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Author Topic: NPC quest suggestion  (Read 956 times)

AeonBlues

NPC quest suggestion
« on: April 01, 2007, 10:41:02 pm »
I think it would be really great if there was an NPC quest that directly involved defending the great cycle or an aspect there of.

There are a lot of druids, rangers, and nature priests in our game world.  While there are many NPC quests related to defending a town, or aiding an individual, there are none that I know of related to defending an aspect of nature.  If the quests could demand the use of nature based skills, like animal empathy, or stealth, or freedom of movement, that would be just incredible.  Kind of like the way some places require rogue skills.

Some basic ideas I can think of:

An orc tribe has made camp, and is cutting down all the trees in a forest area.  This could have a large and elaborate orc camp.

An evil plot has caused all the animals in an area to become sick.

Anything in the dark woods...  like destroying an evil force there that is corrupting the forests.

An evil dark druid is corrupting nature to his own sick and twisted goals....

Thanks for considering these ideas.

AeonBlues
 

Stephen_Zuckerman

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2007, 07:40:41 am »
There's already two that either directly or indirectly aid the Great Cycle.

The crypt quest, and Riam's quest. You have to kill deaders on both.
 

darkstorme

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2007, 11:32:53 am »
Another thing is the crucial aspect of the NPC quest:

It has to be plausible that it will happen again and again and again.

A disease that requires a particular herb/item to cure?  Perfect.  Disease can happen all the time.

An orc incursion?  Excellent. There are always more orcs.

A plot led by a single individual?  Not so hot.  Chop the individual to pieces, and you're kinda done.

With that in mind, suggestions for NPC quests for the druidic and balance-oriented folks:

  • Myconids have sprung up in a nearby forest, and are fast edging out the plants/creatures native to an area.  A local druid is concerned and sends you to deal with it, bringing back a section of the "Queen Myconid"'s cap as proof.
  • A portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire has been opened by some particularly ambitious kobolds, who think that training the elementals might give them an edge in fights with neighbouring tribes.  Unfortunately, some of the smaller elementals have gotten free and are starting forest fires.  A ranger native to the area is worried, and sends an adventurer to investigate and deal with the elementals before they burn the woods down.
  • A druid is concerned with a spill of Potions of Endurance from a traveling coach attacked by Dire Wolves.  The potions, imbibed by the wolves, had a profound affect on their reproductive rate, and now predation by the Dire Wolves runs the risk of depopulating prey species in the forest.  The Druid sends the character out to bring back five Dire Wolf pelts, but with instructions not to kill the pack leader.  (This opens up a possibility of failing the quest, which might be a neat twist.)
Just my two coppers.
 

AeonBlues

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2007, 11:49:52 am »
I think the defeat the evil druid would make for some good RP and would build on a concept that I feel is under represented.

Druids are protectors of balance.  This implies that for the most part, they must be selfless.  A druid that succumbs to evil,  NE being a valid druid alignment, has become a dark druid.  The dark druid is obsessed with his own personal gain, and expanding his power base.  As the spirit of each druid is connected with the spirit of all life around them, the dark druid's spirit will corrupt the spirits of nature around them.  As they increase their person power base, the forests animal and fauna become tainted, twisted abominations of life.  Much like the dark ents and  spiders found in the dark woods.  I don't go there much, so I am sorry if the dark woods has a new name, but this area is an excellent representation of what happens to nature when a dark druid settles in.

P.S. This quest could be reoccurring if it involves a dark druid cult.  Kill the leader, return his staff, but there is another apprentice ready to take his or her place.  

AeonBlues
 

darkstorme

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2007, 12:05:16 pm »
Quote from: AeonBlues
I think the defeat the evil druid would make for some good RP and would build on a concept that I feel is under represented.


Fair enough, but to me this smacks of a one-off DM quest, rather than an NPC quest.  It's stretching credulity even to have a tax lady repeatedly losing her book, or a bard absently dropping a necklace again and again.  But dozens or hundreds of dark druids stepping into a power vacuum?

"Bring me the head of the goblin chief," or "Bring me five kobold skins," and whatnot are ideal because you have a convincingly repetitious task.  There will always be another goblin chief; there will always be more kobolds.  But single, powerful individuals make less sense as a repetitive quest.

