Sandy

Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

Recommended Posts

Jebediahs, I don't normally bother to say things I know have been/are going to be said by everyone else anyway, but that whole quest was amazing. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Now you've gotta let me come back! The Akkabans kinda-sorta-maybe like Thormanil a little bit, so you know some wacky, dangerous hi-jinx will ensue when he once again stands on the battlefield with the Maa'ri! :grin:

Nice cliffhanger. I'm not sure of the significance of Sarah Tarnackle, so unless it's just a bit of faux-movie-humor, then it went over my head :blush:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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:

That's more like it. :wink:

As this would be your first quest, please PM me more details about the progress of your quest as well as some pictures and enemy stats you've prepared for it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Jeb, you've once again ran an interesting quest. The masks were fun and you always create nice items. Battle wise, they seemed to drag on, but hey they still won.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Alright, there's another quest down!

I'd like to hear thoughts on it before I say anything. I'm happy with the length! Railroading is a Zepher tradition, so sorry about that. It made it even more necessary because I wasn't around my LEGO, so I couldn't build new sets or take new pictures. All pictures were taken before I left for college!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

S'okay!! I want to hear people's thoughts. I think it was different from some of my other quests. I want to make the final Quest extremely enjoyable, so I need to know what people like and what they don't like. :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was going to wait for Flipz to swoop in, summarize everything awesome about the quest in a massive wall of text, and just agree with him, but... :tongue:

I really enjoyed it. There wasn't a lot of freedom, but on such a story-centric quest, I can see why, who wants to screw around with side plots when you could finally be figuring what the hell is up with Wren? :laugh: The battles were cool. Despite being for the most part single bosses, they were actually quite a challenge, even for such a varied and powerful party. I mean, they had to twist the system just to win the last one. The loot was nice as well. :thumbup:

The story all fit together and nailed down the missing piece of the Wren Quests. Quests 7 and 19 were in the present, setting up the whole thing, we discovered her future plans in Quest 30, and you describer her past in this one. A good way to round it off before the last one, you/the heroes really cut down that aggravating 'untouchable' aura she has, her humanity really showed through. I liked the new old party as well, they each had a clearly defined personality and I'm looking forward to them in the final quest. (I do hope to see some more backstory to them, there wasn't time to delve into it during this quest).

All I can say is that my hopes are high for the last Wren Quest, I really, really, really want to see how it all ends, perhaps be there too. :thumbup: :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That was a great Quest, we got to see Wren as she was and how she was made. The battle elements allowed me some roleplay and I was really able to set down what I mean Tesni to be, besides sympathetic for Wren the person and thus having some friction with the rest of the party.

The battles were fair, even if in the last one I think Tesni got more bruises from Cronk than the Shard or Roderick!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have to say, I very much enjoyed playing in your quest, and will definitely be signing up for the conclusion to your epic series. :wub:

While we were railroaded at times, I can say that it did not affect the overall experiance at all. It isn't like there is much to explore in a deserted valley anyways. The character developement and story of your NPCs was excellent as always, I genuinely felt sorry for Triad and irritated at Roderick, sad as that makes me sound. It is also really nice when NPCs actually roleplay with the heroes, instead of remaining distant and wooden, it is this that makes your quests that bit more engaging to play.

I feel as though Haldor grew quite a bit on the quest as well, coming out quite a bit more educated and balanced as a person after all that. Arthur and Gray had quite a bit of impact on him, as unwanted as their advice seemed to be. This was also my first go as a PL, and it seemed a lot easier that I had thought it would be, but to be honest there weren't a lot of out-of-combat descisions for me to make. :blush:

Overall, it was a very enjoyable quest to go on, and I thank you Zepher for hosting it. :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For what boiled down to a string of battles, Zepher, that was excellent. :wub: All of the battles seemed well thought out, and the plot was bursting out of your every post. Big :thumbup:.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As the "weakling" of the party, I have to say you did an excellent job of balancing the enemies for us. My only battle regret is that I never got to roll a SHIELD against that duplicating Cleric monster; imagine the rain of Gold! :laugh:

