Sandy

Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

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I haven't read Quest #1, so I wouldn't know, but I don't see how it's similar to the Unlimited Quest.

Quest 1 had heroes clearing a farm of enemies that included animals and demons, and the Fields of Glory are the same farm Quest 1 took place in.

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That's what you get for being a Progg herder.

Quest 1 was simply going through the fields and giving some nasty farm animals a good bashing. I'd suggest some type of twist or variation of a mechanic.

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Well, you can't really believe that what Monk Pretzel says about any demons being involved is true. I was thinking of having a sort of "Animal Farm" situation where the animals are duped by the pigs, and basically the party will have to knock out the animals instead of killing them. I was thinking that if the party can bring an animal down to 10 or less health, the animal is just knocked out, but if the animal's health goes down to 0 then the animal dies. The reward would probably based on how many animals they can bring back into Farmer Jones' "fold."

...Am I saying too much. :look:

It's animal farm!

Exactly! We posted at the same time.

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Well, you can't really believe that what Monk Pretzel says about any demons being involved is true. I was thinking of having a sort of "Animal Farm" situation where the animals are duped by the pigs, and basically the party will have to knock out the animals instead of killing them. I was thinking that if the party can bring an animal down to 10 or less health, the animal is just knocked out, but if the animal's health goes down to 0 then the animal dies. The reward would probably based on how many animals they can bring back into Farmer Jones' "fold."

...Am I saying too much. :look:

Exactly! We posted at the same time.

That is actually a very cool idea, reward being based on performance. You shouldn't have to rework it, just put that in the pitch.

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Well, you can't really believe that what Monk Pretzel says about any demons being involved is true. I was thinking of having a sort of "Animal Farm" situation where the animals are duped by the pigs, and basically the party will have to knock out the animals instead of killing them. I was thinking that if the party can bring an animal down to 10 or less health, the animal is just knocked out, but if the animal's health goes down to 0 then the animal dies. The reward would probably based on how many animals they can bring back into Farmer Jones' "fold."

Oh, well then that would be the mechanics twist I was talking about to set the quest apart from Quest 1. :thumbup:

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Well, I don't think the reward will be entirely based on performance, but obviously the farmer won't be too incredibly pleased if the heroes move in and mow down everything in their paths. He would be left with nothing at the end, besides his fields which he wouldn't be able to use. :grin:

Oh, and I'm not sure whether to use normal animals or fabuland ones. I'm kind of leaning towards Fabuland. :laugh:

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Most unbelievable thing about your pitch? Monk Pretzel has a friend. :tongue:

Second unbelievable thing: Somebody actually believes what he tells them. :wacko:

:laugh:

Nah! Farmer Jones just assumes that if he drops a few names he will get the favours of Heroica with him. You should hear some of the stories Monk Pretzel tells him. :laugh:

I was actually thinking that, if I actually get into hosting, people could earn reputation with Monk Pretzel by going on his quest, but it would be a love/hate relationship, because the slightest thing a person does could turn them into an "Enemy of the Pretzelian Order." Monk Pretzel has been around for close to 500 years, so he does have a lot of contacts.

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I was actually thinking that, if I actually get into hosting, people could earn reputation with Monk Pretzel by going on his quest, but it would be a love/hate relationship, because the slightest thing a person does could turn them into an "Enemy of the Pretzelian Order." Monk Pretzel has been around for close to 500 years, so he does have a lot of contacts.

Do it. And award the Expert Class of "Pretzelian Monk".

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Do it. And award the Expert Class of "Pretzelian Monk".

