Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

[Fred Daniel Yam]

I'm still toying with ideas, mapping plot events... making progress, for sure, but it's slow going, even moreso with pressures from school and such. I may have to push back my initial guesstimate (woah, that doesn't get spellchecked? Awesome!) by a fair bit. Also, how would you feel about another quest hosted using digital scenes? While I'd much rather have actual MOCs made up, it's just not feasible til at least the summer.

I wouldn't mind another LDD quest as long there's a reason i.e. We have teleported to the Spirit World.

[swils]

I wouldn't mind another LDD quest as long there's a reason i.e. We have teleported to the Spirit World.

...Or your QM lives in Alaska, but his LEGOs are in Maryland, maybe?

[Masked Builder]

...Or your QM lives in Alaska, but his LEGOs are in Maryland, maybe?

Remind me not to leave me LEGO behind when I go off to school.

[RPGer]

I agree with Sandy on the fact that we need more quests and people in the Hall need somthing to do besides the Arena and talking.

[Darth Nihilus]

If anyone has willingness to host a quest, right about now would be a good time to present me with your ideas.

There's suddenly plenty of people without a quest, loitering in the Hall. Scheherazade needs to wax the floors so she wants them out.

I would, but with a current shortage of the main character (Blame 7-year old cousins), my Quest might be delayed for a while.

If I find him or a suitable replacement, though, I won't hesitate to PM you!

[K-Nut]

I agree with Sandy on the fact that we need more quests and people in the Hall need somthing to do besides the Arena and talking.

I'm in the basic planning of a class, and I'm just a few stages into it. I'll have the map finished today or tomorrow, and if accepted, the quest will be up in early March.

[UsernameMDM]

I have a second quest written up already, but I need to finish the one I am hosting now. It has been a learning experience!

[Scorpiox]

I would do a quest but I have a parts shortage at the moment, and all parts purchases and going towards HMS Bedivere. Maybe I should break out the virtual parts, but I find real building so much more fun and easy.

[The Legonater]

I would do a quest but I have a parts shortage at the moment, and all parts purchases and going towards HMS Bedivere. Maybe I should break out the virtual parts, but I find real building so much more fun and easy.

You could always hire Masked

[Waterbrick Down]

I've been toying around some ideas and game mechanics and hopefully should have a quest available early Marchish.

[Flipz]

I have a Quest Idea planned, but my access to physical brick and building space is limited, so it'd have to be digital. I'm also ironing out a lot of snarls, as it's more of a puzzle-based Quest than a battle-based Quest.

while I'm on the subject, if the Quest doesn't contain any traditional "combat", can QMs award experience for completing other objectives? I.E. in the process of solving Puzzle W, X, Y, and Z, the Heroes manage to gain a level of Experience?

[UsernameMDM]

while I'm on the subject, if the Quest doesn't contain any traditional "combat", can QMs award experience for completing other objectives? I.E. in the process of solving Puzzle W, X, Y, and Z, the Heroes manage to gain a level of Experience?

I've thought about this too, like a battle of wits instead of steel. The only problem I have with it is that it negates the randomness of the roll, unless you can incorporate that somehow.

[Masked Builder]

You could always hire Masked

Hey don't volunteer me! I've got Mafia coming up!

[Brickdoctor]

while I'm on the subject, if the Quest doesn't contain any traditional "combat", can QMs award experience for completing other objectives? I.E. in the process of solving Puzzle W, X, Y, and Z, the Heroes manage to gain a level of Experience?

As far as I know, yes, they can. I've considered it many times, I've just never had an appropriate challenge to add it to. (though that will change soon )

[Sandy]

while I'm on the subject, if the Quest doesn't contain any traditional "combat", can QMs award experience for completing other objectives? I.E. in the process of solving Puzzle W, X, Y, and Z, the Heroes manage to gain a level of Experience?

Why not, if kept at moderation. Not "you found a twig, LEVEL UP!".

