes over the course of time) that only touches a subset of people.

20 QP/4 recommends: A large plot open to the whole game.

What do people think? Too generous/not generous enough? Too undefined? QP or recommends? Would YOU run a quest for these incentives - if not, what would provide incentive to you?

[Inertia]

Great way to do this, Celly!

1. The Mercenaries' guildhall has been abandoned for a while with the death of Sigrid - so we have this big creepy mansion right there on grid. I've been thinking about a plot where it has to be explored because something is in it - thieves, criminals, maybe even some sort of weird haunting event or suchlike.

I once had plans for an "escape from the room" sort of roleplay event (aimed for Halloween time, if I recall correctly) that utilized a creepy building and the discovery of some sinister past. If managed well, time restraints in a quest can help create that sense of urgency and danger - maybe this could work with your plot?

[SlyViolin]

Weee... I've always wanted to make a little plot for the physician students about an illness striking the city and them having to collaborate to find the cure. The cure would be pre-determined and they'ld get feed-back after each attempt until they find the right herbs in the right order (sorta like a game of mastermind). But quite frankly I find the storyteller system to be quite daunting and the idea needs more fleshing out.

[Inertia]

Something I think we should add - actual rewards for creating a quest.

What do people think? Too generous/not generous enough? Too undefined? QP or recommends? Would YOU run a quest for these incentives - if not, what would provide incentive to you?

Incentives for this would be tricky because concepts and effort can vary wildly from quest to quest. A few QP or something in exchange might be nice, and could encourage a few people to try the system who are just intimidated by it, but (ideally) we're all here to create story for others as well as to enjoy story, ourselves. I think it would be best to keep any standard reward for storytelling simple, and remember to show our thanks when our fellow RPers go out of their way to run something special.

Lest I derail the topic entirely though, I like quests that present a moral conflict for characters involved, or chances for the player/character to consider consequences of their decisions - things that stick with a character. Because the game world is pretty large, I'd like to see things that influence relations between factions.

- A border county declares to withdraw from Lithmore to join the neighboring duchy instead. With so many losses in Lithmore to recent battle/plague/flood, it is unlikely that the rogue county can be brought to heel through military might.

[Kinaed]

I think it's appropriate to reward with a recommend and some QP, but I won't be authorizing multiple recommends at this time.

I myself plan to hold a quest in May where there will be a simple event in game and I'll hand out to each player a motive & goal card. Players who discover one another's motives and achieve their goals will get prizes.

I'm currently trying to settle on what sort of event will be happening in the city that's open to all players for the allowance of this, and also trying to decide how to hook people into actually enjoying their motiviations/goals rather than feeling like doing it is somehow superimposed on them by staff. What I do know is I'm a bit bored of murder mysteries and catch the crook, so I think it might be something a little bit more mundane like a city celebration held at the Town Hall to toast the Queen's birthday (or something) and having people's goals relate to social advancement or some sort or another.