You saw my "Expert Class" (Pretzelian Monk) idea from a long time ago, right? (Sandy hated it. I wonder why? :innocent: )

I think you would like playing as that class. You would be literally unbeatable. :laugh:

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You saw my "Expert Class" (Pretzelian Monk) idea from a long time ago, right? (Sandy hated it. I wonder why? :innocent: )

I think you would like playing as that class. You would be literally unbeatable. :laugh:

Yep, I remember it. I wonder why it wasn't approved... :snicker:

I wouldn't play as it, though. Can't use a shield. :wink:

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I wouldn't play as it, though. Can't use a shield. :wink:

Is Docken even going to choose an expert class, unless one pops up that lets you use ranged weapons and shields? :look:

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Is Docken even going to choose an expert class, unless one pops up that lets you use ranged weapons and shields? :look:

It depends. Sandy, do you keep the stat bonuses from your Advanced Class when you switch to an Expert Class or Master Class, and do you keep the stat bonuses from your Expert Class when you advance to a Master Classes? If you do, I'll probably switch to an Expert Class to get that stat bonus, and then go to Mime. (or if you have to go on one quest with your Expert Class to keep that bonus, I'd be willing to do that, too) Otherwise, it's straight from Warden to Mime if I there isn't an Expert Class that uses bows and shields. (and has rolls and abilities that I like, of course)

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How do house alliances work? Does a good reputation with a faction equal a bad reputation with an opposing faction? For example, Hybros has a great reputation with the Bonapartes, so would it take two quests to put the Bonaparte/Ji Pei meter back to neutral, or would a successful Ji Pei quest automatically change my rep with them to "good"?

Oops, wrong topic, again, but this works I guess.

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I was actually thinking that, if I actually get into hosting, people could earn reputation with Monk Pretzel by going on his quest, but it would be a love/hate relationship, because the slightest thing a person does could turn them into an "Enemy of the Pretzelian Order." Monk Pretzel has been around for close to 500 years, so he does have a lot of contacts.

I'm sorry, but I've been adamant about not letting people host quests related to their own player character. Subtle references and mentions are okay, but it's not fair that a QM gets to raise their own PC into the limelight, when the focus should be on the players joining the quest.

And as others have pointed out, your quest pitch is too similar to Quest#1. Go read it, and you will see the same thing.

I will have to turn down your pitch, sorry.

It depends. Sandy, do you keep the stat bonuses from your Advanced Class when you switch to an Expert Class or Master Class, and do you keep the stat bonuses from your Expert Class when you advance to a Master Classes? If you do, I'll probably switch to an Expert Class to get that stat bonus, and then go to Mime. (or if you have to go on one quest with your Expert Class to keep that bonus, I'd be willing to do that, too) Otherwise, it's straight from Warden to Mime if I there isn't an Expert Class that uses bows and shields. (and has rolls and abilities that I like, of course)

No, you don't get to keep class bonuses when you advance into "higher classes". That's why the class bonuses grow with each tier.

How do house alliances work? Does a good reputation with a faction equal a bad reputation with an opposing faction? For example, Hybros has a great reputation with the Bonapartes, so would it take two quests to put the Bonaparte/Ji Pei meter back to neutral, or would a successful Ji Pei quest automatically change my rep with them to "good"?

There is no "bad reputation". There's just good, great and outstanding. If you have a "great" reputation with the Ji Pei, and you earn reputation from the Bonapartes, you will have a "good" reputation with both factions. This means you can never have a "great" reputation with both rivalling factions.

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No, you don't get to keep class bonuses when you advance into "higher classes". That's why the class bonuses grow with each tier.

Got it, thanks. So, to answer the original question, if there are no Expert Classes that allow use of bow and shield and have rolls and abilities I like, Docken will go from Warden to Mime.

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I was working my way backwards through the quests, but I guess I'll have to jump stright from #12 to #1.

I will drop the Monk Pretzel thing for sure, and just make it "Farmers Alliance" reputation, if I manage to change it enough to make it hostable. Will read Quest #1 hopefully on Saturday, and will see what I can do to make this one more significantly different.

