Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

[Brickdoctor]

Last fig barf! I promise.

I should be ready to pitch this quest by the time Sandy gets back, so somewhere around a July 5th date for the pitch to go up. That should be enough time for anyone interested but not in the Hall to get back.

[Wedge09]

What would be broadly the party requirments, if you can says them?

[Brickdoctor]

What would be broadly the party requirments, if you can says them?

Four creative heroes, Level is not of great concern. There are a couple other requirements, too, but those I'd rather not reveal yet.

[Pyrovisionary]

Quest #64...

[The Legonater]

So, Quest 64. Monster post ahoy.

Not quite sure where to start with this, other than you guys were absolutely superb, and I thank you so much for being a part of this first foray into Duplovia. Also, mad props go to Masked for sticking with me for the year and a half planning session that went into this.

The Beginning

I figure I might as well start here. To say this Quest was an ever-developing work of progress is an understatement, and the year and a half definitely contributed to that. I've always been the sort of person who piles more and more ideas onto something as time goes by, so by the start of the quest there was a good chunk of ideas.

Funnily enough, the Quest wasn't even originally in Duplovia. The original idea was an alliance between the Hinckwells and Shadeoux which would have failed no matter what. This which Sandy objected to, and after Quest 66, it's a small wonder why . Sandy suggested putting it in the High Kingdoms, which basically gave me an open slate, so a lot of thanks go to him for that suggestion. Honestly, it's been so long that I don't remember which came first - the Quest being in Duplovia, or Dyric Rone coming from Duplovia, but either way one worked into another. At first I took that idea and ran with it by including Eyric Rone and stuff, but I eventually averted that by not mentioning Dyric once during the quest. More on that later. As soon as I got the basic location, I spent the next night or two writing out a basic series of events:

Group goes out to sea.[/size]

-Battle with Pirates

Group lands, encounter's Bonarpte's men. After player's discuss their task, the men will offer to guide them in.

-If players accept, there will be some bonus -If not, the men will send them on their way.

Players begin their journey to the city where the negotiations are taking place.

-Battle with ambushers, who have a curious design on their cape

-Players pick up a traveler named Eugene Bibble

-Another battle with caped ambushers

Group encounters city guards. During the discussion, Bibble flees.

The group enters the city between Duplovia and Kingdom 2 (whatever that will be). Another failed assassination attempt.

Players either:

-Choose to continue on -Choose to investigate assassination

-Encounter with Eyric, Dyric Rone's brother -Find throwing knifes with markings.

-Battle with a traitorous guard (With same markings on chest) -Battle with fleeing suspect

At castle, group speaks to leaders of Duplovia and Kingdom 2.

On the way out, Eyric joins the group, advising they look for answers in the marketplace. Throughout this quest, Eyric mentions the history of the Rone family, and that when Dyric joined Heroica, Eyric didn't think it was worth it.

Asking in the marketplace leads to an informer, who requires the questers to do some kind of puzzle before giving them information.

Informer says markings are from Duplovia.

-Battle with thugs with above mentioned cape.

Informer again asks for puzzle. Then reveals thugs also have markings from Duplovia.

Eyric suggests they investigate the Duplovian underground.

-Battle with ambushers with above mentioned cape.

Group is captured, interrogation with Bibble, who happens to be leading this group. He reveals he is not connected to assassination and that the main mob cells from Duplovia and Kingdom 2 have joined to stop this peace treaty, and that the headquarters are in Kingdom 2, which isn't that far away. He then lets group go.

In Kingdom 2, they begin looking for warehouse cell is hiding in. The eventually find it.

-Battle with mob cell guards, who curiously have the same cape.

Group maneuvers through the warehouse, which is more like a labyrinth, searching for the leader.

-3 to 5 battles with mob cell members, who all again have the same cape.

Group reaches 'throne room'

-Battle with Mob Guards

Reveal: Bibble is evil mob leader, behind everything! Monolouging galore! Eyric, furious, charges, and is struck down. Last words: "Tell brother... he was right."

-Boss battle with Bibble's strongest man (orc?)

-Boss battle with Bibble?

Bibble escapes, group flees warehouse.

Negotiations completed, end quest.

So, lots of notes here.

-Morcrass' name.