On the other hand, a Dark Druid who is ostensibly the rightful keeper of a location might come under investigation by the druid hiearchy, or by a ranger or lawman in the nearby cities, and you might be sent to investigate, and come back with evidence of wrongdoing.  This might mean that as a fighter, you'd have to fight your way into some place within his demesne, and gain the evidence you need, or (and this is the lovely part) sneak in and find same.  The beauty is that you never have to see the evil muckymuck, and in the fullness of time, the investigator can eventually conclude that sufficient evidence has been accumulated, and call for a posse to go deal with the evil druid/whatever.
 

AeonBlues

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2007, 01:16:19 pm »
I think a series of DM events would be a good way to introduce this NPC quest IF the decision was made to implement it.

I don't think the concept is out of line with most NPC quests.  Lets face it, how many thousands and thousands of giant leaders are there.  How many thousands of caustic bones exist in Krandor, each one having a grand fathers ashes.  I see NPC quests as having an RP value to each character one time.  I know we end up traveling in groups and completing these quests a myriad of times, but from the RP of your journal entries, it only happens once.  By your standards there Darkstorme, I think most of our NPC quests would be invalid.

AeonBlues
 

darkstorme

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2007, 01:29:51 pm »
Quote from: AeonBlues
By your standards there Darkstorme, I think most of our NPC quests would be invalid.


All the more reason that if new quests are being phased in, they be quests that would be reasonable a few dozen times.  Having quests like the ashes grandfathered in is all well and good, but I feel new quests ought to be ones that people don't have to sketch around in their CDTs or in conversation.  "Oh, she's lost her necklace again?".  In Hlint, back in the day, they were about half and half.  The goblin's head?  Easily repeatable.  The goblin ears?  Likewise.  The darksoul essence?  Presumably something breeds undead down there, so Erag could've had a use for any amount of the stuff.  And Johan's a fur trader; he'll always need more furs.

Layonara is a dynamic, living world, and I'd love to see more NPC quests that fit neatly into that, rather than one-shot tasks that have to be explained around if your character goes out to help someone do it again.
 

AeonBlues

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2007, 02:07:47 pm »
Well what about counter balance.  There has to be some way to reach a compromise here.  I am working really hard through IC RP to build on the diversity of druids.  Leanthar states in lore that druids are a very diverse bunch, but the perspective of players and PCs has been heavily tainted by the Katia image of a druid.  My character explains this in game that the Katia druid is a tree spirit druid.  The tree spirit is a  giver, nourisher and protector of all life.  The tree spirit provides shelter for animals.  Shade for sensitive plants.  Catches fog, and drips water onto the forest floor.  Gives endlessly, even when wood cutters come with their axes.  This makes for an annoying druid.  The Kithairien druid has the spirit of a predator.  The predator kills the weak and diseased so that the strong can breed, and through that selective breeding, strengthen the herds and tribes.  The mist druid is the storm spirit.  Storm spirit manifests destruction, and by doing so, forces living creatures to change and adapt.  To grow strong against violent winds.  The storm spirit bring fire, that cleanses the forests of dead hard woods.  The storm spirit pushes the forests back, and protects the meadows.

While my character is capable of RPing the dangers of a druid using the spirit of nature to peruse personal gain and power, I have no desire to RP my character into becoming a dark druid.  I think that having a strong NPC dark druid figure in our game world, would make for great RP, as the issue of what separates a balance druid and a dark druid should become a real issue that we are confronted with.

AeonBlues
 

darkstorme

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2007, 02:26:29 pm »
Hence my suggestion above:

Quote from: darkstorme

On the other hand, a Dark Druid who is ostensibly the rightful keeper of a location might come under investigation by the druid hiearchy, or by a ranger or lawman in the nearby cities, and you might be sent to investigate, and come back with evidence of wrongdoing.  This might mean that as a fighter, you'd have to fight your way into some place within his demesne, and gain the evidence you need, or (and this is the lovely part) sneak in and find same.  The beauty is that you never have to see the evil muckymuck, and in the fullness of time, the investigator can eventually conclude that sufficient evidence has been accumulated, and call for a posse to go deal with the evil druid/whatever.