[K-Nut]

Why not, if kept at moderation. Not "you found a twig, LEVEL UP!".

Great, now I nee to totally change my quest...

[Zepher]

If we're still looking for Quests, I actually do have an idea for a very small short Quest, maybe 4 people tops. I'll PM you soon Sandy. I love Wren quests, but I don't think a small interlude would be bad.

[RPGer]

Sandy, evan though I have not participated in a Quest, can I host a Quest? I'll be PM'ing you the details.

[Sandy]

Sandy, evan though I have not participated in a Quest, can I host a Quest? I'll be PM'ing you the details.

I already replied to your PM, but the reason you cannot host a quest yet is that you cannot have grasped the mechanics of this game fully until you've actually played it.

Trust me, hosting is not an easy task. You have to know the rules pretty much by heart or suffer the wrath of players whose stats you've gotten wrong in every single battle.

[RPGer]

That's OK, I understand perfactly.

[Zepher]

Notes

Personal Notes/Self-Critique

I know the quest was long, about a month longer than I said it would be. I’m truly sorry for that. I also think that the characters could have been developed a little better. Wren gets a positive reaction, but I want ALL my NPCs to be loved, and I need to beef up Felton, Hans, and Poletad more. And in case you're wondering, they'll all be returning in the next Wren Quest, along with two other characters from either #7 or #19. I also think my story line was a little clearer to me than to the players. I will work on it in the future. I need my prose/dialogue to be more snappy and to the point. I do want to be a writer, so I should improve this either way.

Other than that, I was fairly happy with myself. I personally like all my NPCs (I wish Boomingham got half the press Wren did... ). I was happy with the PACE of the Quest - other than a few hang ups in the Christmas season I think that I kept it going at a reasonable speed, even if the entire thing was longer than I thought it would be. I liked my story-line, and I think I told the story I wanted to in the end, though it got lost at times.

Side Quests were an exploration for me. I will not do them the same way again, for at least my next Quest, but they will be involved in all my quests that they seem applicable. I don't mind them at all, and they slow down/frustrate players, which would probably be what happened if the heroes were separated from their party. Though, of course, I gave Sisco/MDM more to do than I gave the prisoners from #7. Cronk asked if he could have a companion to bounce ideas off of if there was ever a side quest again, so I took two of my party this time.

Final note - I hate large battles. I'm terrible at stats. My party was 8 the first time, with NPCs, and then six this time, and I foolishly kept adding NPCs (Sir Poletad was NOT supposed to exist, but I'm happy he does. FUN FACT: He was set dressing, but Skrall talked to him, and then he became one of my favorite characters, so everything with him was 100% not planned).

Player Feedback - General

You guys happen to be the most virtuous players in Heroica... not really, but you had a few chances to kill NPCs that you never did. Poletad is still alive due to you, and both Samuel and Haddock escaped your wrath. Likewise, you did not chop off McColt's head, and Gregor survived in the side quest as well. In case you were wondering, all these actions would have made your final battle much harder. For each dead NPC, the Chaos Beasts would gain 25 health and 1 level.

Most of you did not accept the Dream Quests that were sent to you by Wren. Legonator and Skrall did, and they were successful. The rest of you refused them. Well done on that, I tried to do things that wouldn't necessarily hurt you, but would hurt the team, if completed.

Skrall/WBD

I advise everyone every where to pick Skrall as a party leader. He is fantastic at it. Your battle orders make a lot of sense, and your plans are ALMOST always sound (minus when you screwed up the bombs ). Your battle orders even reflect character choice sometimes - when you trusted Guard Felton more, you put him lower on the line-up, and Rebel Felton took more hits than him. Not sure if this was on purpose or not, but it was funny to me. You've got a GREAT out of the box character and you stick to him. He's the middle-aged, working, sensible Ogre with a crossbow, and he's VERY lovable.