As you can see, the original name for Morcrass (full name Shokka Morcrass, nor sure if that was ever said) was Bibble. For those that know Darths and Droids, this would have been a dead give away as to his dual-identity, and so it was something that, albeit amusing, was removed. Instead I chose something similar but a lot more subtle - both the names Shokka and Morcrass are derived from Timothy Zahn's novel Allegiance. Shakko is a pirate in the novel, and Marcross is a main character with a small but noticeable twist towards the end of the book. I actually pulled a lot of slightly edited names from Tim Zahn novels, due to Dyric Rone's name accidentally originating from there.

-'Kingdom 2'

A small naming issue, it took me a while to settle on a name for Delfrin. I actually don't remember what, if anything, the name was derived from.

-Battles

There were a lot more battles in the original draft. I'm thankful that he did, because this quest would have easily been twice as long with half the plot. This included a boss fight with Morcrass, which in hindsight would have felt really weird. I liked alluding to Morcrass' strength with his brief fight with Sarge as opposed to him being an actual physical presence. He worked a lot better in the quest being a trickster above all else.

Interestingly, one of the battle that was originally cut was the 'impossible' market battle. Sandy specifically noted that the heroes might waste consumables on a pointless battle, and I agreed, so the battle was removed, and Vastin was going to simple ask the heroes to surrendor. However, the Heroes had none of that, and so the battle was thrown in last minute.

-Eyric/Dyric

There were a lot of changes to Eyric's character. Originally, he was supposed to be unsure about the Heroes due to Dyric's being in the organization, and then eventually warm up about them. In the end, I really didn't like tying Dyric to the plot, and it felt really unnatural. Eventually any reference to Dyric at all was removed, and I feel the quest is a lot better for it. Also, originally Eyric was supposed to die at the end of this quest. Later on in the planning stages, I decided I liked Eyric too much to kill him (yet) and so I created Quellir to die instead (another name derived from a Zahn book). I grew to like Quellier as well, so in the end no 'good' characters were harmed.

As production went on, names and the plot were developed a bit more. Near the end, this was the second draft:

Group goes out to sea.

-Battle with Pirates

Group lands' date=' encounter's Bonarpte's men. After players discuss their task, the men will offer to guide them in.

-If players accept, there will be some bonus

-If not, the men will send them on their way

Players begin their journey to Duplovia, where the negotiations are taking place.

-Players pick up a traveler named Shokka Morcrass

-Battle with caped ambushers, the ‘Hidden Skulls’

Group encounters city guards. During the discussion, Morcrass flees.

The group enters Duplovia. Another failed assassination attempt.

Players either:

-Choose to continue on

Encounter with Eyric, Dyric Rone's brother

Battle with a traitorous guard (With same markings as knife on shield)

At castle, group speaks to leaders of Duplovia

-Investigate Balcony

Find assassin/throwing knifes with markings

Battle with fleeing suspect

At castle, group speaks to leaders of Duplovia and meets Eyric

On the way out, Eyric and Quellir joins the group, advising they look for answers in the marketplace:

-Krinkins, info broker, give info for price

-Bar tender. Sells mead, nostrum

-Shop keeper. See list below

-Smithy. Will upgrade weapons for 50 G.

Krinkins says markings are from Duplovia. They ‘turn into’ the following item, respectively.

Shield = Duplovian Shield, (SP:5)

Knife = Duplovian Throwing Dagger (WP:5)

Group is ambushed. Interrogation with Morcrass, who happens to be leading the Hidden Skulls. He reveals he is not connected to assassination, and he was trying to root out the cell that is really to blame. He believes it is the White Hand, in Delfrin. He then lets group go, on the account that they deal with the other cell. Gang wars are tough business, you know.

In Delfrin, they begin looking for warehouse cell is hiding in. They eventually find it.

Group maneuvers throughout the warehouse, which is more like a labyrinth, searching for the leader.

-Battle with mob cell members, a mix between White Hand and Hidden Skull members.

Group reaches 'throne room'

Reveal: Morcrass is evil mob leader, behind everything, including pirates! Monologue galore!

-Boss battle with Ted the Troll

Morcrass escapes, group flees warehouse.

Negotiations completed, end quest.

[/quote']

-Options

As you may not, there was an option to either stay and investigate the bridge after the original assassination attempt, or continue to the castle. Both would have gone pretty much the same, but there would have been a slightly different battle, and no Support Rod.

-The Hidden Skulls and the Hand of Throngs

So, as I said, the quest was always changing and altering itself in minor ways. One of these was exactly how the Skulls and Hands inter-connected. I knew from the start that there had to be two gangs, and by the end they had to be connected. The confusing part was which gang attacked where, and why, and how Morcrass was connected to them. I don't believe I have any of the alterations recorded, it was mainly head knowledge, which likely contributed to the confusion of it all. I eventually managed to figure it all out before the quest started.