Pretzelian Monk Edit: Pretzelian Monks who wear eyepatches can now use shields as well, but only if they've been Mythrilized! :grin:

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Quest #35 Fun Facts:

  • Computer died the day quest was to be posted. Used smartphone & neighbor's comp to update quest up to the slugs encounter.
  • If an Inquisitor had been allowed to survive for more than one round it would have revealed the Party as being from Heroica and every NPC from then on would have been hostile towards the Party on sight.
  • In the Mage Quarter there was supposed to be a wand shooting mini game but I couldn't differentiate it enough from WaterBrickDown's archery competition so scrapped it.
  • Slug encounter/airmaster's lift battle was created the night before it was posted. Original encounter was another slime/acid and canister breaking battle but Kadabra was so bored I came up with something else.
  • Arasmyth had the lucky effect during that encounter.
  • The only fight tailored for Singerson was the Archivist fight. If Archivist room wasn't the last location checked, the Party would have started the fight with the help of the Maa'ri. And probably would have won easily in a few rounds with that haste song.
  • It was to your benefit (EZ mode) not to head directly back to the Apothecarium after picking up Singerson. No fights were adjusted because of Singerson's presence.
  • Loose order for sites to be visited in: Prison Area -> Marketplace(Transient Vendor Area) -> Prison Area -> War Quarter -> Mage Quarter -> Apothecarium
  • No final boss per se. Quest ended at last place explored no matter which one that was.
  • I tried fabricating some of the pics. Used bricklink and some other images to build some of the characters (those used in patrols).
  • Only way to fail the quest was to kill the Maa'ri Orcs. If Party was completely KO'd at any point during the quest, the Party would have been dumped outside the city, enemy NPCs put on alert and enemy levels raised by 1.
  • I apologize for my slow updating. Almost every time while updating a battle I would get distracted by tv, YouTube or family demand.
  • The drops mostly pertained to the Quest and didn't really offer upgrades for the players but hopefully you can sell some stuff for good money.

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Quest #35 Fun Facts:

[*]Only way to fail the quest was to kill the Maa'ri Orcs. If Party was completely KO'd at any point during the quest, the Party would have been dumped outside the city, enemy NPCs put on alert and enemy levels raised by 1.

[*]I apologize for my slow updating. Almost every time while updating a battle I would get distracted by tv, YouTube or family demand.

[*]The drops mostly pertained to the Quest and didn't really offer upgrades for the players but hopefully you can sell some stuff for good money.

*Turning on the Maa'ri, I knew we'd fail. But at least now I've (hopefully) got a fancy pair of boots :grin: (for whenever I can get around to hosting :hmpf_bad: ). I thought I remembered it being said that we would just be dumped in the sewers if we got wiped, but can't find such a post right now.

*Didn't bother me too much. We hit a lull there for a while, and the roleplaying especially took a hit, but I can't fault you -- heck, I missed my fair share of cues throughout the quest. It was particularly embarrassing the one time that you snuck a round in without my noticing. I think we'd been waiting on JMB's post, but then he must have posted, then you put up the round results, then ADHO and JMB both posted again, so when I saw that JMB was the last poster, opened the thread and hit "END", I completely missed the round you'd posted. Then like a day and a half later, I saw your comment in the R&D thread saying you were waiting on me... whoops! :blush:

*I'm a strong advocate of currency rewards, or rewards intended to be converted to currency, rather than straight upgrades as rewards, so this didn't bother me in the least. I do wish we'd had one last chance to visit the vendors, but I guess you can only expect it to take so long before the guard captains start to notice a bunch of their patrols have gone missing and decide to take care of the threat. Plus, the Trainer was a great encounter, wish we'd taken advantage of that third opportunity to face him and gain some stat increases.

I thoroughly enjoyed your quest, Jeb. You're true to your word when you say that you plan to exhaust your questies' consumables. The encounters were challenging but not insurmountable, the slew of special abilities, mechanics, etc that you employed kept things interesting, even when we fought patrols of similar compositions repeatedly. There are definitely some unique and valuable items coming out of the quest, some which will, I'm sure, see use by our characters, and some which will get traded around, but at least most of them will get used by someone. I wish I'd had more gold at my disposal to pick up a few extra scrolls for artifact infusions. I know I'll have some fun RP opportunities down the line with the masks, though.