Overall, it was a great plot, I really didn't mind the railroading. I liked that you put in time for us to roleplay with the NPCs, that was a ton of fun and something I'd like to see in future Quests. :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Zpeh, excellent work. It was great to finally go on one of your quests! I didn't mind the railroading, you had excellent RP sessions, I think I got pretty decent at that during the quest. I'm definitely going to sign up for the last one. :thumbup:

As the "weakling" of the party, I have to say you did an excellent job of balancing the enemies for us. My only battle regret is that I never got to roll a SHIELD against that duplicating Cleric monster; imagine the rain of Gold! :laugh:

Weakling? I always think of Alexis as the weakest member. :shrug_oh_well:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Weakling? I always think of Alexis as the weakest member. :shrug_oh_well:

Arthur had the least Power and Health of any of us. He only stayed alive because I was mega-cautious and started over-strategizing. :tongue:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Arthur had the least Power and Health of any of us. He only stayed alive because I was mega-cautious and started over-strategizing. :tongue:

I suppose you're right. But you are also the lowest level. That and I'm probably comparing myself to Docken. :tongue:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Where to start?

Your characters are always amazing, Zepher. You're able to make each one unique and like-able. Even the evil ones. I'm still confused as to why the cleric wants to call himself a wizard, but if the crazy old man wants to that's his prerogative. :laugh: I love how each member of the old party not only fulfilled a specific role in a questing party but there was such a camaraderie amongst them that made the whole situation much more dramatic. And Bal. :wub: I'm already a sucker for Ewoks but I just wanted to hug the little guy. He's the lowest level of his entire party but he's the one to get the jump on the angel and he does it for his friends.

I have to say that I didn't feel all that railroaded. Sure, we couldn't go wandering all around and do whatever we wanted but it made sense for this sort of quest. We already knew where we were going and it just flowed to find the clues and lost party members as we did. You did allow us plenty of time to interact between battles and you never rushed us to our next objective.

The battles were imaginative. The Knight was the weakest battle but I think we got extra lucky in that one the round after he got healed and encouraged. Plus it was sort of unfair that almost all of us had the elemental advantage on him. The priest fight was particularly hard after that and was counter-intuitive to win. The Chaos beast almost won when we didn't act tactfully enough. The angel battle was only won because we learned our lesson from that. It was quite a challenge with the Angel and Aura's protecting each other.

And then there was the final battle. I really didn't think we'd win it after the Splinter took over. Cronk's luck is always bad enough without having to face a lucky enemy while Jinxed. I kind of feel like we cheated at the end there. The only alternative would have been to let Triad do all the fighting and that would have taken even longer if it worked at all.

I did realize that Wren was going to take the amulet. Probably later than everyone else. I also thought that maybe she was disguised as McColt. The guy goes on a quest without a sword? What a noob. :laugh: But there really wasn't a way for us to stop Wren from getting it. It would have spoiled the lovely plot for the next quest.

I felt that I was given a lot to roleplay against this whole quest. Cronk had to face down a part of his own god. And it's demented servants. I love that he rose to the occasion and didn't lose faith in Ennoc, though at the end he may have lost a little faith in himself. And the Splinter will keep on giving good RP. I hope to resolve some of that when I find the time.

So to sum up.... Thanks, Zepher, for another amazing quest. I'm so glad Cronk was chosen to participate in it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice job, Zeph. As always, your characters are really deep and your story is interesting. I loved how Wren was given a background more in the quest, and how she has turned into a grey character as the quests progressed (i.e. not black and white, good and evil, etc.). I also thought the quest was nicely paced. It seemed that there was a good combination of story telling and battles, and they were kind of crammed together to have this quest go for only a month. :thumbup:

Again, really looking forward to the final chapter. Hopefully Hybros will be around to participate.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you all! I'll put up player analysis and personal thoughts up later, my family is up for the day, but I'll just start off by saying I had great fun and I'm very thankful to my party! :thumbup: More thoughts in like six hours!