--Pirates

Connected to the above, the idea of Pirates on the Crystalline Sea was a fun concept that originated as just a way to gauge the Heroes damage before the real quest started. The concept that they were actually hired by Morcrass to delay the Heroes didn't come in until later.

-Krinkins' Game

I don't know how canon the Writeboard is, but it has led to a lot of amusement. One of the things I brought in there was the game of Tic, which I found so stupidly amusing I wanted to bring it into the Quest. I never really expected you to play the game, and it would have been a nightmare to QM if you did.

-The Final Assassination

The last battle wasn't actually in any of the Quest outlines. As I said, the quest was constantly changing, and about halfway through the actual quest I realized that the Troll battle wasn't the best ending. Part of the reason for this was the concept that Morcrass was always using the Heroes as a distraction for something else, and so while they were fighting the Troll he'd be starting the last assassination. In the end I realized that if the Heroes didn't arrive for that final assassination, they'd miss a good deal of the action, and so it was eventually included. I wouldn't recommend this sort of thing, but it worked in the end.

Improvisation

I don't know how many times I can say this, but the quest honestly was in constant motion, and the Heroes contributed a lot to this. There were a lot of bit parts that were never supposed to happen, but the Heroes went there, and it didn't terribly affect the plot, so I let them.

-Pirate Ship

This is a small one, but looting the Pirate Ship was something I didn't expect you to do. This became pretty important with the Lucky Stone being used at the end, which gave the quest a nice level of continuity, I feel.

-Newharbour

Probably the biggest one. Never did I expect you to go to Nerharbour, and I actually set up reasons as to why it was a bad idea. You went there anyways, however, so I scrambled and put together a small little set. This allowed you to meet Morcrass a lot more naturally than before (randomly on the road) as well as introduce a few things. One, the Phibbians, who were derived from a weird character I had laying around but will now become key in future Duplovia Quests. Two, my favorite character from the series was now introduced a quest earlier! Feel special.

-Vastin

So originally, there was just an Ambush Leader character design that was used a bunch through the Quest. When Thalion interrogated and kept the Leader alive, however, I decided it would be a lot cooler to just bring him back as the same character, and Vastin was created. Vastin was a fun character, and really symbolized the ideals of the Hidden Skulls. In the end, it was nice to have a reacurring character that could die in the final battle.

-Shenanigans on the Bridge

Never expected you to dig around like that, so the Support Beam was created last-minute. One of my biggest regrets on this quest was amount of weapons I gave you guys, but this one was kind of fun to develop. It is essentially a 2x4, after all.

-The Marketplace

Not really an improvisation, as much as it was an expansion. Krinkins' little task was always set up as a basic X needs this from Y, Y needs this from X sort of thing, but you guys really ran with it. It became a larger, fun sort of side quest, and was one of the more enjoyable things from the quest. It also developed the different personalities in the Market Guild a bit more, a group who will come back form time to time in the future.

-Sneaking through Delfrin

Again, I left any specific way to open the door and get across the border vague, deciding to let you guys fill in the blanks. Stuff like Sarge using his Business Card from quests earlier was really cool, and I encourage that sort of thing in the future.

Other Notes

-You guys played really well with the whole political intrigue sort of concept. You picked up most of the clues pretty well, though I think Alexander was the only one who actually picked up the final, largest twist. I won't state it here yet, because as far as everyone's concerned at this point, its still highly secretive.

-This was definitely an origin quest, introducing a lot of the pieces in this game before they get a lot of chance to move around. Expect many of the characters to come back in later quests.

-Some self-critique, I really felt I dropped way to much loot in this quest, especially with OP stuff like the Support Beam and the Duplovian Helmet. I'll try to keep this down to a minimum in the future.

-I felt the pace was really back and forth in this. Battles were too slow, conversations were too fast. I wanted to give you guys time to RP, but I feel I moved it along so quickly you didn't get the chance.

-Masked deserves so much credit. He stuck by me the whole process, and was even willing to commit when I asked him for another image halfway through the quest for the final battle. That said, it's not a system I would recommend to future QM's - it's very time consuming (again, the quest was a year and a half in the process, for an average-length quest) and thus ate up a lot of time on both ends.

Player Critique:

I hadn't really followed many of you before this quest, and so I picked you guys from what I knew to try to create a wide array of moral standpoints for the quest. Not sure how well I succeeded, but I think you were a fun party nonetheless.