The idea here is that we want a recurring villain.  Not all evil has to be definitive; a druid with Dark tendencies but who is keeping his/her tracks covered would make for some lovely but indeterminate menace.  If you're hired by an agent of the law/druid/ranger to investigate, multiple such forays can easily be explained as the accumulation of evidence against this druid.  A bit of clever scripting would even allow for a story to be played out bit by bit as the evidence accumulates.  Finally, after x months, the agent of the law/druid/ranger has come to a decision, and *poof* we have a DM quest hook, and the Dark Druid who was under investigation becomes the target of a group of adventurers - and we have turnover in the NPC quests.

This way, a Dark Druid could be made who wouldn't easily defeated, and therefore would have a far greater RP impact.  If all you ever face are the effects of a villain, it makes the eventual hunt all the better, and allows lots of opportunity to build the villain up.

I think this has far greater potential than a simple, "Go kill this Dark Druid", since all druids are much more complex than simple "black and white" views of Good and Evil.
 

Witch Hunter

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2007, 02:55:32 pm »
Quote from: AeonBlues
I think the defeat the evil druid would make for some good RP and would build on a concept that I feel is under represented.
 
 Druids are protectors of balance. This implies that for the most part, they must be selfless. A druid that succumbs to evil, NE being a valid druid alignment, has become a dark druid. The dark druid is obsessed with his own personal gain, and expanding his power base. As the spirit of each druid is connected with the spirit of all life around them, the dark druid's spirit will corrupt the spirits of nature around them.
 AeonBlues
 
 
 Not all evil druids are selfish, most are fanatics rather - for example:
 Instead of reasoning with the lumberjack they kill the lumberjack :P they still maintain balance but they do so in a very extreme and harsh way.
 

AeonBlues

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #10 on: April 02, 2007, 03:25:19 pm »
It is tricky when you talk about evil druids.  What you describe is more like a CN or CE action, and NE is the only evil alignment for an evil druid.  Demonstrating incredible levels of greed, and lust for power, makes for the classic model of a NE character.

Alas, perhaps my mind is a bit tainted as I see druids as resembling Jedi and Sith lords.  Especial when yoda and Obie one speak of the force and the dark side in episodes 4 and 5 of the star wars series.

AeonBlues
 

Stephen_Zuckerman

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #11 on: April 02, 2007, 08:23:59 pm »
Obi. Obi Wan.

Druids are not Jedi. They are keepers of the Balance, tenders of the world (not just the forests), and those who commune with nature.

Not all Druids set their goal as keeping the Balance... For some, they just enjoy wandering around, learning about how the world works, or even just collecting specimens of pine cone.

What separates a normal person from a Druid is only one thing... Druids are in tune with nature on a very deep, fundamental level of their being. Rangers are, too, to a lesser extent. While Rangers develop this affinity through experience, with Druids it is an innate thing. Rangers, to use a somewhat vague analogy, are forged first, and plated with the nature bits later. Druids, on the other hand, have the naturey bits come from within.

If you don't have that spark, somewhere down inside you, you can't become a Druid. Could be WAY deep down where noone can find it... Could be right on top. That said, with our characters, it's not predetermined whether or not your character does or doesn't have that spark - we make the decision if we ever decide to go Druid. ;) (Of course, THAT said, multiclassing to Druid or, for the same reasons, Sorcerer, after a few levels seems to me to not work so well, but that's just my opinion.)

But this whole deal is way off topic for NPC quests.

I think you should scrap the Dark Druid idea. There's just too much to it.

The Crystalline quest is nice... Works pretty well, and it's pretty tough for the level range it's meant for. (Heck, it was tough for Pyyran and a support mage with loads of potions.)

I'd like to see more quests that lead places most people don't go... And more cross-craft CNR-gathering quests.

Alexi's quest is great - scribing's a tough craft. How about a Poisoncraft quest? Based out of Vehl, of course. ;) Or perhaps Katherian...

Mayhaps a Fishing quest. Some guy's after some pretty specific fish, and tells you to go get 'em. Fishing's tough to get into...

I'd like to see all of the quests (or as many as possible, anyhow) a little bit interconnected. I like how the Package quest and the Postmaster quest sent you around to other quest hooks.

A quest in Blackford might be nice, perhaps that links in the Great Library. A letter to be sent to the Librarian at the castle, who's muttering about the portal and such... :)

There's more, but I'll finish up later. Food time.
 

AeonBlues

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #12 on: April 02, 2007, 08:54:41 pm »
"Life creates it, makes it grow.  Its energy surrounds us and binds us.  luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.  You must feel the force around you, between you, and me, the rock and the tree, even the land we share."