Alright, here we go:

Self-Critique

Writing as different characters is hard. Keeping their world views and voices consistent is even harder. I particularly have trouble with Felton, Hans, and McColt. I like all of them, but I feel the PCs and the players have never really taken a shine to them. McColt has not been written by me for a few months. It is hard to give him the same voice, especially when he didn't really have a reason to talk much this time around. I hope that people take a real interest in those three in the final quest.

I hate not giving characters freedom, so I did really only give you one option, since I couldn't build sets for other things. The only thing you didn't have to do was go save Bal.... but I assumed that you would... hence him being in one of the final pictures.

I felt like I didn't give you QUITE as many role-play options. With so many NPCs and so few choices, this party lacked the camaraderie that I cherished so much in 19 and 30. However, this may also be because your characters all had different views on life. I feel, at the end, that your characters really did grow, which I was happy with. Instead of the normal growing friendlier, they seemed to grow stronger, which is a different dynamic, but one that certainly worked.

Player Feedback

Haldor/Scorpiox - I was pleased to have you as a party leader. Haldor, it turns out, is a bit of a hot head, which I liked. You REALLY let your character develop. When characters said things to him, they informed his future choices. That is the sign of a great role player. Real people are the sum total of all the events that have happened to them (I think). When the events inform your character... that's wonderful. And you let it happen. Eventually, it becomes so natural, your character changes without you even thinking about it. That's how real people work too. I think you're starting to channel that through Haldor, so keep it up. You're also starting to drop background clues. I like that. Make sure they fit in with who Haldor is now, but from what I've seen, you've been doing a good job of it. Keep it up!

Arthur/Flipz - You are an incredibly dedicated role player. I love it. Arthur is really coming into himself, and you have no trouble helping others to recall events and to roleplay as well. You want everyone to flourish, which is great. Your flashbacks are fun too. I warn you of this, however. Flashbacks and NPCs tying into your story are DANGEROUS. It is the same thing that I said when everyone was getting minions. You end up playing with yourself. Let the other PCs inform your actions. Haldor tried to take Arthur down a peg or two this quest, and we saw it sort of work. THAT'S interesting. That keeps people engaged. Backstory is great, but people can't interact with it, and in a game about interaction, people will skim it if it doesn't really pertain to them or their characters. But when Tesni talks about Grayness and Beacons, and you respond, then they people will become interested in how Arthur responds, and keep responding, and then the ball really starts rolling. NPCs, flashbacks, they're great. But use them sparingly. Your other PCs are the important story elements.

Alexis/Masked Builder - You really stepped up role playing for this quest, so thank you! I was so happy to see you so adamant to come on a Wren quest, so I'm glad you had a good time. I want to appease the fans! :thumbup: Alexis still seems pretty quiet to me. She is strong in her stance on Althior, and when she butted heads with Haldor or flirted with Arthur, those were good character moments, but I want to see even more!! You've stepped it up ten notches, now step it up ten more. Give her an opinion on everything. Doesn't have to be preplanned, just think to yourself in every situation, how would Alexis feel? When they save Bal, how would Alexis feel? When Sasha dies, how does Alexis feel? When they discuss grayness or Chaos or party leader aloofness, how does Alexis feel? As you start to find out how she feels and how she reacts, that's when you find the real character. You're well on your way to a very, very cool character, just make her a little more vocal! You've got the Harlot, you've got this notion of WANT and DESIRE that Wren talked about. How does Alexis feel about that? Does she agree, or disagree. Using that as a jumping off point, you get to go even further into her character. It's what I said about Arthur and Haldor, by reacting to the events that occur, you build a character.