Thalion/-obelix-

Throughout the quest you were an excellent leader, carefully weighing ever decision and calmly reacting with everything. Your interactions with Vastin, showing you dark side a little, was some of the most interesting stuff in the quest. You were impressively patient with my endless battle mistakes, and I thank you for that.

Sarge/Pyrovisionary

Sarge was an interesting character in this quest. He consistently provided a gruff no-nonsense kind of attitude to the NPCs around him. He was a lot of fun to watch, and I look forward to seeing him in the future. As a side note, Sarge is really difficult to balance battles for.

Alexander/Wedge05

Again, an interesting character. He was pretty quiet, and yet was probably one of the most insightful, seeing through a lot of disguises and picking up a lot of hints, and seeming to be the only one to pick up the final twist. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on it in PM.

Sir Brickington/Brickington

Sadly, you missed out on a lot of the quest because of life. Still, you got on as much as possible, and tried your best, so props for that!

All in all, this quest was a lot of fun! I can't say a final date for the release of part two, only that it's working title is 'Under Pressure'.

[Brickington]

Thanks for the awesome quest! And thank you for not being so harsh for my inactivity.

[-obelix-]

Well first of all, thank you for your kind words and, again, for having me on the introductory quest to High Kingdoms.

All in all, this quest was a lot of fun!

I think everyone can agree on this! The quest was an absolute blast, and, as I said, I eagerly await for the next chapter - as a questee or watcher it doesn't matter, the many twists and turns really get you thinking "What is truly going on there?". And while I do have some theories (Wedge and I spoke about them a bit), I wont tell them, I'll just wait and see...

I am glad you choose to change Morcrass's name, as Bible would have been far too easy (he wouldn't have survived Newharbour even tough he had no goatee at the time (he might as well grow one now)... ). I am also very glad that you choose to leave Quellir and Eyric alive, as I think it gives you some great opportunities for what is to come.

On a final note: thanks to Masked as well!

Sumed up in one sentence I agree with Pyro - Quest #64 =

[Pyrovisionary]

I know that sarge was hard to balance for, and soon he'll be nigh impossible to balance, so sorry for that. I did get the twist, (I think) but sarge would never do anything that he wasn't payed for.

Edited June 21, 2013 by Pyrovisionary

[Wedge09]

Firstly thanks a lot Legonater (and to Masked for the help ) for this quest that I really enjoy, the party was superb and the quest never obvious.

The party:

-Thalion/Obelix: I work with him for 2 quest before this and I think that he is a great party leader, always think of the good of all and is very cautious in his decisions; I love the part when he was tempted by the dark side and in generally his RP is great.

-Sarge/Pyrovsionary: with him, there isn't obvious and don't expect anything normal from him I like having him in the party, adds the mess that I and Obelix don't do The part, as said before, when he use the card of the fisherman was a great moment

Sir Brickington/Brickington: it's a pity that you had problem in real life, but real life is more important that roleplaying (only stats are above all (from Brickdoctor) ) I enjoy interacting with him and I think he is a very noble man I would say almost the opposite of Sarge Hope to be in a quest with you again in the future

QM The Legonater: after seeing all the works you made on this quest, really deserve the compliments for all you made

For your next quest in the Duplovian series don't forget us and make sure to post it on the Quest Board when we're all ready for adventure

[Pyrovisionary]

I'd better put up a party thing too!:

Brickington: What we saw of you was great, and I can safely say that we're all glad you were active, however little that may have been.

Thalion: Thalion was a great balance to Sarge's... Nature. He was patient and a good party leader overall.

Alexanderp Alex was, surprisingly, the Tank of the group. He sat in the back row with his Sp. I would like to see him go Warden, then us, Brickington, Alexandre le Chevalier and possibly a Mystic knight Thalion could sit around a knightly round table and do deeds of wisdom.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Alexanderp Alex was, surprisingly, the Tank of the group. He sat in the back row with his Sp. I would like to see him go Warden, then us, Brickington, Alexandre le Chevalier and possibly a Mystic knight Thalion could sit around a knightly round table and do deeds of wisdom.

We could start our very own Round Table!

[Wedge09]

Alexanderp Alex was, surprisingly, the Tank of the group. He sat in the back row with his Sp. I would like to see him go Warden, then us, Brickington, Alexandre le Chevalier and possibly a Mystic knight Thalion could sit around a knightly round table and do deeds of wisdom.

You tempt me going Warden, damn , I like both the warden and the hunter and I'm so undecided

[Brickington]

I should probably do this too! Although I didn't see nearly as much as everyone else did.