Speaking of roleplaying, you did an excellent job at setting the scene. The characters were believable (the Trainer came off as a to-the-point combat instructor, the bridge spirit seemed equal parts childishly innocent yet devious, etc), and the story behind the Maa'ri really was powerful. While I had Thorm turn on them, I felt bad for them. They had earned my sympathy, but they had duped Thorm, so I had to split the two. I really appreciate you presenting the strong RP decision in the Archivist fight. Had Thorm known, or had any inkling of an idea, that the Maa'ri were using him as they did, he would have taken that gold without a second thought and walked away right then. Honestly, you gave us all lots of opportunities to develop our characters, both through PC-NPC interactions, and within the party. You went along with a bunch of freeform actions and had them directly affect the quest with more than an extra bit of dialogue. It's not exactly a rare thing here as lots of QMs do it, but I still love seeing that extra interaction between QM and players anyway. :thumbup:

Oh, and nice repurposing of the Undercity map! :tongue:

I really hope I have the opportunity to go on another of your quests sometime.

Read: I really hope all my OoC and pestering over mechanics/rules and maybe even poking fun at your newborn didn't turn you off from the idea of ever inviting me to participate in one of your quests ever again, because I really enjoyed attending this one!

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Great Quest Jeb :thumbup: . The role playing opportunists were great, the battles were tough, forcing us to use consumables and the loot was balanced. It was fun to see singerson again, and having Elgar prattling on about Ennoc was fun. Overall great quest.

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Quest Title: Farmer Jones' Farm

Assignment: Help! I need help! Last night, as I slept, the worst of things happened. I awoke to the sound of angry clamouring and loud noises. I went downstairs and what do I see? My farm animals have turned on me. They were breaking down the door of the farm house trying to get in at me. What did I do? I had to escape through the kitchen door with my wife and leave the house and all my possessions in the hands of animals. They are presently dwelling in my abode, eating my food, and sleeping in my bed. Please, I need a team of heroes to come and sort out this problem for me. I need you to help me rid my beasts of whatever it is that possesses them and causes them to behave the way they do.

Requirements: 4 heroes of any class (from levels 1 to 10 probably), although I prefer no robbers or animal-friends on my property.

Reward: We'll work that out when you get here.

Tweaked the pitch a little, not that it makes any difference really. Also, after reading quest #1, I don't think what I have planned for this one will be too similar to that one at all, but perhaps I need to word the pitch better, or is it just the farm thing and fighting animals itself that's the problem. :sceptic:

I don't mean to be stubborn. :look::sweet:

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Huge applause to you, Jeb. You hosted a great quest through the fire and flames (or computer issues and fatherhood - congrats, by the way! :sweet: )

The entire maa'ri situation was one of the best I've seen here, and your battles were all fresh and innovative.

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Hey Jebs, I just wanted to compliment you on the fantastic quest in private, just in case it got lost in the streams upon streams of posts in the Discussion Thread.

You have an incredibly distinct hosting style that I really like. Mixing humor with intrigue and plot twists that I can honestly say I never see coming... you create quite a compelling story. Your characters are unique in an sort of surreal way. They act almost as if they too are in a game. I like it a lot. The Archivist's speeches, Homer Singerson's ambiguity, the comments by the Executioner about wanting to go home, even the Maa'ri's will "side posts" which the heroes don't technically see... all intriguing and interesting and inventive. Add to that your incredibly unique battles and drops, and I think it's safe to say that you're one of the most innovative QMs out there.

Anyway, I'll have more to say in the QM Lounge after the quest, as is custom, but I just wanted to give you a private :thumbup: .

Sent that to Jebs about a week ago, but though I'd post it publicly as well. People should look to him for inspiration when it comes to Quest planning.

I loved the final twist. It was sad, and the choice was actually an incredibly difficult one. :thumbup: That's a great way to include previous NPCs without actually including them.

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Very nicely done Jeb. The characters were great, the loot and vendors awesome, the story and twist amazing, and the battles unique, humorous, and challenging. :thumbup: It is sad that this seems like the end of the Maa'ri, but you did a wonderful job of portraying them.

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