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Post by TheRedArmy on Jul 9, 2015 4:12:19 GMT -5
This thread is for information to be given on all types of quests, what they mean for players, and what you can expect from quests, in general. This thread is broken up into several posts which will go into detail for each kind of quest. Please remember that this is a work in progress, and so information is subject to change.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 2. Help Wanted Quests 3. Reward Quests 4. Liege Quests 5. Belligerent Quests 6. RP Quests
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Post by TheRedArmy on Jul 9, 2015 4:22:48 GMT -5
1. IntroductionBroadly speaking, quests are a way for players to engage in role-playing situations in a way that is fair for all players while still allowing freedom of action and player creativity and uniqueness to affect events. Most quests will be played out via PM with a neutral mod who will inform the player of the situation, where the player can then make choices that affect the story. These quests will generally have rewards for success and penalties for failure, ranging from small sums of gold and weak items to characters risking their lives and events that can change the course of an entire season. While they may not be as free-form as some "plot" systems many of you may have experience with, we think the additional structure will provide a system where players feel that things that happen are not arbitrary or random, and is still friendly to newer players. I, TheRedArmy, am responsible for the vast majority of this system, with the help and contributions of the others staff members. If you have questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please feel free to direct them to me with a PM. End Section 1
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Post by TheRedArmy on Jul 9, 2015 4:57:58 GMT -5
2. Help Wanted Quests
Help Wanted Quests are effectively something of a "flier" system where individuals citizens from across China spread news of their plight. Alternatively, it can be presented as a rumor that the player may wish to pursue. The general idea is that the player dedicated a few days of work and some effort, and hopefully he can succeed on the adventure given to get the reward. However, the possibility of failure is present in all quests of this type. Most quests will include a "best-suited" line on the sign-up thread, letting you know which kinds of characters will have the best chance of success in that particular quest. These quests will be open to all players, and it is expected that many will participate each time one is introduced.
The basic nature of these quests is that, once a player has decided to participate in the quest, the moderator running the quest will send a PM to that player, detailing the events of the quest as it begins - this usually begins with following a lead on a rumor, or meeting with someone who has requested assistance. You will be sent information, at which point the player has a chance to engage in role-play, or make decisions to further the quest. The quests are designed in a way to ensure that the mods who run them have flexibility to adapt to what various players may choose to do, and so you will generally not be given lists of possible actions or things of that nature, although various clues and the like will be left for you to pick-up on and listen to (or more likely, ignore!).
The primary variable for these quests is the length of them, which will be denoted by an indicator on each thread for signing up for a quest - either Short, Medium, or Long. This is an estimate for the number of days of work the character will be required to dedicate to ensure completion of the quest. Short is for 1-3 days, Medium is for 4-6 days, and long quests will last from 7-9 days. The difficulty of quests also tends to scale up with length, so more skilled officers will have an advantage on longer quests. Quests will vary in the statistics, skill, aptitudes, and personalities that will be most useful, so warriors or strategists are not automatically advantaged.
There is a special kind of quest of this kind, called a Unique Quest. These quests will be long, and generally take the longest. These quests will have the highest rewards - thousands of gold pieces, high-strength items, immediate increase of aptitudes or statistics, learning high-powered skills immediately, and more; however, these quests will feature the harshest penalties, up to and including character death. You have been warned. Finally, these quests will truly be unique in every sense of the word - so much so that only one player will participate in this quest for the entire season, and it will be played out publicly, for all to see. These quests will be quite rare.
After a few players have completed a quest, an "After-Action Report" (AAR) thread will be created so that players may share their stories and see how their experiences stacked up. As players finish the quest, they will be granted access to that thread, so they can share their story as well. You won't be able to access it until you finish the quest related to it (or if you simply did not participate in the quest at all).
There are a few rules with participating in this kind of quest -
1. You cannot spend days of work on activities other than the quest until you either abandon the quest or finish it, for better or worse. 2. You may not share details of a quest with anyone else who is also taking part in it. Improper information in this regard is cheating, and will be dealt with appropriately. 3. You may only participate in one quest at a time. 4. If you are unsure about whether something is OK or not, please feel free to ask me.