Resembling  a druidic spiritual bond with nature.

Those are some fine ideas Stephen, lucky for us Layo is a big game world.

AeonBlues
 

darkstorme

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2007, 01:38:44 am »
Alright... I'm going to have to dust off my "I disagree with this" stamp.

Quote from: Stephen_Zuckerman
While Rangers develop this affinity through experience, with Druids it is an innate thing. Rangers, to use a somewhat vague analogy, are forged first, and plated with the nature bits later. Druids, on the other hand, have the naturey bits come from within.

If you don't have that spark, somewhere down inside you, you can't become a Druid. Could be WAY deep down where noone can find it... Could be right on top.


*ahem*  To quote LORE:

Quote from: LORE

 It is also a stereotype to assume that all druids have some sort of innate awareness which becomes evident at some point in their life. This may be true for a few, but not for all. There are three primary means by which the druidic awareness and connectivity is established..


So no, not really.  Even so, true for some cases.

Quote from: Stephen_Zuckerman

I think you should scrap the Dark Druid idea. There's just too much to it.


Again, I have to disagree here.  I think a Dark Druid (or quasi-dark) provides an excellent future DM quest villain who can remain in the shadows for the time being, operating through lackeys.  Or flunkies.  Or minions.  Or whatever Dark Druids call the low-ranking unfortunate followers they throw to the adventurers.

Mind you, she could easily be replaced by a different main villain - I just like the idea of a temporary (as in months) NPC quest that eventually leads up to its total alleviation.  *grins*  I think AeonBlues just wanted to increase the dispensation of Druid information, given that many people don't seem to know much about the Druids and assume tree-hugging stereotypes on the whole.  I don't think that there's anything wrong with that.  Simultaneously, I am enamoured of my idea, because while that might be a Dark Druid first, the next such quest might be an evil wizard creating abominations to unleash onto an unwary populace, or a new organized crime syndicate.... the ideas are endless!

Quote from: Stephen_Zuckerman

I'd like to see more quests that lead places most people don't go... And more cross-craft CNR-gathering quests.

Alexi's quest is great - scribing's a tough craft. How about a Poisoncraft quest? Based out of Vehl, of course. ;) Or perhaps Katherian...

Mayhaps a Fishing quest. Some guy's after some pretty specific fish, and tells you to go get 'em. Fishing's tough to get into...


Disagreement is done.  Those all sound rather neat. :)
 

Weeblie

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2007, 02:51:39 am »
Dark druids are druids just like any other druid.

They are also protecting the forests. They are also striving for balance in the nature. The main difference is the way they do it. A good aligned druid would talk with Farmer Joe who tried to burn the forest down, ask him not to. An evil druid would most probably prove his/her point with an arrow through Joe's heart or something similar.

Just like everyone else, druids are also shaped by his/her enviroment (or, at least, seeks to "his/her" enviroment). Dark druids are usually residing in the creepy sort of places while the good druids are more commonly found hugging bunnies. :)

The last part can of course be argued, whether it is the enviroment that shapes the druid or the druid that shapes the enviroment. Not that I believe we mortals can understand the ONE answer. ;)

Bottomword is... Dark druids are as needed as good druids! The first tend to believe there are a little bit too much "good" in the world while the second's philosophy tend to be the reversed. And... True Neutral druids... Aaah... That's -the- druid! :P
 

Falonthas

Re: NPC quest suggestion
« Reply #15 on: April 09, 2007, 08:02:28 pm »
i asked this long ago
dark druids vs light druids
what makes one either way

i was told semantics

sometimes dark druids are what you see
sometimes light druids are what you see
where you see them is what makes you aware
the one helping the badger with his hurt paw
could be either or
the one standing over a poacher after having set him on fire
could be either one also
the one who always chooses fire over talk is only one side
but do you know which
and dont always assume its dark
anyone who has seen poachers again and again kill his friends
does it make him dark to restore the balance and kill the hunters for a change
no
he is just righting the out of balance issue
the animals win for a change
there was a crier message before about the dying man and the dying bear and the druid healing the bear and walking on

the one the message was about wasnt drogo

but he did something similar when the hunters were attacking his wolf friends when they didnt need to go near them

is he dark
maybe
is he light
maybe
or is he dead center true neutral and in balance with himself
 

 

anything