Tesni/PepM

I sensed you were getting a little impatient near the end, sorry that you were stuck in Haddon so long! Hopefully the Zoot Plaything makes up for it. You know how well regarded Tesni is regarded as a character. Wren and her ARE actually pretty similar in character, and I'm happy they got to meet each other. I'd pick you again in a heart-beat if you were to sign up again.

Hoke/MDM

I don't know if you're in the game for loot or for character, but you're good at both. Hoke is a pretty solid character. He was a gamble near the beginning, I didn't really know him, but I'm more than happy I chose him. He's kind of quiet, sensible and just. He doesn't seem to have many twists... and that's GREAT! Really, it is, no sarcasm at all. He's very cool, and he seems like a good solid straight guy. He is who he is, and he sticks by it, and I love him for it. I'd be interested in a bit more back-story. You may have brought it up before, but it didn't really poke through in this story, so I'd love to see even more of it - it's the only place I feel Hoke is weak; he's awesome, but WHY is he awesome and WHERE did he come from? If you're in it for stats... you've got a really impressive character. I HAD to make free-hits do 1 damage automatically, or else you'd be indestructible. I don't know WHO gave you those Warrior Treads, but they're awesome, and I think Hoke is already one of the strongest characters in the game, and you don't have a Advanced Class yet. One note - in the side quest, you sort of stopped playing. What's up with that? I don't know, once Sisco was gone I imagine it was harder, but even before that you started to stop a bit. Which is too bad, because I really do love Hoke. As soon as you were back with the others, things returned to normal, so maybe you just were angry about the side quest.

Jess/Sisco

Your computer died. Up until then, you were great! You and Haldor need to seek more ways to connect, but for the time being, your love is feasible to me. Your character is strong, and I was happy to have a returning Quester. Sorry Wren knocked you out.

Haldor/Scorpiox

Haldor has grown quite a bit in this quest. I'd advise you define him a little more. Where he's going looks good, we got his back-story, we got a lot of personality, but I can't tell where he stands on things. He gives tons of wonderful speeches, but you've got to remember he cheated on Jess in Quest #12, and he acts tough sometimes because he was apparently very beaten upon in childhood. He seems to have more troubles than his pure good attitude lets on, I'd love to see them poke through. They're starting to, just push it, and really have him pick a world view and stick to it. He seems lawful good, but he does unlawful bad things on occasion, so let's see those two conflict! Like I said to Sisco, explore the full relationship between Haldor and Jess. There's a lot of good stuff there, but explore it more. I'm sorry if I seem harsh towards you. Haldor's a awesome character, but I think and believe that you can take him one step more. As for your actions, they were always spot on, and I wouldn't disagree with a single strategical choice you made in this quest. I'm excited to see what Advanced Class you go for!

Dyric/Legonator

Like Haldor, Dyric grew a lot this quest, and like Hoke, I really didn't remember reading about him much in previous quests, so you were a welcome surprise. We got back story, we got a lot of personality. I'll again tell you, like Haldor, you can push the envelope a bit, and explore more of your character. You also made a few choices I didn't understand strategically. You fought from the back row a lot when you would have survived the front row, and you could have ended some battles more quickly if you had done so, and made more coin (though you made quite a bit this quest ). You can throw your dagger and then come in with the chainwhip, and pick the dagger back up at the end of the battle.

Thank you all so much for questing with me! I had a blast. Tell me what you all thought!!!

[The Legonater]

Zeph, I have got to say, this was an amazingly fun quest. Lots of unexpected twists, some grand battles, much room for charecter development, and overall a wonderful job. I found the NPC's quite enjoyable, actually, and it was fun to bounce Dyric's near-unstablness off of Hans. And especially for an improvised charecter, Sir Poletad rocks

As for Dyric, he's still got stuff planned. In the time to come, he's going to be really pushed to the edge, and I hope he'll become one of the more interesting charecters in Heroica. Unfortunatly, my quests to come have a lot to do with setting this up, so chances are he won't be questing in a while. I really didn't expect to rank so high in this quest

And as for strategy, yeah, I'm not the best with that yet I'll work on it though.