End Section 2
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Post by TheRedArmy on Jul 9, 2015 5:04:27 GMT -5
3. Reward Quests
Reward Quests are pre-set benefits to players who can accomplish a certain feat within the game. A full list of them will be provided to all players at the start of the game. The exact benefits are unknown until actually accomplished. Some may have certain conditions attached to them. For example, if you are the first to 100 INT, you cannot automatically win by choosing to play as Zhuge Liang (who begins with 100 INT). Although you may still accomplish quests in this manner, it may be possible for others to claim the reward before you. Quests will vary in terms of how many players may claim such a reward. Some may only be available to the first player to succeed, while others will be available to any who succeed, and others still might allow multiple winners to select from a "list", with the early players having their choice of reward, which are then not available to later players.
All such rewards, when acquired, will be made publicly known.
End Section 3
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Post by TheRedArmy on Jul 9, 2015 5:13:21 GMT -5
4. Liege Quests
Liege Quests are special, once-a-month quests for the various lieges in the game to take part in. Each ruler should receive one of these every month. These will be very short usually only requiring one or two decisions on the part of the ruler. Although they will have in-game effects (such as gaining additional troops in a territory, bonus gold, or bonus development in a territory), but are primarily meant for rulers to express their own personalities, attitudes, and virtues they hold in esteem. Will your ruler take the bribe from a criminal? Will he forcibly draft troops into the army?
The idea behind these quests is to provide lieges with strong personalities through actual choices, which may cause friction between the ruler and their officers. Can the virtuous officer serve under a ruler who takes the tyrannical choice? While some of these quests will be black and white, others will include morally grey areas, and hopefully sometimes put rulers' values on the line. Can you turn away the extra gold while your kingdom is embroiled in a war? Will you place the people above your own power and ambition? We hope these quests provide difficult choices for lieges.
Most, but not all, of these quests will be made public knowledge.
End Section 4
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Post by TheRedArmy on Jul 9, 2015 5:23:26 GMT -5
5. Belligerent Quests
A Belligerent Quest is a catch-all term for quests that pit player officers and forces against one another. These quests are essentially designed so that players may PvP against each other in ways other than battle. A possible example is that, as a prelude to an attack, Cao Cao wants to spread propaganda to enemy forces to lower their morale. He will assign Xun You to the task, but Liu Bei can attempt to stop Cao Cao's efforts, and assigns Zhuge Liang to prevent it from happening.
In the above example, a number of secret modifiers between these two officers will be compared, both will be presented with a number of choices to attempt to help their efforts, and both receive a random roll as a bonus. The various modifiers are applied, and one side with either succeed or fail, but there will also be margins of success and margins of failure. If Zhuge Liang only beats Xun You's final score by 10, he has succeeded, but only just, and the final effect is rather minor. If he succeeds by 100, on the other hand, it is a huge success, and will have a much more meaningful impact.
A neutral mod will oversee all quests of this type. Further, the results will be public, but how the results were reached will remain secret.
End Section 5
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Post by TheRedArmy on Jul 13, 2015 2:33:52 GMT -5
6. RP Quests
A Role-Playing Quest is a type of quest where rather then be given information and acting on it, players can use their own imagination to invent storylines, situations, and drama all on their own. Essentially, all it is is a number of players engaging in RP together. They might go hunting, or have a drink and talk, or do any number of actions. Literally anything is on the table. Journey to the center of the Earth? Done. The idea is that players can just go wherever their mind takes them, and so RP to their hearts' content. At the end of the RP (or anywhere there's a discernible stopping point), players in the quest can petition a staff member to "appraise" their "quest". The staff member then reads it over, concerning himself with creativity, originality, quality, and most importantly, enjoyment of reading. Afterward, an award of some kind will be given to those who participated. While these rewards will be useful, don't expect thousands of gold to be awarded.
We hope this will encourage further role-playing and association between members of the community.
End Section 6
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