Sarge: Although not what I would like Sir Brickington to be, Sarge has his own interesting personality He is sometimes rude, but he most always gets his point across. To me it seems like Sarge doesn't really have any morals when he's trying to get something done. He is very no-nonsense.

Alexander: He was a bit quieter than the loud, obnoxious Sarge. But to me, he is a very noble character indeed, not to mention that he is very handy with the bow.

Thalion: He is a very kind character and a perfect leader. He knows how to lead and he takes command and he doesn't back down. When I think leader, I think Thalion.

I like the round table idea.

[Pyrovisionary]

That might be an interesting guild within the guild sort of thing to set up.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Quest #67-

Self critique- I think this was one of my better quests, mistake-wise. Other than that one battle (I forget which one, may have been the spitosaurs), the battles and statistics were pretty good. The picture quality I thought was okay, but I have devised a better system, and I can't wait to imply them next quest. Also, I think the battle balancing was spot on for a mixed group of heroes of different levels.

Haldor/Scorpiox- I knew you'd be a great party leader. Each time the round turned bad for you guys, you got that cursed Blood Ritual . I would be happy to host you again.

Benji/Flare- You were by far the biggest/baddest hero in the entire group. You absolutely pummeled all the dinosaurs thrown at you. And you were clever enough to have Carson attack you, and no matter what he got, you never would've taken damage. Nice thinking. You were active as well. I'm glad you were on my quest a 3rd time.

Tarn/Rumble Strike- You were another hero vital to the party. Your counterstriking and decent hits were good, and I felt you were getting a nice connection with the NPC's. Too bad you had to leave at the last round of the battle, but it's okay.

Jeaux/joeshmoe- Thanks for playing! You rarely got damaged, and were active the entire way through. Nice job.

Heckz/Eric Su- You also did good for such a low level facing some dangerous dinosaurs. I wish you could've been a tad more active and RP'd a bit more. But you were fine pretty much.

[Flare]

Thanks CJP for the quest and the comments! It was a fun quest, although a bit too similar to the Fields (not identical but the similarities were obvious.) NPCs were cool,but underpowered. Its annoying to have to make sure the NPC doesn't die in battle Also it was Flipz's idea for Carson to attack me, so I can't accept the credit for that ingenious idea.

Anyways, 5 star quest! Are you serious though? 3 of your quests already

[joeshmoe554]

It was a lot of fun, you did a great job of balancing the enemies to not kill me and Heckz right off the bat. The requirement to keep enemies alive also made the quest a lot more interesting. It made Heckz and Jeaux a little more useful since we could deal smaller amounts of damage than the 3 heavy hitters.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Ah yes, the NPC's were underpowered for a few reasons.1- they requested your help for a reason. I can't have a few macho men cowering in fear. And 2- It was okay if they died. They were actually supposed to be meatshields for you guys. But I decided not to tell you. Alan would never die. Bors would die if he was KO'd twice. And Carson would die instantly.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Hey everyone, I have a favor to ask. Could someone please make a set for me? I would like a sandy gladiator arena, and a few pictures of different enemies in them. (An actual CMF gladiator would be great for 1 of them.)

[Scubacarrot]

I might be able to help, how big would the arena need to be, and when would you need the picture?

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Not too big. Just a simply set where you can put a few gladiators and not look cramped. Of course, a large one would be awesome. The picture does not need to be up anytime soon. I just like to have pictures of the main stuff before the quest is approved. (That way I can improve quality, play around in PS, and not worry about deadlines if the party goes faster than expected.)

If anyone doesn't want to until the quest is approved, that is ok, and understandable.

[Scubacarrot]

Alright sounds cool, I'll try to make something tomorrow.

[Zepher]

Y'all can give notes first. I enjoyed the quest. Not one of my best, but I thought it was pretty tight, fun, and the battles were at least interesting. I like shorter quests when I can offer them. I'll do analysis in a day or two, but would love to hear what you thought!

[Kintobor]

OH GOD IT'S CONNECTED TO WREN!!! IT'S CONNECT TO WREN!!!

I really liked the quest, Zepher! The battles looked fun with the variations, the plot was interesting, and those three witches! Who are they?

The witches final monologue really gave me goosebumps! Well played Zepher, well played...

Expect Scary, Jerry, and Thomas Jefferson to comment on this in the future, the trio are theater nuts!

[The Legonater]

The witches final monologue really gave me goosebumps! Well played Zepher, well played...

Agreed, that last line gave me chills