[UsernameMDM]

Side Quests were an exploration for me. I will not do them the same way again, for at least my next Quest, but they will be involved in all my quests that they seem applicable. I don't mind them at all, and they slow down/frustrate players, which would probably be what happened if the heroes were separated from their party. Though, of course, I gave Sisco/MDM more to do than I gave the prisoners from #7.

In retrospect, the side quest was well paced. It's hard judging real world and in game timing when multiple players are not all playing at once.

You guys happen to be the most virtuous players in Heroica... not really, but you had a few chances to kill NPCs that you never did. Poletad is still alive due to you, and both Samuel and Haddock escaped your wrath. Likewise, you did not chop off McColt's head, and Gregor survived in the side quest as well. In case you were wondering, all these actions would have made your final battle much harder. For each dead NPC, the Chaos Beasts would gain 25 health and 1 level.

Another good example of 'you get what you give.' Hoke would approve!

Hoke/MDM

I don't know if you're in the game for loot or for character, but you're good at both. Hoke is a pretty solid character. He was a gamble near the beginning, I didn't really know him, but I'm more than happy I chose him. He's kind of quiet, sensible and just. He doesn't seem to have many twists... and that's GREAT! Really, it is, no sarcasm at all. He's very cool, and he seems like a good solid straight guy. He is who he is, and he sticks by it, and I love him for it. I'd be interested in a bit more back-story. You may have brought it up before, but it didn't really poke through in this story, so I'd love to see even more of it - it's the only place I feel Hoke is weak; he's awesome, but WHY is he awesome and WHERE did he come from? If you're in it for stats... you've got a really impressive character. I HAD to make free-hits do 1 damage automatically, or else you'd be indestructible. I don't know WHO gave you those Warrior Treads, but they're awesome, and I think Hoke is already one of the strongest characters in the game, and you don't have a Advanced Class yet.

The Warrior Treads came from the previous quest. The QM said he meant for them to have more SP. He didn't know I couldn't improve the SP on artefacts. I wish I could!

Hoke is not a complex character at all. I wanted him to be like that. While I feel most players want to have quirks, shadows and/or complications in the characters, I wanted Hoke to be a straight laced guy. Not a stiff uppity-up, but someone who wanted to conquer evil with good. I caught the unintentional hook at the end of the quest with Tesni and Zoot's plaything to expand a bit more on this.

As for back story, I have touched on it a few times in the Heroica Hall thread. Basically Hoke comes from a family that believes you earn, that you are never given anything. He has to prove himself through deeds of charity and valor in order to wear his family's sigil and use his family name. For now though, he is Ablesword.

One note - in the side quest, you sort of stopped playing. What's up with that? I don't know, once Sisco was gone I imagine it was harder, but even before that you started to stop a bit. Which is too bad, because I really do love Hoke. As soon as you were back with the others, things returned to normal, so maybe you just were angry about the side quest.

Apologies. I was getting busy with family and work, and I wasn't playing well.

Thanks for the quest! Hopefully I can make the next Wren adventure!

[Waterbrick Down]

Skrall/WBD

I advise everyone every where to pick Skrall as a party leader. He is fantastic at it. Your battle orders make a lot of sense, and your plans are ALMOST always sound (minus when you screwed up the bombs ). Your battle orders even reflect character choice sometimes - when you trusted Guard Felton more, you put him lower on the line-up, and Rebel Felton took more hits than him. Not sure if this was on purpose or not, but it was funny to me. You've got a GREAT out of the box character and you stick to him. He's the middle-aged, working, sensible Ogre with a crossbow, and he's VERY lovable...

First off I want to say thank you Zepher for letting me in on this quest, when you first asked for some more higher level questers I really wasn't keen on joining up, but I'm glad I did now in retrospect. Thanks for picking me and for putting up with all my back-seat QMing. One last one for old times sake

OoC: Skrall did not actually complete his dream quest, he accepted it, but didn't make it all the way for 8 battles, so I didn't add the reward to my signature.