Cronk/CM - :wub: I love Cronk. I really do. He's a extremely unique character. He's dynamic, but not in a fast way. He changes... but subtly. That's wonderful. He has a backstory that you've guarded carefully. All of us have talked about hiding backstory and releasing it over time, and being patient, but most everyone else has given out, thinking a year was enough time. Not you. Cronk hints and tells little snippets. What is this now, six quests? Bravo for your fortitude. It keeps Cronk incredibly interesting.... and he'd probably be interesting even without that. It's also important to note that Cronk sometimes seems to not 100% remember all events or characters, or over-simplifies stuff. It may appear to be a player over-sight, except that in the R&D thread, you make it clear that you know exactly what's gone on. Which makes it a character choice. Cronk clearly sees the world through a lens which is different than the one you see it through. That's one of the strongest signs of strong characters. His interactions are genius, he's steadfast in his views but listens to others, and grows while remaining essentially Cronk. He appeared simple at first glance, and I was afraid, way back when, that while he was adorable and funny he may remain exactly the same and one day grow boring as the rest of the game grew without him. But Cronk DOES grow, in his Cronk way, so he stays relevant and interesting while not losing his personal charm. :wub: I could go on and on, but I think you get the gist.

Tesni/Peppy - You are a superb roleplayer. I have many compliments for you, many of which are directed towards other players earlier in this post. Like Haldor, you let events effect you. I love that. Like Arthur, you are clearly into your character, and like Cronk, you have withheld your backstory an appropriate amount of time with strong fortitude. You have a unique style that I love. Tesni has very clear cut views on the world, and while she too, like all good characters, is dynamic, she, like I said of Cronk, has retained her core being. Also important to note is the length of your posts. Arthur is characterized with long winded speeches. That's a GREAT and STRONG choice for him. You make another another great and strong choice, that is equally as challenging. Your posts are nearly always short and concise. You tell us Tesni's thoughts without dragging them on. She says what she knows to be true, and then stops talking. That's beautiful. Keeps us engaged, and, more importantly, is true to the character. The fact that Tesni says relatively little, but still is a strong and prominent character who has extremely clear views on the world is a testament to your role playing.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Hope to see as many of you as possible in late Decemeber!

Edited by Zepher

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Alexis/Masked Builder - You really stepped up role playing for this quest, so thank you! I was so happy to see you so adamant to come on a Wren quest, so I'm glad you had a good time. I want to appease the fans! :thumbup: Alexis still seems pretty quiet to me. She is strong in her stance on Althior, and when she butted heads with Haldor or flirted with Arthur, those were good character moments, but I want to see even more!! You've stepped it up ten notches, now step it up ten more. Give her an opinion on everything. Doesn't have to be preplanned, just think to yourself in every situation, how would Alexis feel? When they save Bal, how would Alexis feel? When Sasha dies, how does Alexis feel? When they discuss grayness or Chaos or party leader aloofness, how does Alexis feel? As you start to find out how she feels and how she reacts, that's when you find the real character. You're well on your way to a very, very cool character, just make her a little more vocal! You've got the Harlot, you've got this notion of WANT and DESIRE that Wren talked about. How does Alexis feel about that? Does she agree, or disagree. Using that as a jumping off point, you get to go even further into her character. It's what I said about Arthur and Haldor, by reacting to the events that occur, you build a character.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Hope to see as many of you as possible in late Decemeber!

Wow, thanks Zeph, I knew I got better but that much. :cry_happy: I'll keep that in mind as I progress her more.

I definitely plan on signing up!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@Quest 43:

Thanks for the fun, Sandy. I enjoyed the NPCs and ending plot twists but it seems Nur has no luck when it comes to your Rock Monster final bosses. I will admit that in quest 10 I was afraid of failing (a second time) so chose not to attack the rock statues. Now the chance to redeem myself came and looks like I failed again by not even joining the fight. Sorry Sandy O_o