I had a great time and it allowed plenty of opportunities for Skrall to grow, once I learned that I would be able to hit level 15, I started thinking up scenarios that would lead Skrall down one of the three etherless classes and it really depended upon what was going to happen in the quest. Thanks for the comments it took quite a bit of work to figure out the battles and plan for what could happen 4 to 5 rounds down the line, but it was fun though frustrating at times knowing the battles were designed to make winning them out right very unlikely, though it doesn't help when you forget that a Phoenix Smoke works even on KO'd heroes and the total power of a group of bombs isn't what you planned on. I actually slacked off in the later battles when it came to planning 7 rounds ahead and just let the battle orders go with what seemed like the semi-logical best choice, though I was completely unintenional about where in what order I put the Feltons.

Now for my feed back:

• Great job on handling player OoC's in the quest, you handled yourself professionally, with patience, and a good attitude
  
• Superb job in adapting your storyline to how the players interacted within the quest. You took the cake with making Poletad an NPC, I originally was just going to have him as a companion to add to Skrall's character similar to Pie or some of the other characters from the hall. Also, thank you for tying in a little of Skrall's back story at the end.
  
• The battles were tough, especially as I said above when they felt like they were designed to prevent us from achieving victory. I know that that was the point, but it kind of pulls a little of the fun out of clobbering through ranks of minions. My suggestion: Keep doing it
  
• The story line was good and interesting, though I would have liked a little more freedom when it came to interacting in certain situations instead of getting into a fight without any warning or other things we could do leading up to it, though the instance where you let Tensi scare away a guard in one of the factories was a good touch. I guess I think a little more freedom outside of just chatting before going to sleep would have been more appreciated. We didn't let on, but when we had to decide whether to kill McColt, we started a PM to prevent you from hearing our plan, in which we would take McColt to Vonnetate under the pretext of having him kill McColt, but we would actually kidnap Vonnetate and then defect with McColt to the Town Guard, but you had us bump into the other Felton before we could put our plan into action. I know as a QM though how hard it is to get your PC's to stick to your story while still providing them with Independence.
  
• On the subject of story line, you did a good job in delivering a fine tale and while I would agree that I would have liked to see a little more NPC development or interaction between themselves or the PC's, you did a good job with the time you had to work with.
  
• As a matter of personal preference, I do enjoy innovative battle descriptions and pictures even if it means waiting for a little more time, but I can understand when a quest seems to be dragging a little.
  
• I'm glad to see that Hoke and Jess had a little more to do this time around compared to the arena quest. My first thought was something like, great I've sentenced to of my party to do nothing but sit around and wait for the rest of us to rescue them, but I figured out a little later that you were keeping them occupied probably and didn't have anything to worry about.
  

I think that's about it for now, I may write a few more comments as they occur to me, but I'll wrap it up here. Good job, once again and it was a pleasure questing with all of you.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Waterbrick Down

[Peppermint_M]

Well, I would have to say, more interaction with the NPCs would have made them more likeable. Jeb's Orcs were a good example (IMO) Wren is fantastic and I'll jump at the chance to quest against her again! I liked the options to kill NPCs and it really let me develop Tesni a little.

Tesni/PepM

I sensed you were getting a little impatient near the end, sorry that you were stuck in Haddon so long! Hopefully the Zoot Plaything makes up for it. You know how well regarded Tesni is regarded as a character. Wren and her ARE actually pretty similar in character, and I'm happy they got to meet each other. I'd pick you again in a heart-beat if you were to sign up again.

I did get a little frustrated at how long my fellow questors took during battles, I think I was a little spoiled in some quests before, with our timezones and active on EB times well aligned to each other. I did let a note of impatience into Tesni, more as another little character quirk let slip than anything else.

Lets crack this plaything open then!

I never expected her to take off so well, I think Tesni and Wren should certainly meet once again.

Thanks for a great quest