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey, I've been fleshing out the idea for a quest. I'm not ready to give a write-up just yet, and I don't think I would actually host it until after Christmas. Its working title is: A Bit Batty, and would take place in the capital (called Ends-Meet, due to the number of roads that lead there :tongue: ) of a fledgling Kingdom (or more accurately, Queendom) on the main-land, somewhere in-between (and nominally claiming) the Waldruk forests and the Nathuz Mountains, called the Autumn Kingdom, after the first (and current) Queen Autumn who consolidated power from several tribes and fiefdoms in the surrounding area. It would be a small quest to help me QM, but it would hopefully set the stage for a number of other quests I have in mind. :sweet: I'll give you a write-up and an example of a few of the monsters I made for the quest when I have time. It can be adapted for heroes of any level, but I think it would be easier for me to take a lower-level group. Currently, the stats are written for maybe Lvl 15 players, but, again, they could be taken down or up.

~Insectoid Aristocrat

Edited by Dannylonglegs

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey, I've been fleshing out the idea for a quest. I'm not ready to give a write-up just yet, and I don't think I would actually host it until after Christmas. Its working title is: A Bit Batty, and would take place in the capital (called Ends-Meet, due to the number of roads that lead there :tongue: ) of a fledgling Kingdom (or more accurately, Queendom) on the main-land, somewhere in-between (and nominally claiming) the Waldruk forests and the Nathuz Mountains, called the Autumn Kingdom, after the first (and current) Queen Autumn who consolidated power from several tribes and fiefdoms in the surrounding area. It would be a small quest to help me QM, but it would hopefully set the stage for a number of other quests I have in mind.

While there's nothing wrong with the general idea of your suggestion, it does seem a bit uninspired. "Autumn Kingdom" lead by "Queen Autumn", really? Sounds a bit too simplified... Also, the Waldurk Forest and the Nathuz Mountains have already been located to the lost kingdom of Ennon, so your quest can't really take place in those locales. Please consult the maps at the Library to find another location for your quest.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

While there's nothing wrong with the general idea of your suggestion, it does seem a bit uninspired. "Autumn Kingdom" lead by "Queen Autumn", really? Sounds a bit too simplified... Also, the Waldurk Forest and the Nathuz Mountains have already been located to the lost kingdom of Ennon, so your quest can't really take place in those locales. Please consult the maps at the Library to find another location for your quest.

Sorry, the goofy names are all placeholders that I came up with about five seconds beforehand. (accept Ends-Meet, which I thought of a few days ago, but fully intend to change it.) I usually develop characters in my head first, then give them names. (The same goes for the exact location of the nation, but I did actually think that one through a bit.) The Lost Kingdom of Ennoc is still lost, right? The idea for why the small kingdom was placed there was that it was a brand new kingdom reclaiming some land from the lost lands, presumably dealing with frequent attacks from orcish and goblin raiders. I can understand why you don't want the kingdom there though. I don't want to encroach upon anyone else's kingdoms. Perhaps "the Autumn Kingdom" could be west of Draida bay and that forest and south of the Nathuz mountains? Maybe I shouldn't have announced my hopes before I had solidified my thoughts and devised better names. :blush:

~Insectoid Aristocrat

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've started working on my next quest:

The Amazing Race
(Working title)

The Hinckwells and Shadeaux both employ a team of heroes (3-4 in each team) from Heroica to travel to Duplovia and obtain a precious artifact and bring it back to Eubric. The two teams have to chose the fastest way to get to Duplovia, face the challenges on the way and fight of their concurrents. There are several alternative routes the party can chose from and the heroes can earn extra money by trading with merchants at the marketplaces.

The two teams would get a separate topic each. The quest would go with as similar pace as possible in both of the. When a battle between the two teams happen, the battle will take place in the defender’s topic with the attacking team PM’ing their actions to the QM.

I have planned most of the quest regarding the routes, locations, the special trading feature and NPCs, but battles and of course building the MOCs (giant MOCs!) still needs lots of work.

Especially battles is something I will struggle with so if someone is interested in helping me out there and maybe be co-host too, I'm all ears.

What do you think?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.